In Defence of the Self and More!

Dear Anonymous,

I liked Cheeni Kum "just because". I am 43, remarkably superficial, a journalist by design if not training, so I am conditioned not to look at things too deeply.

And no I didn't think the movie to be "psychologically realistic" or "shockingly refreshing" or "morally complex". I just liked the movie, yaar.

I grew up watching some really terrible movies, countless number of them, in fact. And for years went to movies with very little expectations. I sat in dark theatres and wished for good photography, slick editing, witty dialogues, oh and the occasional nice story.

I found a bit of all that in Cheeni Kum which is what got me excited. I remember watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum and smiling most contentedly at one point when Kajol asks Shahrukh "Aaj jaldi ghar aa jana" and Shahrukh enquires "kyon?". Kajol has this lovely smile on her face and says "Aiwayi". That dialogue made my day, redeemed the movie in my eyes. As I said it takes little things to make me happy about a Hindi movie.

Ditto for Cheeni Kum.

All I see in a movie like Cheeni Kum which I like is that the gap between Indian movies and Hollywood is narrowing. It’s good entertainment for two and a half hours. And ,speaking a tad more personally, I am not exactly averse to the idea of seeing older men woo women far younger than them. It DOES give me hope.

As for older women and younger men. In self defence, all I can say is I watched 'Notes on a Scandal', quite loved the movie, and couldn't find any moral outrage within me about a teacher falling for a fifteen year student.
Looking back, I also quite enjoyed watching The Graduate and The Summer of 42. And please don't hold it against me that I was in my teens when I watched both the movies.

A film maker likes nothing more than a viewer identifying with the movie's protagonist. With someone like me that has happened over the years. I remember watching Sholaay as a eleven year old with a brother two years older than me. When Amitabh dies, and Veeru enters Gabbar's den, shooting down his henchmen on sight, my cousin broke into spontaneous applause and said : "Shabash Veeru, aur maaro".

From mid seventies to early eighties, I WAS Vijay. In Shaan, I was the one who smashed open the door to the villains' den and said : "Mai hamesha apne dushmano ko ghar me ghus ke marta hoo". And in Kabhi Kabhie I was the one who sang "Mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon".

It was also easier to identify as a young man with both The Graduate and The Summer of 42. I found the idea of a young man seduced by an older woman quite "hot". I can't quite honestly say I find the idea as appealing today.

On the other hand, one does get this nice feeling watching Bachchan wooing Tabu. Having said that, I must insist, plausibility plays an important role here. Bachchan and Tabu look good sharing screen space. There is a certain chemistry between the two.

Thus the real issue here, according to me, is not of the appeal of an older man falling for a younger woman, or vice versa. Point is, whether you can carry it off on screen. In Nishabad, the same premise took a beating, yet for me it works in Cheeni Kum.