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Friday, April 19, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD EKK DEEWANA THA
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***
If God lies in the details then Ek Deewana Tha, Tamil-Telugu
director Gautham Menon`s first Hindi film in 11 years, makes it all the way to
the church.
But hang on with those bells.
Indeed courtship is treated as a religion in this intense take on that thing
called love. The romantic situations though weather-beaten and seen in scores of
films, exudes a sincerity and a freshness, thanks to the locations. And we don`t
mean just the mesmeric backwaters of Kerala and the leafy bylanes of suburban
Mumbai.
A master storyteller, Gautham Menon locates his story right in his leading man
Prateik`s heart. The gentle actor carries off the role of the love-struck
adamant Romeo with a more than a fair amount of earnest passion, bringing to his
character a landscape of longing desire bitterness and finally satisfaction in
love.
The initial scenes where the modern-day Romeo Sachin (Prateik) tails his
landlord`s daughter (stilted newcomer Amy Jackson) radiate an ambrosial amour.
The mo`bike, the furtive glances, the movie sneaked together…it`s all done
with a warm splendour that covers a range from the sly to the tender.
A.R. Rahman`s music is used for a number of dance pieces where Prateik uses his
newly-enhanced body language to show us what love can do to an ordinary regular
guy aspiring to be a filmmaker under the tutelage of, ahem, Ramesh Sippy who at
some point spews this wisdom on the lovelorn Sachin: First solve your
heart problem then get back to work.
The trouble with this elegantly-packaged but somewhat selfidulgently-edited love
story is that it takes a very long to get to the point. Like many notable love
stories directed by South Indian directors the aaj ka Romeo must prove his love
by traveling through various cities and emotional levels before…well, getting
there.
The journey in Ek Deewana Tha is not as bracing as in K.
Balachander`s Ek Duuje Ke Liye or Mani Ratnam`s Saathiya.
But there are many nerve-points in the storytelling that pinches the pulse of
the core emotion.
It`s the detailing that both nourishes and diminishes the film`s impact. Menon
takes us through the various levels in the love relationship in excruciating
detail leaving nothing and everything to chance. While delineating every step in
the courtship, the screenplay also makes room for plenty of those quirky
coincidences that make for a star-crossed love affair.
Interestingly like last week`s Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, the couple`s love
reaches a point of no denouement. And then Menon pulls back. In a lengthy
monologue (well written and enacted by Prateik, but far too long and
self-indulgent specially since it comes at the fag-end of the story) the entire
relationship unravels and comes undone in a twirl and torrent of emotions.
And there you know, Gautham Menon has got a hang of the romance. Like Prateik`s
courtship this film is labour of love. Problem is, the going gets laborious
after a point. But for the diehard romantic Ek Deewana Tha lets us
into a world where love is not only a means to salvation, it is also a helluva
pain in a place where it hurts the most.
A Perfect Romance... More or Less!!
An A. R. Rahman Musical!!
Sachin is a regular guy-22 year old engineering graduate from a middle class family in Mumbai who is in love with the world of cinema. As a struggler in the film industry-where his long days are filled with waiting and then some more waiting, surviving on his father’s pocket money and desperately trying to make an entry into any of the main film camps-there is nothing that makes each day worth looking forward to.
And that’s when he sees Jessie, and it is love at first sight for him. Jessie is beautiful, elegant, smart and classy. But Jessie is not that simple. Jessie belongs to an orthodox Malayali Christian family where watching movies, partying or falling in love are completely taboo.
While Sachin battles with the idea of someone like Jessie and her family living in 21st century, modern Mumbai-he finds himself increasingly drawn to her. Jessie, for her part, tries to forge a friendship between them-believing that cloaking their feelings under the umbrella of friendship would save them heartache, tears and a full blown family drama.
Ekk Deewana Tha is the intense, yet feel good love story of these 2 very different characters as they understand the pangs and pleasure of first love while battling with the situations that life has placed them in making Sachin question all the time - Of all the people in the world why did I fall in love with Jessie ?
