Sinbad The Sailor
iView Author: Jehan Handa (New Delhi, India)
Email: jehanhanda580 [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] in
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Sinbad The Sailor
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As Paul Coelho rightly said
But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you’re fighting for.”
“(8) Sinbad the Sailor Ek Jahaaz Mein Jab Chala, Mere Yaaro Sunlo Sunlo
Dhoond Raha Tha Ek Nayee Duniya Ka Pata, Mere Yaaro Sunlo Sunlo (8) “
Abhishek Kapoor a.k.a Gattu entered Bollywood with starry eyed dreams like any other actor, had the same desires as any other new entrant. Not every body has success stamped on their feet, neither did he, but who knew almost 14 years later, the same starry eyed newcomer will be the hottest name in Bollywood . But all those long years, what actually went through him is the question, the agony, the anger and the desire, to be something he deserves to. Some people accept their defeats, take up another job, and leave their desires in the corner, naturally to earn bread and butter. If he wanted, he could have taken up some 9-5, or some business executive, or some whining film critic on some unknown newspaper, he did what he wanted, and I would say he is fortunate enough to chase his dream, like Rock On, like Sinbad the Sailor. Very few people get a second chance in life, most people let them go with the wave, some people catch it and make the most of it, and he comes from the latter school of thought, he for some is Abhishek Kapoor, for some is Gattu, for some is the Rock On director, or for some Jeetendra Sir’s nephew, but for me he is Sinbad The Sailor, the moment I heard this song, I knew it was him, he deserved it.
“Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets.”
Abhishek Kapoor walked into the industry with Uff! Yeh Mohabbat around 1996, his foray as an actor didn’t garner much appreciation, though still many people touted him as the next big thing in Bollywood, what happened, did he make a wrong move, was he lost somewhere in the crowd?, or whiffed away with the wave, or was he lazy enough not to realize what his future had for him. Not many know.
As Vipin Handa (Uff! Yeh Mohabbat) said in an interview once:
“A Powerhouse of talent, and the next big thing in Bollywood, I can see him going very far”
Other acting assignments, still not appreciated, somewhere not recognized. Very few people even knew who Abhishek Kapoor was, naturally being away from the film scene for more than a decade can be a terrible move, and the malevolent media doesn’t forgive everyone and anyone. Every move he made was put down by detractors; he needed something so strong, so powerful and beautiful, that those same detractors today are dying to have an interview with him. That’s how the media works, the same man who’s Aryan was mercilessly criticized is being awarded the ‘rocking underdog’ tag.
I remember when Aryan was released, many bad mouths criticized it, called it a rip off from Rocky, a wannabe boxing flick. The only reason being the film didn’t turn out well, the same reason nobody liked the Taj Mahal, Mehbooba or God Tussi Great Ho. If a film has to go through so many obstacles and problems, it looses its finesse; same happened with Aryan, but alas it was Abhishek Kapoor, a man with an inglorious repertoire, so why not thrash it even more!
During Aryan’s release, I gave a small line to sum it up on a leading website
“Aryan is a decent attempt by a debutant director. It has style, it has emotions, it has fights and a high decibel conclusion to the story. Although the movie is no great shakes, it still leaves a punch. The film may not be able to stand in the box office for long”
Nobody expected Aryan to set the box office afire, but we watch films, not for the music, or the technical finesse, or how good the actor looks, or how successful the director’s past has been. It depends on the film, some may agree, some may not. I would say, thrashing the thrashed is an easier thing to do, than thrashing a demi-god. After all when we all saw Saawariya, we saw what happened. It had style, lavish sets, super hit music, a godly director, a lovable cast, and everything a film needed to be stamped, super hit, but what happened was, the film sank like the Titanic.
But As Gattu Sir says:
“You just need to channelise that negative energy in a way that works positively for you, even though it’s unbearable and painful”
After all these 12 long struggling years, one meet at Excel Movies changed his life that nothing else could. Naturally if a genius like Farhan Akthar supports you, the talent is sky high. I feel if life gives you a chance, hold it, make the most of it, and prove the talent to the world. Failure should never put you down, and success should never put you too high. Also Abhishek Kapoor is an example, for many of those people, who have lost faith in getting their second chance, making their Rock On!!, and many of those people includes somebody from my own family. We all have people, who want to be singers, dancers, actors, designers, their dreams shatter due to various reasons, so if you are fortunate enough to take that second shot, then do so.
“(8) Sabne Kaha Tha In Samandaron Mein Jaana Nahin, Khabon Ke Peeche Jaake Kuch Bhi Hai Paana Nahin(8)”
After completing his ‘vanvaas’ of sorts, I saw Rock On!! Ka promo, and it infused a feeling that either this is going to be a path breaking film, or this is going to be a disaster. Either people won’t get it, or this will create euphoria among the people. It naturally did everything what I wished for, who knew Rock On!! Would be all over the world, people on the road will be singing its songs, and they will turn out chartbusters. After the super success of the film, those same detractors were all over him, or they put him off as being ghost directed, or they called it a Farhan Akthar’s film, but alas come on guys admit it, he at last set the ganga afire. At the Rock On!! Concert I remember, when I saw him dancing on stage, effortlessly, laughing, smiling, it seemed as if now it was at all those people who put him down, it was a dance of final amusement, telling everyone, that he is the hottest thing in Bollywood Inc. Now he is on the driving seat, and has everybody behind him, he could either create a super promising future, or he could let go this chance, and sit down. Being bloody sure he forms part of the former school of thought.
“(8) Woh Saahil Tak Aa Hi Gaya, Woh Manzil Ko Paa Hi Gaya (8)”
All I could sum up for him, is that nothing that Abhishek Kapoor has done in his inglorious past, alas Aashique Mastanes and Shikaars, prepares for the sheer guttural glory and power of Rock On!!, and I wish him many more super hit films, and success, that he deserved all these years.
Tags: "rock on", Abhishek Kapoor, Aryan, Jeetendra, Uff ye Mohabbat, Vipin Handa
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
That was really inspiring, Jehan.
Even though I don’t think Rock On! was such a great movie. For me, it was one of the most overrated movies of today’s times. Below Par Acting (except Purab Kohli), cliche’d screenplay, and failed attempts at wit, were just some of the reasons which riddled the movie.
But putting that point aside, I think it’d be wrong to villianise his detractors. After all, the sooner you make your mistakes the better it is. Abhishek did make mistakes. And it’s really good that a lot of people now think he’s rectified those mistakes. However, He’s surely an example of great determination. And provides an excellent inspirational story.
Call it bad luck or whatever even after the success of Rock On people still can’t believe that it was actually directed by Abhishek!!!But I think he is here to stay specially if he gets the casting right like he got for this one.One of the sad things about Aryan was that it was terribly miscast.Had he signed Aamir Khan and any good actress(Sneha was awful) the results would have been different.
SINDBAD THE SAILOR!!!!!!!!!!!! Well i didn’t had any idea that he is the same actor who debuted witha flop movie in 1996 but i was aware that he is somebody who is known to many big shots in Bollywood, now tagging him the fighter or somebody who struggled is actually not justified. Anyways movie was OK for me, nothing great. BTW was you an assistant in RO
@Anindya..Abhishek was not a chooser with Aryan..he was getting to make a film and the Khan household backed him..that was enough..they suggested Sneha..and he had to go along..yes, it was miscast. Excel Entertainment got the act for “Rock On” right..gave the right actors..took some bold steps..the movie may not get purists to applaud..but as a fresh entertainer and some worldly insights, it has done fine..far etter than our average blockbusters!!
I saw Aryan on TV about a year ago and thought there were some creative directorial ideas in there.
Sohail’s main crime in that movie is that he is not physically young enough-looking to sell his role. I would have preferred a lanky new guy just out of acting school who would have come off as a real underdog. I did appreciate, however, that Sohail himself is also an underdog who apparently never gives up.
Your post made me appreciate second chances anew.
Doing PR here ain’t such a bad idea, but it is also not a good idea either. He might have his bad days and he might be having his good days, but such an dishonest piece on somebody is not something people might not look upto.
Let the guy’s work speak for itself. Do not go ahead doing PR pieces here, an underdog, an outsider etc etc.
Load of crap.
An interview with Pubali Chaudhuri, the co-writer of Rock On:
http://howrah.org/entertainment/32620.html
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There was no publicity for her, no adoring articles, considering the fact that she was instrumental in writing out the whole thing. Writers are invisible.
Thank You Guys, I appreciate your comments. No Gunjan, i wasnt an assistant, and sidharth thats ok, more than a PR, it was just proving a point, i feel that people love you with success, and whateva else.thanks.
rock on
.
redemption
.
i don’t like this concept of redemption
.
what has been done
can not be undone
.
if you have fucked up your life
take the responsibility
and go ahead
.
this redemption thing is infinite regress
where it is going to stop
.
at thirty five
you think that you took the wrong road at twenty five
but you could have not reached to the age of twenty five
in the vacuum
you must have made some decisions
.
at twenty five
you think that what if i had chosen marketing over finance
.
at twenty three
you think that what if i had taken the admission in some other institute
.
at twenty one
you think that what if i had told my classmate in graduation that i love her
.
at nineteen
you think that what if i had told my higher secondary classmate that i love her
.
at seventeen
you think that what if i had told my high school classmate that i love her
.
this is childish
trying to fix the past
.
maturity is in taking the responsibility
and try not to repeat same mistake again
.
go
and tell your neighbors wife that you love her
@ Vishrant – I was just gonna say its easier said than done, but it has to be done when I came to the last line.
The whole brevity just fizzled off…you had nothing to say I guess…
@ vishrant..
hahahhaha….ROTFL
@Vishrant: Bhaisaab! kya baat hai. Mixing venom with humor..!! lol..!!