Mann - now thats an Affair To Remember
Sick day movies part two. Remember "Sleepless in Seattle" where every female character at one point starts to ramble and even to blubber about "An Affair to remember"? I could so relate to that. It is a fact that this films story is the epidome of romantic screenwriting (forget the Warren Beatty-Annette Bening 1994 humbug btw). And of course perfect Bollywood remake material. Short question: Was there an Indian adaption of it before Mann in 1999? Or did Bollywood really wait 42 years to remake that story? Whatever. Sigh. Aamir in the Cary Grant role. Manisha Koirala doing the Deborah Kerr one. Where are the bloody tissues?
Mann is a bit hard to digest in the first 45 minutes or so. Karan (Aamir) is super annoying as the ladykiller. The Rani Item number belongs to the Bollywood Fugly ouevre. And there is a terrible hindi version of the terrible "l´italiano". The comedy track on the boat annoys so much it hurts (same director as Masti or Pyaare Mohan...´nuff said) But you have to keep at it. Do. Not. Give. Up. On. It.
Because from the point on when you finally get to scenes of the first shore leave you´re rewarded tenfold. Aamir is so great when he does the "my playboy image is just a facade" and the "no compromises. I´ll give up everything for love" and the "meri zindagi khatm because she didn´t show up"
And there is Anil as Manisha´s fiance. And Manisha suffers sooo heroic. Sigh. And the climax is better then in the original. Double Sigh. And there is even a childrens-choir singing (again the Hindi version of) "We Shall Overcome"...
Ok, true. It is a chick flick. Most definitely. And still such a perfect companion for a sick day spent in bed. Just don´t forget to keep the tissues within reach. And not just one.
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7 comments:
How did I not know of this movie? I must see it right away. However, the first chunk of An Affair to Remember is my favorite, when they're on the boat. Once they hit land, it gets too sappy even for me. So your warning about the beginning of hits one makes me nervous.... Still, one of my favorite Hindi actors in a role made fabmous by one of my favorite Brit/American actors is far too much to pass up!
the beginning here is real something to be warned about...and still its such a must-see
Incidentally An Affair to Remember was a remake of a very elegant Charles Boyer-Irene Dunne movie called Love Affair (1939). Have you seen that?
@jabberwock: Yes I think I did. Years back. LOL thats why my memories of that story are in black and white... I somehow completely forgot about it. Thanx for reminding me :)
I've seen 'Mann' and it's rather cheesy (nothing new there), but Aamir is really really good in it (he gets all intense halfway through, which is always great), and Manisha isn't too bad either (especially towards the end). The climax really is the best part - definitely worth seeing. There are also some lovely moments on the island with Aamir's grandma (at least I think that's who she was).
But Baba's warning is not to be trifled with - you really will need to stick with this to enjoy it, because in the beginning of the movie Aamir is very irritating, Manisha is only slightly better, there are some very annoying attempts at comedy, and the whole thing is... just not good. I actually really liked the Rani number, though - thought it was cute.
I think Aamir and Manisha are only interested in doing remakes together - apart from 'Mann' there's also 'Akele Hum Akele Tum' (aka 'Kramer v. Kramer' with infinitely more cheese).
Mann
Flamboyant and flirtatious Dev (Amir Khan) falls in love with a simple girl - Manisha and breaks off his engagement with the rich multimillionaire’s daughter !
He reaches the streets – becomes kinda beggar – living hand to mouth - but because it’s a movie – he begins to paint and becomes a famous and rich painter. All this within one year. Manisha meets with an accident and loses both her legs. She decides not to meet Aamir after all and be a burden on him all his life.
But Aamir meets her and comes to know of her accident and marries her ! Thus gets paid for being an incorrigible ,flirtatious womanizer all his life….now stranded for life with a physically handicapped woman !!
Gosh! Why the Dream Merchants show such impossible ,stupid and mushy concepts ! Here Indian men (many of them) are dying to have extra marital affairs – are having and are pretty bold about the fact and publicly proclaim that they have couple of ‘whores’ taking care of their ‘sexual needs’ – in spite of having good looking educated wives and children ..even grand children …and here the dreamy story teller is implying that an ex-womaniser becomes so sacrificial and good that he readily accepts to marry Manisha !
Anyways, if this movie was a hindi TV serial – they would surely have shown how Amir manages to spend 2 months with handicapped Manisha and then he starts to develop an intimacy with her Nurse….Manisha comes to know but can do nothing about it and silently gulps down tears of insult….but actually has to compromise with the situation. Later her hubby will have 3-6 more affairs with his fans (he was an ex-womaniser – remember? ..old habits die hard !) – but for the society, the physically handicapped Lady is his wife. People will continue to rave and rant about the man’s commitment to his good for nothing wife …and even if they come to know of his affair with available ‘whores’ they will only call it ‘But natural’! – at least he has given the position of ‘wife’ to Manisha !!….all the dumb bimbo Indian women will then start Hero worshipping sacrificial Aamir ! Basically average Indian women are dark, short and more or less ugly to look at – but they are very learned and understanding – thus they happily co-exist with their hubby’s ‘kept’ ! Men have certainly marketed themselves very well – ages ago it was through physical strength that they kept women under them…and now its through such mushy stories……marketing false hopes and dreams….but still making women dance to their tunes !
End of Serial.
Very Emotional Movie..
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