Trailer release of Don’t Be Shy: Be Plushy and Unshy
Trailer release of Don’t Be Shy: Be Plushy and Unshy
Alia Bhatt was the centre of attraction at the EndCourt of Taj Land’s End, Bandra, Mumbai, where the trailer of the trailer Amazon MGM Studios India’ latest OTT film, Don’t Be Shy was released on 11 September. And don’t get misled by this opening, because she was NOT there as only an actress. In fact, nobody mentioned that she had a role in the film, but look-up the Internet, and there she is, in the cast. Also on stage was Alia’s sister, Shaheen. NO, Shaheen is not acting in the film. The siblings have teamed-up and turned producers, and formed a company, called Eternal Sunshine Productions. In fact, the company was formed in 2021, “to back fresh stories and new creative voices.” And, with this noble credo, they are giving it a first try in a film called Don’t Be Shy, which will have its OTT streaming première on 25 September. Through this debut, the Bhatt sisters, both daughters of Mahesh Bhatt, want you to “Turn back the clock and step into a nostalgic journey through the friendships, first loves of an unforgettable memories of college life.”
Step into a nostalgic journey? First love? Unforgettable memories? Obviously, the film is aimed at Gen Z. While such nostalgia might still tingle the hearts of the 30 somethings and 40 somethings, many of those in older age-groups are struggling to prevent clocks from turning back, and to forget those painful memories. They cause nothing but heart-ache and depression. But there is no denying that a large number of college students have a crush on their lecturers and/or class/college mates, ever since co-education became the norm in most cities of the country. Currently, there are some 5 crore college students, counting both boys and girls, in India. We have an estimated Generation Z population of 377 million to 400 million people, making it the largest Gen-Z population in the world. 26% to 28% of India's total population fall in this category. Just to repeat the Gen Z definition for the benefit of those who do not know the meanings of Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, Gen Z represents individuals born between 1997 and 2012 (roughly 14 to 29 years old).
Alia Bhatt exited Gen Z four years ago and Shaheen Bhatt left it behind some nine years ago. So, why are they making a film about Gen Z? Could be three reasons: Their own crushes and flings are still fresh. Then they might have just loved the story narrated to them by debutant co-writer and director Sreeti Mukerji (age not known, but has been working as assistant director since 2013, so she is not a Gen Z person) hooked them. And lastly, if a film is targeting Gen Z, which, at 28% of the population, is likely to motivate them to watch the film. To be sure, it could be all these three reasons.
Okay, so I named the three debutants. Now let’s come to the four other debutants: the main cast. Two boy Gen Zians and two girls: Aarushi Bajaj, Piyush Khati, Bianca Arora, and Ansh Duggal. Aarushi, named SHYamili Das in the film) is the title girl, who has got her life sorted out and planned the future, Piyush is the guy with the guitar. Bianca is a free-bird, while Ansh is the good guy. That makes seven persons on the stage, six of who made pre-planned and stylishly executed entries from the left and right side of an expensive stage. Joining the seven was Nikhil Madhok, Director and Head of Originals, Prime Video (SVOD) and Amazon MGM Studios India, whose presence and encouragement mean the world to the unit. He is always present at all events organised by his company.
A make-shift construction, costing at least one more zero than your estimate, was designed at the End Court, where starter stuff was ‘savouried’ before the event began, about 90 minutes after the scheduled time. The more attractive dishes were kept under wraps, till the end of the event, lest some opportunists consume (more than) their share, and slip out without attending the proceedings inside the hall, which had a wooden floor. It creaked when anybody walked in to take a seat or when somebody got-up to go out for a breather or a wash-room break. Soon, it was house-full. When the compère took to the stage, he revealed that he was 6’ 1” tall, 33 and a graduate of Jai Hind college. And when Alia, Shaheen and Sreeti had come on stage, he asked all of them whether they would consider casting him in their next production. They either took it as a joke, or ignored it, or smiled or mumbled something inaudible or just kept mum.
One change was welcome. As a de rigueur part of all trailer releases, everybody who speaks praises the others to the sky. Nobody dares to touch upon anything vaguely unpalatable and gives out no spoilers. The compère assured the audience that this time, that ‘activity’ would not be part of the itinerary. Of course, he was making a very tall claim, but, to my surprise, the back-slapping and eulogising was kept to a minimum. He then conducted a quiz and a truth, not dare game, in which the stars participated, carrying placard, with Guilty written on one side, and Not Guilty written on the other. One of the questions was, “Did you have a crush on any of your professors?” and a question aimed at Bianca, “Did you identify with the character you played?” She replied in the negative, but added that while shooting, I did try to identify with her. A series of some 4-5 questions were put to the panel, which tested them on the vocabulary of some terminology, used by Gen Z, and included words like “mindrot” and “aura farming.”
Soon, the trailer was screened. It was as confused as the state of the minds of Gen Z, when they have just finished college. It was screened again, but even that did not help make out the narrative. Fast cutting, which is nothing new, and a disjointed assembly of shots, failed to trigger keen interest in the film. Apparently, it is about two ‘couples’, who are quite different in their approach to and expectations from life, and their roller-coaster journey. The focus is more on Miss Shy, who, rather than living-up to her abbreviated name, is cocksure, and not shy at all. One of the two lead boys tells his Mom that it’s time for him to do what Sid did. She is all lost, “Who is Sid?” He is surprised, “Sid, as in Wake Up Sid. Haven’t you seen that picture, Mom?” This was reference to the slightly iconic 2009 film, Wake Up Sid, starring Ranbir Kapoor. Not really funny, but a section of the audience (invited fans, I presume), seemed to enjoy every bit, and the compère said that he is hooked on to Gen Z platforms 24 hours a day x 3, because he watches stuff on his mobile phone, his laptop and his TV, concurrently.
Outside the hall, in an area ear-marked for catering to the both, the stomach and the mind, there was candy floss in three flavours, ice ‘gola’ (crushed ice, wrapped around a stick, with a sprinkling of sweet, fruity, crush on it, ‘pani puri’, and Indian delicacy, which has a ping pong size, hollow ‘puri’, with some liquid and solid contents, all strictly vegetarian, and free Don’t Be Shy caps, in various double colour fabrics, for one and all. But to get one of these, one would have to queue for half-an-hour, select one’s preferred colour, pick two rubber stick-ons from a selection of about 8, watch them being ‘embossed’ on the caps, with the help of an electric machine, which worked on heat. Voilà! You have been capped! One witty gent, who stood in the queue behind me, remarked that “Doling out caps was equivalent to planting them on your head, and there is a proverb in Hindi, which goes ‘topi pehnayee’, a slanted reference to being conned.
There was a smorgasbord laid out in an L-shaped table layout. You could begin at one end, by savouring the pani puris, and then move on to Thai and a few other Indian dishes. No dinner, but something like very high tea. The only problem was that the 7 minutes you spent awaiting your turn to be served pani puris were enough to clean sweep at least four items on the menu. Well, stocks do run out, and 5* hotels do not require much time to replenish them. Unfortunately for me, three of the four items out-of-stock were the only items I am allowed to ingest, besides, of course, the dessert, which still had 2 of its three items on the platter. Surprisingly, the replenishments were nowhere in sight, for at least 20 minutes. I called for the Banquets Manager, and she told me that this situation had arisen because the number of guests partaking the fare on offer was three times the figure that the organisers had given them. Some refills arrived, 30 minutes later, but cleaned out in three minutes, before I could reach the table. Seeing that I was standing with an empty plate, the lady came-up to me and said, “Sir, tell me what you want, and I will get a plate-full, just for you. I was touched by her customer service approach, but I felt that it would not be the right thing to do. I thanked her, and headed for the dessert, pastries, which had been duly replenished. Sweet teeth catered to, I left the hotel with a sweet taste in my mouth.
