Bikas Mishra looks back at the goneby year 2007  

It was sheer coincidence that I met Bubloo, a young body builder with a feminine and husky voice like Rani Mukherjee. He got his hair done every week keeping the latest Bollywood release in mind. His latest obsession was a six pack, though it’s not that he didn’t think about having one earlier but six years of working out (that he called “gheesna”) didn’t seem to be enough. Om Shanti Om made him impatient.

The multiplex phenomenon in it’s initial years saw the crowd puller “heros” and characters suddenly disappear from the big screen. Probably the saddest was the exit of Govinda, a star who celebrated his imperfection on screen. The changed economics of cinema sent the small town India out of the big screen focus and we were inundated with stories about sophisticated urban characters.

I would remember year 2007 as the year when small town, semi urban India registered her presence on the silver screen. We got it’s glimpses right from the beginning of the year in Mani Ratnam’s Gurukant K Desai, a villager who creates a business empire. Guru didn’t only bring the villager back on the big screen but also celebrated his aspirations and ambitions.

Sagar Ballary’s Bheja fry is another such film that hinged on the colorful character of Bharat Bhusan, a wannabe singer. A

character we laughed at and sympathized with for his inadequacy.

A Shahrukh Khan starrer Blockbuster Chak De India, again brought us some voices we had probably never heard before. How can one forget the voice of Komal Chautala, that made us laugh at her Jat humour and also told us the story of her journey from a Haryana village to the Indian national hockey team.

Lagaa Chunri Me Daag was the biggest disappointment for me. A recycled story that treated the characters insensibly and tried it’s level best to hard sell a story of struggle and generational transition as masala.

I think, the film of the year that I rejoiced the most for bringing the unadulterated glimpses of “real India” was Manorama Six Feet under. A fantastic film. I really have high hopes from the director Navdeep Singh, whose film looked so deeply rooted in India despite being a tribute to Roman Polanski’s Chinatown. Inspector Brijmohan was another adorable character that Vinay Pathak played, a small town policeman who considers devouring sweets from the Nukkad ka Halwai without paying his honour.

The small town captured even the glossier than thou Yasharaj’s imagination and they decided to set the stage for dance diva Madhuri Dixit’s comeback in Sangli, a (fictional) small town. A place abuzz with life and characters such as Mohan Sharma, the pakauri-chaiwallah, who believes in love without speaking it out. Anokhi was another character in the movie we feel for, partly because of her innocence and partly because of her “imperfection”.

Jab We Met is another blockbuster film of the year that I remember not only for bringing  us glimpses of the “real India” but also speaking the language of it. Remember the conversation between the manager of Hotel Decent and Aditya (Shahid Kapoor).

The goneby year 2007 gives me greater hope to see more of the India that still lags far behind from the galloping sensex or the GDP growth. 

Bubloo runs aata chakki business of his father. The film that had the greatest influence on his life this year was Om Shanit Om. He has increased his working out hours at the gym by half an hour. And his new year resolutions include a six pack like SRK. I feel redeemed as a small towner.

Your Rating

Recommended...

Golden Bear Nominated “Goodbye Bafana” Releases in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore

Goodbye Bafana: Review

DearCinemaFest Award Winner Black Button on CNBC TV18

NDTV Lumiere to Release “Orphanage” in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore Next Friday

A Tribute to Ingmar Bergman