Is Juhi Chawla an actress ?
Ravi Krishna
Yesterday I was watching some indian program and there was some interview
with Miss Juhi. Ghosh. She was stupid to the point of being irritating.
Always gigling like a stupid young girl in her teens.
Now coming to the subject at hand.
It's ten years since Juhi made her deubut in Saltanat. I am sorry to say she
is yet to impress me as an actress. She does not do anything except for
singing with the hero, shake her bums and bascially look pretty. Is that a
criteria for being called as an actress and that too of high calibre. Even in
Hum hai rahi pyar ke where she supposedly acted very well she did nothing but
to act like a stupid young girls always gigling. Probably that role was
close to her heart and that's why she did it much better then her other
roles.
I think most of the guys who praise Juhi sky high , either do not know what
is acting or it is their DICK which is talking. We all know that Indians are
generally sexually frustrated and let go their frustration by fantasing about
film actress - a classic case of vicarious pleasure.
(this is proved by the "juhi nude" bullshit we are seeing on the net these
days)
However I am not harsh on Juhi alone. I feel most of the other actress are
also the same. Even Madhuri I feel is overrated. IMO she is yet to give a
memorable performance like that of Nargis , Meena Kumari , Shabana or Smita
Patil. The actresses I have mentioned have given some absolute sterling
performance which is trule unforgettable. Of course in defence of Madhuri
people will say oh-she-is-really-great-but-does-not-get-good-roles. I don't
believe you can be in profession for 10 years w/out ever getting a single
good role.
As for Raveena Tandom , I think she is a glamour doll. Period.
No flames , only sensible comments.
Devashish Saxena
Here's my "sensible" response ....
> It's ten years since Juhi made her deubut in Saltanat. I am sorry to say she
> is yet to impress me as an actress. She does not do anything except for
> singing with the hero, shake her bums and bascially look pretty. Is that a
> criteria for being called as an actress and that too of high calibre. Even in
> Hum hai rahi pyar ke where she supposedly acted very well she did nothing but
> to act like a stupid young girls always gigling. Probably that role was
> close to her heart and that's why she did it much better then her other
> roles.
I think Juhi has done several films where she has proved her
acting capabilities:
QSQT: Here is a perfect example of her in a mature like role in
what I believe was her "first" movie. She didnot play the cliched
performance that you refer to as "singing with the hero, shake her
bums and bascially look pretty" .... In fact she managed to
portray herself very realistically as the lone daughter of a proud
Rajput. I thought she had the mannerisms down really well .....
Benaam Badshah: A little known movie of hers with Anil Kapoor has
her in a short yet strong role of a girl who falls in love with a
"goonda" and marries him. She gives a very powerful performance
which was highly underrated - and not one where she acts like "a
stupid young girl always gigling" as you accuse.
Darr: Again, she portrayed a role far from the "niche" that you
are trying to put her in. A woman who is scared witless by an
unknown obsessive lover. The transition from love to fear was
very well done particularly in the scene right after the holi song
- where she realizes that the person playing the dholak - standing
right there in front of her - is the person who has been stalking
her all this time .....
Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman: My most favorite movie with Juhi - she
played the "girl next door" to perfection. The process in which
her character matures from the single "belle" with a care for the
world - to the grown-up "wife" with the responsibility of running
a family.
> We all know that Indians are
> generally sexually frustrated and let go their frustration by fantasing about
> film actress - a classic case of vicarious pleasure.
Please - talk for yourself.
>
> However I am not harsh on Juhi alone. I feel most of the other actress are
> also the same. Even Madhuri I feel is overrated. IMO she is yet to give a
> memorable performance like that of Nargis , Meena Kumari , Shabana or Smita
> Patil. The actresses I have mentioned have given some absolute sterling
> performance which is trule unforgettable. Of course in defence of Madhuri
> people will say oh-she-is-really-great-but-does-not-get-good-roles. I don't
> believe you can be in profession for 10 years w/out ever getting a single
> good role.
Gimme a break - do I have to list all of Madhuri's movies where
she has made a terrific impact based on her acting capabilities:
Ram Lakhan
Tezaab
Prem Pratigyaa (beautiful movie with Mithun .... one in which I
think she managed to give a "sterling performance which is trule
unforgettable" ....)
Beta (rem the scene where she confronts all the villagers .....)
Khalnaayak
HAHK (totally a Madhuri extragavanza)
Anjaam
and so on ....
Madhuri is perhaps the most versatile hindi movie actress today -
if not ever. She plays every role to perfection whether it be a
girl falling in love, or one who is simply finding ways to cope
with love, to a woman who emanates strength, to a woman who will
avenge or one who's along just for the ride. She is a terrific
dancer - and manages to portray emotion in a fantastic manner
while dancing .....
Every actor/actress gets caught in the typical movies - but I
think Madhuri has managed to perform in some which are bound to
become classics ..... She may be overrated - in the sense that
too many people are always talking about her - but that doesnot
mean that she hasn't gotten a single good role in the last 10
years.
It's really sad that we so quickly agree that all the
actors/actresses in the olden days were so awesome and worked in
masterpieces .... but that is not the case. What happens is that
when we look back we only think about the good/great movies - we
don't remember all the junk that was also released along with the
great stuff ....
In another twenty years everyone is going to look back and say
Madhuri was one of the best actresses ever - because all they'll
be comparing will be her best work to "all" the movies of the then
top actress ....
> As for Raveena Tandom , I think she is a glamour doll. Period.
hmmm ... she hasn't had her chance yet .....
> No flames , only sensible comments.
Just a final comment - if you want sensible comments then please
refrain yourself from junk that you presented in your middle
paragraph.
--
- Devashish Saxena
Rahul Shiyekar
Do not pick on Juhi Chawla alone.
It is unfortunate that films today do not give an opportunity for
actors to perform character roles eg. Shabana in Masoom, Smita in
Chakra, Meena Kumari in Saheb, Biwi,..., or Rekha in Umrao Jaan.
The reason - simple - the public DO NOT want to see movies like this. They
just want cheap dances, cheap sex, pretty faces making some titillating
grimaces, because they are so much frustrated with their own lives that
they just want to see something different, which will take their mind off
their mundane, spiritless lives.
The result - you see dances like Tezaab, Sailaab, etc. which are given
super high status. In fact they are so cheap. But it is BUSINESS, so
producers have to bow down to the demands of the public. And so do the
actors/actresses. The producers do not have the GUTS to produce classy
movies, because they know there is no money there. So, I DO NOT blame
actors/actresses for this sorry state.
Why ? Even Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosale have sung so many shitty
songs only because they want to stay in the business. And we consider them
great, because of their other better performances.
In a similar way, given good roles, I am sure the actors will make
the most of them to give a good performance, and improve themselves.
See what happened to Dimple. She has now turned to classy movies, and has
given great performances (Lekin, Rudaali), although after she has earned
all the money she could by shedding her clothes.
Every actor wants to do classy roles. But things can change only if WE,
the public start appreciating better roles.
- Rahul
Volker Schuermann
Ravi Krishna just mentioned:
> Sorry for the title. I know it will provoke many in this net.
> It's ten years since Juhi made her deubut in Saltanat. I am
> sorry to say she is yet to impress me as an actress. She does
> not do anything except for singing with the hero, shake her bums
> and bascially look pretty. Is that a criteria for being called
> as an actress and that too of high calibre. Even in Hum hai rahi
> pyar ke where she supposedly acted very well she did nothing but
> to act like a stupid young girls always gigling. Probably that
> role was close to her heart and that's why she did it much better
> then her other roles.
There may be some people who only watch the movies for entertainment
and not to rate the actors acting abilities! I'm not an actor myself
and I've never joined any school of performing (!) ars, so what good
a judge would I be???
Maybe one should consider to watch some Shakespearean play instead
of watching the movies if acting is what one wants to see.
What's wrong with watching movies to relax, to listen to nice
songs and to enjoy watching some beautiful girls giggling around?
I (can only speak for myself) have a job, which takes up a lot of
my time and my concentration. I've some strange hobbies, as some
folks in here surely know and I really only want to ENJOY the
movies and not to analyze them - as long as there are Hindi movies,
I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who thinks that way ...
> I think most of the guys who praise Juhi sky high , either do not
> know what is acting or it is their DICK which is talking. We all
> know that Indians are generally sexually frustrated and let go
> their frustration by fantasing about film actress - a classic
> case of vicarious pleasure. (this is proved by the "juhi nude"
> bullshit we are seeing on the net these days)
This "juhi nude" phenomenon is nothing specially created by and for
indians! I'm running a local BBS overhere (Germany) and pics of more
or less clothed girls are what ppl. are looking for. You know exactelly
which age group those guys belong to, don't you? It's only a tiny
fraction of the readership of this newsgroup, nothing to be worried
about, I think.
Wait! About 15 month ago, just before I started watching the movies,
I've removed nearly all of the pics - the number of callers has fallen
dramatically. I really could not stand those pics of dumb blonds and
what have you any longer and for my peace of mind I've gotten rid of
them! No, I'll no longer provide anyone with that rubbish!!!
> However I am not harsh on Juhi alone. I feel most of the other
> actress are also the same. Even Madhuri I feel is overrated.
> IMO she is yet to give a memorable performance like that of
> Nargis , Meena Kumari , Shabana or Smita Patil. The actresses I
> have mentioned have given some absolute sterling performance
> which is trule unforgettable.
Tell you what? If you make a movie in old style with the "old" girls
(but young of age) these days, you'll not get the young people into
the cinema. Hey, don't get me wrong! There are still quite a few folks
out there (means in RMIM ;-) who are able to appreciate a good oldie
and when I'm in the right mood, I do it massivly myself! Especially
the songs simply were too good!!!
But it's the 1990s now, Mamtas (outch!) and Urmilas (outch again!)
are ruling and as long as the cinemas make some money, they'll not
change anything. And since I'm definitly not a Mamta, Urmila etc.
fan, I'm pretty glad that there are Juhi's to keep up a bit of the
old style and traditions. The next generation will surely bring
a lot of changes to Hindi cinema, I'm afraid: 90 secs of violence,
120 secs of nude scene, 45 secs for commercials and back to the
nude scenes again - sounds a bit like western movies, right - and
that's what they call acting overhere ...
I hope you've noticed that I haven't taken your article personally
(I'm one of the "praise Juhi sky high" and also "I don't fall for
a girl's acting abilities" guys) and that I've tried to bring in my
thoughts and nothing more.
- Volker Schuermann UUCP vol...@unnet.wupper.de
The Underground Network, Germany BBS +49 202 4660234 / 462114
The Bollywood Movie Database (Mailserver!) EMAIL mov...@unnet.wupper.de
URL http://www.wupper.de/sites/unnet FAVORITE ACTRESS Juhi Chawla
