Zubeidaa [2001]

Rating: 7/10

I had put off watching this movie for years (Watched it in 2011) because i had an impression of it being an overdone drama. How wrong my impression was!!

And why did I decide to watch the movie at all? I loved the music, especially the songs "So Gaye hain", "Dheeme Dheeme", "Pyaara sa gaon", and "Mehndi hai rachnewali". I had some free time in my hands, and when I found the movie available on Youtube, I decided to watch it.. And my impressions were proved to be wrong.
  
'Zubeidaa' is a story based on the life of the writer's mother Zubeida Begum. This movie is the third installment of the trilogy of films, written by Mohammed, that were centralized around Indian Muslim women, and were directed by director Shyam Benegal.

Film critic and filmmaker Khalid Mohammed pays homage to his mother through the movie, as he never got to know his mother in real life. Khalid was a small boy when his mother died. When he grew up, he searched everywhere he could to find snapshots of his mother's life, and to quench his thirst to know more about her. In this movie, he recounts the trials he had to go through, and shares the story that emerged in front of him when he started digging.

The cast was superbly chosen. Manoj Bajpai displays his brilliant acting skills. Rekha and Karishma have also given great performances - Rekha as the gracious and majestic queen, and Karishma as the young, vivacious princess. A special mention of Lilette Dubey should also be made, as she did a fine piece of acting too.

Apart from being a true story, the movie shows how both types of marriages (a love marriage and an arranged marriage) can fail. Just like everything else under the sky, both kinds of marriages have their advantages and disadvantages. And here we get to see the disadvantages.

Having a very oppressive father and a weak mother character, Zubeida was forced into an arranged marriage. The marriage ends in a divorce just after her son Riyaz is born. Then she meets Maharaja Vijayendra Singh of Fatehpur and falls for him. The problem is that the Maharaja already has one wife, he his a hindu while Zubeida is a muslim, and she has to leave her son behind with her parents to join him as his second wife.

The story is handled well except for one detail. Riyaz follows through the story like a journalist would, not as a son would research his mother's life. His character is not given depth. He is only a prop.

 I loved the movie!! I loved the cast, the music, the sets, and the story (of course!). It's definitely worth a watch.

The Real Zubeida Begum

Holiday [1938]

Director: George Cukor
Writer: Philip Barry (Play)
            Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman (Screenplay)
Featuring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan


As i had noted earlier, 'Guess who's coming to Dinner' made me want to watch all of Katharine Hepburn's movies. So, I started with one of her earlier films - "Holiday".
Although this movie was a flop when it was released, it got termed as a Classic later on. Maybe the time just wasn't right when the movie was released, because it didn't deserve a flop. As stated in Wikipedia, "Hepburn biographers have speculated that Johnny's plans to give up working did not appeal to the 'Great Depression' audiences who were struggling to find jobs".

Johnny (Cary Grant) is about to marry a girl Julia (Doris Nolan) when he learns that she is a millionaire's daughter. He feels a little uneasy with the wealth and the lifestyle but still sticks with his marriage plans as he believes he is in love with Julia.
He then meets Julia's father, her sister Linda, and her brother Ned. Linda is referred to as the black sheep of the family, and the long-suffering Ned, trapped in a world where he doesn't belong, is almost always drunk.

Linda (Katharine Hepburn), being the loyal and protective elder sister, wants to know everything about her sister's fiancé. Johnny, wanting to know more about his fiancé's family, finds Linda to be someone who shares his ideals and understands his dreams.
It turns out that Linda has more in common with Johnny than her sister does, and they instantly hit it off and become good friends.

Linda and Johnny are attracted to each other. But, both of them deny it, even to themselves, due to their loyalty to Julia.

The tables get turned when Julia doesn't seem to understand Johnny's plans for a "holiday" in the early years of his life, and pressurizes him to join the family business. Johnny, who doesn't care to have more money than is just enough for a living, starts to rebel. Now, Johnny has to decide whether his love for Julia is enough for him to desert his plans for the "holiday", and has to decide on which sister he wants to spend his life with.

Other characters of note were of Johnny's friends Professor Nick Potter (Edward Everett Horton) and Susan Potter (Jean Dixon), and of Linda's sympathetic brother Ned (Lew Ayres). The acrobatic sequence by Katharine and Cary, and the antics of Johnny's friends are very charming.

It was interesting to look at the lifestyle of the wealthy as depicted in the movie. Also, as I had just read in a book ("Everyday Living" to be precise - a must read!!) a description of how introductions are to be made, I found it delightful to note how the characters made the introductions in the good, old-fashioned way. Movie clips of these 'introduction' scenes should be shown to kids while teaching them good manners.

Rating: 7/10

Like Water For Chocolate (Como agua para chocolate) [1992]

Director: Alfonso Arau
Writer: Laura Esquivel
Featuring: Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos

This is a Mexican film based on a novel published in 1989 by a Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel.
The narrator tells the story of her aunt in a folklore fashion.

Her aunt Tita was the youngest child in her family. As per the family tradition, the youngest girl was not allowed to marry and was supposed to take care of her parents in their old age. Tita was not allowed to marry her true love Pedro whom she had loved since childhood, and who had loved her as much. Not only did that ruin their lives, it affected those around them too.

The story narration has a mystic quality to it. Tita is depicted to have a magic ability of pouring her emotions into her cooking, thus making others feel what she is feeling when they taste food cooked by her.

The movie was ok (bending towards good), and one could even say it was interesting. But I found this movie a little weird because it depicted that one can actually die of happiness. I have heard the hindi phrase "khushi se mar jaoonga/gi" (I'll die of happiness) in movie dialogues, but this movie actually showed that a person can die of extreme happiness.

 Rating: 6/10

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner [1967]

Tagline: A love story of today

Director: Stanley Kramer
Writer: William Rose
Featuring: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Katherine Houghton

One fine day, you bring home to your parents a guy they hadn't even heard of before, and announce your engagement to him. And as if that's not enough, add the fact that you are a white girl and your fiancé is a negro.
Any parent would suffer a little shock on suddenly stumbling on the news. And when Joey brings home Dr. John Prentice, whom she met 10 days back while on a vacation in Hawaii, and announces her plans to marry him in the next week, her parents Matt and Christina Drayton are taken aback.
Matt and Christina's liberal attitudes are now put to test for although John is an ideal choice (highly respected internationally in the medical field, well mannered, and mature), he's black.

This movie was made at a time when inter-racial marriages were still illegal in some of the US states. It was meant to educate people that a deep and sacred feeling such as love should not be smothered because of superficial reasons such as difference in colour, caste, or creed. When a couple knows very well their differences and the problems they might face in the future, and they still want to be together, it would be a tragedy if they are kept from marrying each other - because theirs is a love that is true. 


"If they know what lies in store for them and they still want each other enough to accept it, i think it's plain as anything that they love each other very much. And you'll have to agree that any two people who love each other that much deserve all the best luck in the world."

 

Katharine Hepburn looks lovely in the movie. This movie introduced me to her and made me want to see more of her movies. On searching online, I came to know that she is considered one of the top screen actors of all time, being ranked by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star in the history of American cinema. I wonder why i had not got introduced to her earlier. I am planning to cover more of her movies now.

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn's acting is natural and beautiful. They share a charming chemistry on screen. I hear they were a famous pairing, with 9 movies together, and I could see why in this movie. Love seems to radiate from the screen when they are together in a scene.
Tracy's health was so poor during the making of this movie that people were doubtful if he would be able to complete the film. But, he did and a good thing too because it would be hard to replace such a fine actor. He passed away just 17 days after the completion of the project. I read somewhere that Katharine's tears were real in the final scene where Tracy makes his speech, as each one of those present knew that these might be the last words Tracy ever said on screen.

The song "The Glory of love" that plays in the opening and closing credits brings a smile to your face and creates a picture of sunshine and love in your mind.
I also came across a trivia that the main character Carl in Pixar's  "Up" was based on Tracy in this movie. No wonder watching Tracy in this movie reminded me of Carl (As I had already watched Up)

I really liked this movie. Special recommendations to parents whose children want to marry for love, especially inter-caste/religion/nationality/etc.. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Chupke Chupke [1975]

A very good light-hearted comedy. Newly-wed couple Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore receive an invitation from Sharmila's jijaji (brother-in-law) to stay at her jijaji's place for some days. Sharmila's jijaji boasts of never being fooled by anyone and Sharmila is fascinated by her jijaji's intelligence. So, Dharmendra, in a bid to impress his wife decides to pull off a practical joke on her jijaji - with full support from his wife and his friends.
What follows is a delightful series of events.. Sharmila goes to her jijaji's place alone quoting important work as the reason for her husbands absence, and Dharmendra makes his entry as the new driver.
Dharmendra has fun pulling jijaji's leg in the pretext of learning English ("T-O is pronounced as TOO, D-O is pronounced as DOO, then why is G-O not pronounced as GOO") , and fooling around with Sharmila - sometimes 'chupke chupke' (secretly) and sometimes right under jijaji's nose (literally) :D

Adding to the fun, English Professor and Dharmendra's friend,  Amitabh enters into the prank in the role of Sharmila's husband , and then fools around with Jaya Bhaduri.

Sharmila's jijaji and sister, confused and perplexed, don't know how to react to the situations placed in front of them.

The Acting is convincing and the Storyline is good. Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee displays wonderful talent in comedy. None of it is overdone (as is sometimes done in the movies these days), and it provides plenty of laughs. Also songs 'Chupke chupke chal re purwaiya' and 'Ab ke sajan saawan mein', brilliantly sung by Lata Mangeshkar, deserve a mention.
Watch the movie with your family. This makes for a good watch - 2 and a 1/2 hours well spent.

Rating: 9/10


Ab ke sajan Saawan mein - I love this song

Just Like Heaven [2005]

Director: Mark Waters

This one is a romantic comedy.

Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon) is a workaholic doctor. Due to a tragic accident, Elizabeth's spirit gets caught up between heaven and earth. David (Mark Ruffalo), a lonely landscape architect, moves into the apartment where Elizabeth used to live and finds the place haunted by her spirit. As Elizabeth doesn't remember anything about her past life, David agrees to help her find out who she is. Eventually, they fall in love. But, there's still the problem of Elizabeth not really being alive..

One or two times, the story tends to be a bit overdramatic. But overall, it makes for a good watch. A good way to spend a rainy day.

My Rating: 3.5/5