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Review of a Review of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil


(Am posting this review of a review that I wrote long ago since it continues to be relevant. It is a strong reaction to the glut of poor film reviewers, who have un-arted the skill of film reviewing. Without understanding the craft of filmmaking and some history, how can anyone assess the significance of the work done in any film?)

The review of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil: https://www.newslaundry.com/2016/10/28/adhm-review-ranbir-aishwarya-show-you-how-boring-a-love-story-can-be

Deepananja Pal, there is a viewer who liked Aishwarya Rai's red shade of lipstick, there's another who liked Anushka's clothes, and another who liked the European backdrop of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) and therefore liked the movie. Your review is as useless as their opinion of the film.

A good reviewer should not use movies as a vehicle for seeking self-importance and validation. I am sorry, but there is a craft to writing a review. Just because most writers who get a platform on well-known websites or forums are third-rate reviewers, you don't have to follow their example. Learn from the best: Francois Truffaut, Peter Bogdanovich, and (closer to home) Deepa Gehlot, Rashid Irani and perhaps Rangan Bharadwaj too.

It is a tragedy that you want to see the Ranbir Kapoor of "Wake Up Sid" in ADHM. You missed the brilliance of his performance. It is a tragedy that you missed the point of the story. It was a complex, powerful idea that Karan Johar attempted to communicate to the masses, which by itself is super ambitious. He wove an untraditional story through a traditional story structure. Why did he make that choice? It's important to understand that. Can a reviewer write about a story or its merit without understanding it in the first place?  What can you really comment on if you don't get the story?

1. The starting point for scriptwriters are not dialogues, costumes or the things you mentioned about. If you think that's how it is done, write a film based on the points you mentioned.
2. Lisa Haydon played what she was supposed to play. What do you suppose she could have done with that character and those lines? Answer this specifically. There's no point targetting the wood for the trees.
3. You think only the paupers write or act or paint or perform music? The point you make about Mira Ghalib is irrelevant.
4. I would prefer if Alizeh looked ill-er.. She didn't. So what? You think filmmakers are from another planet who don't know how people who have cancer look like. Karan Johar's father died of cancer.  

Reviewing is not about writing whatever comes to your mind. It's about understanding a film's story, seeing how it unfolds, understanding the vehicles used to take the story forward and then observing how it has performed on those counts. The first pre-requisite for a good reviewer is wanting to love a film. This is the biggest challenge of a professional reviewer as they have to watch all films. If you understand story, you will have the ability to understand the vehicles use to take the movie forward. If you understand that you will be able to comment on different aspects of it. And even with all of this, it is easily possible that you may not have enjoyed a brilliant film because your mind was too preoccupied with things at home, things at work or simply with a preconceived idea of how a fiilm should be.  But if you can train your thoughts to follow processes, you can still do good reviews.

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