Me and Cinema - Part 2  

Posted by Vee

Continued from Part 1

The seeds of frenzy for cinema were sown.

My father held that position for a good 4 years till he was transferred to Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh. In those 4 years, I watched close to 250 movies. I had a small notebook maintained of the movies I watched beside other details like cast, director, date of watching et al.

Eventually, new releases started hitting the defense theater as well. The first movie ever which I saw on the first day of release was Govinda’s Ilzaam and incidentally it was his debut movie as well. I do not remember much of that but same year Govinda had another release, Love 86http://blessed-curse.blogspot.com/2009/04/me-and-cinema-part-1.html and I saw that movie 3 times. Govinda instantly took over from Mithun as my favorite. Mithun and his Disco Dancer had left a massive impression on me and those days I could be found fighting with my brother for his stance that Amitabh Bachchan can kill Mithun with one punch. There were no arguments on who is better actor; that did not matter to us then as I recall now. There used to be just fights between us for who can defeat whom if they get in a brawl. Another point I used to put forward was Mithun is a good dancer and Amitabh cannot dance at all. For which my brother retorted with this: Mithun is Nachaniya (slang for cross dressers who dance in weddings up north) and Amitabh is real MARD.

All the time he said this, I did something horrible to him (apart from the ongoing punches and kicks we exchanged). Once, while playing in school during interval, I pronto jumped at him, snatched his glasses and threw far away and ran like hell. Or like pulling his knicker down during the assembly, stuffing his lunchbox with sand, emptying his water bottle.

And all this because of he had bad mouthed Mithun.

Govinda after that movie was my favorite for sometime till I saw a movie released much earlier than Love 86. It was Vinod Khann’s Hera Pheri. Well, it was Amitabh’s too but I was never Amitabh's fan. I had seen other movies of Vinod but Hera Pheri transformed me into a bona fide fan of his. And I knew I was his only fan. No one and I say as a matter of fact, no one in my vicinity ever said that Vinod is their favorite. If few did vouch for Mithun or Govinda, no one mentioned Vinod. I now know I was yet to meet some people who were sensible enough to appreciate what an actor he was and thankfully I do now know many such people and particularly few ladies who appreciate a lot more in him than his persona. I know one such who still gets weak-kneed speaking of him.

When it came to heroines, I was absolutely besotted with Sri Devi from then till now. I need a whole different post to talk of her. So, I am going to talk of other few who enormously caught my interest. There was Neetu Singh and her gleaming smile. Dekh Ke Tumko Dil Dola Hai song had three couples; Vinod and Neetu amongst them but not paired opposite. I was not so happy with that information. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoy that song (if not the movie) even now when I see it on some channel.

Bollywood then always came up with movies which were like mind puzzles. Whose son/daughter was born where, raised by whom, finally ending where to avenge whatever crime that was committed by whomever gazillion years ago? And I enjoyed all of them. One such was Dharamveer starring Dharamendra, Zeenat, Jeetendra and Neetu. Chuck all, Neetu was the one for me.

Amrita Singh was another who caught my fancy. I was upset with Mayapuri for calling her ‘Mard Singh’ and I was overtly glad few years later when Jackie Shroff called her the ‘Real Princess’. I am not sure if it was Jackie or someone else. I remember reading that though. Whoever it was knew the real her like I always knew.

As I grew older, I also criticized these very favorites of mine (Mithun, Vinod, Neetu, Amrita) for their idiotic roles and bizarre performances. I knew then, I cannot be anyone’s fan just for the sake of it. I found myself to be blatant in my opinion by the age of 10.

The seeds of unprejudiced position for performances were sown.

P.S. A little diversion here: I am not liking the posts/blogs written on MJ's death and how sad people who are writing these are after hearing he is finished.

When he was alive, none of these people wrote post/blog on 'how good an artiste he was' but post his death everyone seems to be mourning his death out of no where. Be it Shekhar Kapoor, Ram Gopal Varma, Adnan Sami or my fellow blog mates; everyone seems to get up from sleep to say something about him. I like anyone else grew up on his music but I never captured him in my writings all this while; so I see no reason to imprison him in my words post his demise.

I commiserate the sentiment of those who spoke of him. In fact, I did go and comment on few of the blogs which spoke of MJ’s death; but I did that out of friendship with the blogger friend who wrote the piece. I do not wish to offend anyone here by saying this; nonetheless I am finding it very uncanny to read plethora of piece upon his death.

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38 Pointless but Viscous Comments.

Vinod Khanna never did anything mindless. I had seen him earlier in films like Purab aur Paschim, but I really flipped for him in Elan which starred Vinod Mehra and Rekha. In his first scene in the film, he is in a jail and gets up from a bunk, grimy and chewing a straw.. wooooo.. i was lost.

I think Achanak and Shaque are absolutely not to be missed.

I saw your facebook thingie on MJ too. Lekin, sach me, atleast for me, I really really feel sad about MJ. I know many ppl are just riding the mass hysteria wave, but I really am thinking about him all the time, his sad childhood, the sad way his youngest is called 'blanket' and his unknown mother.

I couldn't have agreed more about those posts on MJ's death. But yeah, MJ died too soon..I'm sure he had much more to offer, especially with his planned comeback concert in London. I actually know a few people in Manchester who had bought tickets for the concert..just think how much heartbreak those fans must have got.

Anyway, coming back to Bollywood..Sridevi was my personal favourite too when I was young. I have no idea about how many times I've watched Mr.India, Chaalbaaz and Khuda Gawah just because of her. What an actress! I also enjoyed the non-sensical Judaai, all because of Sridevi ;-)

She needs to make a big comeback. What do you think?

I started watching movies like a man possessed only after I went to Mumbai in mid 2005. In Mandya, they used to release only those hindi movies that were super hits and that too after one or two months after its release. This holds good even today I guess. I used to watch quite a few Kannda movies though.

I was a fan of Sridevi too :)
Nageena, Nigahein :D

I am not liking the posts on MJ too. But this happens all the time. Nobody remembers a person when he or she is alive. This actually reminded me of the status msg you had put up few days back regarding birthdays.

hey
is your story finished? it feels incomplete! But quite an engrossing read this :-)
I have liked Vinod K too! He is so very dashing. Loved him in 99 as well!
Would beg to differ on amrita but to each his own :-)
And yes Sri babe has been my fav too! Infact loved her even in her non glamorous Tamil movies too! Have you seen Johny? Starring Rajnikant and Sri? Please do. They both are too good in it
More later! thumb aching ;-)

this is getting more n more interesting. as WIAN says it seems like more is to come. waiting for part 3.

awesome post bro. it was deja vu for me. me n my bro used to fight like dawgs. but i wud always get beaten up by him, cuz he was into judo karate. damn. anyways.. u rawk. keep 'em comin.

hehe bhai,... when i was kid i was rambo fan, never liked any indian stars all were so bulky...

BTW
what's the plan big B...

bhai ko lagao aa pass...kuch karein ek sath...Vodka bhai vodka...

I never liked Mithun and thats because of his doofus like voice :D

and Im still Govindas fan. I feel he is still so under utilized. He stereotyped himself way too much.

Oh, let me add this too, Amrita was my fav too. I fell in love with her, watching Chameli Ki Shaadi; for some reason, I love that movie too.

Regarding MJ, Im one of them too who had a post on him. Again, to each his/her own. I believe that most of the posts, or atleast mine, came out of the shock and not for any kind of mourning. I reduced to tears when they played 'You are not alone' on TV along with the news. I couldnt control and wanted to bring it out somehow and thats why my post were on the songs lyrics. But I definitely understand what you actually meant; no one cared to write about him when he was alive. As I said, it was more of a shock. I donno how logical this example is, but dont we find posts related to terrorism or the Sena folks only when we are actually attacked? Its just that find it easier to express or shock our shock through this window.

On a lighter note, none had attempted to write about Shiney Ahuja before. But in certain blogs, for a couple of weeks, it was just him ! :D :D

I was never a great fan of Mithun, but still am a huge fan of Govinda. The best dancer and the best comic we have ever had! BTW, he completely demolished Amitabh in Bade Miyan, Chote Miyan.

As for MJ - it's not just him, it's for any 'phoren' celeb. They get these useless Indian page 3 types to write on that person as if they were best friends! Complete bullshit.

Cheers,

Quirky Indian

Quirky Indian

Wow! 250 flicks in 4 years and that translates to 5+ a month! That's Wow!

And yes, that about MJ was very valid! Its perhaps the fact of us hypocrites who bitch and moan about the living and idolize the dead!

@Ava, I know. I remember discussing him with you. I find him a far better actor than those who are referred as Superstars...

As I said, few did write out of sadness and it reflected in their posts. Needless to say, yours was. But I have seen many more posts written on an impulse; for the heck of it.

@Bhargav, Yups, too soon.

Sridevi was a class apart. I am yet to meet someone who has not liked her at all; not even once. One of those actress who could run the show one her own.

She should make a comeback. Definitely.

@Varun, I guess that's the state of majority of towns across India. They only release the hit ones (after a month or two) or some b/c-grade ones.

Nagina, Nigahein.. Oooohh

Well, so you did read that status on B'day. I had read that in RGV's blog and had put it. But not all appreciated that. And this indeed is something like that. Thnx.

@WIAN, Wowdie. I liked him too in 99. Not many have seen that movie and m glad you did.

No, it's not finished. I guess you asked of that MJ thing I added in the end. I had to say that;said so in PS. My story will continue. :)

I haven't seen Johnny, but I did read about it on Wiki now and saw a scene on Youtube. Thanks, its added in list now.

@BB, Hehe, thnx. I will. But I am darn lazy. Beyond anyone's imagination including mine sometimes.

@Magik, Wah, ladai ke bina maza hi kya. As you told, Prabhuji rocked always. Thanks.

@Rabbit, Munna plan vlan ye hai ki I am throwing a big party in August 1st week. Try to come to B'lore.

Indian stars bulky? And thats ur reason for not linking any? Hhahaa, U crack me up....

bhai...
all fatty stars...i don't like fat fat !

BTW August...kya chal raha hai yeh to batao.>???
and me kasie aa sakta hoon...bhool gaye ...DELL...bu hu hu

@Vimmuuu, Doofus voice? Lolz.. I think he is a very fine actor... His recent one 'Guru' was one of his finest.

Govinda, in fact has lost his charm after Bade Miyan... and Haseena Maan...I do not like him anymore.

Ye, you too had written on MJ; there is no need to justify as my aim was not you or Ava. I am talking of the posts few wrote which made me wonder 'Do they know MJ at all'? "What a sad news", "Oh poor him" and all that. You can make out which post is written from heart and which is not. :)

@Quirky, Absolutely. Like I say "Khaa jaana pura" lol.. Govinda puraa khaa gaya AB ko BMCM me. :)

And rightly said about our hypocritical society.

@Rakesh, :) I was lucky I guess.

Rightly said about the hypocrites.

@Rabbit, I know I know. Batata hun.

I liked neetu singh too! But Mithun?? :D And u were one bad brother!!

@Reema, I still like Mithun. And I still am the bad one.

I have never liked Mithun. I think he took all the wrong kind of roles. He was good in Guru and he should have done more sensible roles.
Govinda is typecasted but he is good in a few movies. Amrita was her best in Chameli Ki Shadi. Sridevi...yes...she was something. :)
Vinod Khanna...I think he was a truly handsome actor of his time.

@Amit, Agree to all. Still, Mithun was/is good. ;)

I never liked Mithun till I saw him in Dance India Dance :-)

Franjly speaking I have never liked or disliked any star till Salman Khan came in my life :-)

I always liked the Dev Anand but there was hysteria in my liking :-)

You HAD to say something abiyt MJ Haan???


Waiting for the next part, which will come in next 3-4 months right?

Anonymous  

These posts are interesting Vee. Keep them coming. I remember I was a Mithun fan as well and tell your brother to see 'Boxer' - amazing action Movie - equivalent of Rocky in India :) But no, seriously, at that time, I loved the movie. I still remember, I watched it at a small private theatre - the one where someone illegally puts a VCR in a small room and puts some chairs and a mat on the floor. Chair is 5 rupees, floor is 2 rupees.

I loved Sridevi ever since I saw that advert - Cema Bulbs and Tubes... She was the only one I recognised. I wanted to marry her or at least someone who looked exactly like her :)

@Smita, how well u know me... bang on...3-4 months lol....

U did not like him at least in 'Agneepath'??? Do u know he had won national award for his debut movie which was in Bangla.

Yeah, I know your hysteria abt Devanand. I would agree he was good, but he was equally bad when he started directing.

And Same goes for Salman. I too like him but now that rumors r doing rounds that he might turn director with Veer, he will be equally bad...;)

@Rakesh Bhai, Kitthe ho? back from Yemen?

Well yes, I too have seen movies in those settings...those were some days.

It was a double treat whenever Mithun n Sri were paired..:). Of course, we saw Boxer but u can't help it much when ur bro has to be against u for no reasons. Even I have been against him just for the heck of it (though agreed to his choices deep inside heart)..

Sri was an enchanting lady. As a Kid I was totally smitten by her and still find her beautiful as ever.

Anonymous  

And remember the movie - Pyar Jhukta Nahin... Man those were some songs. Once I heard that song - Aaj ka apna pyar nahin hai,
Janmon ka yeh nata hai, yeh nata hai... Tumse milkar...

I loved that song so much that I asked my dad to get a VCR on rent and I will sell tickets to everyone for watching the movie at the same price :)

Finally my dad got the VCR and the entire colony watched the movie for free in our verandah!

yeah don't even get me started on all the media hypocrisy. of course, they need to sell papers, but still lame as fuck singing praises after death. but for usual people, people on blogs, I was thinking MJ's passing is one of those stages where a very large proportion of people actually knew him.. MJ was more of a household name with a fairly huge following as supposed to someone famous years ago and not loved by the younger gen, know what I mean? thus the over lashback. I don't know, I'm just guessing. atleast for me. wasn't a huge fan, loved all of his proper hits though.

also, old old mithun da full of life, still rules the dance floor I must give him that.

also also, sucks to be young missing out on bollywood old gold. thinking of lining up 20 dozen DVDs of classic retro bollywood and watching all day. please do a reccomendations post sometime.

@Rakesh Bhai, Oh yes, Padmini and Mithun.. I remember they had etched a heart on tree and the song u mentioned comes then...:)

Haha, u used to sell tickets.. lol.. Man, why do not you share such stories through posts.. it will be fun..

@Vaudevillian, U r bang on. And not just media; people at the same time too. U r right about the people on blog knowing him. What I meant was that, "Why sudden overflow of emotion upon his death. Why was he not captured in their writings now and then." And yes, I also agree to the fact the generation now is not that aware of his work and know him through the controversies which media highlighted. I did read few genuine obituaries but most of them were just riding the hysteria.

I am glad you appreciate Mithun. And as I like writing on movies; not a bad idea for a recco post. Lets see.

Hi Vee,

Sridevi's beautiful!:)Every time I see her appear in those 'Alukkas' ads mind only utters
"Come back lady,we miss you"

No doubt, most of the postumuous praises showered on MJ sound very hollow.

@Shayari, :) I know. We surely miss her.

Btw, all went well?

You know what, some years back I have discovered my pa' secret diary and he too use to make logs all movie he has seen, with theatre names etc. And second revealation that Govinda n mithun were my hot fav in childhood. 3rd reveletion- We too use to have same fights ki koun ek punch mein kisko maarta hai....And so much that i never like Amitabh bachchan earlier as he was my elder bro' favorite... 4th revealetion- Mayapuri... Gosh...your blog rocks!!! And you got a new fan.


PS: you are right in ur opinion about MJ. Yes incl me no one bothered when he was alive but that is one sad part of human nature. We are late risers, we miss the person when he is dead and ignore when alive. I agree with you. In fact I too wrote a tribute to him and cried while writing/reading/thinking. But trust me only after his death i realized the importance and significance, like other fellow bloggers. I hope i have done justice to his tribute, wish he cud ve read it.

@Ekta, So many revelations at one go. I am quite amazed to find so many similarities. Whoa!!!

I am yet to read your post on MJ. Will do so soon and give my honest opinion whether you did justice or not. Thanks.

All went well, Vee.Thanks:)

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