Asoka

Although this Shah Rukh Khan film did not do well at the box office, the film is a real tear jerker. Shah Rukh plays the role of Prince Asoka with conviction and aplomb. The movie begins with an exposition of Prince Asoka's situation as brother to the crown prince. An excellent warrior, Prince Asoka is sent hither and yon to fight the good fight, conquer the enemy, and to eventually be killed and so removed from competition to the throne. However, being such a good fighter and all, it's not so easy to kill the prince. Accordingly, the crown prince resorts to trickery and persuades the prince's mother to convince Prince Asoka to leave the kingdom and live as a commoner.

Prince Asoka makes his way through the wilderness and encounters his true love, Kaurwaki, princess of Kalinga (Kareena Kapoor). Eventually wooing and winning the princess as Pawan (the Wind), Asoka is summoned home by his mother and promises Kaurwaki that he will return quickly. Things do not turn out according to plan and Asoka becomes Emperor and embarks on a legendary killing rampage across India. The final scenes of the movie remind the audience of the frailty of life, the disappointment of accomplished goals, and the human lot of suffering.

Asoka is the story of a legendary historical figure who converts to Buddhism and leaves a humanistic legacy to India. This film provides the backstory to the legendary figure. Shah Rukh Khan is not only convincing, but is able to move the audience to tears. The several beefcake scenes do not detract from the overall excellence and serious purpose of the movie. In spite of the good looks of Shah Rukh Khan and pandering to the salacious interests of the audience, the film tells a good story and communicates a compelling message - the battlefield is the place where the beloved one lies. What cost victory? ...to what end?

Dil Bole Hadippa!

Veera wants to play cricket; she's a right and left hand batter. Only trouble is, she's a girl. The Indian team needs a good batter. But, they don't want a girl. To play, Veera disguises herself as a man.

As a girl, this kind of thinking makes me mad. (in USA) Why is it gender that determines function? Why not skill? Rani Mukherjee is excellent in this part. While she doesn't look much like a man, she gets the point across; excellence is excellence, regardless of gender. USA, India, Pakistan, Japan, it doesn't much matter; women are not respected for what they can do. They are held back by gender expectations.

It should not be gender, but performance that determines one's participation. By performance I mean performing to or surpassing a certain standard.

In the end, Rani makes her point and all's well that ends well; but, life is not so simple. People don't accept or consider female performance in the same way they do a man's (in the USA, at least). Archery is one such field of endeavor. Women can not compete with men. Why not? Is it the pudendum that pulls the bow? Of course not. Then why the gender discrimination? Are men so afraid that women will match them?

Of course, I liked this movie. Other viewers rate it lower than I do. But, some women are competitive with men; they should be allowed to compete with those who perform at their same level. Gender should not be the discriminating factor! Nor should anything else! Discriminate by actual performance level or ambition or choce or intention, but not by an accident of birth!!!

Kismat Konnection (Hindi 2008)

Kismat Konnection stars with Shahid Kapoor and Juhi Chawla. SRK is the voice of the narrator. This is a cute story about a guy who is at the top of his class in college and just has a streak of bad luck after. He meets a girl, Priya (Vidya Balan), and his luck seems to change. The movie is all about their relationship and the preservation of a community center. Plans are afoot to build a shopping mall on the property, but Priya has other plans and she's the one with luck! More than luck, it's a film about the value of personal relationship and networking, no matter how the relationships happen. The significant person who turns the tide is a "waving friend." For me, this movie was a good reminder about keeping in touch and maintaining relationships.

Jab We Met (Hindi 2007)

Jab We Met is a great little comedy with good acting from Kareena Kapoor (Geet) and Shahid Kapoor (Aditya). The two meet on a train. Aditya has just finished watching his girlfriend get married and is feeling very down. The talkative and sparky, Geet, befriends him and tries to cheer him up. In her attempts, she ends up getting off the train and being unable to reboard it in time. The two end up traveling through Northern India together in an attempt to catch her train and luggage. Aditya accompanies Geet to her Sikh home in Punjab. Aditya wants to elope so that she can marry her true love, Anshuman. Aditya is persuaded to accompany her and drops her off at the doorstep of Anshuman and leaves. 9 months pass. Aditya has become very successful in business and has had a positive change in attitude due to his meeting Geet. On the other hand, Geet's parents look him up and demand that he produce Geet. Geet is nowhere to be found. It turns out that Anshuman had rejected her and Geet had been living in a religious teaching order. Aditya goes to look for Geet to return her to her parents. Ironically, he ends up doing for Geet what Geet did for him 9 months earlier. All's well that ends well and the ending is a good one. I recommend this movie for music, fun, interesting culture, great scenery, and good music.

1942: A Love Story (Hindi 1994)

The story of revolutionaries involved in India's separation from Britain, 1942: A Love Story is set in the Himalayan Mountains of Northern India - possibly Kashmir. The scenery is gorgeous and I've seen some of the locations and houses in other movies ( Jab We Met). Naren (Anil Kapoor) is the son of a rich pro-English landowner. Naren falls in love with Rajeshwari, the daughter of a revolutionary. When Naren attempts to ask permission from his father to marry Rajeshwari, the father turns in the revolutionary and his daughter in an attempt to prevent the marriage. The father dies in a bomb blast and the daughter is saved by a fellow revolutionary (Jackie Schroff). The revolutionary attends a ceremony where he hopes to assassinate an English general. Naren, having broken with his family, attempts to help the freedom fighter and uses a pistol in an attempt to help the revolutionary plan. He is captured and taken to be hanged. The revolutionary saves him and they both accomplish the impossible together. This is a love story with a happy ending, unlike what the beginning of the movie leads us to believe.

The movie won several awards; the music is especially good.

Taal (HIndi 1999)

Taal is a love story between a rich returned from London son with the daughter of a famous folk singer. Aishwarya Rai plays Mansi who falls in love with a man who, returned from school in London, disregards social convention and courts a woman who is below him in caste. Though his father honors the father of the girl who is a famous folk singer in his village, he refuses to recognize him or give him honor in the city. Mansi, insulted on behalf of her father for the treatment he has been given, disavows her love and turns to Vikrant Kapoor (Anil Kapoor), a famous pop singer, producer, and director. Recognizing her talent as a singer and dancer, Vikrant Kapoor catapults Mansi to stardom and asks her to marry him. She agrees. In the meantime, her forsaken love, Manav, vows to win her back and follows her career and attends her wedding ceremony. While there, he confronts Mansi who is unable to hide her feelings for him. Vikrant sacrifices his own interests in the interests of true love and encourages Mansi to leave him and express her feelings for Manav. She runs from his car and embraces Manav as the two fathers forget their differences and embrace also.

While something of a cheesy plot, the acting is good and Aishwarya Rai is great as always.

Pardes (Hindi 1997)

Pardes is a wonderful film about the difficulties of being an NRI and the difficulties of adjusting to a new land. After 25 years, Kishorilal (Amrish Puri) visits his dear friend in India. He becomes enamored of Ganga (Mahima Chaudhry) and decides the village girl would be perfect for his prince of a son, Rajiv (Agnihotri). Arjun (Shah Rukh Khan) is commissioned by his adopted father, Kishorilal, to plead the suite of Rajiv. He does so successfully and Ganga agrees to the engagement. She visits America, Rajiv's homeland, for a month prior to the marriage. Rajiv shows his true colors and even Arjun can not put an acceptable spin on his behavior. In the meantime, Arjun and Ganga have gained one another's trust and have fallen in love. The movie is their love story and the troubles attendant upon differences in culture. This is a great little movie with strong Indian values contrasted with shallow American values. There is an awesome scene where Arjun demonstrates his unselfish love for Ganga by clasping a naked blade and running his bleeding hand along it...

Dostana (Hindi 2008)

Starring what has to be three of the most attractive people on the planet, Dostana is a comedy about two attractive "hot" guys who say they are gay lovers in order to get two rooms in a desirable condo in a Miami high rise. Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham play the two guys and Priyanka Chopra plays the girl who owns the apartment and rents to the two. The guys are actually convincing as gay boyfriends. There are several amusing scenes between the two. Abhishek lets himself go more and John Abraham reminds one of George Clooney. One scene between Kunal (John Abraham) and Neha (Priyanka Chopra) features a background of SRK dancing in the rain during the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai; they imitate SRK's dance moves. I enjoyed the irony of using SRK to move the romantic plot of the movie along... This was a good little comedy although the gay theme was stereotypical...

Trimurti (Hindi 1995)

The Power of Three in One is the story of Trimurti. Shah Rukh Khan stars as the younger brother, along with Anil Kapoor( the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Slumdog Millionaire) and Jackie Shroff (another long time Bollywood actor). The movie commences with a policeman mother who tries to protect the shrine of the "Mother" for all instead of just the man who has paid for the renovations. To keep the poor from accessing the temple, Kooka (the villain) frames Satyadevi (the mother) to take the fall for killing three policeman. She is sentenced to jail for 18 years and her two sons are left to care for the son newly born in jail. The movie relates the story of the two older boys to raise the younger son, their parting of ways, and their eventual reacquaintance prior to the mother obtaining her freedom. The song and dance in this movie tends to be more religious in nature, devoted to worship of "the mother." The movie is entertaining and Shah Rukh is filled with puppy enthusiasm. His acting is amusing and endearing. He's good as the youngest brother and the other two male leads are also good as the 1st and 2nd brother.

Provoked: a true story of a battered wife (Aishwarya Rai)

Filmed in England and delivered mostly in English, Provoked is the true story of a woman who lights her husband on fire to escape his daily beatings and abuse. Aishwarya Rai delivers a great performance in this movie. Opening with a scene playing off the title of the book, Circle of Light, from which the script was taken, a small flame creates a circle of light as it moves through a darkened house to the bedroom where a man lies sprawled out in bed, asleep. In a moment, the bed is alight and the man is screaming and running from the house. When the police investigate, they come across a weeping, unspeaking woman who is clutching her children to her. In his hospital bed, the burned man accuses his wife, the bitch, of having lit him on fire. The woman is accused of attempted murder and sent to prison to await trial, the children are sent to live with the mother-in-law, and the husband dies. Thus the scene is set for a trial, incarceration, and eventual appeal of Kiran (Aishwarya Rai). During the sequence of these events, Kiran's relationship with her abusive husband is revealed and her character and sufferings are established. Kiran finds freedom in prison and learns to stand up for herself and her friends. She, with the unselfish help of her cell mate, maintains honor and dignity and develops courage and conviction. This is a very fine movie that showcases Aishwarya Rai's acting talents.

Salaam/Namaste (Hindi 2005)

With Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, Salaam/Namaste is a movie about two people who initially despise one another and trade barbed comments. Ambar (Preity Zinta) is a medical intern who pays her way through school by working as a radio talk show host on station 101.5 Salaam/Namaste. Nick (Saif Ali Khan) is scheduled to be interviewed as a guest on her talk show one morning; however, he is late, as always, and does not make the show. Ambar proceeds to assassinate his character on air and in the process trashes the restaurant where he works as head chef. This causes a series of problems and Nick calls her on air and threatens to sue the station. Later, at a wedding, the two meet without knowing each other's identity, and fall in love. Identities are revealed, Nick apologizes and having fallen in love, invites Ambar to move in with him so that they can get to know one another better. Ambar eventually agrees and the rest of the movie traces their relationship for the next year. The music and dance is catchy, the two have good chemistry together, and there are some amusing moments. Basically a relationship movie, it's good for easy entertainment. The delivery scene at the end is way over the top, almost offensive...

Bhoothnath (Hindi 2008)

A children's movie about a mischievous kid who befriends a ghost, Bhoothnath showcases Amitabh Bachchan's talents. He plays a ghost haunting a "bungalow" in Goa that has been rented by a young family. Banku, the young son, is always getting in trouble -encouraged to do so by his absent father (Shah Rukh Khan). His mother with smiles, love, and humor supports her son and sets herself the task of cleaning and running the haunted household. The ghost receives salvation through the good services of Banku and balance is restored.

This is a good movie about both healthy families and families that have come undone. It moved me to tears in several parts. Amitabh is very good as the ghost. This is good family entertainment with something in it for everyone.

Hum Tum (Hindi 2004)

A Yash Chopra production starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji, Hum Tum is a cute Bollywood movie that tells the story of two friends that fall in love. Meeting on a plane for the first time, playboy Karan flirts with Rhea who expresses interest in his Hum Tum cartoon. They meet accidentally through the next 10 years or so. Karan develops his cartoon strip about a male and female character who have a sparring relationship; Rhea marries and becomes a widow. Eventually, the two begin to spend more time together and develop a relationship which neither can admit to needing for life. Eventually everything works out. What makes the film notable is the HumTum cartoon animation that provides editorial comments on the relationship of the two main characters. Quite cleverly done.

Temptation: As Never Seen Before

A traveling stage show starring Shahrukh Khan, Priety Zinta, Rani Mukherji, Saif Ali Khan, and Priyanka Chopra, Temptation runs for 223 minutes. There are a couple of good bits in this and several slow ones. When the five named above are on stage, the shows has energy and charm; however, when others are on, such as the finalists for the Indian Idol or the choreographer, the show lacks sizzle. Shahrukh's interaction with audience members is interesting. This video is a compilation of his 18 stop world tour, featuring bits from Dubai, Bangkor, Toronto, London, New York, Atlanta, LA, etc. One part of the video featured a little humorous home movie with the six main stars acting, dancing, and singing - that was very entertaining. Many familiar songs, Chaiyya Chaiyya (from Dil Se) being the most memorable.

Dil Aashna Hai (2000)

Three college girls from 1973-1974 get wild and one has a child. All three determine to raise the child and claim maternity. 18 years pass. The girls have given the child up for adoption and are living their separate lives. The movie begins with Karan (Shah Rukh Khan) professing his love for a courtesan, Laila. Laila has been brought up in a brothel and makes her living as a cabaret dancer. While performing at a wedding, she gets a phone call from her "mother." Her "mother" is on her death bed and finally tells Laila the truth that she is not her mother. The movie, Dil Aashna Hai, is the story of Laila's search, abetted by Karan, for her mother. The female cast is very strong. It's a well-told tale and SRK's role is understated. While he is a male lead, there are several male leads with approximately equal parts in this movie. It's really all about the women.

Chaahat (Desire) 1996

One of Shah Rukh Khan's early movies, Chaahat is a story of obsession, except this time, Shah Rukh is the object of obsession rather than being the one who obsesses. Although the movie claims to come with English subtitles, they did not work, it was all in Hindi (I presume.) The film is about a father (Anupam Kher) and son (Shah Rukh Khan) who are singing performers. The father becomes ill and Roop (the son) decides to take him to Mumbai for treatment. In the city, a rich hotelier offers Roop a job as a singer because his sister has fallen in love with Roop. In the meantime, Roop has fallen in love with another woman whom he eventually marries. The hotelier is played by Naseeruddin Shah who also appeared with Shah Rukh in Chamatkar. All three of the male leads are very good in this film. Anupam Kher can be seen in many films and he plays a great dad; he is wise, understanding, and loving. The end of his movie is very violent. Roop gets beat up by the hotelier because he has scorned the sister and she's upset. In spite of a horrendous beating, Roop survives to give back some of the same. The drama and action is intense. I just wish that I could have understood the dialogue....Shah Rukh does what he does best in this film.

Maya Memsab Shahrukh's first movie

A remake of Madame Bovary with Hindi sensibility, Maya Memsaab is the story of a beautiful independent thinking woman who is unable to settle. Deepa Sahi plays Maya, the beautiful, educated, whimsical girl who marries a doctor and then tries to settle down into a middle class life. She has several affairs, one of whom is Lalit Kumar (Shah Rukh Khan), a younger fellow who has developed a crush on her after viewing her from afar. Unfortunately, Maya is looking for romance and stimulation. When all of this fails to satisfy her longing, and her debt has exceeded her ability to pay, Maya takes the only way out, suicide. The movie is an investigation into her death and all is slowly revealed.

I enjoyed this movie. Shah Rukh Khan is good as her spurned younger lover who is then taken up as a play thing by Maya. Her husband and older lover are also good. Stylized as an art movie and the director, Ketan Mehta, stylizing it as a dream, this is a well-acted interesting movie. I'm sure that women can definitely relate. Who of us hasn't fantasized of a way out of hum drum every day existence? The question, though, is can we afford the cost? It turns out that Maya could not afford it. Her house and life was forfeit. Deepa Sahi is very good as Maya (illusion). The movie made me want to read Madame Bovary again. This is a must see.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Straight from the Heart

A great movie, Hum Dil De C huke Sanam is a story about people who learn to love and understand. Samer (Salman Khan) come to India from Italy to learn how to sing ghazals. He is a well known singer in Italy, but he wants to learn more. Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) the daughter of the teacher Samer has come to learn with, becomes smitten with him. Romance ensues and Samer does not step up to engage himself to her. Nandini becomes engaged and then married to Vanraj (Ajay Dvgan). Nandini's father forces Samer to return to Italy. Nandini is miserable in her marriage and Vanraj, loving her, determines to reunite her with Samer. They go to Italy to find Samer. The first part of the movie is typically Bollywood, but as always, the second half turns poignant and meaningful. The movie is all about the second half, which, of course, I won't share with you. Needless to say, there is a twist and a plethora of meaning. See this one. This was my second viewing, better than the first.

Chamatkar (1992) Shah Rukh Khan early movie

Chamatkar depends on the supernatural for the movement of its plot. Sunder (SRK) is tricked into relocating to Mumbai by an old school friend. His friend tricks him into mortgaging his home and land in order to go to Dubai, make his fortune as a teacher, and then return to build a new school for his village on his property with all the money he will have earned. Instead, Sunder's luggage and money is stolen and the train he was told to take ends up in Mumbai. A naive villager, with no friends, no money, and no place to stay, Sunder decides to sleep in a cemetery. While there he is accosted by some criminal types who wish to rob him and just when it looks like Sunder's story will be over before it has begun, The ghost of a murdered mob boss, Marco, rises from the grave and comes to Sunder's assistance. God has promised Sunder revenge for his untimely killing upon the enlistment of help from the one man who will be able to see and hear Marcos. Sunder is destiny's child and Marco's only chance for retribution. Sunder agrees to help Marco and they proceed to right the wrongs that were done 20 years previously and are still being perpetuated in the now of the movie.

The dancing and songs in this movie are passable, the special effects involved with the supernatural actions of Marcos are humorous, and the actor who plays Marco (Naseeruddin Shah) steals the show. He's as convincing as one can be in the role and he carries it off with a certain panache. Shah Rukh Khan is a good foil for him. SRK and Naseeruddin have a dance together which is entertaining, the animation during the opening credits is fun, and the underlying story is satisfying. This is a fun film to see if only to see SRK's puppy side. He's so young and new at the game, it appears that he's just learning how to dance. While some of his steps are wooden or awkward, his energy and potential are very evident.

Anjaam (final result)

The most bizarre of the films that I have recently watched with Shahrukh Khan, Anjaam, like Darr is a story of passion and obsession. Unlike Darr, however, the women in this movie are not passive victims to terror, but take a more active role. The real star in this movie is Madhuri Dixit. She plays Vijay's (SRK's) love interest, Shivani. While she achieved critical acclaim for her role as the Courtesan in Devdas with SRK, I think her performance showed more range and acting ability in this film. This is the first film with SRK that I could not find anything to like about the character that he played. Usually there is some redeeming quality that SRK is able to bring out of the character. Vijay is entirely unlikable. He is arrogant, shallow, violent, stubborn, and remorseless. SRK utilizes mannerisms to communicate Vijay's feeling. For example, when Vijay is feeling bothered, he has a right shoulder tic. When he is recovering from paralysis, he uses hand and arm twitches. These are all well and good, but Madhuri's performance provides a strong contrast. Her characterization is more subtle. She doesn't rely on these types of "business" that actors employ, rather her posture, her glance, her timing, her quality of attention to the other characters communicates her motivation and character. Johnny Lever has a gratuitous part in this movie and is very annoying. Every time he came on screen, I found myself having to turn the sound to the lowest setting. In addition, Deepak Tijori plays the murdered romantic lead. He was also the lead in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa where I commented that SRK was much preferable to him, making the premise of that plot unbelievable. I don't blame either of the SRK characters for wanting to bump this guy off.

This movie is filled with violence and made me feel very edgy. In brief, Vijay "falls in love" with an inaccessible woman, Shivani. She makes it very clear that she is not interested in him, yet he continues to pursue her. Eventually, he ends up killing her husband and accusing her of adultry and attempted murder. He is instrumental in her receiving a three year prison term. For Shivani, the innocent victim of Vijay's manipulations, life goes from bad to worse to ... In the end, it is the final result that matters.

Anjaam is a film worth watching as one of the three "negative" roles that SRK played early in his career. SRK has come a long way. I don't agree with critics that say he only plays one role. I think he plays unique characters, but some of the characters that he's been given to play are very similar to other characters that he's played. I think he's a brave actor. He allows himself to appear ugly, foolish, weak, annoying, conceited, etc. There are many actors that would not take roles that portrayed them in a less than attractive light. I have a lot of admiration for this man and his humility.