Saturday 16 June 2012

Let's drench in cinematic RAINS........




As a child I like the rains a lot, don't get me wrong the grammar is perfect. It provides something of a relief for us who live in a heat stricken city for many a days which seem like an eternity. It symbolizes the reward for being patient with a little bit of harshness. It represents the blossoming of joy and happiness for the child like enthusiasm for some of us. In accordance to people who drive, it also symbolizes their hopes being wiped away, for each year we are promised and each year we are dejected(like recent Ramu films, only difference being the frequency and impact of dejection). All those ill effects apart I feel that this is one season which seems more magical to me than any other. It has that sense of cinematic poise, provoking some emotions which you did not realize prevailed in that sometimes heartless soul. This is one season which can melt away even the most stone like hearts. That's why this is one season which is used the most on our screens to accentuate the mood or sometimes just to get things going on between lovers. Here I would like to mention two of my favorite rain moments which represent something magical.



Let's start with by far the most famous song and deservedly the most remembered rain sequence, the ever so graceful cinematic moment for Hindi cinema, Pyaar Hua....... Yes this is by far the moment everyone knows and everyone admires. I have to say this is a classic moment, cinematic brilliance and will always be close to people who believe in cinema. I don't need to say anything about this moment on celluloid for there is none left to say. So let's not speculate, let's not digress, let's not even admire, let it astonish and let it represent, a message for everyone , even we can be original.


Another classic moment for me and maybe representing one of the most beautiful woman ever to live with utmost justification is that moment in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. This is a great song with a rhythm which was very ahead of it's time and both of them with fantastic chemistry. I just adore the way it was shot on made for a really enthralling touch on an already masterpiece of a film. Sparks of romance are to be established like this and this sequence in it's essence has been copied for eternity in films.

Rains and romance have always been established and well executed on film for decades now. Prime examples being Zindagi Bhar nahi Bhoolegi Woh Barsaat ki Raat, again with Madhubala being drenched in rain and Bharat Bhushan falling for her with innocense which may not be accepted today. Bheegi Bheegi Raato Mein, having my favorite Rajesh Khanna doing his singular step to the ravishing Zeenat Aman in Ajnabee. Or the odd couple of Amitabh and Smita Patil in Namak Halaal dancing on a cart, brilliant and different. Another Amitabh moment in the rain is with Moushmi Chatterjee with my favorite song about the rain, Rim Jhim Gire Saawan in Manzil. I like the Lata version of this song more because of the rthym used and the rains. To the more recent one's Jiya Dhadak in Kalyug, Tum se hi in Jab We Met, Kaante nahi Katte in Mr.India and the list goes on.

But some people have taken a really different approach to this season, using it with a different perception, a take which may not have been similar to any sense and yet provoked that familiar feeling. I would like to mention one such moment which went rather un-noticed and un-appreciated. I am talking about Lagaan, the way the monsoons and its significance to the poor farmer has been established is brilliant, everyone remembers the last ball six which wins the match but the rain gods showering them with sweet water after that majestic moment and the real joy of a farmer which tends to overshadow everything else really was beautifully written and executed with excellent grace in this film and for me was the winning moment. This is seldom appreciated and rarely remembered but truly is one of those sweet moments which goes unnoticed.

Another fantastic moment worth mentioning is the moment of turmoil and helplessness filmed on one of the finest actors ever to live, Mr.Dilip Kumar. In one of his most memorable performances which came rather late in his glorious career in a film titled Mashaal. This film directed by surprisingly the king of romance films,Yash Chopra really reflected on the harshness of the Indian society and a man trying to fit in without giving up on his morals. This film is still relevant in today's time and age and is one of my favorite Anil Kapoor performances. Here torrential rains have reined havoc on the city and Dilip Kumar's character is trying to get his dying wife to the hospital. A really dramatic and genuine moment of sheer helplessness and sorrow, the rain is used without any flair but adds perfectly to the atmosphere which turns dark and bleak. One of the finest examples of subtle writing and use of atmosphere to built up an emotion rather than aggressively provoking it. Javed Akhtar's solo script really is the supplement to this fine scene.

Good or bad the rains have been used like a tool or a piece of prop over the years in cinema. Some using it brilliantly some using it for absolutely no good reason. But whatever the case or whatever the need, it has been proven effective, time and tested if I may and that is the reason why this is one formula which fortunately will not change. So lets's sit back with a cup of tea, switch off your TV, look at the shadows cast by the clouds and let that special song playing in the back of your head bring rains of happiness and satisfaction for your soul.
 



1 comment:

  1. Wow....perfect timing....nice rains....romantic weather....hot cup of tea....and an amazing article to read....nothing else can make a perfect sunday!!!!! Like Like Like :) :) :) :)

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