Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

Today is a generation obsessed with western clothes, western accent, western everything... They tend to forget that they can explore these luxuries ONLY because their homeland is a free nation and a democracy. Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi is meant to be an eye-opener for the youth who have not seen India when she was down and a reminder for the adults of what their generation and their older generations survived.

The movie starts off as a few people just following some ideologies that are very common in the college campuses. But some of them take it too far and decide to live their lives by those ideals while others go and make money and a grand living. Both lives have meanings of their own. The movie very eloquently shows how diverse India is... it shows the cities that are flourishing in wealth and dirty politics; it also shows villages where people die because of poverty or even caste related oppression.

The movie might be perceived in another way too... It could look like the moral is to "Not follow your ideologies if they are for just the well being of others"... but then is that life really worth living?? I think the underlying message was to just follow your vision to completion even if the sacrifices required are humongous.

The casting was perfect. Kay Kay Menon proves to be a very versatile and powerful actor. Inspite of being quite new to movies, he shows a lot of maturity and intelligence in the way he acts. I cannot imagine anyone other than Shiny Ahuja in the role of Vikram. He brings in the "cool" element in the movie. He has the charisma of a fixer-upper guy and also the fiery passion of a man in love with a woman who is in love with someone else. Chitrangada Singh does a terrific portrayal of the girl born and brought up in metros but finally following her ideals (or maybe the ideals of the man she loves). She has a lot of potential to be a powerful character actress.The two songs - title track and 'bawra mann' are really haunting melodies.

I don't think the film was a commercial success... But I definitely vote it as a "must see"... worth every penny! Its nice to see Pritish Nandy putting his money into projects that have some social value...

A few days ago, I watched Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi with some friends. I am still thinking of it after more than a week has passed. Rare does it happen that an Indian movie leaves such a lasting impression. It is refreshingly bold in its portrayal of its central characters and the story of their personal journeys in search for their identities.

The story is set in the early 70's when emergency and pro-poor (naxalite) movement shaped the thoughts and actions of millions of idealistic youth in India. The story deals with three characters- two males and a female, each from a different stratum of Indian society- each with different passions, goals and idealism. It is their story of love, hope and final attainment of their goals.

The central and most important character is without doubt Chitrangada Singh's Geeta. Her idealism draws her to revolutionary ideas, but she is torn by her need for the softer, more materialistic things of life, for love and a family. This constant pull shapes her life, her choices, and her final destination, depicted touchingly in the end of the movie. She is shown as the most human of all the characters, making her the most believable and most admirable. On one hand, I am in awe of her strength and inner resolve; on the other hand, I feel her suffering and emotional trauma.

KayKay Menon's character Siddharth starts out as a youth of privilege who takes a bold step of fighting for the cause he believes in, leaving behind his only true love. He struggles with the repressive authorities and the demons with in him- his sudden realization that he is after all human in the chase scene, had a dramatic effect on me, suddenly bringing other side of his nature into sharp perspective. His desire to fight out the authorities is derived from his own insecurities about himself. He finds his closure when he accepts his failures.

The most complex of all these characters is Shiny Ahuja's Vikram. His desire to climb the social ladder is surpassed only by his fiery passion for Geeta. She is the only centrality to his other wise meaningless, high powered, and politically connected life. She makes him yearn for making himself successful, and that is what drives her away from him. His choices can be understood only in the context of the complex and unfulfilled relationship he shares with Geeta. His love is never requited in the true sense of the word. Nevertheless, he is the one who finally brings meaning back into Geeta's life.

Technically, the movie is very good, with nice camera work and precise scissors of the editor. Some scenes are breathtaking in their beauty. Dialogues are sometimes difficult to understand, but that ends up adding to the over all tension of the movie. A must watch for any lover of good cinema!

If you thought that the 60's and the 70's was just about Rock and Roll, drugs, and retro clothes, think again? The 3-R's - Revolution, Rebellion, and Rock n' Roll - dominated most young minds. Rural India was subjugated. Independence was a mere farce (It's a different issue that it still is). Amidst all this chaos, the youth of India were driven towards various Ideologies. But how many of them were serious about the paths they chose? It was a fad during the 60-70's to indulge in drugs, rock n roll and college morchas. Most students entered college politics and turned into rebels, who were against the capitalist values of the society and the government in general. But not everyone was serious. Once their "wonder years" were through, these so-called socialist preachers, born with a silver spoon, backed away in testing times. But, then there were those who took this path seriously to a different level. Those who gave up luxury, and dreams of a "settled" life with wife and kids for the benefit of those Indians who suffered due to the Government's apathy.

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (HKA) is the story of such turbulent times during the India of the 60's and the 70's. The Emergency, the Naxalite movement, the domination of government in every decision Indians made. It is the story of three people who lead contrasting lives, with contrasting ideologies, and how their lives are intertwined.

If Siddharth (Kay Kay Menon) gives up his luxurious ways to reside in the villages of Bihar and start the Naxalite movement, Geeta (Chitrangada Singh) decides to pursue studies, only to eventually unite with Siddharth and support him in his mission. On the other hand, Vikram (Shiney Ahuja) chooses to be a middleman, or broker, of sorts, fixing dubious deals for the government and the capitalists.

This is a movie about ambitions, of desire, of love, and politics. If Siddharth continues his undying mission to form a strong Naxalite movement; Geeta, in spite of being married to Arun (Arif Zakaria), supports Siddharth from the outside as her lover, and confidante. It is as much about Geeta's own struggle of making the right choice: marriage, ideology, love, and as much about Vikram who, in spite of being a womanizer, continues to love Geeta and willing to go to any extent only to be in Geeta's good books.

HKA is a reminder to the youth of today that there were times when young blood was idealistic and not idle-istic. It is a dark reality, and a bitter truth of the struggle, which many went through during those turbulent times. Maybe the youth should wake up to such calls, and not just work in call-centers, lest we downgrade to a society where we might again be dominated and Independence becomes a facade.

I had no clue what the movie was about when I rented it, and I absolutely loved it. Though I felt there were a few oddities when I saw it for the first time, when I watched it for the second and third time, I was able to appreciate the excellent performances by the entire cast, and the awesome script. Especially Shiny Ahuja, who plays Vikram Malhotra to perfection - every single expression on his face throughout the movie was a 100% apt. I also loved the Indian-ness imbued in the settings - the houses, roads, cars, government buildings, sound of birds, Geeta's sarees etc. Made me feel deeply nostalgic. The music adds to the poignancy of the movie, and is used very fittingly, to create a dramatic effect in certain scenes. I highly recommend this movie to all movie buffs, because I think of it as a unique work of art from the Hindi film industry. It's entertaining to those who want light entertainment, provides food for thought to those who are keen on watching films with ideological themes, and is an absolute must-see for die-hard romantics.

A real breath of fresh air in Indian cinema, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is a very real, earnest, crackling-with-life portrayal of what it (apparently) was like to be a college student in Delhi in the late 60s and 70s with the opposing currents of Marxism and (indira) Gandhian totalitarianism. Intertwined with the ideology and the politics is a love story of three people, who start off with different ideas and whose ideas criss-cross in the course of the film. Superb direction, vibrant cinematography, slick editing, lovely music and superlative performances from all three protagonists make for a thoroughly satisfying cinematic experience. The surprise package is Shiny Ahuja, whose model-boy looks belie a prodigious acting talent. Both Kay Kay Menon and Chitrangda Singh deliver superb performances with Chitrangda looking stunning throughout. People say she looks like Smita Patil, I wouldn't know. While the film is not without its faults, including the occasional stilted dialogues and imprecision in the narrative, the overall effect is good enough to make you forget these. Watch this and get high!!

PS. I also have a quibble with the way 5.1 sound was used quite ineffectively when it could have been much better employed in many scenes. But it's churlish to complain about such things in a treat of a movie!!