102 Not Out
A glance at Bollywood’s Amitabh Bachchan in the soppy but satisfying geriatric comedy “102 Not Out” would probably make you wonder if he shouldn’t be more careful with his image. Numerous attractive leading men lose their sexual confidence as they age, though this is impossible for Bachchan given that he is a star so influential in the industry that he can do anything (and has done many times) such as scowling thoughtfully through a trilogy of god father eques mafia movies (“Sarkar”, “Sarkar Raj,” and “Sarkar 3”), or playing an alcoholic with a voice like Cyrano de Bergerac who uses that voice to dub a young actor whose own voice is not sexy enough in Shamitabh.
So why does Bachchan seem so much older than his years now 75 when we see him coasting on them in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna as an aging horndog clad only modestly and moving his hips back and forth? When he showed up the first time, there was already a theme song that began to play by itself: Sexy Sam (by the way, his name is Sam).
However, learning about the plot of “102 Not Out” might elicit cringe-worthy reactions from every Big B lover: Dattatraya (Bachchan), who feels young at heart despite being 102 years old frequently tries teaching life lessons to Babulal (Rishi Kapoor) aged 75 years old. And this will be funnier for any Indian movie fan because it’s something everyone knows about Bachchan, Kapoor is only ten years younger than him.
Were you to watch nothing else except what appears on screen, however; take out everything else from your mind and judge “102 Not Out” a title having little to do with cricketing basically by what it shows inside the text and you’ll thankfully find that after the first half of the film, which is precious and mawkish, it eventually becomes over sentimental while remaining effective.
It is a comedy with a lot of humor, which seemed to be on an extended joke that was overused two times: one characterized by Bachchan as the mischievous extrovert who laughs and lectures Kapoor’s google eyed grumpy old man while Dattatraya continues to give Babulal increasingly escalating challenges intended to enable him think younger.
Initially, Dattatraya makes his son dispose some unnecessary things like hypochondria-enabled doctor’s visits and his baby blanket; then Bachchan acting as somewhat a manic pixie dream grandpa takes Babulal down memory lane that includes visits to playgrounds, churches and bakeries.
As Kapoor keeps time for the comedy and Bachchan seems tirelessly energetic, this cheap section of the screenwriter Saumya Joshi’s consistently sentimental story becomes almost bearable. He deserves special mention because he frowns, sighs and plunges his chest into his chin with great energy. He also gets misty-eyed when he has emotional breakthroughs in his character. In general Kapoor does a splendid job performing as straight man to Bachchan’s comically clueless Jiminey Cricket-like conscience.
There are several jokes about Babulal and Dattatraya being old rather than about their actions or behavior like when Bachchan kicks a soccer ball while lustfully blowing on a toy saxophone with an indecent smile stretching from ear to ear making him appear akin an Abominable Snowman from Rankin and Bass wearing wigs and beard. How could we ever take this dude or any of his life lessons seriously?
The answer is not easy for such question even though it is based on Bachchan’s role in the film until just before its halfway mark. This turning point occurs during the scene where Babulal manages to go through one of his father’s challenges successfully. By this time, Bachchan lets Kapoor lead “102 Not Out” making it more or less a serious melodrama about how dreadful it is to be aged and taken for granted by others.
This is one hour of the film in which Babulal’s estranged son Amol (Dharmendra Gohil) is prominently featured since he can be conveniently, some may say sympathetically blamed for neglecting his father, thus leading Babulal to internalize feelings of unworthiness about having a good life. This is a very Bollywood attitude: Dattatraya, the representative of the older generation, knows what is best for Babulal more than himself and therefore tries to teach him that he should not see himself as merely a reflection of his ungrateful son’s wants.
There’s even an out and out psychodrama scene with thunder, dim lighting and declamatory recriminations wherein Dattatraya lays out how Amol failed both his father and mother before she died. Bachchan and Kapoor give delightfully over the top performances in this bombastic sequence.
And then at some point in this “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte” kind of scene Bachchan’s wig becomes matted down. His scalp peeps through patches of thinning hair underneath his wig strands while taking off the trendy round glasses more frequently. And then Bachchan stops resembling an aging star in Halloween costume and starts looking like an old man who could still appear handsome when viewed through favorable light conditions.
In conclusion,”102 Not Out” will not win Bachchan any awards but it does demonstrate that he remains a compelling figurehead without making much effort.
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