Posted by: Sudhir Mishra
Posted on: August 7, 2007 at 12:26 PM
I’ve been trying to analyse how different sort of people like Hazaaron. Some people fall in love with it and develop a sort of relationship with it. A lot of young people, students like it. The generation that lived through that period is grateful that someone made a film of that time and caught them as they were. The IAS wives association likes it!
I really get quite astounded. I have corporate heads say they love it. Sometimes, I imagine why would corporate heads like a film like this. Some people see it as a dark political film, some see it as a relationship film. I think it has doors through which you can walk in.
... showed it in Patna, Bihar. There was a young minister sitting there, someone in the chief minister’s cabinet and 6-7 of his security guards; cops. I was sitting there and towards the end of the film, when Vikram gets battered by the cops, I thought the real cops would turn around and get after me but later on they came to me and said, “yeh bahut real tha”. Aise hi hota hai. Humko karna parta hai aisa.” (It was quite real. It’s always like this. We have to react like this at times.)
Sometimes things do happen during the making of a film. The right story comes to you. The right actors come. In a sense it has revived my career in a very big way. Today who is Sudhir Mishra! They say it’s the Hazaaron director. It’s a little unfair on the other films. I start feeling sorry for Dharavi. I was quite fond of it. But, this is how it is. I thought of Hazaaron post Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin. It took about 5-6 years and quite a lot of rewrites. I first wrote it with Shiv Subramanium and then with Ruchi Narain.
In the beginning when I wrote it there was a 4th part as well. There was another transition. It was supposed to be in some future time in 2010 or 2020 but that was becoming a bit too much. .… Hazaaron is also a lot rewritten in the shooting. There’s no one method in film making. I tend to follow an impulse at the time of the shoot. That’s when the whole atmosphere and the whole unit come together. There’s an energy that happens. I follow that impulse and it takes you somewhere. If I made Hazaaron now it would be different and if I made it in 1996 it would have been different. It’s who you are at that time. It’s your entire thought process.
Also, some people have this strange relationship with Hazaaron. They come to me and say “Oh, I loved it but I don’t know if someone else will understand it.” There’s an assumption within audiences, which is very dangerous. In most of the reviews for Hazaaron, mostly all of them like it a lot and then they say, but it is strictly for so and so, strictly for the discerning. I find that a little presumptuous.
It’s a film about these people but it’s not really me. My politics is different from Naxal politics, for example. My politics is different from Vikram as well. But there is a time, a place and a country when people veer towards an existing ideology. And the attraction of a lot of people towards the left in those days and even now till 1990s was and is that they thought this was not the best of all possible worlds. And therefore they had that idea of change. But, I don’t think they grasped the implications of that totally.
I think the idea was that the few groups that were talking, were talking of dismantling what existed. I don’t think they thought too much about what would come after. And the problem with these ideologies has been that they have not envisioned the world that they want to bring. They merely want to dismantle what exists. Therefore revolutions fail. And all ideologies attempt to show you this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Therefore, sometimes, an advertisement of a communist state and a fairness cream become similar. Every thing is offering you a heaven in the end, including religion.
In Hazaaron, Geeta is the person who understands that the world doesn’t change merely because you want it to and the change happens as a result of an interaction between a lot of things. Maybe women understand defeat easier and take loss better. Maybe. Vikram is the guy who is trying to be who he is not. Somewhere when his father rises up in him, he faces the kind of end he does. He is troubled. He’s always trying to be what he’s not. That’s the contradiction of Vikram. Through Geeta he keeps getting drawn back to something. Otherwise, he’s quite successful in what he’s done.
Lot of people see Vikram and Siddharth as different types of people. Actually they are three people of around the same kind. They are all aspects of our selves. Vikram is not really a son of a bitch. Though this is a non judgmental film, being non judgmental with these characters is not something that you consciously do, it’s who you are. It comes from a viewpoint.
In Dharavi, Rajkaran Yadav is a taxi driver, who in one moment, in his ambition betrays his friends. He gets carried away with power. His wife walks out on him. Is his wife right or is he right. We are not judging him.
And this is one of the problems that audiences and even cinematic literate audiences have with my films. Even in the art film formula of the 70s there was the innocent posited against the evil oppressor. So, there was the Zamindar as oppressor. But it’s more complicated than that in our world now. The simple Chaplinesque, innocent is not possible any more either. We all carry the world in our heads and we are all corrupted ourselves.
Some audiences are also like children wanting to root for somebody, like the Lagaan cricket team, for example. A lot of films hence, are variations attempted to be Lagaan. Lagaan does that most successfully. But, mostly in life, you don’t find that at all, so you try and find that in films. And that’s even how scriptwriting is taught. You find a character. You have to root for this guy.
Can anybody make a film about someone who is not so right, not so perfect, yet who is killed in a riot? But it was wrong, that he was killed in a riot. For example, there might be someone who is somewhat of a bastard. But you can’t kill him because someone you idolized died. Make a film like that and who do you root for? Then you’ll say, who is the hero! The adult thing in life is that as much as you disagree with somebody you can’t kill him. That’s a mature world.
Faiths may disagree with each other and all religions disagree with one another that’s why they are different. All this con that people say there is one God. If it was that easy, then why do you fight! Many religions are against each other. There is some element in them which is in opposition with the other. The maturity of the world has to be that you live with those differences.
I am quite glad that Hazaaron worked at a level that it did even then. I don’t know if you can root for Vikram. Maybe you can, because he is in love. But Geeta is not in love with him and is in love with Siddharth who is a bit caught up with himself and the notion of what he wants to do. Geeta leaves her husband for no particular reason except for that she married wrong. There’s a lot of grey there. In all of them. But still at least a certain section of the audiences are becoming adult.
Actually nobody has ever written on Hazaaron in terms of Geeta. Maybe it’s a success of the writing or the way the actress played it or the combination of all these things that you don’t judge her. Here she is a girl who is in love with one person in the beginning of the film, making another guy hang around her and sort of using him a bit. And then walking out on all of them into a marriage and then coming back realizing it’s a wrong marriage. All this, while she keeps using this hanger-on, Vikram. And in the end when this guy really needs her, and he’s actually a vegetable, helpless, she’s giving him a shoulder and he doesn’t even know it.
Geeta is a complicated woman. There are very few women characters like that in Indian cinema. Critics are used to characters who shout from the rooftops and women who quote the entire mythology of the country in order to justify sleeping with someone.
In Hazaaron it passes fluidly. There’s a scene in the film where Vikram comes with a bottle of champagne when Geeta is back in Delhi. He says, “your husband Arun came to see me.” She asks, “So what did he say”. Vikram answers, “he asked if I was in love with his wife and I said yes I was in love with her”. And she laughs. She says, “Thanks Vikram, I was just going to get horribly sentimental.” Now that could be a bitch! She laughs! Then she comes out and says, “I am not going to live here”. She made him buy that flat!
The scene in the end with Vikram is Geeta’s redemption where she has to look after him. Actually she made this guy do what he did and at this point she has to reconcile with the fact that she has to look after him. She never actually did anything for him in the whole film and she used him totally. And he’s still muttering, I love you.
While making Hazaaron, I thought very few people make films about ‘us’. Usually films are about ‘them’. About that cab driver, that prostitute. This is a film about us and there is the failure of all those who were priviledged and were conscious of that fact and were a bit guilt ridden about it and wanted to somewhat change. They still carry vestiges of some of the ideas within them.
But, then in Khoya Khoya Chand, my next film I step out of that territory totally. It’s the same film maker, though. Even if you go into other territories, it’s you. Here I try to make a film about ‘me’ more than anything. Of course you put a story in a time to deliberately distance yourself. You put it in the 50s and 60s which is a period of cinema I like. It’s a film about people who are in this medium and the difficulty of it all.
______________________________________________________________________________
39 Responses to “Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi… and after..”
Kishore Budha on August 7th, 2007 12:43 pm
As a film researcher and lecturer all I can say is that HKA remains an important film. I think we need to move away from valorisation of the filmmaker (yes we do recognise the role of the auteur, but in the Indian context it degenerates into sycophancy or undue adulation, which dilutes the significance of the auteur and her/his work). Filmmakers have been chicken and utterly failed to grasp the huge reservoir of sympathy towards grassroots movements. To raise the salience of HKA, I would like to point to films such as Page 3, Swades, which reflects a supine bourgeoise ideology. It is the utter failure of film criticism in India to reference the wider contexts of films. Instead they tend to break into polemics about film form (verisimilitude), which seems to be enough to mask poor content. Take for example Swades. This hyphenated identification with both the individualistic wages of economic migration and the need to contribute with actions to alleviate rural poverty are attempts to recontextualise Nehruvian ideology in an era of globalisation. Gowariker’s interviews to the media confirm this hypothesis: ‘If you have the opportunity, you must go abroad, study, work and make your money. But after a substantial amount of time, look back at what you’ve left behind and see if you can contribute in any way.’ (Gowarikar cited in Anon:2004a) Swades advocates benefits of the Nehruvian ideological state apparatus through a clearly defined programme of rural development through motifs of modernity, application of science and technology, and self-sufficiency. In such relations, rural Indians are the bearers of the incomplete nationalist project. Such portrayals ignore the reality of the radical rural movements such as Naxalism and Maoist insurgencies. Instead, their politics is defined and acted out by the returning, scientifically-educated, nostalgic, and ‘activist’ Indian.
HKA tackles this issue cleverly. Though detractors may argue that after all it is the bourgeoisie that can exercise agency, the film instead subverts their fantasies and exposes the hollowness of Nehruvian nationalism.
Vivek on August 7th, 2007 1:13 pm
I am your regular audience and to me this film appealed right away, because the generation you had profiled (late 60’s early 70’s) live and breathe, at least in Toronto/Delhi/Mumbai and parts of the US. My favorite person in Toronto, Prof Bush Gulati, is one such human. Meeting your typical “unlce/aunty” in Canada, here was a revelation of a human, who first spoke to me about his LSD experiences and in the same breadth about his liberation struggle for Burma.
I have to admit I am also a person who like Himmesh and Govinda films, but that same me could not take my eyes and ears of HKA.
The “wheeler dealer” character of Shiney, the “I am serious and intelligent because I think serious thoughts” character of KK, were so close to life that they caught my attention right away. Reality almost always sells to me. That is why Monsoon Wedding appealed to me, that is why Namesake DID NOT appeal to me.
When I see what the characters like KK’s have become now, in their post college life, I have to admit it is shockingly close to what you depict.
That generation is way more “younger’ than their offsprings, and way more “energized” about life in general.
Shantanu on August 7th, 2007 3:53 pm
I loved HKA.
BTW sudhir the best movie of yours I liked
was yeh woh manzil to nahin.Please release
this gem of a film on DVD. Very few people have seen it
Suchita B on August 8th, 2007 1:37 am
Sudhir Sir, very well said.
“Therefore, sometimes, an advertisement of a communist state and a fairness cream become similar. Every thing is offering you a heaven in the end, including religion.”
“Critics are used to characters who shout from the rooftops and women who quote the entire mythology of the country in order to justify sleeping with someone.” ha ha ha …
I loved the film. waiting for KKC. regards,
Dipankar Giri on August 8th, 2007 2:52 am
Sir, Hazaaron…like the title suggested is a tale of wishes….Sidharth’s wishes for a change..Gita is in love with sid..Vikram is in lov wid Gita…it’s a chain of “khwahishe”…now evertime I watches Hazaaron I think Gita looked comlicated but never been..simply coz she never questions Sidharth like y r u doing this..she just loves Sidharth like an ordinary women…coming from a leftist background how can she be so unaffected..why don’t she questions that the movement which has ignited Bengal could also bring a change in Bihar..both states r different..there is a huge difference between both’s socio political situations…Bihar is in grip of castism whereas bengal is not…naxalite movement in Bihar failed at every front..Gita faces tortures..unite the women..coz she might had a guilt..what guilt is this..?betraying her love or it’s her realization….for me Vikram is the most complicated character in Indian cinema which makes the film so real..
HKA will always be considered as a standard of Indian cinema though “Is Raat” is also very close to me..for me it’s best underworld film I have ever seen…
thanx for these masterpieces…
Joyjeet on August 8th, 2007 2:53 am
HKA ended lyrically. But did the tale end there, Sudhirji? Why should it?
Hazaron Khwaishe Aisi… as in you’ve already described — the thousand ambitions pulling in thousand directions.
Ke Har Khwaish Pe Dum Nikle… What happened after Emergency & in the ’80s — the Janata era, Blue Star, Sanjay & Indira dead, Rajiv in & Bofors leading to coalitions. But what happened to our trio? Did Sid come back? Did Vikram wake up? & is Geeta still in the ‘outbacks’?
Bahot Nikle Mere Arman… Mandal-Ayodhya-Reforms-y2k. The trio’s GenNext is ready by now. That young kid has now come of age, hasn’t she? So how are things going on? What does she thinks of her mother?
Magar Phir Bhi Kam Nikle… NOW — What Now? Your vision of us & what’s coming up.
Okay, okay perhaps that was too much. But don’t scold me.
Just think about it. Thanks for Hazaron… someone needed to tell that story. But someone also needs to tell the other ones too. And can’t it gradually progress from an ‘us’ pov to a ‘me’ pov for you?
Hey! what do you all think?
Meanwhile, waiting for KKC. All the best, sir.
Ruchi on August 8th, 2007 3:37 am
I wanted to see HKA since its pre-release days.None of my college friends agreed to come along.They didn’t want to go to a multiplex for a movie strictly for those who like serious cinema;as the reviews proclaimed.Left with no choice:I dragged my mother(who’s a housewife) along against her wish.We bought the last two tickets that were left.When we came out,she thanked me for showing such a wonderful movie.One more addition to the different people who liked HKA!
My friends saw the movie after lot of convincing.Not to mention loved it!And still regret missing the chance to see it on the big screen.
Kumar Gautam on August 8th, 2007 3:53 am
Sudhir i had chat with one of your close friend and he particularly said that you were not “that type” and “specifically active” during naxalite movement in Bihar…infact, you hadn’t felt all that you have potrayed in HKA…that deserves special kudos…AB INTEZAR HAI YE CHAND KHO KAR KITNI ROSHNI KARTA HAI…
aditi on August 8th, 2007 6:36 am
“If I made Hazaaron now it would be different and if I made it in 1996 it would have been different. It’s who you are at that time. It’s your entire thought process.”‘
But you are also living NOW and also have a thought process…yu could have connected the film to the present day, at least towards the end. Just that the Naxal movement has re-engineered itself and is gaining strength in the poorest of poor regions of our country…just that this time the elitiist tag isn’t there..
By the way I enjoyed HKA
Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi… and after.. on August 8th, 2007 8:08 am
[…] PFC […]
Vikram on August 8th, 2007 10:41 am
Lovely Article :)
Mainak on August 8th, 2007 10:44 am
I wish there were more filmmakers like you who are aware of whats going on in this world.
It seems most filmmakers are making films in reference to the films they have seen. Thats is their pov of the world. Not by how they experienced & lived life. Thats why so much style & stupid plots.
wish you all the best.
Pratim D. Gupta on August 8th, 2007 10:53 am
all I can tell you Sudhir-da we have great, great expectations from you and we are sure you won’t disappoint!
p.s. love the font and styling of Khoya Khoya Chand… :)
atray on August 8th, 2007 10:59 am
Eagerly waiting for “Khoya Khoya chand.:)
While in ‘Hazaaro Khwahise Aisi’ I consciously found some kind of symbolism and watched it in that way as if Geeta’s character represents our Nation of that time .and two characters of Vikram and Siddhartha signify as two rising faces or hope which a nation identifies that time, one as rising capitalist and another struggling communist. Earlier one’as vikram’ thrashed and paralyzed by the same system that he used for self growth in the end, and recognized as well accepted lastly by her when her fairytale unwillingly resolves..Here she knew that if she accepts him she (as nation of that time) could mislay own hope or spirit that she believes it in village.
Whereas Sidhs character denoting that trying hard communist society trying to build n place its identity, he fondly loved by her but finally he withdraws that seeking movement and a nation lost..a country couldn’t ignore anyone. Nation keeps watching everyone.. Married to an IAS…Loving an activist and lastly sitting with a paralyzed hope…
Mainly films characterization was so broad, its covers my most imagination of that time of India…those sub characters as youth congress, Vikrams Gandhivian father, Siddhartha dad and mom his associate activist all speaks back, whenever remember that masterpiece.
Also great actors and perfect acting make it possible that HKA to flow in that time…
Regards..
krysh on August 8th, 2007 12:42 pm
Sudhir Bhai,HKA will always have a place of its own in the hindi cinema’s evolutionary march..More than a kind of diary of life and times in 70s and early 80s,i found HKA to be your most accomplished works in terms of execution,craftsmanship and handling..Definitely looking forward to KKC.
Aastha on August 8th, 2007 11:16 pm
You were right in saying that surprisingly different people liked the movie (OK, I added ’surprisingly’ myself). One such example is my sister, who is a teenage schoolgoer, I had fully expected her to lash out at me for making her see what she would have called a ‘boring, not-my-type’ film. But I was really surprised when not only did she sit through the whole movie pretty interested and in the end cried out that it was totally unfair to Vikram that he should end up like this and she was criticising Sid for leaving in such a way you would think he was some sort of neighbour or a person she had actually known! After reading this piece of yours I suddenly remembered that incident, I am still surprised that someone like her actually liked the movie enough to speak up for one of the characters as if it was someone she knew…
dazedandconfused on August 8th, 2007 11:30 pm
Loved HKA like all the people who have commented above. I totally rooted for Vikram’s character throughout the movie and I think everybody who loved the movie would have that in common. If you don’t, then the ending wouldn’t seem powerful.
But then I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t. He is in love and isn’t loved back in return. He is the underdog, not well-off, ambitious. He masks his feelings from everyone except the person watching the movie. He has most in common with most of us. Sure, he is not against bending the rules a bit but don’t we all want to be that person who can do that and get away with it? Unfortunately, very few of us are Siddharth, in today’s cynical world.
I don’t know a Siddharth but Vikram, I know, for sure.
raghu on August 9th, 2007 2:59 am
i have a relationship with HKA as u mentioned.i doont know how many times i watched it, atleast 30 times. every time i watch it, it gives me lot of strength&hope.
thanks sudhir for giving such a wonderful movie.
Rony D'costa on August 9th, 2007 4:38 am
A good film for me is when different elements used in filmmaking merges together to make a whole.when i watch a good film there is a rush in my body. i am generally in a very good mood for a while afer. later, i could get into the nitty gritties like what is good & what is bad but that does not change the intial euphoria i felt after i watch the film. HKA did all that to me and much more…
Phoenixnu on August 9th, 2007 9:12 am
Smriti,thnx ya. Intersting post again.
And thats so true about my n ur kind of films. It was HKA only,few of my freinds hd gone to catch some other film. one of my rommie was also there. they genrally watch the hollywood releases/thriller n comedy kind of stuff. then the realised HKA is also running. one of them called me n asked how is the movie. i said its fucking brilliant. but dont know if u guys wud like it or not. then he asked me..ok rate it out of 10. i said 8. no..9. they decided to check it out. and we still talk about the incident whenever we tak about HKA.
sophocles on August 10th, 2007 5:43 am
Sudhir,
I am one of the corporate type guys who loved your film. To be honest I was very skeptical when I started seeing it but then got hooked since the characters seemed very real…i have seen so many siddharths, geetas and vikrams that i could identify with them. the ending when vikram is battered and ends up as a shadow of what he could have been and as KK leaves…the scene gives me shivers. I actually couldnt sleep for hours….thinking that this could happen to me someday..and it frightened me.
thank you for the movie. it was awesome and brilliant…just….keep it real…
Kapil Varindani on August 10th, 2007 1:37 pm
I am a big fan of HKA and eagerly awaiting for KKC…Really liked Geeta’s part…mainly cuz the way Chitrangdha portrayed it…It is definitely one of the finest performances in recent times…CHITRANGDHA COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amit T on August 10th, 2007 4:30 pm
I wanted to respond .. the post where you told that being political is not about belonging to a party or shite like that it is about awareness .. I was inspired to speak up.. I give four flying f*** to your hazaaron .. whatever shite that was …maybe an experiment (even cinematically dude it was abso crap i know i dont have a movie for you to shout at but you do)….. but I freaked at Dharaavi… very crude and realistic (KJo is also makin a realistic movie he gotta… Darwin said so).. I also agree when you say that why do things have to be stereotyped and art really sucks these days my balloon walla / flute walla sold more art than I can find at sotehby’s under Indian artists names / I love prem chand’s novels .. just because I do that does not excuse me of criticizing art but I feel I have found better art outside Jehangir than inside.. cheers…
Raaj Pillai on August 11th, 2007 12:53 am
hi sudheer,
all i have to say is that i simply loved HKA…and i kind of could’nt forget Chitragada’s face for a couple of days….she was simply brilliant!!!!……but others were good too….and why has chitrangada gone into hiding?…i think the industry needs actors like her…awaiting ur next.
raaj
Mont on August 11th, 2007 5:19 pm
Hey just saw the trailor of Khoya Khoya. Looks awesome….but felt that the trailer gave away too much…
Amit T on August 11th, 2007 5:31 pm
FYI chitrangadha is no more an actress for the time being…currently she is married to some rich businessman and a golf guy (i think atwal…please kill me if i am wrong…second thoughts even serving tea with pakodas would do)… she was a very good actress … too bad that ‘bhand’ ambitions die to matrimonial harmony
Jyoti Randhawa on August 11th, 2007 10:10 pm
marrying a rich businessman/golfer is the best thing to do in this world.
Indraneel on August 12th, 2007 12:22 am
Hi Sudhir…I observed that you had done the story more as a personal interplay between the three characters with a backdrop of the Delhi Political atmosphere. I also observed that all your stories were and are relationships and its aftermath. Is this a ploy??..to change the milieu and get the protagonists to explore their white - grey - black areas of their minds on celluloid..very Tagorish..I might say!! I think KKC is also treading the same paths…but yet very engrossing!!
anshu pratik on August 12th, 2007 6:12 am
Hi to all,
Well to be honest I dont know who is Sudhir Mishra. I heard quite a lot about the movie, from my friends, and so today, after 4 years from when the movie got released, I watched it finally.
First thing first, I am not a “critic” or someone who knows too much about movies. I watch and judge a movie, based on my perception !!! Fair enough I guess !!!
Here is what I feel about the movie. Sorry if it bores you all (big HKA fans). I have no intention of doing that. I am writing this blog just to express my views about the movie.
Indeed its a well directed movie. I say well directed coz I enjoyed the minute details what the director has tried to portray. For example the bed sheet which resembles those which I find in my native place. Yes, I am from Bihar, and we do have little problems with water leaking as well, which has been captured beautifully in the movie. :)
Even though I loved the movie thoroughly, but I donot quite grasp the ending which has been showed. Well Siddharth compromised with his ideologies and went abroad for his further studies (which I believe means better and a “secure future”), after a long 10 years of struggle in Bihar….. Hmmmmmmmm… okay… I can understand… People do change and so does their ideologies, so I was not “shocked” after seeing such an ending… I understand it and accept it…
Geeta, as mentioned by Mr. Mishra himself, is confused lady, and she chooses to stay in the village and serve the community and decides NOT to go with Siddharth… Awesome…. This shows her inner strength and her decision of staying in Bihar is commendable. So fine ending for Geeta’s character as well.
Now comes Vikram’s character… and here is something which I couldn’t really grasp…. I mean I understand that guys thoughts and his deep and in some sense “passionate and sometime also called as insane” love for Geeta. This guy, even after having a married life, and a good enough life, helped Geeta, whenever she needed his help… Hmmmm….. okay… Understandable… He loves her way way way too much and can do anything for her… And thats why he went to Bihar in the last part of the movie to find Siddharth. But then, why the director has to end his character in such an abrupt way… I mean why he had to end his character in that state… This doesn’t make any sense to me…. If he (the director) was so destined to give a definite end to each character (mind you, this doesn’t happen in real life though), then why he didn’t kill Vikram’s character in the last part… I mean whats the point behind showing an end where audience are forced to see that Geeta is “reconciling” by taking care of him. I mean why was that important… As far as I know, the theme of the movie was NOT to show that Geeta (who got helped by Vikram every now and then) has to repay everything by taking care of him…
See as I said I am NOT a “critic”. May be director has tried to convey some other message by giving such and end, but I am unable to grasp it, and this becomes the cause of the existence of this blog…
I believe that every movie should follow a continuous curve, from the beginning till the end… Well thats my perception… You may or may not agree with it… Fine… But I am confused that even after following a smooth curve in the entire movie why the director took such a sudden jump to end Vikram’s character, in the way it has ended…
This doesn’t gell well with the movie…
I dont know if you agree with me or not, infact I dont care, but then in the end all I can say that if I would have directed this movie then I wouldn’t have given such an ending !!!
Thats all… It would be great of you all if you can throw some light on this !!!
Choice is yours !!!!
Thanks for your time and patience !!!
Anshu
Ajay Joy on August 12th, 2007 10:30 am
Yes, indeed this film is all about contradictions. About an era of contradiction, about contradictory people and even about conflicts and metamorphosis with in a human mind. As Suhdheer well pointed out about the film being non judgenmental, this film is only about capturing a mood of a decade. I have said this earlier also, that this film brought into my eyes the lives of my imaginary brothers of 70s. Being born after 80 s I feel missing the passion and ideology pulls (Whether it misleads or not),dragged always into the mediocrity of easy cash. This film excited me into recreating a mood although ephemeral. The film depicts a powerful woman of substance, who survives the usual travesty. She is the only one still left behind on the earth feeling the change that can happen once in a millennium. Rest of them had fled the scene to the havens of dementia!
I can really comprehend the character of Bikram, one can sacrifice anything to trace once love wherever or whenever he is. How else we can explain the Love in time of Cholera. But here character runs mad after the lost love with out waiting for the natural expiration of social norms. The state of desperate Siddharth sinks into is also understandable. It was in my state where Naxal radicals committed suicide or left for escapisms of spirituality. I remember how I read one Naxal sympathizer Subramanya Das committed suicide writing down ‘ We are a failed generation, destined only for failure! ‘
I can grasp it reading along with the painful stories of tortured Comrades in detention asking everyone with all hope ‘Hows revolution outside this world’. The same time it was waning down. Many people lost the reason for life even.
This film was really a refreshing lesson for me into the mood of those ‘romantic’ era! Also well about the tale of ’true love’ not the oft repeated ready mix ‘love’
Aditi Todi on August 16th, 2007 5:18 am
Sudhir,
Every time I read something you have said, I notice something new, something I have not noticed before about Hazaaron. Most of us tend to talk about how special each of the characters in the film was, or how much we would like to be like Geeta, and how much the men would all love to be with a Geeta, despite her obvious flaws. But I noticed today that we have been wrong all along, the characters are indeed not special at all, they are some very ordinary people with some very ordinary tales. Every woman has a Geeta in her, and most of us have even displayed the same grey shades at some or the other point in our lives. It’s just that we do not acknowledge it, we would like to believe that Geeta is fictitious because allowing her to reside in ourselves threatens the comfort zone we live in, the zone where we proclaim ourselves to be clean of grey, especially when cornered with sexual fidelity. I think there are two things Hazaron does, one is that it unfolds a tale beautifully told, from the very first shot when Shubha renders Hazaron at the precise moment a head is chopped off, to the last moment when Geeta and Vikram are with each other. The second more important thing the film does is that it makes you uncomfortable in your own skin as you start to recognise how much grey you have in you, how many dreams you dared to dream and then beheaded them all, how many hearts you captured and then broke them all, how much you thought you achieved in life only to realize one day, that you didn’t want it at all. If anyone is still reading this, I can only say two words, thank you.
g@u on August 22nd, 2007 4:43 am
hie Sudhir,
I guess the best thing you did was to cast 2 hotties like Chitragandha & Shiney. Hence lots of ppl ended up watching Hazaaron which they otherwise wudnt have.. But I am so sure they loved it.. :) just like me.
Phoenixnu on August 22nd, 2007 4:59 am
g@u…then sins n kal also should have worked. isn’t it ? no doubt they are damn good in the film but then u cant take away the credit of the filmaker n other guys assocaited with the film by only acknowldging shiney n chitrangda. ur comment made me laugh…its strange!!
ritesh on September 1st, 2007 12:48 am
Hello Mishra Saab,i saw ur HKA recently and hv enjoyed it.though it failed to invoke any nostalgia in me as i was born in 1974, i have my own interpretation of this muvee.i liked geeta. she reminded me of the classical heroine of 60’s who has the classical dilemna..of whom to choose. Of course, females deserve this right(of choosing partners)as their contribution in marital relationship is much more than that of their partners. Geeta’s dilemna is the storyline of this muvee(except the end that is too dramatic). Yes this geeta is smarter than the old seetas and geetas. Males in HKA are classical males, full of energy and passion(and they all die for the same lady)i will write more when i see it again.A slow learner, i have to see a muvee twice.
Rahma Muhammad on September 7th, 2007 4:55 am
Just came across the movie on star plus for the first time while flipping channels. needless to say I was amazed. Unfortunately, Im not very familiar with alternative indian cinema. after reading indian authors write about Emergency or write within those times, i did wonder why a film maker hasnt worked on a movie set under the emergency.
Im very impressed with the ease with which HKA moves from questioning ideologies, the madness of Emergency and the selfishness of love. perfect casting, beautifully shot, very tight screenplay. I have seen Chameli and now will make it a point to watch other movies by you. you do a very good job of showing the reality and pain of south asia and how we oscillate between moving away from it and yet falling right back in bc at the end of the day we really cant avoid it.
Rajeev on September 10th, 2007 5:57 am
Sudhir,
I really liked Hazaron Khwaishe Aisi…I think this is fantastic movie and looking forward to KKC.
Rajeev
shailee on September 17th, 2007 7:35 am
hello sir,
hazaroon khwahishen aisi…!!!!
have watched the film again and again .. to a point where i can now tell you each and every dialogue, every camera angle, every costume,,,, everything..i remember ,, i was so much in awe of the film that each night i would sit on net to search any minute detail that i could about the film ..
for me the film has been like a revolution in my mind, sudden enlightenment .. about my passion for cinema and that’s when i finally knew what i wanted.. and i am not writing all this bcoz the director of the film is gonna read it but bcoz i genuinely mean it..
HKA..when the film starts and something scrolls dowm the screen… and that very moment i thought something very unusual is instore..
the various letters which we come across at various times in the film were so crucial and wisely woven that they would convey the most important things with so much ease.. how instantly we come to know what vikram feels about geeta when he says”first things first, i still love you…” or how we so early in the film can understand that vikram is a highly ambitious son of a gandhian father..” had he worried about our problems we wouldnt have stuck to the lower end of the great middle class”..similarly the political condition is also explained. both by vikram and siddrarth, the only difference being - point of view.
siddharth is out there to change the world..(with out knowing how and why and to what ). how those illiterate people in the mob react to ‘hitler’ may sound hillarious at that very moment,, but with so much pain we have to accept that this is a fact.
i very much agree with all those who have said that these are very real characters.. siddharth, young , rich, over AMBITIOUS, confused, out there to change the world.on the contrary, vikram, practical, AMBITIOUS, out there to change HIS world.
so far i havent spoken about geeta at all…
geeta the third end of this triangle.madly in love with siddharth. she again is a very ambitious woman but like most women in this country, gives more importance to the man…siddharth. a very strong character, level headed and grey (like all other characters). not that she didnt believe in the ideology or didnt wish to change the world.. but it was just that she knew that change is a relevant term and a process. she was determined to do so, initially because of siddharth but even after he lost hope she continued her struggle. this time very selflessly because she had probably realized a few things… one, like what she owes to vikram ,and how she wants to change the world now..
having spoken enough about the characters,, the more important thing that i would like to talk about is the beautiful moments in the film.. the best being vikram’s encounter with the policemen .
and suddenly i realize this is getting tooooo long for a comment.. i can go on and on ,,, for this film is so close to heart..
sir would like to talk to you about it in person someday,, for it would onli be then that i would successfully be able to convey the impact this film has on me…….
Abhinav on October 4th, 2007 12:50 am
I was in love with ghalib’s ghazal…..and was even more thrilled when i saw the ghazal take form in the movie….kudos sudhir
Kartikeya on October 13th, 2007 3:27 am
HKA was nicely written and paced. Dharavi was a bit pretentious for me, but what do I know. Perhaps you could attribute it to a Joyce’esque Potrait of the Artist as a Young Man type development. Just don’t sell out man.
Keep up the good work.
Posted on: August 7, 2007 at 12:26 PM
I’ve been trying to analyse how different sort of people like Hazaaron. Some people fall in love with it and develop a sort of relationship with it. A lot of young people, students like it. The generation that lived through that period is grateful that someone made a film of that time and caught them as they were. The IAS wives association likes it!
I really get quite astounded. I have corporate heads say they love it. Sometimes, I imagine why would corporate heads like a film like this. Some people see it as a dark political film, some see it as a relationship film. I think it has doors through which you can walk in.
... showed it in Patna, Bihar. There was a young minister sitting there, someone in the chief minister’s cabinet and 6-7 of his security guards; cops. I was sitting there and towards the end of the film, when Vikram gets battered by the cops, I thought the real cops would turn around and get after me but later on they came to me and said, “yeh bahut real tha”. Aise hi hota hai. Humko karna parta hai aisa.” (It was quite real. It’s always like this. We have to react like this at times.)
Sometimes things do happen during the making of a film. The right story comes to you. The right actors come. In a sense it has revived my career in a very big way. Today who is Sudhir Mishra! They say it’s the Hazaaron director. It’s a little unfair on the other films. I start feeling sorry for Dharavi. I was quite fond of it. But, this is how it is. I thought of Hazaaron post Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin. It took about 5-6 years and quite a lot of rewrites. I first wrote it with Shiv Subramanium and then with Ruchi Narain.
In the beginning when I wrote it there was a 4th part as well. There was another transition. It was supposed to be in some future time in 2010 or 2020 but that was becoming a bit too much. .… Hazaaron is also a lot rewritten in the shooting. There’s no one method in film making. I tend to follow an impulse at the time of the shoot. That’s when the whole atmosphere and the whole unit come together. There’s an energy that happens. I follow that impulse and it takes you somewhere. If I made Hazaaron now it would be different and if I made it in 1996 it would have been different. It’s who you are at that time. It’s your entire thought process.
Also, some people have this strange relationship with Hazaaron. They come to me and say “Oh, I loved it but I don’t know if someone else will understand it.” There’s an assumption within audiences, which is very dangerous. In most of the reviews for Hazaaron, mostly all of them like it a lot and then they say, but it is strictly for so and so, strictly for the discerning. I find that a little presumptuous.
It’s a film about these people but it’s not really me. My politics is different from Naxal politics, for example. My politics is different from Vikram as well. But there is a time, a place and a country when people veer towards an existing ideology. And the attraction of a lot of people towards the left in those days and even now till 1990s was and is that they thought this was not the best of all possible worlds. And therefore they had that idea of change. But, I don’t think they grasped the implications of that totally.
I think the idea was that the few groups that were talking, were talking of dismantling what existed. I don’t think they thought too much about what would come after. And the problem with these ideologies has been that they have not envisioned the world that they want to bring. They merely want to dismantle what exists. Therefore revolutions fail. And all ideologies attempt to show you this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Therefore, sometimes, an advertisement of a communist state and a fairness cream become similar. Every thing is offering you a heaven in the end, including religion.
In Hazaaron, Geeta is the person who understands that the world doesn’t change merely because you want it to and the change happens as a result of an interaction between a lot of things. Maybe women understand defeat easier and take loss better. Maybe. Vikram is the guy who is trying to be who he is not. Somewhere when his father rises up in him, he faces the kind of end he does. He is troubled. He’s always trying to be what he’s not. That’s the contradiction of Vikram. Through Geeta he keeps getting drawn back to something. Otherwise, he’s quite successful in what he’s done.
Lot of people see Vikram and Siddharth as different types of people. Actually they are three people of around the same kind. They are all aspects of our selves. Vikram is not really a son of a bitch. Though this is a non judgmental film, being non judgmental with these characters is not something that you consciously do, it’s who you are. It comes from a viewpoint.
In Dharavi, Rajkaran Yadav is a taxi driver, who in one moment, in his ambition betrays his friends. He gets carried away with power. His wife walks out on him. Is his wife right or is he right. We are not judging him.
And this is one of the problems that audiences and even cinematic literate audiences have with my films. Even in the art film formula of the 70s there was the innocent posited against the evil oppressor. So, there was the Zamindar as oppressor. But it’s more complicated than that in our world now. The simple Chaplinesque, innocent is not possible any more either. We all carry the world in our heads and we are all corrupted ourselves.
Some audiences are also like children wanting to root for somebody, like the Lagaan cricket team, for example. A lot of films hence, are variations attempted to be Lagaan. Lagaan does that most successfully. But, mostly in life, you don’t find that at all, so you try and find that in films. And that’s even how scriptwriting is taught. You find a character. You have to root for this guy.
Can anybody make a film about someone who is not so right, not so perfect, yet who is killed in a riot? But it was wrong, that he was killed in a riot. For example, there might be someone who is somewhat of a bastard. But you can’t kill him because someone you idolized died. Make a film like that and who do you root for? Then you’ll say, who is the hero! The adult thing in life is that as much as you disagree with somebody you can’t kill him. That’s a mature world.
Faiths may disagree with each other and all religions disagree with one another that’s why they are different. All this con that people say there is one God. If it was that easy, then why do you fight! Many religions are against each other. There is some element in them which is in opposition with the other. The maturity of the world has to be that you live with those differences.
I am quite glad that Hazaaron worked at a level that it did even then. I don’t know if you can root for Vikram. Maybe you can, because he is in love. But Geeta is not in love with him and is in love with Siddharth who is a bit caught up with himself and the notion of what he wants to do. Geeta leaves her husband for no particular reason except for that she married wrong. There’s a lot of grey there. In all of them. But still at least a certain section of the audiences are becoming adult.
Actually nobody has ever written on Hazaaron in terms of Geeta. Maybe it’s a success of the writing or the way the actress played it or the combination of all these things that you don’t judge her. Here she is a girl who is in love with one person in the beginning of the film, making another guy hang around her and sort of using him a bit. And then walking out on all of them into a marriage and then coming back realizing it’s a wrong marriage. All this, while she keeps using this hanger-on, Vikram. And in the end when this guy really needs her, and he’s actually a vegetable, helpless, she’s giving him a shoulder and he doesn’t even know it.
Geeta is a complicated woman. There are very few women characters like that in Indian cinema. Critics are used to characters who shout from the rooftops and women who quote the entire mythology of the country in order to justify sleeping with someone.
In Hazaaron it passes fluidly. There’s a scene in the film where Vikram comes with a bottle of champagne when Geeta is back in Delhi. He says, “your husband Arun came to see me.” She asks, “So what did he say”. Vikram answers, “he asked if I was in love with his wife and I said yes I was in love with her”. And she laughs. She says, “Thanks Vikram, I was just going to get horribly sentimental.” Now that could be a bitch! She laughs! Then she comes out and says, “I am not going to live here”. She made him buy that flat!
The scene in the end with Vikram is Geeta’s redemption where she has to look after him. Actually she made this guy do what he did and at this point she has to reconcile with the fact that she has to look after him. She never actually did anything for him in the whole film and she used him totally. And he’s still muttering, I love you.
While making Hazaaron, I thought very few people make films about ‘us’. Usually films are about ‘them’. About that cab driver, that prostitute. This is a film about us and there is the failure of all those who were priviledged and were conscious of that fact and were a bit guilt ridden about it and wanted to somewhat change. They still carry vestiges of some of the ideas within them.
But, then in Khoya Khoya Chand, my next film I step out of that territory totally. It’s the same film maker, though. Even if you go into other territories, it’s you. Here I try to make a film about ‘me’ more than anything. Of course you put a story in a time to deliberately distance yourself. You put it in the 50s and 60s which is a period of cinema I like. It’s a film about people who are in this medium and the difficulty of it all.
______________________________________________________________________________
39 Responses to “Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi… and after..”
Kishore Budha on August 7th, 2007 12:43 pm
As a film researcher and lecturer all I can say is that HKA remains an important film. I think we need to move away from valorisation of the filmmaker (yes we do recognise the role of the auteur, but in the Indian context it degenerates into sycophancy or undue adulation, which dilutes the significance of the auteur and her/his work). Filmmakers have been chicken and utterly failed to grasp the huge reservoir of sympathy towards grassroots movements. To raise the salience of HKA, I would like to point to films such as Page 3, Swades, which reflects a supine bourgeoise ideology. It is the utter failure of film criticism in India to reference the wider contexts of films. Instead they tend to break into polemics about film form (verisimilitude), which seems to be enough to mask poor content. Take for example Swades. This hyphenated identification with both the individualistic wages of economic migration and the need to contribute with actions to alleviate rural poverty are attempts to recontextualise Nehruvian ideology in an era of globalisation. Gowariker’s interviews to the media confirm this hypothesis: ‘If you have the opportunity, you must go abroad, study, work and make your money. But after a substantial amount of time, look back at what you’ve left behind and see if you can contribute in any way.’ (Gowarikar cited in Anon:2004a) Swades advocates benefits of the Nehruvian ideological state apparatus through a clearly defined programme of rural development through motifs of modernity, application of science and technology, and self-sufficiency. In such relations, rural Indians are the bearers of the incomplete nationalist project. Such portrayals ignore the reality of the radical rural movements such as Naxalism and Maoist insurgencies. Instead, their politics is defined and acted out by the returning, scientifically-educated, nostalgic, and ‘activist’ Indian.
HKA tackles this issue cleverly. Though detractors may argue that after all it is the bourgeoisie that can exercise agency, the film instead subverts their fantasies and exposes the hollowness of Nehruvian nationalism.
Vivek on August 7th, 2007 1:13 pm
I am your regular audience and to me this film appealed right away, because the generation you had profiled (late 60’s early 70’s) live and breathe, at least in Toronto/Delhi/Mumbai and parts of the US. My favorite person in Toronto, Prof Bush Gulati, is one such human. Meeting your typical “unlce/aunty” in Canada, here was a revelation of a human, who first spoke to me about his LSD experiences and in the same breadth about his liberation struggle for Burma.
I have to admit I am also a person who like Himmesh and Govinda films, but that same me could not take my eyes and ears of HKA.
The “wheeler dealer” character of Shiney, the “I am serious and intelligent because I think serious thoughts” character of KK, were so close to life that they caught my attention right away. Reality almost always sells to me. That is why Monsoon Wedding appealed to me, that is why Namesake DID NOT appeal to me.
When I see what the characters like KK’s have become now, in their post college life, I have to admit it is shockingly close to what you depict.
That generation is way more “younger’ than their offsprings, and way more “energized” about life in general.
Shantanu on August 7th, 2007 3:53 pm
I loved HKA.
BTW sudhir the best movie of yours I liked
was yeh woh manzil to nahin.Please release
this gem of a film on DVD. Very few people have seen it
Suchita B on August 8th, 2007 1:37 am
Sudhir Sir, very well said.
“Therefore, sometimes, an advertisement of a communist state and a fairness cream become similar. Every thing is offering you a heaven in the end, including religion.”
“Critics are used to characters who shout from the rooftops and women who quote the entire mythology of the country in order to justify sleeping with someone.” ha ha ha …
I loved the film. waiting for KKC. regards,
Dipankar Giri on August 8th, 2007 2:52 am
Sir, Hazaaron…like the title suggested is a tale of wishes….Sidharth’s wishes for a change..Gita is in love with sid..Vikram is in lov wid Gita…it’s a chain of “khwahishe”…now evertime I watches Hazaaron I think Gita looked comlicated but never been..simply coz she never questions Sidharth like y r u doing this..she just loves Sidharth like an ordinary women…coming from a leftist background how can she be so unaffected..why don’t she questions that the movement which has ignited Bengal could also bring a change in Bihar..both states r different..there is a huge difference between both’s socio political situations…Bihar is in grip of castism whereas bengal is not…naxalite movement in Bihar failed at every front..Gita faces tortures..unite the women..coz she might had a guilt..what guilt is this..?betraying her love or it’s her realization….for me Vikram is the most complicated character in Indian cinema which makes the film so real..
HKA will always be considered as a standard of Indian cinema though “Is Raat” is also very close to me..for me it’s best underworld film I have ever seen…
thanx for these masterpieces…
Joyjeet on August 8th, 2007 2:53 am
HKA ended lyrically. But did the tale end there, Sudhirji? Why should it?
Hazaron Khwaishe Aisi… as in you’ve already described — the thousand ambitions pulling in thousand directions.
Ke Har Khwaish Pe Dum Nikle… What happened after Emergency & in the ’80s — the Janata era, Blue Star, Sanjay & Indira dead, Rajiv in & Bofors leading to coalitions. But what happened to our trio? Did Sid come back? Did Vikram wake up? & is Geeta still in the ‘outbacks’?
Bahot Nikle Mere Arman… Mandal-Ayodhya-Reforms-y2k. The trio’s GenNext is ready by now. That young kid has now come of age, hasn’t she? So how are things going on? What does she thinks of her mother?
Magar Phir Bhi Kam Nikle… NOW — What Now? Your vision of us & what’s coming up.
Okay, okay perhaps that was too much. But don’t scold me.
Just think about it. Thanks for Hazaron… someone needed to tell that story. But someone also needs to tell the other ones too. And can’t it gradually progress from an ‘us’ pov to a ‘me’ pov for you?
Hey! what do you all think?
Meanwhile, waiting for KKC. All the best, sir.
Ruchi on August 8th, 2007 3:37 am
I wanted to see HKA since its pre-release days.None of my college friends agreed to come along.They didn’t want to go to a multiplex for a movie strictly for those who like serious cinema;as the reviews proclaimed.Left with no choice:I dragged my mother(who’s a housewife) along against her wish.We bought the last two tickets that were left.When we came out,she thanked me for showing such a wonderful movie.One more addition to the different people who liked HKA!
My friends saw the movie after lot of convincing.Not to mention loved it!And still regret missing the chance to see it on the big screen.
Kumar Gautam on August 8th, 2007 3:53 am
Sudhir i had chat with one of your close friend and he particularly said that you were not “that type” and “specifically active” during naxalite movement in Bihar…infact, you hadn’t felt all that you have potrayed in HKA…that deserves special kudos…AB INTEZAR HAI YE CHAND KHO KAR KITNI ROSHNI KARTA HAI…
aditi on August 8th, 2007 6:36 am
“If I made Hazaaron now it would be different and if I made it in 1996 it would have been different. It’s who you are at that time. It’s your entire thought process.”‘
But you are also living NOW and also have a thought process…yu could have connected the film to the present day, at least towards the end. Just that the Naxal movement has re-engineered itself and is gaining strength in the poorest of poor regions of our country…just that this time the elitiist tag isn’t there..
By the way I enjoyed HKA
Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi… and after.. on August 8th, 2007 8:08 am
[…] PFC […]
Vikram on August 8th, 2007 10:41 am
Lovely Article :)
Mainak on August 8th, 2007 10:44 am
I wish there were more filmmakers like you who are aware of whats going on in this world.
It seems most filmmakers are making films in reference to the films they have seen. Thats is their pov of the world. Not by how they experienced & lived life. Thats why so much style & stupid plots.
wish you all the best.
Pratim D. Gupta on August 8th, 2007 10:53 am
all I can tell you Sudhir-da we have great, great expectations from you and we are sure you won’t disappoint!
p.s. love the font and styling of Khoya Khoya Chand… :)
atray on August 8th, 2007 10:59 am
Eagerly waiting for “Khoya Khoya chand.:)
While in ‘Hazaaro Khwahise Aisi’ I consciously found some kind of symbolism and watched it in that way as if Geeta’s character represents our Nation of that time .and two characters of Vikram and Siddhartha signify as two rising faces or hope which a nation identifies that time, one as rising capitalist and another struggling communist. Earlier one’as vikram’ thrashed and paralyzed by the same system that he used for self growth in the end, and recognized as well accepted lastly by her when her fairytale unwillingly resolves..Here she knew that if she accepts him she (as nation of that time) could mislay own hope or spirit that she believes it in village.
Whereas Sidhs character denoting that trying hard communist society trying to build n place its identity, he fondly loved by her but finally he withdraws that seeking movement and a nation lost..a country couldn’t ignore anyone. Nation keeps watching everyone.. Married to an IAS…Loving an activist and lastly sitting with a paralyzed hope…
Mainly films characterization was so broad, its covers my most imagination of that time of India…those sub characters as youth congress, Vikrams Gandhivian father, Siddhartha dad and mom his associate activist all speaks back, whenever remember that masterpiece.
Also great actors and perfect acting make it possible that HKA to flow in that time…
Regards..
krysh on August 8th, 2007 12:42 pm
Sudhir Bhai,HKA will always have a place of its own in the hindi cinema’s evolutionary march..More than a kind of diary of life and times in 70s and early 80s,i found HKA to be your most accomplished works in terms of execution,craftsmanship and handling..Definitely looking forward to KKC.
Aastha on August 8th, 2007 11:16 pm
You were right in saying that surprisingly different people liked the movie (OK, I added ’surprisingly’ myself). One such example is my sister, who is a teenage schoolgoer, I had fully expected her to lash out at me for making her see what she would have called a ‘boring, not-my-type’ film. But I was really surprised when not only did she sit through the whole movie pretty interested and in the end cried out that it was totally unfair to Vikram that he should end up like this and she was criticising Sid for leaving in such a way you would think he was some sort of neighbour or a person she had actually known! After reading this piece of yours I suddenly remembered that incident, I am still surprised that someone like her actually liked the movie enough to speak up for one of the characters as if it was someone she knew…
dazedandconfused on August 8th, 2007 11:30 pm
Loved HKA like all the people who have commented above. I totally rooted for Vikram’s character throughout the movie and I think everybody who loved the movie would have that in common. If you don’t, then the ending wouldn’t seem powerful.
But then I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t. He is in love and isn’t loved back in return. He is the underdog, not well-off, ambitious. He masks his feelings from everyone except the person watching the movie. He has most in common with most of us. Sure, he is not against bending the rules a bit but don’t we all want to be that person who can do that and get away with it? Unfortunately, very few of us are Siddharth, in today’s cynical world.
I don’t know a Siddharth but Vikram, I know, for sure.
raghu on August 9th, 2007 2:59 am
i have a relationship with HKA as u mentioned.i doont know how many times i watched it, atleast 30 times. every time i watch it, it gives me lot of strength&hope.
thanks sudhir for giving such a wonderful movie.
Rony D'costa on August 9th, 2007 4:38 am
A good film for me is when different elements used in filmmaking merges together to make a whole.when i watch a good film there is a rush in my body. i am generally in a very good mood for a while afer. later, i could get into the nitty gritties like what is good & what is bad but that does not change the intial euphoria i felt after i watch the film. HKA did all that to me and much more…
Phoenixnu on August 9th, 2007 9:12 am
Smriti,thnx ya. Intersting post again.
And thats so true about my n ur kind of films. It was HKA only,few of my freinds hd gone to catch some other film. one of my rommie was also there. they genrally watch the hollywood releases/thriller n comedy kind of stuff. then the realised HKA is also running. one of them called me n asked how is the movie. i said its fucking brilliant. but dont know if u guys wud like it or not. then he asked me..ok rate it out of 10. i said 8. no..9. they decided to check it out. and we still talk about the incident whenever we tak about HKA.
sophocles on August 10th, 2007 5:43 am
Sudhir,
I am one of the corporate type guys who loved your film. To be honest I was very skeptical when I started seeing it but then got hooked since the characters seemed very real…i have seen so many siddharths, geetas and vikrams that i could identify with them. the ending when vikram is battered and ends up as a shadow of what he could have been and as KK leaves…the scene gives me shivers. I actually couldnt sleep for hours….thinking that this could happen to me someday..and it frightened me.
thank you for the movie. it was awesome and brilliant…just….keep it real…
Kapil Varindani on August 10th, 2007 1:37 pm
I am a big fan of HKA and eagerly awaiting for KKC…Really liked Geeta’s part…mainly cuz the way Chitrangdha portrayed it…It is definitely one of the finest performances in recent times…CHITRANGDHA COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amit T on August 10th, 2007 4:30 pm
I wanted to respond .. the post where you told that being political is not about belonging to a party or shite like that it is about awareness .. I was inspired to speak up.. I give four flying f*** to your hazaaron .. whatever shite that was …maybe an experiment (even cinematically dude it was abso crap i know i dont have a movie for you to shout at but you do)….. but I freaked at Dharaavi… very crude and realistic (KJo is also makin a realistic movie he gotta… Darwin said so).. I also agree when you say that why do things have to be stereotyped and art really sucks these days my balloon walla / flute walla sold more art than I can find at sotehby’s under Indian artists names / I love prem chand’s novels .. just because I do that does not excuse me of criticizing art but I feel I have found better art outside Jehangir than inside.. cheers…
Raaj Pillai on August 11th, 2007 12:53 am
hi sudheer,
all i have to say is that i simply loved HKA…and i kind of could’nt forget Chitragada’s face for a couple of days….she was simply brilliant!!!!……but others were good too….and why has chitrangada gone into hiding?…i think the industry needs actors like her…awaiting ur next.
raaj
Mont on August 11th, 2007 5:19 pm
Hey just saw the trailor of Khoya Khoya. Looks awesome….but felt that the trailer gave away too much…
Amit T on August 11th, 2007 5:31 pm
FYI chitrangadha is no more an actress for the time being…currently she is married to some rich businessman and a golf guy (i think atwal…please kill me if i am wrong…second thoughts even serving tea with pakodas would do)… she was a very good actress … too bad that ‘bhand’ ambitions die to matrimonial harmony
Jyoti Randhawa on August 11th, 2007 10:10 pm
marrying a rich businessman/golfer is the best thing to do in this world.
Indraneel on August 12th, 2007 12:22 am
Hi Sudhir…I observed that you had done the story more as a personal interplay between the three characters with a backdrop of the Delhi Political atmosphere. I also observed that all your stories were and are relationships and its aftermath. Is this a ploy??..to change the milieu and get the protagonists to explore their white - grey - black areas of their minds on celluloid..very Tagorish..I might say!! I think KKC is also treading the same paths…but yet very engrossing!!
anshu pratik on August 12th, 2007 6:12 am
Hi to all,
Well to be honest I dont know who is Sudhir Mishra. I heard quite a lot about the movie, from my friends, and so today, after 4 years from when the movie got released, I watched it finally.
First thing first, I am not a “critic” or someone who knows too much about movies. I watch and judge a movie, based on my perception !!! Fair enough I guess !!!
Here is what I feel about the movie. Sorry if it bores you all (big HKA fans). I have no intention of doing that. I am writing this blog just to express my views about the movie.
Indeed its a well directed movie. I say well directed coz I enjoyed the minute details what the director has tried to portray. For example the bed sheet which resembles those which I find in my native place. Yes, I am from Bihar, and we do have little problems with water leaking as well, which has been captured beautifully in the movie. :)
Even though I loved the movie thoroughly, but I donot quite grasp the ending which has been showed. Well Siddharth compromised with his ideologies and went abroad for his further studies (which I believe means better and a “secure future”), after a long 10 years of struggle in Bihar….. Hmmmmmmmm… okay… I can understand… People do change and so does their ideologies, so I was not “shocked” after seeing such an ending… I understand it and accept it…
Geeta, as mentioned by Mr. Mishra himself, is confused lady, and she chooses to stay in the village and serve the community and decides NOT to go with Siddharth… Awesome…. This shows her inner strength and her decision of staying in Bihar is commendable. So fine ending for Geeta’s character as well.
Now comes Vikram’s character… and here is something which I couldn’t really grasp…. I mean I understand that guys thoughts and his deep and in some sense “passionate and sometime also called as insane” love for Geeta. This guy, even after having a married life, and a good enough life, helped Geeta, whenever she needed his help… Hmmmm….. okay… Understandable… He loves her way way way too much and can do anything for her… And thats why he went to Bihar in the last part of the movie to find Siddharth. But then, why the director has to end his character in such an abrupt way… I mean why he had to end his character in that state… This doesn’t make any sense to me…. If he (the director) was so destined to give a definite end to each character (mind you, this doesn’t happen in real life though), then why he didn’t kill Vikram’s character in the last part… I mean whats the point behind showing an end where audience are forced to see that Geeta is “reconciling” by taking care of him. I mean why was that important… As far as I know, the theme of the movie was NOT to show that Geeta (who got helped by Vikram every now and then) has to repay everything by taking care of him…
See as I said I am NOT a “critic”. May be director has tried to convey some other message by giving such and end, but I am unable to grasp it, and this becomes the cause of the existence of this blog…
I believe that every movie should follow a continuous curve, from the beginning till the end… Well thats my perception… You may or may not agree with it… Fine… But I am confused that even after following a smooth curve in the entire movie why the director took such a sudden jump to end Vikram’s character, in the way it has ended…
This doesn’t gell well with the movie…
I dont know if you agree with me or not, infact I dont care, but then in the end all I can say that if I would have directed this movie then I wouldn’t have given such an ending !!!
Thats all… It would be great of you all if you can throw some light on this !!!
Choice is yours !!!!
Thanks for your time and patience !!!
Anshu
Ajay Joy on August 12th, 2007 10:30 am
Yes, indeed this film is all about contradictions. About an era of contradiction, about contradictory people and even about conflicts and metamorphosis with in a human mind. As Suhdheer well pointed out about the film being non judgenmental, this film is only about capturing a mood of a decade. I have said this earlier also, that this film brought into my eyes the lives of my imaginary brothers of 70s. Being born after 80 s I feel missing the passion and ideology pulls (Whether it misleads or not),dragged always into the mediocrity of easy cash. This film excited me into recreating a mood although ephemeral. The film depicts a powerful woman of substance, who survives the usual travesty. She is the only one still left behind on the earth feeling the change that can happen once in a millennium. Rest of them had fled the scene to the havens of dementia!
I can really comprehend the character of Bikram, one can sacrifice anything to trace once love wherever or whenever he is. How else we can explain the Love in time of Cholera. But here character runs mad after the lost love with out waiting for the natural expiration of social norms. The state of desperate Siddharth sinks into is also understandable. It was in my state where Naxal radicals committed suicide or left for escapisms of spirituality. I remember how I read one Naxal sympathizer Subramanya Das committed suicide writing down ‘ We are a failed generation, destined only for failure! ‘
I can grasp it reading along with the painful stories of tortured Comrades in detention asking everyone with all hope ‘Hows revolution outside this world’. The same time it was waning down. Many people lost the reason for life even.
This film was really a refreshing lesson for me into the mood of those ‘romantic’ era! Also well about the tale of ’true love’ not the oft repeated ready mix ‘love’
Aditi Todi on August 16th, 2007 5:18 am
Sudhir,
Every time I read something you have said, I notice something new, something I have not noticed before about Hazaaron. Most of us tend to talk about how special each of the characters in the film was, or how much we would like to be like Geeta, and how much the men would all love to be with a Geeta, despite her obvious flaws. But I noticed today that we have been wrong all along, the characters are indeed not special at all, they are some very ordinary people with some very ordinary tales. Every woman has a Geeta in her, and most of us have even displayed the same grey shades at some or the other point in our lives. It’s just that we do not acknowledge it, we would like to believe that Geeta is fictitious because allowing her to reside in ourselves threatens the comfort zone we live in, the zone where we proclaim ourselves to be clean of grey, especially when cornered with sexual fidelity. I think there are two things Hazaron does, one is that it unfolds a tale beautifully told, from the very first shot when Shubha renders Hazaron at the precise moment a head is chopped off, to the last moment when Geeta and Vikram are with each other. The second more important thing the film does is that it makes you uncomfortable in your own skin as you start to recognise how much grey you have in you, how many dreams you dared to dream and then beheaded them all, how many hearts you captured and then broke them all, how much you thought you achieved in life only to realize one day, that you didn’t want it at all. If anyone is still reading this, I can only say two words, thank you.
g@u on August 22nd, 2007 4:43 am
hie Sudhir,
I guess the best thing you did was to cast 2 hotties like Chitragandha & Shiney. Hence lots of ppl ended up watching Hazaaron which they otherwise wudnt have.. But I am so sure they loved it.. :) just like me.
Phoenixnu on August 22nd, 2007 4:59 am
g@u…then sins n kal also should have worked. isn’t it ? no doubt they are damn good in the film but then u cant take away the credit of the filmaker n other guys assocaited with the film by only acknowldging shiney n chitrangda. ur comment made me laugh…its strange!!
ritesh on September 1st, 2007 12:48 am
Hello Mishra Saab,i saw ur HKA recently and hv enjoyed it.though it failed to invoke any nostalgia in me as i was born in 1974, i have my own interpretation of this muvee.i liked geeta. she reminded me of the classical heroine of 60’s who has the classical dilemna..of whom to choose. Of course, females deserve this right(of choosing partners)as their contribution in marital relationship is much more than that of their partners. Geeta’s dilemna is the storyline of this muvee(except the end that is too dramatic). Yes this geeta is smarter than the old seetas and geetas. Males in HKA are classical males, full of energy and passion(and they all die for the same lady)i will write more when i see it again.A slow learner, i have to see a muvee twice.
Rahma Muhammad on September 7th, 2007 4:55 am
Just came across the movie on star plus for the first time while flipping channels. needless to say I was amazed. Unfortunately, Im not very familiar with alternative indian cinema. after reading indian authors write about Emergency or write within those times, i did wonder why a film maker hasnt worked on a movie set under the emergency.
Im very impressed with the ease with which HKA moves from questioning ideologies, the madness of Emergency and the selfishness of love. perfect casting, beautifully shot, very tight screenplay. I have seen Chameli and now will make it a point to watch other movies by you. you do a very good job of showing the reality and pain of south asia and how we oscillate between moving away from it and yet falling right back in bc at the end of the day we really cant avoid it.
Rajeev on September 10th, 2007 5:57 am
Sudhir,
I really liked Hazaron Khwaishe Aisi…I think this is fantastic movie and looking forward to KKC.
Rajeev
shailee on September 17th, 2007 7:35 am
hello sir,
hazaroon khwahishen aisi…!!!!
have watched the film again and again .. to a point where i can now tell you each and every dialogue, every camera angle, every costume,,,, everything..i remember ,, i was so much in awe of the film that each night i would sit on net to search any minute detail that i could about the film ..
for me the film has been like a revolution in my mind, sudden enlightenment .. about my passion for cinema and that’s when i finally knew what i wanted.. and i am not writing all this bcoz the director of the film is gonna read it but bcoz i genuinely mean it..
HKA..when the film starts and something scrolls dowm the screen… and that very moment i thought something very unusual is instore..
the various letters which we come across at various times in the film were so crucial and wisely woven that they would convey the most important things with so much ease.. how instantly we come to know what vikram feels about geeta when he says”first things first, i still love you…” or how we so early in the film can understand that vikram is a highly ambitious son of a gandhian father..” had he worried about our problems we wouldnt have stuck to the lower end of the great middle class”..similarly the political condition is also explained. both by vikram and siddrarth, the only difference being - point of view.
siddharth is out there to change the world..(with out knowing how and why and to what ). how those illiterate people in the mob react to ‘hitler’ may sound hillarious at that very moment,, but with so much pain we have to accept that this is a fact.
i very much agree with all those who have said that these are very real characters.. siddharth, young , rich, over AMBITIOUS, confused, out there to change the world.on the contrary, vikram, practical, AMBITIOUS, out there to change HIS world.
so far i havent spoken about geeta at all…
geeta the third end of this triangle.madly in love with siddharth. she again is a very ambitious woman but like most women in this country, gives more importance to the man…siddharth. a very strong character, level headed and grey (like all other characters). not that she didnt believe in the ideology or didnt wish to change the world.. but it was just that she knew that change is a relevant term and a process. she was determined to do so, initially because of siddharth but even after he lost hope she continued her struggle. this time very selflessly because she had probably realized a few things… one, like what she owes to vikram ,and how she wants to change the world now..
having spoken enough about the characters,, the more important thing that i would like to talk about is the beautiful moments in the film.. the best being vikram’s encounter with the policemen .
and suddenly i realize this is getting tooooo long for a comment.. i can go on and on ,,, for this film is so close to heart..
sir would like to talk to you about it in person someday,, for it would onli be then that i would successfully be able to convey the impact this film has on me…….
Abhinav on October 4th, 2007 12:50 am
I was in love with ghalib’s ghazal…..and was even more thrilled when i saw the ghazal take form in the movie….kudos sudhir
Kartikeya on October 13th, 2007 3:27 am
HKA was nicely written and paced. Dharavi was a bit pretentious for me, but what do I know. Perhaps you could attribute it to a Joyce’esque Potrait of the Artist as a Young Man type development. Just don’t sell out man.
Keep up the good work.
