SIGHT & SOUND
Positive show
Amita Malik

Considering the glut of monotonous serials on television, I am glad that a film, made specially for TV, has been shown more than once by Sahara, who I think commissioned it. This is the courageous and timely film Phir Milenge by Revathy and where the main cast, both box-office draws, are given offbeat roles, which they play with sincerity and restraint.

Phir Milenge is about HIV positive people and such a serious movie cannot be shown too often, I have seen it twice on the small screen and with respect. It is about a man in the last stages of AIDS, played by Salman Khan, who resists temptations to overact, and his girlfriend Shilpa Shetty, also infected and sacked from her job for being HIV positive, but ostensibly for inefficiency when she has long been one of the most efficient workers in the office.

Phir Milenge spreads the message of AIDS awareness

The lawyer who fights her case is Abhishek Bachchan, who has a lot of talking, including courtroom scenes, to do. He does it with restraint and in a fine voice. For the first time, one notices that his voice at times sounds like his father’s if not quite as deep. And that is a tremendous asset. Remember that Satyajit Ray chose Amitabh Bachchan, when he was not as famous as now, to do the narration for Shatranj ke Khilari. I have always felt that the best part of Amitabh is his voice, which is impeccable. I am glad he has handed it down to his son. To return to the film’s plot. It is a powerful and convincing argument, both personal and, more importantly legal, about how to protect emotions as well as the rights of patients suffering from AIDS . It holds out a ray of hope at the end. Used as we are to melodramatic courtroom scenes in the commercial cinema, it is cheering to see the dignity and finesse with which they are handled here.

No praise can be too high for Revathy’s courage in making this film and the maturity and compassion with which she has handled it. And for those who sponsored it. In some ways, it is also Salman Khan’s finest hour and also Indian TV’s. At least, someone has had the guts to carry a social message of the highest importance. I hope the film will not only be repeated frequently on TV but also shown publicly and to groups that can benefit from it.

I am not a frequent watcher of MTV, although I enjoy its music from time to time. Obviously it is for the young, which I certainly am not. But I tuned in with interest to Cyrus Broacha’s interview with Shah Rukh Khan, which rather ambitiously was publicised as a battle of wits. I had hoped it would not sink to frivolous depths. And I was not disappointed. Shah Rukh was being interviewed as the Youth Icon of the Year and, far from being his sometimes artful self, Cyrus took the interview seriously and asked some good serious questions.

It was lively, Shah Rukh and Cyrus were both witty and constructive throughout and never did the interview become solemn or boring. Well done, MTV, not only for your ever-lively music but also for good interviews worthy of the so-called general channels.

Dr Simran of Astitva is really sinking into a morass by over-protecting her obnoxious brat of an adopted daughter who she should lay across her knees and give a good spanking. By overindulging the brat, she has been subjecting her own long-lost beautifully behaved daughter to endless cruelty. Hope she extricates herself soon. Tailpiece: Another lovely John McEnroe quote about Andy Roddick: "He exhausts me by just looking at him". Certainly, you would agree, for the way Roddick rolls on the court, wipes his sweat with his shirt and keeps on fidgeting with his cap.