wtf! Ajab prem is fab

Funky. Funny. Fictional. Familiar. Filmy. Flimsy. First grade. Fresh. Formula. Flawed. Fast-paced. Fantasy. Feel good. Far fetched. Fantastic. I know these are more F words than one finds in a Shobha De Novel but it’s my way to describe a movie as unique as Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

APKGK (as it is called here onwards) marks return of Raj Kumar Santoshi – the funny man who tickled our bones.... oops the man who tickled our funny bones with Andaz apna apna many years ago. His other ventures like Ghayal, Ghatak Damini, Lajja & Khakee have all been impactful films where his vision clearly outshines strong performances which he is known for. In APKGK however it’s difficult to say who is a bigger winner – the puppet - Ranbir or the puppeteer - Raj Kumar Santoshi.

In APKGK, the duo R&R (Raj Santoshi & Ranbir) bring alive a protagonist who is naive at the core but clever on surface like so many of us. He is champ of his own game but loser in real sense. His world is mundane and small but he is larger than life as everything revolves around him and his deeds. This is what makes APKGK different.

Now coming to the story, well there’s hardly any but it ain’t the case of regular Bollywood funda of the makers wanted to make something else, but script turned out different, stars threw tantrums and finally film ended up without a real story. It’s an integral part of the experience where Prem’s kahaani was to be ordinary if wasn’t set in his quirky crazy world. So story takes a backseat and we venture into Prem’s world, his ability to laugh away his Dad’s ire, his need to be leader of the loser clan, his love that is unspoken and his brilliance of being himself. Clever screenplay does the trick.

Narrative is as zany and unique as Prem’s insanity – that keeps the film from being a sad, dramatic – loser in love tale that Tusshar Kapoor is a posterboy of. A talking statue in middle of the town narrating the most bizarre love story while a journo cleans the droppings off his back – beat that. If that’s not chuckle worthy bizarre – get your sense of humour back on guys – David Dhawan variety tales of infidelity and Priyadarshan’s supposed ensemble cast sit com’s do not a funny film make

R&R bring to us hilarity in clean fun manner without dragging like the mother using her charm on father to save son in her hema malini style seductive voice and father singing to please her – such cuteness, Ranbir wearing katrina’s top and meeting the prospective bride’s family, villains and Ranbir’s planning of same attire for same kidnapping task , the non veg eating scene, job scenario as halwai’s assistant, climax fight at villain’s den - all bring a big time chuckle. Intelligent dialogues, First rate music and few well handled emotional moments along with Katrina (who says more than 10 lines in a movie for the first time I guess) all make APKGK – a must see even if its a one time watch for most people.

Editing is patchy, background music cool, cinematography inconsistent, art direction is class, choreography and costumes are above average too but AGKPK shows how when a director is true to the subject and a producer understands the tone of the movie to use it in marketing, what great results come in. The movie made me forget the woes of a hard day at work and surely was entertaining in true sense. As far as those who measure originality by story – dudes, jaane tu ya jaane na also had a cliché plot, so did guru at the face of it but great technical team, actors and effective marketing made these films distinct and memorable. Lets say that ajab prem and his ghazab kahaani both get a thumbs up from me... Kudos R&R, filmfare is awaiting you J

Ode to the Nice Guys

This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny

/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Fu-zu Jen, SEAS/WH, 2003