Kick: When Salman tried to appease Classes
Unlike the popular perception, a lot of thought went in the making of the movie Kick starring Salman Khan (Bhai), directed and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala (Grandson), screenplay by Chetan Bhagat (CB). That is a lot of nouns which represents the art of making money unabashedly in Bollywood and yet they draw criticism from the purportedly classy audience who ridicule them for (err…) the ridiculous fare the 3 of them deliver. So the 3 of them thought upon a ploy to draw the attention of both the masses (that supposedly leave their brains in their respective residences before they watch a movie) and also the classes who seek purpose in a movie.
Idea#1: Rope in the best of Bollywood
The trio sat together and read the review of all the movies which got positive review in the recent past (but could not make money) and were bemused by the idea of strong character plays by the main protagonists of the flicks adored by the purported classes.
Hence the cast includes Nawazuddin Siddiqui (whose portrayal of Faisal in Gangs of Wasseypur will always stay in the public memory), Randeep Hooda (who recently drew plaudits for his act in Highway), Rajit Kapur (who is adored for his portrayal of both Mahatma Gandhi and Byomkesh Bakshi), the rotund and affable Saurabh Shukla who is best known for his character roles in Satya (which he also co-wrote), Bandit Queen (and many more). The illustrious cast revolves and rotates around Salman Khan and even in their worst day at office, they outshine Bhai.
Idea#2: A Robin Hood in the Script
The Ballad of Robin Hood has charmed the masses across the ages and though it appears to be a worn, torn and recycled script in Woods and production houses across the world, it continues to be a staple script to fall upon. A Robin Hood movie helped further bolster the career fortunes of Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James, Johnny Depp in Public Enemies and even Sean Connery was hailed (post Bond) in The Great Train Robbery.
Just a few months back Mr. Perfect (adored by the purported classes) Aamir Khan stole ideas from half a dozen movies to serve the tale in essence of Robin Hood in Dhoom 3. It raked in the moolah which was sufficient enough to convince Grandson Nadiadwala to produce and as well as direct the plot again.
CB pondered upon the popular idea of the hatred of the bourgeoisie class. Who sympathizes with the rich… See how much people adore Karunanidhi and Sons’ inc. that stole from the govt. coffers and distributed TVs to the poor. Then see how the entire country voted against the Shahzada of The Grand Old Party. The whole nation wants corporate boss Srini Mama and his son in law Guru sitting in Puzhal (Tihar’s counterpart in Chennai) while their commoner employee is hailed for his leap year exploits in off shore series. We hate the rich stealing from us, we are comfortable with the commoner stealing from anyone.
Idea#3: Appease the Child Viewer
The trio broached upon a great concern which rankles Indian cinema- the absence of movies for kids. So they tried to incorporate the idea in Kid. It had brought fairly good returns for Bhai who lent his name for the release of Chillar Party. The purported classy audience might mercilessly clamp down the works of CB, Grandson and Bhai but they would all stumble to the innocent smile of a cancer afflicted orphan. And give Bhai a Mask, Kids love mask.. But the make of the mask should be adequate enough that Bhai's beautiful face is not entirely covered and good enough to fool an investigation officer of merit.
Idea#4: A Psychologist with Long Sexy Legs
The purported classes go gaga over movies with elements of psychology. Be it thrillers like Silence of Lambs or Shutter Islands or Fight Club, Drama like Black Swan or Good Will Hunting and Biopics like A Beautiful Mind and Amadeus. Well thanks to the Robin Hood script it is already a thriller, thanks to the cancer afflicted with a cute smile it is already a Drama and since it is a movie about Salman Khan, it is already a Bio-Pic. The only thing is to get a beautiful psychologist whose face need not evoke any emotions with sexy long legs in a short skirt and neither the masses nor the classes would complain of.
Idea#5: Bhai is a Good Person
And last of all and the most of all drive the point that Salman Khan is a good person. That whatever he does is well intended and is done to give him an adrenalin rush. He would get the groom’s moustache shaved by chasing ruffians. When he concedes defeat, he ensures a moral victory and bowls adversaries over.
He might drink and trouble beautiful ladies, he might drive rashly in Indian and European Cities, causing damage to property and lives, but they are all well intentioned. No, these are not incidents referring to Salman’s real life exploits (which the media wrongly picks upon), but poignant scenes from the movie which reflect that Salman Khan’s deeds are done to achieve a kick.
Aiyyo God!! Moral of the Story:
I broke a 7 year hiatus and watched a Salman Khan movie in the theatre (the last 1, I was dragged to by a wily cousin was Partner). I had totally forgotten the fact that audiences laugh, applaud, dance and incessantly whistle while watching a movie. Well Purported classy movie goers have tons of lessons to learn from this thoughtful act of CB, Grandson and Bhai.
One of them is: Stay Away!!
