Kapoor Khazana: Rishi Kapoor - The Heroine's Hero!

There's one thing I find really interesting about Rishi Kapoor's film choices ... his willingness to do heroine-oriented films. Obviously, Bollywood is based in a patriarchal society. Films almost always center around the journey of a HERO - Heroines are often thrown in as just a love interest and not much more. Although Hindi cinema has evolved to a certain point, sadly South Indian films still extremely hero-centric. And since much of Hindi cinema is copied from South Indian cinema (don't take offense, it's been that way for a very long time!), we still see far more films that center on a male protagonist's experiences. In fact, ApunBindaas recently did a very interesting post about Hindi films copied from Hollywood that actually changed the female protagonist into a male one for Indian audiences. It is what it is, and it may take a very long time for the industry at large to change.

But back to Rishi ... if you look over his filmography (particularly as he got older), you will note that Rishi is one actor who has not been afraid to take a male lead role that is primarily just there for the female lead to fall in love with, and the rest of the film centers on her experiences. It's really unusual - I simply can't imagine other leading actors, whether his contemporaries such as Jeetendra, Anil Kapoor or Amitabh Bachchan, or today's heroes like the Khans (SRK, Aamir and Salman), doing films where they weren't the primary focus. But Rishi has done it, time and time again ... and that gives me a strong respect for his confidence in himself and his approach to films.

Here's a list of 10 films that Rishi took a backseat to the heroine - which seriously makes me love him even more!

 
 Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981)
The bulk of this story focuses on Kanchan (Padmini Kohlapuri), a poor young girl who adopts her sister's son after she and her husband tragically die. Rishi plays the husband's younger brother who searches for his long-lost family and ends up falling in love with Kanchan. There's a wide variety of characters (many of whom share the same name) but the movie really follows the journey of Kanchan more than anyone else!

Nagina (1986)
A snake follows her mate beyond the boundaries of species - when a young boy is bitten by her mate and a snake-charmer uses his powers to have the snake pour his soul back into the boy to revive him, the female snake transforms into a human body (Sridevi) to reclaim her love. This movie wholly and completely belongs to Sridevi and I don't think anyone can deny that!

Chandni (1989)
As the title suggests, this movie is all about Chandni (Sridevi). Rishi plays her primary love interest, Rohit, who gets hurt in an accident and then begins to push her away in a twisted attempt at selflessness. Unfortunately by the time he comes to his senses, he has a rival for Chandni in Lalit (Vinod Khanna). Again, this is a Sridevi show, though Rishi has some wonderful moments to shine in the film, particularly when he is haunted by his memories of Chandni.

Henna (1991)
In the grand tradition of RK Films that are heroine-centric (such as Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Ram Teri Ganga Maili), Henna's story had an amnesia-affected Chander (Rishi Kapoor) crash land in the rustic hills of Pakistan. He is saved and nursed back to health by innocent and lively Henna, played by Zeba Bhaktiar, and they quickly fall in love. Eventually Chander's memory returns to him, and he realizes he has a love interest/fiancee waiting for him back in India. Henna had a typically RK-feel to it, very lush and epic, and it approached Indo-Pak border conflict in a subtle and romantic way long before films like Veer-Zaara. Ultimately Henna's character emerges as the true hero of the film.

Deewana (1993)
Deewana is heralded is Shah Rukh Khan's big debut in Hindi films, but both SRK and Rishi Kapoor's characters were just aspects of Kajal (Divya Bharati)'s story in Deewana. A young woman falls in love with a singing star and marries into his home, but then he is tragically taken from her. Shortly afterward another young man pursues the young widow relentlessly until she finally gives in, only to find out that her husband still lives!

Sahibaan (1993)
I'm not going to pretend this was a good movie. It wasn't. I really wanted it to be, because when the previews came out I was totally charmed by the village setting and Madhuri's outfits and make-up. Unfortunately we ended up laughing out loud throughout the film (yes, at the theatre). But it was definitely Sahibaan (Madhuri)'s story! Rishi once again played the love interest that conveniently disappears and reappears (he has a habit of doing that in films). Sahibaan is about a village belle who captures the eye of a rich, alcoholic, murderous Sanjay Dutt, but her heart already belongs to a simple bansuri-playing villager (Rishi Kapoor).

Damini (1993)
This WAS an excellent film, and one that I've recommended over and over. And though Rishi is the romantic hero, and Sunny Deol gave the performance of a lifetime in it, the film is 100% Meenakshi Seshadhri's. And she is stunning and brilliant in it! Damini is the story of a vibrant and honest woman who marries into a wealthy family but doesn't quite find acceptance, though her husband (Rishi Kapoor) sincerely loves her. After witnessing the brutal rape of a maidservant by her brother-in-law and his friends, she decides to testify against him and is consequently tortured by her in-laws, who are trying to cover up the crime. Sunny Deol plays a gruff, drunkard lawyer who is compelled to represent Damini in court and help her find justice.

Saajan Ka Ghar (1994)
This movie was absolutely heartbreaking. Juhi Chawla stars as a sweet, unassuming woman whose mother died giving birth to her, causing her father to turn completely against her. He remarries and her stepmother also abuses her, but her stepbrother becomes her champion. Eventually she marries Rishi Kapoor's character, but finds a similar reception in her mother-in-law. All the poor girl wants is parental love, and she is rejected again and again. This movie totally made me cry. And again Rishi plays the sweet, supportive husband who really doesn't do much for the plot.

Yaarana (1995)
A crazy little romp of a film about Shikha (Madhuri Dixit), a woman fleeing from a creepy rich stalker guy (Raj Babbar), who happens to run across and fall in love with Rishi Kapoor mid-flight. This movie is only remembered for Madhuri's hit song Mera Piya Ghar Aaya, though I thought it was funny. Again, the film is all about Shikha's experiences, and though Rishi's character brings in the opportunity for romance and comedy, it's a Madhuri show through and through.

Prem Granth (1996) 
The last of the epic, heroine-centric RK Films, Prem Granth followed the tragic life of Kajri (Madhuri Dixit), yet another RK innocent village belle thrown into horrible circumstances in life. Rishi Kapoor plays the love interest who fades into the background during the worst times and leaves Kajri to suffer alone. Though I think Prem Granth had good intentions, it is perhaps guilty of being a bit too heavy-handed in the tragedy. Kajri's experiences are truly horrific. The message is that love conquers all, but they seriously make that poor girl experience ALL before she can find her happiness.


So these are just a sampling of films in which Rishi took hero roles in female-centric films. I'm sure there are many, many more and I'd love to hear which ones are your favorites or stuck out in your memory. I believe his willingness to take the lead male role in heroine-oriented films makes him a unique hero in the Hindi film industry, and it makes me incredibly proud to be his fan!

To check out more Kapoor Khazana links, click here!

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1950's Pin Up Swimsuit Ideas

Looking for ideas for a swimsuit for the summer, 1950's inspired of course:

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Five Hun Dread: The Sacred & Profane

In the waning days of 2006 I started this here 'blog in the interests of exerting a bit more control over  my online presence. It probably speaks volumes to my misconceptions about the Internet that I imagined I could "control" my online presence, but at the time I had just had a website put up for me, and simply wanted to contribute to that effort in a more personal way. After a short time, I found a guiding principle for the 'blog, which I decided would be used to explore and expound upon my efforts to live what I called "The Third Life." That is, a life lived outside of conventional norms and perspectives, one that aspires to be about more than just home and work, that incorporates something else (see 12/19/06, but also, and perhaps more interestingly, 2/21/08).

In the five years since I started the Aviary, one or two things have changed. I've been involved in myriad productions of great variety, including one low-budget sci-fi film and several original collaborations, traveled to and performed in Italy four times, and performed an extended-run NYC Fringe show that I helped develop. I got to play Romeo, well past my freshness date for that particular role. I moved three times, once between Brooklyn and Queens, and I took up aerial silks. Friend Andrew and I dared to experiment with a performance collective.  I've acted, written, choreographed, directed, curated and devised. In that time I also changed day jobs and taught in various capacities, including joining a UK-based corporate training company. Most significantly, my sister moved out of the city, and I married a woman I've known and loved since I was seventeen.

For a little over a month now, my evenings and a significant part of my weekends have been devoted to rehearsals for and performances of a play called Sacred Ground. It was written by my fellow As Far As We Know collaborator, Christina Gorman, and is the first time I've worked with her since we departed that show. Sacred Ground also represents the first naturalistic drama in which I've acted in the city since Lie of the Mind - which, as some may recall, did not garner me the most magnificent of notices. Well, it's only taken me about four years to get over that, and so I've been dutifully applying my craft to a rather down-to-earth, straight-forward drama. And I've enjoyed it. And I'd say I've even done a fairly respectable job.

It was very interesting, returning to a conventional off-off-Broadway rehearsal schedule in NYC. Rehearsals went rather late, and something about that - combined with working with all-new people (other than Christina), and tackling something by which I was more than a little intimidated - came to remind me very poignantly of how I generally existed in my 20s. There was almost literally no stopping, from day job, to rehearsal, to wherever life took me next. I'm just not as resilient now, and the hours came to take their toll on me toward opening. There were dark circles under my eyes and dark thoughts crowding my spare moments. I really felt the personal sacrifices I was making to be a part of this play, and that was another difference between the 80-hour weeks of my 20s and now.

I have loved the part. My character, Father William, is one with whom I can uniquely identify. There was even a time when I contemplated going to seminary (though never have I contemplated converting to Catholicism) and his sensitivity and passionate need to help were another reminder to me of my earlier decade. I can't, of course, speak to how successful I've been overall with my portrayal of him, but he has felt to me like a good match for my particular personality and skills (in spite of the lack of opportunity for self-effacing pratfallery). The experience of the show, trials and rewards and all, has felt redemptive of a few lingering personal regrets in a lot of ways - fulfilling exactly what I wondered about its potential when I auditioned for it.

It's also got me thinking about acting in a different way. It's strange how the process tosses us around, a profanity of effort for one sacred experience. It's incredible how hard actors have to work, yet for ultimately so very little ownership of what they create. At best, actors co-own a collection of moments. For stage actors in particular, those moments are as temporal as anything in life. Theatre actors have to sweat through constant insecurity and uncertainty, stand up for their perspective and submit to others' needs in rapid turns, and the immaterial reward is to stand in front of a large group for a time and accept the possibility that they are "with" him or her in a given moment. God in heaven, why would anyone do this for less than big money, or at the very least a livable wage?

This perspective on acting has been developing with me for some time now, but my experiences on Sacred Ground have helped me put it into more cohesive language and context. In part, I can understand this view because of some of the challenges I experienced directing The Puppeteers. During that process, I continually found myself vacillating between the perspectives of a new director doing his best to make something a little daring and different, and that of myself as an actor in a Zuppa del Giorno show. It's often said that the best quality an actor can have is the ability to access a child-like self or state. I have to wonder if actors are given any choice in the matter, really. Every scrap of their work is entering an unknown world head-first. They are effectively forced to make mistake after mistake after mistake, and surrender themselves to forces they've no hope of fully comprehending.

Nearly five years on from my first post - and on this, my five-hundredth - the landscapes of many things have changed. Not the least of which is the landscape of the Internet itself. I've succumbed somewhat to the more-visual and less-verbal style of the "tumblelog" here and there, posting tiny entries that do nothing so much as capture (and attempt to render somewhat less temporal) brief moments of contemplation. I thought, however, that I'd return to a bit of my former style for this post. At least the length and varied direction is a return. My tone, however, has undeniably altered. Well, it's still pretentious and overwrought - don't get me wrong. It's also less immediately gratifying, I think, and looks a little farther into the horizon.

When I examine my life now, I've got no true regrets. That was one of my goals as a college student, about to venture into adult life and trying to make sense of what I wanted from it - to have no regrets. At the time, that meant pursuing a life as a professional actor, heedless of anything else. Now, my personal "Third Life" has more in it than that, and some potential for a greater richness of experience. It's taking a certain amount of courage to embrace that, to embrace everything I want. But I've done it before. I'll do it again.

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Kapoor Khazana: Woo like Rishi Kapoor!

I love Rishi Kapoor as a romantic hero! He has this incredible sweetness to him, even at the height of his "sweater uncle" phase. And over the years, he's had some truly CLASSIC romantic numbers in his films, particularly in the early 80s.

Rather than just list my favorite romantic numbers of his, I found myself categorizing them and thought I'd share this mental list with you all. I found some different yet all effective ways that Rishi Kapoor wooed his heroines ...

So here is Rishi Kapoor's Guide to Wooing the Heroine of Your Dreams:

ROMANCE HER IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Tere Chehre Se - Kabhi Kabhie
When you're romping about in the snow, you definitely need Rishi's charm (and sweaterliciousness) to warm you up!


Mitwa - Chandni
Honeymooning in Switzerland with Rishi? Yes, please. Can I have a suitcase full of Sridevi's gorgeous saris too? And luckily Rishi can always lend you a sweater for cool, mountain evenings.


Kaise Jiyunga Mein - Sahibaan
Frolicking in the woods and misty hills! Of course seedhi-saadhi gaonwali Madhuri Dixit fell for him!



FULL-OUT CHASE HER DOWN

Humko To Yaara Teri Yaari - Hum Kisise Kum Nahin
You think a full leather suit would slow our Rishi down? No way! Kaajal Kiran is no match for Rishi's charms!



Rabbi Re Ralli - Yaarana
Ok, so maybe his taste was a little weird in this one since he fell head-over-heels in love with Madhuri's strawberry blonde wig, but he sure wasn't going to let her get away! I want to generally have a discussion with the costume designer for this film, but hey, the song is fun anyway.


DAZZLE HER WITH YOUR ATHLETIC ABILITY

Pakdo Pakdo - Naseeb
Yes!  Kabbadi time! How adorable is Rishi in this!


SERENADE HER

Saagar Jaisi Aankhonwali - Saagar
I can't even comment, I'm too busy swooning.



Yeh Vaada Raha - title song
One of the best Hindi love songs of ALL TIME. This one truly stands the test of time. A true classic. And Rishi uses a bit of slow dancing in his romancing with Poonam Dhillon and the great outdoors with Tina Munim ... it never hurts to serenade someone with Kishore Kumar's voice either.



Sochenge Tumhe Pyar - Deewana
I know this is supposed to be about Rishi, whose gaana has clearly charmed Divya Bharati in this song, but I am way too distracted by the background girls and their multitude of props (flags, peacock feather fans, and glittery tassels ... and that's not even counting their mullet wigs).




PLAY HARD-TO-GET

Kahin Na Jaa Aaj Kahin Mat Jaa - Bade Dil Wala
I love this soundtrack so much - all the songs are so fabulous. And this one is quite an earworm for me. Now Tina Munim is trying to keep Rishi from getting arrested in this song, but still she's obviously in love enough to declare it in front of an entire party (all of whom think he's married to her sister Sarika) ... and she really has to keep drawing him back with her song!


Tu Tu Tu Tara - Bol Radha Bol
Ooh I can't stand this song. It is such a poor remake of the fabulous tamil song "Raakamma Kai Thattu" from Thalapathi (Rajnikanth and Shobhana!). But man, does he make gorgeous Juhi Chawla chase!



SEDUCE HER

Jaane Do Naa - Saagar
What can I say? UNF. These kids have grown up since their Bobby days! This song is HOT HOT HOT, as is Dimple in that sari.


Dhak Dhak - Gharana
A little dancing in the rain, that gets the ladies every time. Meenakshi Seshadhri is all a-flutter from Rishi's game.


MAKE HER MAD THEN CHARM HER BACK (ROOTHNA MANANA)

Mein Der Karta Nahin - Henna
If only my husband knew that whenever he was late, all he had to do was sing this song to me as charmingly as Rishi does here, and I'd melt in his arms.


Tere Kasam Mein Hoon Tera Deewana - Prem Granth
This song has always stuck in my mind ... he is so adorably persistent! And not in a creepy stalker way, in a charming Rishi way! How can Madhuri resist?


Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun - Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai
I love love love love this song!!! Shailendra Singh's voice is perfect for Rishi, and he has that 1,000-watt smile on full blast. He is just so winning ... I am completely smitten and have been since I first saw this movie back in the 80s. Also, sorry SRK, but Rishi sang and danced on top of a train first. Ok, so maybe his is a back-projection, but still ... he's soooo cuuuuute. Excuse me as I SWOOOON.


Hope you enjoyed this fun list, which had some of my absolute favorite songs (Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun from ZKDH, The title song of YVR and Kahin Na Jaa from Bade Dil Wala, for example). And if you have determined some categories of Rishi Wooing that I missed, please do share them with me!

The good news is that Kapoor Khazana is extending into July, so there's still hope that I can get to my Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir posts! And I still have lots of Rishi Squeeing to do, so I'm ever so pleased that the lovely Katherine of Totally Filmi decided to continue this blogging event!

Definitely check out all the Kapoor Khazana links so far at this link.

Hair Update- June 2011

Excuse the crazy face. Lol. Time for a hair update. I have been using Kinky Curly Curling Custard once a week and refresh my hair in the morning with a combination of Kinky Curly Gloss Pomade and Jane Carter's Nourish and Shine. My problem I have been facing is shedding; my hair never shed before, but it is summer so I have to pay attention to how my hair responds to the weather. I have to do my homework on that. Also, I have to make sure my hair is moisturized at night. I used to use oils but that wasn't working so next week I will use my Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and see if there's a difference....other than that....my hair has been growing since I chopped off the sides and most of the top. I have a wedding in September so I have to look for some ideas for hair pieces. Enough rambling for today. Be blessed.

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