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Drama on Lauh-pad-gamini

For those who don't know what is 'Lauh-pad-gamini', it means 'train' (I learnt that from Chupke Chupke). And let me re-emphasize the fact that I love train journeys. One of them is over and the other is round the corner. The reason for the upcoming journey deserves another post and I will write about it later.


If life is a journey, I would like it to be a train journey. That's what the new look of my blog says too. The other day I was talking to a friend and this question came up "How do you think life has changed you?" There are so many things but the first thing which came in my head was: I have learnt to extract joy from 'little' things in life and even the otherwise 'major' things can't keep my spirits down for long. Yes, things do affect me but I have learnt to move on.



But this post is not about lessons of life. It is about 'trains' and 'movies', which occupy a special position in my life. :)



There are so many instances where a train journey is a sub-plot of a hindi movie. The hero and the heroine meet on the train (Jab We Met). The hero dances on top of the train (Dil se). The fallen labour-union leader keeps travelling aimlessly in trains, all through his life in order to run away from his past (Deewar). The hero runs a dus-dus ki daud on railway tracks and proves that he is not scared of the approaching train (Ghulam, have to mention at least one of his movies) :)



Following are some of my favourite scenes shot on or around a train:



1) Swades: This scene was the turning point of the movie. "Paani le lo paani, pachees paise ka ek glass". The vendor, a small kid, urges Mohan Bhargav to buy a glass (or should I say a kullhad/earthen cup) of water at the station of some remote village in India. Deeply moved by the recent events, Mohan Bhargav finally tastes the water of 'India'. And with that sip of water he seems to make some resolutions which become clear as the movie unfolds. No matter how many times I see this scene, it affects me as much as it did the first time. It is one of those moments when I liked Shahrukh Khan or may be it was Mohan Bhargav.









2) Jab we met: The scene when Geet meets Aditya in train. She keeps on chattering even when the other party was least interested in the conversation. Like a helpful co-passenger she helps him out by playing a mediator between him and the ticket checker. One of the gems she utters is "Bhai sahab aap convince ho gaye hain ya main aur bolun". Now who would, in reply to that, ask her to continue speaking nonsense. And another funny one was when she asks Aditya, "Drugs-shrugs liya hai kya?". This is one of the few movies in which I was able to tolerate Kareena Kapoor. (She was good in Omkara too)






3) Saathiya: The scene when Aditya proposes to Suhani, standing near the door of a local train and in reply to that Suhani asks him "I love you, means what? Kya kar sakte ho mere liye? Train se kood sakte ho?" And he replies in affirmation, "Haan, train ke rukte hi kood jaoonga". Really smart guy.






4) Yuva: This scene comes towards the end of the movie when an anxious Sashi is sitting in a train waiting for her husband. The train leaves the platform and soon the ticket checker arrives. Performing his duty, the ticket checker asks Sashi about the whereabouts of the other passenger who is supposed to be travelling with her. What follows next is the outburst of a woman who has been suppressing her anger for too long. A woman who has no idea where her husband is at that moment. Whether he is alive or dead. Is in train or somewhere else. And in the final sentence of this 'heated' monologue she compares the half of the humanity carrying the 'Y' chromosome to a certain species. One has to see this scene to feel it. You can see the anguish of a woman. Rani Mukherji has done a good job.









5) Before Sunrise: Jesse and Celine meet on train. Two complete strangers. The conversation begins with a casual chat followed by both of them getting down the train in order to spend a day together. The sequel of the movie 'Before Sunset' sees them meeting for the second time in 10 years. Both of these are one of the best romantic movies I have seen. I would like to know what happens to Jesse and Celine, the next time they meet, if they ever do...








6) Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: How can I forget this one? I still feel like a teenager when I see the two scenes of the movie when Simran runs to catch the train and both the times, Raj is there with his arms spread out. Do I need to say anything else... :)


















Come hop in train.... :)

Comments

Angika said…
Lovely post :) I think if anyone stopped you from watching movies you'd wither and die :D I was trying to think of other good scenes on a train, but can't think of any right now, you've covered some good ones!
Angika said…
Oh I remember one! The brief moment in which Paro and Chanda cross paths in DevD! What was the song playing in the background?
JC said…
nice post...i have two more good train scenes for you...the one in 'guru' when abhishek and aishwarya first see eath other...and the other is 'the burning train', how can you forget that one..:). by the way, have you seen 'aloo chaat', go and watch it, a must watch, i was into fits of laughter yesterday.
Kokonad said…
Lovely post :) It's such a nice composition. The pictures are great too! It's like I AM in the scene :) Beautifully written, Shazia!
Shazia said…
@ Angie
You are absolutely right, I can't live without watching or dreaming about movies. Aur haan that scene from DevD was good. The director did not create an unbelievable situation to bring Paro and Chanda face to face. They sat in the train facing each other and then exchanged a smile. :)

@ Jeet
I don't remember the scene in Guru. Was it that Aishwarya had run away from home for her lover who actually ditched her? I didn't like Guru so it didn't strike me at all. Haan i wanted to mention 'The burning train'. But I could not decide which scene to mention here except that qawwali on train.

@ Kokonad
Thanks Kokonad. Such posts flow out of my head effortlessly. However I struggle for hours for writing one paragraph for my thesis. And I 'googled' for all those pictures. Thanks for liking it.
R K Bajpai said…
You touched my 2 fav interests
i.e.;
Trains
Pani Le Lo Pani

It is soul touching , just can't forget that scene , Boy ( rela India) , plateform ( with soil only), rail etc etc.
You find it on my Blog also.
http://uski-yaad.blogspot.com/
R K Bajpai said…
Yr archive will increase my specs No.
like it!
Train : Dil Se..scene !!
when Manisha shawl is blown off by the wind , misty eyes , gr8.
Izzazat : Palteform/Waiting room , both start & Climax when Shashi looks back & smile ( 30 sec scene ,3 min role effect !! )awesome.

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