Lose hope not, idiots! Hirani returns with signature style

Raju Hirani will never make you cry. He'll tell you the truth, give you life as it is, and sprinkle a bit of his magic on it. 3 Idiots is that magical touch. The issue is simple: overambitious parents, peer pressure, IIT or IIM...it's everyone's life story. What the idiot says is 'why take life so seriously'.

"I love Aamir's take on life in the film; we worry so much about our future that we forget to live today...how true," said city-based writer Mrinalini as she walked out of the theatre with a big smile on her face. This (the smile) is my first in a long time, she says.
Pardon the cliche, but 3 Idiots was a much-awaited film. And what a year-end big bang we've been treated to. One of the biggest releases worldwide — 1,766 cinemas, 4,000 prints across 32 countries.
To add to the excitement, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has announced the release of film on the internet. In eight to ten weeks, you'll be able to download 3 Idiots legally!
Loosely based on Chetan Bhagat's book Five Point Someone, the film is fresh and funny. "You can't draw a parallel with Munnabhai or with the book, but what you can make out is the spontaneity of the actors who've played their parts well. Nowhere do they look old or ragged. Moreover, the humour is not forced and nor were the emotions. The story flowed gently and makes a point without preaching," adds Mrinalini.
For Aditi Srivastava, vice-president of INIFD, it's a must-see for all parents. "The movie packs in a message, and I could relate it as a parent — the pressure kids go through, how mugging up is not everything. There is more to life; one needs to grow and develop their own personality," she said, along with her husband Sanjay and son, giving the film a thumbs-up.
While the super hype worked, Twitter has critic Rajeev Masand saying" "It falls short of Munnabhai standards, yet 3 Idiots is a broad, massy entertainer; pushes all the right emotional buttons. Melodramatic yet feel-good."
"Outstanding. Proud to be an Indian because we can make movies like this. That's three in a row for Raju," tweets music director Vishal Dadlani.
But here's the best by writer Shridhar Raghavan: "Deadliest movie I've seen this year. 80 per cent Hrishikesh Mukerjee, 20 per cent Manmohan Desai, 100 per cent all heart. Hirani's best."
So what's the consensus? Watch it. For fantastic performances, Hirani's flawless direction, Shantanu Moitra's melodious music and a story with a soul.

Of good Girls and Vamps

Meet Shelle, the man whose works have attracted millions in search of 'timepass' at bookstalls and libraries across India Her kohl-lined eyes are serene and dispassionate. A huge bindi adorns her forehead and her lips are a glossy red. Though vile-looking nails pierce her body all over, she retains her serenity. Had she not been a face on a book cover, the maiden would most definitely been the ever-suffering bahu in a 1980s Bollywood family drama. The same bahu whose conniving mother-in-law will try every trick on the book to make her life miserable. Tea cups will be flung on her face, her cooking skills mocked and then she will be made to wash mounds of dirty clothes.

So you see she is not just a face on a book cover. For Mustajab Ahmed Siddiqui (aka Shelle), a resident of Amroha, in Uttar Pradesh, she is an inspiration. A prototype on whose mould countless other cover girls of Hindi pulp fictions are created. "She is an icon. I have based her on all the heroines of Bollywod films. Their stoic sufferings are reflected in her eyes," says Shelle.

If you frequent railway stations across North India, you couldn't possibly have missed Shelle's women. The stare at you from those ubiquitous book stalls, they lie abandoned in station benches dog-eared and defeated. Giving the ever-suffering heroine stiff competition is the seductress in hot pants, crimson-lipped and mascara-eyed. She is an antithesis to the heroine, the chalk to her cheese. "In our days you only had heroines and vamps. No grey characters. The heroines were paragon of Indian virtues while the vamps were corrupted by Western lifestyle," Shelle laughs.

By his days Shelle means the good old 1970s, when he started painting covers for Hindi crime fictions. "I was an art teacher before. In 1971 I was approached by one of the publishers to paint the cover of a book and I haven't looked back," says Shelle.

Since then Shelle's artworks have graced the covers of more than 4000 Hindi pulp fictions.

And it wouldn't be presumptuous to say that he has contributed a lot in making the likes of Anil Mohan, Ved Prakash Sharma and Surender Mohan Pathak bestselling authors. "As much as I would like to, I don't get to interact with the authors much. Generally the publishers give me a briefing and I follow instructions. But nowadays I insist on lengthy interactions with the authors," says Shelle. The paintings are 12"X18" in size and are three times the size of the printed books. Shelles usually uses oil paint, with cuttings from magazines and posters to add to a collage feel. "They are scanned later and then the book titles and blurbs added. Technology has made our life a lot easier," says Shelle.

Technology, however, has spelled doom for the market of Hindi pulp fiction. "People are so used to gadgets and internet now that they don't need to fall back on these books for entertainment," says Shelle.

However, thanks to Chennai-based Blaft Publications, Shelle's works have found new avenues. They have bought out a collection of 25 postcards for Rs 295, Heroes, Gundas, Vamps & Good Girls, which offers us a closer look at his artworks.

The human touch

Dr Atamjit Singh is honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award for his play 'Tatti Tavi Da Sach'I'M of course, elated. But there's a kind of pressure attached to the award which I'm dealing with," Punjabi playwright Dr Atamjit Singh is his usual unassuming self, as he accepts congratulations for the 2008 Sahitya Akademi Award. Dr Atamjit has been chosen for the award in Punjabi language for his play 'Tatti Tawi Da Sach', based on the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev. The award, smiles the writer is a great honour, "many a time, I have seen many great writers lose their creative prowess after receiving an award, it's entirely my feeling, but the fear persists, and I don't want that. I want to continue writing with more passion and creativity, so please pray for me,'' Dr Atamjit asserts that he's never written for any awards. "But it would be wrong to say, that I never expected it. Yes, I never worked for it and sometimes luck also plays its part,'' Dr Atamjit is the Principal of ASSM College in Mukandpur, and is passionately involved in the entire process of teaching.

Dedicating the award to his father SS Amole, a Punjabi writer of great repute, Dr Atamjit recalls how his father had a deep desire to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award, "it's something he shared with me one day and so this one is for him. It was his birth centenary in 2008, and sadly no one remembered to celebrate it, and I want to with this award.''

As for Tatti Tavi Da Sach, Atamjit corrects that the play is not religious, as believed, but a strong political and cultural play. "I looked deep into history to understand his martyrdom and he was one person who never related himself to any cast or sect,'' Dr Singh talks about the political and religious aspects of Guru Arjan's death. "He gave his life for human dignity, multi-culturalism and secularism,'' Dr Atamjit hopes that we look beyond religions and sects, towards a more wonderful and equal world.