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Kick-start V-Day with Bollywood's hottest kiss
Aseem Chhabra recommends viewing Band Baaja Baraat, which boasts one of the best kissing scenes in Indian cinema, this V-Day.
In the middle of director Maneesh Sharma's debut film Band Baajaa Baarat the young leads Bittoo Sharma (played by a charming new actor Ranveer Singh) and Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma) have had a long night of celebration.
Their wedding planning business has finally taken off, so they decide to party in their office -- dancing and drinking with colleagues. As the night progresses, the colleagues depart, leaving Bittoo and Shruti alone.
In the early part of the film there had been some attraction between Bittoo and Shruti, at least from his perspective. But the two had decided to set all of that aside in the interest of their career, business and partnership.
But now the two are drunk, and suddenly Shruti places her head on Bittoo's chest as they continue to slow dance. "Rest karne de (Let me rest)," Shruti tells Bittoo, as he tries to move her away.
First confused, he then puts his arms around her and kisses her forehead.
Kick-start V-Day with Bollywood's hottest kiss
A few seconds later Shruti opens her eyes and looks at Bittoo. He straightens her hair, while she slowly reaches closer to his lips. Bittoo appears a tad startled, and then moves close to Shruti, dropping a quick kiss on her lips.
They continue to stare at each other, confused, yet enjoying the moment. Shruti has a slight smile, while Bittoo breathes the air around her lips. In absolute silence these moments seem rather long, until the two start to kiss passionately and a quiet piece of piano starts to play in the background.
BBB has been praised by critics and audience for a number of reasons -- the natural performances of the lead actors and the film's authentic Delhi-inspired dialogues. But it is also by far one of the most sensual Bollywood film in a long time.
People may have seen the film when it was released in early December, but this Valentine's Day BBB should be revisited on DVD for many reasons, including its highly erotic kiss -- one of the best in an Indian film in a long time.
Kick-start V-Day with Bollywood's hottest kiss
Recently, I spoke about Bollywood films to a group of American and Indian students at Yale University. At some stage the question came up about kissing in Bollywood films.
I explained that while it was true that for the longest time kissing was banned in Indian films, filmmakers are now free to show this cinematic display of affection.
Of course it is another thing that some stars are uncomfortable kissing in front of the camera, while others may have kissed in a film a couple of times, but will avoid doing so in deference to their family members' wishes.
Aishwarya Rai, for instance, kissed Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2. Later reports indicated that the scene was deleted from the Indian theatrical prints at the behest of her popular father-in-law.
Kick-start V-Day with Bollywood's hottest kiss
BBB is the first film for Ranveer and even the three-film- old Anushka Sharma seems fresh here. They approach this film with no personal baggage, throwing themselves into the project as good dedicated actors would.
They have nothing to lose and, hence, play fully etched out three-dimensional characters, with real zest, energy. They are at once likeable, but also have shades of gray.
Their roles are not easy to play. In real life, people sometimes find it tough to stay neutral or professional with someone they are attracted to.
I am not an actor, but I am sure that in front of the camera it can be even more complicated -- acting to show one is hiding one's emotions towards another character/actor, while also playing natural as if there is nothing to conceal.
Kick-start V-Day with Bollywood's hottest kiss
Back to the kiss again -- and it is a case study of good acting. When Shruti first places her head on Bittoo's chest, Ranveer's face displays conflicted feelings. One can almost hear him think: 'What is she doing? We had made a deal that we would never get emotionally close to each other.'
But he also wants this connection to happen. What is right and wrong in business and friendship is a complex issue to display on screen, and more so when the actors and the characters they play are young.
Ranveer and Anushka give real strong and very believable performances in BBB. I do hope they will continue to play characters from their heart and not get sucked in the bizarre acting demands of Bollywood and movie stardom.
I will not give away the ending of BBB (well it is ultimately a Bollywood film from the house of Yash Chopra, so there should be no surprise or suspense). But it is a sheer joy to watch the earnestness with which both Ranveer and Anushka act out the film's climax moment.
Performances and dialogues like that remind me of why I love Bollywood films, especially the well-made romantic ones. BBB may be a very new film, but it could soon become a classic.