Analysing films

Spoiler alert: If you have read the book, don't bother watching the film. White Tiger is the definitive movie (as through the book as well) that brings out the class divide in the country. And the man of the moment for this is Adarsh Gourav. It's a tell all format of narration where the protagonist is writing to the Chinese Premier about what and how he looks at things. The film belongs to Adarsh out and out. Its a role that he plays to brilliance. The body language, diction, the screen presence all are spotless and leaves you yearning for more.  The years of honing himself in acting, singing (there is a small moment where he sings and that is so so good) and numerous workshops possibly has shaped Adarsh in to a splendid actor and he holds forth his space so well. Amongst the so called heavy weights like Priyanka Chopra, Rajkumar Rao, Mahesh Manjrekar and Vijay Maurya, Adarsh is brilliant and the fact that his character is all about owning center stage makes it all the more abo

Band Baaja Baaraat (BBB) released in 2010 and was the directorial debut of Maneesh Sharma and acting debut for the 1000000 mAh powerbank, Ranveer Singh. BBB was an out and out commercial release of YRF but in the façade of that, is an amazing narration of grit, belief, a sweet romance brewing and of course the two protagonist and the setting of the movie; saadi dilli . For one, the Delhi of BBB takes you by surprise. Quite similar to what Dibakar did with Khosla Ka Ghosla (KKG) and Shoojit with October and Vicky Donor. Delhi, as never seen before them. Remember when KKG came in the summer of 2006 it showcased the city we were not exposed to. Before KKG we had the usual templates like the Raisena Hills, India Gate and maybe some random Flyovers. KKG unleashed a different side. BBB takes off from there and showcases the very Panju Pritampura, Rohini et al. Later we do get a dekko of Sainik Farms too. But, BBB is brilliant as a film for a first time maker. The credit for that goes to Ranv

Sir is a delightful small feature that premiered in 2018 at the Cannes Film Festival. It premiered here in India in Nov 2020 and on Netflix in January 2021. Watched it other day once it came on Netflix and I also had the chance to see the trailer about a month back. It had caught my attention then for the unusual storyline and of course for Tillotama Shome. Shome is brilliant and will be the one to hold your attention all throughout the on goings. She is about hustle at one moment and about the quiet moments she spends reminiscing on her and her life and her family. She seems unfazed by the only male (her employer) around in the house (Vivek Gomber in a sublime role). Directed by Rohena Gera (with a largely foreign crew) who surprisingly has very little body of work to boot, but her 2013 documentary  What's Love Got to Do with It?  is funny and quirky. Sir will hold you for long in the quietness of the film and the subterfuge that Rohena injects time and again. It will make you sit

Tribhanga (a dance form in Odissi) is a movie about relationship. Relationship of three generations. Relationships, which have seen it's nadir and also its moment too. Relationships, which have soured and have bloomed. All of this is captured and we see it all through the eyes of veteran actress and now turned director, Renuka Shahane. While early on and in the first 15 minutes we realize that Kajol's character (Anu Apte) is an extremely angry soul and she has her reasons to be. Surprisingly, she is also featured as an accomplished Odissi dancer (pity, we never see her performing anywhere through the entire length of the film; am sure there must be reasons) with a vexed past. The beauty of art and culture, I always thought makes you mellow, and encourages you to look at relationships and everything in a "giving" manner. Hence, her characterization looked out of place and in addition her listless performance, further makes it all the more jarring. Perhaps, here her mot

Tandav in short makes a lot of effort and takes a lot of time to come to the point. But, by that time viewers have lost interest in the plot and the narration. What could have been a 2 hour feature film has been needlessly stretched to a long sojourn and if that was not enough, leaves viewers hanging for Season 2, too. Ali Abbas Zafar, does not travel beyond the length of a feature film format. He had the bandwidth to create the characters, take time in narrating the plot, build the plot gradually, develop the back story and eventually sew them all together. Alas, it all falls flat and he does not get the web series format too. The trailer had generated enough hype and pity it did not sustain to the finale. Where does it go wrong? For one, casting. Characters of Shonali Nagrani, Sara Jane Dias, and Gauhar Khan are all so manicured and propah that it beats one to understand the realism of it. Decked up in the ultimate diva templates and at the end of it, they are misfits. The three main

Starting a new series on films which are not in the Classic or Definitive category, but should be seen. And that is why the title of the piece, shall be: Why should you watch. We start with Zoya Akhtar's debut film, Luck By Chance, released in 2009. Luck by Chance is an honest attempt from amongst all her releases. Perhaps she may have reached greater heights and fame with her later releases, but Luck by Chance stands out as an extremely honest film. She has not compromised anywhere and has also not fallen in the commercial trap of typical moving where most often one has to; especially on a debut attempt. And the honesty of it all comes at the end where Konkona walks off into the horizon and leaves viewers, thinking. It does take a lot of courage to walk out of the screen in an open ended fashion, such as this. Upon its release in 2009, it received a lot of critical acclaim but not the usual commercial success. Also, what one reads in the press, she had a hard time finding the le

The Lockdown was a catalyst that ensured that I could spend a lot of time watching cinema of the world and also a lot of regional cinema which has been generating a lot of good content in the last couple of years. Marathi, Malayalam, and Tamil cinema has been steadily gaining a certain kind of reverie amongst aficionados who are looking for good cinema. Being a Bengali myself I have been exposed to Bengal cinema since the time I was introduced to it by Ma. So, that also gave me an added advantage.  I remember in my growing up years I use to often be on toes with my mother getting across to some of the cinema halls in Banaras which had the morning show, casting some of the most amazing Hollywood releases, like Ben Hur, Where Eagles Dare, Ten Commandants, Lust for Life, to name a few. There were many I saw but as a 4-5 year kid they were hazy images to me. But, Ben Hur I vividly remember because of the Chariot Race. Later, I remember my parents went for a morning screen of European Cinem

  AK vs AK like all Hindi film makes a good and sensible start and by the end of it loses steam and falls flat. But, it was nice to see Anil Kapoor in a different avatar and in grip of the things that he was doing. The Anurag Kashyap-Vikramaditya Motwane genre and typology to which Anil Kapoor fits in like a tee. However, the meta-mockumentary format is something new in Hindi cinema and that perhaps brings in a perspective to audience for the first time.  Why does the film work: I think it works for Anil Kapoor and the genre of the film. Anil in a different setting and the genre which is new. Music lifts some of the scenes quite well and so does the background score. I loved Anil singing and the moments he shares with Boney are quite interesting (even though limited). Dialogues were spot on and helped in the initial part of the narration.  Why does the film not work: Anurag Kashyap I guess. He seems too confident in the setting and even at the end where he reaches the dead end of the p

What a year it has been. I guess it will go down in the annals of the history as the year which most of us would like to forget. But I would still believe that there were some green shoots that emerged out of this dreadlock and thereafter. These shoots I think if watered will bear fruits in times to come. The other day my son's friend came over home and gave him a knitted-woolen muffler. A fresh graduate of 2019 and unsure of what she wanted to do in life; the lockdown was a bummer for her. Not to get bogged down she started learning knitting in these last 7-8 months and now she makes knitted premium products and sells them. What got my attention was her eye for detail. Packaging for one which many in India do not consider as big was something the girl was willing to go the distance and the whole effort was indeed praiseworthy. I pray to god that she creates and sustains this over time. Stories as small as this and as big as Sonu Sood got our attention. And therefore it might be go