Master Praz
Yes the face of Bollywood is changing. A look at the 54th Filmfare
awards will tell you that. Films like 'Rock on', 'Mumbai meri jaan' and
'A Wednesday' are not only getting nominated, but also starting to win
awards. However, the Filmfare awards undeniably continue to be largely
about commercial success and blockbuster stardom. We still have a long
way to go. A long way to go before films like 'Aamir' get their due
recognition.
Aamir - a film with a low budget, low publicity and zero celebrity
stars only caught my attention recently. The film signals its
uniqueness by the way it kicks off with a Hollywood-style old jazz
track in the background to shots of Bombay street life. The film caries
on to reflect utmost quality in its background score and music
soundtrack. In fact I'll go as far as to say that the 'Aamir'
soundtrack album is one of the musical highlights of 2008. Songs like
'Ha raham', 'Haara' and 'Ek Lau' are beautiful musical and lyrical
compositions by music director Amit Trivedi and lyricist Amitabh Varma.
Amit Trivedi, a new kid on the Bollywood block (also composed for 'Dev
D'), has outdone himself on his musical piece that stirs up a multitude
of strong emotions during the climax of the film.
If you are like me, and only got around to viewing this film long after release, you will realise that the film had an enormous task. My first thought as I watched the film open with snippets of Bombay chaos was "What could this film possibly offer that can compete with the year's Bombay-featuring hits such as Slumdog, Mumbai meri jaan and A Wednesday?" As the film moves forward its task to prove itself get even bigger, because you soon realise it is not only a film about Bombay, but also one about terrorism ' one amongst the many who seemed to have embraced such a theme in recent times.
Such is the brilliance of the films direction (Rajkumar Gupta) and editing (Aarti Bajaj) that you very quickly jump out of your thoughts and presumption about the film and get sucked right into the plot. The film is undeniably gripping and gets top marks for the thrill factor. What makes the film stand out for me more than the perfect pace is the eerie feeling it made me feel through most of it. I'm not a professional critic, nor am I technically knowledgeable about film-making. But what I am very good at is judging a film by the emotions it can conjure. Yes, I'm a professional viewer. So while I may not be able to put my finger on how the effect was created, I can tell you exactly how it was experienced. And 'Aamir' was experienced like a dream. Like that eerie dream-like state you feel you are in when something so unreal happens to you, as does to the lead character Aamir (well portrayed by Rajeev Khandelwal) in the film.
Yes terrorism is intrinsically linked to the plot as a theme. But to me the film has an entirely different core theme, and this is what makes it stand apart from others presumed to be in its genre. 'Mumbai meri jaan' was an expose of the aftermath of a terrorist attack; "A Wednesday" ' a case for proactive responding to terrorism. At its depth, 'Aamir' is about what it is like to be at the mercy of circumstance. It is about the age old philosophical dilemma of "how much control do we have over fate?" The film alludes to this theme not only in its tagline ("Kaun kehta hai aadmi apni kismat khud likhta hai?"), but repeatedly provokes thought about this dilemma as the film progresses.
It appears that the majority have interpreted the plot of this film
to support the tagline. Under the right (or wrong, rather)
circumstances anyone can become a terrorist. Not just people who have
experienced terrorism or injustice themselves (as portrayed by several
Bollywood films), not just people who are religious extremists, not
just people who are undereducated and brainwashed by extremist
ideology, but anyone. In the case of this film, an educated Doctor from
a minority religion who loathes extremist ideology, and does not feel
the need to confine his romantic relationship to his own religion. In
my view, the film ends by contradicting the tagline. Yes Aamir dies
labelled as a terrorist, and while that is not a fate he would have
ever chosen for himself, it is the choice he made within those
circumstances. To me the ending of the film is a reminder that even
when circumstances dictate out choices, we still have a choice within
those choices. There is always a choice, even when it appears there
isn't one. To me the film says that fate is combination of your
circumstances and the choices you make within them.
While on the surface yet another film about Bombay terrorism, 'Aamir'
is multilayered thriller with thought-provoking depth, hard-hitting
direction, creative cinematography and brilliant music. A fantastic
cinema experience; a hidden gem that I'm glad I stumbled upon.
Keshia