End of a Raj ( 'Befikre' - Wow ! And how !)

( My published weekend review which I am re-posting here as a fun read for my Indian friends)

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Twenty one years back, while parting at the Waterloo station, as Simran asks Raj if he shall make it to her wedding. Raj doesn’t say yes. Or no . He just stares at her, his accusing eyes conveying what his words can’t.

It was that precise moment in Bollywood history where Vijay was buried. And Raj was born. And as I have often said in my earlier reviews, so was Shah Rukh Khan – as he brought to life an on- screen brat like never seen before in Indian cinema . So while the other Khans and Kapoors ducked for cover, SRK ruled the industry for the next fifteen years, trapped in an image that even he himself could not break out of, no matter how much he tried.

Indeed, DDLJ was a tough legacy to live up to.

In these twenty one years, Aditya Chopra, the maverick behind DDLJ, grew up. But more as an astute producer, having quietly left his brilliance as a director somewhere behind . Yes, he tried his hand at a couple of outings in these years ( 2000, 2009) . But they were both forced, manipulative and terribly unworthy of him. Frankly, I had almost written him off.

And now suddenly he gave us “ Befikre”. And left me with my mouth open. Like masters often do.

Despite the promiscuous undertones of its promos and mixed reviews doing the rounds, I still wanted to watch the movie. Alone. I love cinema, and I like to keep track of the work of greats and the once-greats. For me, Aditya Chopra still figures among the Once-greats . I wanted to watch it all the more because Raja Sen had trashed it as a “ maddening waste of time”, and KRK had branded it to be a semi-porn nonsense. Now, I have observed that whenever these two jokers hail a movie, it bombs. And vice versa. So I had an inkling that “Befikre” might just work.

It does work. And how. And wow !

It takes immense gumption on the part of a filmmaker to weave a romcom around such a wafer thin plot, most of which is recycled material ( ‘Neal and Nikki’, ‘Mere yaar ki Shaadi’, ‘Love me if you dare’, and obviously Chopra’s own ‘DDLJ’). But as Ranveer Singh mentioned rightly in a recent interview, when you leave the theatre, you don’t remember to question the plot, or express your disapproval over the kissing scenes, or about Ranveer’s red chaddi. Such is the power of the sleek editing and presentation that your eyes and mind stay transfixed on the screen from scene to scene, completely investing yourself into it, never for once minding or counting flaws , if any. Like a master narrator, Aditya Chopra takes you on a joyride that is somewhat an antithesis of his own Frankenstein – mocking & dismembering it frame by frame , and gently slaying his own Raj to make way for Dharam, who is Chopra’s Raj of the new millennium . In 1995, a NRI Raj and a 2nd generation Brit-Indian was aspirational for the newly globalized Indian youth. In 2016, the street smart Desi boy from Karol Bagh who effortlessly breaks into French Snobbery, represents the young India which is not self- conscious about being Indian anymore. Like Ranveer Singh once tells his French girlfriend that he is the ‘most Indian’ thing she can ever find. Or as the second generation French Shyra, who otherwise hates everything Indian, secretly wolfs down an ‘aalu kaa paratha’ to ward off a depressing day.

“Befikre” is a mindless rollercoaster ride about two youngsters of this day and age who live in a glocal world and whose paradigm of defining relationships has changed since the days when Simran ran into the mustard field into the outstretched arms of Raj. Dharam and Shyra start with sex , move into breaking up and then discover each other as friends. In between, they plan to get hitched to different people. Somewhere along the way, something goes wrong in the landscape of hearts. And love happens. The old fashioned way. The ‘mehendi lagaa ke rakhnaa’ way.

Where ‘Befikre’ lacks in content, it makes up masterfully in other segments. The cinematography by Kaname Onoyama shall make you gasp and forget the Switzerland of Yash Raj fame. It captures the nuances, the shadows, the charm and the wildness of Paris like never done before in Indian cinema. The music by Vishal Shekhar is already topping the charts for months now. In fact, in terms of music, ‘Befikre’ outclasses DDLJ and the other two Aditya Chopra flicks by a decent margin ( my family has threatened me that if they hear me hum ‘ Nashe si chadh gayi’ even one more time, they shall be forced to call the cops) . Besides the obvious three chartbusters, listen to ‘Labon kaa kaarobaar’. It is one of those magical numbers that hook you in the first hearing itself . I also loved Chopra’s style of telling the story – alternating between the past and the present, a novel way to present a familiar story in a nicer way.

Coming to performances, Vani Kapoor left me stunned. I mean, I actually HATED her in the promos where she came across as a typical Delhi-ite bimbette with a big mouth that is forever grinning. But when you watch her in the film, she is an ace who carries a reasonably difficult role with the effortlessness of a veteran. She is charming, sassy, vulnerable and completely takes stock of the character that seems to have been written only for her. And man – she can DANCE like a girl possessed ! Amazing !

And now Ranveer Singh. Whatever I write about Ranveer’s Dharam, shall fall short. Aditya Chopra had recently said that he would not have made ‘Befikre’, had it not been for a certain Ranveer Singh. I totally believe him. While this guy has moved from strength to strength in each of his movies so far, with ‘Befikre’, Ranveer Singh has surpassed every peer of his by miles . Many critics have compared his Dharam to his rendition of Bittu in ‘Band Baja Baraat’ . I disagree. Ranveer’s Dharam is several layers heavier than the uni-dimensional Bittu. Here is a self- assured Indian millennial guy who, by his own admission, is about to ‘complete his ‘Ph.D on women’, and yet who has no clue why he himself said yes to marrying someone he doesn’t feel that zing for. Indeed, here is the Raj of the 2010s. No questions asked. Applause !

While formatted to wear a light hearted mask, there are some scenes that stay with you. There is the scene where Ranveer goes to fetch stuff on their ‘break up anniversary date’ and tells Shyra, “ Chali mat jaana..”, and Shyra replies, “Jaa chuki hoon main..”. Or the scenes where Dharam urges Shyra to say yes to her banker suitor ( who also sports a six pack and sings Bollywood numbers, as a complimentary offering ) , and when Shyra dissuades Dharam from committing to his girlfriend, with the song playing in the background, doing a de ja vu throwback on “ ho gaya hain tujhko..” from ‘DDLJ’ . Then there is the trademark obsession dance that Yash Chopra had patented in his films . And the new age mother-daughter conversation where the mum no longer reminds her daughter of the compulsory sacrifices required in an Indian woman’s life. Rather, she says in a very tongue in cheek manner, “ apne French hone kaa kuch toh faydaa uthaa..”

But the scene I loved the most was the scene where, after Shyra’s engagement, a confused and lovelorn Dharam cracks a poor joke as a part of his performance ( he works as a standup comedian at a shady Indian joint) and nobody laughs, except for an old man who finds it terribly funny. There was something deeply damaging and disturbing about the scene. Very lopsidedly classy in a Chaplinesque way.

Go watch “Befikre” at the theatres if you are young enough to fall in love. Or to fall in love again. Go watch it still if you are old and cynical enough to have stopped believing in love. You will come out of the theatre feeling that love hasn’t stopped believing in you yet. It changes forms. Yet lurks in the background. As decades pass. And as we grow older and wiser. With lesser and lesser people around us to love.

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