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Whatay!

What we learnt from ‘Koffee With Karan’

Some major learnings, none of them pleasant. Here’s a list of 5 top reasons we’re ditching this show’s next season.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

We all love a good dose of gossip, especially about celebrities. And what could be better than celebrities bitching about other celebrities? On the face of it, Karan Johar has a good formula on his hands – he invites the biggest names from the Hindi film industry to the show, he sometimes asks them about their love lives point blank, he laughs at himself and is generally a friendly presence.

And yet…Koffee With Karan Season 4 was an extremely shallow, bordering-on-pathetic attempt to make our desi stars appear more glamorous and more intelligent than they already are (not). If Karan was hoping to make a better impression this time around and lay the groundwork for the show’s next instalment, we are sorry to say that this season has been terrible, and during the father and daughter Kapoor’s last episode, we nearly stabbed ourselves in the eyes with a blunt pencil.

If this show comes up with Season 5, and it will, we are going on vacation and coming back only when the show’s over. Here’s why:

1. Karan Johar is homophobic.

We don’t know about you, but Karan gave us a headache in every single episode with his ‘At gunpoint, if you had to have a gay encounter…’ question. At gun point? What’s so gun point about having a gay encounter? Then he thought it was very funny that Aditya Roy Kapur ‘admitted’ to a gay relationship with Ranbir Kapoor. What’s more, the question and the resulting giggles indicated that Karan, and his guests, wanted us to think that everybody in the room was straight.

Next time, Karan, if you must start a question with ‘At gun point…’, consider these endings:

– Which of my films would you watch on loop for a week?

– Tell me, what do you really think of the coffee hamper?

– Tell me, why does nobody remember the name of the dog in Hum Aapke Hain Koun?

2. The dumbest guests always make it to the show.

Sonam KapoorA case in point is Sonam Kapoor, who took top spot this season from such worthies as Alia Bhatt (“My GK is bad!”) and Anushka Sharma, whose only response to any question about Virat Kohli was a giggly “Shut up, Karan!” Not only were Sonam’s views on ‘art films’ and ‘not good-looking people are not necessarily good actors’ astonishing beyond anything else we’ve heard this year, she kept peppering each sentence with the word ‘like’. Like, every four words, she would say ‘like’.

And then, like, she said, “Robert deNiro!” to the question, ‘Who said, ‘An eye for an eye makes the world blind?’ Like, really, Sonam. Did you leave your brains in your other fashionista suit?

3. Karan invites very boring guests with nothing to say.Salman Khan

For all its so-called ‘fun and candid’ quotient, our celebrities are remarkably boring on the show. Most of the guests this season made us yawn with their responses to questions – we’re not saying the likes of Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit are boring people, they probably get like that for Karan. The only exception to this parade of yawn-worthy guests was Salman Khan, who was merely an ass. What’s more, the show does not invite anyone outside of Mr Johar’s immediate clique – why not invite Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Huma Quraishi, Randeep Hooda, to name a few? Maybe they’re too intelligent for this show.

4. The coffee hamper is getting increasingly tacky.

What was that thing, really? We swear that picnic basket thingy is so tacky, if it met Sonam Kapoor in a dark alley, she would first have hysterics and then comment on how ‘not good looking hampers are not necessarily good hampers’.

And why do Karan’s guests pretend to fall all over themselves for the chance to win it? More to the point, what is in it? Why are the contents so secret? We’re dying to get our hands on the hamper, so that we can set fire to it.

 

5. This show is a cesspool of lies.

So. Many. Lies. On. One. Show. Either these people really believe their own deluded statements or they think viewers are nuts. The following is just a small list:

What they said What they meant
“I never read gossip magazines or papers.” I gloat over gossip written about others.
“We’ve never been friends, but we’ve always been cordial to each other when we meet.” Except for the times when I look through her/him, which is always.
“I don’t have any enemies in the industry.” Only frenemies, because I’m a bitch that way.
“I’m not insecure. There’s place for everyone.” I will do whatever it takes to sabotage my rivals’ projects.
“He’s never given me a reason to not trust him. We love each other too much to cheat.” So what if I caught him 12768 times? At the end of the day, he always comes back to me, like a homing pigeon.
“Finally winning this hamper is a monkey off my back.” Only a monkey on crack would actually want to win that thing.
“I didn’t marry a hero because I was not interested.” Also because the hero I was seeing then suddenly got himself arrested. What a bummer.

 

(Pictures courtesy www.india-forums.com, www.in.com, www.indiatimes.com, idiva.com) 

What did you think of Koffee With Karan, Season 4? Tell us in the comments section below.

Categories
Cinema@100

The painter who made films

An encounter with MF Husain before he made Meenaxi showed the artist’s love for women and his passion for films.
by Humra Quraishi

I last met MF Husainsaab here in New Delhi, during one of those crucial junctures in his life and times – his art works had been attacked by right-wing goons and he had also been talking about his deep passion for films; filmmaking, to be precise.

hussain When I tried asking him for his reactions to those attacks on his art work, he tried fobbing me off, waving his hands and mumbling impatiently, “Kuchh bhi chalta haitheek hai…” He didn’t want to comment on the matter or be drawn into further controversy. With that, I changed my questions, and diverted him towards his latest passion – film-making.

With the very mention of films, he relaxed and became quite forthcoming. “Film-making is my passion, and now I plan to make a comedy. (It’s) A lot of work, but anyway, I am not a lazy man. I work day and night. Yes, I work all through…get very little sleep.”

But can a comedy be a success, I asked.

He looked upset. “I’m planning to make a subtle comedy which will be a part of our culture. It’s a misconception, brought about by the media, that our people can’t appreciate comedy. I would say with great confidence that 80 per cent of the people in rural India do know and can appreciate comedy and those different aspects to our culture. Our people can sense and appreciate so much, because of our culture that is part of our very being, of our everyday life and living… It’s the elite living in big cities who are ignorant.”

But aren’t our rural folks more engrossed with their daily battles for survival? With that in the background, can they afford the luxury of watching films, I wondered.

He was annoyed, to say the least. “What sort of questions do you media people ask me these days? Some of you ask me about Madhuri (Dixit)! Now you are asking all this! Talk to me Madhuri_Dixit_with_painter_MF_Hussainabout this latest film I’ve made. No, not a commercial venture for me, my latest film – Meenaxi: A Tale of 3 Cities. It has been my passion to make this film on this subject…I have shot it in three different cities; Prague, Hyderabad and Jaisalmer.

“The story revolves around this woman searching for love and this restless writer…the bond that is forged between them. See this film and you will know what I have tried to portray, that bond between the two souls. No, it isn’t a commercial venture for me, I just made it because I wanted to.”

I cautiously put in a question: “What about the distractions in your life?”

“What distractions? Here I’m working din aur raat, what distractions are you talking about?”

“Now that you are making films, so actresses and other women could attract or distract you…” I said.

“Show me one man who isn’t attracted to women. Let there be one thousand women and I can make each one of them happy! It’s all a matter or rapport.”

What attracts you in a woman, I asked.

meenaxi“I’m attracted to strong women…those independent types and definitely NOT the weak types. I find those weak, crumbling type of women just hopeless. In fact, the women in my paintings are inspired by the Shakti in a woman. I believe that our traditional Indian women carry a special strength. It’s that strength which can be termed magical and it can do wonders,” he said.

I had been studying his latest series of paintings on women; a combination of the Gupta Period and the folk form. He was more than happy to explain the details of his Tribhanga Series. “There’s an emphasis on the head, the shoulders and the hips of the woman. The way an Indian woman walks is so graceful, I love it! If you’ve noticed, the Western woman walks straight, without a sway, and the walk loses its appeal. Even Kalidas had written on the woman’s gait and he had compared it to the graceful walk of an elephant, calling her Gajagamini (she who walks with the languorous grace of an elephant).

“I am also attracted to a woman’s ear lobe, the very turn of her head, the movements of her hand. Actually, once you are in love, then everything about her attracts you…”

Have you been in love, I asked.

“I have admired many and loved several women,” he said at once.

“But doesn’t true love happen just once in a lifetime?” I persisted.

“Yes, it’s true, but the same love keeps shifting from person to person, from one woman to another.” Perhaps in response to my bewildered look on hearing this terribly strange, yet practical rationale on love, he burst into poetry:

Ek mere muhabbat ka itna sa fasana hai /

Simtai toh dil ashak /

Phailai to zamana hai…’

He was suddenly in the mood to talk further on this subject. “I love the naïve type of woman. She leaves a definite impression. But she should be naïve and yet strong.”hussain qatar nationality

“But isn’t that a strange combination? Naïve and strong?” I said.

“Then have two women!” he joked.

I had to ask him: “You are married, with children and grandchildren. With that in the background, didn’t you face problems falling in love/sustaining a love affair?”

“Nothing matters once you are in love,” he said. “Once a rapport is built, then nothing comes in the way…”

Then he gave me a sidelong glance and mumbled, “Par aap se woh rapport nahin ban pa rahi hai…(I am not able to build a rapport with you).”

“Thank God for that!” I retorted. “I don’t want any rapport with you.” 

Humra Quraishi is a senior journalist based in Gurgaon. She writes on politics, social issues and occasionally, on films. Cinema@100 is a series that celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema.

(Pictures courtesy vakkomsen.blogspot.com, realandfun.blogspot.com, quicktake.wordpress.com, cmaconline.org, starmusiq.com)

Categories
Film

‘Our Dhak Dhak was a tribute to Madhuri’

Model, anchor Gaelyn Mendonca talks about her very first Hindi film, and why she wishes she was a part of ‘Barfi!’.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

She’s been a TV anchor and has even hosted ‘Pepsi Change The Game 2011’ as part of the Cricket World Cup coverage, apart from walking the ramp for every major designer at Lakme Fashion Week. And like most models and TV personalities, Gaelyn Mendonca recently made the switch to Hindi films – Gaelyn’s first film was the just-released Nautanki Saala, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunal Roy Kapur.

In an interview with The Metrognome, Gaelyn talks about shooting for her first Hindi film, dancing to Madhuri Dixit’s legendary ‘Dhak Dhak’ song and shooting with ‘her buddy’ Ayushmann. Excerpts from the interview:

How did you get the opportunity to work on Nautanki Saala?
Gaelyn: The casting director of the film gave me a call and I gave a screen test for the film. Within two hours I was finalised for the role and I started with the workshops the very next day.

Please tell us about your role in the film.
Gaelyn: I play this girl named Chitra who is Ayushmann’s girfriend in the film. She is headstrong and practical. She loves him a lot but has a few issues with the way he deals with certain situations.

How did you prepare for this character?

Gaelyn: Loads of preparation went into this movie. Ayushmann, Kunal, Pooja and I went through an intensive 20-odd day workshop where we rehearsed our stuff and got fully familiarised with the script.

What was it like shooting for ‘Dhak dhak’? How long did this shoot take?
Gaelyn: Shooting ‘Dhak Dhak’ was one of the high points of my career. We shot the whole song in just one day! We tried to recreate the classic with a modern and funky twist to it.

Did you or the other girls feel any pressure about shooting for ‘Dhak Dhak’, considering that the original starred a legendary dancer like Madhuri Dixit?
Gaelyn: We never looked at it as a comparison to the classic, hence there was no pressure. It’s a tribute to Madhuri Dixit and I completely enjoyed myself, as dancing is my passion and I think we did justice to the brief that was given to us.

Do you feel that your stint on TV helped you in any way for this film?
Gaelyn: I certainly didn’t have any inhibitions or cold feet while shooting as I am used to being in front of the camera. So yes, in a way, my stint on TV helped.

A few TV actors/anchors have recently made a successful switch to films. Why do you think it is that most TV actors/anchors/VJs don’t do so well in films?
Gaelyn: I feel that at the end of it all, your performance in the film matters. If you are a good actor, you will go a long way in films, and Ayushmann is certainly a good example of that. He has proved that even though he has been an anchor for TV shows, he can act equally well, too.

Several new faces are being launched in practically every new film. How can one ensure that one remains in public memory long after the film is out of the theatres?
Gaelyn: The audience will remember only and only a great performance. And that is the only way to remain in people’s minds.

What was most memorable about shooting for Nautanki Saala?
Gaelyn: I loved that I was shooting with my buddy Ayushmann. All the scenes that I shot with him were fun and memorable. Also, the whole film making process was very overwhelming for me.

Of your co-stars, who did you enjoy shooting with?
Gaelyn: All of us as a team were brilliant together, but I had a great time hanging out with Kunal Roy Kapur.

Tell us a bit about your life off the cameras. What do you do to relax?
Gaelyn: I love to talk, so my friends become the unfortunate victims of my talking hobby in my free time, haha! I’m a homebody, and I like to unwind by watching TV or movies and eating. I love food!

Is there a film you wish you had been a part of?
Gaelyn: Barfi!, for sure. I loved every scene in that film.

Do you foresee a long career in films? Which aspect of Indian cinema are you most attracted to?
Gaelyn: Hopefully! I have my fingers crossed. What I love the most about our cinema is the song and dance.

What is one thing nobody knows about you?
Gaelyn: That I’m a trained ballroom dancer.

Is there something about the entertainment industry that you dislike?
Gaelyn: As of now, nothing really. I’m pretty happy with the industry.

(Pictures by Nimish Jain)

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