Dombivli Fast

October 29, San Jose, California: The California Arts Association (CALAA) had organized the screening of critically acclaimed new marathi movie “Dombivli Fast”. For all marathi arts connoisseurs this was nothing short of a festival. Watching a marathi movie in theatre is a rare event (shooting star) and that too in a foreign country (Halley’s comet)! The houseful turn-out at the theatre underlined this fact. The show started a little after 11 AM. I and a friend were one of the last people to arrive, so had to watch it from the second row. About 200 people filled the small IMC theatre.

I had read/heard a lot about Dombivli Fast in reviews and from friends/family in India. So I had a basic idea of the story. The movie didn’t waste time in establishing the plot. Within the first couple of minutes you could feel the mounting tension in the story, even before the name came on the screen. The story is about a middle class banker named Madhav Apte (Sandeep Kulkarni) living in the over-over-crowded (you have to visit it to believe it!) Mumbai suburb, Dombivli. For the last 15 years, his routine involves catching the crowded morning fast local train to CST (Bank Street of Bombay) and back. He is an upright man who is happy with his honest life in spite of limited income. He is unable to provide a decent education to his children or a comfortable living place for his family, which is a constant source of altercation between him and his wife (Shilpa Tulaskar). The movie shows the frustration of an honest man caught in the web of corruption, deceit and greed of human beings surrounding him. The situations are straight out of life: corrupt water tanker worker demanding bribe for a bucket of water, seemingly moral school principal asking for arbitrary sum of money as “donation”, bank managers violating standard procedures for their people putting common man’s interests at risk, corrupt cops overlooking blatant law violations for petty share, hospitals refusing sick patients for lack of money. We have seen this before, but for the first time it has been depicted so powerfully in a marathi movie. His wife chastises him for being gandhian in beliefs but not in action. The final breakdown of our marathi manus takes place when a shop owner asks more than the M.R.P. price (we never even think twice about it). He smashes his shop with a cricket bat and from thereon begins the crusade of this unusual warrior. He attacks the local corporator, cops, doctor and just about anyone who fails to do his duty. A similar theme was done by Kamal Hassan in “Hindustani”.

The movie packs some powerful performances from the cast. Sandip Kulkarni is outstanding as a common marathi manus. The scene where he vents his frustration on an empty Bombay street and pleads God to take his soul intact in his body is truly poignant. The wife and the cop have played their parts well. The cinematography by Sanjay Jadhav is eye catching, accurately showcasing the bustling Mumbai local train and suburb life. This is possibly the only marathi movie with a sad ending that I have seen. The movie creates a great impact on the audience and you could see people dazed as they walk out of the hall. Finally, full marks to Nishikant Kamat (Story, Direction) for handling a serious topic with élan. The new wave in marathi cinema is definitely something to watch out for!

The movie comes at about the same time when Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai) is reviving the non-violence attitude dubbed as gandhigiri. It is interesting to watch both these perspectives. No idea can be perfect; you always have to weigh the pros and the cons and make newer, better ideas from old ones. I hope a relevant philosophy emerges that is able to effectively address the problems of post-modern India.

My Rating: Don’t Miss It!

DON'(t) do it !!

Don ko firse banana, mushkil hi nahi, naamumkin hain…

That would be my advice to Farhan Akhtar (FA) and Javed Akhtar (JA).

==============

Diwali 2005, 11:31 PM, The Akhtar’s Residence. A loud explosion (sutali bomb) heard in the background. FA comes running to JA.

JA: Now son, it’s just a firecracker, you don’t have to be scared!

FA: huh? No, dad, I was just watching AB’s Don on cable tv, you know the one you wrote with salim uncle. Well I just thought of this mind-blowing alternate ending. Can I make it again? Please, please, please. (makes kid faces and prances around JA).

JA: Now son, lets just not get too excited here. Why should you touch a classic like Don?

FA: Ah! I wouldn’t go as far to call it a classic. Hell, Chandra Barot (director, Don 1978) did a lousy job with your ahead-of-the-time script! We could make it a modern day action thriller with explosions, special effects, over-the-top promotions and all that jazz!! Yeahh!!

JA: Hmmm. Sounds interesting son. Lets do it! (Flashes his nike shoes)

FA: Dad! You don’t have to do this offscreen ;) So forget the script. The actor playing don is all that is important.

JA: Bingo!! I can get SRK, he’s the only one who can step into AB’s shoes. The other’s are your call.

FA: Super!! That should guarantee a solid opening and not forgetting his charm at the overseas box-office ;)

JA: But son, having just a different ending won’t justify a remake. What would we tell the media? Fortunately, we have Taran and IndiaFM as our media partners (winks). Though, I ridiculed RGV last week for planning to remake Sholay! Damn, you should have come to me before that.

(Long Pause. Both thinking it over..)

FA: You are right dad. Well I have a plan. Let me get my laptop, I have made some notes (Gets the laptop). The formula is simple. Do everything exactly opposite as in the original don.

JA: Wow son. You are a genius!!

FA: (Shyly) Thanks dad. Chip of the old block, aye. (both laugh, as shabana azmi (SA) enters).

SA: Diwali ke din aap dono kya kar rahe ho?

JA: Far has got this great idea for remaking don, darling. Just finishing the final scripting. Shouldn’t take more than an hour dear.

FA: So, as I was saying. Let’s make it high-tech. I really liked Malaysia on my last trip there. That should a be good location. We can also make it look like an international drug cartel.

JA: Good!

FA: Lets make pran’s character, a computer expert who also steals diamonds when needed.

JA: Why not? That sounds believable.

FA: The movie will be filled with action and stunts. Lets get those crazy Chinese martial arts experts and go wild ;) When in australia for DCH, I did sky-diving. What an experience, it has to be in our new movie.

JA: Aww, all right dear. You can squeeze it in somehow.

FA: Umm, then we can get all these sexy chicks. You know priyanka is doing really well and so is kareena. With some decent wardrobe and sexy moves, they will light up the screen.

SA: (miffed) When will we stop treating actresses as eye-candy in our films?

(FA & JA ignoring her…)

JA: Soon, dear. (whispering to FA) I like that ;)

FA: Lets get my buddies shankar-ehsan-loy for music. They can easily rehash the old tunes using their new jukebox software. Wouldn’t have to pay them much (winks).

JA: Well, most of the things look in place. Let’s start scripting then.

FA: (Yawning) Dad, I am too tired right now. Here’s the DVD. Why don’t you write down the old lines? Don’t forget to make some changes, otherwise..you know (gives a sheepish smile).

JA: Ah don’t worry son. Your dad’s a pro after all!

FA: And yes. Don’t forget to put my name as co-writer. After all, I came up with the new ending :)

(12:30 PM)
==============

Thus, was born SRK’s don, 59 minutes flat. Sorry FA, I just watched the original to see what went wrong. You missed the bull’s eye by miles :( How we wished, you didn’t. You took a good action, entertainer and made a damp squib out of it. I also had a new found respect for AB, after watching SRK hamming his way through the new version. The only good thing about the movie was the twist. But that doesn’t justify spending crores in remaking a boring version, and that too from you FA (after DCH and Lakshya!). Worst, now you have started this crazy remake-the-old-films fad. Don’t know, how many cinematic mutilations will we have to sit through…

My Rating: **