Kapoor and Sons since 1921: Reviews and BO Thread - Page 103

Originally posted by: Serotonin

That unusual thing about Fawad Khan's gay character in Kapoor and Sons

DURGA M SENGUPTA@the_bongrel

|22 March 2016

You've already encountered this spoiler, but if you want no more, stop reading now.

It takes a lot for Bollywood to not mess up a character or a setting with any homosexual undertones. So it is no surprise that Kapoor and Sonsis making us cry out in joy for getting it right. For a change however, it isn't just the break from mediocre Bollywood depictions of gay characters that we are celebrating.

In the (never-ending) times of Section 377, here's a film that has a completely self-aware gay character. One who is not the only point of drama in the film. "Main thak gaya hun apka perfect beta banke," says Fawad Khan's Rahul Kapoor after his doting mother - played to perfection by Ratna Pathak - snoops on him and discovers that there is no girlfriend in his life, and probably has never been.

Rahul tries hard to convince his mother to get away from her crumbling marriage and to move to London to live with him. "Maa, aap aake toh dekho. Kaise rehta hun. Kiske sath rehta hun." He wants to ease her into his reality, one that she cannot even imagine as she dreams of the perfect bahu for her favourite son.

Rahul's relationship with each member of the Kapoor clan highlights his nagging need to come out to them. But they are all grappling with their own problems and seem to be too self-absorbed to notice his desperation.

Still from the film.

His father, played by Rajat Kapoor, is a frustrated middle-aged man who is always at odds with himself for not being able to financially support his family. Rahul acts as his confidante, the only person he can turn to. But the man barely knows his son.

Rahul's strongest love-hate relationship is the one with his brother, Arjun - essayed by Sidharth Malhotra - who sees him as the sole reason why he always got the short end of the stick.

And yet, late one night after a particularly hilarious pot-smoking session with Grandpa Kapoor - played by Rishi Kapoor in all his wrinkly, prosthetic glory - the brothers find themselves opening up to one another, sharing a bed after years. Rahul tries once again. "Ek baat hai jo kisi ko nahi pata..." he starts. But his brother is fast asleep by then.

The family does not seem to realise that Rahul's visit means more to him than just a trip planned around his 90-year-old grandfather. They seem to have no idea of his conundrum as he mulls over how best to come out to them. But is his personal turmoil more significant than the problems the other members face? The film doesn't judge.

And that's the beauty of it. Kapoor and Sons normalises homosexuality by portraying Rahul's character to be just as troubled as everyone else in the film. A cheating husband, a jealous wife, a lonely grandfather, a lonelier young woman, a wronged brother and a struggling artist, all come together in this film to rid Rahul's story of stigma. We are all dysfunctional and far from perfect, the film seems to say, while establishing that imperfection is okay.

As is the case with most families, the dysfunctional Kapoor clan too is brought together by a shared loss. And when Rahul returns to face his emotionally-numb mother, she remembers to ask him about his "dost", the only direct reference that the film makes to Rahul's partner.

Not once is Rahul Kapoor called "gay" or "homosexual". And with zero labels, Kapoor and Sons showcases his character in the most human way. And yes, that is indeed a feat worth celebrating.

Originally posted by: Serotonin

Kapoor & Sons is the family drama Bollywood needed

We all have secrets. Once they gradually come out as in Shakun Batra's film, things fall apart.

ART & CULTURE

| 4-minute read | 22-03-2016

SUHANI SINGH

@suhani84

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We can pick our friends and lovers but not our parents. Try as hard as we may, truth is that we inherit behavioural traits from our family. You think you know your family inside out but you don't. While watchingKapoor & Sons (Since 1921) those were some of the thoughts that crept into my head as the Kapoor sons - Rahul (Fawad Khan) and Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra) - arrive at their family abode in Coonoor.

The Kapoor family is nothing like the postcard-pretty and pleasant hill station where home is. In fact things are at boiling point. The cracks in the family are all too visible. Sunita (Ratna Pathak Shah) and Harsh (Rajat Kapoor) are a constantly bickering couple; she taunts him for his floundering career, he is unhappy with her demanding ways.

While the duo's son Rahul is a successful author in London, the younger one Arjun is killing time as a bartender in New Jersey as he waits for his first novel to pass the publisher's test. (The foreign locations assigned to the two young sons are one of the reminders that this is a Dharma film.)

The only person with joie de vivre in the Kapoor household is the naughty 90-year-old patriarch (Rishi Kapoor). Entry of a happy-go-lucky girl, Tia (Alia Bhatt), adds zing to the proceedings.

Rishi Kapoor plays a 90-year-old patriarch in the film.

Written by Shakun Batra and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, who earlier collaborated on a romantic comedy with a twist Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu,Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) is exactly the family drama that Bollywood needed. Audiences will be reminded of Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Dobut unlike that film thankfully there is no wedding, no dysfunctional behaviour and the focus is on a middle class family whose troubles and woes feel real and not overblown issues. It's one of reasons whyKapoor and Sons resonates with audiences.

Rahul is the "perfect bachcha" as evident by the immaculately kept room he returns to in Coonoor. Much like Monica from Friends who always felt she wasn't loved as much as her elder sibling Ross, Arjun thinks he has always been "second best". Arjun's room is taken over by his mother and is now home to a gym cycle.

Alia Bhatt and Siddharth Malhotra in a still from the film.

While Rahul is playing peacemaker, trying to finish his novel, talking to his bae on phone and also finding a property to build an artists' retreat, Arjun here spends most time wooing Tia and cracking jokes with Dadu. His novel's draft arrives - so real is Kapoor & Sons that Air India misplaces Arjun's baggage - but he isn't bothered. Of the family, Rahul feels the more defined character and the uberdapper and more talented Fawad Khan gives him much depth.

It's when Batra and Dhillon are looking into the details that Kapoor & Sons impresses most. Boobli the wrestler is a memorable little character. IPapad, Dadu's lingo for iPad, drew laughs. The Mandakini wet sari cut out was a lovely, amusing touch. So was the lollipop as change and an apology. The innumerable mention of "potty" is very much a Punjabi thing. The wrecked car could be a metaphor for the broken family.

Fawad Khan is the new Rahul in the Karan Johar production.

The rendition of "Chand Se Mehbooba Ho Meri" at a family get together is the welcomed temporary balm to the scars.

Also read: 12 Indian films you can't miss in 2016

One of the film's best lines is given to a supporting character. In a key scene in which the family is about to have its family portrait clicked, an angry Arjun stands apart from Rahul.

"India Pakistan ke border ke liye jagah chodi hai kya?" says the photographer-friend. It's a poignant statement made more so relevant given the real national identities of Khan and Malhotra. It's with such subtle moments that Batra and Dhillon make what could have been yet another family saga so meaningful.

Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921) isn't a flawless film. The cross cutting between dramatic scenes doesn't always work, the songs are superfluous, and Tia despite Alia's best efforts feels like a convenient, crowd-pleasing filler than an integral part of the film. But one can't overlook the film's strengths.

There is no such thing as a perfect family.

"I can't apologise for who I am," says Rahul to his mother. Humans are fallible creatures. And there is no such thing as a perfect family.

We all have secrets. Once they gradually, and predictably, come out inKapoor & Sons, things fall apart. But then you accept people for who they are and learn to forgive and forget and move on. After all, family matters.

Kapoor and Sons : Fawad Khan just devoured rest of the cast onscreen.

She is a host on ARY in Pak