PAAP- Au contraire

With a name like Paap (translates to sin in Hindi), a director like Ms. Pooja Bhatt, and a cast that included hunk supermodel-turned-actor Mr. John Abraham, and newcomer model Ms. Udita Goswami, I am not even sure why I bothered renting this. I sure am glad I did though, because I was reminded not to be stereotypical and realized that things are not always what they seem.

The story of the movie is a lift-off from an English counterpart, the name of which escapes me at the moment, and it goes something like this. Ms. Goswami's character Kaya is a resident at a monastery and is soon to join the Order. The Buddhist monks among whom she and father (Mr. Mohan Agashe) stay chose her to go to Delhi to escort the new "chosen one", who it turns out is in the form of a 7-year old child. On the way back the child happens to witness a murder at the restroom of a hotel and is forced somewhat to give evidence at the gentle coaxing of Detective Shiven, played aptly by Mr. Abraham. The child is not much help until he spots the perpetrator on television, who turns out to be a senior policeman. Shiven tries to get help from the Commissioner of Police but he is also involved in the conspiracy and tries to get the child killed. Sensing the danger he has put them in, Shiven takes it upon himself to drive Kaya and the child back to the Order. He gets there badly injured and spends a month recovering and falling in love with Kaya. Will Kaya reciprocate his feelings, or will she join the Order as soon as Shiven leaves? And with our baddies figuring out where the star witness has gone they also find their way to the beautiful locales to form the climax of this pleasantly not-too-long film.

Among the performances I must say I have become a huge fan of Mr. John Abraham's acting skills, as well as his striking good looks. Yes he does take his shirt off in every movie he has been, a la Mr. Salman Khan, but somehow when Mr. Abraham does it, it seems natural, very subtle almost. Yes he also does have a smirk that accentuate his dimples and every director seems to want him to smirk but its done with such an appeal that it seems acceptable. His dialogue delivery is convincing and his brooding looks will always have you guessing as to the shade of his character. He has been in a bunch of one word films, being on the right side of the law in Saaya, Lakeer and this one Paap, and on the wrong side in Jism, Aetbaar, and Dhoom. In Madhoshi he has an exceptional role and in the forthcoming Elaan he is back with the good guys. In Paap he has given a restrained and genuine performance.

Ms. Udita Goswami, in her debut film, has given a credible performance as Kaya. She is a model and looks like one, probably leading to the feeling that she was miscast. She suffers from the desirable problem of looking too good for the role. Her voice control needs some work, but other than that she can go a long way in the film world. She has tremendous sex appeal, a body to die for, and she is only eighteen!! Mr. Mohan Agashe and the other supporting actors, such as Mr. Gulshan Grover have given relatively okay performances as well.

Ms. Pooja Bhatt directs Paap and it shows. The film has an uncanny artistic feel to it. It carries an intensity that lurks yet never really strikes. The sensuality is ever present during the Shiven-Kaya interactions, and there is that one scene that will stun you, yet in my opinion it was passionately and somewhat tastefully (no pun intended) portrayed. Fruits, fireplace and a wooden table in a house among the mountains? It doesn't get much more sensual now does it? Ms. Bhatt had previously produced films such as Tamanna (a masterpiece, and one worth watching if you haven't yet), Dushman (another wonderful film), Zakhm (winner of National Awards, and one of the best Hindi films of all time from an art point of view in my opinion), Sur (showing that a star cast isn't necessary for making a good movie) and Jism. In Paap she takes the director's chair and has given a good attempt. Even the end action sequences are very artistically shown and are brief so as not to over-emphasize the drama. The film moves at a good pace though at times the editing could have been better. Overall it was a commendable effort.

The cinematography of Paap is awesome, with some of the most stunning locales you would have seen in a film for a long time. The music is probably one of the strengths of the film. Not your run-of-the-mill Bollywood score, the music by Mr. Anu Malik, was totally classical. There were no item numbers or lovey-dovey tunes, but traditional classical at its best. Mr. Rahat Fateh Ali-Khan, nephew of the late, great Mr. Nusrat Fateh Ali-Khan, gives the best tune of the flick in "Laggan Lagi Tumse Mann Ki Laggan". The song was also well presented on screen.

I was particularly impressed by the exchanges between father and daughter and father and monks as they traded philosophies of life and living. The just mentioned was probably the "X-factor" of the film. There was enough time taken out to discuss love, life, death and humanity and it was pleasantly surprising the intellectual nature of the conversation.

I think the film's name might give some wrong impressions but au contraire Paap is a nice film with some beautiful artists, locales, music, and philosophies.

just a thought(s)

I was wondering about some things.

For example, before December 26th how many times in your life time did you ever say the word "tsunami"? Since that fateful day how many times have you said the word?

Isn't that interesting how a certain event or occurrence changes our vocabulary in such a dramatic way. Another example, 9/11 is now part of our mental verbal dictionary and pre-2001 it never was. Just goes to show how life is ever-changing and there is something new, something different just waiting to happen and waiting to change us in some subtle or dramatic way.

The (s) part of the blog. There are people who love to act out words when they talk. For example, some people point to their wrist when asking the time, or some pat their stomachs to indicate they are full. Well in the good old day when someone wanted to say they wrote something they would position their hand as if they were holding a pen and then scribble in the air. Nowadays, as I realised when it happened to me, when someone asks well what did you do yesterday or over the weekend, and I was trying to tell them I did some writing, I actually positioned my two hands as if I was typing and danced my fingers a little to stress the motion.

Which led me to wonder, are writers writers anymore or are they really glorified typists ? Hi I am a typer, not a writer anymore, is maybe what correction should be made. It will be interesting to note how much use is made of the pen. Remember that? The pen? That cylindrical object we used in conjunction with paper to "write" things ? Paper has continued its ascendancy with "the pen's" old ally "ink" and through "printers" it continues to be with us, but the good old "pen" is fast becoming resigned to a mere mantlepiece in our shirt pockets and our desktops.

Moral of the story I suppose, in life be the paper and not the pen ? Or at the very least be the ink.

Till other moments of idleness strike,

Shobhit