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Post by emily on Jul 8, 2015 0:14:50 GMT
Just wrote up a blog post on Mera Naam Joker, a film I that absolutely blew me away. You can read it here.For those who haven't read it and want to avoid spoilers (my post is full of them), here are some brief thoughts: I thought Rishi Kapoor was absolutely brilliant in his role as young Raju, and I'm pretty lukewarm on Rishi in general, so that is high praise! Of the three parts, I like Part II the best, where Raju falls in love with a Soviet trapeze artist. The back-and-forth between the two, including trying to work around the language barrier, is so precious. Part II also contains one of the best, and most heartbreaking, scenes in cinema, where Raju has to work through his pain to entertain the audience in a "show must go on" mentality. Seriously, some loud, blubbering sobbing on my part at that scene. For a film of the early '70s - and in Bollywood! - the film pushes some boundaries, with sexual overtones throughout. I'm sure the people who took their kids expecting a family-friendly film were scandalized, and maybe that's why it did so poorly at the box office. That and its length...I saw the 183 minute version (which unfortunately is cut way down) but the original cut was said to be five hours long! It was Raj Kapoor's dream project, so if you're a fan at all of him, it's really a must-see. He pours his heart and soul into it, and it gives you a lot of insight into his own life, since it's thought to be pretty auto-biographical. |
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Post by dancelover on Jul 8, 2015 18:48:44 GMT
Emily, after MNJ flopped, Raj decided to change styles, and made "Bobby," starring Rishi as the Young Man and 15-year-old Dimple Kapedia as Bobby, the Young Woman. You might consider reviewing Bobby next, because they are considered to form a set. Dancelover Just wrote up a blog post on Mera Naam Joker, a film I that absolutely blew me away. You can read it here.For those who haven't read it and want to avoid spoilers (my post is full of them), here are some brief thoughts: I thought Rishi Kapoor was absolutely brilliant in his role as young Raju, and I'm pretty lukewarm on Rishi in general, so that is high praise! Of the three parts, I like Part II the best, where Raju falls in love with a Soviet trapeze artist. The back-and-forth between the two, including trying to work around the language barrier, is so precious. Part II also contains one of the best, and most heartbreaking, scenes in cinema, where Raju has to work through his pain to entertain the audience in a "show must go on" mentality. Seriously, some loud, blubbering sobbing on my part at that scene. For a film of the early '70s - and in Bollywood! - the film pushes some boundaries, with sexual overtones throughout. I'm sure the people who took their kids expecting a family-friendly film were scandalized, and maybe that's why it did so poorly at the box office. That and its length...I saw the 183 minute version (which unfortunately is cut way down) but the original cut was said to be five hours long! It was Raj Kapoor's dream project, so if you're a fan at all of him, it's really a must-see. He pours his heart and soul into it, and it gives you a lot of insight into his own life, since it's thought to be pretty auto-biographical. |
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Post by emily on Jul 10, 2015 18:42:05 GMT
I'll see Bobby soon, dancelover! I've wanted to for a while. But I promised myself I wouldn't get any more vintage Bolly movies until I finish the batch I ordered last, and I'm going to try to stick to that promise  |
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Jul 11, 2015 13:34:08 GMT
I liked your blog review, Emily, I thought it was a very moving and intelligent dissection of a film that had affected you deeply.
The reviews on the old forum tended to be mixed to negative from what I remember: a lot less was known about the different versions until that comparison on zulm was posted, and IIRC there were viewers who either felt that they couldn't assess the film accurately from a cut-down version, or felt that the film overall was either confusing or overly self-indulgent.
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Post by emily on Jul 11, 2015 13:42:49 GMT
I liked your blog review, Emily, I thought it was a very moving and intelligent dissection of a film that had affected you deeply. The reviews on the old forum tended to be mixed to negative from what I remember: a lot less was known about the different versions until that comparison on zulm was posted, and IIRC there were viewers who either felt that they couldn't assess the film accurately from a cut-down version, or felt that the film overall was either confusing or overly self-indulgent. Thanks so much! I really appreciate it. Even days after watching it, it's stayed at the front of my brain and I'm dying to give it a rewatch soon. The film certainly strayed into self-indulgent territory, especially in Part II. Then again, so did Sangam at times. I think over-indulgence is Raj's MO of sorts (with some exceptions)...his stuff is often larger than life. And since this was his dream project, some of the metaphors and allusions to his own life definitely come across as heavy-handed and even preachy. And yeah, the cuts...there were times in the film where it was abundantly clear something was missing. The Shemaroo cut is much like a beautiful puzzle missing some middle parts. |
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Post by emily on Sept 6, 2015 4:41:11 GMT
Sometimes I feel as if I've only scratched the surface of this film. I hope I can track down the full version one day. It's been a long time since a film has stuck in my head like this one has.
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aspiringfilmmaker
Junior artiste
Posts: 87 
Favorite actor: Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, SRK, Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra
Favorite actress: Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Shraddha Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Brothers, Dilwale, All is Well
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Post by aspiringfilmmaker on Sept 7, 2015 7:00:11 GMT
Sometimes I feel as if I've only scratched the surface of this film. I hope I can track down the full version one day. It's been a long time since a film has stuck in my head like this one has. Hopefully RK Films comes out with an extended cut Blu-Ray with the 5-hour version soon! That being said, I'd love to see a revival of the RK banner with some films starring Ranbir Kapoor - it'd be interesting to see how they carry out Raj Kapoor's penchant for socially relevant themes to modern-day cinema. |
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Post by emily on Sept 7, 2015 12:54:48 GMT
Sometimes I feel as if I've only scratched the surface of this film. I hope I can track down the full version one day. It's been a long time since a film has stuck in my head like this one has. Hopefully RK Films comes out with an extended cut Blu-Ray with the 5-hour version soon! That being said, I'd love to see a revival of the RK banner with some films starring Ranbir Kapoor - it'd be interesting to see how they carry out Raj Kapoor's penchant for socially relevant themes to modern-day cinema. Extended 5-hour cut! I'd buy a Blu-Ray for that. I've seen so many ideas tossed around to revive that banner. The book I have on the Kapoors has so much about RK's sons wanting to carry on the legacy. But so far, I haven't seen anything significant done or even talked about in a long time. The latest news item I read about was Awara possibly being colourized, and that's been like a year or two since that news broke. I agree re: Ranbir starring in these films...I'm finally starting to warm up to the guy! |
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Since Sept. 6, 2022, Chiloka has not been reachable. (