{"id":3837,"date":"2017-11-12T07:42:49","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T02:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=3837"},"modified":"2017-11-12T08:37:15","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T03:07:15","slug":"looking-back-jaane-bhi-yaaro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/looking-back-jaane-bhi-yaaro\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back at Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro<\/p><\/div>\n

Why is Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron<\/em> considered to be a cult film? By definition, a cult film, commonly referred to as a\u00a0cult classic, is a\u00a0film\u00a0that has acquired a\u00a0cult following\u00a0with a specific group of\u00a0fans. Cult films are often known to be eccentric, do not follow traditional standards of mainstream cinema and usually explore topics not considered in any way\u00a0mainstream\u2014yet there are examples that are relatively normal (Wikipedia).<\/p>\n

In India, cult films are often defined by their initial failure to draw in packed theatres or be commercially successful but that acquire archival value among the same and following generations. Some examples of cult films in India are Mughal-e-Azam<\/em>, Sholay<\/em> \u2013 yes, that\u2019s right, and Mera Naam Joker<\/em>. They were turnips at the box office during the first week or two of their release. Mera Naam Joker<\/em> did not pick up later but over time, all three have become the greatest cult films in the history of Indian cinema.<\/p>\n

It is interesting to discover that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro<\/em>\u00a0was a commercial failure when it was first released perhaps because in the \u2018happily-ever-after\u2019 ambience of that time, the \u2018sad\u2019 ending did not jell with audience expectations. Today, reality is admired and sad endings are considered more real than fiction and that is what large sections of the audience are fond of. Ishaqzade<\/em> for instance, is a big hit inspite of, or perhaps because of its tragic end because the young audience took it as a reflection of life around us.”<\/p>\n

Harper Collins India Limited published a book on the film in 2010 authored by Jai Arjun Singh a freelance journalist based in Delhi who later wrote a book in Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro<\/em>\u00a0is now a byword for the sort of absurdist, satirical humours that Hindi cinema just hasn\u2019t seen enough of. This is the story of how it came to be despite incredible odds \u2013 and what it might have been. Jai Arjun Singh\u2019s engaging take on the making of the film and its cult following is as entertaining as the film itself,\u201d goes the blurb on the book.<\/p>\n

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Kundan Shah, director of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (Pic: TheWire\/Facebook)<\/p><\/div>\n

If you have never seen a male corpse playing the role of Draupadi in Mahabharat<\/em> or portraying Anarkali in the Salim-Anarkali love story, then please watch Kundan Shah\u2019s cult classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.<\/em> A 1983 film made on a shoe-string budget of Rs.7 lakh, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro<\/em>\u00a0hobbled and stumbled its way to its finish. The massive Y-generation that has bloomed in the world of the internet, YouTube and blogs, have watched, downloaded and replayed the film many times.<\/p>\n

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Satish Shah (right) as the male corpse playing the role of Draupadi in Mahabharat (Pic: Google Image Search)<\/p><\/div>\n

In an underplayed manner, the film focuses on failures more than on successes, on scamsters more than on honest people and on the changing meanings of honesty and corruption within the given scenario. The two protagonists are city bumpkins who cannot get a job right and begin to look for short-cuts to earning money. The story is straightforward, simple, narrated without any special gimmicks with side-splitting laughter all the way.<\/p>\n

A photographer-duo, named Vinod Chopra and Sudhir Mishra \u2013 you can guess where the inspiration has come from – starts a studio, only to find wrong things happening from the moment of its launch. However, their photographic assignments lead them to shady facts about the city’s builders, municipal officers and others. Long before the linkages between and among real estate dealers, promoters, builders and municipal officers turned into headline news in the print media, this film exposed these underhand deals openly and in an extremely funny manner.<\/p>\n

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The film exposes the evils of real estate dealers and multi-millionaire promoters – Ahuja (Om Puri) and Tarneja (Pankaj Kapur) (Pic: Google Image Search)<\/p><\/div>\n

The film exposes the evils of real estate dealers and multi-millionnaire promoters, one of who named Tarneja (Pankaj Kapoor as a strapping and slim young man) who can mercilessly kill the corrupt but funny municipal commissioner who double crosses both. It throws the media in a shady light as well by portraying the double-dealing tactics of the lady editor Shobha (Bhakti Barve) of a paper with the double-entendre name of Khabardar<\/em>. It has two meanings. In Hindi, khabardar<\/em> means \u201cDanger\u201d and it also means \u201cdo not dare\u201d and in this film, the newspaper suggests both! Through its hilarious style, Kundan Shah weaves into its narrative some slapstick comedy, and a wonderful version of the Mahabharat<\/em>\u2019s vastra-haran<\/em> episode that becomes a comment on the dishonesty of life all around. A fictional \u2018code\u2019 for a phone call from an imaginary person is identified as \u2018Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n