PRAAN JAAYE PAR SHAAN NA JAAYE

141min,35mm,1:2.35 aspect ratio,Dolby Digital,Colour,Hindi.2003.INDIA.IMDb

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Location: bombay, India

Son of a soldier, I was born in Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district, Bihar. My childhood days were spent in an earthy rural life. I was deeply inspired by the rich folk culture of Buddha’s own land, Bihar. Right from the beginning, I Grew up with real images of Melas, Ramleelas, Bahuripiyas, incredible rituals, strong religious milieu and the vibrant Mithila Art. Natural calamities like flood and drought gifted unforgettable images. Changing seasons of rural life on the bank of river Ganga matured into a sense of poetry and language. Wonder years passed chasing steam trains that passed through the fields of my native village. Listening to radio programs made for defense personals was my only window to the outside world. With such a treasure of inspirational experiences a story teller evolved. I am a practicing film maker in Bombay today.

Friday, August 11, 2006

MOVIE REVIEW

PRAAN JAYE PAR SHAAN NA JAAYE - (Reviewed By Komal Nahta)

Director: Sanjay Jha.

Music: Daboo Malik, Nitin Raikwar.
Various Producer: Asoo Nihlani, Sagoon Wagh, Raj Lalchanani
Starring: Raveena Tandon, Diya Mirza, Rinke Khanna, Namrata Shirodkar, Divya Dutta, Shweta Menon, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sushmita Sen

RATING: 0.5/10

Mindblowing Movies''PRAAN JAYE PAR SHAAN NA JAYE''(A), as the banner suggests, blows away the audience's mind with its explicitly vulgar scenes, obscene dialogue and often stupid tracks on which the drama moves. Story of the travails of the inhabitants of a lower-middle class chawl in Bombay city, it is almost a lesson in how not to make a film and what not to include in it if one is aiming to turn out a universally appealing fare.

The chawl is in danger of being demolished to give way to a commercial complex. The scheming builder is trying to hoodwink the chawl-dwellers into accepting slightly bigger tenements in a distant place but they won't budge. Enter the builder's man who comes to stay in the chawl under the guise of writing a thesis on chawl life. His ulterior motive is to get the signatures of the inhabitants on legal papers, granting the builder the right of demolition.

The man on the job is moved by the plight of the chawl-dwellers and their individual problems but still cheats them into signing the papers. He requests his builder-friend to use compassion and restraint in his dealings with the chawl-dwellers and actually believes that the evil guy would do as directed! When the builder informs the chawl-wallahs about their signatures and, consequently, the impending demolition, the builder's own man (who had cheated them into signing the papers) joins forces with them and ultimately, they thwart the builder's move.

Mahesh V. Manjrekar (credited for the concept and screenplay) and Sanjay Pawar (story and dialogue) seem to have fallen in love with their own sense of humour so much that they've gone on endlessly with what they must've considered funny but which would actually appeal to just a small section of the audience in Maharashtra. The rest of the cinegoers would scarcely be tickled by the comedy and may actually feel repulsed by the vulgar dialogue and scenes in the garb of comedy/authenticity. The chawl concept would barely be understood outside Bombay.

References to the functioning of the film industry (commercial viability of a project etc.), terms like Pitalwala Complex (indirect reference to Lokhandwala Complex), Nacheez Carpenter (architect Hafeez Contractor) are not just childish but also anything but funny. The Sati episode is incorporated and stretched so much because the writers seem to have lost steam mid-way.

Constant references to urine, sex etc. are in terrible taste and would serve to hurt sensibilities more than entertain people. Some scenes of sex and sexual innuendos (in particular, the scene of Divya Dutta's husband making love to her while she is disinterestedly narrating her tale of woes; the scene of Sayaji Shinde abusing his wife, in front of her parents) may have been meant to underline the plight of women but rather than sympathising with the womenfolk, the viewer feels nauseated by what he sees! In fact, one wonders if the censors were viewing the film with their eyes wide shut, so outrageously offensive to normal tastes are several scenes and dialogue!

Deletion of swear-words, ordered by the censors at many places, has been carried out by suppressing the objectionable words with a sound effect which is jarring to say the least.

Performances of most of the actors are limited by the inane scripting. Raveena Tandon does a fair job. Namrata Shirodkar is okay. Divya Mirza struggles to act but fails. Rinke Khanna is alright. Divya Dutta does a good job. Shweta Menon is okay. Vijay Raaz excels. Aman Verma gives a polished performance and is suitably restrained as the builder's man. Sachin Khedekar suffers on account of weird characterisation - at times, he behaves like a suave builder, at other times, he behaves like a buffoon.
Sayaji Shinde is natural. Vivek Shauq is full of life. Sushmita Sen hardly appeals in an ill-defined special appearance. Mahesh Manjrekar is alright in a guest appearance. His dance (with Sushmita) in the end (alongwith the rolling titles) is cute. Shivaji Satam, Sanjay Narvekar, Bharat Jadhav, Kalpana Pandit (guest appearance) and the rest lend the desired support.

Debutant Sanjay Jha's direction is fair but his choice of subject to start his career with couldn't have been worse. His handling of emotional scenes is dull. Some dialogue (Sanjay Pawar) are witty but some others would either go over the top or would hurt the viewers' sensibilities.

Songs are average and so are their picturisations. Camerawork and other technical aspects are okay. Production values are average. Action scenes are functional.

On the whole, ''Praan Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye'' is a poor satirical comedy with some appeal for a section of the audience in Maharashtra only. Other than that, it would be rejected by the audience - that too, with contempt!

RELEASE DATE: 2nd May 2003

REVIEWED BY KOMAL NAHTA

http://radiosargam.com/movies/
moviereviews/p/pjpsnj.htm

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