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Rose Petals! Rain! Rishi!...Chandni (1989)

Maybe there's hope for me and Yash Chopra after all.

There was so much rain in Chandni!

Chandni. My Chandni! How skeptical I was about you and how you managed to be just what the doctor ordered after an exhausting (yet fun) day of trekking around town with two bouncy preschool girls...Yash-ji, how did you know that at the end of the day, what I'd really,really need would be a handful of rosepetal showers and a couple of dances in the rain?

It started as everything the DVD jacket claimed it would be: "Softly lyrical, throbbingly beautiful". While I personally wouldn't categorize all Yash Chopra romances that way, the music and imagery were just that. Chandni (Sridevi, rapidly climbing the scales of my heart), meets Rohit (Rishi Kapoor, in some serious sweaters!), and the two fall in love. Rohit worships the ground Chandni walks on, showering her with rose petals and even putting up an almost-shrine to her in his bedroom (See below--In a Lifetime movie, this would be called stalking, but Chandni doesn't seem to mind). You know the drill--it starts off so perfect, something terrible, horrible, tragic is just bound to happen, right?

Of course!

Bollywood Hero or Obsessive Fan?? Oh, right...Bollywood Hero.

But let me point out before going there that, while it sounds like the same ol' song and dance, Rohit and Chandni's romance wasn't nearly as boring and redundant as I expected it to be. In fact, it was pretty gosh darned entertaining, thanks mostly to Sridevi's ability to maneuver from being whimsically playful to full of panache. And though at first I was put off by how much Rishi had aged in the seven years since Yeh Vaada Raha, sooner or later I found him teddy bearishly cute with more than a few traces of chocolate left in his hero box. Apparently Chandni agreed with me--she even made a fat joke to his face!

Gee, Chandni, I know this isn't the most flattering sweater Rishi's ever worn, but...did you really have to call him fat?

Ordinarily, I find fat jokes offensive and rude, and I hate that they're so often used in Hindi films. But for some reason, it didn't bother me here; To me, it showed how comfortable Rohit and Chandni were with one another (and proved Rishi must have had a sense of humor about his weight gain).

Of course, the couple wasn't without their share of problems. For one, Rohit's high class family despised Chandni from the beginning. They felt she wasn't good enough to enter their home as a bride, and told Rohit so without any reservations. The only person in Rohit's family who seemed to understand was his brother in law, Ramesh (Anupam Kher--with hair!).

Maa seems to think choosing a wife should be akin to furniture shopping.

With all this negativity in the air from Rohit's family, you can almost smell disaster in the air. And of course, tragedy does strike. Rohit is left paralyzed, and Chandni powerless to do anything but love him. Of course, the pressures from his family and feelings of inadequacy related to his disability force Rohit to make the unthinkable decision: He must give up Chandni, freeing her from the burden he thinks he's become and allowing him to wallow in
bitterness. He breaks up with her coldly and abruptly (even painting over her photographs!), leaving her heartbroken and leaving me a weepy, mushy, mascara-racooned mess.

In happier times. How COULD you, Rohit?!?

Intermission goes by unannounced, and Chandni tries to be strong and pick up the pieces of her broken heart (she's stronger than I am at this point, because I still haven't stopped crying). She gets a job at a travel agency and guess who her boss is--Vinod Khanna (as Lalit)!! Things are looking better already. Rohit who?

Lalit, as Chandni discovers, comes across all business-like, but is really as soft as a grape on the inside. He's been nursing a broken heart himself, after losing the love of his life, Devika (Juhi Chawla looking deliciously seductive in a rain song--Go on and say it, Bollywood Fan), to some tragic illness we never know the name of. Poor Lalit, every time it rains he is reminded of his beloved, and since it rains a lot in this film, well, you can just imagine.



Meanwhile, it rains over by Rohit and he has a mental breakdown, realizing he has been a fool to let Chandni go (duh). I started crying again. As he washed the paint off Chandni's photographs, it felt like my heart was actually pumping out tears instead of blood, but I was loving every minute of it--yes, folks, this is the sort of emotional roller coaster ride I tune in for!



Soon Lalit (with the coaxing of his maa, Waheeda Rehman!) finds himself attracted to Chandni, and asks for her hand in marriage. Chandni accepts, and BAM!!! Guess who shows up again?

ROHIT!!!



What will Chandni do? I've taken you pretty far in the plot, but don't consider any of this spoiler material since its all spelled out pretty clearly on most DVD jackets (at least the ones I've seen, anyways). The real question remains: Who will Chandni choose? Sensitive, well-established Lalit (bonus: Waheeda as a mother in law who adores Chandni)? Or spontaneous, lively Rohit (evil mother in law included)? Who would you choose? If you haven't seen Chandni you should stop reading now, because I'm now going to reveal her decision:



***SPOILER!!!!!****

Of course, she chooses her true love, the one she's clearly loved from the very beginning of the film. This was all fine and dandy, and I even wanted things to end up this way, but two nagging thoughts kept this from becoming a perfect film for me. One, Rohit NEVER apologizes. Not once. Considering all the heartless things he said to her so stoically when he was dumping her, you'd think he'd have to beg and gravel for forgiveness. Instead, he prances into Chandni's apartment like a king, and gets all defensive and reverses the blame when he finds she's engaged to someone else. Red flags went up all over in my mind.

Secondly, what about poor Lalit? His last line in the entire film is just depressing. The least they could have done was killed him off so he could be reunited with Juhi. Geez.

****SPOILER END*****


Despite my qualms discussed in the Spoiler, I really did love this film. The music, the sarees (maybe even better than Sush's in Main Hoon Na) , Sridevi, and yes, the rain! Its definitely put Yash Chopra in my good graces again, though I still remain a bit skeptical about Lamhe and Kabhi Kabhie. Thoughts?

Winter Boots for the 2009

Winter Boots, which is the most necessary for winter season. There are so many model that come during winter season. People buy various brands in winter shoes. When it comes to winter boots for the 2008 - 2009 season, women have loads of options. Booties, ankle boots and knee-high boots are all hot, and no matter what you're heel preference is, there's plenty of variety. Here are some of the hottest trends to look for, and when you're done with that, be sure to check out some of my top picks in Winter Bootsfor women.

Winter Exercise Clothes

Its Cold Season. Change your wardrobe with clothes that are useful for winter exercising. Below are some of favorite clothes for both men and women to layer up in the winter and keep warm and dry.

Okay, That Didn't Feel Like Bollywood, But...Pukar (2000)

Watching Pukar was, for me, a little bit like watching a "pretty good" Hollywood drama from the early 90s or so. The acting was better than decent, there was an all star-cast, and the story unfolded at a reasonable pace. That's not a bad thing, and apparently worked to its advantage; the film walked away with two national film awards and a boatload of other nominations, including Best Actor for Anil Kapoor (right on!) and Best Actress for Madhuri Dixit (yeah!).

It was strange; On the one hand, I found the story of Major Jaidev Rajvansh, a well-respected and admired officer of the Indian army who is horribly betrayed by somebody closest to him, incredibly absorbing and well-portrayed by a strong all-star cast. On the other, I found Pukar sort of dull. Where was the color? Where was the creativity in the song picturizations? My inner masala child desperately wanted to know.



Anil Kapoor, looking dashing in an army suit (quite the change from the Micheal Jackson white-sock look he sported in the last film I saw him in, Mann), plays Jai, an Army officer on a short return visit to his hometown. Madhuri Dixit is Anjali, Jai's childhood friend who also happens to be in love with him, something that is clear to everyone but Jai himself. Or is it? In the beginning of the film, its hard to determine whether Jai is simply ignorant to Anjali's feelings or if he just doesn't give a care.

Either way, the whole town(including Jai's parents) seems to share the same opinion-- Anjali's so gorgeous and such a natural on the dance floor, there's no way she's not going to snag him, right? I mean, it's have to be MISS INDIA walking through the door for Jai to turn his head the other way...



Which, of course, is exactly what happens. Jai meets Pooja(Namrata Shirodkar), a.k.a. the current Miss India, and is instantly hooked. He spends most of his time trying to convince her and her parents, who are adamantly against Princess Pooja marrying an army officer, that the two should be married. The rest of his time is spent dodging Anjali whenever possible, unless she is needed for moral support (or lunch--grrr!).

After an embarrassing encounter between Jai, Pooja, and herself, Anjali is approached by a crooked man who works for a sinister terrorist named Abhrush (played by Danny Denzongpa, scarrry looking!!). In desperation, Anjali strikes a deal with said crooked man and sells her soul to the devil, so to speak, in one of the most messed up betrayals I've ever seen.



But man, it was so satisfying to watch. Things horribly backfire--no spoilers here, I'm sure you could guess that they would, and I've only just taken you into the real story--but its the characters and how their lives are affected by this one event that makes Pukar interesting. As you can see, Jai's far from a likable character in the first half of the film. Which ends up really working to the film's advantage--at first, you're like, yeah, stick it to him, Anjali! But then the second half rolls around and you get to thinking. Poor Jai. Poor unfortunate, circumstantially abused Jai (Did they really have to rip his army uniform to shreds--WHILE HE WAS STILL WEARING IT?!?)!

This is a prime example of another one of the film's strengths--the characters were so human! You loved them, you hated them, you forgave them. Even Pooja showed us Miss India could be one heartless witch!

But, ahh, did I mention how refreshing it was to see Madhuri in a role that gave her not only more to do than dazzle and dance, but also required her actions to be a pivotal piece in the plot?! I was elated! Yes, I know Mads is brimming with awesomeness, and she has to little but flash a smile and float across the dancefloor to show she's the whole package, but...she can also really act!! Note to directors---Use her!! (A moot point, it seems, since she's sort of "retired", and I realize I haven't seen enough of her films to solidify this opinion, but I love her so much to let her talent pass me by without mentioning it).



This was my first Anil/Madhuri film, and I realize, given the story, that it may not have been the most popular choice to start with. Because they were already an established pair in Bollywood, I'm guessing that most of Pukar's initial audiences were invested in Jai and Anjali ending up together from the very beginning. But not me--they had to really sell it to me. Which they did, thanks to their commanding screen presences and oodles of talent (there's a very heated argument/exchange/revelation between the two of them in the second half that literally gave me goose bumps, it was so emotionally charged).

The supporting cast was strong, including Om Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, and Farida Jalal (as maa--yes!!). Most characters were given enough screen time to establish their presence in the film, but there should have been wayy more of Jai's parents, especially given the powerful encounter that follows this screenshot:



But alas, onto the negatives, of which were significant enough to mention. As I said above, there just wasn't enough creativity from a visual aspect. A dash of color or masala madness would have done the trick; After all, music was by A.R. Rahman! Yet most of the good songs seemed wasted against ho-drum deserts and waterfalls (which I normally love, as long as the settings and outfits change during the song picturizations, barely done here). The exception, of course, is "Kay Sera Sera" (Que Sera Sera?), a tune whose brilliance was done justice by Madhuri's vibrant facial expressions and graceful dance moves (along with a cameo by Prabhu Deva).



Since I expected to dislike this film (after I heard someone call it Puke-kar, lol, and you know who you are ;)), I was happily surprised to find it, for the most part, watchable, if a bit bland. Next up in Anil/Mads territory? Beta, a film I know next to nothing about and bought on a whim. Any other recommendations? I'll take 'em!

Butchart Gardens like a local

Unless you are going to be in Victoria for only a few hours — and maybe even then — you should find a way to get to Butchart Gardens. In my experience, when you get home, people will ask you if you went to (a) the Empress for tea and (b) the gardens, so you might as well do both. But the gardens are one of the few attractions you can't walk to. So how should you get there?
If you happen to have a car, it's easy: drive. The route from downtown to Butchart is easy and scenic, and there is plenty of parking once you get there.
When I came back from Seattle on the Victoria Clipper recently, they were signing people up for bus tours, which seemed to me like a pretty good deal. You could board the bus right off the ferry for a quick tour of the city, then head off to Butchart Gardens, and finally be taken right to your hotel for check-in.
Cruise ship passengers can get a good deal on the Cruise Victoria buses, too. And you can get to the gardens on Gray Line and similar tours. If that kind of sightseeing is to your liking, you'll have no trouble making arrangements.
You might want to consider another more adventurous option, though: public transit. If you really want to see Victoria like a local (and save some loonies), this is the way to go. Victoria's city buses are safe, clean and (usually) punctual. And a one-way fare is only $2.25 (you'll need correct change, or you can get day passes that will let you ride anywhere).
To get to Butchart Gardens via BC Transit, you catch the No. 30 bus downtown to the Royal Oak Exchange (ask for transfers when you get on; you have to change buses at Royal Oak). The 30 runs up Douglas Street about every 15 minutes, and Royal Oak is the end of the line. At Royal Oak, you use your transfer to take the No. 75 to the gardens. To get back downtown, you reverse the process; don't forget to ask for transfers. If you have questions about the bus, the staff at your hotel should be happy to answer them. See the BC Transit website for more details.
Two more things about the gardens: They have fireworks on Saturday evenings. BC Transit runs a bus into Victoria after the fireworks. Times vary, so call BC Transit at 250-382-6161. Press 0 when the recorded message begins and ask the attendant for the time on the night you wish to visit. And if you are going to be here at Christmastime, the gardens are a must. The lights are spectacular, and you can enjoy ice skating and holiday music in the evenings as well.