राहुल पंडिता हमारी पीढ़ी के जाने-माने लेखक और पत्रकार हैं. आजतक, ज़ी न्यूज़, इंडियन एक्सप्रेस, द संडे इंडियन समूह के साथ काम करते हुए इन्होंने हमेशा बेलौस और संजीदगी के साथ लिखा है. और राहुल के बारे में और ज़्यादा जानने के लिए टहलें सैनिटीसक्स पर. यहां पेश है फिल्म मोहनदास पर उनकी राय. हालांकि राहुल अच्छी हिन्दी लिखते हैं, पर मेरी नादानी की वजह से आपको उनकी राय अंग्रेजी में पढ़नी पड़ेगी क्योंकि मैंने उनसे उनकी राय मांगते वक्त हिन्दी में लिखने का जिक्र नहीं किया था. अनुवाद किया जा सकता था पर अंग्रेजी भी हमारे लिए अनजान नहीं है. तो पढ़े और अपनी राय भेजें. For about a decade now, ever since I developed the sensibilities of appreciating good cinema, I have been wishing that filmmakers in India take care of minor details and make films which are based on reality and which do not only cater to the aspirations of a majority of filmgoers who have grown up on the staple diet of Karan Johar cinema.
Though, while leaving, I voted for the film, giving it five stars, that was more of an encouragement and support to a new filmmaker than getting overwhelmed by his debut film. Afterall, in which viillage in India does a husband touch the cheeks of his wife in front of the "janata-janardhan" and that too while it is raining?
In Swades, for instance, Ashutosh has taken care of the practical aspects of life. Shahrukh Khan, an engineer from NASA, though he loves the heroine, is not willing to leave his pending assignments and go on hugging his beloved after alighting from a running train. Since he has come on a short holiday, he is shown wearing the same set of clothes; continuity, you see, has been taken care of. He has done his research unlike Kunal Kohli, who in a film about a Kashmiri terrorist attributes the most famous quote on the valley by Jahangir to, if I remember correctly, Aurangzeb. Come on, Kunal, we begin reading that quote from 3rd standard onwards, thanks to insipid NCERT textbooks.
In Mohandas, which I saw recently, the director has tried to make a sincere film. But right from casting itself, something just doesn't feel right. Nakul Vaid, the actor, is a complete misfit in the role of a "Valmiki" boy whose only aim in life is to get a job after graduation. His wife, who only looks alright in a swimming pool (as long as she doesn't open her mouth) acts like a Gauri missile for the film. And just because she has three marks on her chin doesn't make her a village girl. As a journalist, Sonali Kulkarni, changes her shoes thrice during a short rural assignment. Show me one journalist, even if she is from a glamorous TV channel, who carries three pairs of shoes to Sonbadhra. The judge, who has been named after Muktibodh – well, I just didn't understand what the director expected out of that character.
The only consolation is the new artist, who plays the role of a TV stringer. He is brilliant. The lyrics of the songs are brilliant, but in the film, no justice has been done to them – both musically and visually.
Though, while leaving, I voted for the film, giving it five stars, that was more of an encouragement and support to a new filmmaker than getting overwhelmed by his debut film. Afterall, in which viillage in India does a husband touch the cheeks of his wife in front of the "janata-janardhan" and that too while it is raining?
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