Rakt Charitra Part 01
Rakt Charitra Part 02
Rakt Charitra Part 03
Rakt Charitra Part 04
Rakt Charitra Part 05
Rakt Charitra I (2010) Part 06
Rakt Charitra I (2010) Part 07
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Thursday, October 28, 2010
Rakt Charitra
Rakt Charitra Part 01
Rakt Charitra Part 02
Rakt Charitra Part 03
Rakt Charitra Part 04
Rakt Charitra Part 05
Rakt Charitra I (2010) Part 06
Rakt Charitra I (2010) Part 07
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Rakta Charitra
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Actors: Vivek Oberoi, Shatrughan Sinha, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh
Sushant Singh, Zarina Wahab, Aashish Vidyarthi, Suriya
A silly, croaky, overexcited old voice narrates this film like Betaal to Vikram from the popular Doordarshan show. The purpose, I guess, is to sound corny. It goes well with the movie. The intent is a giveaway. The voice introduces the film’s main villain to suggest, “Yeh rajneeti nahin, rakta neeti ka rakshas hai. Isne vaishiyat ke mayane badal ke rakh di (He’s not a demon of politics, but the devil of blood. He’s redefined cruelty).” As could this movie.
This half naked, hairy-chested Bukka Reddy (Abhimanyu Singh) finds every few minutes an ingenious way to kill. He uses saws, metallic juicers, throws rats to nibble over his victim’s belly. He’s also the “vaasna ka shikari (hunter of lust)”. Rape is his other favourite sport. There is just blood all over as you watch his goons assault minions with axes, sickles, hammers, break legs, twist necks. The mind is numbed by the tragicomedy of gore.
The hero Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi, not a false note) is but no better. He’s the young son of a martyred politician who had fallen out with his mentor. His family's pretty much finished. Everyone’s after this boy now. He hides in the hills, when he’s not slashing heads or pulling triggers himself. This is pure chin-drop violence, as opposed to pin-drop silence that you’ll never find a moment of. A loud siren or a wind instrument fills the gap between thuds of humans being thrashed around. We’re in a fictional town called Anandpur in Andhra Pradesh. Politics is pointless when deaths come this easy. Cops can be swatted like mosquitoes. Redemption is a waste of intent.
The filmmakers suggest this is based on a true story. I guess, in some ways, so is Tom And Jerry. This one’s just for adults interested in a punching bag for a picture, to vent out their frustrations or play out their violent fantasies. Ghajini was a hit. So are many similar regional and B films. It's been a long time since we saw Ram Gopal Varma making film worthy to bear his name on it, considering his remarkable history as a director. Rather he has been at the butt of many jokes and criticism for constantly coming up with unworthy products. During his recent interviews the director admitted that Raktra Charitra is one film that he is extremely anxious about as he considers it among his best. The expectations rise right away. And does he deliver on these? An honest answer would be 'yes he does to a large extent'!
Rakta Charitra is one film with action and attitude right from the first scene till the last. The story is based on true life incidents related to slain Telugu MLA Paritala Ravi. Though the characters are fictionalized to a reasonable extent the director has managed to keep enough authenticity. The protagonist in this film is Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi). Pratap's father Veerbhadra is killed after he gains way too much power in his own party and that does not go too well with some others. That war that starts is clash of castes. Veerbhandra's elder son Surya gets into revenge more but is killed too. And that's when Pratap steps in and goes on to finish of all who were behind his father's murder. The story takes a turn as Pratap steps into politics.
The story moves at a relentless pace. By the intermission time it leaves you wondering what more can be set into the story in a tale of revenge. The second half does not disappoint either. The screenplay is in its place. And as usual Ramu sets the mood with the help of his innovative camera-work and energetic background music. Also he uses a news channel type narration to lend the story urgency and also to keep the story time shorter. The director however fails to end the film well. The story does not have a proper ending. However it is innovative too as Ramu opts to reveal the promo of his second part at the end. Stylish and confident!
Performances too are worth watching, Vivek Oberoi does his best as he carries the film. But it is Abhimanyu Singh, who we have earlier seen in a power-packed Gulaal, who steals the show completely with his demonic presence. And of course Shatrughan Sinha minus his moustache and trademark 'Khamosh' is extremely likable. He rather has another phrase 'topic is over' to mark end of all his conversations and you have to watch the film to believe in the elegance the veteran actor delivers it!
Overall, Rakta Charitra is tale of blood and gore and may not be digestible to many. For them there will be other options. But if you are sucker for the gore and revenge dramas Rakta Charitra is your film. RGV nails it right on the head this time. 'Topic is over'!
Jhootha Hi Sahi
Director: Abbas Tyrewala
Actors: John Abraham, Pakhi Tyrewala, R Madhavan, Raghu Ram, Manasi Scott, Anaitha Nair
There are so many desis on the screen, with such fine command over Hindi, you know you’re in London, the uniquely Indian neighbourhood that belongs to Bollywood alone. A guided tour, sponsored by the tourism authority, is unnecessary.
Three jobless yuppies own Kaagaz Ke Phool, a store that sells Indian books but doesn't “do Deepak Chopra”. They and their friends also live in swanky apartments with wide, open kitchens, couches you can slouch deep into. Main doors faces the friendly neighbour's. The tone's truly American sit-com, as in say Seinfeld. Friends here though merely share wine, throw blank glances at each other, make even more banal conversations.
Fakeness is complete. Nothing can salvage or punctuate the emptiness within. One dude perennially proposes to his pregnant girlfriend, the other girl always throws relationship tantrums. Amar Mohile's opening riff from the brilliant track 'Naach le’ (Naach) recurs for a background tune. It’s all unrelentingly unfunny and uncontained; completely “ajeebs,” to borrow a refrain from the film.
The hero is an under-confident, geeky, bespectacled bloke who stammers before beautiful girls. That’s supposed to be the pretty hunk John. The heroine is suicidal, but an object of instant male desires. That cutesy, Goldie Hawn role is played by the debutant Pakhi. Not sure what puzzles you more: the film, or its inspired casting.
The leading couple meets over the phone, because his number gets mistakenly printed in an ad for a serious relationship counsel helpline specifically for desis at night. They hit it off online. They also get close offline: become friends, and then potential lovers. She doesn’t know the confident expert on the phone she calls Fidato, and the floppy fellow Sid she meets at the coffeeshop is the same person. She likes both. He knows. He can tell her the truth. She can hear it. We can move on. They aren’t quite Sleepless in Seattle.
This is what they call the Idiot Plot, one that entirely rests on a minor miscommunication or misunderstanding to stretch a silly premise forever: another random character, more sub-plots, another dance, more songs, another guided tour to London, more twists. "Fidato," the heroine says, “It means someone you trust.” Finito. It means finished. Wish this film could figure when to.
Jhoota Hi Sahi' reinstates a couple of beliefs that were established after the release of 'Jaane Tu. Yaa Jaane Na' a couple of years back. First, it is not necessary to always have a complete new story if you have a well done screenplay and fresh approach. Second, Abbas does not need a great actor to pull his film! 'Jaane Tu' was not the most unique story and neither is Imran Khan the most versatile actor we have. Yet the film and Imran went on to become sensations. With 'Jhoota Hi Sahi' the director attempts something similar. While the attempt has its freshness, it remains to be seen how it scores with the audience.
'Jhoota Hi Sahi' has a story with loads of winner moments strewn all over. But it also has loads of scenes and characters so completely inspired from elsewhere. For one the characters are quite inspired from the American sitcom Friends. And then we have the lead guy taking lies to make the girl fall for him. And of course how can we forget similarity with Hera Pheri - the entire story starts because the protagonist Sid (John Abraham) gets a wrong call as a result of his number being published in a helpline directory by mistake. Nevertheless Abbas goes about building his story in his own style adding humour and drama to it. He and Pakhi script out an interesting screenplay and dialogues. The film has been shot very neatly and has been edited well too. A R Rahman's music however is definitely not a highlight.
What's interesting is that John Abraham comes up with a good performance as a geek. Pakhi does well too but the only wish was if the film had a younger looking heroine. Raghu Ram does well in his first outing as an actor. Overall, 'Jhoota Hi Sahi' is fun and refreshing. It's definitely a cool watch for the youngsters. What more, the final moments lead to the airport too! New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) Films depicting a compulsive liar and a snake woman's vengeance a la "Naagin" and a biopic on a slain factionist-turned political leader... take your pick from "Jhootha Hi Sahi", "Hisss" and "Rakta Charitra", three distinctly different films that release this Friday.
While "Jootha Hi Sahi" stars hearthrob John Abraham in the lead as a geeky liar, "Hisss" has been in the news for Mallika Sherawat's bold scenes and "Rakta Charitra" for Vivek Oberoi's intense acting. Made under the Saregama banner, "Jhootha Hi Sahi" has been directed by Abbas Tyrewala and stars his wife Pakhi in the female lead. Penned by Pakhi, it is about a suicidal woman whose final call mistakenly connects her to a man who gives her something to live for. The movie also marks the big screen debut of VJ Raghu.
"This is a purely commercial Hindi film, not experimental. I think the audience will like what they see in this movie. I think lies that are not meant to hurt, white lies, are ok. It is nicer to be honest of course. Abbas has taught me to lie so well that I am now a proficient liar," said John.
"Hisss" has been directed by renowned Hollywood filmmaker Jennifer Lynch. Produced by Split Image Pictures Pvt Ltd and presented by Venus Records & Tapes Pvt Ltd, it amalgamates the talents of Bollywood actors and top technicians of the west.
It revisits the long tried Naagin genre in Bollywood with a contemporary and bolder-than-ever approach. The movie revolves around the vengeance of a Naagin, a snake woman, whose mate is captured from the jungles of India. She transforms into a woman and ventures into the city in desperate search for her lover. What follows next is venom and deaths. Known for her bold image, Mallika does the full monty in the movie.
"It is undoubtedly the boldest role I have done so far. Agar logon ko lagta hai 'Khwaish' and 'Murder' bold the, toh 'Hisss' unki neend haraam kar degi (If people thought 'Khwaish' and 'Murder' were bold, 'Hisss' will take their sleep away)," Mallika said recently.
It also stars Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta and American actor Jeff Doucette in pivotal roles. Mallika has also crooned a song composed by late Beatles legend John Lennon's son Julian in the movie.
"Rakta Charitra" is a two-part trilingual made in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil by Ram Gopal Varma. Based on the life of Andhra Pradesh leader Paritala Ravi, it features Tamil superstar Surya and Shatrughan Sinha in pivotal roles.
While veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha has done away with his signature pencil moustache for the first time in 32 years for the movie, Vivek has grown a bushy one. Varma too is making a debut as a singer with the thriller - he has crooned a Telugu song in the movie and unlike anyone else, the filmmaker is now waiting to slug it out at the box office.
"The battle between sex and violence is all set to start on Oct 22 between Mallika Sherawat's fangs and Vivek Oberoi's sickle. May Devil bless them," Varma tweeted.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Knock Out
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Aakrosh
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Paresh Rawal, Bipasha Basu
Directed by: Priyadarshan
Caste based atrocity is one of the worst, chronic and a few millennia old injustice of the world. Yet its continuing prevalence, especially in India, is one of its best kept open-secrets. India's vibrant cinema has paid scant attention to it. The commercial venture "Aakrosh" comes as a late but welcome populist attempt to correct this gross neglect.
After three Delhi medical students disappear from a village in Bihar, two CBI officials Sidhant (Akshaye Khanna) and Pratap (Ajay Devgn) are sent for investigation. They encounter not just an inefficient police, but an openly antagonistic one. Their attempts to uncover the truth lays bare a Pandora's box of corruption, illicit power-play, ruthless casteism and murders and abductions to maintain the status quo.
When all official means fail to bring the guilty to book, the two committed men are left with no course but to resort to every alternate means possible to deliver justice in a failed state.
"Aakrosh" is loud and sometimes crass in typical Bollywood fashion and, as they say, its fiction. What it is not - is a lie. In its own way, it lays bare the power structures that obstruct justice and thus the true growth of India, all because of the corrupt collusion of the police, bureaucracy and politics that uphold age old casteism. The film thus uses a lie to tell the ugly truth of our society.
"Aakrosh" is also rife with analogies. The Batman and Robin team of Sidhant and Pratap is a team of an upper-class Brahmin and a lower-caste Dalit fighting for the same cause but in their own ways. When the straightforward methods of the no-nonsense Brahmin fails, they have to resort to the street-smart ways of the Dalit to bring the guilty to book. This is perhaps a message to the subjugated masses of the country that justice has to be delivered at any cost, and it is the oppressed that have to use any means available to do so. There are factual inconsistencies, like the brazen manner in which the local police insubordinates a CBI inquiry.
Akshaye Khanna is unconvincing while Ajay Devgn is believable as the quiet but angry ex-army major who has suffered the consequences of being a Dalit. Paresh Rawal, the master-key like actor who slides into any role, plays a slimy but smiling police officer with aplomb and epitomizes the rarely acknowledged truth, that in rural areas the police is not part of the solution, but is often the main problem.
Robin Bhatt and Akash Khurana's writing is crisp and direct. They spare the audience needless preaching, thus giving the message that it is time for some action and justice instead. Sometimes you have to like a film just because its heart is in the right place, and because it dares to say something few have said before. "Aakrosh" is one such convincing film whose demerits are swept under the carpet of its boldness.
Caste based atrocity is one of the worst, chronic and a few millennia old injustice of the world. Yet its continuing prevalence, especially in India, is one of its best kept open-secrets. India's vibrant cinema has paid scant attention to it. The commercial venture "Aakrosh" comes as a late but welcome populist attempt to correct this gross neglect.
After three Delhi medical students disappear from a village in Bihar, two CBI officials Sidhant (Akshaye Khanna) and Pratap (Ajay Devgn) are sent for investigation. They encounter not just an inefficient police, but an openly antagonistic one. Their attempts to uncover the truth lays bare a Pandora's box of corruption, illicit power-play, ruthless casteism and murders and abductions to maintain the status quo.
When all official means fail to bring the guilty to book, the two committed men are left with no course but to resort to every alternate means possible to deliver justice in a failed state. "Aakrosh" is loud and sometimes crass in typical Bollywood fashion and, as they say, its fiction. What it is not - is a lie. In its own way, it lays bare the power structures that obstruct justice and thus the true growth of India, all because of the corrupt collusion of the police, bureaucracy and politics that uphold age old casteism. The film thus uses a lie to tell the ugly truth of our society.
"Aakrosh" is also rife with analogies. The Batman and Robin team of Sidhant and Pratap is a team of an upper-class Brahmin and a lower-caste Dalit fighting for the same cause but in their own ways. When the straightforward methods of the no-nonsense Brahmin fails, they have to resort to the street-smart ways of the Dalit to bring the guilty to book. This is perhaps a message to the subjugated masses of the country that justice has to be delivered at any cost, and it is the oppressed that have to use any means available to do so. There are factual inconsistencies, like the brazen manner in which the local police insubordinates a CBI inquiry.
Knock Out
Director: Mani Shankar
Actors: Sanjay Dutt, Kangna Ranaut, Irrfan Khan, Gulshan Grover, Rukhsar, Apoorva Lakhia, Sushant Singh, Asif Basra
The phone booth was both an important instrument for communication, and a popular Joel Schumacher film in the early 2000s. Much in the world has changed since. But for plagiarism in Bollywood! Knock Out is a Hollywood knock-off. And that’s the least of its sins. A smartly suited investment banker (Irrfan Khan; poor guy, has to scope the West for more original work: The Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, A Mighty Heart) is stuck to a PCO phone here. Voice on the other line is supposedly a “reflection of his dark conscience, sum total of his life of crime and guilt”. It isn’t clear who the gentleman (Sanjay Dutt) speaking to him is. He has seven satellites tracking the area for his close-circuit camera. It isn’t clear either if he’s after the suit because he date-raped a girl, is unfaithful to his wife, has helped fund a child trafficking racket, has treated women like objects. Suspense is instantly infused. So could some sense. So you wish.
The fellow on the phone knows intimate details of his target’s life. To scare him up further, once in a while, he shoots into the phone booth. Bullets penetrate through glass, making finely concentric circles. The busy office district, what looks like Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla complex, remains unaware of theses gun-shots, until the spot becomes a circus.
The reporter on the spot (Kangna Ranaut), suitably ‘tarted’ up for television, knows even before the police does, that the man behind the glass door is politically connected. Her editor wants her to play down the story. Cops don’t ask for reinforcements. They stand around helpless. Nation is hooked to live television. Dead body lies on the floor. Mayhem cannot be measured. Chaos is complete.
The voice on the phone then instructs the political henchman to transfer public funds siphoned off into Swiss banks by his political bosses. The suit at the phone booth sits down with his laptop fitted to his Reliance data card, gets into the Swiss bank account, and transfers black money into Reserve Bank treasury. Rs 500 crore after another of public fund is deposited back to the government. Crowds cheer on.
No redemption’s necessary. The man who held the city to ransom goes scot-free. Ends justify means. The bomb and the gun can wipe out corruption. Audiences release their hatred for politicians the way they vented out against terrorists in the terribly exploitative A Wednesday. “This is not breaking news, it's the news of the year,” says the hot India TV reporter. Huh. You bet!
Knock Out is an upsetting fair. There have been some good films raining off late and you would only expect it to continue. Knock Out does not serve the purpose. The film completely borrows its primary concept and structure from 2002 Hollywood film Phone Booth. A man with a gun dictates another man to stick to a phone in a booth else he will be shot. The role played by Colin Farrell in Phone Booth is essayed by Irrfan Khan in Knock Out and the one played by Kiefer Sutherland is enacted by Sanjay Dutt.
Of course there are alterations made in the storyline and characters. The poor hostage called Bachchu or Tony (Irrfan) is an investment banker and not a publicist in Phone Booth. And the theme is more about being loyal to the country than about personal conduct. In the original Hollywood film the hostage is arrogant and cheats on his wife. In Knock Out the hostage has his bank of black money.
Yes you may give credits to the writer-director for creating a different screenplay and scenes for his movie. At least you can't call his film a complete clone with different actor and language - unlike many other films we know of. And Mani does a good job on that. Good enough to keep you interested. Good dialogues, classy cinematography and stylish editing also keep things going. And thankfully for us there are no dance numbers in between!
One more thumbs up are for performances of both Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan Khan. Irrfan especially is very likable for his timing. Sanjay Dutt remains the deadly cool! Kangna evokes confidence but falters as a reporter with her diction. Gulshan Grover is delightful as usual in whatever little we get of him.
Overall, this movie might turn to be an interesting fare for one who has not seen Phone Booth. The concept is very unlike Bollywood masala fares. But the very fact that it is copied takes away all its sheen. There are enough options in the theatres for you to go for something which you have already seen eight years back!
It was reported that Shankar has taken inspiration from Hollywood venture "Phone Booth" for "Knock Out", which also features Kangana Ranaut, Sushant Singh and Gulshan Grover. But the director denied it, saying his project is based on a strong plot in which Sanjay's character will cheat those who have looted India and have many secret bank accounts across the world. "There's no similarity between 'Phone Booth' and 'Knock Out'. The only similarity is that the guy (Irrfan) is trapped in a phone booth, but the similarity starts and ends there. 'Knock Out' tells an entirely new story," Shankar said.
In the film, Sanjay plays a lone ranger who owns latest weapons and gadgets and is a man who trusts and depends on no one. Working alone, he effortlessly uses his wit, his skills at hand-to-hand combat, and his love for technology to manipulate and trap his elusive target - an investment banker played by Irrfan.
In the movie, Irrfan's character make his way to the upper echelons of power and unwittingly holds the key to India's destiny. He is a man consumed by his own obsessions, an extremely clever and unstoppable foe But Sanjay strips Irrfan of his arrogance and attitude and locks him in a tangle that could be unravelled by only one way - leading to the biggest counter-heist. As the drama reaches its action-packed climax in the film, the live action unfolds before television cameras, courtesy Kangana Ranaut, who plays a TV reporter.
About the role, Sanjay said: "When Mani narrated the script, I was raring to go. After the first day of the shoot, I realised I was doing the most difficult thing - I had to imagine Irrfan Khan was in front of me, and deliver dialogues without seeing him and his reactions. Acting means participating, and it was tough to visualise and perform."
Both the actors have donned new look for the film. While Sanjay is seen sporting small beard, Irrfan has grown his hair for the film. Irrfan also admits that it was difficult for him to act because he also had to imagine Sanjay.
Crook
Director : Mohit Suri
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Neha Sharma, Arjan Bajwa
Damn! Why didn't we think of sending the amazing super-hero Emran Hashmi to Australia before? Emran Saab's solution to global malevolence as provided in this disappointing mismash of masala and headlines is simple enough.
It's good to be bad. So says the smooth-sayer. Fair enough. If only the director had not decided to apply the motto to the treatment of this film.
At last our revenge on the Aussie attacks. This film is the ultimate comeuppance for the Australians… those so-and-sos who have been maltreating our hapless students who go to the firangi land to garner education and come back black and blue.
Blue is the colour that director Mohit Suri favours for his lurid leery look at gori babes in Melbourne. There's a gori chick and a brown chick for the Chick-let hero to chose from. He sleeps with the former and falls in love with the latter. As simple as that. Indian women are to revered. Foreigners are to be you know!
In trying to do a ferocious flag-waving trick over the complex issue of racism and colour prejudice, "Crook" ends up making the Australian population look like a bunch of psychotic killers bashing and burning the good desi boys who have gone Under to gain gyan. Is this Australia or Chicago during the Prohibition?
But wait. Suddenly the script decides to tilt the imbalance. Now the goras are not that evil. It seems Indians too create an obstinate culture block when they go abroad. They just don't know how to blend.
Thoroughly confused in its politics, "Crook" is one of those films that attempts to combine conviction with entertainment and falls between the two stools in the absence of those tools that lend skilful curves and slants to the storytelling. The narrative is uneven lopsided and askew. The pace goes from sluggish to frantic within a few reels providing us with no space to observe the characters' motivations beyond a cursory glance.
Mohit Suri who revealed a substantial grip over his material and characters in "Kalyug" here seems undecided about where to take his plot. The people who populate the storytelling seem to start off on page 1 of the newspaper and then head towards the cartoon section.
Technical aspects, another strong aspect of Mahesh Bhatt's films, are on this occasion just about okay. The performances miss the intensity of Bhatts' "Gangster" and "Kalyug" by a wide margin. But Neha Sharma makes an expressive Hindi-cinema debut. As for our super-hero Move over, Rajnikanth. Emran Hashmi is more robotic in his expressions than you can ever be.
The most important fact about Crook is that it deals with Racism. But it is false that the movie points at the racist nature of Australians. Rather it pokes a finger into the Indian mindset of being superior culturally and hence turning racists themselves.
However the issue with the film is not the points made but the way it has been done. There is a valid story but the screenplay fails big time with too many loopholes strewn all over. Crook evolves from being a story about just one guy, who escapes his way out of India to Australia with help of fake documents, to become a story on racism and hatred among two different cultures. It is about how this guy, who was looked down upon in India for being a deceased criminal's son, makes the world sit up and admire him for bringing back peace to between Australians and Indians. Sadly though, the connection between this guy's life and the chaos does not come across.
The first half is used to build up a romance between this guy, played by Emraan Hashmi, and new girl Neha Sharma. The second half suddenly gets grimmer, faster and better and is actually where the story evolves. And in between there is a spate of characters through which the director tries to add his touch of Bollywood masala - comedy, drama and even a bit of titillation. Mere waste of time! The dialogues are no better and prove complete misfit. To add to its woes, this film does not even have good music which usually is a draw in other Emraan Hashmi films.
Technically though the film is shot well. There is way too much liberty taken on location. The attempt of the director to pass of South Africa as Australia is as silly as any Hollywood director's attempt it would be to pass off any south Asian country as India. And considering the number of Hindi films that are shot in South Africa, even Indians have become aware of the cities like Johannesburg.
Performances are fine. Emraan Hashmi is his usual self. With not much experimentation he just about suffices. New girl Neha Sharma is fine. It is however Arjan Bajwa who shines in his role. Crook is neither a love story not is it any serious depiction of racism. The posters and promos too will be misleading to the audience, just like in the case of 'Tum Mile'. What could have been a much better film ends up as too mediocre a fare. You won't miss much if you don't buying this ticket. Buck up Mohit Suri, we know you can do better!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Khichdi - The Movie
There have been so many instances when Indian television has copied content from the big screen and used it, in the regular elongated and extended forms. But turning a movie out a show concept is surely new. There was news of Anand Mahendroo doing it with Dekh Bhai Dekh, but JD Majethia has clearly beaten him by miles... and in style!
Creating a film out of a show is in no way an easy task. But it definitely easy when you have characters which don't need to be build. Khichdi to its advantage had extremely popular characters - ones established in the audience's mind over the last few years. Hence when you go to watch the movie you already know that it's going to be madness and that's why you decided to watch it first place.
The question hence is - Does it live up to the expected madness? And the answer most certainly is -YES! On a flip side, some of gags seem used and repeats.
Getting into the story Himanshu desires to fall in love and so does his neighbor Parminder and then they fall in love with each other. But suddenly Himanshu has a change in heart and hopes to have conflicts and separation in love - in true filmy style - so that his love story too turns memorable. And that's exactly what his family decides to help him in.
This is one fun ride throughout keeping the audience in splits. The screenplay is kept simple in tune with the genre of the film. One criticism however would be that unlimited gags do stretch the film. Fans of the show are also likely to miss the original jayashree - Vandana Pathak. While Nimisha Vakharia who plays Jayashree in the film does her part well, it is quite huge task to live up to a character like this. The others are just as good as they are on small screen. Supriya Pathak, JD Majethia and Anand Desai are in top form. Satish Shah comes in as a pleasant surprise.
Overall, if you have wanted to laugh aloud since some time, this surely is a good chance to unleash yourself. Khichdi fans of course can't give this a miss. Kudos to director Aatish Kapadia and producer JD Majethia for making this film, the way they did it.
Anjaana Anjaani
Director: Siddharth Anand
Actors: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Anupam Kher, Zayed Khan
Romantic comedy "Anjaana Anjaani" goes in to so many directions, you wonder what happened to those good old films where Boy Met Girl… and they lived happily ever laughter.
Laughter, there's plenty of it in "Anjaana Anjaani". Raucous laughter, bitter laughter, silly laughter, goofy laughter… The couple Akash and Kiara are portrayed more like two beer-swigging buddies on a road trip through the USA (shot with shimmering restlessness by Ravi Chandran) than lovers staring at the moon and dreaming of the ever-after.
This is that 1940s' Bette Davis-Clark Gable county where love emerges from the verbal skirmish between two people thrown together by fate. There isn't much plot on display here. Once we know that the two suicidal protagonists are together for the rest of the movie the only mystery that remains is why such vibrant lives would want out.
The drama of death as defined by the rituals of daily living are rather elaborately, sometimes engagingly other times tediously, mapped in the plotline which is slimmer than Priyanka Chopra's waistline. Regrettably for an interactive rom-com the dialogues are not always as savvy, sassy and seductive as they ought to be.
Many times you feel the dialogues are translated from the English rather than conceived in the spoken language. Then there are the songs. Sigh. Tediously carpeting the soundtrack of the second more-pointless half, Vishal-Shekhar's music just seems to be creating a dimension to divert our attention from the two belligerent characters played by two very engaging actors who quite often seem to be inventing pretexts for their characters beyond those provided by the plot, character and the lines they mouth.
Priyanka Chopra, incontestably the most complete and watchable actress of her generation, makes you forget the film's obvious blemishes, mainly lengthy self-indulgent passages of pedestrian passion-play written in a tone that attempts to be flip but fails to grip. With every film Priyanka grows in stature as an actor even when the space offered is meager as in "Kaminey".
Given a wall-to-wall character to perform in this film she has so much fun digging into the crevices of the person she is required to create, you end up watching only the character and the actress, in that order.
Perfect timing in the comic scenes, skilfully and subtly seductive in the bedroomy interludes and boisterous when in a drunken rage, Priyanka takes over the show from her first inebriated appearance on a bridge where she spots our hero while trying to jump to her death.
Ranbir Kapoor in comparison is surprisingly subdued. It's partly to do with the nature of his character (an arrogant misguided soul with little control over his ego). But you suspect Ranbir just decided to sportingly play the backseat boy this time because on Priyanka he had finally met his match on screen.
Zayed Khan as Priyanka's heart breaker gets little space. But he makes sensitive use of the meager playing-time.
With more support from the dialogues and an elaborate supporting cast (the people who get a voice are largely stereotypes, the preachy lady doctor, the hero's supportive friend and his chirpy wife, etc), the very fine lead pair would have been better able to express their exceptional skills as actors.
"Anjaana Anjaani" is a film that sets off a tender saucy engaging trip. It somewhere loses its way. But still gets to its targeted destination because of the lead players who appear to know all the signposts and U-turns. By heart.
“All the greatest love stories (sic) are between strangers,” promises this picture’s tagline. In real life, this ‘love between strangers’ business, I suppose, would mean a one-night stand.
It makes for the customary premise for any formulaic, frothy film like this. The lead couple starts out hating each other, or as platonic friends, and eventually slips into eternal love. The picture takes about the same time to finish as the popcorn in your tub. Female audiences suitably develop crush on the male star. Tears are shed; laughs had; paisa vasool, as they say. Fair play.
Anjaana AnjaaniThe climax scene usually takes place at an airport (bus-stop or railway station). This is where you find the hero (or the heroine) rushing, in a moment of epiphany, having found their destiny -- their partner for life -- waiting for them somewhere at the other end.
Between this airport sequence and what’s called the ‘meet-cute’ (first time the couple meets on screen), there is supposed to be a plot, possibly sub-plots, strong conflict and a set of characters. This one unfortunately has none.
The director (Siddharth Anand, fine for the genre) has figured out the songs (a dozen of them) and the scenic sweep all right. You travel across the deserts of Nevada on road, into the neon lights of Las Vegas, peer over San Francisco from a perfectly chosen spot, and look down from New York’s George Washington Bridge.
The latter is where the hero and the heroine, strangers, meet, attempting at once to commit suicide. The boy’s (Ranbir) lost all he had to the Wall Street crash. The girl’s (Priyanka) apparently lost her childhood sweetheart to a casual affair. Neither sees any point in carrying on. They try to kill themselves together: wrap their face up with cellophane; light up gas in the kitchen stove…. By the fifth failed effort, you’re not sure either is really hell-bent on hara-kiri. Suicide demands strong resolve, not sociable company. There’s no such thing as a 'couple exit'.
They set New Year’s Eve for their final date with death, again, jumping off the same George Washington. The handsome twosome has time now to check off wishes from a bucket-list: it’s adventure sport for the penniless girl; a woman he loves so he can bed, for the virgin guy. Whatever.
You know both will fall for each other. You wait around hopelessly. Ranbir Kapoor, the star, remains the only big idea behind this film then. He bares his torso; walks around in a white ‘baniyan’ (what Americans call the “wife-beater” vest), eager to bring back a forgotten wear; charms women with his look; swigs the tequila shots; almost gets buggered by a hulk; drives under the desert sun… All for a story that doesn’t exist.
You know why this film does. Or why rom-coms such as these get repeated ad infinitum on screen. When they work, oh, they take in serious crores. It’s business as usual. There has been much talk about Anjaana Anjaani being a copy of 'The Girl On The Bridge'. However after watching the film I can vouch that it's not true. Anjaana Anjaana is not a copy of any particular film. Rather it is a mish-mash of ideas that may have been borrowed from various movies. Hence though the story is not something we have seen in Hindi cinema before, neither does it seem completely fresh. At various moments through the film you will feel you have seen it before.
The film is about a boy and a girl who meet for the first time on a bridge - where they had reached to commit suicide. Both fail repeatedly at ending their lives and come to a conclusion that probably these are signs that they are yet to complete something in life. A deadline is set - 20 days from then, on the New Years eve they will commit suicide and till then they will live together and help each other fulfill their wishes.
No it is not a Bucket List or a Dasvidaniya where they go about tick-marking their to-do list. Rather it's a journey to understand life and love and also each other better. Anjaana Anjaani makes an out and out love story. And it has a fair dose of comedy to keep it going. The wish however is for the going to have been faster than what it was. The film on the whole has loads of winning moments but the first half does not see the story moving anywhere. It only gets moving later in the second half. The screenplay is not consistent.
Among the good parts include some super song, great cinematography and visuals, cool dialogues and effective background score. But the real highlights of the film are the Anjaana and Anjaani - Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. It probably is a dream for any actor to get so much of screen time. And this film is almost entirely meant of them. And they excel. Ranbir Kapoor proves yet again why he is being termed as the next superstar. It is really hard to look at anyone else when Ranbir is on screen. But this time he will have to accept that Priyanka took away the eyeballs - mine at least! Priyanka Chopra, who has come up with memorable performances in the past, reminds again that she is indeed in contention for one of Indian cinema's best actresses. The only problem I had - she comes out of the sick bed in complete make up. But then again is a directorial blunder!
Siddharth Anand has given us 'Salaam Namaste' and there is no doubt that he is capable in telling a story telling. But there are certain liberties taken in the film which deducts from his ability as a storyteller. Anjaana Anjaani works for the die-hard romantics and fans of the lead stars. For the rest it is an average storyline with good amount of repetitiveness embedded with superlative performances. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Siddharth Anand, "Anjaana Anjaani" is different from other romantic sagas. Generally couples in love commit to die for each other, but in this film romance blossoms after the two meet when they are about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge.
Shot in New York City, Las Vegas and San Francisco, the film is made at a budget of around Rs.25 crore. Priyanka says the topic of "Anjaana Anjaani" coincides with the current problem in society.
According to a report, India has one of the highest suicide rates in the world and recent studies suggest about 40 percent are adolescents. At least 125 people aged 29 years or below are committing suicide every day and 51 percent of the total suicide victims are graduates or college students or youngsters.
"With so many suicides happening it is a topic of discussion in India now. The greatest thing about this film is that it is the window which shows you shouldn't do that (commit suicide), you never know when life will turn around," Priyanka, 28, had told IANS. "Give yourself an opportunity. This message is conveyed in a beautiful way through the film," said the actress. Paired together for the first time, this is Priyanka's first and Ranbir's second film with the director after "Bachna Ae Haseeno" (2008).
Set in the US, the story revolves around San Francisco-based Kiara (Priyanka) and New York boy Akash (Ranbir), who are tired of making it big in life and striking gold. After several failed attempts to be successful in their careers and love, both decide to end their lives. And as luck would have it, they land up on the same bridge at the same time!
Akash stops Kiara from ending her life. He tells her to travel with him to Las Vegas to give life another chance, and thus begins a hilarious misadventure that brings them closer. However, destiny interrupts again and the duo are forced to part with the understanding that their days together were a brief interlude of insanity, which had to succumb to real life. With a contemporary appeal and foot-tapping numbers, the movie's music, composed by duo Vishal Dadlani-Shekhar Ravjiani, has been dominating the charts.
Ranbir, 27, was keen to postpone the release date as it is coinciding with the day when the verdict in the 51-year-old Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid legal dispute will be pronounced.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Robot
Director: Shankar
Actors: Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai, Danny Denzongpa, Karunas, Santhanam, Kalabhavan Mani
Rajnikanth is back. And what a bang he makes! At 61, the much worshipped Indian star does the unthinkable. If you thought only Sylvester Stallone could do an action film at 60 plus, you got to watch Robot. The film is yet another show-reel for the star who so effectively went on to become one of the biggest India stars internationally. But more importantly it is a show-reel for director Shankar and an example for other Indian directors to emulate.
Robot (Enthiran) does not essentially have the most interesting story. Nor is it believable. It's about a robot, which is developed by ace scientist Vaseegaran (Rajnikanth). Vaseegaran invests 10 years of his life on the robot with a dream of gifting it to the Indian army. But when he is done the robot is branded as dangerous as it does not have emotions. Vaseegaran works on it and tried programming emotion into it. While his experiment works, it creates clashes in his personal life as the Robot falls in love with his girlfriend (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). There is also Vaseegaran's guru Professor Bohra (Danny Danzongpa) who has his evil motives and wants Vaseegaran's creation for himself.
We have seen emotions in a robot in Bicentennial Man (1999) and we have also seen machines going bad in movies like I, Robot (2004). But Robot is not similar to any and has its own storyline.
The screenplay moves to a definite end. The dialogues (Hindi) have been done well and they manage to keep the comic element alive, wherever necessary. The film is shot extremely well - money spent on it showing on each shot that is taken. It is edited stylishly. Sound designing - a key area in a science fiction like this - is top notch. And so is the background music. The only glitches probably are the songs. They lyrics are not exactly poetic and neither is it AR Rahman's best work. But then, you would hardly listen to lyrics considering the visuals are as arresting and choreography as grand.
Rajnikanth scores in his performances. He carries two roles really well. While on one hand he needs to play an absorbed scientist he plays the mechanical robot with equal ease. Aishwarya looks ravishing and does her bit very effectively. It's remarkable that both leads don't look anything close to their actual age. Ditto with Danny, who looks dapper and puts up class act.
But then the real star of the film, while giving due respect to Rajnikanth, is the special effects in the last half an hour. The final action sequence is equivalent to top-grade VFX shown by a top grosser internationally. Director Shankar truly deserves a pat on his back for his vision and managing to pull this up. This is easily the best in Indian films ever.
Overall, Robot is going to be a trendsetter. Shankar shows that he could very well keep the Indian sensibilities intact while making a top of the line science fiction in line with Hollywood films. Of course at almost 3 hours long Robot is a very long exercise and that takes away some marks. But watching Rajnikanth - the boss perform is priceless!
At the start of this film, after the presenter's name (Sun TV's Kalanidhi Maran), and before the film's title (Robot; Endhiran in Tamil), the screen screams out letters in a font twice the size of both. The silver alphabets spell out 'Superstar Rajnikanth', the hero's name. I was at a theatre sparsely populated, low-key, given a press show. I could hear crowds going berserk at that moment. Audiences in Tamil Nadu, I am told, would have lit up fire crackers indoors by now, thrown coins at the stage, cracked open coconuts, begun their biennial prayers like religious rituals inside the movie theatre. They're probably doing so, as we speak. Stuff like this makes films for films' sake redundant. And opinion of any kind, quite pointless.
Rajnikanth is the closest human approximation to god from an organised faith. Both are ageless in their airbrushed figures. Both demand believers, and complete devotion to unquestioned legends. You can't explain God. You can't explain Rajnikanth. Being critical of either can invite extreme public wrath. Blasphemy is best avoided. I tread on thin ice, you can tell! No sweat still.
This is India's most expensive blockbuster. Each crore spent over every minute of this movie shows, if you watch it for the spectacle alone. The sheer scale and special effect of this film remains hitherto unsurpassed in Indian cinema. The film smartly borrows from the genre's Hollywood tradition, right from Terminator to Transformers. Which is to say, there is yet an emotional connect.
While I haven't been on Rajnikanth's previous pilgrimages called Baba (2002) or Sivaji (2007) to figure their universal appeal, it's easy to judge, Robot takes Superstar (that being his first name) beyond the mythology of his home state. For one, Rajni Sir, in this movie, isn't a folk hero testing the bounds of human antics. He is himself an "andro-humanoid". There is external logic to the madness on the movie screen.
Most of India that calls a restaurant a hotel, calls robot, Robert. The pretentiously suave pronounce it with a silent 't' ('ro-bo'), and those on a diet of American films call it robot (as in 'ro-bought'). This one's called Chitti. He has a memory of "1 zeta-byte", speed of "1 terra-hertz" and combined creative intelligence of 100 humans. His inventor (Superstar, again) is a top scientist at an artificial intelligence lab in Chennai, who bears Carnegie Mellon and Stanford as legit stamps on his CV.
Chitti needs accreditation from the government to be recruited in the army as proxy for mortal soldiers. He can be of practical use to his country. There's one issue. The guarantors demand he be fed with human emotions to respond subjectively to instructions. You see the point. He could go wild otherwise.
But these feelings the robot is forced to learn causes problems of its own. Chitti falls for his creator's girl (Aishwarya). He becomes prone to human manipulations, especially the villain's (Danny Denzongpa), who eventually reassembles him into a callous weapon of mass destruction. Chitti goes bang bang. This is sweet premise for any sci-fi pic. And yet there you go: there is Superstar Rajni as the hero (the loved robot), the villain (the bad robot), and the geek (the scientist lover). In that din of his devotees, one rarely credits this 61-year-old leading man for his acting prowess. This is super stuff by any performance standards.
Very soon as bad Chitti begins to mutate himself, design his own clones, there are so many Superstars on screen, you literally lose count. A planet full of humanoid Rajnikanths, on serious rampage, or as slate.com subtly describes him, "If a tiger had sex with a tornado and then their tiger-nado baby got married to an earthquake, their offspring would be" this!
Leave aside jokes running on the Internet. This film, just a few feet too long, is fine entertainment by itself. I'm evidently an atheist to this religion, so I guess, you can trust this note.
Those in the know are aware that 'superstar' Rajnikanth is perceived to be in the image of god. Rajni makes fewer mistakes during the course of a film, than god. In "Robot" this perception is taken a step further as Rajni creates a robot - in his own image.
Robotics scientist Vashikaran (Rajni) creates a humanoid robot Chitthi (Rajni). After Chitthi's inability to feel causes him to be rejected from inclusion in the Indian Army, Vashikaran tries to create feelings in him, and thanks to a freak of nature, succeeds. Only it causes problems, as Chitthi falls in love with Vashikaran's fiancee Sana (Aishwarya Rai). As the creator and creation are locked in a jealous battle against each other, the jealous robotics scientist Dr. Bohra plans to misuse Chitthi for wrong objectives.
Anyone who has seen a Rajnikanth film understands that often it is not the story that makes the film a success, but Rajni's antics. There are plenty of them in the film. And, for once, his conception as a robot gives Rajni the logic, to lack logic.
There are gravity defying stunts, shooting with a finger, running horizontally at high speed on the side of a train, flying cars and bikes, corny but hilarious dialogues -- e.g. after grabbing and pointing scores of guns at the police, he says 'Happy Diwali' before firing a salvo of bullets; or when the robot is asked his address and gives his IP address. It's not just god, the universe and its logic itself is recreated in the film.
Director Shankar who has a penchant for double image, multiple images and split images of his heroes returns this time with hundreds of images of Rajnikanth. The inspiration of Hollywood, most predominantly the "Matrix" trilogy (stunts choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping of "Matrix" fame), "The Mask", "I, Robot", and many Frankenstein movies are evident, but not overbearing.
Where Shankar scores is the ingenious conception of stunts. The allegedly 'poorer' cousin of Bollywood, the south Indian film industry, has been growing leaps and bounds in the special effects department. And with a little help from Hollywood, like in "Robot", it soars.
"Robot", however, cannot boast of good music, so crucial for an Indian film. A.R. Rahman's decision to rely on robotic sounds, which we have heard close to three decades back in films like "Robocop", fails to inspire. He could have at least conceptualised them more intelligently.
The Hindi dubbed version is saved by Swanand Kirkire's translation that prevents the dialogues from becoming jarring like previous dubbings of South Indian films. Yet, he could not salvage the songs, whose gibberish lyrics are seemingly out of a time warp from films in the 1990s (remember the Prabhu Deva starrer "Kadhalan" again directed by Shankar with music composed by Rahman).
Aishwarya's character is as conventional as expected. She's the chaste love interest, the damsel in distress who has time and again to be saved from being raped, and who is nothing more than eye candy.
Two words begin with the letter 'R' and are synonymous: Religion and Rajnikanth. A third has now been added to cinema folklore, 'Robot'. And with the largest number of prints ever for an Indian film and a global release, this sexagenarian actor might still enter world cinema folklore. After all, Rajnikanth can make no mistakes.
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