As I begin to pen my thoughts, I would like to make it clear
that barking on social media is not my cup of tea. I find it utmost irritating
when people discuss nonsensical topics with the sole intention to show OFF.
Hence I generally tend to keep myself away from the likes of FB, Twitter,
whatsapp largely chipping in once in a while to know the wellbeing of friends
and family no longer in direct touch. During one such sojourn recently I was
forwarded a link by a friend which when clicked took to KRK’s review of Prem
Ratan Dhan Payo. I was shocked to see his presentation and disgusted to hear
his choice of words and content. A question crossed my mind. Was PRDP so bad? I decided to explore more on the reactions of
this film and the best place to do so was twitter. The more I explored the
dirty it got. There were many who loved the film but then there were others who
were trashing it using the choicest language. I knew something was wrong as I
have been following Salman & Sooraj right from MPK and knew for a fact that
even their worst effort would still be
simple, heart touching & beautiful. Such unwarranted reaction by a section
of movie goers gave me an opportunity to bring out the writer in me who has
stayed dormant & over shadowed by the technical IT person that I have
become to be known as. Yes I have a writer in me who tries to convince me to
move away from IT world. Long ago I wish to be in the creative field as I would
think, capture & analyze different aspects of life but the educated lot in
my family convinced me to rather complete higher studies in USA and then make a
mark in the field of IT. But I have never let this writer die. Stories after
stories reside in my mind. I have analyzed multiple times the movies I loved
and the movies I hate. The only reason was to understand the reason for these
extreme emotions.
Before I move forward, as a disclaimer and to add a level of
authenticity, I can CONFIDENTLY vouch for my ability to create, develop &
analyze stories based on the years and years put in which sadly in the current
environment was tagged as a “hobby” as my household expenses were/are the direct
result of my association with the IT industry. So I decided to put the writer’s
head & watch PRDP with the sole purpose of analyzing the pros and cons. I
watched the movie came back home and thought about it for a couple of days and
this is what I have come to conclusion.
It is one of the most complete story of recent times. I can
say with a good amount of conviction that it is the genius at work. Hats off to Mr. Sooraj Barjatya !!! Salman Khan is
already a legend in the field of movie making. And with him in every frame
there is every chance that a director & writer may deviate from the
original to accommodate the larger than life image of the star that Salman is.
And Sooraj did do that very smartly without EFFECTING the original idea. Hats
OFF. I openly contradict and challenge
the views circulating all over twitter by vested interests that story sucks. The
story is beautiful, tight and through silence and body gestures conveys a lot
more than that visible. YES YOU HEARD IT RIGHT. And if anyone has any issues
with that I propose that we have a decent & healthy debate to prove our
respective points on any forum of mutual choice.
Let me try to decipher the sore points openly discussed over
the social media by the movie watchers
1)
Too many songs:
Any story needs a medium to connect &
weave different chapters for a seamless end result. How can this be achieved?
Well it can be made possible either through immaculate narrative or forceful action
or crisp editing or SONGs. I find it surprising that people are finding it
annoying and/or are surprised at the number of songs. Sooraj has always opted
SONGS as medium to take story forward. The critics need to understand the fact
that these songs take movie ahead. They weave the story. One scene seamlessly
blends into another. The emotions of the principle characters come to the fore.
It is sad that in trashing these songs they have missed listening to the lyrics
which are so easy to understand and yet so effectively take the story forward.
I have a detailed write up why each of the
song present in the movie is required and removing either one will make the
story weak. But this much detailing can be taken up some other time.
2)
Story is Dated:
How can human emotions date? I do not get it.
Have we ceased to be humans? How can relations become dated? This movie is about brothers, sisters,
loyalty, misplaced hatred. Don’t we encounter these aspects on a daily basis? Or have the electronics become so strong that
they have taken complete control of our emotions and our need to pure love
& sentiments ? It is a BIG NO. It is just that we are lost. It is such an
irony. We feel alone and then we use whatsapp, twitter & facebook and make
plans using these tools to meet. And after the initial hullabaloo of the meeting
when the decorum returns, instead of loving each other’s company, the hands
unwittingly move towards the electronic medium and before you realize half of
the time go in using it rather than spending quality time with the fellow being
sitting on the other side. Visit any hotel, visit places of interest. Everyone
is busy with the little stuff in hand instead of living the REAL moment. They
are busy making memories. Everything is being looked through those few inches
of the electronic dimension. We have
become superficial so far removed from the reality. This movie is a mirror to
let us know what we are and what are we trying to project.
The same story would be appreciated if
there are over the top dialogues, over the top steps, over the top of action,
weird make ups. It is sad that something shown so simply and so beautifully is trashed
by the so called youth.
Well the very fact that this movie sounded
and felt dated & boring means that there is a strong need to introspect. In
the garb of modernization we are moving away from the basics. And the more we
do so the more we will encounter unfathomable problems in future. Remember
Depressions, anxiety and many such diseases unheard of in the era gone by have
become trillion dollar industry. It is good to introspect and do some path
correction when it is not too late. When simple things tend to look boring it
is a signal that something is not right with the individual experiencing such
emotions.
3) Gaudy
sets:
Other than the VFX for the sheesh mahal
wherein the structures are shown in the water, rest everything is so elegant,
so rich and so kingly. I can clearly see the detailing gone into coming up with
those sets. The Garden, the entrance, the setting everything is grand and
beautiful. Sheesh Mahal itself is so
beautiful and amazing. And as for the decent VFX for the sheesh Mahal position
in the water, well I am sure that is only possible in Hollywood where the
budgets of such big movies run into 500 crores or so. They have needed finances
to be even more authentic. We still are working on relatively tighter budgets
owing to the different dynamics that govern our movie going experience and
movie making finances. And hence some aspects are going to look a little less
authentic. What is the big deal?
4)
King/ Prince looked all fake and out of
place in today’s world
The critics started comparing the Prince
and his kingdom to the time gone by. They forget the simple fact that the title
“Prince” is decorative in nature in today’s world. It is unfair to the makers
of PRDP to compare this film with the likes of Mughleazam as that movie was
pure history and a story of the era gone by.
5)
Football game is dated and funny
I do not get it that why don’t people who
are making such sweeping comments try to understand a simple fact that this is
not a serious football match but a FUN match in a very cordial environment with
an ultimate aim which has nothing to do with football. It is family playing and
they all are having fun. It is obviously not a Chelsea vs. Manchester United.
6)
Climax after climax after climax
Well only a fool could think that the fight
at sheesh mahal is the climax. Even my daughter, all of 7 years, knew that
finally Prem would get the princess. Prem goes without the princess because at
that point Vijay doesn’t understand the seriousness of the situation as far as
the love aspect go. And as very aptly shown that some time lapses before the
princess is one with Prem. So what was not shown but was very visible was the
fact that Vijay would have found out slowly that Maithili has no liking for him
and Maithili too would have found out that however hard she tries she cannot
live without Prem. And when that happens the climax arrives. Beautiful writing.
So clear.
There were so many untold stories hidden in this experience
called PRDP which fascinates me to the core and encourages me to run my
imagination wild. There was a story associated with each character of
prominence. A story which was untold but had love, sorrow and emotions. For
example Prem seems pure because he doesn't have a family. That is what I
concluded. He longs for a family. He understands the meaning of family and
hence the dialogue "Woh khushnsainb hoye hain jinki family hoti hain"
is very impact ful becuase of the fact that it comes from his mouth. It is his
pain which comes to fore. Beautiful !!! Loved the writing here. It is these
small things that if the audience had understood in the true sense they would
not even think to demean this movie. The other one beautifully brought out is
the one where the Prince touches the feet of the OTHER mother. That one moment
tells the story of the years gone by. How he loves and respects that family to
the core. But that it was not in his hands what happened. And that though he
loves his sisters to the core he woult not make the first move. Beautiful.
Amazingly inacted with those eyes by Salman Khan. Such scenes is what makes
this movie really awesome and beautiful for the writer in me. The scene between
Diwan and Prem in the end when they hug and cry depicts the back story of the Diwan
of personal pain or loyalty of sacrifice. There are many such instances.
Hats off the team of PRDP !!! Hats of the writer in you
Sooraj Ji. Hats off the Salman, Sonam, Anupam Sir, Neil, Armaan, Swara, Deepak
and others.
Hope better sense prevails and people who are avoiding the
film make it a point to see it with a better perspective of life. Maybe then
there would be some level of appreciation. It is advisable to not get influenced
by the so called self-proclaimed critics. Instead watch the movie and judge it
yourself. There is no bigger and better critic then one self. I am sure of one
thing then. It can still happen that you may still not like the film. But I am
sure you will not trash it the way it has been done by some.
-Shashank Bharadwaj
PS: Comments welcome at shashank75@gmail.com
