Tag: Amitabh Bachhan

Movie – Sarkar 3.

The long awaited sequel to Sarkar and Sarkar Raj finally reached our theatres last Friday and I was able to see it yesterday after sacrificing my siesta for an inconveniently timed matinee show. The inconvenience however was worth it and I came away satisfied with the outing.

Caveat, while this movie can be seen on a stand alone basis, it is better that viewers see the earlier two films of the franchise to follow the thread that otherwise can be a bit confusing. Somewhat like seeing the Godfather III without having seen the earlier two in the series.

Amitabh Bachhan expectedly produces a very professional and impressive performance and is ably supported by a remarkable cast. Prior to going to see the film, I had not noticed that Yami Gautam was also in it and was very pleasantly surprised to see her in it though her role is peripheral to the main story and almost a cameo one. My readers will recollect my writing about her in my review of Kaabil.

I did not have great expectations from Amit Sadh, having seen him earlier in Kai Po Che and Sultan, but in this film, he has produced a remarkable performance. Not an easy task considering the calibre of the rest of the cast.

Ram Gopal Verma’s direction is up to his usual skilful tricks with light and sound. He effectively brings out the darkness surrounding the theme. Some exaggeration in depicting Manoj Bajpayee and Jackie Shroff can be forgiven given the characters that they portray.

A good entertaining film to watch during a warm afternoon when the air conditioning makes you forget the heat outside. And, Shackman, I did not have popcorn, but did indulge in a couple of samosas during the intermission.

Raees.

I am not a fan of Shah Rukh Khan but having seen the trailer of Raees, and reading good reviews of  it, I went to see it yesterday. I had another reason for wanting to see the film and that was that I had met the character portrayed in the film in Ahmedabad a couple of times in the mid 1980s. Not as my bootlegger but as an important personage attending a couple of weddings that I had gone to attend too.

Good story, direction, cinematography, unobtrusive music and great editing makes for an enjoyable experience.  I enjoyed the movie and recommend it to all my readers who like to see Bollywood films.

Having said that, let me talk about the actors. Leaving aside the three main actors, every one without exception produces professional performances even in the smallest and shortest of roles. Speaks volumes for direction.

SRK disappoints. He tries to do what Amitabh Bacchan did as the angry young man in the 1980s and fails miserably. He is reputed to be a suave actor in romantic scenes but in this film, he fails miserably with wooden performances in such scenes. I suspect that had he just tried to be himself, he would have come across better in the role.

On the other hand, Nawazuddin Siddiqui though under utilised, steals every scene that he appears in with effortless ease. There is one particular scene where his senior police officer ticks him off and he responds with a cool “Jai Hind” that is simply breathtaking.

The leading lady, a Pakistani actress Mahira Khan produces a professional performance without being overawed by the presence of the star hero. I however wonder why an Indian actress could not have been found for the role.

Alopecia Totalis.

This post has been inspired by two developments. The first one was during a chat with a friend when I was told that women wear wigs after loss of hair following treatment for cancer and that the care giver must be aware of the discomfort that a wig can cause on sensitive skin. This led me to speculate on why people wear wigs at all. My friend and I concluded that it was due to vanity and a sense of insecurity. I however wondered why more men go bald than women and am yet to find a satisfactory answer.

I am quite bald. My top is almost totally bald and the few hairs that I have are on the fringes. It has never bothered me and I never tried anything to prevent hair loss or tried to cover the baldness with a wig. So, it always amuses me to see men wearing wigs which makes them look comic rather than attractive. At least to me, they do.

Here are two great baldies. Just see how handsome they are.

For the uninitiated, they are Telly Savallas and Yul Brynner. I wish that I could go completely bald like they look here. The condition is called Alopecia Totalis, the title of this post. If I could get there, I will save a lot of money and time spent at the barbers. May be, I will look better too! What do you think?

The point is that these two stars did not hide their baldness. We in India have a star Rajnikant, who in real life does not cover his baldness with wigs and this is what he looks like when he is not acting.

And when he is acting in a role, this is what he looks like.

Rajnikanth is a super star in South India, and his fan following does not mind seeing him in his natural avatar.

On the other hand, we have a North Indian super star Amitabh Bachhan who refuses to be seen off screen or on it without a wig.

Another old fading star Dev Anand looks really comic with his wig.

After all those observations of my likes and dislikes about wigs, I come to the second inspiration for this post. That is Conrad’s post – Hmmm … Have I Become My Own Imposter? You must read my comments there to appreciate my views on baldness. To add further masala, Looney‘s comment there is worth its weight in gold.

There is a grand looking lady who comes to our local park for walks who is almost totally bald. She does not cover her head or wear a wig. When I mentioned this to my friend on the chat, she promptly advised me to stop her in her tracks and ask her for an interview. Once the rains stop and I resume my walks, I intend doing precisely that and shall hopefully have a woman’s point of view on this very interesting subject.

Do any of my lady readers have some information on courageous bald women who do not wear wigs? I would appreciate some feed back and perhaps even a guest post.