Movie Review : Ekk Deewana Tha

I am not a movie buff.. well not those kinds who make a bee line to the theaters to watch every friday release !! I am more of a relaxed.. movies on TV kind of person. I like to  be surprised and more than often I have been very fortunate in 'accidently' watching some great movies. But... I do not know why, I went for the first day matinee show of this movie.. Ekk Deewana Tha.. It was all accident.. again. I just booked the ticket for Inorbit. Though the staff there kind of tried to test my patience, and ruin my mood, but still, I WENT TO A MOVIE ON THE FIRST DAY OF ITS RELEASE !!! That is new !!! lol :D

Well I am getting sidetracked. More on my movie habits later.

The Background to Movie watching : Yeah, so there is this movie, Ekk Deewana Tha.. Have been hearing a lot about it. Heard the songs.. almost instantly fell in love with "Hosanna". "Aromale" soon became my morning raga and I found myself buzzing "Jessie's been driving me crazy" in office elevator. Rehman magic after all !! :) This was the second hindi movie of Gautham Menon ( RHTDM Director). Knowing what a marvellous job he had done with RHTDM, despite the story being so predictable, I was more than curious to see what he can spin with his second offering. Tamil version, i.e. the base movie " Vinaaithandi Varuvaaya" ( I am still trying to learn to remember the name.. for now we would call it VTV), which featured Trisha and Simbhu, had a very compelling plot and an equally unusual ending.

The Plot: Sachin( Prateik), a 22 year old Konkanstha Brahmin Mechanical Engineer ( Konkanstha Brahmin, aka KoBras are the most staunch and the most conventional amongst maharashtrian Brahmins) who is staying in with his family in Juhu is smitten by a girl. Well, whats special about that, you may ask. Well, let me ennumerate :

1. He falls for her the moment he sees her.. That is it.. Classic Case of Love at First Sight
2. The girl is his landlord's daughter
3. The landlord's family is Malyali Catholic Christian
4. Landlord is a strict guy, and is as orthodox as to believe that watching movie is a "SIN"

Well, the guy is attempting to be a movie director, currently being guided by an established cameraman " Anu" sir ( Manu Rishi). Sachin is so full of love that he confesses to Jessie ( Amy Jackson) within a few days that she starts talking to him. Girl protests, saying her family is very orthodox, what he is saying can never happen, she is one year older than him, her father does not like her talking to guys, her sister had ran away n gotten married, so she had promised her dad she would never do anything that crazy.. etc..  Seems like Sachin can not fathom the gravity of all those issues. Because he has not seen her for a couple of days, he even goes to Kerala. Tries his luck finding her, finds her, talks to her and well gains an entry to her paternal house. Then whole lot of tamasha. The girl starts falling for him, but is torn between her familial responsibilities and her own feelings. She pushes him away and then longs to be with him. Meanwhile, the Brother aka Jerry gets a whiff of this. Things get nasty. Handblows exchanged, and much gangbaazi later, father of both the families have a very heated argument over the boys' behaviour.

Soon, the girl is set to marry. Guy follows her to Kerala to attend the wedding. Love plays its charms , and the girl says no for the wedding at the altar. She sees the guy in the church. Family also spots him. Fight and all that jazz... Guy is in jail. As soon as the girl comes to know of it, she pleads to the family to get him released, and that she would never contact him ever. Just the moment that our hero is out of jail, he goes to meet Jessie. Jessie confesses love, but then.. they have to have a sweet parting. Royal affair begins. The guy progresses in his venture of movie making and is busy in projects. One day Jessie is pressurised from her family. She desperately wants to talk to Sachin, but he is deep till neck in work. Tries convincing her to talk after 20 days, but Jessie , in her own flow of emotions just gets madder. Sachin gets a special leave form Ramesh Sippy, and comes back to meet her, but Jessie breaks up with him.

Life is torn for Sachin. No meaning, no purpose. He continues his work, gets madly involved in work. Gets to know that Jessie has been married away to USA. He can not live with that pain in his heart, so decides to write a story on his love. And before you know, he is directing his own movie, called "Jessie". His colleague , a very cute girl, is constantly hitting on him, still his heart remains pledged to Jessie. 

One day, as they are shooting a scene at Taj Mahal, he sees Jessie. Joy knows no bound . They meet and they talk. This was the heart of the whole movie. She asks him, if, there is anyone in his life. He tells her that he was devastated after she left, but then eventually someone came along to pull him up. She asks to tell more about her and he does, that how caring she is, how loving she is, She is so simple that she never puts any make-up, except when they go out. She looks totally amazing in sarees. She has got lovely hair, curled at the bottom and straight at the roots. She does not like movies. Sometimes , when she speaks hindi, she uses malyali words !!!! All this while Jessie looks uncomfortably all around, but the moment she realises that he has been talking about her she looks relieved. He then tells her, that "She(Jessie) left him, but the one who was in the heart, did not go anywhere. She would not even want to." Then, its on the spot proposal, she accepts to marry him. The next moment you know you are watching a scene in the movie where she takes him to her father.

My Observation : Well, I do not think that the dialogues were very well written. They kind of lost. I had to constantly remind myself to focus on the movie. Manu Rishi, the mentor cameraman, is brilliant. Wonderful character and beautiful delivery. Amy, is kind of lack lusture. I mean, she did look drop dead gorgeous in sarees and suits, Indian dresses just made her look unbelievably adorable, but apart from that.. I did not find anything worth remembering. Dialogue delivery - Pathetic, Expressions - she might ask , what is that?? :P Well, as a person who is anguished to choose between family and love, she looked very comfortable. The dilemma of losing someone dear at the cost of someone whom she cares about, was not at all felt. The only solace was Prateik. Looks are surely not his forte, but the guy has some sincerity that deserves a mention. The lovelorn, sick,  young romeo was kind of ingrained in his cells. You feel his longingness, you feel the earnestness in his desperation, you can see the bitterness , when the girl oscillates between him n family. But what is disappointing is the chemistry between two. I did not find the kisses honest. They were just pecks, I mean, you know when you see one.  The physical chemistry was obviously a big let down. I would have preferred Gautham Ji, rather not including those scenes. That kind of drags the audience down to an entirely low level :P

My Verdict: Having not seen VTV and telugu version " Ye Maya Chesave", I am not suitably qualified to comment on the comparative performance of the movie/ stars, but after seeing RHTDM, I can say that Gautham Ji could have done a bit better. The script was obviously pathetic , something like a 10th standard school play summer workshop material. The movie deals with a very heavy and deep subject, family or love, and needed much more strong expressions. The chemistry between the leads is as good as oil and water, so kind of unimpressive. Because of these many iffs and buts, difficult to call the movie a commercial hit. But those who can relate with it, would definitely relish the movie.

Book Review: Sheconomics

A very lightly written book, with profound financial tips. If Confessions of A Shopoholic is a question , then for sure Sheconomics answers it very beautifully. Karen & Simonne have incorporated anecdotes from their lives/ their clientele and have discussed personal finance in a tea-party way. Does the method seem to work? Well, lets say, that for those who have jitters hearing the word finance/credit/debt, after reading this book, those jargons would seem lesser demonic !!!

The gyst of the book is that mostly women don't treat money with the due respect that it commands. Money is just another tool to express their emotions. Well, I agree, emotional setbacks or joyous outbursts, both are expressed in terms of expenditures. The amount spent on unnecessary clothes, those trinkets that looked so pretty in shop and now seem an eyesore, the shoes whose matching accessory is always pending and much more trash stashed away somewhere, is so huge that it often leads to guilt of spending. Karen and Simonne give a 7 pointer way to take control of Personal Finance :

Law 1 - Take Emotional Control ( Be aware of how emotions affect the way you behave with money)

Law 2- Go Beyond Beliefs ( Know that your financial beliefs can become reality)

Law 3 - Spend With Power ( Make sure all your spending decisions are made for the right reason)

Law 4 - Have Goals ( Make your money fit your life plan)

Law 5 - Look Debt In The Face ( Face up to what you owe and decide how to pay it back)

Law 6 - Share Financial Intimacies ( Talk openly and honestly about money)

Law 7 - Know Tomorrow Comes ( Take action now for a secure future)

The best part about the book is its conversational style. You do not feel bogged down by the heavy detailing of personal finance jargons or you do not feel like counting the pages till the chapter is going to end. It is a very free flowing style, almost like how two friendly neighbours would chat over tea. The fact that Simonne and Karen have decided to share their personal anecdotes, interspersing with tales of their clientele during their consulting days, makes it more easy to associate ourselves with.

In every chapter they have a set of tough questions, the questions you ought to answer to yourself. I found that part very interesting. But not only do they ask questions, but also extend help to overcome issues. For example, they have provided a full financial chart , a kind of strategy to come out of a heavy debt. Not only is the chart realistic, but also they have given a wonderful set of checklist to let the will power stay strong.

My verdict on the book : Interestingly written and very thoroughly researched. Communication style is impressive and the followup questions for self-reinforcement are perfectly placed. However, the book might not be so popular with Indian audience. The major reason being the usage of credit cards. Indian investors are still very conservative and even today, I do not know any girl who holds more than 2 credit cards and splurges money so lavishly ( No reference to Business Class people; Typical middle class service personnel only) It is kind of improbable that Indian ladies would incur such heavy debt. But the only relatable point I found was the expenses during emotional peaks. Or any good bargain. That is something that Indians need to learn, how to control the will power and as ourselves, if we really need that thing. After hearing the word "Discount/Sale/*% Off", the rational part of the brain somehow becomes defunct and the emotional part takes over. Simonne and Karen , train the reader to become a tough task master and coach how to take control of those seemingly wielding emotions. Yes, a must go for the Betty Bloomingdale hiding within us. :)