He was only 3 years old when his father Dhaval Mehta knew that his son was special. All he needed was a crayon in hand and Dev utilized every surface in the house to draw, sketch and paint. It began with the floor as he crawled, then as he grew taller it spread to the house walls, later bed sheet and when nothing was available body parts.

Dhaval Mehta decided that that will be no regulations at home, his son could paint and sketch whenever and wherever he wants. He got him a box full of colors and when Dev was 5 years old introduced him to a canvas, to oil paint and Dev held the brush in his hand like he was born to paint. His very first painting titled “From Tempest to Calmness” was a flight to the imagination and there was no looking back.

@bhawanasomaaya

Film: Pari

Date: 04.03.2018

Director: Prosit Roy

Cast: Anushka Sharma, Prarambrata Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Mansi Multani

Ratings: 2 stars

 It is not often that a leading lady in films starts a production house, Anushka Sharma in association with Prerna Arora launched Clean Slate Films three years ago and has since then been making genre specific, moderate budget films.

In NH 10/ 2015 Anushka portrayed crime on the highway. Phulwari/ 2017 told about a tormented soul and this year she presents Pari. It is evident from the poster/trailers of the film that this is not a story about angels who guard paradise but about evil spirits who breathe on the planet.

Inspired from true incidents occurred in Bangladesh and supported by newspaper reportage, this is a first on the practice of that time.

On a rainy night Arnab/ Parambratta Chatterjee encounters an orphan Rukhsana/ Anushka Shama and offers her shelter in his home and Rukhsana continues to be Arnab’s guest longer than intended.

The biggest problem with the film in my opinion is that the director assumes that the audience is familiar with the backstory and does not bother to elaborate as a result there is a lot of artificial intrigue but no clarity on content or on why Rajat Kapoor does what he does!

It is unusual that Arnab lives in a narrow lane in Kolkatta and survives a monstrous secret without any curiosity/ questions from his neighborhood.

The negatives are all the clichés- the forever engulfing darkness, unnecessary scenes of blood, overgrown nails, satanic verses and eerie shadows in black hoods breathing heavily. We are informed that the evil spirit delivers her baby in a month and the climax is straight out of the fifties.

The positives are the performances, Chatterjee is refreshing and Sharma sparkles despite a poor storytelling. Her courage to always travel new terrain and embrace versatility is admirable. She has proved over the years that her films can be disappointing but never Anushka Sharma!

Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya

Working since the age of five Sridevi was a natural and as decade went by thought of Mumbai city and Hindi films as her home. Tired of being parked in Centaur Hotel for months at stretch for shootings she purchased her home in Lokhandwala designed by a close friend. I remember visiting her newly designed home one late evening for a cover story.  When I arrived the house was buzzing with haunting melody, she revealed the music was composed by a 27-year old boy who will soon be grabbed by the Hindi film industry. She was referring to AR Rehman.

The 1990s was a challenging decade for the actress, her link up with her producer Boney Kapoor, her marriage and the controversies, her pregnancy. I remember visiting her in the hospital. In fact, I suggested the name Jhanvi inspired from her film Judai and two years later, her second daughter Khushi.

To be continued…

@bhawanasomaaya

I was on the sets with Shekhar Kapur when he was briefing her just before shooting the ‘I love you’ song in Mr. India. Shekhar explained the scene and what he expected from her in the dance. She listened to him blankly and repeated the same to her sister Srilatha who stood beside her.  Later I asked Shekhar what was her motive for explaining the scene to her sister and Shekhar reflected for a moment and said, “I don’t know but maybe that is her way of processing.” When the camera turned on, Sridevi was magical, an absolute joy to watch her sway without abandon, her Blue chiffon flying in the air.

The 80s introduced two heroines from down South, Sridevi, and Jaya Prada and for a while, it seemed that Jaya Prada would become the bigger star because of her conventional beauty but Sridevi surpassed all her rivals to the number one position. The Tamil and the Telegu film industry never really forgave Mumbai for stealing their brightest star and for a long time they were in serious mourning but they were happy that Sridevi made a place for herself in Hindi films and did it on her merit.

To be continued…

@bhawanasomaaya 

The first time I heard of Sridevi was in the early 1980s. Actor Jeetendra mentioned her in his interview to me and later took to me watch some songs of Himmatwala in which Sridevi was being launched. “Look at the way she dances and the way she performs and let me tell you she does not know a word of Hind. Mark my words this girl is going to be a sensation”.

Over the decades I interviewed Sridevi a number of times, but she was always a fortress you could not fathom. She spoke very little and mostly answered the questions you put to her in mono-syllables. When you asked her controversial questions she rolled her eyes and said “Ask Mummy”.

She was not bothered that the media made fun of her and labeled her ‘thunder thighs’ because her endorsement came from her filmmakers. Most of the time the filmmakers were never sure if she understood what they explained before a shot because she was usually blank in her expressions with them. But once the camera was turned on, she transformed into a livewire, she was like an apsara from the heaven who danced into the hearts of her audiences…

To be continued…

@bhawanasomaaya

Nostalgia is a heady emotion and a Deja Vu trip cannot be planned, it just happens. Circumstances lead you to it and you go with the flow.  The family is in a mellow mood and we have jointly agreed to do everything that we have done earlier. Visit the same places, eat the same food and walk the same streets. It is a cold day but it is refreshing to be out of the house. Sometimes to resolve conflict it’s important to get away from the premise.

We do that, we stroll on the streets aimlessly as if completing all that was left incomplete and in the process find tentative solace.  Sometimes, just being amidst crowds, amidst strangers, just watching them go about their lives is therapeutic. We have walked long miles and are exhausted.  It is still freezing and from the skyline, it appears as if there will be snow.

@bhawanasomaaya

To discover a new city you have to experience the public transport. I did not travel by the train or by the bus on my last trip to Berlin but this time I wanted to experience the journey. We boarded the train from a station close to our home.  A small walk, a small bridge and we were on a deserted station. The train arrived empty as per schedule and as I found a window seat to watch the city go by I wondered where the people of Berlin were hiding.

Within ten minutes we had arrived at our destination and I was happy to discover a few passengers on the train and a few more at the station.  As I climbed the over the bridge to make it to the city I thought of Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hain where Preity Zinta is deserted on the station harassed by a vagabond until Farhan arrives in time to save her from the scare. I asked my companion if such incidents are common in Berlin and he clarifies that as such there are no beggars in the city “And if in case they are found the police is alerted and they are taken away at once”.

@bhawanasomaaya

In the good old days for most Indians traveling abroad meant spending all your time in the malls. The hostess dropped her guests at a mall before she went to work and when she met them up during her lunch break we dumped the shopping bags into her car.

Post lunch usually made up of fast food, the hostess went back to her office and we, back to serious shopping. The adventure lasted till the hostess was ready to pick us again and we drove for a special sit down dinner, which was incidentally the only time we chatted and bonded.

Back home and back to our rooms, we reopened our shopping bags and evaluated our expedition. We counted our notes – dollars/ pounds/ euros and made a note to slow down the following day. We didn’t that time but we have now. Shopping is no more an attraction because all malls are identical and one gets almost the same things everywhere.

Before I leave the mall I make sure to take a picture against the festival backdrop. I have attended so many international film festivals over the decades, this time I am not in a mood for cinema.

@bhawanasomaaya