Something Fishy In Films

I was revisiting Sriram Raghavan's Johnny Gaddaar a while ago. The film tells the story of five men who run a gambling house and get involved in a drug deal hoping to make a huge profit. Each of them contributes a fifth of the required sum to make the purchase. However, the money goes missing as one of the members Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh) decides to keep it all for himself. It is a great film with a lot of details and references to catch apart from the story. Early in the film, there is an interesting scene that shows five fish lined up together in the kitchen with the words 'The Gang' written over them. In the next moment, a man puts and spreads red sauce on the fish. In a way, the film already gave a sign about the fate of its protagonists. They are all going to end up dead. The five fish are the five gang members and the red sauce represents blood.

The fish took me to another fantastic thriller Navdeep Singh's Manorama Six Feet Under that also uses the metaphor in a different way. An engineer in a government job Satyaveer (Abhay Deol) is approached by a woman named Manorama (Sarika) to investigate her politician husband P.P. Rathore (Kulbhushan Kharbhanda), whom she suspects of having an affair. However, as it often happens, things are not really what they appear to be as Satyaveer uncovers more intriguing layers in a society where everyone seems to be morally corrupt. The film is set in the desert town of Lakhot but it uses fish—an organism that is never found in a desert—as a leitmotif throughout the narrative. Satyaveer has an aquarium in his house and a lot of his scenes are shot near it, pensively looking at the fish in it. Other characters, such as P.P. Rathore, also are seen near fish. Sheetal (Raima Sen), Manorama's roommate, has a goldfish and calls it Shakuntala.

While too many fish scenes in the film seem like an overindulgence, but they also represent the varying power dynamics and hierarchy between the characters. At one stage, Satyaveer's brother-in-law and the city's police inspector Brijmohan (Vinay Pathak) talks about fish. He warns Satyaveer to stay away from getting messed up in the lives of big-shot people. He says, "Yeh hum jaise chhoti machhliyon ke bas ka rog nahi hai. Yeh neta log bahut badi machhli hain. Aur tanne toh pata hi hai badi machhliyon ko kya khana pasand hai?" To this, Satyaveer adds, "Chhoti machhli." Small fish like them are not equipped to get entangled in the games of the corrupt overlords. The politicians are the big fish who like to prey upon people like them who are the small fish. Towards the end, Satyaveer meets Rathore at his house. There is an aquarium at his place as well which has some large-sized fish as compared to the ones in Satyaveer's house. It also has a sea horse which in the scene looks a bit creepy and menacing. When Rathore comes, he feeds the fish and calls Satyaveer a small and petty man, and then says that the world is divided into two parts—the strong and the weak. He further talks about the law of nature where the hunter catches the prey, reiterating the essence of the small fish-big fish comparison of Brijmohan.

Manorama Six Feet Under adapts its story from Roman Polanski's iconic film Chinatown which had a similar storyline. A private detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by a woman Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to investigate the affair of her husband Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling) who is, later, found dead. Jake's investigation uncovers a trail of corruption, deceit, and sinister family secrets. There is the recurring metaphor of fish in Chinatown as well, which is also the reason that it shows up in Manorama Six Feet Under. 

The first appearance of a fish in Chinatown is when Gittes follows Hollis Mulwray towards the beachside and sees him pick up a starfish. Later, Jake meets Mulwray's deputy Ross Yelburton (John Hillerman) and is ushered into his office. The cabin has a giant fish, a blue marlin, along with many other plaques and photographs of Yelburton in fishing gear. There is a glass-framed photograph of a fish with initials A.C. written at the side. In a superbly-filmed scene, Jake turns to the fish and we see the reflection of his face next to it. He does not seem to register anything suspicious in that image but this detail gave the clue right at the beginning which becomes a crucial piece in fitting the jigsaws of the mystery puzzle in the end.

Later in the film, Claude Mulvihill (Roy Jenson) and another man (Roman Polanski) attack Jake when he was snooping around the dam area. The other man warns Jake to stop nosing around and literally cuts off his nose with a knife. He adds, "Next time you lose the whole thing, kitty cat. I'll cut it off and feed it to my goldfish, understand?" This is also the scene that is playing on the television when Satyaveer is watching Chinatown in Manorama Six Feet Under where the film pays homage to its original material. As this goldfish scene plays on the screen, Satyaveer gets a call from Sheetal who talks about losing her goldfish. While Chinatown only fleetingly mentions a goldfish, Manorama Six Feet Under makes it a minor character of its own and calls it Shakuntala.

At a later stage in Chinatown, Jake is invited by Hollis Mulwray's father-in-law Noah Cross (John Huston) to help him find the girl with whom Mulwray was having an affair. Cross and Jake have lunch together and yet again a fish makes an appearance. Jake is served fish with its eye and head which is a bit uncomfortable to watch. Cross then adds, "I believe they should be served with the head." It harks back to the time when the police find Mulwray's body with his eyes open and fished it out of the water.

Later, Jake and Evelyn visit an old-age home and see a group of women stitching a fish on a flag. Jake asks a woman as to how she got material for it. The woman replies that they get everything from the Albacore Club and adds, "The albacore. It's a fish. My grandson's a member (of the club), and they take very nice care of us." It all starts to make sense to Jake. Cross and his corrupt associates at the Albacore Club, an exclusive group of the wealthy dedicated to fishing, were engineering a drought in the city. These rich patrons were buying land at throwaway prices from farmers in the name of the residents of the old-age home. Once the proposed dam is built by the government, the land would become fertile and they can earn millions by reselling it. The flag with the initials A.C. that was seen at Yelburton's office was nothing but a reference to the Albacore Club that proved that the government officers were in bed with Cross. Chinatown uses fish as a subtle pointer throughout to give clues on the real game being played by Cross. The website Hartzog adds more color to the use of albacore in the film, "The albacore has a long history of being the premier sports fishing prize in Southern California. In the thirties and forties in Balboa and Newport Beach and Catalina, the albacore was king. Albacore flags were ubiquitous. Sports fishing boats flew albacore flags to indicate they had had a successful catch. The filmmaker's choice of albacore to develop into a major symbol was, therefore, no accident. The film plays on the allusion to this famous fish." As we saw that in Chinatown, the albacore fish is used as a symbol of power, Manorama Six Feet Under also uses fish to depict the power structures but adapts it to its context.

Rohan Sippy also uses fish to depict the hierarchy of mankind in his caper-ish comedy Bluffmaster!. His film is about a conman Roy (Abhishek Bachchan) who is diagnosed with brain cancer. He teems up with a small-time conman Dittu (Riteish Deshmukh) to teach him the tricks of the trade. They hatch a plan to con Chandru (Nana Patekar) who had duped Dittu's father of all his life savings. Early in the film, Roy calls the world an ocean and compares his targets for conning to different fish. At the bottom are the maandli or the anchovies which are the small ones. They taste great with a drink but one needs to eat many of them to feel full. Likewise, a conman needs to target at least fifteen or twenty of them to fill his pockets. Then comes the goldfish who are flashy on the outside but, in reality, do not have anything in terms of wealth. Above them are the bangda or the mackerels, the most popular ones in Mumbai. These are part of the professional working class, such as sales and marketing executives. Then comes the pomfrets which include people, such as television stars, doctors, lawyers, and owners of small companies. A conman can catch a big one and chill out the rest of the month. And, finally, at the top are the whales comprising the uber-rich people, such as the big industrialists, stockbrokers, and their ilk. They rule the world like whales rule the ocean. 

Like in other films, the fish references keep popping up all through Bluffmaster! as well. Characters talk about baiting fish. Roy robs a couple and calls them pan-fried. At another point, Roy tells Dittu that he is not a fish; he is a crocodile. Later, Roy calls Chandru a shark, who is fast, intelligent, and dangerous when they conspire a plan to con him. The film's final bluff is eventually revealed and it turns out that it was Roy who was being conned all along. He was the whale who was targeted by his girlfriend Simmi (Priyanka Chopra) to teach him a lesson to make him realize the value of people. The poster of Bluffmaster! also uses different fish to represent the actors and has 'Come Fishing' written as its tagline. The film has a track with the same title—Come Fishing (Bluffmaster! Theme). Bluffmaster! has a cool and classy vibe to it and does not feel much dated even now.

Films using animal references are not new. There have been many in the past that have done it before. But what was interesting to me is that three different (sort of) thriller films—Johnny Gaddaar, Manorama Six Feet Under, and Bluffmaster!—use the metaphor of fish to depict people and power. Whatever the biology, power is held by a minority. And, when someone tries to usurp this position, the powerful will do anything to stop it. The events of the last few days involving GameStop and Robinhood reiterate the same. As Noam Chomsky said, "For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit."

Trivia:

In 2005, Mr. Anbumani Ramadoss, the health minister at that time, had come out with a rule that aimed to ban the depiction of smoking in movies and television. The film industry was against the rule as it believed it violated the freedom of expression and filed a petition in the courts against it. At some stage in Manorama Six Feet Under, Satyaveer goes for a smoke, and asks the shopkeeper, "Ek Ramadoss dena," snarkily referring to the controversial rule.

Other Reading:

1) The script of Chinatown—Link

2) David versus Goliath in the Cinema of Jaideep Sahni—Link

Dialogue of the Day:

"Tees saal ki zindagi mein aise kitne din hain jo tumhe yaad hain? Tees saal ki zindagi aur bas tees din. Baaki ke dino ka kya hua, Roy?"

—Dr. Bhalerao, Bluffmaster!

Is Love Enough? Sir—A Quest To Just Be

In Is Love Enough? Sir, Rohena Gera uses silence and solitude to tell a story of love that develops between two individuals belonging to different social classes. The film leaves it on us to mull if love is enough to surmount their differences but gives out a tiny glimmer of hope that, perhaps, it might be. Ratna (Tillotama Shome) is a domestic helper hired to work for Ashwin (Vivek Gomber). She was to supposed work at his place after his wedding but it was eventually canceled; however, Ratna continues to work for him. A bond develops between the two built on the foundations of shared suffering and loneliness that gradually turns to love.

Ratna addresses Ashwin by the formal title 'Sir' but she genuinely cares for him. She puts a blanket on him when he falls asleep. Even though she is a vegetarian, she learns to prepare mutton hoping he likes it. Ashwin also treats her with kindness. He always says 'Thank you' to her for all the work she did for him. Someone else in his place could be less thankful to their house helper as they were only doing the job for which they were hired for. When a guest or a family member is rude to her, Ashwin tries to protect her and advises her to not feel bad for their incivility.

Ratna and Ashwin might belong to different social strata but they had a lot in common. They have both gone through similar pain. She lost her husband a few days after her wedding. He broke off with his fiancée a few days before getting married. She left her village to make a better life for her sister. He had to come to India from abroad because his brother was dying. She wants to be a designer but is working as a house help to make ends meet. He is a writer but is working in the construction business with his father. It is these similarities that bring them together. When Ratna observes Ashwin being dejected due to his break-up, she tells him her own story and tries to cheer him up that life goes on. It is from then that he starts seeing her as an individual with a story, like his own. They then slowly start to understand each other more. She protects him from the calls he does not want to take even if he never asked her to do so. She offers to keep his wedding gifts in her room to not remind him of his painful past. Ashwin, too, is able to read her moods. After a failed stint at the tailor's shop, he senses something is wrong with her. He tries to motivate her that she is brave for the way she has moved on in life. The distance—emotional and physical—between the two of them starts to reduce.

Most of the conversations between Ratna and Ashwin happen in the corridors and the kitchen. One time, Ashwin walks into his room when Ratna is trying the dress she stitched. She is profusely apologetic and tells him that she never enters his room except for cleaning. The spaces also follow the rules of the class hierarchy. She is not allowed to be in some places. When Ratna visits a high-end boutique, the owner judges her by her appearance and signals her to leave. Another telling scene that emphasizes the aspect of space is the one when Ratna starts working with the tailor master. The first time she visits Masterji (Bachan Pachera), he asks her to clean the floor upstairs. When she enters, she cannot even stand straight in that constricted space. There is no room for her. Ratna finds her own place at the terrace where she can be the way she wants to be, away from all the spoken and the unspoken rules. It is only fitting then that the last scene of the film also happens at the terrace where she addresses Ashwin with his name for the first time. The labels and titles between them are removed.

More than love, Is Love Enough? Sir is about this desire to just be your own. At an early stage in the film, Ratna tells her sister Choti (Bhagyashree Pandit) that in the city, she can be whatever she wants to be. She might work as a "servant" but she aspires to be a fashion designer. Ashwin displays an unconscious bias when he thinks Ratna wants to be a tailor. She gets angry and rhetorically asks if she could not be a fashion designer. He tells her, she can be whatever she wants to be. He apologizes to her as he realizes, "Sabko sapne dekhne ka haq hai." Everyone is entitled to have their dreams. Towards the end of the film, a friend Vicky (Chandrachoor Rai) reminds Ashwin that if he really cares for Ratna, then he should let her be. In his desire to prove his love, he can end up harming Ratna.

The film critiques the life of the village throughout its narrative for the same reason. In a village, Ratna is bound by the rules and is not allowed to do certain things. She cannot just be her own there. On a phone call, Ratna talks about bangles with her sister. She used to take them off before going to her home because widows in the village are not allowed to wear bangles as it is considered to be a bad omen. In another instance, Ashwin's driver Raju (Akash Sinha) inquires from Ratna if she needs another job as people will talk that she is living with a single man all by herself. She replies to him that if she had listened to people, she would not have left the village. The people back there blamed her for the death of her husband. When Ratna returns to Mumbai after attending her sister's wedding, she shows some pictures to Ashwin. She is not seen in any of those pictures as in her village, widows are not allowed to meet the bride on the day of their wedding. In a state of relief, she tells Ashwin that she is glad that she does not live in the village anymore. This also explains her fear that if people back in the village find anything about her liaison with Ashwin, she will be sent back.

In another scene, Ratna narrates her background story when she was married off at the age of nineteen. Her husband died a few months after the wedding. In the village, it means that life is over as soon as a woman becomes a widow. Life khatam ho gayi. But Ratna finds a job in Mumbai and earns her own living. She also supports her family back in the village. Life did not end for her. The city not only provides her a means to escape her fate but also gives her the opportunities to be whatever she wants to be. In a flashback scene, Sabina (Rashi Mal) advises Ratna to ignore all superstitions and bad omens reiterating the same essence of freedom in the city. "Yeh sheher hai, gaon nahi hai. Yahan na apni zindagi khud banate hai, apne rules se," she tells Ratna. This is the city, not the village. Here, you build your own life and play by your own rules. The village dictates to her; the city lets her choose.

Ratna's younger sister Choti is also enamored with the city. She wants to wear the type of dresses that are worn by the people of the city. She leaves her studies early and agrees to get married because the guy lives in the city as she wants to be there, too. Ratna worries that her sister's fiancé will not allow Choti to finish her education. But Ashwin tries to convince her that 'sheher ke ladke' are not that bad. The guy, actually, allows her to finish her studies. 

It is often said that empathy is the ability to step outside of one's own bubble and into the bubbles of other people. Ratna takes Ashwin to her place—the terrace—and tells him that she always thought the rich people had an easy life but it isn't. She learns something about people not like her own. Ashwin, too, is also shown to become more understanding of people not like him. When he receives a shirt as a gift from Ratna, he initially puts it aside as it was not something of his taste. But then he wears it and even goes to work wearing it. He is trying to become a part of another bubble. At another stage in the film, he goes to see the living conditions of the labor force working for him. I also really admired that the film gives a redemption arc to Ashwin's friend Ankita (Anupriya Goenka) who behaves rudely with Ratna. But, later, she is the one who helps Ratna fulfill her dream of becoming a designer. It tries to treat everyone with empathy and kindness.

The film has some nicely-shot sequences that add wonderful layers to its narrative. In a lovely scene that appears near the end, Ratna is serving the guests at a party. Not one guest bothers to stop and glance at her. Ashwin is the only one who looks at her. In another instance, Ratna says Ashwin cannot leave even if he wanted to do so. He is trapped here. The film shows the same where he is often seen boxed behind bars and frames. In one particular sequence, he even comes out from an elevator that resembles a cage. Another recurring scene in the film depicts the contrast between Ratna and Ashwin where the camera moves from his side to hers. He has all the space for him while she is cramped up in a little room. This is also seen in the film's poster; they both are standing on opposite sides of a wall. It represents the barriers that have been put up between the two of them. This is reminiscent of the wonderful scene in Zoya Akhtar's Luck By Chance when Zafar Khan (Hrithik Roshan) meets a bunch of street kids in his car. He and the kids belong to two different worlds separated by the glass window. The camera moves from the kids' side towards the Zafar's symbolizing the class barriers between the two. Akhtar, in fact, also made a story about a domestic help named Sudha (Bhumi Pednekar) in the anthology Lust Stories. Sudha is in a physical relationship with her employer Ajit (Neil Bhoopalam). When Ajit's wedding is fixed with a girl by his parents belonging to his class, Sudha silently accepts that she could never have been a match for him. Akhtar chooses to call the relationship lust. Gera chooses to focus on love even though her film is teeming with moments of sexual tension without any explicit sexual activity between the characters. Another tiny detail that I found common in both films was the way Sudha and Ratna always took out their sandals while entering the house.

The separating walls in Is Love Enough? Sir and Luck By Chance. 

Barrier

He is in a cage.

Is Love Enough? Sir and Lust Stories 

Rohena Gera has previously written Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Kuch Na Kaho, and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. The notable thing that stands out in her work the love story that develops between the employer and the employee, as also seen in Is Love Enough? Sir. In Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, a simple Jassi (Mona Singh) falls in love with her Armaan 'Sir' (Apurva Agnihotri). In Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, a fairy Geeta (Rani Mukerji) is sent to earth to work as a governess and falls in love with her employer Ranbir (Saif Ali Khan). In many interviews, Gera has mentioned that when she was growing up, she saw a lot of inequality and now wishes to depict the same on the screen.

Jassi and Armaan Sir

Is Love Enough? Sir is driven by the fantastic performance of Tillotama Shome. In Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding as well, Shome had played the character of domestic help named Alice, who becomes the object of the affection of the wedding planner Dubey Ji (Vijay Raaz). Alice, like her namesake from Alice In Wonderland, always daydreamed but finds her charming prince in Dubey Ji. Ratna's story seems realistic but does not seem different from a fairy tale. Shome brings immense grace and poise to Ratna. There is not one false note in her terrific performance. Her delicate physicality (as compared to Gomber's when they are in the same frame) adds another layer of contrast to Ratna and Ashwin. There is a lovely moment when Ashwin calls Ratna during her sister's wedding to ask about her well-being. Even though he cannot see Ratna as they are speaking on a call, she adjusts her saree's pallu. Unconsciously, her mind tells her that he can see her. She had done the same earlier in the film when Ashwin comes to the kitchen but this time, he is not even physically present. It is beautiful and thoughtful. I was thinking of another Tilottama who is one of the principal characters in Arundhati Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Tilottama is in love with the quiet, gentle Musa, a Kashmiri who later becomes a militant working to secede Kashmir from India. In a stunning paragraph, Roy describes their relationship and adds that the quietness of the one fits with the other. "The quietness of her into the quietness of him." It is a description that fits Ratna and Ashwin as well. After the film gets over, it is the moments of their quietness that stay with us for long.

Alice in Monsoon Wedding.

Other Reading:

1) On Alice (s) in Wonderland—Link 

2) On Lust Stories—Link

Dialogue of the Day:

"Ashwin."

—Ratna, Is Love Enough? Sir

Trivia Post 19

The last few weeks have been a really crazy time. I have had to move houses (and cities) which is a lot of work. I am working on a few posts that I am hoping I am able to finish soon. I am adding more trivia notes from the last few weeks.

1. In Vikramaditya Motwane's AK vs AK, Anil Kapoor wears a badge that has Surinder Kapoor written on it, which is also the name of his father.

2. There are many mirror shots in AK vs AK adding to the meta-theme of the film. There is one shot where Anurag Kashyap is sitting naked in front of a mirror, just like the film that strips the two AKs to reveal and revel in some real facets of their life.

3. There is a voice cameo of Jacqueline Fernandez in AK vs AK.

4. In a promotional video of AK vs AK, Anurag Kashyap reads Hairy Actor and the Chembur of Secrets. Hair actor is (obviously) referring to Anil Kapoor who also lives in Chembur.

5. Men falling (in love).

6. The first and the last meeting in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. Guns. Raas Leela. Ram. Leela. All are there. 

7. The last scene of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and the first scene of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Both are Aditya Chopra's films. 

8. I love Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. I love Kiran Nagarkar's Cuckold where Meerabai's husband fights a battle with Krishna to get his wife's love. I love the following lines. 

9. Changing rooms in Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Yash Chopra's Dil To Pagal Hai.

10. In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's films, there is always a scene where a character is seen in the water. 

11 Swara Bhasker in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish.

12. Some snippets, notes, and deleted scenes from the script of Sriram Raghavan's Andhadhun that did not make it to the final version of the film. 

• John Lennon's opening quote and the working title of the film.
  
• A quote from Manmohan Desai's Parvarish was also supposed to part of the opening lines of the film.
  
• Manmohan Desai again makes an appearance when Sophie talks of Kismat. Desai also made a film called Kismat in 1968.

  
• The script mentions 'kismat' again in the ending along with Kishore Kumar's Rafta Rafta from Kahani Kismat Ki.
  
  
• Two deleted scenes as given below.

• Note 3 says, "I'd rather Mr. Nasir Husain directs this sequence."
  
  
• Other trivia:

13. A terrific frame from Ram Gopal Verma's Satya. When Bhau shoots Bheeku, a copper engraving of the Bhagavad Gita can be seen on the wall.

14. Minty in Luck By Chance could star in The Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives. The title 'Luck By Chance' is spoken in the film only once by her sister Pinky.

15. Madhu Trehan's Newstrack interview with Yakub Memon was recreated in Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday where a young Imtiaz Ali played Memon. The original interview is available here on YouTube.

15. Red and blue in Black Friday.

16. Black Friday is another addition to the thread on the earlier films of Gajraj Rao.

17. The essence of the two songs in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal (2020) is the same where the lover says it is the presence that makes him realize the absence.

• "Zyada paas aana, hai asal mein door jaana."
• "Yun tera hona bhi aur tanha karta."
  

18. The cinema is playing S.S. Rajamouli's Baahubali 2 in David Dhawan's Coolie No. 1.

19. The poster of Arjun Hingorani's Khel Khilari Ka seen in Satish Kaushik's Kaagaz.

20. Water plays a special role in Ayan Mukerji's Wake Up Sid and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

21. Books In Movies—Virginia Wolf's A Room of One's Own in Renuka Shahane's Tribhanga. 

22. Tanvi Azmi and Kanwaljit Singh reunite in Tribhanga. They also starred in the show Family No. 1. 

23. The palette in Tribhanga is blue. All the scenes in the trailer have a shade of blue.

24. A potato fits into any role. Parallel observed in Hardik Mehta's Kaamyaab and Anurag Basu's Ludo.

25. Kalamazoo has been in the news recently as Pfizer's vaccine is manufactured there. There has been one Hindi film that also talks about Kalamazoo—Habib Faisal's Daawat-e-Ishq. Monika Mehta, in the book Behind the Scenes: Contemporary Bollywood Directors and Their Cinema, writes that this is another sign of film's investment in the 'minor'.

26. I cannot watch Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti again. But I can watch his Delhi-6 again and again. The film refers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's King Kong.

27. Both good and evil are inside us and are mirror images of each other. Mirror-related themes in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Aks and Delhi-6.

28. Ranbir Kapoor's upcoming film is Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal. Ranbir has been called an animal in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar and Tamasha as well.

Rockstar: "Yeh bada jaanwar hai..yeh aapke chote se pinjre mai nahi samayega. Yeh apni alag duniya banayega." 

Tamasha: "Tum toh nadi me muh dalke pani peete ho jaanwar ki tarah."

29. The parallels between Viren in Yash Chopra's Lamhe and Sid in Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai.

 

30. The beautiful Aur Kya from Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani recreates the stairs from Peter Weir's The Truman Show.

Other Reading:

1) Trivia Post 18—Link

2) Trivia Post 17—Link

3) Trivia Post 16—Link

4) Trivia Post 15—Link

5) Trivia Post 14—Link

Dialogue of the Day:

"Yahaan nalon mein pani ho na ho, aankhon mein hamesha savan rehta hai."

—Roshan, Delhi-6