25 Years of Dil Chahtha Hai

Bollywood has gone to the gutters. I cannot recall the last time I was in a theatre to watch a Hindi language bollywood movie; it was probably 3 Idiots , back in 2009. Its surprising that despite being the industry that makes the worlds highest number of movies, the bulk of what is produced is essentially garbage. Is there a hope for something better ?

Well, 25 years ago , a movie did release, which gave us a glimpse of an alternative future. It made us think, made us cry, made us laugh. But mostly it made us dream. Despite being headlined by 3, top nepo-baby actors of the time, and being the directorial debut of another product of nepotism, it captured lightning in a bottle. Showed us that it is possible to create simple movie, with simple themes, without the need for flashy commercial ingredients.

That movie was Dil Chatha Hai.

A slice of life movie about three urban, rich , college graduate friends living in Bombay, this movie was a breath of fresh air (especially considering it took place in the city). While staying grounded in the reality of the time, it also poked fun at contemporary cinema by playing in a few cliches ( Woh Ladkee hain kahaan comes to mind). And it surprisingly avoided the overused cliche of the love-triangle in storytelling. It featured strong, independent women characters, making their own choices, and are never sexualised in the movie. There are scenes set in clubs and touristy Goa, but there are no scenes of alcohol or drug abuse.  And it did not have a big, bad bad-guy villain , a typical role in Indian cinema of the time. Instead the obstacle the characters have to overcome are their own egos.

So it is sad that director Farhan Akthar gave us this one gem, and went back to typical indian movies with the rest of his offerings. And although the industry later gave us further movies about friendships in the city, none of them would ever come close to the nuanced story telling that is seen in DCH.

Substantial parts of the second half of DCH was shot and set in Sydney, Australia. At the time, I had no idea that I would eventually move to the very places we glimpse in Akash's loneliness. The Sydney harbour bridge, many train stations.. Martin place.. it was fun retracing those places in the city.

But the most iconic of shots and places in DCH is the chapora fort, a place relatively unknown till that time, and is now the most famous landmark of Goa.  And who can forget Akash's famous hairstlye with the goatie ?

Thank you, Farhan and team, for giving us this glimpse. And , its been 25 years, time to make another one.

Artemis - 2 : The Space Race of our time

I am just bookmarking this for myself.  

Also, this site provided the best live tracking of the mission.

https://issinfo.net/artemis

Starry Night

There is this scene from  the 2004 movie, Around the World in 80 days, where Phileas Fogg sighs that they are in the wrong place. "This is isn't science, this is art"

Some time later, he declares the Monique's work is far better than those of the other amateurs. And we get this scene:

Cracks me up everytime !

The movie might have been a box-office bomb, but for me it is one of those under-appreciated treasures from that time. It is based on a classic Jules Verne book , one which I enjoyed reading as a kid. It is an adventure comedy, which never gets serious, but does get emotional. It features star actors from the time: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Jim Broadbent...and cameos from so many others..  Arnold Schwarzenegger , Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Owen Wilson. They got the start and the climax of the movie faithful to the original story, but everything else is just made up ! I don't think they were trying to make a faithful adaptation, but rather a fun, laugh in your seats movie very good just enjoy travelling the world in the 1870s.

But I find this particular scene extremely funny because that person in the last scene is supposed to be Vincent Van Gogh, who has put his famous painting "Starry Night" in the art museum. And I adore that painting.

That is probably the single painting every generation since the boomers will be able to identify today, simply because it is kind of everywhere now. There are cups, mugs ,t-shirts, pillows available in its design. 

And the reason this is not illegal is because the artwork is now in the public domain. Yes, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889) is in the public domain worldwide because the artist died in 1890, far exceeding the 70-year post-mortem copyright rule.

Now there are numerous paintings about the night sky, like Pissarro, Millet (who also painted a Starry Night), and Hopper's Nighthawks. But it is Van Gogh's interpretation that everyone knows of. He died the year after he painted his masterpiece, his wife apparently struggled to sell the rest of this work. It would take decades after his death for his work to gain recognition.

This is the joke that the scene in the movie above is trying to make; Phileas calling Van Gogh an amateur is point on, because at that point in history, Van Gogh's work  was yet unappreciated.

Now I am trying to recall where I saw this work and learnt about its doomed artist; I am going to venture a guess that it was in college. One of my roommates was an artist, he did pencil drawings, but he had books of great artists. He might have been the one who showed me the night. 

Neil degrasse Tyson is a fan of Gogh and the Starry Night.

       

And there are multiple songs titled "Starry starry night", my favourite being the cover by Lianne la Havas

And BBC's Dr Who had to have an episode only for Van Gogh, an episode that might have helped spread his fame among millenials.

It is clear that what captures everyone's attention is Van Gogh's distinct style, using those short brush strokes to create those circular patterns, which one cannot really see in a clear moon-lit sky. Its nothing special, its just the night sky. This is what he saw out of his little window that night, yet it is presented as a grand spectacle, using the simplest of strokes. Sure, anyone else could have done it, but it probably takes courage to break the conventional rules that others adhere to.

So tonight, when you get some time, look up at the stars, and try to see the beauty up there. 

...and also watch the movie. :D