O Quingentésimo

As expected from all time one of best offbeat actor Sanjay Mishra. Movie explored the frustration, complexity , competition a side actor has to face in a wonderful way.

Har Kisse Ke Hisse Kaamyaab (Netflix) - It's true that the lead actors create the impressions that make movies memorable. It's the hero, heroine and villain that bask in the limelight, create a glorious career, make pots of money and leave a legacy behind. "Har Kisse..... Kaamyaab" is not about them though, it is about an artist Sudheer (Sanjay Mishra), an aged character actor who has done innumerable roles of a wide variety in his younger days, but has no achievement to boast about. He lives alone in an ordinary and old apartment in a sedentary life until one day during an interview he is told that he needs only one more film to reach his 500th appearance and that could be exemplary to the young generation of his home town. It isn't easy for him to reconnect and get his touch back - he is rusty, obsolete and fallen far behind in the race for recognition, but his ego feels bruised at the contemptuous attitude he faces at the hands of the new crop. It's for him to come to terms and settle down with reality.

It's Sanjay Mishra all the way - his diversity and flawless rendition fills the canvas for a wholesome entertainment. The first half is comical and lighthearted whilst the latter is thought provoking and serious, tugging at the heartstrings for the ageing professionals who have to run so much faster to stay relevant.

The start of the film where a displeased Sanjay Mishra is expressing in yet another "Yellow journalistic" piece, is so biting it chews out what's wrong with the Indian society today when it comes to treating and recognizing artists. These journos are good at "buttering" up senior artists by requesting their "punch lines/dialogues" yet salivate the moment the current crop of "next gen" enters into the fray. The old phrase, "Hair today, gone tomorrow" can easily be retro-fittted as "Here today, gone perhaps tomorrow" because that's what Kaamyaab is all about and it's scathing to see Director Hardhik Mehta go all out with the story and screenplay writing.

A lot of the film reminds of a scene in Kamal Haasan's "UTTAMA VILLAIN (2015) (The Optimal villain) (TAMIL). Haasan played an aging superstar who has a brain tumor in the film, but the scene where he attends a Talk show, the emcee asks him, why he continues to pursue cinema? Haasan in a cheeky way, remarks, "It's for the applause." Sanjay Mishra's Sudheer and his 499 film legacy, while insisting on going for the 500-record, is near-reminiscent of Haasan's goals. For applause.

The film also doesn't shy away from taking potshots at the nepotism (yes the debate has been beaten to death), and at the short-minded audience, who seek fame given the current trends no matter how kitchen-sink and dismembered (read: Remixes of your evergreen Hindi songs..*cough cough T-Series*) your memories are.

But the icing on the cake was the climax. I think next to SADMA's climax (where Reshmi (Late Sridevi) fails to recongize Somu (Haasan) ), this one is another gut-wrenching one. Here, the annual day function organizers are in pinch when the rising Rahul Chopra is running late to make a "appearance" so they reconigize Sudheer and request him to entertain the audience for 10 minutes. Sudheer obliges and in doing-so the audience is indulged by finishing the punch dialogues. The punch-in-the-gut moment was when Rahul Chopra finally appeared, the spotlight suddenly shone on him, as Sudheer ended his act, on the stage ground, while the curtains close on him. To the Indian mentality, character (senior) artists not given their dues are just here today, gone tomorrow when another (star) shows up. Sad realities.

In the age of Kapoors/Khans and their share of fans bombarding them, why not pay the same to the character artists. After all, they are what they are, characters.

As expected from actor of sanjay mishra caliber a nice tribute to all those wonderful supporterting actors

Beautifully made, a picture of our so called "side actors", they are the pillars of bollywood and this film is tribute to those 1000s of artists. A must must movie. Sanjay Mishra again on fire as always.