वो फ़नकार क्यों अलविदा कह गया

यह कविता भारत एवं विश्व में एक विख्यात कलाकार, श्री इरफ़ान खान जी को, जिन्हे हम ने कुछ वर्ष पहले खो दिया,  एवं उनके अभिनय के लिए समर्पित है। 

रूपहले परदे पे छाप थी जिसकी,

अनगिनत ही एक परिमाप थी जिसकी,

जिसने था सबको ही कायल बनाया,

जीने का हर फ़लसफ़ा था दिखाया,

वो फ़नकार क्यों अलविदा कह गया। 

वो फ़नकार क्यों अलविदा कह गया। 

नाटक हो या हो छोटा परदा,

उसने है सबको भावुक बनाया।  

कभी गुदगुदाया, 

कभी था रुलाया। 

अभिनय भी ऐसा कि क्या भूल पाएं,

ताली औरआँसू कभी रुक न पाएं। 

उसकी चमक भी कोई क्या छुपाये,

जब पश्चिम में भी उसने परचम लहराया। 

हो 'मक़बूल', 'हैदर', 'चंद्रकांता' या 'हासिल',

उसका हुनर था तारीफ़ के काबिल।      

कभी बाग़ी बनके बन्दूक थामी,

कभी वो  दरोगा, कभी छात्र नेता।

कभी था वो क़ातिल, कभी मसखरा था ,

हर किरदार में वो हमेशा खरा था।    

वो बहरूपिया अब कहाँ रुक गया ,

वो फ़नकार क्यों अलविदा कह गया। 

Tujhe Sochta Hun song (Jannat 2) in My Voice.

Friends, this song is in my voice. Please listen to it and give your reviews.

Padmaavat: Hunt for the legendary Joker seems to end.

Before I start writing about the most controversial creation of 2017, let me advise you that never watch the Indian movies with the perspective of credible historical facts. Most of the movies are full of distorted facts. However, some movies are based on the credible sources, e.g. Black Friday (2008). 

Same stands true about Padmaavat. I assume that you are aware of the controversies involved in the movie and how the movie title was changed from Padmaavati to Padmaavat. However, this post is not about the validity of the alleged facts of the controversy. 

This post is about the whole movie, excluding its relation to the historical facts. 

Talking about direction and action scenes, the movie deserves applause. I had expected the same from Bhansali. However, those who have seen the Hollywood epic Troy (2004), they can relate the climax fight scene between Khilji and Rana Ratan to the climax fighting scene of Troy between Archilles and Hector.

Talking about the performance, I was eager to watch the performance of Ranveer Singh, ever since I watched the trailer of the movie last year. Performances of all actors are praiseworthy. But sometimes, the negative character eclipses the positive ones of the movie. The living example of it is The Dark Knight (2008), wherein the legendary Joker eclipsed the character of the Batman. And of course, the another and fresh example is Padmaavat, where the character of Khilji eclipsed that of Rana Ratan Singh.

I don't know, wheather Khilji was such a maniac and psycho as has been depicted in the movie. But whatever performance has been done by Ranveer, it seems to be next to the legendary Joker of The Dark Knight (2008). He has been shown such a mean and maniac that it reminded me of the Joker. Even in some of the scenes, he has prevailed over Shahid Kapoor. If things are considered in an unbiased manner, Ranveer will bag the award for the best actor in negative role. 

However, the only disappointing thing, that I consider, has marred the character of Khilji, is the illogically inserted dance scene of Khalibali song.

Simply Unparalleled: Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro

Pavan Malhotra, the name that many of us might not have heard yet. There are many such names like Makrand Deshpande, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rajendra Gupta, Neelima Azeem, Vikram Gokhale, Surekha Sikri, Nishigandha.

These are not the stars of Hindi cinema industry but these are the actors who truly know the art of expression. If you don't believe me then you should switch to parallel cinema - a cinema that represents a true picture of Indian society.

Salim Lande Pe Mat Ro is one such gem of parallel cinema of year 1989, directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, with Pavan Malhotra as lead. The film won the 37th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1989 and 1990 National Film Award for Best Cinematography.

The film is depicts the period of the Hindutva mobilization of the 1980s, the consequent explosive communal conflict, and its impact on the lives of the young men of the minority Muslim community, represented by a working class Muslim family in Mumbai. Salim Pasha (Pavan Malhotra), a.k.a. Salim Landga is a small-time thief and goonda and lives with his parents and sister in a shady neighborhood where crime and illegal activities are accepted professions.

Fan: SRK proves why you should be his fan.

Every person is inspired by an icon or role model, whether in politics, economics or in entertainment domain. Some of them only follow such icons, others love their inspiration. But there evolved a new category of mass who revere their inspirations. At last there is another category of persons, who can prove to be a die-hard fan and if time comes they can prove to be deadly for their icon 

It is in the last category that we can classify Gaurav Chandna, I mean a fan of Aryan Khanna, a famous actor in Indian cinema industry. The most interesting thing is about what Chandna does to meet Khanna and what he does to realise what Khanna did wrong. The entire movie is centered at the grueling efforts by Chandna to meet him, rather hug him and more than that, it reveals how deadly a fan could be for a celebrity.

By the way, the Khanna and Chandna both are none other than SRK himself. And I bet, after watching the thrill-packed Fan, you will find the answer why SRK has a bigger fan following than his rivals. For me the reason is not Khanna but it is Chandna.

The movie is full of thrill and till the climax I found it hard to believe that SRK is both the celebrity and the fan. Not only the physical appearance but also the body language and tone of both the characters put you in suspense and compel us to ask "how the hell can he be both simultaneously?"

Truly this movie gives a wings of hope for SRK fans make them forgive and forget SRK of Dilwale (2015).

BABY: the Daddy of many espionage flicks.

Being a fan of espionage movies like Mission: Impossible and Bourne series, I always wished if India could also produce such movies. Though it was quite late for Bollywood, the movies like Madras Cafe and D-Day were the movies that we hoped for.

This year's beginning was with another movie that doesn't lag behind in the quality of espionage genre. Yes I am talking about Baby.Baby is a 2015 Indian espionage action thriller film directed by Neeraj Pandey. The film stars Akshay Kumar in the lead role, along with Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher, Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon, Madhurima Tuli and Rasheed Naz in supporting roles. This movie was bound to be a high quality espionage thriller as it has the big guns of not only Indian cinema industry (such as  KK Menon, Anupam Kher, Danny etc.) but also the veteran actors outside our industry. 

I loved the dialogue of Menon (acting as Bilaal):

"Suna hai kasaab ko AC waala kamra diya tha. Kasaab se toh jyaada hi kiya humne".

Talking about the performance of Akshay Kumar, through his acting, he has shown that he is not the extinct specie in the Bollywood. 

And, obviously, the direction of Neeraj Pandey is above all of these factors, which makes it a great work.

My voice on Tere Hoke Rahenge.

After a long gap, I am blogging on Lexengine. This is the song Tere Hoke Rahenge from the movie Raja Natwarlal, in my voice. friends I need your response on this voice.

Notable Role (13/1000): Shahrukh Khan (Dil Se..)

Its an open secret that the fans of Salman Khan and Aamir Khan don't like the progressive news of Shahrukh Khan and criticize him for some reasons that need not be discussed here. Whatever the fans of Salman or Aamir argue, I say only one thing - Shahrukh Khan is neither famous for charity (as that of Being Human) nor he runs the shows of public welfare like Satyamev Jayate. Then what is the reason that makes him hold the position of King Khan? 

Obviously, its his acting. And Dil Se.. is the evidence of it. This movie, being a romantic thriller, puts before us the love story of two persons in the backdrop of terrorism.

The fans of Shahrukh Khan must use his acting in this movie to make his opponents tight lipped on this argument.

Here are few scenes of his memorable acting:

Shahrukh Khan (Amar) as a Radio Jockey In the All India Radio Station.

CBI Investigation with Amar.

Amar and Meghna's confrontation.

Must Watch: Masoom (1983).

The Indian film industry has been bestowed with such talented and adept actors and directors, it becomes obvious after you watch the year 1983 movie Masoom, which was adaption of the novel Man, Woman and Child (1980) written by Erich Segal.

The movie has been directed by the internationally renowned director Shekhar Kapur. The other renowned names that add to its glory are Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. So, obviously, this movie has to have something special. Well, my reason for watching this movie is neither of them but the song Tujhse naraaz nahi zindagi (which has the mesmerized voice of Lataji and similar track in the voice of Anup Ghosal).

Playing the role of kids, Urmila Mantodkar and Jugal Hansraaj have made the team of the movie very strong and emphatic. 

In my own words, successful movie is like a chair that has the pillars of a good direction, good acting, good story and good melody. This movie doesn't lack in any of them.

Notable Role (12/1000): Nawazuddin Siddiqi (Kick).

Watching this movie was a good experience for me as far as the role of Nawazuddin Siddiqi goes. He played the role of villain named Shiv Ghazra. His performance in the movie reminds me of the Joker (the legendary character in the movie industry across the globe.

Being famous for his performance in the Gangs of Wasseypur series, where he became famous as Faizal Khan, he deserved more chances. Kick was right choice for him. His style of dialogue delivery, which involved his strange laughter and songs of old Bollywood classic movies, makes him a remarkable character.
In a nutshell, I found the great actor, who can emulate the legendary Joker of The Dark Knight.

Kick: Nawazuddin delivers the real kick

This Eid the Rambo Khan's, i.e, Salman bhaai's fans expected a real kick ass movie. The trailer was also promising. But the movie can be appreciated on the count of the theme of welfare of the poor. 
Obviously, some stunts are illogical, specially the stunt in which the cycle crosses the track, leaving Devil behind. This stunt has been criticized a lot over the social media. But some stunts are good (like the scene in which Devil escapes the building in Poland).

But if I describe about the acting, it is Nawazuddin Siddiqi, who steals the show. In fact, in this movie, I see him as the Indian version of Joker (of famous Hollywood flick The Dark Knight).

His dialogue delivery is also full of fun and can be enjoyed again and again. This movie belongs to him.

Must Watch: Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women

Whether hit or flop, the movies like Matruboomi (2003) are remembered and acclaimed because of various reasons. This movie depicts the reality of the Indian society and exposes its path of progress in future. 

Discussing the subject matter of the movie, it can be said that this movie deserves imminent attention as the declining sex ratio is the cause of concern for country like ours. Apart from a dedicated team of real actors like Pankaj Jha, Sudhir Paney, Piyush Mishra and Shushant Singh, this movie deserves accolades because of direction by Manish Jha, which involves imaginative skill.

I am impressed with his focus on change of the attitude of the society regarding dowry system (as this time bride's family is being paid to get her married), which is similar to the pattern of sale of a girl.

In a nutshell, this movie is must watch for social cause and awareness as these movies mirror the Indian patriarchal society.

Notable Role (11/1000): Prashant Narayan (Murder 2).

Recently, watching the movie Ek Villain, which was released last week, I felt something missing. I tried to recall my filmi brain, (which is occupied by most Hindi movies), I found the missing thing. This had something to do with the character portrayed by Ritesh Deshmukh in the movie. I feel that movie was good, but it could have been better, had Prashant Narayan been roped instead of Ritesh.

I still remember the 1st sequel of Bhatt camp's Murder- Murder-2 -which was released in 2011. This movie still stands as one of the finest and most successful psycho horror of Bhatt (after Dushman). It is so because of the character portrayed by Prashant (Dheeraj Paney in the movie). It is due to his role, that this movie won several accolades.

His role stands as on of the best negative role ever performed in Bollywood.

Here are several scenes of the movie:

Interrogation scene.

Murder of college girl.

Notable Role (10/1000): Abhay Deol (Shanghai)

Unlike his siblings Sunny and Bobby, Abhay Deol is much known for the roles based on ground realities, be it Oye Lucky Lucky Oye or Dev-D or Socha Na Tha. The year 2012 movie Shanghai adds to his understanding and adaptability to the roles, that no one can perform better than him. 

In this movie, he has portrayed the character of an honest IAS officer, involved in the inquiry of an accident that was suspiciously murder attempt of a leader. Although much credit to the quality of the movie goes to Dibakar, its director, roles played by Abhay and Imran Hashmi have maintained the same.
One of the reasons to watch this movie is the actors itself.
Here is an example: 

Holiday: nightmare for Indian espionage movies

Watching the movies like Khiladi 786, Tees Maar Khan, Blue, I came to conclusion that the worst era of Akshay Kumar has begun as it was the case of Mithun Da in late 90s. However, the movies like Oh My God sent a ray of hope that Mr. Khiladi can still survive the heat of modern day competition on our box-office. 

The similar ray of hope flourished after I watched the trailer of the movie Holiday-A Soldier is Never Off Duty.

I went to watch the movie, considering that it will fall in category of movies like 16th December, Madras Cafe, D-Day, Vishwaroopam - the movies depicting the reality of espionage. 

But I was disappointed to see how a movie on the issue of grave problems like sleeper cells can be given the shape of a comedy flick. In fact this falls in line with conventional Indian movies, which are famous for the climax, showing how hero is beaten up by the villain and how he stands up and a mano-a-mano fight takes place. It was quite amusing to see the scene, when Akshay Kumar stands in the office of DIA and says "BOOM", because of his abrupt posture.

In my opinion, the real culprit is the audience, who wants the crap movies and who rejects the quality espionage movies.

Must Watch: Apaharan

If any one can focus on social issues surrounding the Indian common people, specially hailing from the BIMARU states like UP and Bihar, it is none other than Prakash Jha. Here I present before you my review about the year 2005 movie Apaharan, starring Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Yashpal Sharma and Chetan Pandit. 

After the much hype of social issue- based movies after the success of his Gangajal (2003), Mr. Jha has successfully delivered this movie on the theme of corruption that compels an innocent person to get involved in the whole systematic network of kidnapping mafia, prevailing in Bihar.

If talk about the performances of the actors, this time, unlike in Gangajal, the majority share for the success of this movie has to be credited to Nana Patekar. Apart from it, Ajay Devgan has given his best in presenting the youth who gets trapped in the whole network of kidnapping mafia, which is headed by Gaya Singh (Yashpal) and nurtured by Tabrez Aalam (Nana).

Also, I will not lag behind in appreciating the performance of Mukesh Tiwari, who has played the role of an honest IPS officer.

Must Watch: Children of War

Even if the Indian audience loves the movies of heroes with six-pack abs or hot divas and thumbs down the real and intense historical movies like Madras Cafe, I admire the courage of the director Mritunjay Devrat for throwing focus on the genocide during Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. One should admire the effort of the director to present the intense violent scenes depicting rape of many Bangladeshi women. 

Also, the performance of Pawan Malhotra in negative role of a Pakistani Amy personnel, deserves applauds. Apart from him the late Farooq Shekh has also left his impact on cinema industry by his humble role in the movie.

In a nutshell, if you courage to swallow the reality behind the liberation movement of 1971, the movie Children of War will make you cry and compel you to applause the efforts of Mr. Devrat.

Must Watch: Bhootnath Returns.

After watching his social awakening movie Main Aazad Hoon (1989) few years back on Set Max, I became fan of Big B in such roles. His latest recent with Bhootnath Returns proves that his aura and suitability for such roles has not faded. 

Opposed to the popular presumption, this movie is not only meant to be a comedy flick or kids' catgory movie. Rather it can be said to be a movie that explains us a lesson in our own way. Also, the theme picked by the producer, i.e. general elections, is the burning one, whose heat has set the Indian democracy on fire. 

Parth Bhalerao (the child named Akhrot) has complemented Big B in every manner in performance of the character of a ghost electoral candidate. 
also, we can't undermine the negative role of Boman Irani. In his role as Bhau, he seems to emulate and imbibe a true character of a local mafia. With some comic scenes and with awesome performances, this movie delivers a strong message on election and importance of voting in Indian democracy.

In a nutshell, when Bhootnath returns, our hope in democracy returns too.

Facing the music: Ankit Tiwari

Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari, who was arrested last week for allegedly raping a woman, moved a sessions court seeking bail.

Ankit Tiwari, who was remanded in judicial custody by local magistrate, filed the application for bail saying he was being falsely implicated in the case.

The 24-year-old singer said in his complaint that the concerned woman is already married and has a child. He also alleged that there are many contradictions in the complaint lodged by the woman, who is believed to be his girlfriend.

Ankit Tiwari, known for his song ‘Sun Raha Hai Na’ in Bollywood movie ‘Aashiqui 2′, was arrested on May 8 after the woman filed a case in Versova police station accusing him of sexually assaulting her between October 2012 and December 2013 on the promise of marrying her.

Ankit Tiwari’s brother Ankur was also apprehended for allegedly threatening the woman with dire consequences over a period of time if she files complaint in this regard.

Ankit Tiwari was booked under section 376 (punishment for rape), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), and section 506 (2) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.

Notable Role (8/1000): K K Menon (Shaurya).

The year 2008 movie Shaurya is based on the theme of AFSPA misuse in Jammu and Kashmire and is inspired from the 1992 Hollywood flick A Few Good Men. The difference between these two movies is that while the later one was known for the performance of the Hero, the former one will always be remembered for the role of Major Pratap played by K K Menon. 

The best scene from the movie, according to me, is the entry of K K Menon and his subsequent meeting with Rahul Bose, (who is our desi Cruise of this movie) is humiliated by Menon for his conduct over breakfast table. 

The other best scene was the climax, showing the cross-examination of Brigadier Pratap. In both the scenes, K K Menon proves to be better villain than Jack Nicholson (the Hollywood counterpart in A Few Good Men).

We have seen his mind blowing performances in Gulaal  and Black Friday. He is one actor who needs the focus of the eminent movie-makers like Anurag Kashyap, Shujit Sarkar and Tigmanshu Dhulia. Because only such eminent producers can tap the talent of actors like Menon. The best scenes of this movie include the flamboyant presence of Menon. These scenes are:

First meeting with Major Chaudhary.

Cross-examination of Pratap.