So, in my previous post about Bunti Aur Bubli, I suggested that you could even see the Taj Mahal in the film's item song, "Kajra Re", but had a question in the comments from @maxqnz as to *where* you'd find it.
I'll admit, it's possible I'm seeing the Taj because I'm obsessed with it, but given how big a presence the monument is given in the film, I'm inclined to think it is really there -- or, at least, not the actual Taj Mahal, but a kind of "item number stylized version" of it, that you only get a rare glimpse of out the window of this dome-shaped room (that I'm also convinced is supposed to recall the Taj Mahal for us viewers):
So, am I right? Or just seeing it because I want to see it?
It's somehow fitting to mark Valentine's Day with a new entry into this Taj Mahal series, the Taj being viewed as the ultimate symbol of love.
But I'm a little cyncical about Valentine's Day, and for me, probably the best film that represents a slightly more cynical side to the Taj Mahal -- and a film that probably contains my favorite use of the Taj Mahal -- is Shaad Ali's 2005 film Bunty Aur Babli, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherji. The film tells the story of Rakesh Trivedi (Bachchan), a small town guy with big dreams who wants a life different from that of his father (a railway employee), and of Vimmi Saluja (Mukherji), a girl who is convinced she's going to be the next Miss India.
The two meet when they are both running away from home -- Rakesh from a job interview his father has arranged for him, and Vimmi from the marriage her family has arranged for her. The two discover that together, they have a bit of a gift for the grift -- and they set out on a spree of cons, ironically becoming famous in a way they both could never have imagined. They take on new identities, calling themselves Bunty and Babli -- but they also find themselves being pursued by ACP Dashrath Singh (Amitabh Bachchan), who is determined to arrest them and stop their crime spree.
What I love about the film (and there's a lot) is that one of Bunty and Babli's biggest scams is their plan to sell the Taj Mahal to an unwitting American who is only too happy to fall into their trap, as the Taj Mahal is the desired wedding location for his girlfriend.
The plan is an elaborate one, involving them not only disguising themselves, taking the American into their confidence, but also infiltrating a government office to pull off the final details.
Remember this character. Abhishek reprises him in Players.
But the sale of the Taj Mahal isn't the only moment the Taj appears in Bunty Aur Babli. In fact, images of the the Taj Mahal turn up constantly through the film. The Taj is always there, always in the background.
For example, it's there when Bunty and Babli decide to get married:
It's there in the government office that Babli sneeks into (pretending to be the official in charge of the sale):
It's there in the background when Bunty and Babli pay off the people who helped them pull of the scam sale of the Taj Mahal:
It's also there when ACP Singh finds himself, finally, on their trail, questioning the people they've been in contact with:
You'll even see it in the film's item number "Kajra Re" (featuring Aishwarya Rai), which marks the point at which ACP Singh finally catches up with Bunty and Babli:
I love the fact that in the images with Bunty and Babli, the Taj Mahal is gloriously set against a blue sky, but is enshrouded in mist or fog when ACP Singh turns up. It's as if for Bunty and Babli, the Taj is, truly a symbol of love (and of the sacrifices they will make when they have their first child); but for Singh, the Taj represents something murkier, something less noble. "No one ever did anything so extravagant for love," is how Giles Tillotson (in his book Taj Mahal) describes the view of the sceptics who do not ascribe to the view of the Taj Mahal as a symbol of love. I can see that being Singh's view, when Bunty and Babli tell him they're giving up the life of crime in order to set a good example for their child. But the fact that they do is, perhaps, like the Taj, a symbol of that very love.
I didn't think there was anything that could make me break my unofficial Tom Cruise boycott (long story), but I find myself weak in the presence of this:
(Oh, Taj, only for you would I post this picture.)
Yeah, yeah, I know. Tom (yawn) Cruise in India (yawn) to promote that film with Anil (no yawn!) Kapoor. But I love the fact that they decided to go visit Agra. Or, as The Express Tribune put it:
Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, Cruise’s co-star in the upcoming Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol was accompanying him to the northern city of Agra where the pair was to visit the Taj Mahal, India’s most famous monument to love, media reports said.
Atul's Bollywood Song of the Day Blog has a whole category devoted to the "Taj Mahal song" -- that is, songs in which the Taj Mahal is used as a romantic backdrop. And that's squarely the case with the song "Sau Baar" from Yamla Pagla Deewana, although I love, too how the film pays a little homage to the touristy side of the Taj:
So cute!
I love the song -- I think it's so pretty, and shot so beautifully against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal:
"But the use of the name goes beyond tea. Even amongst buildings there are numourous contenders for the title 'Taj Mahal'. Someone in Delhi uttering the phrase 'Let's meet at the Taj' would be inviting you to a 1970s tower block rather than suggesting an excursion to Agra."
Giles Tillotson, writing in Taj Mahal (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008)
It is, perhaps, fitting that a film that bills itself as "a tribute to love" should use the Taj Mahal in its avatar as a symbol of love, of selfless devotion. And it tickles me to no end that it's used as a thread in my favorite love story of the six portrayed in the film, that of Raju (Govinda) and Stephanie (Shannon Esra).
It also tickles me that the film plays on the misunderstanding that can arise when one is not quite clear about which Taj is being referred to. Raju is certain that the girl of his dreams is a gori mehmsaab who will, one day, exit the doors at the Delhi airport and get into his cab. He even knows how it will all happen: his guru will give a signal on the day his Dream Girl is to arrive. Light will shine, breezes will blow, bells will ring, a conch will be blown, there will be drumrolls, and flowers will shower from the sky. The gates of heaven (ie. the airport doors) will open, and the Dream Girl will appear, surrounded by celestial dancers (in this case, flight attendants). The Dream Girl will approach, and will utter that fateful word: "Taj".
Of course, what happens next serves to underline Giles Tillotson's point: sometimes, when you ask for the Taj, you're not asking for "an excursion to Agra":
What can Raju do except gather up the pieces of the model of the Taj, and vow to fix it. He eventually ends up helping Stephanie (who ends up having most of her belongings stolen) find her boyfriend, Rohit, who has returned to India so that he can, according to the wishes of his parents, marry an Indian girl. As they travel in search of Rohit, Stephanie is oblivious to the fact that the devoted, selfless Raju has fallen in love with her. Raju asks nothing more of his guru than to be able to give Stephanie what she wants. Along the way, he mends the broken model of the Taj Mahal:
Eventually, Stephanie comes upon the mended model of the Taj:
She gazes on the sleeping Raju:
And, thinking back, she has a sudden realization. She wakes Raju and confronts him with the model:
And although you would think this would finally be Raju's chance to tell Stephanie how he feels, he doesn't, remaining selfless to the end, thinking only of what he believes she wants, to be united with Rohit. "Oh, this," he tells her, "I made this for you," adding:
Thankfully, Stephanie comes to realize that, well, as she tells his parents:
And finally, the taxiwalla ends up with his Dream Girl:
When they toss the flowers at each other instead of at the bride and groom? Adorable.
One final note: one of the very endearing things about Raju is that he's always singing. When we first meet him at the beginning of the film, he's singing "Kisi Shayer Ki Gazal" from the film Dream Girl:
And when he's sitting on his taxi, singing with the model of the Taj in his hand? He's referencing another song that uses the Taj Mahal as a romantic backdrop, "Ek Shahenshah Ne Banwa Ke Hansee" from the film Leader:
I'll certainly deal with that in a future post in the series, but the fact that Raju's singing gives us a double dose of filmi Taj just tickles me to bits, and I couldn't resist including it. Wah Taj, indeed!
“...what you think about the Taj Mahal depends on who you are, where you came from, when and why. A Mughal court poet, an English Romantic traveller, a colonial administrator, an architectural historian and a couple on their honeymoon (to give just a few examples) start with very different perspectives and purposes. The enduring solid marble construction presents an illusion of stability. The familiar view of the pristine monument from the entrance gateway is the very image of permanence. But the thoughts it has inspired have always been varied and changing. All these competing interpretations, overtly or not, represent claims to some sort of ownership of the building. Silent and compliant, the Taj will be what you want it to be.”
Giles Tillotson, writing in Taj Mahal (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008)
I have long been fascinated by the Taj Mahal, so much so that I watch any television programme about it, read about it, and I adore finding references to it, especially in films. Giles Tillotson’s book is a gem for someone like me. Tillotson, an art historian specialising in South Asia, packs his slim little volume with both mythology and fact, managing to unravel the mystery of the Taj without totally destroying its mystique.
This is what I use as a bookmark for it:
It’s a card for a local real estate agent that turned up in my postbox one day a while back. Now, I live in the middle of nowhere, and this real estate agent is most definitely not South Asian. But using the Taj Mahal in his ad is instantly evocative: the Taj Mahal as symbol of wealth, royalty, and luxury.
In addition to being used “to refer to tea, hotels and a host of other items ranging from packets of saffron to bars of soap” (Tilltoson, page 3), the Taj Mahal exists in the consciousness of Indians as a symbol of their country, but it also exists in the consciousness worldwide as an eternal symbol of love – an irony of sorts, since the Taj Mahal was built, for all intents and purposes, as a tomb.
It’s this mythology and irony that form part of my fascination for the Taj Mahal, I think. So far, it’s a place that I’ve only managed to visit through books and films. I actually set up a Tumblr to collect up images of the Taj Mahal from films I watch, and at some point I’ll start posting photos there. But I thought I would start by writing an occasional series on the image of the Taj Mahal in films, how its image is used, and how these films contribute to the vast Taj mythology.
I’ve decided to call it: “Taj. You tell Taj.” after this scene:
If you haven’t recognized it, that’s from Nikhil Advani’s 2007 film Salaam-e-Ishq. And in the next post, I’ll open the series with a look at the Taj Mahal in that very film.
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