Is Jab Tak Hai Jaan A Good Movie

[Edilma Howard]

Thirtyminutes and three songs later, I forgot all of that. On the surface, Jaan-E-Mann is a conventional story of a love triangle between Salman, Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta. We all know how it goes: two boys meet a girl and fall in love with her, and in the end, one of them goes home empty-handed.

But here, things are not quite according to norm. Suhaan (Salman) already has the girl (Preity) but they get divorced. Suhaan is a down-on-his-luck actor, who is trying to find a way to get out of his alimony payments. Enter Agastya Rao (Akshay). Agastya is a nerd who has carried a torch for Preity since college. When Suhaan realises that getting his ex-wife remarried is the easiest way to get out of paying alimony, an elaborate plot ensues to help Agastya woo her. Of course, all forms of misunderstandings, awkward situations and drama occur along the way.

None of this is stuff we haven't seen before, of course. But it is how director Shirish Kunder embraces the clich that makes this movie refreshing. Shirish includes nearly every Bollywood convention in the movie, and kicks it up a notch higher. And it works.

I really didn't really care about the story as much as I cared about the gags. And that brings me to what doesn't work in this film. Sometimes, it feels that the story was constructed later, after they had worked out all the jokes. It's a shame really because one wonders how great the movie could have been had it been scripted well. Don't expect to find yourself emotionally invested in any of these characters. Character development is minimal, and the only one that comes across as likeable is Agastya (Akshay). In fact, you willl know who finally gets the girl pretty early in the film.

Akshay has the best part. He plays the college nerd brilliantly, completely relishing a change in image. Later, he plays a working man in a way that makes it easy to believe that he was the college nerd everyone picked on. Detailed touches like his goofy laugh and shy demeanor add to the film.

I wish Shirish, who edited Main Hoon Na before he turned director, edited his own film better. Jaan-E-Mann slows down towards the end, and could have been chopped down by a good 20 minutes. But as a first-time director, he does a great job. He uses fantasy to depict what's going on in his characters' heads well. In fact, sometimes I felt I was watching a play!

I came out of the theatre feeling satisfied. I didn't think Jaan-E-Mann was a fantastic movie, or even memorable. But it is enjoyable, funny and entertaining -- exactly what I was looking for in a Diwali big release.

Oh my, oh my!Instead of trying to recount this past week from memory today, I didwrite a series of e-mails back to the family talking about our initialexperiences in negotiating Finland. Here are excerpts:Monday, August 15:Hi! I'm in my hotel right now, wifi is all connected and things are good. Daniel is off with Jaan (the lab Director) to get checked into his room, and then he'll come back here and we'll walk around to find a place for dinner. It's an absolutely gorgeous day here -- white puffy clouds and temp about 72 (I think).The flight was good with one minor hitch: one of our bags is still in Reykjavic. When we went to the baggage assistance, the lady said "oh yes, we have a message from your bag." It will be delivered to us tomorrow. But we have plenty of stuff for tonight, so it won't be a big problem.Jaan seems really nice. He's got a great sense of humor, and he seems very excited about having Daniel here. They did a fair amount of shop-talk, so I just nodded my head and smiled through most of it. Daniel's been practicing his Finnish already. It usually elicits some nice smiles and then a gentle correction or two. Several people have said his accent is very good, though.Tomorrow we'll do a bunch of general errands: get Daniel registered with the FInnish authorities, go shopping for supplies he'll need, all that. Wednesday is when we'll have dinner with Marko, and it turns out that Thursday I will be meeting with a prospective post-doctoral student who would like to do work at the Computer Music Center. Whew! The week fills up fast!The hotel is in a really nice neighborhood, and Jaan said it's only about 1 kilometer away from where Daniel will be located. Jaan said a friend of his on the faculty of Harvard was working here about a year ago and he lived in this same neighborhood.Life is good! What an adventure! Daniel is really excited. We both got a bit of sleep on the plane (Daniel actually did pretty well), but I don't think he even needed it. Adrenalin! :-)

Tuesday, August 16:Another great day here! It was cool and drizzly/rainy, but everything has been going really well. We managed to figure out the busses and trams, and were able to get up to Daniel's lab this afternoon. It's really nice -- apparently the Biotechnology Institute is one of the big income-earners for the University of Helsinki. Daniel's immediate boss seems a bit of a rock-star here. Plus he's a nice guy.His Finnish friend from Columbia (Anne) showed us around, and also got Daniel plugged into the front office people to do his paperwork. We also got to meet the head of the whole center, another really nice guy. Quite a long chat with him -- turns out he was an opera buff and was very impressed that we knew Kaija and Jean-Baptiste.We went down to the old-city part of Helsinki for dinner tonight at a restaurant recommended by Anne. It was wonderful,one of the best meals I've had in awhile. Daniel is charming everyone with his Finnish: waiters and waitresses come over to our table to talk with him!He's met a number of his suite-mates, but his direct roommate (they share a kitchenette and a bathroom, not sleeping-rooms though) hasn't shown up yet. He says they are all really nice. Quite an international group, too: several Italians, someone from Bolivia, one person from China. All are post-docs it seems, so Daniel is the young kid. But he said they had great fun talking about Finnish experiences.Tomorrow is when we go to visit my friend and former student Marko and hiswife Lisa at their Finnish 'cabin'.Here is a link to the national park where it is located:

On Thursday we'll be having dinner with Daniel's boss and his family. Then I head for home!My oh my, what a time.

also this on Tuesday from a separate e-mail:I think we're doing well. We checked one of Daniel's credit cards at an ATM and it worked with no problem. Also, about 100 yds. from the bus-stop at the lab is this great store called "Prisma" which is like Target on steroids. They had everything -- set up in two stories like the Japanese supermarket (but about 2x as large). A huge range of food on the first floor with a bunch of hardware/misc. supplies on the second. We were able to get everything from clothes-hangers to duct tape to an internet wireless router (good price!) for his room. There was a separate pharmacy, and even a food-store called "Chico's" that promised "America on a plate" for when he pines for some good-ole ribs or tex-mex food (hah -- America!). Along with the convenience store directly across the street from his dorm, I think he's all set.It's interesting to hear Daniel talk with the lab people. He really has learned a lot from his time at Columbia -- he knows the literature really well. They discussed many possible projects he could do. I think the environment here will be really supportive for him.This restaurant tonight was amazing. We'll definitely take you there when we come back in November. It was a little pricey, but *very* Finnish, and the food was just terrific. But who knows, maybe Daniel will find another place!Dinner tomorrow with Marko should be something. Also: the Prisma store had a big liquor/wine/beer store attached. And 4 different kinds of cloudberry liqueur!!!! I'm hoping not to check any bags for my return trip, so we'll have to get it in the future.

Wednesday, August 17:Our dinner with Marko and his wife Lisa was terrific. The weather was beautiful, and we did some heavy Finnish stuff (sauna, jump in the cold lake, walk through the woods -- it was fabulous!). Daniel is on cloud nine. I'm really happy that things are starting so well for him here.He finally met his roommate, who turns out to be a composition student! He knows my work, yikes. Daniel said everyone seems really nice.Tomorrow we're heading back downtown for lunch with a prospective post-doc student at the CMC, and we'll probably shop for a SIM card for his phone so he won't run up international roaming charges. After that we have a dinner planned with Jaan-Olle, Daniel's boss. Like I said, he seems really nice so we're both looking forward to it. Then I come home!Remember I said the restaurant where we ate last night was *really* good? It turns out that's where Marko and Lisa had their wedding reception.More later -- the internet is really slow form the hotel tonight. Plus I'm really tired. Jet-lag is just bizarre. You can't really tell when it will hit. By the time I get adjusted I'll be back in NJ.

Thursday, August 18:(First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! We 'facetimed' with mom and dad thisafternoon (their morning) and wished a good one to him. Yay!)Another great day, topped off by yet another amazing dinner. Jaan-Olie took us to this fusion/asian place that was just fabulous. When we told the post-doc I was interviewing this afternoon where we were going she said "oh, my -- that's probably the best restaurant in Helsinki right now!" And we had a really good time with him -- he has big plans for Daniel!I got to renew a computer-music acquaintance,Kai Lassfolk (the Director of the Helsinki ELectronic Music Studios),and we toured the University of Helsinki electronic music studios. Kaiand Tanja (the prospective post-doc)then took us on a little sight-seeing tour of the old part of Helsinki.So I think we've done it all!I'n really tired, going to bed soon. Tomorrow will be a looooong day, but I'll be back home. And Daniel will be off to his new life! What a time!He's really getting along well with the people in his dorm/suite. I'm pretty happy about the whole situation here.So that's about it. I think my blog has become more life-reportage thanmuch else, but that's fine. I've discovered that I enjoy going back andreading about experiences at different times in the past ten years I'vebeen writing this. The tortured quasi-philosophical nonsense gets a bitthick, but the 'this-is-what-we-did/this-is-what-it-was-like' aspectsare interesting, not the least reason being how they differ from mydirect, internal memories. It seems appropriate to start this new"chapter" in the blog (i.e. a new index.html page) with these changes:Jill is in Seattle with Shai, Lian and Itay, and here I am in Helsinkiwith Daniel. Definitely these are new chapters!

8/24/2016The summer days are waning. I'm looking forward to the coming schoolyear with the now-familiar mix of anticipation and trepidation. I'manxious to meet our new students, and we have some interesting happeningsplanned. I'm fairly confident about my classes, and I think they'llbe good. What causes me to worry? Same old stuff: the fear of lettingpeople down, of not doing a good job (whatever that means in an academiccontext...), of things falling apart. It always feels like we're on theedge of some kind of chaos, but I suspect that's part of the game ifyou want to pretend you're doing cutting-edgey stuff. There is a lotgoing on, too.Our weather has been glorious since my return from Finland. I'm sittingagain on our upper back porch, listening to the 'hot bugs' (cicadas)and the late-summer neighborhood sounds. The sky, the light, the climate,they all remind me of other life-experiences; being in St. Louis,mountains in Switzerland, islands in Greece. Nothing seems trulynew any more. Now that's certainly a sign of encroachingold-age.

9/22/2016Almost a month has passed since I last wrote here. A word ofexplanation: there is this counter-productivething happens to me, not just in blog-writing but also in other areaswhere I do work. If I get a little behind, then it becomes more difficultto catch upbecause I tend to think "oh, I have even MORE ground to cover now, andI want to cover it all properly!" Thatapproach leads me to getting even morebehind, and eventually I'm facing a kind of paralysis fueled by theThings I Haven't Done.The way out of the dilemma, of course, is that clich&eacuted Nike sportswearslogan, "just do it!" So here I am, finally just doing it.Much has happened: Jill had a birthdayseveral days ago (Happy one, sweetie!), Shai is growing by leaps and bounds(and is literally leaping and bounding in this bouncey-thing Lian andItay got for him), Daniel is having a grand time in Finland -- he'salready visited Talinn (Estonia), Mom and Dad, John and Brenda, thenephews, school starting. How will I remember all this? I need towrite it here!I do use this blog as a memory-bank now. Here is a month-long gap in mymemory. I promise to do better! Oh, and Happy Equinox!

9/24/2016Finally a nice fall day. Summer has been hanging on. Maybe this isthe new global-warming normal? It's been in the upper 80's throughmost of September.With the cooler day came memories, and the powerful ability ofmusic to conjure them. I was listening to some Nickel Creekout in back earlier today. I had one of thosefreeze/flowmoments, but this time it was almost sad. Time, place, things to do,a life still open. Overwhelming in a way. Where do we go from here?

9/25/2016It seems that the first thing I feel compelled to write hereanymore is a commenton the weather. To be sure, I initiallystarted this entry with "Today is anabsolutely beautiful fall day." Maybe it's an attempt to leave markersthat will goose my memories when I read this in the future? WillI remember the felt texure of this "absolutely beautiful fall day"?The description ispretty bland. I'm not sure what else I can say, though, except to slatheron more adjectives. It's a gorgeous fall day! It's simplystunning! (all of these are true, by the way.) Am I providinga tangible context for these remarks? Nah...I did finally carve a few minutes away from the start-of-school intensity(and it seemed especially intense this year for some reason) andmanaged to get the recording sessions from last month on-line:AUG-2016I also put up these three recordings:GK-bradshouse-aug201done with Ron Kostar, a Roosevelt neighbor down the street. I guess Augustwas fairly productive.One more thing to report, since I'm in a reporting mood:Family Vineyard,a small, 'boutique' record label run by Eric Weddle, released a bunchof the old punk-rock music we did back in the late 1970s:Dow Jones and the Industrials package set(scroll down to the promotional video; it's lotsa fun!)Included in the package is a 7" EP featuring Your Truly and some of thevery early music I did:Mr. Science EPThe activities surrounding the official release of these records byFamily Vineyard included a series oflive concertsback in Indiana. I was unable to attend, but we came up with a nifty idea.I joined the band 'on stage' via Skype for several songs. Even with thehuge timing-disparity, it worked! Several people in the audiencehad taken videos of the shows; this is from the Indianapolis concert:Latent PsychosisThe URL above is to an instagram account, so I have no real idea how longit will be valid. It was great fun to do, though! My friend Dave Fultonapparently videoed the whole Indianapolis show, so hopefully we'll getgood documentation from his efforts.There seems to be a resurgence of interest in these older tunes.Stay tuned -- another release from some other Indiana bands is plannedto come out soon. Wheeee! I was young once!

10/15/2016Family travels! Last weekend Jill and I flew down to the Gulf Coast ofFlorida. Bro-in-law John had arranged a surprise for my sister. Thisyear is their 25th wedding anniversary, so John had close family andfriends arrive in Boca Raton where we surprised Brenda at a lighthouseon the tip of the island. The event was to renew their wedding vowsto each other. She was very, very surprised! But fortunatelyit was a good one (I'm not sure Jill would ever forgive me if I tried thiswith her).Despite the fact that Hurricane Matthew was hitting the eastern seaboardat exactly the same time, we arrived with no problem, and the weather wasactually very nice. We stayed in a famous place called the GasparillaInn:where we also had a great dinner after the renewing-vows ceremony. Theinn is also a favorite of the Bush (presidential) family, but they stillallowed Jill and I to stay. It was a delightful time.Right now I'm in Seattle, having a grand time (grandpop!) with babyShai. I hadn't seen him 'live' since the beginning of last June. Myoh my how he has grown! And what a guy! Loads of smiles, and a lot ofdirect engagement with the world. We've been having a blast, playing withthings like "the floating monkey head in spaaaace" and other happy toys.This is life.Two weeks from now Jill and I will head over to Helsinki to check onDaniel. We knew this would be a time of intense traveling for us, butit's all good. We're also firming up plans for the holidays, somore travel ahead. Good travels, though!All is going well at Columbia. As I said earlier, the start-up waspretty insane, and there hasn't been a whole lot of let-up. I think I'mbarely managing to stay on top of it all, but some things may havefallen through the cracks. Ha, if I'm not even aware of them, do theycount? Classes and students are really good this year, though. Withpeople like Dave Sulzer, Miller Puckette, Ben Holzman, Miya and Terryaround, the CMC is a hoppin' place. More on Center goings-on later(including a koto workshop we did last week). I've also finished a newpiece, but haven't done the final mix or set it up on-line yet. Whata dummy! I guess the fun for me really is in the creation and production.I do like listening to my older pieces -- I think my mother and I areamong the few who do -- but I think I like making them even more.

10/20/2016Instead of posting a set of photos from my recent trip to visitLian/Itay/Shai, I thought I'd put up some videos! Hey, we livein an age of ubiquitous media, right? This is my latest contribution toubiquity.The first is me playing "Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey" with Shaithe first day I was there. The second and third are actually notfrom my visit; they were taken the Monday after I left. Itay andLian were participating in theGrace Hopper Conferencein Houston, TX. They took Shai along for the fun. And what fun heseems to be having! I wanted to include these because I love thosehappy sounds so much. He is one Smiley Boy

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