Analysing films

Carrying forward the brouhaha and hype on the 100 years of Indian cinema, I try and chip in my bit here. From the days of Raja Harishchandra to circa 2013, yes we have traveled quite a distance. Distances through technology, genre, approach and reflection of the society. Yet, the one thing that has remained constant, cinema has entertained us. We have laughed, cried, felt, and at times copied our silver screen avatars. From the days of silent movies to the talkies and then from black and white to colour, and with advances in sound, editing, color, film promotion and publicity, corporatism of the industry there have been several highs. Yet it does not come with it's lows too. Stories of stars like Parveen Babi or Rajesh Khanna or Meena Kumari, Smita Patil or Sanjeev Kumar or Madhubala or Guru Dutt, the list is endless, who have died a tragic death and have lived a life of mostly melancholy. So the industry can be unforgiving too. Yet the medium

Managed to see the movie finally. In a limited words, very honest and laborious attempt, which shows in every frame of the movie. Starting from the pre-release hype about Farhaan's attempt on shaping the body (a la the original Milkha Singh, which I doubt was like this, as Milka the original looked skinny), to the talks of his training and then eventually the behind the scenes of the movie. The involvement of the real Milkha Singh was, Prasoon Joshi, Rakesh Mehra (still carrying the Rang De Basaanti makeover, in a cameo as the pilot of the aircraft carrying Milkha and team to Melbourne) and the frame does not get any bigger than this. It was the perfect biography and ode to one of the few genuine athletes' that modern and Indian sports has seen. Also after the success of Paan Singh Tomar there was a lot of hype and expectations too. Pity! It could not live up to the expectations that the hype it had created. Why? The movie was a tad longer than required (3+ hours, phewww!)

Managed to watch D-Day. In these days of Multiplex cinema, to watch a movie with the entire family, and that too over the weekend, you are down by Rs. 2500+ popcorn and cold drinks, so 3500/- Rs. gone and if the movie is a let down, then you not only curse the movie and so also curse yourself of shelling out 3500/- for a trash. With D-Day that is pretty much the case, what could have been a 1 1/2 hour tight crisp and edgy movie, went on to be a 2 1 /2 + hour long ordeal. What could have finished by interval and left audience wanting for more, was needlessly and aimlessly harked on for 1+ hour. That extra one hour was an extension of the past baggage that most directors of today (leave aside a few here and there) carry or rather haunts or should I say puts them in dilemma. The classic case of emotion, drama, farz, karz, marz,...running high and leaving the audience asking for once to stop it and go home. The pre-interval phase was what could have been where Arjun Rampal's chara

I know it is quite late in the day to be doing a take on the mercurial and talented Rituporno (known to many as Ritu Da, hence I took the liberty of calling him with the same acronym). Ritu Da’s death has been sudden and has definitely sent shock waves in both the Bengal and the Hindi film industry. He was a talent, who dared to look at cinema beyond the confines of what was stated at that point in time. Detailing, detailing and detailing, was his forte, which brought out the characters so strongly. Perhaps one of the things he seems to be inspired from Ray!    Again from the advertising background (I use again, as there are quite a few people who have made their mark coming from this background, notably Shyam Benegal, R. Balki and his wife (English Vinglish), John Mathew Mathan (Sarfarosh fame) to name a few!), he established himself very quickly in the Bengal film industry. Largely to me for two reasons, one there was big vacuum left behind after Ray, Ghatak, Mrinal Sen,

What have we had in 2013 so far, some small, some big and some really big releases. The first half, particularly Jan, Feb and March were kind of hesitant and unable to take off. Jan we had the hyped Matru Ki Bijlee...but it never captured the audience's imagination. Why? The script never really was in place. I have been closely following Vishal Bharadwaj, his genius is unquestioned. Otherwise how can one make a sheer gem like Makdee (go watch it, if you haven't)! However, he has been missing the plot in the last few outings. He seems to have got stuck in the big Bollywood name imbroglio. That will really hurt him as he decides to explore new boundaries. Look at his fantastic protege, Abhishek Chaubey and Ishquia, that saw glimpses of vintage Vishal. I have not seen Maqbool, but I understand it is a gem too, Vishal go on, where are you, explore, ponder and cultivate. Feb, managed to see a new genre in Indian cinema, not explored before, ABCD. Remo and his brand of dancin

  "It is said that Pilgrimage to Kashi will be completed only after the worship at Rameswaram besides a holy bath in Dhanushkodi at the Confluence of Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean" In the same spirit, Raanjhana is incomplete without Dhaanush, paradoxical as the setting of the movie too is Kashi. He is just effortless and expressive. Frame after frame he captures every moment leaving very little for Sonam (who anyway is a drab) and the often mercurial and hyped Abhay Deol. They both are downsized, ironical again considering that both Abhay and Sonam are taller than him. The movie starts on a note which quickly lays the edifice to the movie. The energy of the protagonist, the never ending zeal and quest of the character Kundan (Dhaanush) to get his girl Zoya (Sonam). Religion, caste or creed is completely inconsequential for him. To add to this frenzy are Dhanush's childhood friends, superbly played by Zeeshan and Swara Bhaskar. These three in the first 15 minutes