So I listened to the "Ooh La La - Tu Hi Meri Fantasy" track from The Dirty Picture (Silk Smitha biopic starring Vidya Balan) today and at first I really liked what I was hearing. The music perfectly evoked the crazy, glittery feel of the 80s. I was envisioning stacks of matkas, brightly dressed background girls, etc.
But then as the song went on, it sort of went downhill for me. One issue being the lyrics ... I really feel like they could have come up with better than throwing in the word "Fantasy", and the "Ooh La La" just seemed like a cop-out.
And then by the first music interlude, I realized what they had done. They had simply taken an existing song from the 80s and played around with it a little, changed the lyrics, and OUILA!
Here's the original song:
And here's what they did with it:
You see? Come on, guys ... you mean you can't come up with an ORIGINAL song that evokes that time?
Since I was walking around singing "My Name is Sheila" from Tees Maar Khan all week, I started thinking about songs that reference names and all of a sudden a list started developing in my mind (because I am insane and these are the things I think about). And so of course as the list in my head grew and grew, I realized a blog post was a-brewing.
So here's my list of Hindi movie songs that either state "My Name is ..." or "Naam Mera ..." or "Mera Naam ..." or the like:
1. My Name is Sheila - Tees Maar Khan (2010)
My obvious starting off point. This started my entire thought process because I was wondering why this girl can't freaking remember her own name. Katrina Kaif is not my favorite working actress, and this video is an example of why. She just is so ... awkward and lifeless. Not a natural dancer at all, and I can practically see her counting in her head. And her expression always drops in transitions. Still, she obviously worked really hard, so I'll give her credit for that. I hate the English parts of this song, but the rest is so damn catchy.
2. Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo - Howrah Bridge (1958)
One of my favorites! Helen is so fabulous, and the song is so super fun. We have a picture of my mom performing this onstage in 1950s Bombay -- before stage performances of Bollywood dances were a popular thing. Also when my sisters and I had a band in the early 90s, this was always one of our biggest hits on the dance floor! (I love the sudden, magical costume changes in the 2nd verse! And isn't Ashok Kumar so devastatingly handsome and brooding?)
3. Naam hai mera Fonseca - Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992)
Augghh! I used to HATE this song from JJWS - especially cause I thought Pooja Bedi was so annoying (and tranny looking, honestly)! But then her "Sorry old dear" verse used to get stuck in my head too. Deepak Tijori is awesome though. I'm bummed that I didn't go to a college like Model that had these kinds of competitions. The CLOTHES are reason enough to watch this video (which I couldn't find on YouTube, but here it is in some language I don't recognize!).
4. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves - Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
All I have to say is "The coefficient of the linear ... is juxtapositioned ... by the hemoglobin in the atmospheric pressure of the country!!!!"
5. Naam Kya Hai Pyar Ka Mara - Yeh Dillagi (1994)
I was obsessed with this mid-90s Bollywoodized version of Sabrina starring Kajol and the very mullety pair of Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. I could still watch this movie a million times. And it's one of the few movies where I could actually tolerate Akki. But anyway, Kajol's frilly sleeves and poofy skirt are wonderful. This was back when Saif was seriously a TERRIBLE actor too. He has crazy improved!
6. My Name is Lakhan - Ram Lakhan (1989)
What can I say about this song? It's so much more than a song. It's an ANTHEM. Songs like this make me want to be a guy so I can THROW DOWN and do this kind of robust, joyful dancing without trying to be pretty and graceful. Anil Kapoor is ADORABLE as Lakhan, and check out the super young Madhuri too!
7. Mera Naam Hai Jamila - Night in London (1967)
This is one of my more recent discoveries. Helen is fabulous, as always, doing her cabaret thing. Biswajeet and Johnny Walker sure seem to appreciate Jamila! I'm trying to figure out if her shirtless backup dancers are in blackbrownface or not. Anyway, Jamila is everything Sheila WISHES she could be. Helen is so expressive!
8. Naam Mera Premkali - Chaalbaaz (1989)
I always kind of hated this song although I loved the movie. Sridevi is practically dressed as Michael Jackson. I mean really, they went a little crazy on the Soul Glo here. And then she turns into Linda Ronstadt or something. I don't even think they were trying to make the picturization suit the song. Because nothing suits the disco-light-up-dance-floor like a giant tulle ballet skirt! Still with all the craziness, Sri is so uber-cute! And she always works it, no matter what they throw at her!
9. Naam Mera Mango Dolly - Quick Gun Murugan (2009)
I have no idea what is going on here, but clearly I need to see this mess. And Rambha honey? Blonde is not your color.
10. I am Krishnan Iyer MA - Agneepath (1990)
I still can't believe they are going to try and remake this movie. What the heck. Can you remake awesomeness like this??? It's not possible! Mithun is too amazing, and I love Neelam! Also, this is what people used to sing to me when I told them I was South Indian. I also miss SPB's voice.
11. Main Hoon Jhumroo - Jhumroo (1961)
I love this song soooo much. We used to perform it with our band and there was a guy who sang EXACTLY like Kishore Kumar. It was uncanny. And he was a great yodeler too.
12. Main Hoon Khushrang Henna - Henna (1991)
Such a lovely song sung by Lata. I haven't seen this movie since 1991, because it was so sad and traumatic for me at 14 years old, but this song has always stuck in my head, along with many others from this soundtrack. Gorgeous. Whatever happened to Zeba Bhaktiar and Ashwini Bhave anyway?
13. Ya Ali Ya Ali Mera Naam Hai Ali - Ajooba (1991)
Oh, Shashi Kapoor's directorial venture ... poor dear. But I liked the Rishitabh bromance in this movie!
14. Naam Abdul Hai Mera - Shaan (1980)
I love this song. Mazhar Khan is just so joyful rolling around town with his back projection. And the subtitles on our VHS copy of Shaan was awesome: "My name is Abdul What? Oh, my name is Abdul, I keep news on everything!"
15. Mera Naam Hai Chameli - Raja aur Runk (1968)
This adorable number by Kumkum is definitely memorable, but always reminds me of the medley from Mr. India ("Mera Naam Hai Calendar ...")
16. Romeo Naam Mera - Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993)
Ah another expensive flop! It had some great moments that are totally not PC in retrospect ("Chini Mini Ching Chong") but that we loved at the time. This song was Anil Kapoor's chance to show off. Sridevi also had a solo item "Mein Hoon Roop Ki Rani" ...
So I'm going to stop here because that's all I could think of off of the top of my head! And these endless song lists have got to be annoying. I just LIVE for making song lists. Seriously. It's a weird obsession to have, I know. But really, my themed mix tapes were famous.
Did I miss any fabulous iconic ones? Or just one of your favorites? Let me know!!!
As I think I've stated before, 1982 was THE YEAR. So many fabulous movies came out in 1982, including (but not limited to) Namak Halal, Disco Dancer, Khud-dhar, Prem Rog, Vidhata, Sanam Teri Kasam, Arth and my personal favorite Bollywood movie EVER - Satte Pe Satta.
Among these was a Neetu Singh gem - Chorni. Chorni was directed by Jyoti Swaroop, who also directed Padosan and worked on the screenplays for Satte Pe Satta and Ram Teri Ganga Maili. It was a unique film in that it was heroine-oriented, which was quite unusual! And what a heroine to center it on, too. Neetu is feisty and tough as the hardened Deepa, who turns to a life of crime after being wrongfully accused of being a thief.
Right off the bat, the fashion is amazing in this movie. The 80s was really a different animal. Immediately we are treated to check-patterned frocks, bold-print shirts (including one on Jalal Agha that is fashioned after the American flag, with a stars and stripes collar!) and exposed chests (with copious chest hair).
Also, Neetu is luminous in this movie. She has those awesome layered bangs that are totally in right now, she wears definitively 80s make-up with drawn-in thick eyebrows, and looks absolutely lush, healthy and glowing. I guess I'm so used to today's pathetic, starved model-turned-actresses that I forgot what a healthy WOMAN looks like. And I love her simple cotton salwar kameezes and lehengas.
Anyway, within the first 6 minutes of the movie we have an attempted rape scene, but I TOLD you, this movie is unique! It's not Shakti Kapoor or Ranjeet! But we KNOW that the guy's evil because of his exposed chest and gold chains. His friend (he of the American Flag shirt) tries to stop Exposed Chest from attacking poor, simple Deepa and in the melee Deepa escapes. She almost drops her earring, but she runs back to grab it and then flees. American Flag Shirt is afraid that they will be in trouble for harassing the servant girl Deepa, so Exposed Chest calls the police and frames her for stealing. Deepa is unceremoniously sent to jail.
When she is released she has no way to support herself, so she goes to notorious goon Shambhu Dada for help and ends up being one of his best pickpockets (I don't really understand why she couldn't pickpocket on her own without giving him a cut, maybe it's a territory thing?). She accepts this as her new life, hardens her heart and sings a song that I start singing every time I think of Neetu Singh:
Eventually she is caught again, and this time brought before the charity-and-social-reform-minded Judge Sinha (played by the fab Dr. Shreeram Lagoo). She's sentenced and sent to a Remand House, and on a subsequent visit there Judge Sinha comes across her again. He sees something in Deepa, something special, some vulnerability. Particularly when she gets in a fight with another girl who has stolen her earrings. He finds out why those earrings are so special to her ... (drumroll) aaaaand we have a "Maa Ki Aakhri Nishani"! The earrings belonged to her mother and are all she has left of her family.
He decides that the best way to reform young people that turn to crime is to consider oneself personally responsible, and to bring them into your home and provide them with a loving environment. So he decides to adopt Deepa, even though he's got a brood of four at home and one son already grown and living away from home.
At Judge Sinha's, Deepa has a hard time fitting in. The younger kids (including Dr. Sinha's own Tiny Tim, Subhash, his disabled nephew) take to Deepa pretty quickly, considering her a breath of fresh air from their stuffy, proper life, but Judge Sinha's wife and and daughter Rani are impatient with Deepa's manners and speech. Rani is quite a caricature by the way. She's your typical "rich bitch" ... snotty mannerisms, speaking in mostly English, wearing Western dresses, etc. Rani and Deepa clash immediately, and rather than share breathing space with Rani, Deepa decides to sleep down in the kitchen on a mat.
She does however befriend Judge Sinha's elderly mother (Leela Mishra), though I'm not sure how since she's blunt and rude to her, as she is to most everyone in the house. I don't remember finding her quite so abraisive when I saw this as a child. Obviously she's the heroine and you're supposed to sympathize with her and find her charming. I must have changed quite a bit though, because I really found her annoyingly ungrateful and unnecessarily argumentative. But I suppose they DO make a point of that in these scenes. In this re-watch though, it made it difficult for me to really like her character.
But SOMEONE does! The Sinha household's eldest son Kishore's school friend Doctor Vikram (Jeetendra) comes by the house often, and he happens to have been a former victim of Deepa's pickpocketing ways. They also clash at first, but eventually settle into a teasing friendship of sorts. He also points out her unnecessarily harsh behavior to her, particularly after her antics in the household cause Mrs. Sinha's blood pressure to rise dangerously high.
Eventually the eldest Sinha, Kishore (Jalal Agha), comes home and it is him that finally drives Deepa to accept the family as her own. And interestingly, Deepa makes a cup of chai for Kishore with salt instead of sugar to tease him. This cup ends up in Dr. Vikram's hands, and is what brings him to fall in love with Deepa. Brought together by salty chai! Isn't this movie unique?
Kishore encourages Dr. Vikram to tell Deepa his feelings, and arranges for them to meet at a local temple. I found this scene really cute, because Vikram tells her that he comes there for "Shanti" and she immediately thinks he has a girlfriend named Shanti, but then he tells her that he means his "man ka shanti" and that SHE is the one he is interested in. She denies having any feelings for him at first, and then Dr. Vikram decides to pull a Roman Holiday but finding a statue that he can stick his hand in and claim that if he is not telling the truth his hand will be cut off. Since I saw Chorni before I ever saw Roman Holiday, I thought this scene was really cute.
They then consumate their love in your requisite running around trees song sequence:
Their troubles aren't over though. Dr. Vikram is obviously a wealthy, eligible young man and his mummy-dearest (she of the amazingly varied hair lengths) isn't too pleased about him choosing a former pickpocket as his bride.
At a surprise party for Judge Sinha, Deepa gifts an expensive silver set to him. Mrs. Sinha and Witchy Rani accuse Deepa of stealing something from them to afford the silver set, and Dr. Vikram's Mummy also spews some venom about how she probably hasn't kicked her stealing habits. Dr. Vikram runs out, leaving Deepa there in turmoil.
But Judge Sinha notices that Deepa's "Maa ki Aakhri Nishani" are missing, and realizes that she sold her precious earrings to buy him the gift. He marches her right back to where she sold them and buys them back for her. She is so touched she calls him "Papa" and they go home happily.
Meanwhile Witchy Rani's been up to no good. She's dating good ol' Exposed Chest ... yep, the same guy that got Deepa incarcerated in the beginning. He takes her to this super-shady place (where Helen is rocking the house).
Exposed Chest gives Rani roofies and takes her up to his hotel room, where she passes out. He then undresses her and takes compromising photos of her, and blackmails her with the pictures for 1000 rupees. I must say this was a great PSA for me as a child. That idea of being knocked out, stripped and photographed totally haunted me throughout my high school and college days, and totally kept me from ever getting too toasted.
My poor Mom & Sister had to explain this to child-Me. Oy vey.
Anyway Deepa finds Rani crying her eyes out one night and they bond. When Deepa finds out what's happened, she goes and TOTALLY KICKS EXPOSED CHEST'S A$$!!! She totally is AMAZING. And I feel like Neetu Singh is one of the few heroines that can pull off scenes where she beats up guys. She realizes too that this is the guy that screwed up her life pre-Judge Sinha, and gives him an extra good thrashing (I just wanted to use the word "thrashing"). But now of course, Exposed Chest has it in for her.
Then Dr. Vikram's Mummy-Dearest wants him to marry Aruna Irani, who is supposed to be from America and is therefore a boozing, smoking whore fest. Check her out:
I think she's a little over-accessorized. The matching headband AND bow in her hair? The silver belt AND shoes?
Their fabulous solution to this issue is to have Deepa take lessons from the grandmother and Kishore in how to be a lady. Cue Pygmalion scenes of Deepa balancing books on her head and walking, learning how to talk like a lady, etc. Someone was a bit obsessed with Audrey Hepburn movies during the making of this movie.
The Rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain!
Dr. Vikram loves makeovers. They give him a sense of control in a world filled with chaos.
Dr. Vikram takes her to the club, where he gets all judgy about her moves. I think she's awesome!
And then to top it all off, they decide to have Deepa pretend to be some foreign princess to get rid of Aruna Irani and convince Dr. Vikram's mom once and for all. They rent some fabulously 80s carpeted ballroom and a bunch of frocked background dancers, as well as a veiled wedding salwar suit. This miraculously works?
So everything's all good now right? Deepa's got a family, a love interest, and manners now.
Soon after, Kishore realizes that he knows Deepa. He recognizes the "Maa Ki Aakhri Nishani"! It turns out Kishore was American Flag Shirt from the beginning! Despite the fact that he was a pretty nice guy and tried to stop Exposed Chest from doing what he did, he feels totally ashamed for what they did to her and flees back to Poona.
Two things also still threaten to destroy Deepa's happiness. One, when she went to beat up Exposed Chest, she failed to retrieve the negatives of the Rani's scandalous pics. Also Shambhu Dada has been released from jail, and he wants Deepa still working for him. He threatens her that if she doesn't steal from Judge Sinha that he'll kill him!
Because I am 12, these subtitles made me snicker ...
Deepa's definitely in trouble! But she DOES have Dr. Vikram and his power of tight white pant suits on her side, as well as her fabulous new BHAIYYA Kishore. But even if she is able to find happiness with her family, will they continue to accuse her everytime something goes missing in this house?
That was the question I was left with folks. As well as how Dr. Vikram fights in pants THAT tight, and how does Rani not have the most massive inferiority complex now that everyone LOVES Deepa and considers her the light of the household? Not to mention that Deepa's mother-in-law is pretty much guaranteed to suck.
Also, for a film that was so heroine-oriented and had such a fabulous, tough female character, it DID suck that at the end she had to be "saved" by the two guys.
But still a fabulous role MADE for a fabulous actress. Chorni is definitely worth the couple of hours. Also to see a slightly hardened, imperfect heroine was pretty unusual. The supporting characters played by Jeetendra, Jalal Agha and Dr. Shreeram Lagoo were fabulous of course, but the star all the way is Neetu as the beautiful and spunky Deepa!
There's tons of fabulous Neetu-Singh Along posts available for viewing on Beth Loves Bollywood's Delicious Links page. Be sure and check them out! Parvarish is next on my list, hopefully I'll get to it before the week is done. And coming up next month, REKHA WEEK October 4-10!
When I was younger, I never really recognized why I was able to connect to certain movies so well and others seemed like a different world. I wasn't aware, you see, of the many divisions even within what's considered a single culture in India. I knew we were Tamil, and yet, we were different from so many other Tamil families that we knew. And then we were from Bombay, which further separated us from the Madras Tamilians we knew (not to mention Sri Lankan Tamils, Malaysian Tamils, West Indian Tamils, etc.). But there were even further divisions that I didn't recognize till much later. Now I know that we are Palghat/Palakkad Iyer Brahmins, a sect of Tamilians that emigrated to Kerala, and picked up nuances of the language Malayalam.
When my husband, who hails from a traditional Tamil family deep in the Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu, told me his family was teasing him for marrying a Malayalee, I was surprised and insisted that I was Tamil, not Malayalee. He said, "But you're from Palakkad," and I said, "And?" ... with a deep sigh he said, "Palakkad is in Kerala!" --- I'm an idiot. I never realized that Palakkad was in Kerala, I had no idea! I thought it was perhaps right on the border with Kerala, and I knew our Tamil was mixed with Malayalam, but didn't know our ancestral village was actually IN Kerala. So Tamilians don't consider us entirely Tamil, and Malayalees don't consider us Keralite.
I went and asked my mom after this conversation, "Mom, are we Tamil or are we Malayalee?" and she answered, "Yes." So I tried again, "Nooo, Mooooom, Are we Tamil or are we Malayalee?" and she thought for a moment, and told me, "We are Tamil Malayalees."
Thanks, Mom.
Anyway, Tam-Brahms as we're sometimes called, aren't often portrayed in Cinema ... our dialect is too affected and difficult for many actors, and our culture has so many particular practices that I imagine many people cannot relate. There are some portrayals, such as Vikram's role of the Iyengar "Ambi" in the tamil movie Anniyan, or the mother-in-law played by Julie star Laxmi in the tamil movie Rhythm. Songs like "Iyengaaru Veetu Azhage" (Anniyan), "Madathile" (Veera), "Kalyanathaan Kattikittu" (Saamy), and "Ennathu Solvennungo" (Sivakasi) highlight the Brahmin background of the characters.
Then of course, there's "I am Krishnan Iyer M.A." from Agneepath. Oh, Mithun.
Anyway, few movies delved into the everyday life of our community vs. displaying Brahmins as evil/greedy/ultra-conservative/stupid/weak or getting jollies off the idea of a Brahmin girl running away from her community for the love of a non-Brahmin man, like Trisha's character in Saamy (incidentally, Trisha is a Palghat/Palakkad Iyer like me, as are Vidya Balan and Priyamani).
Two movies that come to mind immediately when I'm thinking of just normal, everyday, fun portrayals of Brahmin families are both Kamal Hassan movies. The first is the HILARIOUS Michael Madana Kamarajan, and the 2nd is Meendum Kokila (1982), in which the story doesn't revolve around their Brahmin background at all. The story could have taken place in any community. For this story, they just happen to be Brahmin, that's all. It's not to create caricatures or devise elaborate costumes for humor.
Meendum Kokila is the story of Y.R.S. Mani, a young lawyer looking for the right opportunity for his career to take off. He is married to the beautiful, young Kokila (Sridevi), a Brahmin housewife that wears the traditional 9-yard sari called "madisaar" (I wore one for my wedding, and let me tell you, it's a doozy. I can't imagine wearing one every day like my great-grandmothers did!).
Eventually through some connections, Mani meets a famous actress named Kamini (Deepa Unnimary) who hires him as her lawyer, giving him his first big case. Mani gets increasingly besotted with Kamini and begins lying to Kokila and spending all his time in the actress's company. Eventually his lies are exposed and the happy marriage is threatened.
Right from the start the film breaks the fourth wall and begins speaking to us, the audience, saying:
Essentially Mani is waiting for his big break ... he has yet to book a big case. They also introduce us to Sridevi's character Kokila right away:
They show the couple in pretty normal domestic scene at home, Kokila bringing Mani some coffee. Very quickly, though, they expose Mani's greatest downfall ... his extreme fetish for the exposed skin of a woman's waist that shows when they wear the madisaar!
When Mani sees this, he just can't contain himself. A special, themed mridangam and kinnaram (South Indian Carnatic drum and cymbals) music starts playing, his nostrils start flaring, and before he knows what's he's doing, he's reached out to grab & pinch!
So the narrator takes us on a journey back to when they first met ... the special "bride-viewing" or Ponn Paarkkal as we call it. Having seen this movie as a child, I spent years planning and practicing various songs to sing at my own Ponn Paarkkal someday, really believing that this situation was going to happen for me. My husband and I ended up being a love marriage (gasp! SCANDAL!) so I never had a Ponn Paarkkal and no one ever wanted me to sing. If they had though, I would have been ready!
So at Kokila's Ponn Paarkkal, they ask her to sing, and a veena is brought out, her brother pulls out his mridangam, and she sings the lovely "Chinnanjiru Vayathil" which is equal parts sweet and funny. Kamal Hassan provides the funny, Sridevi provides the sweet. As Kokila, Sridevi is wonderfully innocent and demure. Her eyes convey a million messages in this scene, especially at the part where she forgets the lyrics - her discomfort is evident without a single word! Finally Mani joins in the song to save her, and the slow, sweet smile that creeps onto her face is absolutely breathtaking. You can see how charmed she is by him, and he in turn gets to be her dashing knight, saving her from embarrassment.
We come out of the flashback and learn more about their home life, which is a very normal, middle-class living. Mani is inexperienced in his career and waiting for his first big break, but refuses to take a post as a junior lawyer. Because of this they are being supported by Kokila's family. You can automatically see the tension between the couple from this arrangement. They also have a lovely little girl named Manju, who softens much of the tension (whether actual or sexual) between them with her timely quips, my favorite being when they are standing close to one another and Manju yells "M for Man! L for Lady! K for Kiss!".
In Mani's quest to be with the "right" crowd to get himself ahead in his career, Kokila is dragged along to situations in which she feels very uncomfortable. She was raised to be a housewife and only minimally educated, so when they are invited to dinner by a colleague of Mani's, she worries that the other guests will come doused in fancy perfumes and even worse:
She's right to worry too. At the dinner, the men are being typical, passively sleazy men. They ogle at a random ugly aunty simply because her sari falls down to expose her bosom. And poor Kokila, in her attempt to eat with a fork and knife, accidentally sends her food flying directly at the lady's bosom. Sridevi's expressions in this scene are adorably pathetic. The only actress who has come close to such a sincerely touching performance that I can think of is Kajol in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in the scene where she tries to wear a skirt and make-up to look like Tina.
So Mani attends Actress Kamini's film shooting along with his colleague, who is working as her auditor. The scene is a royal Swayamvaram, where all the princes and kings of the land gather in a court and a Princess garlands the husband of her choice. There is lots of GRATUITOUS BODY SHOTS of Deepa Unnimary (one of my favorite Tamil item girls!) as Kamini before we finally see her in all her glory.
When she has been fully exploited by the cameras, we finally meet Kamini!
Kkamini from Salaam-E-Ishq ain't got nuthin' on you honey!
The shoot is interrupted when Kamini throws her garland and it lands directly on Mani. They meet and Mani makes an impression with his wit and humor. From then on Mani spends increasingly long hours in Kamini's company, playing pool and talking. When a newspaper prints negative and false rumors about Kamini, she immediately hires Mani to take up a case against them. This is cause for great celebration for Mani and Kokila, but little do they know that it's the beginning of all their troubles.
The scenes where Mani is doing his first appearance in court are sweet and funny. Unlike most Indian films where the hero is perfect at everything, Mani is nervous and bumbling in court, dropping papers and addressing the defendant as "Your Honor" instead of the judge. But as he goes on, he gets his bearings and begins to gain confidence.
This movie is both endearing and disturbing. I'm definitely not a person that takes cheating lightly, even in fiction. I didn't enjoy movies like Sindhu Bhairavi, Chinna Veedu, or even KJ's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, no matter how much the filmmakers try to make you sympathize with the cheating husband (or wife, in KANK's case). It's strange because in Meendum Kokila, there isn't technically cheating going on ... they are just very good friends. There are moments where he still shows great love and affection for Kokila, and even tries to romance her, most notably after he attends another one of Kamini's shootings. Kamini is performing in a rain scene, and the pretty, albeit slightly raunchy "Ponnanameni" inspires him to go home and try to re-create the scene with his wife.
This is a MUST-SEE scene, particularly starting at 2:22 when he goes home. So funny and sad all at once.
But then there are clear signs that Mani is besotted with Kamini. In one scene he's trying to cuddle with Kokila at night, and she is irritated with his efforts and pushes him away. He rolls over and immediately starts imagining Kamini lying next to him, and fantasizes about cuddling with her.
Another great Sridevi scene is when Kamini has to play the role of a Brahmin woman in madisaar, and none of the costumers on set know how to tie the madisaar for her. Mani immediately goes to bring Kokila to help tie the sari for Kamini. Her expressions of distaste and discomfort when she learns that a man usually dresses Kamini are amazing! Subtle, but they convey so much! Then once the sari is tied, we hit trouble. Remember Mani's fetish? Oh yes. He reaches out and grabs. Right in front of his WIFE. Needless to say, Kokila is FURIOUS.
He manages to convince her that he did it because he was imagining HER in the sari, not Kamini. It takes a while, but she eventually forgives him after he emotionally blackmails her and pretends he is going to kill himself if she doesn't believe him. V. annoying, but in the very next scene there is a wonderfully funny dream sequence with the song "Radha Radha Nee Enge".
Still his emotional affair with Kamini continues. She invites him along for a film shoot in Bangalore, and he lies and tells Kokila that he's going for a friend's wedding in Bombay. In a very cute parting scene, she packs and gives him three huge boxes of homemade snacks to give to all their relatives in Bombay. In Bangalore he and Kamini become even closer.
These scenes were definitely disturbing to me, because even if he wasn't physically involved with Kamini, the intimacy between them grows very strong. For him it's particularly unforgivable, he's lied to his wife and is traveling and sightseeing with another woman, as shown in the song "Hey Oraayiram" (in which Deepa is dressed in the MOST unfortunate outfit for her body type. I should know, it's pretty close to mine. That darned Mallu booty!). And even if they aren't romantically involved but he's fantasizing about it and spending so much time with her, isn't it still cheating in a way?
Even for Kamini, who is mostly portrayed as a nice person in the movie, at some point don't you have to question why a married man is spending so much time with you. Mani lies to her when she asks about Kokila, and tells her that Kokila is thrilled that he's spending time with Kamini. But honestly, you KNOW when you're overstepping boundaries, and I saw Kamini as a lonely character who allowed herself to be swept along with the flow of their friendship and didn't question it too much because she had too much to lose.
While gallavanting about Bangalore, they end up running into some excessively rowdy fans of Kamini's that end up attacking her. Mani is forced to call upon his ancient martial arts lessons, and his memories of Bruce Lee movies, to fight off the goons. This is a particularly memorable fight scene because the hero isn't naturally a fighter, able to fight off multiple rowdies single-handedly. He falters often, which makes for wonderful comedy. He ends up with a broken nose, but is able to save Kamini.
Naturally this kind of celeb news will not escape the papers. The news comes back to Kokila in Madras that her husband was involved in a scuffle with goons defending Kamini in Bangalore. Together with her brother, they confront Mani with the news article when he returns, still claiming that he was in Bombay. He covers up the story, claiming that he went to Bangalore for one day only to work on Kamini's case, but still Kokila is angry. She tasks her brother with following Mani about town, and of course, finds out just how often he is visiting Kamini's house, and grows more and more stressed, angry and sad, driven half-mad by her suspicions.
Eventually Kokila is driven to go directly to Kamini and (in a heartwrenching scene) beg for her husband back. Kamini seems genuinely shocked and upset by Kokila's request. In a confrontation with Mani, she claims that she had grown close with him thinking that she had finally met someone intelligent, with whom she could truly have an innocent friendship, but she is disappointed and hurt to know that he was besotted with her just like so many others in her life. With a heavy heart, she tells Mani she doesn't want to be the cause of a family breaking apart and throws him off her set and out of her life. Mani is dejected and begins wandering the streets aimlessly.
Meanwhile Kokila is dealing with something far more serious. Baby Manju has developed a high fever, and Mani is nowhere to be found. Will it take something life-threatening for their child for Mani and Kokila to work out their issues? And what role will Kamini play in Manju's illness? Therein lies the climax of the film, which ties a neat bow but still leaves me unsatisfied.
I found myself troubled by Mani's obvious fixation with Kamini and his lies to his wife, while at the same time it seemed to me that he was still genuinely in love with his wife. Then again, perhaps this is the more life-like tale, showing how people CAN be in love with their spouse and still have a crush. So then is it ok, is it just human nature? Is it forgiveable as long as one doesn't act on it?
Can a man and a woman just have a platonic relationship? And if Kamini REALLY saw their friendship as completely innocent, why didn't she ever ask Mani to bring Kokila along to spend time with them too? Did her loneliness influence her to ignore the warning signals in her own head and move freely with Mani despite the fact that he was indeed a married man?
Personally I've battled with these questions a lot - watching how one by one I seemed to lose all my male friends after getting married, or trying to preserve friendships when underlying feelings made it virtually impossible. I'm of the opinion that you can't really go past a certain level of friendship if you want to remain respectful of your spouse. I would probably be far more upset if my husband had a close, intimate friendship with another woman than if he had a physical tryst. And when I meet the girlfriends or wives of close male friends, I KNOW that I must go out of my way to befriend them and make them comfortable with the fact that I am no threat to their relationship with their boyfriend/husband. If Kamini truly wanted to maintain an innocent friendship with Mani, shouldn't she have befriended Kokila too? What on earth could have made her think that it was appropriate for him to leave his wife and child at home and travel to all her location shoots with her?
A problematic film in that it doesn't answer these questions or really give any consequences to Mani's actions, but it certainly pieces the elements together in a way that one can really enjoy. Kamal Hassan embodies the role of Mani with mastery, showing weakness and folly, his intentions and his actions, all convoluted so much that even he himself probably doesn't know what he wants. Deepa too brings a sympathetic angle to Kamini, and you want so much to like her, particularly in the final scenes when she tries to do the right thing. But the reigning queen of this show is definitely Sridevi as Kokila. Her range of expressions, her descent into jealousy and rage, and her transformation from innocent and trusting to the emotionally ravaged person she is at the end are tremendous. It is no wonder she received the Filmfare Best Actress Award (Tamil) for this film. She is a revelation in it, and you cannot help but love Kokila and cheer her on and want to clock Mani for hurting her so much.
Worth seeing for the lovely songs, the subtle comedy scenes and for Sridevi's incredible performance as Kokila. It also forces you to ask yourself a lot of serious questions! No matter how disturbed I am by Mani's behaviour in this movie, it still remains in my favorite movies list for the lighthearted moments in the first half of the film!
I've been watching Bollywood movies ever since my consciousness set in, which was roughly around 1981-ish. I have a lot of Bollystalgia and I just wanted to share it. I'm also a Bharata Natyam Dancer, a singer, an avid reader, and a Harry Potter freak. I wish that life had a soundtrack. You can also follow me on Twitter or check out my Tumblr account.
