An Adman makes a movie

There was a movie that was released in 1987. The movie was about an estranged couple with a child. The child develops a terminal illness and has very little time to live. The estranged couple is forced to come back together for the sake of their dying child and in the process rekindle their love for each other. The child dies. The couple stays together. Maybe not happily, but for ever after.

The movie was called Kaash. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starring Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia. Not a highly original story but extremely well told.

Yesterday I saw Balki's Paa. Well, I didn't see his dad, I saw the movie that he has made called 'Paa'. Balki is an advertising man. Quite brilliant in his own way and a force to reckon with on the Indian advertising scene. Being an advertising man, I'm sure that there are few who recognise the power of an idea as well as he does. Paa's storyline is essentially the same as the 1987 movie, Kaash. Then how can one make a new movie out of a similar story - that too with such panache that you would get huge accolades for an 'original' storyline?

Simple - for an advertising brain, that is. Paa is all about an idea. The idea here is Progeria. The kid doesn't have a regular run-of-the-mill terminal disease like Leukemia or something else like that. He has to have a disease which is extremely rare. Gives you the leeway to start posing as 'original'. But the bigger idea of the movie is to cast Amitabh Bachchan as Abhishek Bachchan's son. That is the real advertising brain at work. It is the equivalent of what the idea of 2-minutes was to Maggi. Completely irrelevant to the product, but extremely intriguing to the audience. That is the power of an idea.

In advertising, it is the idea that differentiates a me-too product. It is the idea that finds an insight into the audience and connects the brand with them. And finally, it is the idea that creates a brand. Paa is brilliant. It is brilliant because it is a brilliant idea.

Of course, it is also an extremely sensitive, funny and touching movie. The performances are probably the best you've seen in a long time. Amitabh Bachchan is absolutely amazing in his delivery and body language. You cannot ignore the makeup. The cinematography is nice, but too many wide angle shots to make Auro look smaller than he is are a little jarring. Vidya Balan and Abhishek Bachchan are superb too, and so is the lady who has played Vidya's mother. Understated performances, amazingly delivered.

Apart from this, the movie is more or less about a dream world. A world where politicians are dynamic and actually get results. A world where a 13 year old geriatric is the most popular kid in school - never ridiculed or subjected to cruelty. A world where an old-fashioned looking south Indian mother happily accepts her daughter's child out of a wedlock. A world where Doordarshan, of all channels, is able to pull off a media coup within hours. A world where teachers wear robes like they are teaching in Hogwarts or are lawyers in supreme court. A world where a chauffer of a simple doctor still wears a white uniform, complete with a white cap.

But again, that's what advertising is all about too. Picture perfect settings. Picture perfect people. You need everything to be perfect in an ad, so that people get the message without any distractions or distortions. Paa is again all about that. The only spoiler is Jaya Bachchan speaking the credits out. No relevance to the story or the style. Absolutely no reason for her to be there. She was like the ugly dealer panel at the bottom of a beautiful ad.

But at the end of it all, I must say I enjoyed watching Paa. It is a good movie by any standards. But don't go expecting it to be a Taare Zameen Par. Though Cheeni Kum was insufferable, Paa is pretty good. Overlook the obvious. Overlook the predictability. Overlook the idealism. Just enjoy Auro's wit, his cuteness. Just enjoy Vidya's compassion. Just enjoy Amol Arte's dynamism. Just enjoy Bum's pathos. Come out and forget it all. Just like a 30-seconder that you would watch on a General Entertainment Channel.