A letter to Prem Ratan Dhan Payo's director, Sooraj Barjatya
Let me introduce you to my wife! She is a "Barjatya fan" and otherwise a feminist. She has studied in Miranda House which is known for transforming free birds, who cannot be tamed. She is headstrong, independent, a solo traveller and heads a radio station.
In the Barjatya jargon, she is an "ultra mod" woman. She has been behaving schizophrenic after she watched the trailer of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. All her "ultra mod-ness" has evaporated! I stare at her amused, as I write this letter to you. She is playing the Prem Ratan Dhan Payo jukebox on her laptop and it's on loop. I feel alienated in my own house and keep thinking that my soul is wafting through some pious "dharmik sansthan". I asked her, "Do you really like such regressive stuff?" She laughed and said, "Kids like to see 'dinosaur parks' because they are extinct, so I like to watch unbelievable sugar-coated joint families which don't exist! ... It's the same!"
So Mr Barjatya, I actually poured a glass of wine and watched the trailer at least 50 times to decode your magic. I must pat you for the few but precious things which only you can do! Your contribution is beyond cinema... Like??? ... Like:
1. Dystopian family to utopian family: I must congratulate you as you are releasing the film just after the release of Yash Raj's Titli. What a relief for "aam janta". From a dystopian family film Titli and Talvar to a utopian family film, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, it would be a delightful experience for the melodramatic Indian families. Families are breaking in India like how! Dare, Titli tried to show the "shame shame" stuff of the families. That's a route to get to the festivals, sir. Who cares about Cannes' Film Festival? Biggest festival for us is Diwali festival, sir! Here is your chance to entice them, this Diwali, to live in a joint family, singing and dancing!
2. Women's empowerment: You are working really hard for women's empowerment, sir! Housewives are not meant to just watch the family politics-laced serials on their TV sets. They also have a right to see the same melodrama on a grand scale and on a bigger screen! Your film, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo looks like a mega budget, Maha Maha Maha episode .Women get a chance to step out of the home and watch "serial jaisi film" on a bigger scale with bigger screen! Also they don't have to serve "garam phulkas" to family members while watching their favourite serial, they can eat expensive samosas and popcorn while watching it in the theatre! What a leap for empowering our TV-struck housewives!
3. Promotion of Indian snacks: In the era of McDonald's, Dominos and Starbucks, you still promote Indian snacks like gujiya, mathri, chiwda, barfi, chakli etc. Your song "Aaj unse milna hai" has the names of all the snacks. Salman Khan promoting our Indian sweets is pride of our nation. Salman looks amazing, dancing with various "mithais" and "namkeens" in his hand as he gets to meet his beloved. I had experienced a Marwari thali, Marwari laddoos, Marwari hospitality, but never ever had I seen everything combined and played out on a Marwari musical track like this.
4. Employment to Indian junior artists: We thought Bollywood was changing and elements like chorus and back-up dancers had vanished. All you can see now are Russian dancers groove to Honey Singh and Badshah tracks. But, you have brought it all back, sir! 1,000 men and women dancing again with our hero and heroine! You are generous enough to get them employment. You can become the biggest employer right after Indian railways!
5. "Chakallas" for sari shop owners: India is a country of a lot which loves to get inspired. Hum Aapke Hain Koun! inspired every other woman to wear Madhuri's "Didi Tera Devar Deewana" sari-blouse combo and the "green-white" lehenga of "Jootey Do Paise Lo" fame! With your film release, sari shop owners will have special "Maithili sarees". Maithili is the name of the character Sonam Kapoor is playing in PRDP! They will do super-duper business again and again you will prove that you care for Indian costumes too!
So now, let's come back to my wife! She has snatched the wine glass from my hand now and while taking a sip is tweeting her pictures with Salman Khan. I had no option left than to write this letter to you, even as she constantly plays the song "Jalte Diye" and sips the wine and enjoys her re-tweets.
Thanking you,
Pankaj Dubey