Posts Tagged ‘dev’
Man from the Dark: Prologue
Late again, he thought parking the car. As he managed his tired body out, the night clock at town square hit a dozen. “Where is the key?” he grumbled. A min later and turning all the pockets inside out, he bent down and fetched the emergency one from under the mat.
He lit a cigarette. It was a modest one bedroom apartment, with not much furniture to speak off. There was an old sofa, couple of chairs and some dusty books on the book-stand. Few shoes spread across the floor. As he washed his face, his eyes stopped at the mirror. Twisted eyebrows that once made him fancy to the gang, seems to be mocking him. Sagged cheeks, bulging belly, drooped frame. Who could say he was just thirty-five.
He touched the mark just below the neck; it looked like a bullet hole. He dismissed it and came out. It was another lifetime. He quickly ate the dinner and hit the bed. Tomorrow again the day will start early.
A familiar sound woke him up. “No it can’t be, maybe just a dream”, he thought half asleep. Again the same piercing sound. How can it be? He regained his thoughts and moved swiftly to the door. “I couldn’t be mistaken. I have lived too much through this to be confused. It’s definitely a gunshot”.
He took out the revolver taped under the shoe rack, Not for such a situation. With caution, he peeped outside. Nothing in the gallery. The elevator gate was trying to close but seemed stuck. He was too well aware what it meant. He could see a lifeless leg stuck in between. He went to the back window and saw someone rushing towards the North Exit.
He slid through the railings and swung in action. With light speed and tremendous flexibility he was on the ground in no time. Straight from the 10th floor. He chased the figure, trying not to lose the sight. There was no dramatic “Stop or I will shoot you”, as he knew too well that it rarely helped. Also he had no appetite to shoot. Not anymore.
He followed the person through the alley into an abandoned warehouse. He was panting. It would have been 5 kms run at least, and it has been 5 years. Shaking off the slumber, he kept the concentration on. There was a small door towards the left with a shadow coming out. “Gotcha!” No sooner had he stepped inside than he heard the door closing behind him. He knew just then, his life was about to change. Again.
“You are a hard man to find Mr. Dev. He looked through the bullet proof cage, as the man with the pointed nose spoke to him calmly. I got an assignment for you. Before you say anything, I must add that it concerns your daughter.
“What is he saying?” Dev showed emotion, after a very long time, after that torturous night 5 years ago.
“She is alive and so is your wife”, he said putting out the cigarette. That very moment Dev knew this was an assignment he couldn’t say no to.
Cult Movies: Down the memory lane
Cult movies is an altogether different phenomenon. Once in a while there comes a movie which is followed widely across the college campuses. You could see everyone humming the songs, enacting the dialogues and discussing it all over. They are not bound by the movie being a hit or a flop, good or bad. They are there on the merit of clicking with the youngistan, so to say. During my college days I came across a number of such cult movies, which were watched repeatedly, each time with as much excitement.
1. Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein: It was released during my school days. I remember everyone going, “Maddy..Maddy” The tiffs between Saif and Madhavan were legendary. The ever cute Reena Malhotra and the innocent and lovable Madhav Shastri were a treat to watch. When the car stopped in the middle of the night and Madhavan tried to explain to Dia, what was really on his mind. Superb. I came to know more about its cult status when I came to college. Regardless of it not being a hit, it was loved by one and all. At least across the colleges.
2. Haasil: Another of such movie which made a huge impact on an entire generation. One which made Irfan Khan a household name when he went like, “Kya Bhaiyya…pehchante ho na humein?” It went on to become a dialogue which replaced the hi’s n hello’s The arrogance of Ranvijay Singh, the politics of Gauri Shanker and the innocence of Aniruddha. A Gem. I don’t remember how many times have I watched this movie with my friends. What I remember is lip-synching each and every dialogue, having learned it by heart. “Vaayu ko ulta karte ho to kya banta hai? Yuva”, “Bolo Jai Bharat” and million of such superb dialogues is what made Haasil. A realistic account of college politics which struck the cord with the college Junta.
3. Gunda: This movie followed the theory that number line is circular, –∞ and +∞ do meet, just as -1 and +1 meet at 0. This movie was so bad that it became a favorite of millions. Every dialogue was like a short poetry and Kanti Shah knew how to make them lewd. “Mera naam hai bulla, main rakhta hoon kullaaa”, became an introductory dialogue. There were blog sites dedicated to Gunda. There were discussions as to the sequence of various scenes in the movie. The blogs that were initially started as satire helped in propelling the movie to the cult status. Did Shankar worked as a Coolie at the airport still remains one of the very many unanswered questions. There was even a bid to make it the highest ranked movie on imdb. It still has a respectable 8.4 rating despite an effort of sabotage. Thanks to the Gunda fans.
4. Dev. D: This recent take on Devdas, is what made me write this article. Will it become a cult movie? Now that I am no longer in college, I would never really know. But it seems to have all the ingredients. First of all the songs are bound to become the theme of every daaru party. The dialogues are superb too. “Jaa ke chad apne buddhe pe”, “Tumhein tumhari aukaat bata rahi hoon” and other such dialogues would easily find their place in the life of college going junta. Also there is no dearth of Dev’s and Paro’s. Going by the superb story, acting and direction, I have no doubt that it would be the next cult movie. I so miss to be in college right now!
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