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Movies with a Gujarati flavor!

Comments  Comments [ 23 ]    By Hershi J. | 03 October 2013 | 11:12pm



Talking about Navratri, the first thing on mind would be Gujaratis and Garba. Keeping the Navratri celebrations in mind, BollyCurry brings its readers, movies with a definitive Gujarati touch to them.

The very first movie on the list would be the iconic Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam directed by none other than Sanjay Leela Bansali. With its setting in a Gujarati family located on the borders of Gujarat and Rajasthan, this 'musical' movie goes into extreme depth on Gujarati culture and Garba. The story revolves around Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and her family, belonging to a conservative, traditional Gujarati family and how an Indo-Italian foreigner, Sameer (Salman Khan) manages to win them all over, and ultimately leading to the main conflict.  From costumes to settings, language to extended-family surrounding, and background music to its lyrics, this movie is highly supported by events, relishing the Gujarati touch upon its viewers. 

The much hyped movie serving as the Bollywood debut of popular TV actor Sushant Singh Rajput's, Kai Po Che!, hits the list just by virtue of its name. Ranging from the movie's name, which in itself is Gujarati, meaning "I have cut the Kite" to its setting and surrounding, this movie gives it the touch needed for the metaphorical concept it plays. The song 'Manjha' once again reminds its viewers of it's connection to 'Uttarayan', a festival widely celebrated in Gujarat. The title gives the concept a justification due to its intense friendship, communal political fights and the innocence it kills. Whilst the movie may have nothing to do with Navratri directly, it relates to Gujarat and making it on this list.

Life Partner, a 2009 Bollywood romantic comedy, is one which cannot be forgotten when talking about Navratri and Garba. Bhavesh (Tusshar Kapoor) belongs to a strict Gujarati family, whose father is a tough follower of traditions, forcing him to opt for arranged marriage. Meeting with Prachi (Prachi Desai) and her family, the alliance is fixed and he eventually falls in love with her. The marriage celebrations are greatly backed by Gujarati traditions and Garba along with suitable music and beats of the drums. The conflict, though, begins due to Prachi not being an ardent follower of traditions and wishing for a modern life. Despite dramatic events and numerous hurdles, their love for each other does give them a happily ever after .  

The much remembered and much loved film, Kal Ho Na Ho, often known as KHNH, is based on the love triangle of Naina Catherine Kapur (Preity Zinta), Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan) and Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan). The Gujarati touch comes in the form of Rohit's heavily Gujarati family. There are numerous scenes where the diction and dialogue, and even stereotypes, feed into the Gujarati aspect of the movie. Perhaps the ultimate cultural moment is during Naina and Rohit's engagement, where we see a mixing of the Punjabi and Gujarati cultures. Another aspect hard to forget from the movie would be 'Kanta Ben' who appears time and again, given the wrong assumption of Aman and Rohit to be a romantic couple - adding a comical spice to the heart-felt movie. 

Directed by then debutant Rohit Dhawan, brother of actor Varun Dhawan and son of director David Dhawan, this film, Desi Boyz revolves around two completely contrasting personalities: Gujarati-rebel Jignesh 'Jerry' Patel (Akshay Kumar) and simpleton Nick Mathur (John Abraham). One fine day, both find themselves jobless and Nick, who is set to marry Radhika (Deepika Padukone) finds himself pushed into being a male escort by Jerry - eventually leading to a conflict between the friends and the couple! However, this leads to Jerry seeing the error in his ways and turning his life around to become a good, responsible man. The ending being a typical one where everything sets in place and everyone living happily, marks the message of how one, while enjoying the freedom, should not go to extremes, a Gujarati or not.

What's Your Rashee?, a social comedy film about a US-based NRI Gujarati Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja) who, in search, of a partner based on zodiac signs, comes to Mumbai whereby he meets 12 different characters (all of which are portrayed by Priyanka Chopra). Each of the 12 characters represent the 12 zodiac signs respectively - whereby he falls for Sanjana, who has the best of all 12 signs. While the movie may not focus much on a Gujarati backdrop, it does however involve a typical NRI-Gujju character influenced by the typical family members and the tradition of arranged marriage. 

An upcoming movie, Ram Leela, which is to be released on 15th November is said to be yet another adaptation from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet as set in Gujarat. A recent movie Isaaq, is said to have a similar concept. We judge that what sets this one apart is that it is being directed by the respected Sanjay Leela Bansal, who seems to have a different way of looking at and presenting stories. Though the difference is not yet obvious judging from the banners alone, it can be assumed the movie shall have a touch of Gujarati costumes and much possibly its background as well, with spice of Gujarati inspired music. Judging from the character names Ram and Leela, it is safe to assume it shall have authenticity of Gujarat's background in it. Let us see!

While not all of these movies have a prime focus on Gujarati celebration of Garba, they do feature characters, symbols, beliefs, traditions music, etc. that are a major part of the Gujarati culture. Such additions and concepts in movies allow the viewers to get a taste of the true diversity of India!

BollyCurry now signs off, leaving its readers to think about their favorite aspect of the Gujarati culture. 

Writer: Khushi P. 
Editor(s): Komal P. and Gunia M.
Graphics: Preet K.

Copyright  BollyCurry

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