Aa Dekhen Zara came and went from the multiplexes (that the ongoing multiplex owner v/s producers standoff brought it back is a different story. Then, you have even an Om Shanti Om, if you want.. Long live the impasse!) Ray Acharya (Jeez, did any set of parents really come up with a name like that!) is a struggling photographer - he struggles for money, he struggles with feelings, ethics, etc and finally with his RX 100 - trying to kick start it every morning.
There was a time when I rode the (legendary) Yamaha RX 100 too; during my first job as the content (as in 'happy' too) guy for Msn.co.in in Chennai. What a friend and neighbour there told me made me scared and proud at the same time: "Take care of your bike as the Tigers (the LTTE variety) use the RX 100 motor to run their boats." Wow! Wasn't that dude! Me and the saviours (to some sect) swearing by the same machine!!
Thanks to the magical camera, Ray starts seeing the future. He places bets, plays the stock market and becomes Mr Richie Ray - in less than a song. Along with the girl, he also gets a mansion-like house and a Mercedes Benz.
But why the Benns?
No doubt, a 'Benns' enjoys more celebrity clout among everybody, including nobodies. In Hyderabad, I heard a tale of a guy who comes in a battered ol Maruti 800 with a sackload of liquid cash to a Mercedes showroom and pays fully for a 'Benns car'. Such is the stature - even overnight millionaires - who just sold their land for the new airport or to an IT giant guns straight for the three-pointed star. No second thoughts. The new found aura that piggybacks on the traditional enigma is undisputed.
Ray Acharya too points to a sleek pointy; he is shown slicking around one in no time. This is the problem with too much of character study: the writers concluded that anybody, even a nobody, when he comes into lotsa money, will want a Mercedes. True. But, what should also pique their foregone conclusions should also be thoughts like 'What will look better on the character?'
Within Nitin
Neil Nitin Mukesh is a toughie... a sheep in wolf's denims. He looks sweet and nice, but throws a mean punch. He smiles coyly but can be conniving like Bunty's baap. He can win you over with his charm and witty cracks, he can also pull the respirator from you with dewy, remorseful green eyes. Such a guy shouldn't be driving a Mercedes - it is for the traditionally rich, successful, conservative OLD man, for chrissake! And Ray is none of these.
Go Punching in a Gucci
A Prado is more like it. Critics pan it as a vehicle which is somewhere of an in-between between the tarmac and the rocky road. They say it is a sophisticated SUV as there is nothing like a sophisticated SUV. Something like a gentle croc? Yes, it IS a tamer version of the Land Cruiser - both from the Toyota stables. You don't need the Land Cruiser size or power or presence, you get the Prado; like the H3 for those who don't / can't want an H2 (who are those who don't / can't want an H1). Nevertheless, the Prado is a mighty beast - a beast who got a conferred doctorate, hence is trying hard to be immaculate, well spoken and mild mannered. Take it to any off road terrain and it tackles it like a blast. Reminds you of a Jason Statham movie - throughout the chases and stunts, our dude is intact in his Tom Fords.
Put our Ray near the Prado and see them go! We know how in both cases the soft lines on the outside are just a ploy to cover up for the brute inside. Characterisation can also be about making the character look good, yeah.
There was a time when I rode the (legendary) Yamaha RX 100 too; during my first job as the content (as in 'happy' too) guy for Msn.co.in in Chennai. What a friend and neighbour there told me made me scared and proud at the same time: "Take care of your bike as the Tigers (the LTTE variety) use the RX 100 motor to run their boats." Wow! Wasn't that dude! Me and the saviours (to some sect) swearing by the same machine!!
Thanks to the magical camera, Ray starts seeing the future. He places bets, plays the stock market and becomes Mr Richie Ray - in less than a song. Along with the girl, he also gets a mansion-like house and a Mercedes Benz.
But why the Benns?
No doubt, a 'Benns' enjoys more celebrity clout among everybody, including nobodies. In Hyderabad, I heard a tale of a guy who comes in a battered ol Maruti 800 with a sackload of liquid cash to a Mercedes showroom and pays fully for a 'Benns car'. Such is the stature - even overnight millionaires - who just sold their land for the new airport or to an IT giant guns straight for the three-pointed star. No second thoughts. The new found aura that piggybacks on the traditional enigma is undisputed.
Ray Acharya too points to a sleek pointy; he is shown slicking around one in no time. This is the problem with too much of character study: the writers concluded that anybody, even a nobody, when he comes into lotsa money, will want a Mercedes. True. But, what should also pique their foregone conclusions should also be thoughts like 'What will look better on the character?'
Within Nitin
Neil Nitin Mukesh is a toughie... a sheep in wolf's denims. He looks sweet and nice, but throws a mean punch. He smiles coyly but can be conniving like Bunty's baap. He can win you over with his charm and witty cracks, he can also pull the respirator from you with dewy, remorseful green eyes. Such a guy shouldn't be driving a Mercedes - it is for the traditionally rich, successful, conservative OLD man, for chrissake! And Ray is none of these.
Go Punching in a Gucci
A Prado is more like it. Critics pan it as a vehicle which is somewhere of an in-between between the tarmac and the rocky road. They say it is a sophisticated SUV as there is nothing like a sophisticated SUV. Something like a gentle croc? Yes, it IS a tamer version of the Land Cruiser - both from the Toyota stables. You don't need the Land Cruiser size or power or presence, you get the Prado; like the H3 for those who don't / can't want an H2 (who are those who don't / can't want an H1). Nevertheless, the Prado is a mighty beast - a beast who got a conferred doctorate, hence is trying hard to be immaculate, well spoken and mild mannered. Take it to any off road terrain and it tackles it like a blast. Reminds you of a Jason Statham movie - throughout the chases and stunts, our dude is intact in his Tom Fords.
Put our Ray near the Prado and see them go! We know how in both cases the soft lines on the outside are just a ploy to cover up for the brute inside. Characterisation can also be about making the character look good, yeah.
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