Behind the brainteaser of a title ‘Har kisse ke hisse kamyaab’ lies a delightful little tale that is an ode to the oft forgotten, yet much loved supporting actor of yesteryear’s Bollywood. Roles that anyone born on the wrong side of the eighties would be intimately familiar with…the best friend, the girl next door, the perennial drunkard, the moustachioed potbellied (because, obviously, six packs weren’t a thing back then) henchman, the suave suited gangster…the list goes on. Characters that occupied a fraction of the screen time, playing stereotypical roles that were dished out unashamedly as a prop to the leading stars, or at best, to provide an interesting but brief diversion, and yet managed to carve out moments of cinematic magic that haven’t been dulled by the passage of time. Even if the quirky title didn’t hint at the atypical nature of the film, the mention of Sanjay Mishra as the protagonist surely does. In a typically effortless performance, essaying a role that could wel
An unexpected conversation with an old friend earlier today took me down memory lane and had me dig up this piece I wrote 7 years ago. We had set ourselves a challenge to depict, as vividly as possible, a common Indian scene straight from the imagination and capture as many details as we could. The topic - an Indian family on a scooter. Here's what I came up with...aided in no small part by memories of my own Bajaj 150...the scourge (and blessing, all combined) of my college days! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As I was driving towards the traffic signal, my eyes caught a scene that was comical, incongruous, dangerous and yet commonplace, all at the same time. It was an old scooter, a sky-blue Bajaj 150, slowly working its way to the signal. By every appearance, it was a relic of the past, a scooter whose place was in some dusty garage rather than out on the road. The bulbous rear end sporting a gril