Gandha: scent of hope, and of tragedy.

It stands to reason that if you wre going to turn any of the three stories in Gandha (Marathi for 'smell', directed by Sachin Kundalkar) into a massive motion picture, it would have to be the first one, titled "Bride-to-be". It's the sole feel-good story of the bunch, and has comedic elements to it - but at the heart of it there is one woman's independent quest for love, which she finds through the strangest means: mainly, her sense of smell.

Sound familiar? Of course, the director re-made this first story into the colourful and over-the-top Aiyyaa, which I loved and have discussed previously. The bride-to-be Veena in the original version is played by the young actress Amrut Subhash, who fits this subtle version of the story well. Her colleague is played by Anita Date, who essays the same role in Aiyyaa. Veena, just like Meenakshi, is being married off enthusiastically by her parents, and she's reluctant to agree to any matches, but plays the part of a bride-to-be to please her family.

Although the films share tone and the basic story structure, there are differences, too. The object of her obsession is not South Indian, but Marathi just like her, and the colorism gets explored not by her desire for a dark man, but by Veena's mother's complaining to her shrine that her dark daughter will never be married. (Quizzically, this gets overshadowed by odd skin lightening creme product placement..)

You can easily see why the director was so eager to expand this story and explore this character and her story some more. Of course, the result was a completely different movie, and it's a matter of taste whether one prefers the short, subtle and sweet tale of Veena to the story of Meenakshi - louder, more song-filled but still with those undeniably gorgeous quieter moments tucked in the longer running time. I personally happen to adore both versions. 

After the subtle saccharine, the next story "A man on medicines" can be quite hard to watch at times. It's a terrifically acted small piece of human drama, about Sarang (Milind Soman), a man downing pills on the regular, whose ex-wife Raavi (the fantastic Sonali Kulkarni, who most Hindi film fans probably remember best from Dil Chahta Hai) comes to visit her. What follows are basically just discussions of his sickness, their relationship and her obsession with the odd smell she finds in the apartment. 

In this segment Kundalkar decides to pay heavy-handed tribute to Wong Kar Wai and Pedro Almodovar by  having Sarang watch their films in some scenes. The tributes are probably heartfelt but don't necessarily add much to this piece of the film, as it excels more as simple human drama; big emotions in a small milieu.

There's a lot of beauty in Sarang's luxurious-looking apartment, but at times it's hard to find much relevance in the lingering shots of these surroundings. It's almost like this part of the film was meant to be a stage play, so we as audience would be forced to focus on the crux of the whole thing: the two characters, interacting. I don't want to tell you too much about the story, as it's best to watch it unfold as it slowly does.

Sonali Kulkarni, where art thou? It appears her filmography hasn't been empty since 2001, she's just managed to avoid my radar because of the kinds of films I've been selecting to watch. Being Marathi herself, she's done a bit of Marathi cinema alongside some Hindi indie fare, but aside from the Hindi Singham, not much that seems to have pushed through the mainstream. It's a shame, really, because she's a good actress - in here, as well as pretty much everything I've seen her in.

The final story ("Woman who sits aside") in the film portrays Janaki (Neena Kulkarni), a childress married woman having her period while her sister-in-law gives birth in the house. Because of cultural sanitary restrictions, she's not supposed to touch or even be close to other family members, or do the usual house chores, and her isolation is pretty painful to witness. It's also raining heavily, so she's stuck inside, alone, at least until her nephew begins communicating with her.

Potentially the most dull story within the film is brought to life by Neena Kulkarni's engaging performance. None of the stories are necessarily tied together by the end of the film. I think it does the film well to leave its theme so open for audience to draw their own conclusions. Our sense of smell is tied to strong memories, and yet it's one we rarely consider at all, other than when trying to eliminate it in its unwanted forms.

The second and third stories would make good full-length films, I believe, with a little more backstory added to each of their characters and with the tone kept as close to the original as possible. I'd especially like to see a longer, expanded version of the second story, but I'm not sure what the director's future plans involve. Certainly remaking "Bride-to-be" into Aiyyaa was an inspired move, and based on these two films, I hope Sachin Kundalkar does continue making films - it seems he's got a lot to offer.

(I watched the film legally on the Youtube Channel RajshriMarathi, and the video included good English subtitles so check out if you can, too.)

Filmi year 2012.

After a period of not being quite up on what was happening in Indian films (or being up on it, just not having a chance to watch most of it), I feel like 2012 was the year I was finally caught up on most new releases. There are of course a couple of films I still intend on seeing and haven't yet (mostly films that have not come out on DVD yet, like Talaash - so please no spoilers for that one!) but for the most part, I've seen the films that interest me.

Of course, films that interest me do not equal the most talked about films of 2012 or even the biggest box office successes of 2012. I've not seen Jab Tak Hai Jaan because I'm not that huge on SRK in his current romantic roles, nor do I particularly like Yash Chopra's filmography (though recognise his significance). I probably won't see Student of The Year unless I feel like hating on Karan Johar one of these days. The action flicks I missed out on, like Son of Sardaar and Khiladi Numbersequence, I might check out, provided I'm bored in 2013. Rowdy Rathore is definitely on the list.. And if Gangs of Wasseypur ever gets a decent DVD release, I'll be the first in line to buy it.

But onto the list of favourites, not-so-favourites etc.

Queens of My Heart: Rani Mukherjee & Vidya Balan

With The Dirty Picture still fresh on most people's minds, Vidya had Kahaani, a wonderful performance-driven thriller, easily in the top 3 films of the year. Meanwhile, Rani had both Aiyyaa and her re-union with Aamir in Talaash. As I said previously, haven't seen Talaash yet but I loved Aiyyaa so much that while it may have flopped making very little noise, it reminded me of why Rani is so good, and among my favourite actresses of all time. I will enjoy anything these two women grace with their presence.

The Man Who Blazes His Own Trail: Aamir Khan

It seems that every year Aamir Khan does something new I have to admire him for. There are a lot of legitimate criticisms of Satyamev Jayate and the way it presented important issues, but there's also so much to be said for the intelligent manner it brought these issues to to be discussed. Every episode contained an appeal to the humanity in all of us; I believe the show truly did something unique and I really appreciate having the opportunity to watch it legally via YouTube.

But Aamir is still a film star and I am psyched to see him in Dhoom 3 next year. Only this guy would go from exploring heartwrenching societal ills on television one year into such unapologetic entertainment the next.

The Character Actor To Watch Out For: Adil Hussain

You might remember him from Ishqiya or Kaminey from previous years, but this year he played not only the Colonel in Agent Vinod, but also Sridevi's husband in English Vinglish AND the main character's father in Life of Pi (which I just saw and hugely enjoyed!). Personally I barely remember him in Agent Vinod, but thought he was really good in English Vinglish. The role needed an actor who could portray the character with a certain softness - he does things we as audience loathe, because we love Sridevi's character  Shashi so much, but we also have to see why she loves him. Santosh Patel in Life of Pi was a pretty similar role; he's not perfect, he can come off as unfeeling, but overall still likable. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I certainly enjoyed his performances this year and will keep an eye out for this Assamese actor in the future..

Most Likable Newbies: Ayushman Khurana & Parineeti Chopra

As well as Ranbir Kapoor acts (or so I hear, having not watched all of his work all that consistently), as pretty as Sonam Kapoor is and as cute as Imran Khan is, a lot of the newer generation of Bollywood have left me quite cold. I like them, I just don't quite love any of them yet. This year again brought on some new faces, and two that I quite enjoyed. Ayushman Khurana did not play the most sympathetic character in Vicky Donor, nor did I love the film as others did, but I still liked him a lot. Was it just the dimples? Who knows, I just know I'll keep watching whatever he does next. Parineeti Chopra I already liked in last year's Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, but she was by far the best thing in this year's objectionable Ishaqzaade. I was really looking forward to the latter, and was so sad it took such an odd turn around the half-way mark, but it solidified my liking of Parineeti, and I will continue following what she does, for sure.

The Film That Should Win All The Awards, or: The Film of the Year: English Vinglish

It's not that tough a competition this year. This heart-warming gem just has it all: the rare well-written role for an older actress, an exciting comeback for one of the industry's brightest stars, a supremely likable international cast and quite a fun soundtrack to boot. Review here!

Most Favouritest Film This Year: Aiyyaa

As I said in my review, this film seemed happily tailor-made for film fans like myself, so of course I ate it like it was candy on ice cream cake, because it truly was that level of deliciousness. I suppose only time will how much I actually like this film, but based on rewatching the songs multiple times, it's definitely among my favourites.

And now, other categories...

Blandest Film: Ekk Main Aur Ek Tu ...no competition here.

Most Aggravating Film: Ishaqzaade. Siiiiigh.

Uncle Pyaar [phrase coined by Rum] Award, or What Am I To Do With You, Yaar? Award:  Saif Ali Khan, who I was disappointed in Agent Vinod, and whose other film, Cocktail, also did not look too enticing, what with romancing ladies nearly half his age (well, not really, but come on, he looks pretty old these days). And let's not even discuss his upcoming films .. Race 2? Ack! And yes, SRK was a strong contender for Uncle Pyaar as well, but hey, I just ignore JTHJ so..

Favourite Southie Discoveries of the Year: Ko, a supreme Tamil thriller starring Jiiva (cutie!) and a belated discovery of Raavanan and Why This Kolaveri Di. Also - Upendra!

Most Fun Filmi Meet-up: Watching Chor Sipahee at Memsaab's with Filmi Geek!

Best Retrospective Oldies Discovery: Young Kabir Bedi, who I saw in Kucche Dhaage.

Favourite Posts in Which I Invent Films: This one and this one.

The Film That Got It Wrong, and the Film That Got It Right: Over-ambition left Agent Vinod in the ditch while under-ambition means Ek Tha Tiger actually delivered what the audience wanted to see.

Most Gif-able Song Sequence in a Film Ever: Pinnilavu, with those Mammootty dance moves!

News At 11: I really like young Vinod Khanna, you guys. I also really like Abhay Deol, because reasons.


And that's about it from me for this year. What are some of your favourites, guys? Anything you'd really recommend I check out?

Aiyyaa - the tale of one fangirl.

Here's how I'd describe Aiyyaa: it's a Rani cupcake with a Rani cake as base, a Rani heart in the centre of that cake, tons of Rani frosting and some Rani sprinkles on that frosting. 

Bottom line, if you love Rani Mukerji, there's a very good chance you'll at the very least enjoy this film once. If you happen to be a part of that magical Venn diagram of Rani fans who are heterosexual females (or gay males, or just anybody with an appreciation of the male aesthetic) who love Southie films and especially good-looking Southie actors in those films? Well, you're in for a treat.

Is the plot lacklustre and kind of lacking of pay-off for most of the film? Yes, absolutely. Do the songs totally make up for it? Oh yes.

Did my id co-write this film while I was sleeping? It's a theory.

Meenakshi is a filmi-obsessed young woman with a family full of comic goofballs and a big imagination to escape to. She finds a job at a nearby college just to get out of the house, and in that job comes across Suriya (Prithviraj), a mysterious Tamil art student and painter, who she is wildly and instantly attracted to. However, her family has put in a matrimonial ad in the paper, listing a bunch of white lies to attract suitors. While Meenakshi spends her time daydreaming and following Suriya in his steps, her family is busily arranging her marriage to anybody who will accept her. 

What is truly great about this performance is that I believe at the hands of a lesser actress, Meenakshi would've been a pretty vapid character, what with her over-dramatic filmi fantasies, and her tendency to do silly things. In Rani's portrayal, however, she becomes alive as a human being, too, determined and endlessly likable, and utterly hilarious to boot. Her little expressions just killed me with joy every time.

The film is a little odd, to say the least, what with Meenakshi essentially stalking Suriya while being able to catch his scent from anywhere at all, but somehow it's so entertaining I simply don't mind.

Prithviraj doesn't get much to work with, but what he does as the solemn, mysterious Suriya is pretty wonderful all the same, and the songs that we get to see from Meenakshi's fantasies show a more goofy side of him, too. I might've been irked by the fact that the film is brimming with gratuitous objectification of males (not only of Prithviraj, but Meenakshi's co-worker is the world's biggest John Abraham fan and not afraid to show it), was that kind of thing not rather rare in films. When it comes down to it, it's a comedy about female desire, that doesn't laugh at the desire itself, but does present a rather exaggerated version of it - hence, funny.

What the film probably does require is for the viewer to be able to drool right along with Meenakshi whenever Suriya steps into frame. Hence the Venn diagram demographic that I mentioned earlier.

The portrayal of Tamil films, or what Meenakshi thinks Tamil films are, is rather loving in my view. She's a girl attracted to the colourful and the over-the-top, so I'm not surprised that's what she thinks of Tamil cinema as well. Dreamum Wakeupum to my eyes and ears catches precisely the type of music, dancing and colours that I love about Tamil films' song numbers (though the guys don't do half as much shirtless dancing, sorry to report). I also find it amusing that whereas a lot of Tamil films forget to give their heroines much characterization, in here it's Prithviraj who has a rather flat character, while Rani gets all the focus. Her Tamil learning is also adorable and utterly sincere. There is no laughing or mocking the language or the cinema aesthetic that goes with it: it's definitely a tribute. And if there's one trope I wish more films would use, it's people learning regional languages to impress the one their heart desires. (This I also loved in Ek Duuje Ke Liye.)

Aiyyaa could've used better direction and editing, but as a flawed, Rani-flavoured treat, it certainly worked its magic on me. With good songs and rather hilarious, over-the-top comedy, it's a film I'll probably rewatch a ton.