Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts

Sunday, April 12, 2009

BBBaarcelonaa, Here I Come..!

The first thing that impressed me from Frame 1 of Woody Allen's latest film is the location. Is Barcelona really this, I mean THIS - this - tHiS - BeeyouuuttiiiFFFULL. The operational word here is FULL, which just about describes the film as well.

A journey in, on, at and among Love - this one is soooo NOT Woody Allen - in that its romantic to the extent of spoiling you with wine, women and this one man. It is passionate without showing too much. It is complicated - (aah! That's the Woody in the Allen aspect, right?) What a delight to catch this film on a saturday afternoon, when the house is quiet, too quiet...that I thought, for so many seconds, that my room transformed into one of the dens of the spanish painter Antonio (an exceptionally attractive AND non-attractive man, and when you see the film you will know why!).

Vicky & Cristina are best friends and similar in everything except their approach to love. On a break to Barcelona, Antonio enters their lives with a straightforward proposal of 'life is dull, why not make the most of it - some sight seeing, some wine and we (pointing to both the women) can make love!" While the romantic, always impulsive Cristina agrees readily to this adventure that is set to make her adrenalin throb, Vicky, the steady, committed one holds her own, until.... ....
And every breathing moment breaks into a spontaneous spell of screams and chatter with the un-announced arrival of Antonio's ex-better-half, Maria Elena (a truly Oscar deserving performance by Penelope Cruz - just watch her swallow the camera alive in her white dress, wine in hand...) I totally enjoyed every minute, as lines go out of control in this emotion and passion ride, steered with equal fervor by all the players. In this mix, writer Allen places the thin but clear line of real love that actually blooms but is unrequited ... No I'm not telling between who and who! Not because there is any suspense to this tale, as one would expect...but because... it is LOVE - Sigh! See what I mean, when I said this was NOT a Woody Allen film, but it IS. I mean, well, yeah...!

Rebecca Hall as Vicky and Scarlett Johansson as Cristina breathe life into their varying personalities. The reason why Allen cast a man with a face like Javier Bardem (who won the Supporting Actor (Oscar) for playing the cold blooded killer in No Country for Old Men) in a romantic tale of mutiple love, women and tender love at that, with one of the women being domineering - has to do with the fact that two different kinds of women must find him attractive and yet not so, and this being in and out thing (yes, it is almost like what it sounds!) needs a man with a face that will haunt you, tease you, linger on you and take you over, a face you wont forget, a face that spells exotic - and that is why Allen Genius has cast him in this narrative of cross-connected lovers.

The film has some soothing visuals (thanks to Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe), some awesome tracks with a Spanish band for music (specially the soundtrack focuses on instrumental flamenco guitar) - and some of the best settings for romance in recent times.

Some die hard Allen fans may not find his trademark lines, the dark humor etc - but watch closely, and you will find it in the many turns that this ride takes you on!

Did I hear a toast to that, anyone?!




Thursday, April 9, 2009

Revolutionary Road


Such an awesome space for silence! Thats the one thing that impressed me most about this film, apart from the complexity of emotions that engulf the lead pair. A total contrast to their earlier romantic flick on board the Titanic, Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet, take you down all the way, yup, all the way down in Revolutionary Road.

Sam Mendes (married to Kate Winslet in real life) has given his wife a gift of her lifetime, in her role of April - the creative, spontaneous yet cranky and hysterical, impulsive woman, who so loves her husband that she goes all the way to hate him! Though I'm yet to see Reader, for which she won her Oscar, this one too is a masterful stroke of a deft artiste. Kate proves that her picnic in Titanic was just that - a small, outing by the sea. Whereas, in RR, she pulls you along as she drowns, dives, resurfaces for short breaths and then, almost abruptly sinks. And, no, its not the tear at the end of the last eye-lash kind of movie. It is smouldering, heavy discontent that rips up your heart, leaving no room for piddley tears.
Leonardo di Caprio has the more complex character actually, caught up in making a life for his family like a good, responsible man of the house. He is yet to find out what he wants to do with his life. Yet to find the time away from nosy colleagues, attractive stenos, demanding bosses...and a rigid work life that even keeps the social life in clock work schedule. But as he struggles so does he come to terms with it. A small suggestion to move to Paris, that tiny little paradigm shift in thought itself seems to be enough of a catalyst for Frank (di Caprio truly excels) to bring that extra 'zing' to his routine life. He, like all ordinary mortals is happy to live in his dreams, and reckon with his reality (read compromise).
April (an amazingly animalistic portrayal - watch her and then tell me you disagree!) on the other hand sees the futility of their programmed life and puts her plan of moving to Paris (used as an utopian concept here - brilliant!) in action - the disappointment of not actually doing so, has disastrous effects on the couple.
Mendes almost travels through the Sydney Pollock terrain - a little bit of drama, suspense, well etched characters but minimal in number, great tension in place of romance and mush, very adult points of view (the presence of the 2 kids makes no difference to the proceedings), a rather abrupt and impulsive ending. Mendes has made a film that actually made me think - am I really doing what I really wanna do in life? Am I living or simply existing?

Well...aint we all answering that one with every waking moment of our lives?



Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Dev D

Life. Love. And DevD.
That could just simply sum up the experience of watching this film.

How the &**# can you make my throat dry when you drink?
Why the &**# are you pulling me into the seedy Delhi streets, where body and soul have distinct lines of control? Do I have the guts to take the ride - You taunt me endlessly through this!
How dare you make me empathise with people I hardly know, with people who act as if they don’t need my empathy at all, with people who exist despite my support? Why do you make me want to retch it all out of me…and still somewhere make me feel satisfied...clean?

Sigh. There, I’ve tried to sum up DevD. Tried.

Usually a good film is one that (as they say) leaves a lump in your throat. Or makes you shed that odd tear. DevD made me do neither.
Yet, this has become my favorite film, the most comprehensive, wholesome film I’ve loved in my adult years.

I was moved - To despair. To lust. To ego. To intoxication. To love. To life.
To hope despite all odds - Self inflicted ones at that.

The bloody pain of love wrought with ego. The glorification of the self – be it in pain or pleasure. The brash women whose words hurt – sting… who are more mature than this boy-man Dev. The love sans the usual frills. The passion that arrives with just a thought…

Such splendid unapologetic sex…! It just comes onto you from unexpected quarters – like a tiger leaping on an unassuming prey…tearing at your insides again and again and again…

DevD is all about the above. Yet it is also a film that makes me feel all of the above. And therein lies Anurag Kashyap’s victory.

This is a film for all of us who have loved a dream. Lost it. And still live on chasing it, as it appears before us, taking on different forms. In Dev’s case, it was Paro & Chanda (Mahi Gill & Kalki – excel) – and briefly so, Rasika.

This is a film where I do not identify with any of the characters but this is a film where the characters do all the things that I might have done. And therein lies Anurag Kashyap’s mastery over story-telling. Over visual narration.

And what a masterful stroke it is to have Chanda watch Maar Daala on TV, before she decides on her pseudonym or to swiftly move from a SRK’s Devdas poster to Abhay Deol (a wonder of a performance. Titles credit him with the concept of the film).

Song and dance is used in an ingenius manner, as they weave in and out of the frames and my senses, as much as Dev, Paro and Chanda languish in their emotions, largely fraught with passion and ego. The humor is left to the rest of them who have to deal with the trio. The lead characters just act out their stuff. The supporting characters react to their actions. How simple indeed?! And how novel!

More than appreciating the film’s craft, pointing to the nuances – be it in scene setup or dialogues or just that one pause here n there, I am shaken up by this film, because it has made me look inside it, and watch on...helplessly, as Dev sways between life & death; and makes me smile in relief, clap in joy, when finally Dev chooses Life. There is redemption. There is hope. See how cleverly the makers of this film have made me write something so emotional about something which is after all, a film?!

This film is personal.

Just how the &**// can you come up with something like Emotional Hatyachaar…?

If DevD be the food of love …. Play it on! And on…and on!
Who’s gonna say No to a chance to walk two feet above the ground…!



Sunday, March 22, 2009

Dilli 6


I liked Dilli 6 - much against a whole lot of my brethren.

To narrate a 'theory' and not a story per se is a task in itself, more so when you think of writing it all down in a screenplay format. I thought the snapshots of old Delhi which was presented both via the characters and scenarios (the clash of religious ideologies, the politcal in-correctness of our social system) ... it was all There! Rakeysh OmPraksh Mehra got it right with his experiment. The box-office failing the film is a different debate altogether.

Abhishek was at his most endearing best. It's such a delight to see him grow in stature as an actor, knowing exactly how NOT to wear his stardom on his shirt collar, and just BE the character! Waheedaji was the eternal epitome of grace & beauty. Sonam was in her impish, chutzpah self. A word on this girl - more than 2 of my male colleagues lamented on the lack of screen space for Sonam Kapoor - I mean, give me a break! This girl is all but 1 film old...and here we are wanting her to 'steal the scenes' away from the story! Arey, She was what she was in that setup. Nothing more or less was warranted. What crime did Mr. Mehra commit in keeping his characters to just the basics...? Why is there a need to romantacise relationships when the film is not about that?!

Now onto the Kaala Bandar thing - now, this is not mainstream cinema. However, to have mainstream stars embellish such symbolic euphemisms that exist in theory is a feat by itself. Not to forget the most wonderful Masakkali- both the pigeon and Rahman's awesome track (Maramat Muqadar Kar do Mere Maula - that lingers on far beyond the rolling titles!)... Where else have we seen Binod Pradhan's deft camera panning across the Jama Masjid, revealing multitudes in prayer or pushing itself over the rickshaw in the many gullies of Dilli Streets - (with the Jalebi intact!) - I mean this is a superb cinematic effort! The limbo-ness of the narration tempts me to put this film above the much loved Rang De Basanti.

I wonder why we are not even attempting such things in Tamil. Yes, we do have our own milestones in recent times...but ever since the Multiplex Films in Hindi shook us out of our routine, Hindi cinema is seeing some wonderful blossoms!

The most spectacular of 'em all is up for a post shortly ... It goes by a name followed by an initial without a fullstop in between... it goes by the name...

DevD

Friday, March 6, 2009

Yaavarum Nalam - Well, almost!


Yaavarum Nalam - Good effort. Some trouble here n there, yes, with the dubbing, some of the closeups with mouths moving in all directions except Tamil - ... but these days a here n there can be overlooked. Give us a simple, easy to comprehend and good-enough-for-the-money spent on the a/c & popcorn - thus a hit is made! A rare, good script by the director. 

Only I felt that the dialogues and some of the scene cut-to-cuts could have been better. The BGM also is a well...hmmmm - (missss an Ilayaraaja every now n then - yes, understand fully this is a bi-lingual and you need saleable Hindi names...but no dispute that Raja Sir would have added the more  to this already good fare?!) But all that's a polish. 

The basics - the story, suspense, thrills, drama, flashback narrative & visuals are quite competently handled. Take a bow Vikarm, this is his second film, if Im right! Atleast I am casting a shade of doubt on my fact, when so many reviews just plainly wrote this was his debut. No. Alai was his debut film. 

Audience reaction and reviews have been phenemonal. So, all I'm saying is that - yeah, happy for those who made me sit with my fingers in my ears, my eyes nearly half closed and my tummy being forever on the jump up and down mode! Good show! 

Happy for Maddy, Happy for Suresh & Georgie - the producers!

P.S: The one composition of the Madras Library in the background - imposing, rugged and almost looking down in its grand mystery over Maddy, as he rummages through newspaper clips, looming large in the foreground.... PC Sir, just how, just simply HOW do you ALONE manage such wonders?! 

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Yawn & a Four...!

Yaaaaawwwwwnnnnn....! That should just about account for the last fortnight of silence.

Okay here goes...

Slumdog Millionaire - Well made, clever film. As for content - OK. This too is just a film. And Rahman has given us some wonderful scores in our very own Tamil films, Thank you very much... so the Oscar will be a recognition of his collective brilliance.

Subramaniapuram - Does anyone even wanna know what I think when the film has collected over 12 crores...? An excellent directorial debut, yes...but the film was toooo long and I felt the length. Very good BGM by James and good film-making standards. But hey, since when have we applauded for just the basics, I say?!! A good film, most surely not a great one. As I said earlier, good is also hard to come by these days.

Mama Mia - This film is a music video. And Meryl Streep is not my favorite actress for nothing! She is so very active - at this age...! Wow...watch her take a hop, leap and high jump into the lake - FIT is how she is...as FIT as her is how I will want to be at her age! Not much to say for the film though!

A Wednesday - Again late in the day. But I took my time with this one. Great Cast. Good acting. Good concept. Average execution. Excellent meeting point for Kher & Shah...! Wished the writing could have been better. Liked the shots that built up to Nasseruddin Shah's pov on the terrace and of course, his stupendous 'common man' act.


Sunday, December 28, 2008

Ghajini.. Rock On.


What can I say about Ghajini which ace film critic Bharadwaj Rangan has not written down already? In case, any wandering soul wants to know the same, have pasted the link below.

http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/

The other film which I saw day before night, on an original DVD (waited quite awhile for it!) is ROCK ON. Now, did they name the film knowing the way twas gonna turn out or did they name it for the sake of it or just for the story around rock music etc etc? I mean...This is wonderful cinema. Jason West, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and writer director Abhishek Kapoor should take multiple bows - while Farhaan Akhtar can take a special walk on the ramp for producing this most updated film in India. The showstopper, however, goes to Arjum Rampal. Sexy!

Why am I going ga-ga about a film which already had its share of great run while on screen itself? Because I saw it just now Columbus! And being my blog, I have the right to go anywhere I want to on any film, people, animals and things...(ok the animal bit is an exaggeration, knowing my phobia..!)

Rock On - has some very real moments, fantastic onscreen chemistry between lead actors (I meant the Band Magik) and some great guitar playing and singing by Farhaan and Arjun Rampal - I need more time to delve deeper into the Making DVD - to know if these guys already knew to play and sing or was it all an Actor Prepares?!

In all, this was one film which completely entertained me.

And if you now go back to read the title of this post, you will notice the space between the names of the two films! Ahem.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Chaar Kabbadi - a How & a Wow!


Yup! That's a four member act - some great under the skin kinda performances in a fun film. The WOW is reserved for Irfan Khan, Konkona Sen, Rahul Bose, SohaALi Khan and Rahul Khanna in that order. The HOW (along with the Wow obviously!) is reserved for Anil Senior- the writer and director of this true blue adult comedy.

An ode to Woody Allen from India. That goes for this film in totality, and that's like handing over this gorgeous bunch of roses to the writer-director!

Simple. Steady. Direct. That's the kind of filmmaking, which is easy on the eye and the mind. 

Funny. Insightful. Intelligent. That's the level of writing, and that IS remarkable.

Life-like. That's the pace of the film, which makes for a very relaxed viewing. (No, a film need NOT be a slick flick for no reason!)

A natural blend of humor with whacko moments caused usually by emotional discomfort for and by the lead characters when they come into contact with one another. Phew! That's the screenplay, which is actually as difficult to put together as the sentence that describes it.

A wonderful mix of sex, spice and nothing nice. That's the emotional psyche of the lead roles themselves. (Whatta mix! Absolutely delightful.)

Aah...! What a relief from the stereotype formula which the south seems to be turning out (and burning themselves out in the process!) with every big hero. Here, anything village is a great film. There (in Hindi) all things urban makes a good film. 

And I'm very happy with a good film, by the way. They are a rarity as it is! The greatness can be thrust upon them later on, during the numerous festival visits!

Breaking screenplay structure, allowing actors to talk to the camera on and off thus taking us back and forth into their lives; using characters as catalysts (Kaya played by Payal Rahtogi & Raga played by Saba) to unveil emotional changes in the characters of Samit (a very much in control - even when it's over the top act by Irfan Khan) and Rishi (a totally beautiful portrayal by Rahul Bose, yes, beautiful.); the complex passive aggressive type played to perfection by Konkona, the prudish yet I soooo need to be loved but wont tell you type played with uniformity by Soha - and of course, I wish I had a guy like that act from Rahul Khanna - all this makes this Kabbadi of Hearts, a very good 2 and half hours of clean, adult fun.

Did I say clean, adult fun? Ha! Need I say more? 

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Fashion

Now that's word I love to hate. I'm someone who just swears by one fashion label that goes like Sujathaaaa...(smiles, giggles, whatever!) Vanity is also my middle name apart from being one of the most coveted fashion magazines. I mean, what in the world is this thing called fashion anyway?! But before we go into a debate for which there maybe little or no room in this post right now, let me delve into the movie Fashion, which is the real reason for this post.

Good film. Not a great one, and that is primarily to do with the fact that most filmmakers play to the gallery, instead of playing UP the screenplay. Cliche's come and go in the name of dialogues and scenes. What keeps our chin up is the under your skin performances by Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra. I am truly amazed at the level of acting standards that Bollywood is seeing, specially with the girls (The Guys can be reserved for another post - maybe a Season2, ahem!).

Gone are the teary eyed good girl lines for our leading ladies...now, we have in flesh and blood, girls with gut and glory. A sample line from Priyanka in the film: Mein sirf model nahin, supermodel banna chahathi hoon.
I shudder to think and somewhere I'm even ashamed to say that none of our south Indian girls could have or will even agree to do what Mr. Bhandarkar has pulled off with these two women! I mean, why is the south Indian heroine always interested in just being an on-screen eye-candy in recent years? Be it a Nayantara (Billa, Sathyam, Aegan) or a Trisha (all her roles till now) or a Shreya (the lesser said the better) - will any of them have the guts to do a film like Fashion in exactly the same way as narrated by the director? A counter arguement could be that such films dont do well at the box office and a stereo typed 'good actress' would only mean playing a village belle. I mean, when are we gonna see a slick, city chick walk away with the acting honors?!! Both our directors and heroines must buck up else, well, we will still be stuck with watching films like Aegan, which does not even merit a review by any standards! Cut to - where we were, on the ramp...


In Fashion, even the not so leading roles have been performed to perfection. A lot of models or Tv actors come out with fresh and realistic performances. That and the fact that this is a well crafted film, add several feathers to the director's hat. Costumes and lighting wonderfully blends in...specially in the fashion show moments (Just watch Kangana down yet another swig of her wine before it gets plucked out of her hand, as her face transforms into the super model she is; she sways onto the ramp like a Goddess, the camera going ahead of her, following her, surrounding her, as she sashays into the flashlights as the Show's Stopper. A true blue fashion moment!)

Yes, the film tends to get preachy and so many of Meghna Mathur's (Priyanka Chopra, whose story this is primarily) decisions are all HERs. Circumstance is depicted as a villain, when actually things could have been worse for her. It's her complexes or confidence that gets her to wherever she falls or flies. And behind every success IS a story. Otherwise, we can all very well be rolling out rotis in our daddy's backyards (If, we all hail from Chandigargh, like our heroine, that is!)


That apart, this film is surely the more watchable among the director's trilogy (Corporate, Page3). Watch it more for what happens on the ramp than off it! A special WOW to the fashion designers and models, who do appear here and there in the film, along with thier exotic creations. The clothes, do take your breath away. And that completely contradicts my beginning on this post. I mean, what in the world is this thing called Fashion anyway?! A movie, perhaps!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

A Single & A Double...!



Wonder why I’ve this fetish for Fonts?! I usually type directly into the Post, but the blog settings’ been acting funny with me recently. So, I first do a run on my faithful, yes, sometimes a pain in the you know where, Word document, which thankfully gives me that many more Fonts to choose from. What’s happened is this - my blog settings has taken off my Font selection Icon and without that, I’m like a sheep without wool. (There, some new metaphor!) More of a Goat, some of my friends will wanna add, but let’s just get on with this post and the explanation of it’s Title, shall we?

Anthony Minghella (see his pic) is the reason for my Double Delight. Without realising it, I had picked up two DVDs by the same director, along with this new age film from Turkey, which turned out to be my single scoop!

‘UZAK’ (Distant) is a masterpiece from Turkish Writer-Director & Cinematographer Nuri Bilge Ceylan. A winner in the Cannes 2003, this film has just two actors pitted along with & against one another – with both of them winning acting honors for this film in various film festivals. A photographer-artist uncle in Istanbul is visited by his long lost cousin from his village and life turns around for him, in more ways than one. Now a line like this can induce us to imagine dramatic moments, quick over the top scenarios and cuttings, major role for women, villains, comedy…! Ceylan’s film has all of this – not as high voltage drama but as Meaningful Moments. Brilliant visuals bring Istanbul to life – the POVs are from a distance, keeping in tune with the title. Minimal use of dialogue, maximum use of visuals take the scenes to a different high. The uncle has rules that the cousin flouts, without even realising it, of course. The cousin has inner agendas which the uncle unearths, without doing much about them (All through the film, the characters ‘behave’ – like we do in any given day of our lives!). The uncle (played by a uniquely nosed & immensely talented - a la ‘Depardieu-ish’, Muzaffer Ozdemir) is a stickler for cleanliness, is a moron when it comes to women, has zero attachments and lives a fairly king-sized life. The cousin (a very under your skin performance by Mehmet Emin Toprak, who posthumously received his Best Actor award for this film along with Ozdemir) has debts to repay, his mom’s toothache he worries over, has smelly shoes and doesn’t have what it takes to find a job in the city. Now, now, do I hear a slight burst of laugh already? Right. The minutes of the film will read SLOW. The content will read as DEEP. This is a film for a rainy, lazy and chuckling over popcorn afternoon. And music by the way is Mozart, with sound effects that pass off as superb background score. Try it!

Now for the DD- read Double Delight. ‘BREAKING AND ENTERING’ was the first film I saw in the Minghella series. A fan of his ‘English Patient’, I’ve always been intrigued with how he layers his characters and scenes with MORE…be it emotions, actions, richness of production/visual values and of course the popular cast, who come out with performances that range only between Good and Excellent. Set in London, the film is about an architect, Will Francis (Jude Law) whose life gets better actually (Mended, as he himself says) when he chases the boy who burgled his office more than once. With a high power girlfriend (Robin Wright Penn) who has an autistic daughter from her earlier marriage, Francis finds meanings to his equations within his life, his missing links so to say, when he befriends Amira (Juliette Binoche), the mother of his teenage burgler. The emotional alterations apart, the scenes of sexual tension where Francis and Amira are torn between their real passion and what they really seek from each other (He-his stolen things and justice and She-freedom for her son from prison walls)…will leave one silent and heavy for hours after the film. The teenager is a skilled Jumper (some breathtaking shots of the boy jumping over building tops), living with his single mom, hails from Sarajevo. Throw in the political backdrop and we immediatley understand the ‘why’ behind the boy’s abberation. Francis, loves his girlfriend and her daughter, but the lack of attention on him from Penn, cuts him deep. The issues which parents face as caretakers of specially challenged children is narrated in such a sublime way, that it says everything without saying much. There is the British humor, the chases, the court-room climax, and Francis’s emotional weakness with Amira .vs. his coming out clean and open with Penn. Touching. Beautifully shot by Benoit Delhomme, this film is a tight, gripping tale.

The second delight is a layered chase again, a Minghella wonder! A murder mystery – a saga of deep greed and actions born out of that greed which haunts a man’s life. The first part of a sequel that came thereafter, ‘The Talented Mr.Ripley’ has Thomas Ripley (Matt Damon) taking on a rich heir Dickey Greenlife (Jude Law - a Minghella regular, maybe?). One man taking another’s place for his own avarice. One lie leading to a lifetime of lies and deceit, one murder followed by another and another…one heart break leading to yet another (both Cate Blancett’s and Gwyweth Paltrow’s)–this spin around Europe is a bio-pic in the sense that it takes you ‘inside’ Ripley’s head! Now, who else but Anthony Minghella can help us achieve this unique feat?

Ok. I also went to work, shopped, fought with friends, made up with some, ate, attended meetings, read an Agatha Christie and slept while the rains lashed on my window panes. And now…while I wait for my Pizza to arrive…I hope my blog settings don’t go back to being funny again, when I sign in to post this.

I just don’t like blogs having a mind of their own.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Music with the might of a 1000 Elephants...Vaaranam Aayiram


"Yennodu vaa veedu varaikkum
Yenn veettai paar yennai pidikkum..."

By no means is this my invitation to anyone but by all means this is a line that has caught my fancy (and maybe yours too..). Some of Thamarai's (lyric writer) best works happen with Gautham Menon and Harris Jayaraj, whose tunes become hits even before they leave the recording studio (!). This team always weaves a certain kind of magic with music no doubt. The above lines are from the already popular (it's a melody folks, a MELODY) Nenjukkul Peithidum Maamazhai from the most awaited film of the year Vaaranam Aayiram. Sung by one of my favorite singers - Hariharan, this song, as the director puts it, is a love ballad. A guy telling a girl that she would like him more if she were to go with him to his house?!! How wonderful and TODAY is this thought! Delightful. It leaves you with a pleasant idea of the guy's relationship with his parents, his life at home etc...I mean if a girl can love him more after visiting his home, how lovely is that!?

The album boasts of other good lines that I picked up even on the first hearing of this 7-track musical.

"Yennakkaagave vanthaai Yenn nizhal poalavey nindraai
Unnai thottru nee yennai vendraaye..."

This is from the girl to the guy - it so soothes my female ego! I'm sure the girls agree with me. And the second line is all about giving up that ego to win over her heart! This, I thought was a very impressive expression of love between equals...but maybe, just maybe, the girl in this equation is a little more than the guy?! Aha! Sung by Shruti (a proper use of her rather non-conformist voice & style) & Krish, Adiye Kolluthey just accelerates the adrenalin.

"Santhithoame kanaakkalil sila muraiyaa pala muraiyaa...
Andhi vaanil ulaavinoam athu unakku ninaivillaiyaa...."

Rendered oh-so sweetly by Sudha Raghunathan, you can imagine the subtle seduction by the girl, calling out to this guy, who has momentarily forgotten to respond to her. I'm reminded of Rahman's 'Kannaalane...' from Bombay for it's tune & beat. On a closer enquiry, I'm told that 'Anal mele panithuli' is in fact a tribute from Gautham & Harris to that modern classical number. The lyrics however transport me to 'Paartha Nyaabagam Illaiyo..' from Puthiya Paravai. The fast paced lifestyle of daily life notwithstanding, here's a girl who talks of taking a walk in the evening clouds and meeting her lover in her myriad dreams...! Hmmm...close your eyes and open your ears & imagination to this rather haunting (the beginning may seem somewhat sad, but no...listen on..) refrain (Sudha is such an apt choice) and you will know what I mean.

Of course the radio channels are gunning for SPB Charan's version of 'Om Shanthi' - This song leaps up at you like a tiger on its prey - begins like a steady melody and springs into action, Charan's singing just superbly blends in. The Adiye Kolluthey & Yethi Yethi numbers are also on the 'A' list. Munthinam Paarthene is a classic duet that also has some very hummable lines and a peppy beat (a rather Harris-ish song if we can say!). The surprise number though is this 'gaana' by another favorite, Karthik (Just listen intently on how Karthik actually makes you feel he has a tear in his eye and fear for his beloved in his heart as he finishes each stanza with 'Thaniyaa Yenge Poanaalo..'). Ava Yenna Yenna Thedi vanthaa Anjale also has a chance of being overlooked in this 7 member (Read song) band right now...but guess this song is more to be seen as a tool taking the story forward than just another track in the album.

And for that and many things more, we need to wait for the film itself! I'm not stating the obvious here, but going by the 'realism' one saw in the trailers and songs, Vaaranam Aayiram leaves me with a lot of hope of good cinema given by some of the best box-office talents in recent times. The emotions felt real...and Surya just left one breathless...with his good looks and nonchalant screen presence.

So, are we saying that this album is ALL Good. Does that make it a review at all? To uniformly praise everything we know from everyone we know? No. That's not the idea.

Music Director Harris Jayaraj has a particular stamp (church choir, multiple violins/guitars, call it whatever) to his work. But nevertheless, his music does 'connect'. It lingers and does what a good mix of instruments and voice is supposed to do. To work with this stamp yet turn out songs to the extent one finds in Vaaranam Aayiram is a complete 'time to take a bow' for the Gautham -Thamarai-Harris team. This is their 5th film together in Tamil and to come up with tracks that sound so good (be it from your fav radio station or from the keepsake audio CD that has the lyrics for karaoke lovers like me!) is no mean achievement.

Vaaranam Aayiram's music has scored at a time when there are so many mind sets to judging film music like how a fast paced number has to
be a kuthu paattu, or a melody today wont be as popular etc. Now if this film music album has managed to rise above such ground rules and break these mindsets, it IS quite a deal, don't you think?

Friday, September 12, 2008

On a Red Roll

A good thing always does its rounds. Like a feline, it will spring into action at the least expected moment. Just when I bought myself a Red handbag (A Marks & Spencers ok, of coz at a sale!) and was gifted a Red wallet to match (A Baggit one which even my Dad likes - Thank You, Devasena!) and matching Red slippers (A Kobler, gift from Shankar - Thank God for friends who indulge my Red fancy like this!) I was also gifted My Name Is Red - as in I picked it up at the all new Odyssey in Adyar but obviously a good soul paid for it! And my Red Roll continues to delight me and how...! Just when I was recommending this book to Priya, she says she's already on the 100th page! It's doing its rounds alright, all the way here in Chennai, when it began up there in Istanbul.

Orhan Pamuk has delighted me in ways more than just common. My Name is Red is one of the best works of historical fiction. With that cliche I have also pasted here Mr. Pamuk's genial photograph for those of us who might think of Orhan Pamuk as some long bearded Arab, who has reproduced a history of his clan for the rest of the world to absorb. Mr. Pamuk, as I was myself pleasantly happy to note, looks like this - and his calm smile on camera translates into some good philosophical humor in his writing as well!

With a Kurosowa-like narrative (meaning, telling the story from the each of the character's perspectives) Orhan Pamuk weaves a tale that puts medieval Istanbul in your face. Literally, this work spins a tale out of a seemingly boring field of art - minature painting. But for this book, I wonder if we would even bother about something so intricate and so intergral to Muslim culture as miniature art, which is to a large part, an important symbol of our Indian culture as well (check out any monument in Agra, not just the Taj & you will see what I mean!).

To call My Name is Read a murder mystery with a whodunnit climax is plain injustice to the extravagant canvas of the plot. To call this book as a high tribute to art, painting & painters along with highlighting the rich Muslim legacy of the Middle East is only one part of it. To call Orhan Pamuk a master story-teller, presenting us with a vivid tapestry of plots designed to accomplish a singular purpose of keeping us glued to its subject is the other part (of the adjectives we can heap on this book). And the last part of course, is that this book is so heavily and rightfully laden with such historical and cultural anecdotes and data, that our 7th standard knowledge of ancient Perisa and the Shah Rulers pale in comparison!

So is this book just a sum total of all of the above? Yes and No. The No is a compliment to Pamuk's phenomenal talent for novel writing, for a narrative that shimmers with craft and detail at every turn. For presenting a vision which even a blind man can see if this book were read out to him! The food for thought and imagination that Pamuk gives a reader; for the grey shades of the lead characters - all vying for survival, their actions motivated by either love or lust and all possible human frailities, yet each of them emerging with strong stand-points that differentiate one from the other. The characters come alive in these pages as and when you finish with their chapters each night - WOW!
The bold and brazen start of the novel itself, with a narrative from the point of view of a dying man and his dead spirit sets the tone, pace and candor of this brilliant master-piece of Middle East writing. To think that Pamuk has written this novel like a screenplay, should make it a most sought after material for the silver screen, more so for Indian filmmakers - maybe someone like Ashutosh Gowarikar, who took so much of care and effort to showcase a story out of nowhere in Jodha-Akbar - maybe he would've/should've done this instead, he still can, you know (quick, someone go and tell him)!
Orhan Pamuk conjures up images that you can smell, feel, taste and carry with you to bed. Yet there is no one place where he gets carried away himself! The elaborate paragraphs of miniature painting or the deep analysis of an artists's life, the Muslim painters and their ilk, is such a revelation of extensive research interestingly told, that the very lofty, kingly art becomes so reachable even for a commoner! And the nonchalance with which Pamuk ends this tale, the last line of the book says so much about Pamuk himself - his panache! Aah! It would be such a joy to see this tale unwind on screen too - to relish the unrequited passionate romance of Black and Shekure in the Hanged Jew's garden, to see the turmoils and travails of Olive, Stork and Butterfly, to delve into the artistic realm of their Sultan-Light of the World...! I stop.

If a translation can bring about so much excitement in me, I wonder how profoundly entertaining the original would be! And above all is the contextual use of the color Red - a subtle yet strong influence in this saga - Red - the color of life, romance, war, flourish, plenty, lust, art and more directly - Blood.

Orhan Pamuk, please take a bow.

Friday, September 5, 2008

SA-RO-JA


The movie works and how! A brand Venkat Prabhu film -now, how does a director manage this with just his second film is a wonder by itself - but will save that for another post, now let's move onto the film.

Saroja is a lot of things...but Saroja is also all of this -

- A road movie, with tons of 'what will happen next even though I know what will happen in the end' kind of scenes'.

- A tale that begins yesterday and ends today with tons of great humor mixed with racy story telling.

- A mix of characters - all performed by real and endearing faces, who take you on a travel - their travel in this roller coaster of a night ride.

- A melange' of moments with the 4 lead players who ad-lib a la Monty Python, that's so new to our cinema.

- A film that spells entertainment with a capital E but is most certainly mind-full of the kind of entertainment served.

Attitude and panache rule Venkat Prabhu's Saroja - where nothing and noone takes themselves more seriously than what is required. This self parody of the characters is such a relief in a heroism driven market and to just drop down 4 normal, ordinary boys into a war-hole of extraordinary situations thus making them emerge as real life heros is a tremendous task and VP lives upto it in style! The interactions amongst the 4 guys, as raw as they are, lend a unique flavor to this speedy cocktail. An adventure comedy that keeps you glued to the screen, Saroja will make you come back just for the sheer laugh of it! And this is a step up for Venkat Prabhu, who has woven some very clever moments into the film, that makes it a highly worthwhile watch.

Not too much not too little but just right is Jayaram. The accident on the national highway is a wonderfully staged piece and so is the closeup frame of Prakashraj crying to himself, facing the mirror - one of the actors most honest to himself performances in recent times. Shiva stands out from the 4 as his Ajayraj is the character that crosses many emotions in this one night -Shiva getting the maximum onelines that keep us in splits anytime he even appears on screen. Premji is anyways funny and in this he is funnier. SPB Charan has greatly improved his acting skills as well and is so convincingly cast. Vaibhav shows great promise and screen presence - ditto for Sampath. The new girl Vega is a competent find, her voice on screen is Divyadharshini, who has done such a wonderful job of the same!

Still, if at all there is something missing - well, Saroja hardly gives you time to go look for anything else, so what's the point in searching for missing things anyways! Just one question for Venkat Prabhu though, will he ever make an all girl gang movie...giving them such dynamic moments as he has given the guys in a film with a girl's name?? Because if there is one director who can pull of a thriller comedy with women, it should only be Venkat Prabhu.

Watch Saroja and tell me you differ!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Chocolate Krishna


Something I was made to do when I was 3 is something I've been doing willingly, till now...! And that is to watch Tamil drama. Crazy Creations and me go a long way...almost more than 2 decades now, and it has been one hilarious ride after another. I'm yet to meet a more positive and cheerful person than Mohan, who is so dear to me that writing a review is not the right word to describe this post! Its more a note to record my huge admiration and love for this man's abilties to make me laugh. It's a 'Thank You Note' to Crazy Mohan for having made me laugh the most in all my life, in all his plays!

Watching their latest play Chocolate Krishna and letting off some of the loudest laughs in the hall, I wonder how this team manages to do this year after year, in one city after another and still going strong with the same set of friends and an excellent HERO in Balaji. Madhu as he is known to tamil drama audiences is possibly the 'youngest' hero on stage, still playing husband, hero, lover, son, brother, friend across all their plays. Balaji's innate sense of dialogue delivery and quick reactions, his body language and fully tuned in timing of cracking the right joke or pun or expression...WOW - is the word for this man. In Chocolate Krishna, he is the Chocolate!

As for Krishna, played by Mohan - this must be the most taxing role he has ever donned. For a man who relishes his morning sleep (which stretches till noon), and who likes to sip his hot, black tea before each of his two or three scene appearances in his plays, Krishna in all his jewellery & peacock feather intact is quite a leap! And he actually gets himself hoisted up on stage and descends in style as Gods are supposed to...! After this play, the term 'Krishna Unconsciousness' is bound to take the spiritual world by storm. Mohan reveals such a simple, childlike approach to serious topics of Theism and Atheism, to Krishna's 'lifestyle' etc that even the best cynic will have a tough time in concealing his mirth at this gleeful comedy.

A normal, quiet sunday afternoon turns into a 'laughter-noon' thanks to Crazy Mohan and his lovely troupe. Highly recommended for anyone who's been sulking over anything - the laughter Chocolate Krishna generates will cure any depression - even the one in the Bay of Bengal. Just go for it!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Dasavatharam

Ok I know this is kinda late in the day and the film is also on its way to touch the century mark, but seriously why did the world and its cousins condemn Kamalhaasan so much for Dasavatharam? By the world - I must say the media world, more particularly the press. The electronic media was kinder and rightfully so. I mean, who is doing whom a favor here by patronising or chiding a man who has been around for more than three decades...and still churning out super stuff for film goers and makers to be proud of, still achieving his goals, setting standards and of course entertaining us along the way. No surprise here with the not so flattering reviews, which were, I think essentially meant to evoke a response from K, maybe he would give them an exclusive interview if they trashed his film, but he gave them none whatsoever. So much judged yet so much un-swayed after it all - that's one more attribute that makes an Icon! And now coming to the film itself...

A second viewing of the film with my whole family in tow (after my First Day First Show with my Mirchi colleagues) was a revelation. My nephew is 13 and my dad is 68. Both of them understood and enjoyed the film equally. Despite my feeble attempts to try and explain a situation (like the much 'flagellated' synthetic bio weapon) was met with 'we know, we know' responses. My sister and mom grinned and laughed along everytime Balram Naidu appeared. My nephew cheered Shingan Narahashi as he punched Fletcher black & blue. My dad rooted for Rangarajan Nambi and Krishnaveni Paatti. And I was just wondering how the entire film rested and works so well because of this one man! The cash registers have'nt stopped ringing they say and any word or statistics circulating is not enough proof yet, as the film is still collecting!

Much has been said on the screenplay of this film. Happenstance has'nt happened to you or what? Coincidences dont occur? As one of my colleagues told me later, "We accept Artificial Intelligence if it is told by Spielberg, then why not Chaos Theory from our own Kamalhaasan? If not him, who will show us such things on screen?" The pace of the film has certainly helped the film run, some say. But hello, once a script is written the pace or timing of each scene is actually set (1page = 1 min of screen time), so if he can take a bow for all of his 10characters, then K can take an extra one for this as well.

Technically the best thing about the film is the interlinking of each character in different scenes - every scene has more than one K in it all the time. This has been achieved with remarkable clarity. Well, the lighting, camera, frames - is again all subject to this CG effect of having more than two KHs on location, right!? Hence, when we can call so many simpler films as experiments, why not this one for sheer technical extravagance and multiple narrative, which itself is new to Tamil cinema?! Ranjarajan Nambi and Balram Naidu score in acting, while the kicks are really provided for by Narahashi - slowly yet steadily, this one stands out. The lack of romance is not missed much as the shrill Asin (who is actually not so bad) is more in love with her Perumal than with the hero Govind. But the one who takes the cake for me is Boovaraghavan, who had everything going for him - makeup, body language, voice, diction, a cause to fight for and a sentiment to die for! He stays on even when we are trying to relive the Tsunami moment, which is so well captured visually!

And hey does George Bush throw his legs with so much style in real life as he does in the beginning of the 'Ulaganayagane' song...? Well, if Bush did see a print of this film, he would sure want to....and that is also one more reason why Dasavatharam is worth a repeat watch anytime - here we have HERO Kamalhaasan wave and cheer us onto cheering for him! The film didnt bore me at all the second time - and the next time, maybe I will watch it only for my fav characters, which is how most of the viewers were there in the theatre this time; almost pointing to the scene or dialogue even before it arrived.

With Dasavatharam, Kamalhaasan has proven one thing yet again - his critics & skeptics & all those who were waiting to watch him fall...he has proved them all wrong. I was waiting for this moment to be able to share this in my blog. Ample time has passed since the release, and this post like K's success is well worth it's wait.


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Mixed bag

Ok for the first time (no, its actually been twice already!) Im typing this post without knowing what the next words gonna be. Power cut. It came back. Reading Happiness Hypothesis - shall ponder on it aloud once I'm done.

Saw two films - Ore Kadal (malayalam) and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - obviously english, but hell, the film's language could just as well be WHACKY and thats all I can say about it. Liked it tho - such films dont require a review. Either you like it or you dont. Simple.

On Ore Kadal - I had so badly wanted to see this tale of burning love set in the most unkindliest of scenarios. A simple, married woman, mother of two (Meera Jasmine) having an affair with a much older, cynical, no strings attached economist (Mammotty). Passion and subliminal emotions rule this film - but I have issues with the climax. Specially with Mammotty's character - because as much as anything is possible in life, a change in thought process and behaviour patterns in a grown-up man is not so easy an ending to arrive at.

Yes, top of the line performances from the lead actors, good photography and lighting and music ( Alagappan & Ouseppachan) and some good writing as well. But...is love so quick an emotion for a man whose lived all his adult life with just one philosophy - and that is to stay away from all attachments? Specially, when he has nothing in common with this housewife, whose physical beauty and innocence alone attracts his carnal desires! Will an intellectual 'social scientist' find a lifetime of happiness with a woman who is just 12th class pass and who has no idea of the E of Economics? This is a mature declaration of love or so we are shown to believe, and its not like, one discovers love by chance - this is pure give and take, when the wife of a jobless man comes to see her neighbor, the seemingly better-off economist to help her out with small loans of money for everyday life and thereafter, he even recommends her husband for a good career break. They even discuss this aspect after making love and the economist tells her that this attraction has nothing to do with what he has done for her husband.

The film has some potent moments, like when Nathan (an effective portrayal by Mammotty) comes to see a depressed (read regressed by their affair) Dipti (a stunning act from Meera) and she in a gesture of placing her head on his chest, actually bites off a piece of his skin near his heart, a scar that stays with him for life - a very visual imagery of what she actually wants from him - a place for her in his heart, his love. And till the last few minutes, Nathan is shown fighting his feelings and is always arguing with logic on the kind of man he is and how love will never find its place with him. Its more guilt that he is shown dealing with rather than genuine affections for this woman.

The last 45minutes of the film sees Dipti get rehabilitated for her depression and blankness; Nathan is shown suffering with more guilt. Dipti's husband (Naren) and Nathan's intellectual & bedside companion Bella (RamyaKrishnan) represent two sides of the audience's mind - the conservative & the liberal. Bella convinces Nathan he is in love much as he does'nt want to face the loss that arises out of this attachment (attachment, suffering of facing responsibility for another person, and when death strikes the thought of being alone etc). The film is so convincing till this point - that one would want to cheer for the filmmaker (Shyama Prasad) for this new age story (a la french cinema!). Actually he does deserve a pat on his back for the very attempt! The story thereafter moves to Dipti getting pregnant with Nathan's child and the leadscenes upto the end - where Dipti comes to see Nathan with both her kids (the son from her husband) in a fit of rage of wanting to kill him - Nathan's turnaround with her is the climax - as he holds her against him, and explains how despite his many women, none had come this far in his life and noone had ever wanted to look him up as Dipti had done now - he actually talks about her love for him (selfishly so dont you think? more than speaking of his love for her, which is what it should've been, but we are dealing with an egotist intellectual here - ahem!) thus making her realise he is actually, finally taken her as a person beyond her body - something she had been wanting to see in him all long. So her Basic Instinct blade of glass is left in a corner and as the son comes into Nathan's apartment in search of his mother, we see a teary-eyed, full of compassion & love economist hold another man's child as if he were his own.

Ok - when put like that, the climax seems deserving of a standing ovation, but hey, the neo-realism of this sort of cinema, somewhere does not give room for the fantasy climax. Atleast in my mind. I had seen the film last week, but had the 'push' to put it on this post only now. Mulling over...!

My internet connection is ON, OFF at the sametime now and I've no clue why its behaving like my day. Somewhere, I feel that these days I'm best when left alone. I've the guilt of not meeting up with my school friends, one of whom had come down from the USA, twas her birthday too - but I was in some god forsaken moment in time, somewhere else - wish I had some luxuries of space and time. Now I have it - but somewhere instead of reaching out, I just want to reach within. Have you ever felt this way before? This sudden abruptness?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

JTYJN

After titles like QSQT, DDLJ, KKHH, KANK, OSO - comes Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Now, whether you know it or you dont, how does it matter when you've really munched on well into the butter popcorn and cold coffee, with peals of laughter thrown in between?! Add some real good performances from what we can call an exact casting of artistes in recent times, and it really does not matter if you even come back without remembering the order of their appearances (which of course, they dutifully put in the end titles!)

Good debut by Imraan Khan. Genelia is finally getting her act together. Friendship or love is the focus but its not the only thing the lead pair are obsessed about. The brother sister act between Aditi and Amit is an equally enjoyable one to the rare mom-son scenarios shared between Savitri (an outstanding portrayal by Ratna Pathak Shah) and her son Jai (this boy has it naturally or is it some great training from a watchful uncle?!). Even though he is an over-exposed actor, he was always a wee bit under-utilised, dont you think? Im talking about Paresh Rawal who does a superb cameo in this film. The Khan Brothers provide the bit of suspension of disbelief - but as Aditi herself says when she sees them (along with the audience for the 1st time) "Is shehar mein kuch bhi ho sakta hai!". And with that line, you sit back and enjoy what can possibly be a good, Indian film for the makers of Sex in the City to take many lessons from, on How to Make a Rom-Com!

Some real lines for dialogues and realtime filming to register changes in emotion in the 'mind' of the characters (yes, not just the face as we are so used to watching in Indian cinema) - yes, some cliches are employed to make the predictable scenes run towards the climax but in all, Abbas Tyrewala has made his mark as one of the very best screen-writers we have! As a director, his staging of the scenes, the way he would open a scene from the book Savitri is reading to a wider frame near the Bay of Bengal, everything has its own charm and freshness. Maybe it also has to do with the 'sunshine' effect of the entire film as well - bright and breezy, with a generous dose of soothing colors for costumes and no overdose of anything remotely cinematic.

No, I didnt feel the need to compare this one with KKHH or Dil Chahta Hai (except felt that this one too is a movie for TODAY-much like its predecessors). I felt completely young watching this zig-zag, yo-yo love story, with less intensity and more fun. I mean, this is a film where parents enquire fondly of their children, "beta, aaj ki party kaisi thi?" instead of going ballistic over when, where and how (and in what dress) their under-21 kids were partying! Cool, huh?!

But then, the THIS in JTYJN is Mumbai and we ARE in 2008! But how many of our movies are made for our time? This one sure is - no matter how old you are, if you have a funny bone, if you've had deep friendships, if you've loved and been in love for a long time, this one is for you! Watch it.

Wait, how am I allowed to leave without talking about A R Rahman? Well, he is what he is for the film - the music director. He didnt try to take the film away from its makers. Happily Rahman has let the director be the Boss and has delivered the tracks and BGM to the orders of the script, hence, Rahman fits in so well, that we don't feel the need to look for him! ;-)

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Bucket List & The Savages

Either way you put it the combination of these two separate films make for a good title for another one, dont you think?! Of late, Ive gotten into this groove of moviewatching and thankfully, it has become a jolly routine. Out of maybe 5 movies from last week, these two most definitely stand out.

The Savages written & directed by Tamara Jenkins, is enacted by Phillip Feymour Hoffman & Laura Linney - two actors who stand out in every frame as the entire film is only about them. Playing siblings in the most realistically seen setup ever - the emotions, the jealousies, the wordplay - its all right in front of view! Here is a classic example of how good acting can make you forget you're watching an actor. Good acting, here, makes you relate only to their characters. Such true to life conflict, narrated in the most humorous and non-cinematic fashion - but before we delve deeper into that aspect, lets take a quick glance at The Bucket List.

Written by Justin Zackhman and directed by Rob Reiner, this film has stars doing what they know best. Making the audience relate to situations that happen around them is also an example of good acting. Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman complement each other and come off as people,whose traits we all possess - well, I mean in bits n pieces! Some terrific cliches transform into superb onscreen lines when delivered by Nicholson.The fun and fantasy part of the script is provided by him, while Freeman does the rooted in values routine.

Now - it is purely by choice that I picked up these two movies to watch 'em one after another. It is by no means an exercise in improving my patience levels...as there are no snazzy action or slick cuts to keep you glued to the screen. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the slow pace of both these films which so reflect the non-dramatic existence of everyday life! To translate that humdrum-ness onto film is great screenwriting to begin with. Good direction and editing, specially when all the scenes involve one emotion or another, hence the cuts have to blend with the dialogue or close-up to denote the finishing line of a shot/scene; well thought-out BGM, interspersed with just the right levels of music that characters will probably have in their daily life - I mean this is not music for film, its music for those inside the film, if you get what I mean!

Recreate 'just like life' scenarios, take a journey that is not a cinematic one ending in a crescendo climax, put some wonderful 'isms' for dialogues and cast actors who reflect the characters, pepper it with some apt editing and music - and you have what we call 'the feel good' genre.If this can be called a formula, then both Bucket List and Savages are what your dvd rating will read as Two Thumbs Up!

I miss this kind of cinema here. And wait...thats not all. Jack & Morgan visit Taj Mahal as one of the things they wanna do before they kick their bucket. So there you have the dudes dressed in cotton/linen kurtas, standing by the Shah's tomb, dwelling on the 20,000 odd 'volunteers' as Morgan calls them...the Taj in the background looking more ravishing than the real one! If this Indian connection is not enough, we have Laura Linney place a bronze idol of Ganesha in her dad's hospital room as part of things she picks up to make him happier...! WOW - was what I felt to see India in Hollywood; it certainly is more refreshing than watching Aishwarya Rai doing the Indian bride act in English.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Gamyam...a very good film!

Im groggy. Just woke up from an afternoon slumber. I open my blog. I type.

Gamyam is one of the best efforts in film-making in recent times. This Telugu film has won my heart. It is an 'everything roled into one' kind of a film. Very balanced, simple yet deep. Watching it with a select few, I was there on invitation from my director friend Priya. The film met with an unanimous applause when the director's name (Krish aka Radhakrishnan, a new find for Telugu cinema) appeared in the end. The writing, the scenarios, the characters, the relationships were all so real yet so well set in cinematic moments, that it is both life-like and larger than life.

Breaking streotypes, giving us moments that are picked up from your life or mine, making the characters speak as they should - Gamyam is a coming of age film in Telugu cinema. The very fact that this is a road movie (reminding one of Sideways, Motorcycle Diaries) is itself a clever platform to set the tone and mood of the film. The music is apt (newcomers Anil & E S Murthy) and the director does a cameo as a Naxal leader - (he does have options of playing villain to any of our big heros, or sticking to his sure shot scripts and making better films out of it!)

The film is about a clash of worlds - Abhiram (Sharwanand is aptly cast) is the sole heir to a world of riches and Janaki (Kamalini fits in well here), a medico, social activist. The film is also about Abhiram and his road buddy, Kaali Seenu (played so very endearingly by Naresh, a la Bachchan in Sholay! In fact the two also do a bike jig much similar to Jai & Veeru that one can't but smile in sheer nostalgia. Very clever of you Mr. Krish...!)

Yes, the stage dance by Janaki could have been well shot - but it is a new, 'why not this way' visual. Yes, the party scenes where Abhiram and Janaki have a fall out is an extreme slap on Capital Consumerism - but one that gives the drama their break-up requires (Watch out for the dialogues between Abhiram & Janaki in the car - one of the many scenes in the film that rate as Good, where the sheer impact of the simple words, leaves you with a deeper understanding on the differences between their worlds). Writer- Director Krish has his cinema in his control - be it in his edits, his use of song 'n' dance situations (the village record dance number is a treat!) his Naxal episode and the gun fight thereon ... Krish simply refuses to cater to your expectation of a scene. But he does cater to you also, but he does it when and how he wants to... and that's what makes the film a highly watchable experience.

P.S.: True to the spirit of the film we saw, our brigade marched onto the nearest Andhra Bhavan for our midday meal! Much like the film, this was also a highly enjoyable eating experience! (Didn't know a dull vegetable like Zucchini could be made into a spicy, dark looking, truly tasteful pachchadi!?!)

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Kuruvi

A bird that is almost extinct in Chennai city today, actually in most Indian cities. Look carefully and tell me if you can spot a single sparrow in the metros and maybe we can celebrate by going to watch the latest Vijay movie by the same name! What a masala! Loads of fast action and Vijay at his best makes Kuruvi a biriyani meal mixed with the rarest of spices. Vijay - he reminds one so much of the film's director Dharani...! Of course, hisdancing is Vijay exceling at an art that is the envy of every hero in India today with the exception of Hrithik Roshan. Vijay looks 24 yrs of age - eternally. Vijay's expressions and the mannerisms along with his dialogue delivery is a treat to watch. The low angles and punchlines suit him best, in recent times. He mouths the most inane lines with sincerity, romances Trisha with the nonchalance of a masala hero, cries very little and only when something happens to his mom or dad, rises up in anger against any injustice to anyone in sight, bashes up heavy-weight baddies with this toned up lean six pack and the great part is that Vijay does this ALL with aplomb! If this reads like a pro Kuruvi review - it is. And why not? Its been really long since we celebrated a hero on screen and Vijay fits in so well with the hungama, that we feel happy with his every punch - be it the ones he delivers with his fist or verbally. And as for the romance, Trisha has never looked hotter! Guess we have finally decided to watch great looking women in Tamil cinema and Trisha has some real, good glamor to offer much like her bollywood cousins! Dharani has tastefully conjured up scenarios that give ample room for Trisha to just be bindaas and play the babe with style! Little elements make Kuruvi a mass delight - be it in the fight scenes or in the songs, the comedy with Vivek... yippee... this is one entertainer for which we can whistle non-stop!

So what's the big deal in posting this as a thing to do for the day? Its because I haven't really enjoyed a mass hero film in the recent past as much as I enjoyed Kuruvi. And that solely thanks to Dharani's and Vijay's hardwork. With lots of charm, effortless ease and a new glint of mischief in his eyes, Vijay makes Kuruvi soar like an eagle! I laughed (also grimaced). I felt sorry for the slaves in the Cuddapah mines (but didnt cry). I gleefully grinned along to all of Vijay's gimmicks with Trisha (also Tch Tch-ed disapprovingly at some moments). I tapped my fingers and dreamed of dancing for Palaanadhu & You know songs (also forgot the lyrics once I got out of the theatre). I clapped at every win of Vijay and every punchline he threw at the hapless villains (also knew how improbable these situations were). For every thing I enjoyed thoroughly, I also kept thinking, that such masala flicks will do phenomenally well in and around south india and maybe in the south asian countries. Yes. But is that enough?

That thought is for debate another day another time...but for now...
Kuruvi Kuruvi Kuruvi Adichaaa... Dharani adi!