Hitch-hiking with Salman

The lasting influence of Amitabh Bachchan's Supremo, a taste of Tom Alter, Padmaavat's best scene and more in Sukanya Verma's Super-Filmi Week.

Monday

While searching for a file in the cabinet, I come across the husband's neatly bound copy of old comics.

What catches my eye straightaway is an illustration of a masked man in a pink bodysuit sporting a kilt tucked under a belt holster.

Any 1980s Indian kid will recognise this description.

But for those who came in late, I am talking about Supremo, a short-lived superhero comic book series based on Amitabh Bachchan.

At that time, he was the biggest superstar imaginable and a unanimous favourite among us kids. It was a matter of pride to procure these comics and later brag about it to the less fortunate ones.

At the beginning of Adventure of Amitabh Bachchan: Treasure Island, Amitabh averts a near accident-like situation and helps out a young boy on crutches by driving him to the orphanage he lives in.

Those were simpler, innocent, times and just the idea of 'Amitabh Uncle' offering a lift in his car felt like the ultimate wish-fulfillment fantasy.

The celebrity hitchhiking bit in the story, which develops into an action-packed pursuit of treasure featuring the Big B's on-screen alter egos Vijay and Anthony, had a lasting impression on me.

Some years later, Salman Khan's Maine Pyaar Kiya came out and turned him into an overnight sensation. I was one of the countless 'Prem' fans responsible for it.

Around that time, our Hindi teacher assigned us a topic for essay, something along the lines of 'The most unbelievable day of your life.'

I wrote about how I was running late for exams and couldn't find an autorickshaw for school.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and just when all hope was lost, suddenly, out of nowhere, a shiny luxury car emerged and stopped right before me.

The window screen rolled down and a friendly face peeked out -- it was saakshat Salman Khan inquiring, 'Kya hua, beta?'

My classmates burst into laughter at this point of my read-aloud narration while Rodrigues Sir rolled his eyes at the sheer audacity of his pupil's super filmi imagination.

I explain to Salman the reason for my despair. Somewhat amused, he magnanimously offers to get me school on time, which he does.

Not only do I get to sit for the exams, but pass with flying colours. End of essay.

Let's just say, my teacher was thoroughly unimpressed and my classmates got their laugh of the day.

In an alternate universe perhaps, his journey at Being Human started with me. ;-)

 

Tuesday

One of the most attacked Hindi movies of this decade, Padmaavat is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

I found Sanjay Leela Bhansali's imposing period drama somewhere between ornate and overdramatic.

Although I am in no mood to revisit it so soon, a desire to watch my favourite scene -- when Ranveer Singh's Allaudin Khilji drops in at Maharawal Ratan Singh's (Shahid Kapoor) palace to break bread -- compels me to do so.

What I enjoy most is how diplomacy tiptoes around deceit to generate juicy tension. Triggered by Khilji's quirk and glib phrases and contained in an amused Ratan Singh's temporary tolerance for it, plates are swapped and then returned to their original order.

This is one the few occasions Bhansali allows these characters to be flesh, blood and fascinating instead of one-note purveyors of prestige and power.

 

Wednesday

It's a full house at PAYTM's special IMAX 3D screening of Ready Player One in Noida.

Steven Spielberg's love song to 1980s pop culture may be lost on those unacquainted with the decade but is rewarding for suckers of nostalgia.

Hands down, the movie's pièce de résistance's Spielberg revisiting Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

Recreating the eerie ambiance of Overlook Hotel to a T, what renders it even more special is the knowledge that Spielberg hated The Shining on first viewing.

He'd later watch it over two dozen times. 'It's one of my favourite pictures. Kubrick films tend to grow on you, you have to see them more than once.'

In an interview featured under the Special Features of the Eyes Wide Shut DVD, Spielberg talks about first meeting Kubrick when the latter was in the finishing stages of Shining, which would eventually become the site for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Both film-makers possess a distinctly unique voice. But hearing Spielberg on Kubrick, a colleague he deeply admired and a friend with whom he often played sounding board, you see what he is achieved in Ready Player One is not mere tribute but a moment of becoming one with the Kubrickian vision.

 

Thursday

Browsing through the pictures I took during my recent trip to Mussoorie, I find one delectable shot of a vegetable and cheese pot pie I ate at Café De Tavern.

Named after the late actor and Mussoorie native, the Tom Alter Express is a light, creamy, baked casserole that is mild yet flavourful and richly satisfying.

Often recipes named after movie stars are gimmicky in nature, but this is a truly yummy and befitting interpretation of a warm, eloquent, artist.

 

Friday

I am at a theatre near home watching Baaghi 2 and it's nice to see the hall is almost fully occupied by college kids.

Tiger Shroff's latest excuse to suspend my disbelief and his muscle-rippling frame mid-air is pure hokum, but I refuse to give up on the guy.

He is loaded in charisma and what seems serviceable now can be shaped into exciting talent in the right hands. The dude is one smart script away from breakthrough.

 

Saturday

Amitabh Bachchan has worked with numerous actors, but I'd rate his chemistry with Amjad Khan among his best.

A song from Yaarana is playing on television, Bhole O Bhole. This breed of bromance simply doesn't exist any more. And if someone tries, it'll just end up looking contrived and unnatural.

The Big B's village bum is beseeching a Shiva idol to patch up things up between him and his pal. He has got a gifted voice and Amjad Khan, his city-dwelling best friend, wants him to realise its full potential.

Khan is so effortless playing cross that Bachchan's earnestness almost feels exaggerated.

But there is this invisible tuning between the two, which makes it imperative to root for their reunion and Yaarana is a feel-good flick despite its glaring inconsistencies and patchy execution.

What is particularly notable is their ability to effortlessly change equations as per the script -- worst enemies, estranged father-son or simply best friends that go by the name of Kishen and Bishen.

 

Sunday

1990s fashion never fails to amuse.

Here's a throwback to when Sunny Deol wore his growling reputation on his sleeve and stole the scene from Suresh Oberoi's scowl, Kiran Kumar's sneer and Karisma Kapoor's docile arm candy.

Pity he didn't get his own Tiger, Tendua or Cheetah franchise.