Up Close and Personal with Jonty Rhodes

Taking interviews has always been fun, but when the interviewee in question is fielding legend Jonty Rhodes, it’s a different issue altogether.

Eager to meet him, I waited for him to arrive at the decided time – 1.30pm. However, half past one came and went, and Jonty only made an appearance at 2.10pm, 20 minutes before his fielding camp at Mumbai’s Western Railway Cricket Ground was supposed to start. While waiting for him though, I had, if not a fun time, an interesting one at least. From 1.30pm to 2pm I walked around the perimeter of the grounds and, being dresses formally, got suitably stared at by the sportspersons present there. Since it was the ground at the Western Railway Sports Association, all the sportspersons were present. It was only post 2pm that the kids who were going to be a part of Jonty’s camp started arriving. No sooner had they entered the premises than they started worrying about their clothes and gear. One of them insited on changing into his protective guard right there, in the passageway! He would have, too, had it not been for one of the tall men, quite possibly one of the WR athletes, who put forth the idea that the child change in the men’s dressing room.

Did I say tall player? Oh my, were they tall, and how! Just that morning I’d been speaking with some colleagues about how Indian men aren’t tall, and here were these 6’4”, 6’5” specimens, whose sole agenda seemed to be to prove me wrong. And boy, were they good looking!

So, after all this, Jonty finally arrives and I went up to himt o ask about the interview. Turns out, he wasn’t aware there was supposed to be one! And since he was short on time, he couldn’t spare a few minutes then. Damn! I was told to return at 5.30pm, after the camp got over. Would he give me an interview then? Only time would tell...

Review: Ferrari ki Sawaari

Cricket. This one word, one sport, manages to achieve what no man working towards peace can ever hope to achieve. As a sport, cricket is able to bring the atheist to his knees in prayer, turn the hostile neighbour to Mr. Congeniality (in case his TV set is broken and yours happens to be an LCD).

Not surprisingly, then, innumerable movies have been made on the subject – be it the brilliantly made Iqbal, or the slightly older and entirely forgettable Awwal Number, and several others in between. Now, there’s one more addition to the list – Ferrari ki Sawaari. The movie ropes in the concept of cricket at two levels. One is direct, with the protagonist’s son being a cricketer-in-the-making himself. The second is more subtle but as emphatic; and why wouldn’t it be, when it has to do with the car that belongs to the God of the game himself – Sachin Tendulkar’s Ferrari.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s success as a film producer has always partially depended on the caasting. Half his battles are won even before the filming of the movie starts, such is the man’s knack for picking the perfect actor to play the perfect role in his movies. Ferrari ki Sawaari is no different. Boman Irani, as Behram Deboo,  blows your mind as the cynical has-been cricketer. Sharman Joshi, the second generation Deboo, is also convincing in his role as a Parsi man who works as a clerk in a government office. But neither of them surprise the viewer, because both are preceded by their reputation as being extremely fine actors. The one that truly surprises, however, is Kayo Rustom Deboo, played by Ritwik Sahore. Little Kayo is probably the best child actor to have surfaced in a long time, a truly great find. Besides playing his role as a young, honest, motherless child who loves his father to bits to perfection, it’s not just his acting that draws the audience. There is something unspeakably endearing about the child and one can’t help but fall in love with him the moment one sets eyes on him. Sahore is here to stay, and hopefully, unlike many other child artistes who showed promise but were never heard of again, we will see much more of him in the future, to the benefit of cinemagoers.

The supporting cast is equally brilliant, with the slightly corrupt but still likeable politician (played by Vijay Nikam), Seema Bhargava as Babbo Didi and the politician’s son (Nilesh Divekar) doing their roles brilliantly. A special mention must be made here of Aakash Dabhade, the lucky guy who plays the role of Sachin Tendulkar’s servant and who plays a pivotal role in the Ferrari getting stolen. His timing is brilliant, and expressions spot on. Deepak Shirke plays the role of the security guard as the toughie with a soft interior very well.

And of course, for all car fanatics, this movie is sure to be a treat; after all, the great man had agreed to lend his Ferrari for the movie and it is a living, breathing character in the movie. The movie also accomplishes to deliver good laughs without resorting to innuendos and dirty jokes; a movie which is truly child-friendly – although the Vidya Balan number could have entirely been done without, considering it added nothing to the plot, even by way of an ‘item number’.

Paresh Rawal’s cameo as the cricketing legend who made it big under dubious circumstances is nothing to write home about. To nitpick, how Rustom hopes to avoid the news of him stealing Sachin’s car from reaching the big man’s ears, is a big question mark, given that the media is all over it. In that alone, the movie is a little shortsighted. And of course, we’re left confused as to where Boman’s talents as a cricketer lie; at different points we’re introduced to his brilliant batting and bowling abilities. Oh well, maybe he was an all-rounder. And the movie could have done with a stricter hand in editing.

But none of these seem to matter as the ‘niceness’ of the movie makes everything else worthwhile. Another parallel to the plot is the relationship between father and son (two generations of them). The first is simple and sweet – a relationship based on love, faith and mutual respect. The second is more complicated, the father and son both leaving things unsaid and suffering in silence. But it is the relationship between Sharman and Ritwik that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Their love makes you smile at the inanity of a father deliberately looking for a traffic cop to pay a fine to for running a red light, just because he wants to set an example for his son. But what would seem plain stupid in other circumstances is made sweet because you believe the father when he does this. The son in turn is as honest as the father, and completely understanding of the father’s difficulties in spite of his young years. The sacrifices the father makes for his son, and his disappointment when he fails to give the best of everything to his child, is bound to touch your heart (and if you’re someone with poor control over your tear glands, like me, then you will even shed a few tears).

Ferrari ki Sawaari comes as a breath of fresh air, a feel-good movie that every person should watch. The narrative is typical of Rajkumar Hirani and his clean, simple form of storytelling. The man who managed to portray roadside lingo without using degrading language, continues to do just that with this movie too. Finally, it is cricket that brings everyone together in the end in the way that only cricket can. This movie is truly depictive of India for what she is – a cricket-crazy nation. If you are a cricket fan, this movie will bring you much joy. Once again, cricket plays the unifying role in our lives, albeit in the world of cinema.

Yes, so hang me, it's in defense of Sachin!

A friend suggested I read this post, not without good prior warning. The warning: not something you will like, but check it. So check it, I did. What was the post about? It was pretty much a question mark about Sachin Tendulkar's greatness. Yes, the author does say, "This isn't a criticism. Though it probably should be. This is more like a plea," but the question that he raises remains the same. Why did Sachin fail us at Lord's?

Now, yes, I am a self-confessed psycho Tendulkar fan who doesn't understand how or even why anybody can have anything against this man. But that aside, I can read a negative post about him (after much hemming and hawing) if it is constructively written. This one, though, I believe isn't constructive at all. It mentions that Sachin has the ability to block out everything else and concentrate on his game. A commendable quality indeed, the author agrees. But, he argues, Sachin should have taken the energy at Lord's and allowed himself to be driven by that energy to play better than he did. So does that mean, in effect, that the author wants the God to give up his perfection to garner the energy at Lord’s? Give in this once, to achieve what the author might think is a more desirable result, just to give in every time? And had he done so, who’s to guarantee it would have helped?

Yes, Lara won the Windies that game against Australia, but hasn’t Tendulkar not stuck around irrespective of his personal health to provide support to a side? One may argue about the validity of this claim, but I am certain if asked, a lot of the Indian players will agree that having Tendulkar stand opposite them provides a sense of reassurance unlike any other. Is that any less of an achievement that Lara’s? Lara won them that one match. Again, I do not mean to detract from Lara's achievements. He's one of my favourites too. But Tendulkar won us countless by just ‘being there’. Just let it be known that the man got a century in the first innings at Lord's while suffering from a fever, and I rest my case.

Again, I have nothing (other than complete dumbfoundedness, if it’s a word) against those who are opposed to Sachin. And this author seems not to be one of those men. Pray why, then, this post? You are looking for one Tendulkar moment of glory at Lord’s, I just look forward to the moment when it comes, no matter where.