PRDP - MY TAKE & UNDERSTANDING

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