I already posted a very long post which covers about the first two thirds/three fourths of the film.  And then I stopped so I could do the last twenty minutes in which everything EXPLODES all at once.

So, when last we wrote, Rishi’s birthday party had turned into a massive battle, when Ratna yelled at Rajat for inviting Anu (the woman she thinks he is having an affair with), and Rajat responded by yelling at everyone else and throwing out the guests.  And then Fawad turned on Siddharth and yelled at him, and Siddharth almost went off on Fawad, but his mother stopped him, and instead he went off with Alia and wandered around a cemetary for a while.  Or else that scene happened earlier.  I am confused.  And I think the scriptwriter/director was as well, because I am pretty sure a lot of these scene orders were only decided in the editing bay, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a ton of stuff left on the editing floor.  Especially because you can already see all sorts of things in the songs videos that aren’t in the final movie.  Including one whole song.

(Apparently, let’s not nacho after all)

But the next scene I remember clearly, is the arrival of the extended family.  Rajat’s younger brother, and his three kids, all considerably younger than Sidharth and Fawad.  A teenage boy, a younger girl, maybe around 13-14, and a little girl, maybe ten or so.  The picture of the last generation is becoming clearer, Rajat married young-ish, worked hard, stayed in the family house, had two kids, and now takes care of his father.  His younger brother got a better education, built a career, married later, and is now in a more secure position in his life.  On the other hand, everyone loves these kids.  Sidharth in particular just lights up when he is playing with the little girls.  Everyone is better with them around, looser, happier.  Part of it is that Rajat and Ratna are back to putting on a show, certainly.  But part of it seems to be that some of the weight and attention is taken off of them, Siddharth is no longer the young screw-up but also the adored older cousin, Ratna is no longer the ignored wife but also the respected Bhabhi, Rishi can be entertained by his other son, not just Rajat.  And Fawad can finally fade into the background a little.

This culminates in a relaxed family evening in the living room, complete with song.  It’s kind of the equivalent of my favorite song from Dil Dhadakne Do, when everyone is briefly able to remember why they can have fun together some of the time.  The teenage boy is being teased about his guitar, Fawad is reminded he used to play, and he plays the song Rajat sang to Ratna at their wedding.  Rajat serenades her again, she gets up to join him, you can see the love that they used to have.  Later (or earlier?), the whole family had gotten out photo albums, moments in time.  Ratna is still looking at an album while getting ready for bed.  Because of the extra people in the house, they have to share a room again.  She looks at photos from their honeymoon, and they remember old jokes and fun times.  When he did a towel dance for her to apologize for working on vacation (Rishi reference!), and so on.  Finally, lying (laying?) next to each other in bed, with the camera tightly focused on their faces, they ask each other if they can ever get it back, if they can save their marriage?  They, finally, have a moment of connection, touch each other’s faces, and the camera pulls back, implying that they might actually be making a connection, taking the first steps back to each other.  Again, I find this whole vision of a marriage completely believable.  It’s not saying that just a quick serenade and a night together can fix everything, but that one moment of honest connection is a good start.

Meanwhile, in the other room, the boys are making their own connection.  Siddharth says something about Fawad being the favorite, Fawad says “our parents love us equally.”  Both boys keep a straight face for a moment, and then completely crack up.  A moment later, Fawad gets serious, and argues that they really do love Siddharth, but Siddharth brushes it off and ignores him.  Yeah, I’m with Sidharth.

The next morning, Wasim and his assistant are outside getting ready for the family photo.  Rajat is moving around the bedroom, looking for his keys, saying he is going to quickly run the car over to the garage.  Ratna asks if he can’t wait to do that, since everyone is ready for the photo.  Rajat says he would rather do it now and not think about it.  This scene is one of the reasons you cast Ratna Pathak and Rajat Kapoor, because just their body language and voices are so different than in every other scene together, even though the dialogue is the same.  They are softer with each other, moving lightly and happily, they don’t kiss or say “I love you”, but it is all there for the audience to see.  They are floating on a cloud of love right now, after their connection from the night before.  It’s not comfort, they aren’t right back to where they were before all their problems came up, but there is a delicate truce in place.

Meanwhile, in another room, Sidharth is getting out an outfit for the photo, pulls out his novel, and notices that there is a pen stuck in the middle of it.  He starts going through the house, looking for Sidharth.  He finds him out front and confronts him, Fawad asks what he has done now, Sidharth starts screaming that he has looked at his novel, he is going to steal it, Fawad says that he was just trying to help!  His agent has been trying to reach him!  It’s good work!  Ratna runs out and gets between them, pulling Sidharth aside, arguing that it isn’t time for this now, let it go.  Sidharth can’t take it and storms off.  Fawad says he has to leave too, he needs to sign papers, something about the house purchase.  Ratna is left alone.

Sidharth goes to Alia, upset, not sure he can ever forgive his family.  This scene is really well done, he is complaining, and then he overhears a phone call Alia takes from a friend and realizes it is her birthday and she never told him, or anyone.  Alia sits down and gives a monologue, the camera on her face the whole time, explaining that it is related to her parents death.  They died on her 13th birthday.  They were flying back from Canada, where they went for her uncle’s surgery, and they called while getting on the plane, and she was mad because they were missing her party.  So she said “Don’t both coming home, I don’t need you, I hate you.”  The plane went down and her uncle didn’t tell her for two days, not until the bodies were found.  And she wishes she had said anything to them, “I love you.  Please come home.  I miss you.” anything.  Sidharth looks pained and leans forward, like he is going to kiss her or hold her or say “I love you.”  And before he can, she jumps off the bed and asks for a moment.  Then runs into the bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror and tells herself “you have to tell him.”

Before we can see that, we go back to the house, to see Ratna talking to her sister-in-law, offering to email her some recipes.  Only, she can’t get at the computer, so she goes into Fawad’s room to use his.  She sits down at the computer, and we just see a brief glimpse of an instant message pop-up, something about vacation photos.  The photos are there too, so Ratna opens them, and we see just sort of side angles of the photos, a group of people with Fawad in the middle with a white man with his arm around him, two guys holding hands and looking at the sunset, and so on.  Ratna looks stunned.

(Kind of like this.  Actually, it might be this picture.  It’s very clipart-y)

And just to round out the secrets being revealed, Fawad is riding in a car and suddenly asks it to stop, saying he saw someone he knows and just has to say hi.  He jumps out, and we see the car with the distinctive dent sitting in front of a house, a house we’ve never seen before.  I had no idea what was happening at this point, but one of my friends I was with said “Oh no!”, because she is smarter than me.

Yep, Fawad walks up to the door, and we see Anu talking to Rajat through the door.  Anu is saying “you say you make a decision, and then you change your mind, just tell me!”  Rajat is trying to say “I wanted to tell you, I’m sure now.”  And then they see Fawad, and Rajat ducks into a room.  Any opens the door and tries to play it off, Fawad ignores her and walks right by, into the house, finding his father sitting on the bed in the bedroom.  He turns and walks out again.  Rajat runs after, saying its over!  It’s only been for the past year. He was just there to say good-bye!  Fawad can’t handle it, pointing out that he stood up for him!  He said it couldn’t be true!  Ratna has to know.

I am pretty disgusted myself.  He not only had an affair, he made his wife feel bad for suspecting it.  And he strung his mistress along for a year promising to leave his wife (apparently).  Plus, from the little dialogue we heard here, I don’t think he was necessarily ending it with Anu, I think he might have just been talking about maybe ending it.  Still trying to have it all, the wife who loves him again back home, and cooks him dinner and takes care of his father and cleans the house and provides the savings for his business loans, and also the mistress who he can escape to.

Fawad arrives home first and goes into his room to find Ratna.  She immediatly asks “why didn’t you tell me?  How could you lie?”  Fawad says he just found out.  They go back and forth a bit like this, finally realizing that they are talking at cross-purposes.  Ratna says she used his computer, she saw the photos, she knows what he is. And, “Che!” She almost spits at him as she says it.  Fawad is working his face, strained, trying not to fall apart.  His aunt knocks on the door and interrupts, asking for a belt she can borrow, and then asks if everything is all right.  They both pretend it is, and she walks out, leaving them alone again.  It’s enough of an interruption for Fawad to be able to talk to her again.  This is the remarkable still close-up speech I mentioned.  It’s Fawad talking to Ratna, but the way it is shot, with him looking almost straight at the camera, it also feels a little bit like maybe it is Karan talking to India?  It’s a speech about why he hasn’t come out, that he doesn’t want to disappoint, that he has to be perfect, that he can’t risk not being perfect, not being loved, he couldn’t stand the disappointment.

(Oh Karan, you are perfect!  And also, we all already know!)

Ratna doesn’t even let him take her hand (because she is terrible), and instead just leaves the room.  Fawad follows her, pushing her to respond, and finally she turns on him, asking why she sacrificed!  Why she did so much!  If he was just going to turn into [her face twists in disgust and she doesn’t finish].  Fawad finally snaps and asks why she is so worried about him, why doesn’t she worry about her own marriage!  And Ratna slaps him.  And he bursts out that Rajat was at Anu’s this morning.  And just then, they are called out front because it is about to rain and it is time to take the picture.

Everyone lines up for the picture.  The younger brother’s family and Rishi are casual and comfortable.  There are a lot of undercurrents between our main family.  Just as Ratna and Rajat are trying to stand next to each other, Sidharth arrives, and Wasim directs him to stand next to his brother.  Wasim asks them all to smile, and tries to get Rajat to put his arm around Ratna.  She gives him murderous eyes.  He asks Sidharth and Fawad to stand closer, they are brothers, not India and Pakistan!  Sidharth can’t take it either.

Ratna breaks first through, saying she can’t do this, and running into the house.  Rajat takes off in his car.  Fawad tries to follow her and she turns him away, Sidharth says something to Fawad about what he has done, Fawad asks what he has done, and Sidharth snaps and grabs him, not over the novel, but over the kiss with Alia.  Finally, they explode into a physical fight and Wasim pulls them apart, and Sidharth bursts out with the truth about the novel (I think?  This part goes awfully fast), and Fawad tells him he never read his first novel!  Ratna gave him the idea for the plot!  And both boys realize what happened.

And this is the point where, for me, they should have embraced and forgiven each other and we should have had a nice scene between them.  But instead, we get a scene between Ratna and Sidharth.  Why?  She is a terrible mother!  And more importantly, why would Sidharth want to talk with her, instead of with his brother with whom he finally has a chance to reunite and with whom he just had a massive fist fight?  It feels like the director needed to get this Ratna scene in and just had it happen here, even though it doesn’t really make sense for the characters.

(this.  I wanted this here, instead of a Ratna scene0

Anyway, horrible Ratna tries to explain herself.  Saying that Sidharth was always quitting things.  That he started college and quite after six months.  That he started adventure sports, and quite.  That he was going to be a photographer, and quite that.  She just figured, he was never going to finish his novel, he wasn’t serious about it, and Fawad needed it.  !!!!!!  This woman is horrible!  Sidharth responds by pointing out he just kept trying different things, trying to make her proud.  She looks stunned.  What kind of mother doesn’t realize her child would want her approval?  Blech!

Sidharth leaves her in the rain while she calls after him.  Fawad, of course, she has already written off as disgusting and worthless.  Abandoned by everyone else (rightfully so), she turns back to her husband, picking up the phone and calling him.  Rajat hears the phone ring while driving, leans over, picks up the phone, and everyone in the audience braces themselves, because we know what happens when someone leans over to pick up a phone while driving!  And, yep, he gets hit by a truck!

And cut to two days later.  Funeral.  Alia is there, but Sidharth walks by her and ignores her.  The younger brother’s family is normal sad, interacting with everyone, but Fawad, Sidharth, and Ratna are still awkward and more than just sad.  The other family finally takes their leave, and we see just Ratna and Fawad and Sidharth sitting together at the table.  Ratna leaves, and Fawad and Sidharth are left alone.  Fawad asks Sidharth to stay back, just a little longer.  Sidharth says he can’t (by the way, what the heck kind of visa does Sidharth have?  Necessary bartender visa?  That also lets him visit India for indefinite lengths of time?), and Ratna doesn’t want him anyway.  Fawad says that Ratna doesn’t even talk to him.  Sidharth says she will get over it.  Fawad says she won’t and then, painfully, tries to come out again.  He starts out by saying that he wasn’t interested in Alia.  Or Preet (the girl Ratna introduced him to at the party).  Or any girl.  He will never have a girlfriend.  And then he stops talking.  What happened to “I have a boyfriend”?  “I’m in love with a man”?  Or just a simple, “I’m gay.”  I’m thinking, that got cut, just in case, just so it can just barely get past the censors/religious right.

The worst part of the scene for me is Sidharth’s reaction.  Which is partly just that Sidharth isn’t a good enough actor to play it right.  He goes for blank surprise and closed off emotions.  Instead of, for instance, sorrow, fear, confusion, empathy, love, or any combination there of.  And the words are even worse, all he says is “I’m going to need some time.”  WHAT THE HECK!?!?!

I understand your brother coming out is emotional, but your father JUST died.  Like, days ago!  And you just found out that the bitter thing you have been holding against your brother for years wasn’t his fault.  Wouldn’t your grief and regret override any temporary issue?  Unless it’s an actual heartless and wrongheaded old-fashioned disgust, like Ratna has.  But come on, Sidharth was a bartender in Jersey!  He’s got to be more mature than that.

Oh, and then we jump ahead for months, through the magic of montage!  Ratna is crying herself to sleep every night.  Fawad is celebrating his birthday with his friends and boyfriend in London (yay Fawad!  Stay in London!  Never come home again!), and Sidharth is going in to a meeting with a publisher who agrees to publish his book, and asks what inspired him to change the ending.  Sidharth says it was some good advice.  Okay, that’s just stupid.  The resolution to the brother storyline is going to be that they can respect each other as artists?  What happened to accepting sexuality or loving each other as brothers or uniting against their terrible parents or talking out anything at all instead of just repress repress repress?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI-k03QYedE

(At least the jump song sounds pretty?)

On the other hand, it’s a pretty clever lead in to the next bit of the film, which is the director digging deep and dragging up a happy ending out of somewhere just so the movie can make a profit (and so people won’t yell at him as much as they did after Ekk Main Aur Ekk Tu).  Both Fawad and Sidharth get a message on their iPads (Apple!  The brand trusted by successful novelists and struggling bartenders!  And affordable by both!).  They open it, and it is a video message from Rishi.  Rishi totally nails this scene, by the way.  In an interview, he talked about how he absolutely hated working on this movie, because the director made him do so many takes from every angle, so it could be edited together later.  But this scene, because it is supposed to be a laptop video, he got to do in one take, and it is so so good.

It’s pretty simple, Rishi tells them that their mother is miserable, no matter how she tries to hide it by finally starting her business, she cries herself to sleep every night.  That no matter what issues they have, they have to come home.  After Rajat died, Rishi doesn’t know how long he has, or how long he wants to have, and please, come home just once more before he goes.  So, they come home.

Of course, the two brothers don’t get a conversation together, because who cares about them, no, let us all worry and worry about how Fawad will be able to win over his horrible selfish mother.  And how Sidharth’s horrible petty mother will convince him she loves him a little after all.  Sidharth goes into his room and finds it restored to how it was before, his posters up, his camera on the shelf, and the photos he took arranged on the wall.

Fawad goes into his room and finds Ratna, wanting to make sure he is comfortable.  She asks how he is, is he doing well, and finally brings herself to ask, “and, your friend, he is well?”  Fawad says yes, and reaches out and takes her hand.  Ratna plays this scene very well, sort of huddled in on herself like she is delicate and ready for a blow, but putting herself out there anyway.  I still have no sympathy.

You know what bothers me?  It’s the selfishness of it.  I understand that Ratna might have a hard time with Fawad’s sexuality, but her immediate response was “what have you done TO ME?”  There was no concern for his happiness, his morality, his soul, his safety, his ability to be accepted by society.  It just went straight to “how could you do this to me?  how could you cheat me of the perfect son that I was promised?”  The same with what she did to Sidharth, it wasn’t that she thought it would make Fawad happier to have a successful novel and Sidharth wouldn’t care, it was that she calculated which son would be more likely to be a success, to make her look like a success, and she gave him the help and ignored the other child.  What kind of mother does that?  Who puts her own needs instinctively above those of her child?  Yes, it is believable that there are mothers like this in the world.  I just don’t like the director trying to sell this to us as an acceptable way to behave.

(this is a healthier mother son relationship than Ratna in this film)

So how does she make up for it?  She puts Sidharth’s room back the way it used to be, now that he has actually forced himself on her notice and looks like a son who might benefit her.  And she tries to connect with Fawad, against her will, only going so far as to ask about “his friend,” not his boyfriend, not Nicky, now that she is lonely and needs his constant support and worship again.  I find it believable that both boys would forgive her at this point and that she would forgive them, actually I find all her actions believable.  I just don’t buy into what the director is selling, that this is a happy ending.  I think two months from now, she is going to be sniping at Fawad about how he let her down by being gay through lots of little passive aggressive comments, and back to basically ignoring Sidharth.  Unless his book is a huge success, in which case she will make more huge gestures, but forget the little things. Worst of all, once again, their family has become all about their parents with no connection between each other.  The boys never have a conversation at the end, they never come together, they are still left isolated, taught that their mother is the only person they can rely on.  Which is why the boys are going to let her regress back to demanding perfection of one and being uncaring of the other, because they think they owe her, and they have been trained to compete for her love and to believe that there is no one else who matters.

Oh, and also Alia is back.  This part I find completely believable.  Sidharth goes over to visit her, they talk, and they finally have that kiss they almost had back at the party where they first met.  Because they are meant to be together no matter what, and any fight was just a minor bump in the road.  They’ll be fine.  And I desperately hope that Alia marries him and then spends the next 30 years standing up to Ratna every time she disrespects Sidharth.  In fact, I am kind of disappointed we never got a scene like that in this movie.  I also am very disappointed that we never got to see Nicky in London take on Ratna and Rajat.  I am guessing he is very familiar with the dynamic there, if nothing else he knew enough to constantly talk and chat and skype with Fawad while Fawad was in India, because he knew he needed the moral support.

The next morning, the rest of the family has arrived.  The younger brother goes in to wheel out Rishi’s chair.  Ratna starts to leave the house, and can’t, and her sons reach out and draw her into the yard.  Wasim has set up the camera again and there are chairs lined up.  Ratna almost can’t do it, but then a large package arrives (I think maybe Alia brings it?), they open it up, and it is a stand-up of Rajat, a picture from the party, him in a pink boa.  Everyone laughs.  Oh good!  They can have a family photo that shows off their “unconformity” while still being secretly so conventional that they almost exiled their gay son and are still hiding a lengthy infidelity!  And flash, and END.

You know what would have been a better ending?  Forget Rajat, set up two extra chairs and have Nicky and Alia be included in the picture.  Make it not about white-washing the past, but honestly looking at the future.  Heck, make it more like Karan’s own short film for Bombay Talkies.  Have you seen it?  If not, check it out.  Now that’s an honest and hopeful ending.

(Ha!  Found it!  Thank you youtube!)