The Japanese Wife is quite an Abstract Film.

The Japanese Wife is quite an Abstract Film.

Aparna Sen had experimented with Kunal Basu’s story in her film The Japanese Wife. The story of the film is very abstract.

In the film Rahul Bose and Chigusa Takaku were pen friends who exchanged wedding vows through letters. They did not meet each other within 15 years, yet their attachment towards each other remained intact.

The relationship faced challenge when a young widow played by Raima Sen with a small child came to stay with Rahul Bose. Rahul Bose a teacher in Sunderbans and cared for the rural population of the place.

He cared for his unseen Japanese wife as well. When he came to know that she was ill with cancer, he took leave from his school to find a cure for the ailment. But later when the entire village was infected with malaria, he got infected too. He died at the end.

His Japanese wife came to the village in white saree, the symbol of a widow. The performances of Rahul Bose, Raima Sen and Chigusa Takaku were excellent. Moushumi Chatterji also did well in her respective role.

The music of Sagar Desai was soft and meaningful. Aparna Sen used the camera to perfection. But the trouble with these films lies in the ability of the viewers to accept it. Firstly the development of romantic relationship between a man and a woman through letters in the 21st century is very much imaginative.

Life had become so fast in the last years , that the impulses of slow moving personalities can reach the viewers to boredom. The story had very strong human values embedded in it, and the direction of Aparna Sen had been brilliant, but going by the record of realistic films in the last 5 years, it does not seem like being a crowd-puller in the real sense.

Even then it was a brilliant effort on the part of Aparna Sen to choose such a subject and do justice with it.

Mallika Sherawat had transformed herself.

Mallika Sherawat had transformed herself.

When Mallika Sherawat initially joined bollywood films, she was considered as an actress who was only inclined to expose herself. Her films Murder and Khwawish were related to body exposure.

Although Murder became superhit and Reema Lamba, better known as Mallika Sherawat became a hot star in 2004, she still required films which could allow her to show her acting talents. She also received international recognition with her performance in a small role in the film Myth, opposite Jackie Chan.

From the film Pyar Ke Side Effects opposite Rahul Bose, viewers started recognizing her as a talented actress. She was sublime in the film Aap Ka Suroor, where she played a negative role. Also her dance number in the Abhishek Bacchan’s Guru titled “maiya maiya” brought her prominence.

She did a great job in the film Maan Gaye Mugha-i-Azam. She was the wife of stage actor Paresh Rawal. She got attached with Rahul Bose, a member of the audience. Rahul Bose used the entire acting crew of Paresh Rawal to address terrorists. In his operation Mallika Sherawat played the major role. Mallika’s lips in the song “maan gaye mughal-i-azam” entertained the crowds. The song was made in the form of -a satire, and the play Mughal-i-Azam also created with the idea of addressing political questions of the relevant period.

In Welcome, she pretended to be the wife of Akshay Kumar, on the request of Paresh Rawal. Paresh Rawal never wanted his relative Akshay Kumar to marry a girl from a criminal family. But he entered into an affair with Katrina Kaif, the sister of underworld dons Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor. When Mallika Sherawat wept before Feroz Khan, the boss of both Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar, the marriage was cancelled. Although the role was short, Mallika Sherawat did very well.

She was sublime in the film Ugly Aur Paagli, opposite Ranbir Shorey. The film was related to betting, and Mallika had given slaps after slaps to Ranbir with one kiss only in a comedy drama.

In 2009, Mallika Sherawat featured in Kamal Hassan’s action drama Dasavatharam along with Asin. The other film Dhakreys Bed had convinced the viewers that Mallika can act, and given a proper script, can do better than other actresses of the contemporary period.

She had transformed herself into a promising actress. The viewers expect her to continue the good work and not sign cheap roles where only exposure is required, not acting.

Review of Maan Gaye Mughal-I-Azam

Review of the film Maan Gaye Mughal –i-Azam.

Last year the film Maan-Gaye Mughal-I-Azam was released. It was a comedy film directed by Sanjay Chhel where Paresh Rawal, Mallika Sherawat and other actors played important role. The music was composed by Anu Malik. The film had reflections of the comedy film Jane Bhi Do Yaaron if seen from a critical angle.

Paresh Rawal and his wife Mallika Sherawat was shown to perform in professional theatre. Initially it was shown that a play was enacted on story of the underworld in Mumbai. Then due to resistence from the local police and few mafias the play was stopped.

Instead of that play a historical play on Mughal-I-Azam was launched. In that play Paresh Rawal played the role of Akbar-the-great. Mallika Sherawat played the role of Anarkali. Everyday when Paresh Rawal used to start his introductory speech, Rahul Bose, a member of the audience used to enter the greenroom and speak with Mallika Sherawat. The communication resulted in an affair.

Later it was shown that Rahul Bose was an intelligence officer and he used the entire drama group to help him to reveal the existence of ISI agents in India. Rahul Bose asked Mallika Sherawat to meet the ISI agent and develop intimacy. After that the entire drama group was taken to the place where the ISI agents operated to get the RDX that was planned to have been used.

The RDX was recovered and the casualty that could have happened was prevented. Everything happened in a comedy manner. Through the comedy sequences the message relating to the unrest that was existing in India in the early 90s was depicted.

The film did not get box-office success inspite of the fact that comedy films got best reviews in 2008. One of the reasons may have been the intellectual part of the film which was not understood by the general mass.

Even if the commercial result of the film was unsatisfactory, films like Maan-Gaye-Mughal-I-Azam should be made in future for its intellectual value.