Sharmaji Namkeen

"Sharmaji Namkeen" (2022) is an interesting movie, as it turns out to be the last one for a former Bollywood superstar.  The topic is retirement with family restrictions.  With no choice in the matter Sharma is forced to retire.  Families have an idea of what is proper behavior for their widower father.  As you  might imagine old people often appear to be out of date to their offspring.

An inescapable fact is that the leading man died during the filming leaving the dilemma of how to carry on.  Rishi Kapoor was only 67 when he died and they had already done a significant footage of film.  Rishi was key to the film and it would not be effective to not include his role in the remaining filming and too expensive to start from scratch.  They decided to hire a double and chose Paresh Rawal, a well established actor of a similar build.  Makeup and costume design help smooth over the small amount of dissonance.  In truth I am more of a Paresh Rawal fan, but was not sure which was which.  The role switches don't interfere with the story.

Ranbir Kapoor, son of Rishi Kapoor and a major star in his own right does a bilingual (English and Hindi) explanation to start the film.

After Sharma is left at home he is lost for what to do.  His eldest son Rinku ridicules many of his efforts and seems more concerned about what his friends and prospective relatives would think.  His son is getting married and planning to move into his own flat.  Through some misunderstanding (where would the film industry be without misunderstandings?) Sharma ends up cooking for a group of middle aged women who are delighted with what he offers.  He loosens up, gets involved with their games of charade and breaks into a dance once in awhile.  Someone posted a video of it and it reaches his son who is very embarrassed by it and objects to his dad's activities.  Eventually the father and son become mutually supportive with the help of the women's group.  It did seem to me the story could have been extended for a more satisfying ending, but undoubtedly the filming process had dragged on too long.

It is a satisfying ending in that Sharma does finally get to enjoy his retirement.  IMDB followers give it a better than average rating.  The end credits showed a few clips of Rishi in rehearsals, often giving out instructions to make the scene more effective.

The cast and crew had a tougher time than usual finishing this film and deserve some recognition.

Farhan Akhtar was one of the producers.  He started producing with a classic, "Dil Chatha Hai" (2001), then went on to "Lakshya" (2004), "Don" (2006) and many others.  He has since become a major actor with such films as "Rock On" (2008), "Karthik Calllng Karthik" (2010), "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" (2011), "Dil Dhadakne Do" (2015) and "The Sky is Pink" (2019).   check an older blog:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/11/farhan-akhtar-young-man-on-rise-in.html

Hitesh Bhatia was both director and writer.  It is only his second film.  He had been concerned about how the Kapoor family would accept the final film, but they loved it.  He described the last shot that was intended to be a long shot, but Rishi thought a close up would be better and waited for the makeup people to do their job.

Supratik Sen was a co-writer.  He has been involved with scripts for "Kaminey" (2009), "Kai Po Che" (2013), "Parched" (2015),"Fitoor" (2016), and "Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui" (2021). Check: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/01/chandigarh-kare-aashiqui-another-social.html

Rishi Kapoor was the main character Sharma.  Rishi got an early start in films due to family connections.  Over 150 films including as a leading man, comic roles and even villains.  His films include "Bobby" (1973), "Luck by Chance" (2009), "Agneepath" (2012), "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" (2012)."Sanam Re" (2016), "Kapoor & Sons" (2016), and "102 Not Out" (2018).  During the filming of "Sharmaji Namkeen" he died in 2020/

Paresh Rawal stepped in to finish the role.  He has over 200 acting credits including such films as "Heri Pheri" (2000),  "Cheeni Kum" (2007), "Jaane Tu" (2008), "Road to Sangam" (2009), "Paa" (2009), "OMG Oh My God!" (2012), "Table No. 21" (2017) and "Sanju" (2018).  He has also produced hundreds of tv series episodes.  On top of all that he was a Member or Parliament 2014-2019. 

Juhi Chawla,who had a substantial supporting role was a big reason I decided to watch this film.  She is very deft with comedy, but has also done well in dramatic roles.  She is very subtle, which might be appreciated when she does charades both at a party, but also jailside.  As a former Miss India she once played the romantic lead in a number of movies.  Her hits include "Yes Boss" (1997), "Duplicate" (1998),  "3 Deewarein" (2003) "My Brother...Nikhil" ( 2005) and "Ventilator" (2018).  She formed a partnership with Shah Rukh Khah that led to Red Chillies Entertainment.  Lately her talents seem to be used mostly in comic roles, although she had had some involvement as a producer and has selected some socially relevant roles.  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/07/ventilator-serious-movie-with-comic.html

 Suhail Nayyar played Rinku the son of Sharma.  His film credits included "Udta Punjab" (2016) and "Hotel Mumbai" (2018).

 Isha Talwar played the prospective daughter in law.  Her film credits include "Bangalore Days" (2014), "Tubelight" (2017), "Har Kisse Ke Hisse Kaamyrab" (2018), Article 15" (2019) and "Ginny Weds Sunny" (2020) .   Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/bangalore-days.html

Ranbir Kapoor, the son of Rishi Kapoor who not only gave the introduction, but also permission to carry on with the role switch.  Ranbir has established himself with a number of films such as "Wake up Sid" (2009), "Barfi" (2012), "Tamasha" (2015), "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" (2016) and "Sanju" (2018).  Check out:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/02/tamasha-wonderful-story.html

 This is an enjoyable two hours.  If you are like me you can appreciate that retirement is a time of opportunities.  The last chance to see Rishi Kapoor who left a legion of fans.

Movies I have seen are bolded at their first mention.

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui--another social breakthrough for Ayushmann

 If you are not familiar with Ayushmann Khurrana, he is unique for Bollywood.  He finds himself in a variety of socially challenging roles. See below for more on his history.  "Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui"(2020) is like a lot of romance comedies, except the focus is a transgender partner.

 Film was in theatres not only in India, but also in Ontario this past December.  Netflix picked it up very recently as there does seem to be streaming competition for Khurrana's films.

Manu's workout business is declining.  His two partners think they should rent out space to a Zumba instructor which not only would attract women fitness seekers, but also get more men who could ogle the women, especially the instructor.  Maanvi is certainly attractive, well spoken and feminine.  

 The reveal comes early, but after a sexual relationship has been established.  Shock and feelings of betrayal.  He didn't know what a trans girl was and went into a fit.  He wanted her to leave the city as well as the business.  His partners pointed out that they were now making money and everyone was happy, including his two sisters who were constantly trying to get him married off.  Word spread quickly and hit a peak when his sisters created a big fuss at a Zumba class that went viral, feeling their brother had been duped, but later blaming him thinking he knew all along.  The healing process takes time and random events before a happy ending.

His two sisters were the first to know and of course told the rest of the family.  Manu's father had been widowed for over a decade and had told his son to marry Maanvi so he, the father, could marry his secret love.  But now he felt downcast and very upset along with his two daughters.  A live in grandfather was kept uninformed, and of course he learned, but wasn't as upset as the others. 

We met her father early in the movie and he seems a doting dad.  Later he tells her he thinks of her as both son and daughter, but we also learn he visits her behind his wife's back.  His wife and a few other relatives already know about the transgender operation and want to avoid her.

We watch Manu view transgender videos and listen to a psychologist help to gradually make him accept the situation.  As often in such films it takes a family crisis and Maanvi's father has a heart attack which his wife attributes to worrying about their son/daughter.  But in truth Maanviis is the one he requests to visit.  Manu shows up and realizes that he had been happy with Maanvi and wanted to make up with her.  Of course it is not quite that easy, but the climax is similar to what you might expect, perhaps allowing for a lingering homophobic culture, but if you like rom-coms you will be satisfied.

If you are not a Bollywood fan you might be annoyed by the Punjabi dancing, but it is not too intrusive and reflects joy at different times in the story.  There is humor as you might imagine, but it is not so much at the expense of transgenders.

Transgender issues are starting to get noticed, but it is still something that makes many feel queasy.  As Maanvi says she was always a woman inside and decided to be a woman on the outside.  She declared to her mother who was most upset, that she had been the model for what Maanvi wanted to be. The videos that Manu watches are not just for him, but for the audience to understand a little better.

Abhishek Kapoor was director and helped write the script.  He has a unusual history as an actor.  He starred in several films that were shelved.  He has directed some good films:  "Rock on" (2008) and "Kai Po Che" (2013) which he also adapted the script--check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/05/kai-che-po.html   

Supratik Sen wrote much of the dialogue and script and provided the story.  Earlier films involved with included "Kaminey" (2009), "Kai Po Che" (2013), "Parched" (2015) and "Fitoor" (2016).

Music provided by team of Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya.  

Ayushmann Khurrana played Manu and was muscled up and portrayed a bit of machoism.  He has developed a reputation for choosing roles with a social element to them.  For example his first feature he was a sperm donor with "Vicky Donor" (2012).   In "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" (2015) he tries to get out of an arranged marriage with an overweight girl better educated than him.  In "Shrubh Mangal Savdhan: (2017) he had erectile disfunction.  In "Article 15" (2015) he played a military officer fighting caste discrimination.  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/12/ayushmann-khuranna-actor-to-watch.html

 Vaani Kapoor played Maanvi at first as a bubbly Zumba instructor, then a rejected lover.  Her films include "Shuddh Desi Romance" (2013) for which she won several debutante awards and "Befikre" (2016).

Anjan Srivastav played Maanvi's understanding father.  He started with films in 1976 including "Chak De! India" (2007) and "Sanju" (2018)

Social concerns can be approached with seriousness, but also with humor.  You can look at unfamiliar situations and become aware of injustices, but sometimes it is effective to laugh.  This movie demonstrates a little of both.  An earlier movie that opened my understanding a little was "Peranbu" (2019), my top movie of 2020.  Not wishing to spoil an excellent movie I would just like to point out that a transgender is part of the solution to an awkward situation.  Check it out as it is an excellent movie:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/03/peranbu-top-film-out-of-india.html

Except for the transgender angle I would describe this movie as a typical rom-com.  But that is a strength to help us to adjust to a new reality (for many of us).  Watching others overcome social hangups can be therapeutic.

I have bolded the first listing of movies I have seen, admittedly partly due to vanity, but also to establish familiarity with the film.