URGE AMONG THE SPENT. Review on Joggers Park

Among the temptations of life in Bollywood is to devour a good sensible script with pathetic acting, badly done item songs and illogical screenplay. Although, Joggers Park conceptually is a major break from the routine Bollywood in more ways than one, its execution is neither commercial, nor classy and neither is it middle-of-the-road. Its confused and it leaves you confused as well. And the only thing that you carry forth later is Perizaad Zoribaans enthusiastic portrayal of Jenny and how Victor Banerjee was so much better in Bhoot.

Multiplex films have grown almost like a wild hydra after Monsoon (Wedding?). Most of them are not even remotely sincere attempts at cinema. At least in crass commercial films (to use the term), everyone knows its not aesthetics but entertainment and larger than life canvas one is looking for. In the so called niche audience film, one would atleast expect the director and writer to do justice to the cinema as an art form. And what comes is like an omellete which was cooked in kerosene oil. It falls so flat that you really wonder if the other movie (even if it was Tere Naam) released on the same date, was not better. Either the directors get confused with what they are making and insert some gimmicks filtered from commercial cinema constraints or they are plain incapable. I for one think it is the latter, sheer incapability. It is not about commercial cinema or art cinema or multiplex cinema, the directors are not up to it. The anomalies are so glaring. Like the commercial scenes, the screenplay is all botched up (we really need good screenplay writers) and the editor once again sleeps through 90 percent of the film. Item numbers abound in so called multiplex film as well and the acting, well most of it is worse than 9th class ICSE class on Shakespeare. So whats the big fuss about this realistic, more humane approach to film making? At least the commercial films dont make any bone about what they are ... not great acting, not great direction but just 3 hours of paisa vasool. So what is the big fuss about anyways.

Coming to Joggers Park now. It suffers from exactly every malady that the so called multiplex films (and for that matter commercial films too) suffer from. I assume that one all sundry would be knowing the story so I would not go detailing it. With a story like that, you would like pauses and nuances. Sadly, the director and script writer forget to introduce them in the film. Whether it is the sad sad art direction which is worse than a 3rd rate TV serial to a gushing at heroics (speech in this case) heroine to an over enthusiastic eager heroine totally fidaa at hero, its all the same oft-beaten track. The only novelty here is Zoribaan's acting, which is fresh and normal. When the film finally does come on track rather suddenly, it again goes into predictable mode. The analogy of the grand daughters feelings for her boy friend and Justice's feelings for Jenny are another often done aspect of narrative. Infact, other than the simple yet wonderfully done car rendezvous, nothing in narrative is path breaking, from silly caricaturing of long waiting poet lover to stupid dumb heads of friends. Even, the family is awfully filmy that unless Zoribaan is on screen, one gets the impression of watching just about any other movie.

So is Zoribaan the only saving grace of the film? Yes. The editor gets all confused half way through the film and most of the 15 minutes right after interval is totally useless, right from the item song, which by the way is very well shot but shoddily choreographed (full marks to the camera man there). The cinematography of outdoor locales is refreshing and locales themselves are novel. Art director has done an awful job and the sound recordist has gone all wrong in indoor sequences. The background score has not been mixed properly either. Usha Uthap is effective but her voice has been used more as a speed breaker and that convinces me that screenplay is simply amatuerish, I wonder if there was one is first place. Atleast technically, the film is not a competent product, which is not what one is looking for in an multiplex film. Among the acting, Zoribaan clearly emerges the winner other than a few scenes in which you can literally see the anxiety of next dialogue on her face. Its almost like actors have rehearsed for a play and the spontaniety is killed with practise. Diviya Dutta is natural and Victor Banerjee delivers just about a decent performance. He was so better in Bhoot. Others are quite useless to the plot and acting honors. The concept and Zoribaan force me to give three, and a recommendation but it surely could have been infinitely better.

So, the grand daddy of commercial film makes a multiplex film (Subhash Ghai) and you expect the best. But what comes out is a shoddy shoddy product. And it has been the case with most so called multiplex films, its just that some of the acting saves them (Just like our commercial films). So what the heck is the big fuss about anyways. Jism was hardly a multiplex film, Mumbai Matinee Sucked from the word go I am told, Jhankaar Beats was no great shakes apart from Music and acting, and Chameli is already a flop. Come to think of it, the films that have run the maximum at Multiplexes are Bhoot, KMG and KHNH, all three commercial films and hence, once again the question, what the big fuss about so called multiplex films anyway. Looks like, almost anyone with any money to spare can these days come up with multiplex film (the bottom line not being creativity but roaring business they provide) ... and that sadly is the true story of these zero talent and minimal money film makers. Its like a doodh wala turning software industry guru, bound to fail. (I have due regards for doodh walas though and I think 90 percent of us sitting on our computers wont be able to do it either. But knowledge industry is an altogether different ball game.)

IMHO, Multiplex films would be akin to what is called knowledge industry and its benchmarked best practices. That calls for extensive pre and post production along with tighter schedules and more organized creativity in execution as well. And till that happens, Multiplex films are a sorry excuse for liberally throwing in the four letter words, sex scenes and sick unconventional relationships in guise of progressive, sensitive and honest approach to film making. That was the undoing of Joggers Park, and that will be of millions of its clones. The creative forces are spent, the minds aged and the tired, weary hazy sights that conjure up sometimes a niche idea are undone by total disregard for sensibility and jaded, diverted, uncouth urge to excel artisitically.' The fresh blood however is still alive and is largely oozing Lakshya and Darna Zaroori Hai.