Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Now and then

Maine Pyar Kiya.

"I fell in love."

It is true. It was a movie I fell in love with once upon a time.

And last weekend, there I was, sitting with my huge bowl of salad and fruit cocktail, watching it to take a break from my assignments and laughing harder than I had laughed when I saw the Russel Peters video.

PART 1

Long ago, MPK was a movie I could identify with. I could feel the struggle of the two lovers. Nothing seemed sappy or tacky about it. It was the movie of the year. But today, perhaps it doesn't hold that meaning for me any more. In fact, I laugh at scenes that once made me go "Awwww..."

And here's why instead of a love story, now it seemed like a stand-up comedy. My analysis, organised by categories.

Character

I could not believe that once upon a time I'd actually wanted to be like Suman's character! Long hair in two plaits, girly salwar kameez, the works. And she’s a pretty one, no doubt about that. Just that her kind of ‘pretty’ is not ‘in’ anymore. In those days, you could be a Suman and get away with it. In today’s world, you gotta be hot too. In fact, you gotta have a Suman's values, an Aishwarya’s face and a Shilpa Shetty’s body to make it. In those days, if you were hot, you were probably the vamp without values (though the vamp Seema in MPK was not hot at all by today's standards). Back then, Suman was the ‘perfect girl’. Today, the character would be considered ‘aunty material’.

And then, suddenly, you wonder what happened to Suman’s righteous values when in the opening scene, within two minutes, she uses a cane to strike her father because he was late for class? And she hit him so hard that the twenty odd kids around them winced! Errr… that was not even cute, dude.

And what was with that ultra-ultra-ultra sweet voice? Sounded so cute back then, now hearing it makes me giddy! :/

Costumes

Oh the fashion of those days seems so hilarious now. Exactly how high was Bhagyashree wearing her jeans in the "Tum ladki ho" song? And what's with those flowery motifs on the salwar kameezes? And the letter 'S' embroidered on her table tennis costume? Sheesh.

And all that long hair, which she preferred to keep open even in the kitchen! I wanted to say, “Girl, please tie your hair before you enter the kitchen! Looking beautiful is important, but hygiene when cooking is more important!”





I laughed at how the DVD cover showed her in a sari, clinging to a bare-chested Salman's knees. Why the hell did she agree to a pose like that?? And I'd never really noticed that Sallu had so much chest hair in Maine Pyar Kiya! Guess he got rid of it since he started featuring topless in all his new movies.







I laughed at myself and how crazy my friends and I were about the 'FRIEND' cap. Now that I think of it, it doesn’t make any sense! If your cap says ‘Dude’, understood you’re trying to be the dude, but if it says ‘Friend’, exactly whose friend are you proclaiming yourself to be? You can be a friend to someone, but how can you be a friend by yourself? Unless you wanna project yourself as a friend to the whole world by wearing that cap, which is even more ridiculous!

I laughed at how tackily dressed and heavily made-up the doodhwali was. Never in the history of India must have been a doodhwali like that!

Okay why did Prem buy Suman an ugly wedding dress with puffy sleeves for her birthday? And why on earth did the camera pan on the naked statue on the terrace when Prem gave her the sexy dress? Eeeks. And why did the sexy dress come with a large sheet of aluminium foil which she used to cover herself once she tried on the dress? If you wear a sexy dress, aren’t you supposed to show it off? And why was Prem wearing a diesel mechanic uniform in the song?

The hairstyles of the 80s in the 'Dil deewana' song were SO hilarious! The guys with their long hair almost touching their shoulders. The girls with the dhoti-salwars and the top knots. I couldn’t stop laughing.

Oh puhleez! scenes

When Prem and Manohar are smoking, and Prem’s mother walks in, Manohar sucks all the cigarette smoke back in! Errr.... And Prem's mother could not sense the smell of cigarette smoke?! Not to mention that she was actually fooled by Suman into thinking that it was the fire from the aarti that had the ‘burning smell’.

Take the one where Suman wants her love letter delivered by the pigeon to the factory inauguration where Prem is. The smartass lazybum pigeon take the letter but does not fly towards Prem. Instead, he sits in the car, which the driver is taking to the site of the inauguration, and without wasting time or effort, efficiently delivers the letter! Even to reach Prem, the damn kabootar did not fly, but instead deposited its ass on the drinks tray which would eventually reach Prem. I was laughing my guts out this time, but back in the old days when I was watching the movie for the first time, I'd gone "Wow... how romantic... to send a letter through a pigeon..."

I was spotting things that I had never spotted before. Like the one where Prem wants to take Suman boating, but she's swamped with work. Why on earth does he load like 30 bottles of Thums Up in his car when he's just going on a date with one girl and not on a joint family picnic??

I laughed at how Prem offered to close his eyes when he was applying balm on Suman's ankle when she sprained it. I laughed at how Suman only allowed him to apply the balm if he closed his eyes. I laughed at how Suman asked him to open his eyes later because she felt ‘she could trust him’.

And oh oh oh, Prem and Jeevan actually tried to sort out their disagreement by having a boxing match in the middle of a birthday party???

Remember the silly couple in the other room trying to 'steam things up' when Jeevan dragged Suman to his room at Seema’s birthday party? That was so funny! Those two looked like complete losers.

I laughed at how silly Manohar's comic routine in the movie was.

"Walkman = Aapke chalne wala aadmi"

"Main kya karoon ram mujhe bhutta mil gaya!"

"Yeh zukfen hain tumhaari ya resham ka jaal
Kitne khushnaseeb hain woh choohe jinhone katre tumhaare baal"

Remember the kabootar's 'revengeful eyes' at Jeevan when he's clinging from the cliff? Hahahaha! They even show the kabootar's thought bubble with video streaming!

And in the last scene, even the kabootar gets a kabootari. And how do we know it’s a kabootari? She’s got sindoor on her head!!! I’m not kidding you!!! Go and watch it again if you don't believe me!

Songs

I loved the album of the movie, I loved almost every song, especially 'Aate jaate'. And I remembered every single song in the Antakshari sequence (in order! I still do, I think), and how I thought 'Mere rang mein' was such a great 'original' song (having never had heard 'The final countdown'). Sheesh. What a let-down.

In the song, Prem sings:

"Dono taraf benaam si uljhan, jaise miley ho dulha dulhan."
("An unnamed dilemma on either side, as if the groom and the bride have just met")

Hahahaha! These days do we really have the ‘just-met dulha dulhan’ situation anymore? :D

I laughed at how they tried to pull off the silhouettes of two random people dancing to the title song, as Salman's and Bhagyashree's. Are you freakin' kidding me?

Does anyone remember how adorable SP Balasubramiam sounded when he said, "Dhat tere ki!" and "Come soon yaar!" in his heavy accent in the 'Aaja shaam hone aayi' song?

During the dil deewana song, the red holi colour conveniently lands exactly on the parting of Suman's hair, to represent the sindoor. And so out of nowhere, in the park, appears a mandir so she can do her pati-parmeshwar puja, now that she’s got the sindoor in place.

During the same song, Prem falls in the water. Next thing, we see him hiding behind a tree while Suman hands him his trousers. So are we saying that he took off all his clothes and waited for them to dry, and so he was stark naked in a public park for at least an hour or so??

What was with the apples lying on the hill during the 'Kabootar ja ja ja' song, and Suman getting turned on by them rolling down the hill??

And what's with the 'Tum ladki ho, main ladka hoon' song? Duh! The lyricist surely belongs to the 'State the obvious' club!

During the ‘dil deke dard-e-muhabbat liya hai’ song, Prem actually had a dafli with a cutout of her face on it??!! So in effect, he was slapping her throughout the song?? :O Sheesh. That's what you get for being too pati-vrata. :/


-----INTERMISSION (most guys will leave the theatre now and never return)-----


PART 2

And here's the stuff that did not make me laugh. Stuff that I still found very cute. Stuff that brought back great memories.

Salman was cute in those days, wasn't he? Scrawny, yes, but kinda cute too.

Some of the 'moments' in the movie were SO adorable! Remember how Prem blushed when he realised his mom knew all about his secret love affair with Suman? And his exasperation when he finally thought she was free to go out with him, but she had to stay back and get her mehndi done? Remember how badly he wanted her to say "I love you" but she kept bhaav-khaoing and saying things like "Abhi mood nahin hai!"

During the 'Mere rang mein' song, I thought them kissing with the glass thingie between them was kinda cute. (I just hope it was an original idea!)

One of my favourite scenes where I found him simply irresistible was when has to leave for work on her birthday. He puts his arms around her neck and says, "Mujhe mat bhejo?" She smiles and then he asks her, "Jaldi aaun?"

Oh that was adorable!

Some of the dialogues have been imprinted in my mind forever and ever.

"Aajkal darwaze par knock karke aane ka zamana nahin raha."
"Aajkal darwaze ko lock karke rakhne ka bhi zamana nahin raha."

"Ladkiyan hoti hi aisi hain, pagal!"

"Dost toh woh hota hai, jisse baat karne ka, milne ka mann karey... dekhte hi pagey 'That's my friend!'"

"Dosti ka ek usool hai, mister. No sorry, no thank you."

"Everyone falls in love with someone... somehow..."

"Cigarette smoking is injurious to health, sehat ke liye hanikarak hota hai."
"Udaas hona, yun akele mein rona, is injurious to health, sehat ke liye hanikarak hota hai."

"Dosti ki hai, nibhaani toh padegi hi."

"Hota hai hota hai, ab hum jaake sota hai."

"Aaj kal marriage season chal raha hai, meri shaadi kahin aur kara de."

- "I love" what??
- Abhi mood nahin hai!

"Ma, tujhe meri koi fikar wikar nahin hai kya? Tuney meri taraf kabhi gaur se dekha hai? Main jawaan ho chuka hoon. Meri shaadi waadi karani hai ya nahin? In maamlon mein dheel nahin deni chahiye. Aaj kal ka zamana nahin raha ki bachon ko chhoot deni chahiye. Waise toh main kaafi shareef hoon, lekin kahin mere pair wair phisal gaye toh?"

"Woh sari salwar kameez toh bilkul na pehne, pehne toh sirf jeans, skirts, midis, minis...ufff"

"Aaj ma ne mujhse kuchh kaha... kya khayaal hai?"
"Aaj ma ne mujhse bhi kuchh kaha."


"Yeh pyaar nahin toh aur kya hai? Tum hansti ho, toh main hansta hoon. Tum roti ho, toh main rota hoon."

Sigh... the good old days when simple things did to us what nothing can today.

No matter how silly they sound, they can move us. And we remember them forever.

Like this one thing from the movie which I don't think I can ever forget.

Remember the little heart with the band-aid on it that said 'I love you so much it hurts.'?



21 comments:

Manish Kumar said...

Great analysis scene by scene. I remember i have to wait through 6 hours outside the cinema hall to watch this movie. MPK was not my fav though when compare to QSQT & DDLJ.

aur haan HOLI ki dher sari shubhkaamnayein!

Shobana said...

hey nice post.. reminded me of the songs and the movie:) its been ages since i last saw it:)
lovely songs yar...

R said...

u have a great blog. have been reading it for quite some time now.
and the best movie review ive ever come across

virdi said...

be kya bda review likha hai... ruk padhne de...

Archana said...

I love the movie! No ifs and buts - I just love it :-)! Its tied to memories of my childhood.

When I need a dose of "feel-good" - watching MPK is one of the options. And somehow, all its flaws only adds to its charm! There's something abt MPK ...

virdi said...

hmmm... aacha hai aacha hai... hota hai hota hai... raat ke 11.00 ho gaye hain... aab hum ja ke sota hai... zzzz... Oye happy Holi....

V...

Thanu said...

virdi got a new pict in profile...
Nice post, I saw the move right when it came out and haven't seen it since, so don't remember most of them..
Acha analysis hain.

Rays Of Sun said...

Kya re..naya post nahi likhegee kaha..aur ITNA BADA POST LIKH DAALA:O
MPK watched 35 times in all...first half dekha hai utnee baar:)

Prayank said...

MOK was the first blockbuster that many in our generation had seen .. one special thing abt MPK is that its merchandise sold like anything .... no other movie had its stickers, caps/jackets/salwar suits and many other things selling with such craze ... MPK is really special ....

Anonymous said...

Two incredibly corny movies which I nevertheless love are -

Top Gun - Terrible acting , crappy heroine and cheesy dogfight sequences nothwitstanding, I still find that I am inspired to ride extremely recklessly after watching Top Gun. Sometimes I can be found muttering "Come on Maverick, you can do it!" to my self, under the helmet :)

James Bond Series - The double 0 agent from HMSS may as well be licenced to spout corny dialogue. Like when he turns to his incredibly hot 'co-worker' who is a nuclear scientist to boot (where are all the hot female chip designers??!) and says "I think he got the POINT" as he kills the villian with the POINT of his sword (get it get it???). Neverthelss I've written down all these dialogues in a book (im only half-joking...) which I plan to use, next time I'm saving the world. Its so important to say the right thing at the right time, dont ya think...?

Cheers
Kais

Unknown said...

that was the longest review ever I read that too with with a difference! THis comparison of then & now made it great reading.

Loved the point as to y u liked the film.

Same pinch!!!

Rashmi

Rays Of Sun said...

Adorable post baccha:D

No matter how unfashionable the ideaas are, people still act crazy when in love!

I laughed max at
//smartass lazybum pigeon take the letter//
HAHAHAHHA..bichara kabootar:D

I remember after the movie..every road-romeo wore that FRIEND cap!! Ditto the AAmir khan cap in Dil hai ki maanta nahi!!
Every Antakshari game with friends resulted in that MPK antakshari!

I remember couple of my friends had started calling Bhagyahsree as "Chaploos" after that movie!!
I still love that dialogue when Salman says "Jab mein ulta shave karke kale color ka jacket pehnta hoon to ma kehtee hai ki mein bara hi handsome lagta hoon"

laughed at how Prem offered to close his eyes when he was applying balm on Suman's ankle when she sprained it//
Kyun hasee re;)

// She’s got sindoor on her head!!! //
Awesome observation!!

It has to be a kabootaree...kabootars are not gay:D


ALL THIS AT THE AGE OF 17:O

aditi said...

I wonder why she wears a BRIGHT YELLOW sari for a picnic! i mean how verni can anyone get! and i hate that scene when he kneels down, closes his eyes, joins his hands and sings twinkle twinkle little star!! HELLO????? but then if u look at the director's latest creations.. he makes even the best actors look bad... have u seen MAIN PREM KI DIWANI HU? its like comedy show... it looks like all the actors including hrithik and kareena are getting electric shots.. with all the jhatka's n all! :) i find all his movies.. extremely unreal and silly.. but ya when i was a kid i liked MPK... :S happy holi.. c ya!

Anonymous said...

Maza aa gaya padh ke Sash. Poora refresh ho gaya :).

R said...

How coooool! I can't write so much about my fave movie too.. in detail!

This is fab!

And some moments in the movie are really enjoyable. My favourite has to be when that other-(irritating)babe comes to meet Salman in his room for the first time..! Among others.

Aate jaate..!

ritzkini said...

Miss this ?!!! you almost fooled me into not visiting this place for a few days !
itni acchi neend..shaayad zindagi mein kabhi na aayee ho !
:))
5 sentences..and i was scrolling..10 and i was yawning..end of the post,i was snoring !
Thanks yaar,sayesha ! Awesome !!
Gaanvwaalon,sayesha is back in form ! REJOICE And tell the aliens about it too !
:))

PS:ok..i'l shut up now..
:)

Ankur said...

a stupidly cute movie.... :-)

as for "I laughed at how Prem offered to close his eyes when he was applying balm on Suman's ankle when she sprained it. I laughed at how Suman only allowed him to apply the balm if he closed his eyes. I laughed at how Suman asked him to open his eyes later because she felt ‘she could trust him’." "Ankur--As for this...well wen u r aplying balm to the ankle of someone who is wearing a skirt,,and if she is sitting on a higher platform...hmmm the guy should not look upwards..and open eyes....,,u understand the view???"


he he he

Sayesha said...

#Manish,
6 hours??? In that time, you could have watched two more silly movies! :D
ps: Happy Holi to you too! And thanks for reminding me it's Holi! :O

#Jade,
Yeah, I've been humming the songs non-stop too! :)

#Rudro,
Welcome to Sayeshaz! :) And thanks for commenting! :)

#Virdi,
Kya yaar, mera toh har post mahabharat hota hai, tujhe ab tak aadat nahin padi? :D

#Archana,
//Its tied to memories of my childhood.

Egg-jactly! :D

#Virdi,
Mahabharat mein kumbhkaran kahan se aa gaya? Woh toh Ramayan ka character hai! :O
ps: Happy Holi to you too! :)

#Thanu,
Virdi toh changes his pics once every few days, just like his clothes! ;)
ps: Thanks, time to watch it again? ;)

#ROS,
Hahahaha! Yeah man... I never seem to to be able to keep my word on this, eh? :D

35 times??? :O :O

#Prayank,
Welcome to Sayeshaz! :) Oh yes, I remember the merchandise! My tailor was getting gazillions of orders to sew Suman's clothes from the movie! :O

#Kais,
//Sometimes I can be found muttering "Come on Maverick, you can do it!" to my self, under the helmet :)

Hahahaha! I wish we could see this live! I presume only the gf will get to witness it! :D

Oh yeah, the dialogues from James Bond! Sheesh! Remember the one where the guy who disagreed was thrown off the plane and this guy said, "Anyone else wants to 'drop out'?" :D

#Rashmi,
Ouch! Dheere yaar! :D Same (gentler) pinch to you too! :)

#ROS,
Finally padha tuney! :D
Chaploos?? Oh, because of the hawaii chappals? Hahaha! Tu aur tere amroos with their chaoloos! :D

#Aditi,
Arre yaar she wears a yellow sari cos he's wearing a yellow shirt! The question should be - why on earth does he wear a yellow shirt???? :D
ps: Haven't seen Prem ki diwani hoon. I need a lot more in a movie to make me watch one with Kareena in it. :P

#Harshi,
Thanks, babe! Ghot le! Tera test legi Sash baad mein! :P

#Rohit,
Hahahaha! Oh yeah that Seema female. "Videsh mein padhaai kaun karta hai?" Hahahaha! :D

#Riteshji,
You're welcome! :)

#Ankur,
Haha! Arre yaar she was not sitting on a higher platform. Her leg was parallel to the ground, and his eye level was the same as hers. So it was not a question of decency... I dunno what it was, but it was really funny to see him close his eyes and apply the balm! :D

VT,
Hehehe! You're not the first guy who hates this movie! :D
ps: QSQT songs rock! :)
pps: MPK may seem downright silly, but I still love it, for all the memories it brings back! :D

Anonymous said...

>> Oh yeah, the dialogues from
>> James Bond! Sheesh! Remember
>> the one where the guy who
>> disagreed was thrown off the
>> plane and this guy
>> said, "Anyone else wants
>> to 'drop out'?" :D

Hehe...thats a funny one :D

Cheers
Kais

bharti said...

gosh!!...itna lamba review..but it ws gr8.. brought back memories of MPK..
and i remember whatever happened to the actress bhagyashri..silly female got so famous and then declared dat she wud do movies only with her hubby...and he looked pathetic..godd...

Arshad Azam said...

I love u sallu bhai super duper hit mobi