Written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. Starring Ranbir Kapoor
(Zed) and Deepika Padukone (Tara).
Bottom line: Tamasha’s
best quality is its music and there are a bunch of songs that are smoothly
incorporated into the movie.
3/4
Tamasha opens to a
play; a clown is talking to a robot walking on a treadmill. The clown touches
the robot on its heart causing it to malfunction and step off the treadmill.
The clown speaks to the audience saying the robot has a story to tell. We cut
to a boy being scolded for not doing well in school. You might be able to guess
where this is going: the boy is forced into a safe, responsible mold, going to school to become a scientist (or something) even though
he wants to be an actor.
During the preceding intro credits sequence, the boy spends
his last few rupees to hear a story from the park’s resident storyteller. The
storyteller mixes up his story but justifies it by saying it is always the same story, just different
characters. It’s pleasant to hear that because Tamasha’s story is just like all the others but its execution is
what differentiates it. Anyway, fade to black. Open to Corsica, France, where
we are introduced to the love story.
If you’ve read my other reviews for Bollywood movies, you
might be familiar with my general lack of understanding when it comes to the
genre. Tamasha, however, would be a
solid movie for someone not familiar with this style of movie. Sometimes in
Bollywood movies they break into songs at, to me, odd times, or they have these
over-the- top
plot points that I don’t quite understand. In the case of Tamasha, it felt closer to a Hollywood musical.
In the initial love song for example, Zed (Kapoor) and Tara (Padukone)
are talking about their plan to have a weeklong fling (sans physical contact)
and never meet again. Amidst the festival going on around them, they exchange
clever lines and then break into song. The song conveniently lines up with what
the festival musicians are playing. Speaking of songs, I loved the music from
this movie; the songs are catchy and fun.
The movie opens to the stage play and then jumps back in
time to see Zed as a child. It then jumps back and forth in time to show how
various plot points play out. Unfortunately, the best example will give away
spoilers, so I’ll wait until later to discuss
it.
The performances of Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone were
perfectly fine, except for a point that I will discuss in a bit. I must say
that they both have this look, where their eyes
tear up but they don’t cry. They do it well and they do it several times
throughout the movie.
The only thing I didn’t like was how Zed was portrayed when
he was breaking out of his mold. I don’t think there are any major spoilers in
this next part. Have you ever seen Office
Space? It was the movie about a guy who
hates his cubicle job and then, through a botched professional hypnotherapist
session, stops caring. He shows up late and has a new generally chill but
disconnected demeanor. Zed, as you might’ve
expected, experiences a similar existential crisis. Instead of shouting, “I
quit!” or just quitting, he just becomes an insane jerk. Not just kooky but
I’m-not-going-to-be in-a-relationship-with-you-because-you-might-murder-me
insane.
Part of his morning routine is to hold the elevator door
open for a little old lady. Once he starts to snap, he smiles at her as he lets
the door closes. He shouts at his boss and makes a general scene. Is it too
much to ask that protagonists in this situation address their concerns coolly?
I mean, instead of flipping out, couldn’t he have just started writing a screenplay
or taken up acting in his free time?
This doesn’t detract too much from the total movie, however.
Overall, it is fun, colorful, and happy. At about two hours and twenty minutes,
Tamasha is a long Bollywood film but
it only drags in the last scene or two. I’d recommend this movie to someone who
is even mildly interested in Bollywood. One strategy, I’ve come to use for
selecting Bollywood movies, is to first listen to some of the music videos for
the movie. If you like the songs then check out
the movie, otherwise, pass on it.
If you are interested, here are some links to the videos on YouTube:
Whew, I’m sorry for the delay with the reviews, peeps. Writing is not too different from exercise, it’s just working out different muscles; it’s arduous at the time but really satisfying. In the comments below, let me know what you think of those songs!
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