Dear Madhur, since your last film 'Satta' the people knew that you were making a film 'Page 3'. Though a nation of one billion people has a very small segment that is familiar with this term of socialite life getting canned and relived on print in the tabloid fashion on page 3 of English dailies, you are not the one who will go by the set notions. You try to be archetype in your every films as in 'Chandni Bar' that was your first attempt of locking horns with the so-called masala movies. And, you won. Your heroine Tabu got many awards.
It was a peak for her and then she faded away. Then came 'Satta' and Raveena Tandon got the same attention, but the end result was the same. They could not carry on with the strong portrayal of the lead female character or rather the protagonist role that you made out of them. Is it the turn of Konkana Sensharma now? Will she or will she not get the same praise, craze and blaze from the viewers is a million dollar question to be answered by the people of this country where there are still millions unable to write their names, what to know about 'Page 3'. However, the plus point for Konkana is that she has already won a national award for 'Mr. And Mrs. Iyer'.
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Madhur, you never thought that what you made does make a much sense to the people who want to change this entire ruckus but are only onlookers like Deepak Suri (Boman Irani), the editor of the daily newspaper where Madhavi Sharma (Konkana Sensharma) works. Yes, there are millions of girls who want to live independent life in small towns. Konkana manages to get a dear friend in Pearl (Sandhya Mridul) and works in the newspaper edited by Suri. And, Madhur, what a way to uncover the section of society that thinks it is the real India.
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People of India will remain thankful to you to make them not feel gatecrashers in the parties where the who's who of glitterati and chattereti turns up every night. They have a good time in rooms packed with models in scanty clothes and hunks with bulging muscles plus the unlimited champagne and caviar added to their merriment. And, it is no surprise that the party goes on until wee hours. So what if there are still people who don't get their daily need of potable water and try to hide their morality behind gunny bags.
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Madhur, you have dared show us India that was invisible for Ashutosh Gowitrikar when he made 'Swades'. You show the girls what they have to face in Bollywood if they want to become actresses. Gayatri (Tara Sharma) is an example. But is it the only picture of Bollywood? You know it better and so does your ex-colleague Preeti Jain (The actress who has filed a criminal case against Madhur Bhandarkar for making her share bed with him in lieu of the promise of a role that never came her way).
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But, we are also thankful to you that at least you could find something positive in our society in characters like Vinayak Rane (Atul Kulkarni), the crime reporter, and the Police Inspector Arun Bhosle (Upyendra Limye). Kudos to you that till the time people like you are there in Bollywood, it will remain connected with real India. This is also important because filmmakers like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai have lost contact with the common man. They are tired of making their hero an NRI; they prefer to delve in the past rather than make something from today's world for the future.
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Besides, you brought the two leading singers, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, back in one film. In Konkana, you have given a new face to commercial cinema. She has more appeal than Nandita Das had after Smita Patil. Sandhya Mridul helped your film much, and she is a brilliant actress. Maybe someone like you will make a film that gives her a larger and meaningful role and discover her real talent. The Tara Sharma episode is not aptly weaven in the story. But, Boman Irani is superb. He is going to be next character artist of the filmdom after Paresh Rawal in the current lot.
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However, there are many technical jargons. The film is very well conceived but not similarly canned or edited. Besides your direction, the other important thing is its music. Upyendra Limye is the new find for Bollywood and he can get some good roles after this. We shall be as happy as you if your film attracts good crowd in metros because in interiors where people don't understand the term 'Page 3', it will be difficult for them to come and watch. We wish the second portion of your film had been the lead and screened before the interval. The transition of Madhvi from Page 3 reporter to a crime reporter is a surprise, but the shock is that you wasted 'Huzoor-E-Aala' song on a ramp show. Anyway, cheer up and keep trying we are with you and as you say in this film, don't forget that you have to be in system to change the system. Best of luck!
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