Spoilers ahead…
In KD Satyam’s Bollywood Diaries, Ashish Vidyarthi plays Vishnu, a 52-year-old government servant in Bhilai. We meet him at his daughter’s wedding reception – he’s happy, relieved. But it’s not just the usual middle-class relief that he’s done with his duties, that no more money will have to be stashed away for the big day. Vishnu is relieved because he can finally pursue his dream of becoming… a Bollywood actor. His wife Lata (Karuna Pandey) is appalled. At first, she fights this foolishness, but when she sees how stubborn he is, how much he wants it, she relents. At the farewell given by friends and family, Vishnu dismisses the accusation that he’s lost his way. “Gumraah to woh hain jo ghar se nikle hi nahin.” At least, he’s taking a risk, going after what he wants. Or so he tells himself. No one else is listening.
There are two other dreamers – Rohit (Salim Diwan), a call-centre employee in Delhi, and Imli (Raima Sen), a sex worker in Kolkata. The initial portions have a looseness that makes us laugh. Rohit recites Agneepath dialogues on the pot, and Vishnu’s petulant fits remind you of a child who’s been told he’s not getting that ice cream. Imli, too, exists in a ditzy world of her own, refusing a great offer from a dance bar in Dubai because she’d rather knock on producers’ doors in Mumbai. The difference is that, unlike your typical struggler, she does not dread the casting couch. She knows all the tricks, she says. Bring it on. At this point, I was expecting a screwball version of Luck By Chance, a knife-sharp procedural about the various steps on the journey to a dazzling destination. Or would we get a triumph-of-the-underdog story, with Vishnu making it against all odds?
What I did not expect is a full-blown horror movie. There may be no ghosts in Bollywood Diaries, but Vishnu, Imli and Rohit compensate – they’re possessed by their dream. Vishnu forgets he has a wife. Imli forgets she has a daughter who needs her. Rohit forgets his dignity – the things he does at a talent show are outrageously funny, but the laughs are tinged with sadness, desperation. Salim Diwan is pitch-perfect – he makes us wonder if he is a great actor playing a lousy one, or a lousy actor playing himself. Vishnu, meanwhile, gets hold of a holy man, who gives him a mantra. This is the kind of film where endless chants of Om Mumbai Bollywood Bachchan-aya Namaha don’t make you giggle – you feel sick to the stomach. Vidyarthi is magnificent. He takes you deep into his delusions. Karuna Pandey is equally good, standing at the edge of a quicksand pit and watching her husband disappear slowly. Bollywood Diaries is a splash of ice-cold water on everyone who stands in front of a mirror and says: Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon.
KEY:
- Gumraah to woh hain jo ghar se nikle hi nahin = Those who don’t step out of home are the ones that lose their way.
- Luck By Chance = see here
Copyright ©2016 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Aditi
March 8, 2016
“He makes us wonder if he is a great actor playing a lousy one, or a lousy actor playing himself.”
– I’d imagine that would be one of the most difficult things for a good actor to do. Shah Rukh does the “fake ham” very well, but I am unable to recall which movie I’m thinking of where he does it.
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praneshp
March 8, 2016
“Vidyarthi is magnificent”: Please don’t act in Tamil movies again. Astounding waste of talent.
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olemisstarana
March 8, 2016
Aditi… Ram Jaane, the death scene?
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sanjana
March 8, 2016
I heard good things about this movie which unfortunately sank. Pity!
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Kid
March 8, 2016
Olemisstarana: I never knew there was someone who would remember Ram Jaane. Haha! Oh man, wretched film, even more wretched performance. I saw this as a kid and I was scarred for life. But nothing, nothing could match those lyrics. Anand Bakshi was (in)famous for writing lyrics songs from the absolutely sublime to the absolutely ridiculous, but even by his own standards the title song is one of a kind- Kehte hain log mujhe ram jaane; Kaise pada yeh mera naam jaane; Ram jaane, ram jaane. What gem!
Aditi: SRK does fake ham well? I thought he almost always hams (with some notable exceptions…I actually Kamal utilized this trait as well as his infectious energy very well in Hey Ram). But perhaps by fake ham, you might mean portions of Anjaam though Madhuri did a number on him here (as she does in every film where she is opposite him)
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MANK
March 8, 2016
ok so 20 odd years after Drohkaal, ashish vidyarthi finally has a role worthy of his talent, Bravoooo!
Kid , Reg: Ram Jaane Oh man, wretched film, even more wretched performance
well what do you expect when an over the top hammy SRK tries to copy the over the top but extraordinarily brilliant Al Pacino – scarface- performance in a remake of an over the top james cagney film – angels with dirty faces. you see how much over the top SRK and the film ends up becoming. 🙂
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moi
March 8, 2016
I remember ram jaane… the film where Shahrukh wears over sized coats with no shirt and bandannas… couldn’t sit through it..
And agree Shahrukh and hamming is synonymous..
Only in deewana and chamatkar I found him charming and “non-hammy”.
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olemisstarana
March 9, 2016
Kid: AAAAA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! How do I get rid of this earworm now? Kiddd… I knew you were trouble. 🙂
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olemisstarana
March 9, 2016
Shah Rukh in Swades and Chak De! was my fave, though he was a little holier than thou in the former.
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Aditi
March 9, 2016
Looks like I inadvertently started off a discussion on Shah Rukh.. Now I feel embarrassed to admit to “olemisstarana” that I haven’t watched Ram Jaane, and to “Kid” that I haven’t watched Anjaam 😀 Maybe I meant parts of Om Shanti Om where he’s supposed to act like a bad actor? (the latter parts with Dard-e-Disco etc.)
And being somewhat of an admirer of Shah Rukh’s talent, I guess I tilt towards finding him charming in general, rather than hammy 🙂
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brangan
March 9, 2016
Aditi: I agree about Shah Rukh. I love his KKHH, K3G phase — he brought back the romantic hero after Rajesh Khanna. (And no, Kumar Gaurav doesn’t count.) And it isn’t just that he did those roles. It’s HOW he did them — playing to the gallery (as Khanna did), and yet retaining a very distinctive star signature. It’s unfortunate that most of the films that made him famous also expected him to turn on the waterworks, because in the lighter portions he had real charm.
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Aditi
March 9, 2016
@brangan – That is so true. I remember dragging my entire family (including aunts, uncles, cousins) as a schoolgirl to watch Kal Ho Naa Ho when it had just released. Why did it have to end in such an over-the-top melodramatic way? By the end of that, everyone remembered only the last half hour or so, and my legs are pulled about that incident to this day (in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have hyped it up before they watched it). That incident made me realize how polarizing an effect Shah Rukh has on people – you either love him, or hate him. I haven’t come across too many in-betweeners.
Also, I should probably take a screenshot of your reply so that I can show it to my family the next time they bring up the KHNH incident, and say “See? A National Award-winning critic agrees with me about Shah Rukh. So there”!
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Anantha Krishnan
March 9, 2016
Despite the length, KHNH was a superb film which had heart at the right place and SRK was terrific in it… in films of those period,he had terrific screen presence and energy level(which some may refer as being ‘over the top’)… but sadly that srk is no more… he was a complete faiure in JTHJ(youner portions) and CE when he tried to do the same charming stuff that once made him famous… MNIK and the army sequences of JTHJ had his best in recent times… he tops the list of talented actors(including saif and abhishek) who needs ‘re invention’… hope fan and raees does that for srk!
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The Ghost Who Walks
March 9, 2016
“Vidyarthi is magnificent”: Please don’t act in Tamil movies again. Astounding waste of talent.
And in Telugu movies. Definitely Telugu movies.
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Gradwolf
March 9, 2016
“He makes us wonder if he is a great actor playing a lousy one, or a lousy actor playing himself.”
“I’d imagine that would be one of the most difficult things for a good actor to do. Shah Rukh does the “fake ham” ”
It is one of the biggest reasons I am looking forward to Fan
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sanjana
March 9, 2016
SRK’s energy makes him ham. Wish he is less energetic. I felt bad for Saif in that movie. How terrible it is to marry someone knowing he or she is in love with someone else.
He looks good in song sequences.
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Anuja
March 9, 2016
This review made me so happy simply because a talent like Ashish Vidyarthi is getting the meaty roles he deserves. Some of his OTT roles in Tamil films have made me wince but I really liked him in Ghilli. Classic case of what a big actor can do with a small role. Hope he gets more films worthy of his talent.
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B.H.Harsh
March 9, 2016
And i was wondering how come there are as many as 13 comments on a film that wasn’t even screened at as many theatres perhaps.
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jithu
March 9, 2016
hello. the blog is of Mr.Rangan. he even has comments in queue waiting moderation.
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Anantha Krishnan
March 9, 2016
@sanjana, some find his excess energy irritating and is still clueless about his stardom… you may be one of them… about KHNH,won’t it be more terrible if both saif and preeti lived all their life without finding their love and thinking about their losses??? brilliant people don’t get that film, i see.
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venkatesh
March 13, 2016
SRK in his first few films including Baazigar, Darr, Anjaam, … et all was a live-wire on screen. There was something about him.
I think he does really well as a negative character, he is also very good in Don 1. His downfall has been his need to please his “female” and NRI fans, which is why i am waiting for Raees, Some honest to goodness masala bad guy film. Fingers crossed.
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Utkal
March 14, 2016
Honestly, I cant bare tow atch any of the old Shahrukh films today. He was always trying to do too much. No stillness in him, which is so necessary to anchor a performance. You can see that balamnce of stillness and energy in performance of a master like Dilip Kumar…be it Devdas, Mughl-e-Azam, Naya Daur, Ganga Jamuna or Andaz or Madjumati. Rajesh Khanna again was something else. The way he looked at a woman with those soulful eyes….that was romance. I can watch him sing Chingari ko bhadke in Amar Prem and marvel at the grcae with which he carries the song ..and Bengali dhoti-panjabi. In comparison, Shahrukh in Devdas is a bhaand.
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MANK
March 14, 2016
Venkatesh, Don, oh no way.i didnt think he pulled of that role. i liked him in Baazighar where he made a pretty good masala hero – the character itself being an amalgamation of Bachchan characters from Trishul, hera pheri, deewaar-. i have mixed feelings about Darr and Anjaam. you should watch the way Aamir Khan played an obsessed lover in deewaana mujhsa nahin to see the contrast. Aamir’s also is a high wire act, but still there is lot of control and and does not go over the top with his act
Utkal, that is right. his best performance was in swades – there is a stillness that balanced out the energy – that i just dont find in any other performances. perhaps in parts of Dil se, Asoka and chak de. otherwise it is all energy, energy,… even when his body remain still, he goes for the exaggerated expressions with his face. its almost like he feels weak and exposed when he remains still. he was really good in Dil se where Mani Ratnam used his energy and controlled it at the same time, except for the last section of the movie when SRK cuts himself loose .
The point that you made about dilip kumar also applies to Bachchan – i mean he was more energetic than DK, but in movies like Dewaar, Kala Pathar or even Amar akbar Anthony, he mixed so much control with his high wire energy. that is the mixture i feel missing in SRK’s performances.
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Utkal
March 15, 2016
MANK:: Agreed. Amitabh balances eneegy and stillness quite well and comes out with masterly performances. So does Aamir. Be it in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Sarfarosh, Rangeela , Laggan or Dil Chahta Ha or Rang De Basanti or 3 Idiots and PK even. The other thing that Dilip , Amitabh or Aamir do is INTERNALISE the character, while Sharulh, except in Swades, just goes through his repertoire of exaggerated facial expressions and stock mannersims. You have to just compare Sharukh in Darr and Aamir in 1947 to sense that. Or Dilip and Sharukh in Devdas. That is why Shahrukh in Darr nevr touches you and wrences your gut the way Amitabh does in Deewar or Trishul.
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jayshankar10
March 15, 2016
@brangan My friends did not accompany ne to this film and I watched it alone. And i never expected such a good movie… Chilling!! I connected well because I myself have had some experiences with dreams getting crushed… Too bad the film didn’t get its credit it deserves
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brangan
March 15, 2016
jayshankar10: Sorry to hear about that. I hope you bounced right back.
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Madan
March 19, 2016
Movie sounds interesting. Thanks for the review, will make a note of it. I think I may have already missed it in the theaters but at least I will keep an eye for the TV broadcast now.
But I came here to express my horror at the revelation that THE Anand Bakshi wrote Ram Jaane. I am just listening to Raat Suhani Jaag Rahi. Wonder if there is an Alavandhan duality in all these great artists whereby the same person effortlessly produces genius and mediocrity.
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