Analysing films

I am back and after a long time. Saw some movies here and there but did  not get a chance to review. Most of them ordinary stuff, but a few stood out. OMG (Oh! My God), Makkhi, English Vinglish and of course Talaash (only in the first half, the second half was a complete let down). Amongst them OMG stood out. Why? Very different theme, very strong story line (had to be, inspired from the classic play-Kanji Virudh Kanji) and an inspired performance from Mithun Chakrabarty (why not Paresh Rawal? He was definitely very good, as the script was cut out for him, but hats off to Mithunda, he just rocked). English Vinglish was a fine movie, but I thought Sridevi was quite predictable and she had more scope to act, but the Director was quite limited in terms of her quiver in her armour. The Director needs to look beyond commercials (ad films) and look at cinema from a "cinema" perspective. Ok! let us get back to 2012 and the year gone by. How do we sum up? Like every year

 Sorry! It took me a long time in coming back, but then have not been able to watch too many films in the last two months, due to terrible travel schedule. But during my month stay in Europe I was able to watch a lot of Ray (Satyajit), about which I shall discuss in a separate forum. The latest edition from the James Bond franchise is truly a breakaway film and Sam Mendes has done justice to the theme, film and the script. Infact, it might have taken a whole lot of guts from the owners of the James Bond franchise to be approving such an genre (actually it is a genre unto itself). After Sean Connery, Daniel Craig has easily been the best thing to happen to James Bond. Sorry Pierce Brosnan! And he takes forward the legacy and how. To me Daniel Craig had arrived from the classic chase sequence shot stylishly in Madagascar for Casino Royale in the opening sequence of the film. That to me set the tone for a whole new theme of Bond films, which brought back the vintage Bond (read S

This has to be a surprise package of the year. What was an innocent outing with my daughter to show her a children's film turned out to be a fascinating experience indeed. An honest and daring attempt to showcase one of the biggest and India's most shameful crime on female foeticide. Shot extensively in a village in Mahendergarh, Haryana it has the lowest sex ratio in the country. Which is actually a paradox. The film stands out for it's contrasts. A urban family of four members. Granny, father and two kids have their ancestral roots in the village. Contrast that to their current existence in a upscale neighbourhood in New Delhi. The father a successful doctor and has the desire to set up a hospital in his village too. The presence of a bengali (from New Jalpaiguri) in a Haryana Hamlet are all assured and stark contrasts that the Director Neel Madhav Panda wants us to meander through. It starts as a movie through the eyes of the lead protagonist Shreya (Lehar Khan)

Expendables 2 takes off from where Expendables 1 left. Heavily testosterone loaded and high on action and stunts there is little room for anything soft or mushy or probably somber too. At the end of the film where Billy's girlfriend receives the parcel of money and Billy's letter also, looks like an afterthought and almost pushed in. Right from the word go, Sly Stallone and his team (Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis et al) are on an unleashed spree of mayhem and disorder. There is an hint of desperation too, perhaps because age is catching on or probably Geriatrics might fail to do the trick at a certain time. The combined age of all the lead actors in the movie put together is: 553 year. Pretty prehistoric stuff, one must say. But, they speak very little and do a lot. Barney Ross and Trench (Sly Stallone and Arnie's character) do have occasional tiff and hate to be in each other's shoes. Infact the opening sequence where Barney and his men rescue Trench fro

Director Kabir Khan of this movie had prior work in the form of Kabul Express and New York to showcase. Was Kabul Express better than New York? Was New York better than Ek Tha Tiger (EKT)? To me answer to them is YES. And by this logic I dread waiting Kabir Khan's next. EKT never stands on it's feet inspite of a man who is currently riding a wave and having a time of his life. Even though it is a written off film, but going by Salman's luck, charm, presence, add-in anything that you want, this one will also go into the 100+ crore plus club. EKT has fab locales, fab people and a fab budget to go. But what surprises me most, does a name matter or a star cast more than the script or the plot. YRF's repertoire of work speaks for itself. Look at a Band Bajaa Baraat or a Chak De. Strong scripts but relatively newbies to support (Yeah! I know Shahrukh and Chak De, don't forget, the movie rises or rose beyond him), alternatively you have a EKT and with SALMAN they wo

In my review of GOW 1 I had mentioned that the film was an overdose of style, treatment and loads of gore and guns. The script, story and everything in between took a back seat. The zest, fervour and the spirit of GOW 1 continues with GOW 2. What a mess? Manoj replaced by Nawazzuddin and it is one hell of a journey into the heartlands of Dhanbad (Wasseypur) with more blood, more guns and a transforming India in as the backdrop. The coal replaced by scrap, the black telephones replaced by pager (!) and eventually by cellular phones. But the gore and blood stays. Absence of a plot and a good script is throughout visible and at times it meanders into a docu-drama into the history of India through the eyes of Anurag Kashyap (suggest he goes back to Black Friday and see the DVD again). Frame after frame there is a motley crowd of rogues either eating or shooting or f***ing. Nothing really separating one from the other. The only silver lining, Tigmanshu Dhulia. Every frame he appears it c

Again a little late in reviewing the film since it has been some time the movie has been released and has garnered a fair share of appreciation. Infact, his (Srijit's) another in line Hemlock Society has already released too. But none the less, it is never too late to review a different film. Set as a crime thriller the film really moves beyond the ordain and creates an epitaph of glory which is lost and eventually found. Srijit's research and storyline in this context is indeed fascinating. The backdrop of poetry and that of  Hungryalist Movement and the kind of contribution made by the contemporaries of this period is inextricable. The plot is taut and though at times it does seem to meander into Parambrata's personal life, yet it comes back into the main theme quickly. Prosenjit stands out as the failed, suspended and the drunk cop, Parambrato as the officer on the job and there is Goutam Ghosh in a role of a lost poet trying to find his foothold. Raima is OK but has

It has been sometime since I saw the movie and I am afraid a little late in putting up my very own review. Rohit Shetty and his genre has now become his trademark self and has the distinctive style to it. One has also started witnessing a sort of "favourites" being casted in cinemas. Yash Chopra camp or Karan Johar camp or Vidhu Vinod Chopra camp etc. and now add in Rohit Shetty camp. In that you can add in Krishna (of Comedy Circus fame) who has a substantial footage in the cinema. Surprising, because Raju and his contemporary inspite of being so talented never really could break into cinema. Given this is Krishna's first outing (maybe he has had a few cinema before this, I do not know!) he is confident and his usual self, funny and confident. The movie is (as Rohit claims) inspired from the classic Golmaal (will such cinemas or brand of cinemas be made again?) and that is about it. Ajay plays the local goon/pehelwan/dada supported by Abhishek (never really in sync wi

For the generation who has grown on Rajesh Khanna, this must be the saddest moment and day of his life. The first true Super Star of India, passes away a tad and uncharacteristic of him. Unfortunate and unedifying. The legacy of a man, who has left a repertoire of work like Aradhana, Amar Prem, Anand, Kati Patang... the list is endless. Each film epitomises his status as the true romantic hero. He best epitomises what cinema stood for. "Sheer entertainment". He was also a man of contrast. He died a lonely death and a very lonely death. Indeed for a man, whose fans lined up for him, kissed his car, wrote letters in blood, tore his shirt, this must have been a lonely death. As we all come together on this saddened day, are fans so merciless or ruthless or deceptive? Then why does Rajesh Khanna say, "Babumoshai, Mere fans mujhse koi chin nahin sakta". That is the irony of the situation or probably an oxymoron! Khanna's body of work spoke about Khanna an

The much awaited, much talked, much discussed and much deliberated Gangs of Wasseypur (GOW), had me scrambling to the nearest cinema hall, of course not for a first day first show, but in these days of multiplex terminology, weekend show. Some movies much before their release grabs all the attention, either for the director's repertoire, or for an unusual reason (like a Sunny Leone and Jism 2) or for a remake or a sequel (Agneepath, Jannat 2 etc.). This one grabbed for the director and for the plot that he decided to choose. And probably more than the plot the setting of the movie. We have had Kala Pathaar in the past, but trust Anurag and his team to get more into the realistic mode and portray the region in it's harsh, unforgiving and a little sleepy coal belt of India. Though the opening credits clearly states the film was not shot at actual location, Wasseypur. What Anurag has done (I thought that was secondary) with the movie, focused too much on the treatment, the st

Ferrari Ki Sawari's ride was a smooth one true to it's brand name, but part bumpy because of Vidhu Vinod Chopra (VVC) and his team. It has increasingly become or at least beginning to get clear that this camp business in Bollywood is developing a genre of it's own. The YRF camp, the usual mushy stuff and with loads of feel good, you do have the occasional Chak De (however, with loads of feel good) and then the Karan Johar camp of predictable teeny bopper stuff, the Aamir Khan camp of trying to be serious, hijacking creative director's plot and often Aamir laden dilemma and the recently constituted Anurag Kashyap camp with serious, edgy, issue based (often bordering on reality and virtuality) cinema. In this humdrum, the VVC camp has also been churning out their own brand of cinema. Seriously after Munnabhai the VVC camp has decided to own up this property of "get to the audience's tear gland". It has been working with them, 3 Idiots is an example of th

Racy, pacy and speedy, that's the first three words that comes to my mind, with this unusual film, Bhooter Bhabishyat. Unusual, as it seems, as after Ray (Satyajit) nobody seriously explored the spooky genre in the same way as he did. Hollywood's passion and strong liking towards these genres have had a series of fun, seriously spooky and psychotic thrillers. In India, the Ramsay's were the pioneers in Hindi cinema, but they seemed to swing between something called an attempted horror to a soft sleazy thriller, often tilting on the latter's side. Well let's come back to Bhooter Bhabishyat. Anik Dutta seems firmly in control from start to finish. There is never a moment to loose and a moment to dwell on. You miss it and you are blinked. That is where I thought  the pace of the film seems to be caught in a warp. One would have loved to soak in "moments" more often. For example, a character like Bhutoriya the developer (Mir in his characteristic elements)

Rowdy-ness is in and it is cool. Full on time pass and total paisa vasool. It is a non-stop entertainment from the moment Akshay enters the screen with Paresh Ganatra. Loads of comedy, action and a crisp screenplay. There is a never dull moment and the rapid pace of the film perhaps makes up for it's loose ends here and there. Watching these movies without any baggage is perhaps best. Prabhudeva has improved from his last outing Wanted immensely and that gets reflected in every frame of the film. Akshay excels in both comedy and action, with his double role, Sonakshi does not have to do much, just cavort and pirouette around Akshay and she does that ably. I hope nobody tells her to "act" in her future films. She has never let gone her Dabangg baggage and that it is clear frame after frame. Nassar is always the classical villain and movie after movie he has been doing it with aplomb. The music stands out and Prabhudeva's trademark dance routine with celebrities li

Ishaqzaade (IQZ) indeed is coming off age movie for Yash Raj Films (YRF). Probably not for Indian Cinema. YRF's biography of films, mostly feel good cinema and carrying the morality aspect with so much of noise and brouhaha is indeed a lot of responsibility. In that sense IQZ seems different and the creative license awarded to Habib Faisal the director is truly noticeable. Though one would tend to like Habib's earlier work the wonderful, Do Dooni Chaar, but of course he had Rishi and Neetu as strong casts along with Archit and Aditi as strong characters, that made the film stand apart. IQZ's reason for standing out is the strong screenplay and never does at any point in time goes out of the plot. The sudden tweak at the interval and then the rising hostility between the two families is one long battle that goes on. To me however, the winner is the film location and the strong cinematography. The fictitious town of Almore and it's simmering rift, the political agenda

I know I am late, but I saw this surprise package late. But, GOD I saw it, which is important. This has to be the biggest and the best sleeper hit of the year. The movie belongs to Anu Kapoor, Anu Kapoor, Anu Kapoor and Aayushman. Remember the Editor's role in Mr. India (Anu Kapoor at his delectable best). He doesn't fail. On top form, with crisp acting and never really goes out of the character at any point in time. Hat's off to Shoojit, this has to be the biggest find (what was Anu Kapoor doing all these years, perhaps preparing for this one role). Aaayushman the boisterous and loud Punjabi Munda, stands out. What a debut! You have to give it to him.  However, above all this what stands out, in it's true character, DELHI. Loud, Crass, Pompous, Flashy, Unforgiving, yet providing space to all. It has to be Delhi at it's best. We have had quite a few films where the protagonist or the antagonist is Delhi, this one captures another hue of the city. The classic

Hopes and hopes and hopes, after three immensely successful and redefining movie from Dibakar, you feel cheated. It is a let down indeed. Let's quickly get done first with the sore points. The script was very very good, unfortunately never holds it's characters. For that matter none of the characters stands out. Everyone seems to be making an earnest attempt, however, it is the scope of the character and the screenplay that runs them down. Let's start with Pitobash, since the films starts with him. The character had an element of casualness yet some hint of dilemma that was ethereal to the overall frame, yet in the end we suddenly seem to loose grip of him, even that of Anant Jog, as the driver caught in the trap. Everyone fails, Kalki, Abhay, Supriya and Prosenjit. Prosenjit (Dr. Ahmedi) seems to be in some kind of a war with IBP (the fictitious aspect or party or colony looming around). What is the origin of the war? There are stray references to New York! The whole th

The story of Kahaani! Quite unexpected and took most of us by surprise. Not the best of the films for a purist or for a Namrata Joshi kind of profile. Yet kind of enjoyed the moments in the films. The daily return of "Rana" by tram (why does he take a tram!) and the customary phone from his "Ma". Very very Bong, the Calcutta in silhoutte and the constant clobbering of sound, make all o fit vibrant. The pace is brisk and always has you on the edge. Nawazuddin was good (though I thought he had more room in Peepli Live) and Saswata took the cake, as the cool calculated villain. What about Bidya (ohh! Vidya), she was good in parts, the moments of her lowliness in the hotel room, her first shot of getting down from the taxi at the Kalighat Police Station. Parambrata and Kharaj were good and so where all the support cast that included a small cameo by Collen Blanche. What stood out; definately the plot, the cast and a very strong backdrop, CALCUTTA. What did not, as Namr