Movie Review : Khosla ka Ghosla : Chak de Phatte

It's time to officially recognize the arrival of Gen 21. The first mast mast batch of writers in Bollywood. Ironically, many find a place to stand in this busy bazaar because of Ram Gopal Varma, whose script sense seems to have gone for a toss. It's time to sit up and recognize the struggles and efforts this first generation of Bollywood writers in the 21st century are going through, just to bring out positive, meaningful cinema - cinema they believe in, you believe in, I believe in.

Jaideep Sahni, Aurag Kashyap, Abbas Tyrewala, Sriram Raghavan, Imtiaz Ali, Jahnu Barua, Nagesh Kukunoor, Anurag Basu, Sandeep Shrivastav and a few others that I may have missed in this Gen 21 that make you jump off your seat and do a Balle Balle.

Yet this Gen 21 may quickly disappear into the fast setting sun, if you and I don't accept our responsibility as an audience. The responsibility to go out and support such positive cinema, so the producers can recover their money, thereby fortifying their trust in such scripts, such stories, and such cinema.

The period between 1984 to 1995 must have been the worst in Bollywood, in terms of quality. Whereas in this year of 2006, in about 9 months, there are at least 5 movies that have just been amazing, in the period between 1984 to 1995 there must have been hardly 5 - 10 movies that you would have bothered to give a nod to.

And we may soon move to that moronic phase if you don't get up, walk out and drive to the nearest theater that is showing Khosla ka Ghosla and such amazing movies (I hear Dor is a masterpiece, though it hasn't released here in Los Angeles) that emits nothing but pure sincerity and meaning. Movies that tell a good story.

Southern California is about one third the size of the Indian state of Maharashtra. And Khosla ka Ghosla (as far as I know) is running in just one theater in the entire region. On Saturday at the 1pm show, there was a huge crowd (Telugu) at the theater to watch a Telugu movie (some Nagarjuna or Chiranjeevi movie). The screen where the Telugu movie was being shown was completely packed.

I stepped into Screen number 3, where KKG was being shown. We were three people in the entire hall watching the movie. Three supporters of a good movie in an area one third the size of Maharashtra. Three people. Me. And two others who found it hard to get off their cell phones while watching the movie (if I had a baseball bat they both would have been in the hospital by now). So that left just one person, who seriously watched the entire movie. One. Me.

Tragic indeed. Especially while watching a fluffy, hits your heart, stretches your smile - comedy.

Dibakar Banerjee and Jaideep Sahni dive right into this 2 hour story. So we have a K.K. Khosla (Anupam Kher) who invests all his life earnings to buy a piece of land to build his dream house on. Unfortunately the land is bought from one of those evil property agents. So the next day when Khosla and family go with their "pundit" for "Bhoomi poojan", a land shark, Khurana has built four walls on their land.

And thus starts the struggles of Khosla and family viewed through the lens of comedy. And in the process it brings the family closer together.

The story hits home. For many of you it provides identification right from the word go. The characters appear live and someone you know in the neighborhood or even within your own home.

The dialogues are seriously realistic with a comic underline. And many of the scenes look like Jaideep Sahni was there in the room and recorded your conversation with your friends and family, stepped out and made Khosla ka Ghosla. Amazing simplicity.

The laughs come out easily and effortlessly. Watch the scene where the father and son have a discussion on what goes first in an empty glass. The scotch or the ice? Or check out the scene where the theater director (Navin Nischol) is having the pre-act jitters, and when questioned as to why he's shaking his legs in his nervousness, he shoots back "It's my body. I'll shake anything I want!"

Light on production values but high on content, KKG is a pure entertaining package meant to be watched by the entire family.

And it's ably supported by a light, makes your heart go sing sing soundtrack. Favorites include Chak de Phatte, Ab kya Karenge Bhaee, Intezar Aitbaar, Isse Pyar, which all run in the background.

Of the cast, Parvin Dabbas does a good job as the younger son who initially comes off as a selfish guy, who isn't much interested in family matters, until his father lands in trouble.

Kiron Juneja as Khosla's wife breathes in the right balance of a typical Delhi housewife who tries to keep all the family in the same place.

Vinod Nagpal as the Sikh friend of Khosla, again is a character right out of our lives. Nagpal, an efficient actor makes no mistake in portraying the character of Khosla's friend helping and supporting him in his good times and bad.

Boman Irani as Khurana, the land shark, strikes back again. Really, here is an actor, who redefines the word "detailing" all over again. Watch his body movements and his mannerisms. The way he opens his cell phone or uses his eyes and hands - trying to impress his point.

One of the biggest scenes (and very intelligently written) is the one where Navin Nischol and Boman Irani come face to face in the hotel room and for the first few minutes there's this silent big man ego clash between them. How effortlessly Jaideep pulls that characteristic out is simply amazing. Of course it wouldn't have been possible if Nischol and Irani had not played that scene with such refreshing accuracy.

Tara Sharma as the younger son's love interest, who eventually is the key to helping Khosla out, seriously needs some dialogue delivery lessons as soon as possible. And I mean as soon as possible.

But in the end, there are two actors that rise above the rest of the entire great cast.

Ranvir Shorey, as the professionally failed, elder son, could not have played the character any better. At times Shorey comes so dangerously close to making the character so dangerously believable, you end up confused whether you are watching him on screen - in a movie or in the same hall as you - live in flesh and blood. Identification hits the bull's eye, if the character of Shorey is someone you know in real life. And if you are from Delhi or are aware of its various accents, Shorey's character is bound to knock you off the seats. We need to see more from this tremendous actor.

And in the end it's all about Anupam Kher, who comes back to tell us why he has made a place for himself here in Bollywood. The way he delicately handles the character is simply to be seen to be believed. Watch his mental state when he loses one battle after another and being the typical middle class man, he decides to let go of what he has lost. It's another character that you will find in your house or in your neighborhood.

A Minus. No gimmicks. No million dollar sets. No lavish song and dance sequences. No over the top emotional vomit. No special effects. No Swiss or New Zealand scenes. It's just a pure story. Pulled right out of your life and mine. Simply said, funnily told. Khosla ka Ghosla is the golden needle that hits your heart. Right at that sweet spot.