Nishabd
Posted On Sunday, March 04, 2007 at at 02:15 by rk rishikesh sinha
A man aged 60 falls in love with an 18 year-old girl; is the tagline Ram Gopal Verma’s Nishabd is carrying as a publicity stunt. If this tagline is for the cinemagoers to head towards the cinema halls, then it is OK and justified. But people who have accidentally or willingly came across this advertisement are intrigued and confused; they wanted to unravel the truth. They are asking, how a man (read old man) could fall in love with his grand-daughter’s age girl? How a star like Amitabh Bachchan afford to lead such a role? What Ram Gopal Verma is trying to capture through this movie? Array of questions like these are being bombarded, but unfortunately there is no answers to these questions.
The mere thought that a man of 60 could fall in love, indeed shocks us, as we usually do not accept or see in our society. The role played by Jiah Khan is challenging and thought provoking. Our natural reaction to the movie’s concept is covert, layered with self-doubts. An older person could fall in love with a girl much below his age. The practice is rampant in India, and there is nothing wrong to react erratically. It is a fact that we all must accept. We are giving a reserved reaction since pre-marriage love is unknown to us. On the other hand, we all have seen post-marriage love irrespective of the age. A movie is a movie and it has to be taken in that spirit.
On the question of Amitabh Bachchan playing the role, the answer lies with him. Bachchan himself said in his one of the interview: “gone are the days when the responsibility of running a movie actually was with him, but now it is on khans brother – Salman, Shahrukh and Aamir.” He said “the transition period has come in Indian cinema, new stories, new plots are being discovered. It’s a challenge and at the same time an opportunity for an actor to play as possible diverse and different role.” And for Bachchan, the time and age is at his side.
Ramu’s Nishabd actually breaks the Yash Chopra’s style of film making. In his film, one could see beautiful, breath-taking scenery with hero and heroines dancing around trees, making the audience unaware of the little things what normally a person do, like from does he get money. On the other hand, Ramu’s movies make oneself grounded to the real world.
Before Nishabd’s story is forgotten in the flurry of hindi movies. It would be wise decision to watch it and appreciate Jiah Khan and Bachchn’s new avatar. Love is possible.
The mere thought that a man of 60 could fall in love, indeed shocks us, as we usually do not accept or see in our society. The role played by Jiah Khan is challenging and thought provoking. Our natural reaction to the movie’s concept is covert, layered with self-doubts. An older person could fall in love with a girl much below his age. The practice is rampant in India, and there is nothing wrong to react erratically. It is a fact that we all must accept. We are giving a reserved reaction since pre-marriage love is unknown to us. On the other hand, we all have seen post-marriage love irrespective of the age. A movie is a movie and it has to be taken in that spirit.
On the question of Amitabh Bachchan playing the role, the answer lies with him. Bachchan himself said in his one of the interview: “gone are the days when the responsibility of running a movie actually was with him, but now it is on khans brother – Salman, Shahrukh and Aamir.” He said “the transition period has come in Indian cinema, new stories, new plots are being discovered. It’s a challenge and at the same time an opportunity for an actor to play as possible diverse and different role.” And for Bachchan, the time and age is at his side.
Ramu’s Nishabd actually breaks the Yash Chopra’s style of film making. In his film, one could see beautiful, breath-taking scenery with hero and heroines dancing around trees, making the audience unaware of the little things what normally a person do, like from does he get money. On the other hand, Ramu’s movies make oneself grounded to the real world.
Before Nishabd’s story is forgotten in the flurry of hindi movies. It would be wise decision to watch it and appreciate Jiah Khan and Bachchn’s new avatar. Love is possible.