Inception-A photoblog inspired from it & A review

You have a choice-Either read the review or scroll down and skip straight to the photoblog inspired by inception.

Once in a while there comes a movie that pervades every one's thought like a pandemic virus. A virus which is as resilient and infectious as an idea, to take Nolan's own words. And Inception was one of those path breaking ideas condensed in the form of a 2.5 hour long script and played out by some of the most capable actors of our generation.

The whole movie takes place inside the head. It takes place in real locations built up by the brain during those hours when our limbs take rest and eyes are shut to the distractions of the world. Really, we are at our best when we sleep. Other than the obvious advantage of not being a pain in the ass for those around you, its when we use our idle useless mind the most. We travel the whole wide world, we romance the girl of our dreams, we fight wars, we become heroes...and most of it is never gonna happen for real. But still we cherish some of those dreams trying hard to remember the sequence of it all, failing badly most of the times. And it is this private place of ours where Nolan does his magic. He takes us to the world where ideas can be stolen from your head during one of your innocent wet dreams. And most shockingly, a world where ideas can be planted. Its possibilities are immense. What if you woke up one day with an idea of killing your neighbour, an idea planted by his enemy in your head? Or what if you woke up one day with an idea to destruct a govt establishment, an idea planted by a terrorist? Yes, its a world where one could outsource the dirty work for free, without the executioner even knowing it and without ever making your hands dirty.

But this whole plot is a sure recipe for disaster if handled by a lesser film maker. It would've looked like an episode of gadget guru, with all the great gadgets making its appearance in every scene. But Nolan takes this to another level and explains it convincingly with his multi level dream architecture. He tells us how one minute in the real world becomes five in the dream and one hour in the next level dream. There's also the exciting world of shared dreaming where you could be a part of somebody else's dream.And its not sci-fi alone. There's a strong human element to the story, where Cobb(Dicaprio) struggles to come to terms with his personal life, where reality and dreams are so thoroughly mixed that he can't differentiate one from another. He's a man sleepwalking through life, with a crumbled family. As he and his team does inception, he's also on a mission to clear up his own head and reclaim his own life. And it is with this balance of sci-fi and the 'human factor' that the film triumphs. Not to forget those truely fresh concepts of multi level dreaming, the timings, the kicks, the complex labyrinth like architectures, projections, the paradoxical steps, totems and what not!

One of my favourite lines from the movie is when cobb says, "Do you remember the beginning of a dream. we always start in the middle"(not exact quote.typing from memory) Its a thought which most surely wouldn't have crossed any of our minds. And it seems true. Whenever we dream, the situation is already there, perhaps recreated from our own memory. Or just built out of wild imagination. How else could we explain those weird dreams where we end up in places we have never been to. Some of my wildest dreams had terrorists pursuing me in some foreign country(what the hell they wanted I never found out), having sex with an actress I've seen only on screen(yea, really..My no.1 dream till date!) and flying a jet plane(i was still flying when I woke up). In all these cases, I dont remember how I ended up there. It was like I was air dropped straight into the foreign country, the actress's bed and on the pilot seat. Another favorite line is "dreams feel real while we're in them. Its when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange." Yes, each of the cases above felt so real. Surreal...

In this one week after the movie released, it seems the whole world has come under Nolan's spell. Anywhere you turn, people are talking about inception. Possibly, this was Nolan's inception on mankind. He must've built the complex architecture of thousands of theatres all over the world and brought us all into it through a multi level dream. And then, he left us all without giving that kick. Only for us to go on thinking and talking about inception in this limbo state. Yes, this movie will be talked about and wondered about, as long as there are movies..

Photoblog
This movie lingered on in my mind for long. Then ideas sprouted of taking some pics inspired from the movie. And so began my experiments with 30 second long shutter speed, the newly acquired tripod and 3 candles. A walk through of a scary dream...No ideas planted here..Just a meeting with myself..


The dream starts...I wake up and walk on, leaving behind me in bed...(challenging Nolan's idea that we cant remember the beginning of a dream. This might be how every dream begins)

This pic was a winner yesterday in the 'inception pic for poster' contest hosted by Rajeev Masand(http://www.twitlonger.com/show/2liicb). Won me the official poster of Inception :). Though, I missed winning the 1st prize of the poster signed by christopher Nolan and the entire cast)

I meet 'the good me' in the way...We talk, we share jokes..

The enemy has done an inception on my mind. An idea to kill myself is planted in my head...
I meet the 'bad me'...I chase myself with a knife..

Evil personified...fear takes over..

And then, he strangles me to death..

And as the evil one walks on, he looks back to see the three different hues of me..
"The good me, the bad me....and the 'helpless me'

All of the above pics were shot with a shutter speed of 30 seconds. After keeping the cam in atripod with a 2 second timer, I ran to make the necessary poses. For the pics of waking up in a dream, I spent 10 seconds each lying down, sitting up and then finally standing up. For the ones where I strangle myself and chase myself with a knife, I spend 14 seconds each in both poses. 2 seconds lost in throwing away the knife and posing the 2nd time.

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 17:Paanch

With respect to hindi filmdom, 2009 has been the year of Anurag Kashyap. The release of Dev D and the much delayed Gulaal ensured that there was no talk of competition. People were glad to be liberated from the clutches of larger than life movies and big production houses headed by eunuchs. The new age winner version of the loser Devdas and the red pride of the Rajputs were enough to prove this man's class. But there was one thing which saddened his fans. Kashyap's first movie 'Paanch' which was completed at the turn of the millennium was still lying in the cans thanks to the censor board which thought it will corrupt the young Indians. And so it was a surprise when a preview copy of the movie surfaced in torrent sites during the second week of this month. The uploader also added that the movie was given to him by Kashyap himself. There must be some truth in this considering the fact that he was bound to get frustrated due to the long wait for clearance and might have wanted his fans to see the movie.

At the outset, let me make it clear that 'Paanch' doesn't glorify violence. On the contrary, its a take on the futility of crime. Also, there's no in your face violence, the pools of blood or the manufactured gore. All you get to see is the atmosphere. 4 guys and 1 girl, members of a rock band, living, jamming, drinking, fighting and smoking in a shady godown. In the room, you see wall graffiti , Jim Morrison posters, beheaded dolls with red ink splashed all over, empty bottles and much more. The 5 live a wasted life and each moment passes with thoughts on how to waste the next moment. They live bang in the middle of Mumbai city, where people are busy every minute of their lives and yet these five waste day after day. They may be outcasts or they may have chosen to remain so. Nothing is said about the backgrounds. They dream of making it big as rockstars and the only thing that is holding them back is lack of money. And thats exactly where the problem starts.

Luke played by Kay Kay Menon is the centre point of it all. My respect for Kay Kay which was already at its heights breached all limits after watching this performance. There are moments that he will scare the hell out of you. Its such a well-etched character, a man powered by greed, ruled by his anger bone and totally unpredictable. The graffiti on his door reads "Tresspassers will be beheaded". Those scenes were he fools his friends into thinking that he's in a fit of rage when he's not, are pure class. And when he actually gets into a fit of rage, you will just stare with an open mouth. Then there's Aditya Srivastava playing Murgi, the same guy who played the cunning Karan in Gulaal. He seems to be the most sensible of the lot. Pondy is the perpetually scared guy who does whatever Luke tells him. His attempts to break free only lands in him more trouble. Joy is the perfect 'chamcha' who supports anything Luke does(including murder) thinking that he's a true friend. And then there's Shuli played by Tejaswini Kolhapure, the ultra modern girl who lives in with four guys and smokes and drinks with them. Its a surprise that this talented lady hasn't acted in many movies after this.

The story is loosely based on the Joshi Abhyankar serial killings that happened in Pune in the 1970s. The first killing is a result of Luke's uncontrolled rage. Its a classic scene where the act is hidden from us. The camera focusses on Luke in all his fury and the rest of the four looking horrified. Only a distant shot of the act is shown in between. Luke casts a scary spell on all of them and they all become accidental criminals. Each passing scene subtly indicates that, the fivesome are getting used to the cycle of violence and at some point they are even hungry for more. Its a cycle into which any alienated soul in any of our metro city can fall into. Sky high ambitions, joblessness, greed, envy, all can lead a slightly frustrated youth into this downward spiral. And no, dont expect the movie to provide any lasting solutions. Its just a document of what can possibly happen or what has already happened, with a little bit of thriller element thrown in. The narration at the police station adds to the drama. The eerie background score by Vishal Bharadwaj, with techno and rock elements increases the tension in the scenes.

Though made almost a decade back, it doesn't have that dated look. But it was made at a time when 'being bad' was not in fashion, unlike today. What really baffles me is why the censors have prevented this movie's release. Reportedly, they demanded some unkind cuts and Kashyap saab said 'NO'. I really dont understand the attitude of the censor board. Obviously headed by some outdated brains with heavy orthodox sensibilities, the board is doing a disservice to movie buffs by preventing the release of such movies. We are bombarded with trash movies on illicit relationships and what not, and here's a movie which sits out for no reason at all. Agreed there's strong language, but dont many of us use it in real life? Also, killings like this happen every day around us. What does we achieve then by preventing the depiction of those realities in our movies? Does denying the existence of such maliciousness around us serve to eradicate it? And do you really think that a person watching a murder on screen will get inspired and go out and kill somebody? what is the purpose of such mindless censoring, its time for a rethink. Censorship of this kind doesn't suit a democracy like us.

So...Download Paanch...kick the censors..

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 16:Bhramaram

After a long wait, I was lucky to catch the malayalam movie 'Bhramaram' Yesterday. I should say, it was worth the wait, but a wait of a different kind. The wait for the Mohanlal of yore to resurface. The Mohanlal whom we were familiar with in the 90s, the common man whom we could empathize with rather than sympathise. The Mohanlal whom we lost in the new millennium amidst movies that focussed on his moustache for one third of the time. For the last many years, all we got to see from him where flashes of brilliances here and there which were lost amidst the cacophony of crap roles. And it needed the brilliant writer in Blessy to bring out what we were all waiting for. Lal was a volcano waiting to erupt. Its not a matter of surprise that the last time it fully erupted was also due to Blessy, in 'Thanmaathra'. In the last many movies, he didn't have to act. He just had to pose and mouth some long winding dialogues. Blessy was also out of form with duds like 'Calcutta news'.

In Bhramaram, Lal plays the role of a mystery man who arrives at the doorstep of Unni, claiming to be his classmate in school. From that scene on, its a total one man show. There's him in every line of the script. The hallmark of Lal's character in this movie is its unpredictability. You see him smiling one minute and shouting with all vengeance in the next. It can be interpreted as psychotic or a common man's response to uncommon circumstances. Whatever it is, there are few actors in India other than Lal who could do this role so convincingly. We are left confused on whether to love or hate him. Infact, the movie itself shows this behaviour. It gives a sense of 'something big is round the corner' every other minute. The taut screenplay adds to the tension.

Marketed as a road movie, you won't see much of the roads in the first half. Then, in the second half the texture changes and we are made to travel with the characters to some breathtaking locations in the high ranges of Kerala around Idukki. The long shots of the hill ranges had the audience gasping, 'Where the bloody hell is this place?" Terming the journey 'eventful' would be an understatement. Lal's unpredictability is explored even further as he jumps more on to the wilder side. There are shades of the character's mysterious psychosis displayed in between. I am stopping myself from revealing anything more on the movie as a single statement can sometimes reveal the whole purpose of the movie. Although I did almost guess the climax once the roadtrip started, I was on the edge of the seat till the end. So tight was the writing that you would be left wanting for more.

The female leads were more of props than anything else. Suresh Menon who played Unni and the doctor provided ample support for this one man show. After a very long time, I was left happy after a Mohanlal movie. More than half of the thanks for that should go to Blessy. He proved that writer brings out the best in an actor. The actor needs to be challenged with words to get out of his comfort zone. Lal's been held captive in that zone by some lousy writers for a pretty long time. Now that he's freed, lets hope that he runs free and takes up more such meaningful roles. We are coming to the theatres not to see the action of your moustache. We would rather you did the acting, just as in the old days. Thanks to Blessy and Lal for this gem..

PS- There's a Michael Jackson tribute concert happening in Bangalore on Saturday. Venue-Mother Tekla Auditorium, Casa Birgitta, 10, Brunton Road. Artists-Lounge Piranha, Slain, Public Issue, Rusty Moe, E-Flat.
The RSJ Pub Rock fest is also happening at various pubs around the country. Skinny Alley is playing @ couch in Bangalore this saturday.

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 15-The Boy in the striped pyjamas

Remember that brilliant airtel ad where 2 boys from neighbouring countries play football on both sides of an international border? I was among those who were completely bowled over by the beauty of that ad. And so it was a pleasant surprise to see that concept being used in an entirely different setting in a movie. 'The boy in the striped pants' directed by Mark Herman is an adaptation of a novel by John Boyne. The movie is set in the horrible times of Nazi Germany. It is the story of friendship between 8 year old Bruno(Asa Butterfield), the son of a Nazi army officer and a Jewish boy Shmuel(Jack Scanlon), who is inside a concentration camp. Bruno and his family moves from their city dwelling to the countryside. The new mansion is situated in a lonely picturesque place with a 'Nazi concentration camp' nearby, where Bruno's father is the commander. Bruno feels lonely in the new place. He sees the concentration camp from his window and mistakes it for a farm. He wonders why the strange people there wears 'striped pyjamas'. The explorer that he is, he finds a way to reach the fence separating the camp and his mansion. There, he strikes up a friendship with the Jewish boy Shmuel.

What makes this film standout is the innocent viewpoint on such a horrible thing as a concentration camp. The scenes where the Nazi tutor teaches Bruno and his sister provides many such occasions of innocence. When his sister reads a lot about the troubles caused by 'the jew', Bruno wonders, 'I don't understand. One man caused all this trouble?'. Also, the way he describes the smoke that rises from the gas chambers doesn't make you think that people are actually being roasted inside those chambers. Bruno's mother Elsa (Vera Farmiga) fits in easily into the role of a wife who disagrees with her man's inhumanly work. Another cameo role is that of Pavel(David Hayman), a Jewish man who's treated as a slave in Bruno's household. The scene where he treats Bruno's injury and reveals that he's a doctor is notable. The scenes between Bruno and Schmuel are the highlights of the film. There is another scene where Bruno happens to watch a propaganda film on concentration camps, which shows the camps as heavens on earth. Bruno later realises thats not the case. All this builds into a shocking climax. Don't miss watching this gem.
Other Recommendations
1. October sky
Are you short of inspiration at any point in your life? Then, October sky is the perfect pill. Directed by Joe Johnston, it tells the real life story of Homer Hickam(Jake Gyllenhaal), the son of a coal miner who ends up as a rocket scientist. Coalwood is a town in US where all the male population works in coal mines. They don't have dreams or aspirations beyond that. Its around this time that the Russians launch the Sputnik satellite. The sight of this moving gracefully over the october sky stirs up big dreams inside Homer Hickam. He joins hands with the geeky Quentin(Chris Owen), a guy whom everybody else keeps at a distance, and plans to make a rocket himself. He has his 2 friends Roy Lee and Odell for company. Their venture hits a lot of roadblocks at first but they persist and in the end succeeds in building a flyable rocket. Their science teacher provides them with constant support. At this point, Homer's dad comes into picture. He wants his son to end up as a miner like himself and finds Homer's pursuits worthless. The emotional tussle between dad and son are beautifully picturised. Infact, it reminded me of those classic scenes between Thilakan and Mohanlal in the malayalam movie 'sphadikam'. The rest of the film chronicles how Homer and his friends pave their road to victory. The climatic scene will uplift you with its sheer warmth.

2.Following
After Memento and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan is now a world renowned director who is known to make his movies with a reasonable load of intelligence. But, the first flashes of brilliance occured way back in 1998 in the small film called 'Following'. Just over 1 hour in length, this film is also non-linear in character much like memento. Its about a young writer who follows strangers whom he find in the streets so that he can get ideas to write his new novels. He has set certain rules for himself on who all should he follow and till when should he follow. He gets into trouble the day he breaks this by following a strange man in a black suit. The man confronts him and asks him about his intentions in following him. The man then introduces himself as Cobb, a thief. Cobb takes him as his protege and takes him for house break ins. There are some interesting scenes at this part where Cobb reveals that he steals not for the sake of stealing but to help his victims to have a re-think on their lives. So he messes up with their personal items without actually stealing it. And underneath all this lies a shocking mystery which is revealed bit by bit in Nolan's trademark non linear way. This sure is one hell of a thrill ride. Its shot on a shoestring budget with the actors and crew having regular weekday jobs. Even the balck and white was an idea for cost cutting.

PS- Going home morrow. Sunday's the big day. A.R.Rahman Live in Concert in Calicut. Woohooooo!!!!!!!

your crusader Praveen

Pick this flick 14-Machuca

Films on historical political occurrences can be captivating. It can educate you on things you never even knew happened in this world much before your arrival. And what if such a film is told from the perspective of some children who lived through such historical events. Thats what the Chilean film 'Machuca' is all about. Directed by acclaimed Chilean film maker Andres Wood, Machuca is the story of Gonzalo Infante, a rich introvert kid and Pedro Machuca, a kid from the slums.

Father McEnroe is the principal of St. George school in Santiago. He brings in the revolutionary social integration project by which kids from poor backgrounds are given free education and slowly integrated with the rich kids already studying in the school. Its an excercise to bring equality in a society waking up to the ideals of communism. All this is happening around 1973 when chile was under the Presidentship of Salvador Allande. There's unrest in the Chilean society against the ways of the Government. The uprising of the lower strata powered by the communists is amply chronicled in the movie. The protests leading up to the military coup and death of the presidentare also shown. The main story happens in this background. Gonzalo and Machuca, the representatives of the rich and poor class becomes thick friends. Gonzalo sees the horrors of slum life and Machuca the luxury of a rich life for the first time with the help of each other. But the political unrest plays havoc with their lives too. The film paints a grim picture of lives going astray and getting lost in accordance with the changing political climate in the country.

Aided by excellent cinematography, powerful performances and a soulful music score, Machuca will surely give you a pain filled pleasure trip. It also made me do a short study on the Chilean history around the 1970S. The most interesting thing that I found was on the death of Allande, which is still a matter of controversy on whether it was a murder or suicide. It was said that he committed suicide with the AK 47 rifle presented to him by Fidel Casstro. The rifle had the following engravings on it-""To my good friend Salvador from Fidel, who by different means tries to achieve the same goals". The military dictator Augusto Pinochet who came after him was a bigger curse for Chileans. He ushered in an age of repression in which lakhs of poor Chileans where brutally tortured and murdered. A glimpse of his regime's cruelty is shown towards the end of the film. This film is a must watch


Other recommendations
1. The wrestler
Darren Aronofsky is one director I been following closely from the time I watched the drug classic 'Requiem for a Dream'. His old work 'pi' confused me slightly whereas the recent work 'Fountain' amazed me. The Wrestler, touted as the comeback vehicle of 'the Harley Davidson' man Mickey Rourke, is vastly different from all of Darren's previous offerings. Its a close study on the life of a former champion wrestler. With his body failing him, Randy 'Ram' Robinson fights on with the sheer power of his will. See this for Rourke's performance and Aronofsky's vareity fare.

2. Waltz with Bashir
Another political film in the form of an animation. It reminded me a lot of that wonderful animated film on an Iranian girl, 'Persepolis'. Here also, the film's director is the protagonist. Ari Folman had served in the Israeli army during the Lebanon war in 1982. But, the only problem is he can't remmeber anything related to his time in the army. He gets the same nightmare every night in which he's chased by 26 dogs. The movie is a journey of self discovery by Ari, who goes in search of old friends who served with him in the army to find out what actually happened in Lebanon.

3. No smoking
I was looking for this film for a long time. Famous for its record setting disappearing act from the theatres, this Anurag Kashyap movie has all the elements that can drive you mad. John Abraham plays K, a hopeless chain smoker. After his wife leaves him citing his chain smoking, he takes his old smoking mate Abbas(played wonderfully well by Ranvir Shorey)'s advice and joins Prayogshala, a place famous for treating every known illness and addiction. Its only after he gets in there and meets the Guruji that K realises that he has fell into a soup...Its a mind numbing roller coaster ride from there. Some things are better left unexplained. I salute Anurag Kashyap's ability to create deeply intoxicating films.

your Crusader Praveen

Pick this Flick 13: Gulaal

************Not a single spoiler ahead*************

"I don't make comparisons. I never think of myself in relation to anyone else. I just refuse to measure myself as part of anything. I'm an utter egotist."

The above are the words of the legendary Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's Fountainhead. I am sure when she wrote the book way back in 1943, Ayn Rand did a time travel to 2009, saw non-conformist brilliance unleashed on Indian film industry in the form of Anurag Kashyap and then went back and created Roark. We had a glimpse of his brilliance in 'Black friday'. 'No smoking' was his version of Roark's 'Stoddard temple', a work criticised by every critic worth his salt. Then, we saw an unchained horse high on sex, drugs and non-conformity in 'Dev D'. 'Gulaal' sees the horse galloping with renewed anger to the deserts of Rajasthan. Its a tale of politics, betrayal and love with an underlying commentary on present day India.

The film opens with Dukey Bana(Kay Kay Menon)'s earth shattering speech criticising democracy for robbing the power from the Maharajas like the Rajputs of Rajasthan. He exorts the youth(with their faces painted in Gulaal) to fight to free the Rajputana country from democracy and give it back to its rightful rulers, the Rajputs. Flashback. Dilip Singh (Raj Singh Chaudhary) arrives in Rajpur to study law. He stays with Rananjay singh(Abhimanyu Singh), a Rajput prince in a bar which doubles up as a house. The film is all about how these characters are sucked into the murky world of politics. Kiran(Ayesha Mohan) and Anuja(Jesse Randhawa) plays the pivotal female leads. Then we have Madhuri(Mahie Gill, the paro from Dev D) playing the item girl in a special appearance. With this interwoven the subplot of Kiran and her brother Karan(Aditya Shrivastava), who are the secret offsprings of the former Maharaja, Rananjay's father. This sets a stage for anger, lust and deceit, all in the name of politics and power. Everyone is a puppet in some other's hands.

Anurag keeps his record clean by earning another 'A' certificate for his latest movie. It has a fair sprinkling of expletives and double meaning dialogues. The oneliners are sure to have you in splits. My favourite one was from Rananjay. He's all tied up by Karan asking him to withdraw from the elections. Rananjay smiles and delivers the punch, 'If your father had withdrawn at the right time,.....'. Then there are the songs. Right from the election clarion call 'Aaramb hai prachand', its pure poetry flowing all around. Everyone's favourite lyrics is ofcourse from 'Ranaji' with references to 9/11 and USA's misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Jaise Dur Deshke Tower Mein Ghus Gaye Aeroplane, Iraq Mein Aake Bas Gaye Uncle Sam, Bina Baat Ke Afghanistan Ka Baj Gaya Band”. All the songs form part of the story and tells a story of its own. Indian Ocean's 'Yaara maula' comes at the right place when the decisive change in Dilip's character takes place. 'Aisi sazaa' sung by Shilpa Rao is soothing as well as painful. 'Duniya' asks us that questin, 'yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai?.
Kay Kay Menon's Dukey Bana can be defined as reflection of the separatists of Kashmir, Raj Thackerey or even the meek Pramod Muthalik. His character is a lesson on how a person drunk with regionalism or communism and a lust for power can wreak havoc. Piyush Mishra has undoubtedly given an all round contribution to the film. Besides writing the powerful lyrics and composing all the tunes, he has put in a wonderful performance as Dukey's brother Prithvi Bana. He keeps on singing and giving away sane advice amidst all the insanity. But, its he who is picturised by the soceity as insane. His John Lennon stlye round glasses did bring the timeless lyrics of 'imagine' to my mind-'Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagne all the people, Living life in peace.' Deepak Dobriyal who was last seen in Delhi 6 plays Bhati, the trusted man of Dukey. He almost steals the show from Kay Kay in many of their scenes together. Raj Singh Chaudhary, also the co-writer of the film does the role of the cry baby Dilip Singh perfectly well and he handles the transformation in his character equally well too. Not to forget the ardhanareeshwara(half man-halfwoman) who accompanies Prithvi Bana's musical adventures.

College ragging is given a whole new picture in this film. Post-Gulaal, 'Brainwash' means holding someone upside down with his head inside an unclean closet which is being flushed. Then there's a reference to an infamous incident which happened in a Karnataka college where a girl and boy were both kept naked in a single room in the name of ragging. Anurag weaves it well into the story just as he did with that MMS scandal in Dev D. Now, to the symbols and references which are there in almost every scene. The most delightful one is the bar house in which Rananjay and Dilip stays. There are big posters of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley adorning the walls. The drinks which are stocked in the bar have real aristocratic as well as political names like constitution whiskey, democracy beer, colonial whiskey and putin Vodka. The lighting which is used for each characters also conveys a particular mood. Red, ofcourse dominates. Rajeev Ravi, the cinematographer who learned the tricks of the trade in the malayalam film industry, dazzles yet again and gives Anurag what he wants-all his wild imaginations caught on camera.

Gulaal is not a strictly political movie. More than the obvious, it has many underlying shades to it as explained above. Anurag knows the medium of cinema too well and knows what all to show explicitly and what all to hide beneath the surface. Its upto the audience to interpret in the way they want. The most interesting interpretation I've heard now is that the illegitimate son Karan, who is a kind of 'master of puppets' is modelled after the legendary Karna from Mahabharatha. It ofcourse makes sense, the most obvious clue being that Karan is a wordplay on Karna. There are a 100 more explanations to be made on this film.Whatever be the case, Gulaal reaffirms the fact that Anurag Kashyap is one director to whom the word 'different' suits well, for a change.

your crusader Praveen

Pick this Flick 12: Delhi 6, Kaala Bandar and the mirror

The mirror in front of Delhi 6 audio cd cover

When I picked up the audio cd of Delhi 6 from a cd store here some weeks back, I saw myself staring at me from the cd cover. Yes, it had a big mirror attached to the front which made the cover real heavy. The minute I saw that mirror, I was sure Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra did have something real serious up his sleeve this time around too. And, when last week I missed watching this movie, I was bombarded with bad reviews from all around with only a few saying it to be worth a watch. I had given up hope on the movie but still didn't dare to miss it. And when I finished watching it this saturday night, I was left wondering whether I was actually reading and hearing the reviews about this movie. It was not that bad afterall. And I felt it to be something real good.

How many times have you looked into a mirror other than to put your makeup, set your hair or to just check if your face is presentable to the outside world? How many times have you looked into a mirror with the intention of seeing through the clothes and through the flesh to what is inside, the inside of your mind, your heart? I would bet most of us would answer, 'never'. This movie is for us who look into the mirror to see what we want to see and then turn a blind eye to what we are in reality. When you and your friend stand together and look into a mirror, you try to see what is right in you and what is wrong in him. The 'kaala bandhar' metaphor works brillaintly because Rakeysh used a real world occurence and blends it so well with the the message he wanted to convey. The real monkey man of Delhi which happened somewhere around 2001 is still an unsolved mystery. Nobody knows what it is, nobody has seen it in all its glory, but we have loads of stories and myths around it. People sometimes use the 'monkey man' to their own advantage which was shown beautifully in many scenes(remember cyrus running with his clothes from prem chopra's wife's bedroom?) and also in the ending para of the song. The last lines of 'Kala bandar' are 'bandar kala bandar, I beg you to stay' because life has become good for some after the kaala bandar myth started.

Then there are the numerous small characters who were all there to convey some point. Jelebi, the low caste gal who's famed for making 'mards' out of kids overnight and who is shunned as an untouchable by the so called high-castes, takes the cake for one of the best supporting characters in delhi 6. The scene where she cuts a strand of hair and gives it to Gobar(Atul Kulkarni) to present to others as Kaala bandar's hair shows that sometimes the untouchables can be more sensible that the 'touchables' who are fighting over nothing. We are also shown how a peacefully co-existing mixed community can be easily polarised by some petty issues coupled with stupid utterances from some yogi. The 'hamare paas proof hai' dialogue from Om Puri proves this point. Not to forget the character of Mamdu, the Hanuman worshipping muslim. The brothers who fights at the 2 sides of a wall reminded me of that old cement ad. The ladies' conversations through the single brick hole made for hilarious viewing. Especially the 'mother and board exam' dialogues. The electric circuit wala brother who bores everyone with his electric dialogues is one straight out of real life. The 2 kids wanting to be men somehow reminds us of those wild old days in school. The Ramleela blends so well with the narrative and comes into play at apt points in the plot. The lady political leader, though a bit cliched, is a good template on a modern day Indian politician.

The only complaint I've to Rakyesh is in the way he cut short most of the songs and placed some songs awkwardly in the screenplay. But I've to applaud him for the way 'dil gira dafatan' was shot. The way he blended the scenes from the streets of Delhi and New york was breath taking. You could see autorickshaws overtaking the yellow NY cabs. The shot where Abhishek watches Sonam's picture being painted and at the other side she watching his being painted is a masterclass. My favourite shot of the movie is at the start of the Maula song when the camera does an almost 360 degree turn and gives a breathtaking wide angle view of the praying thousands in front of the masjid. I really wish Rakeysh had given the same treatment to 'Rehna Tu' too. Masakali had some exquisite choreography. I just fell in love with Sonam in this song. Now, to Abhishek's performance. Nothing great there, just an ok performance which was satisfactorily convincing. He has the charisma to carry a film but sometimes his acting lags a bit. Waheeda Rahman was a perfect casting just as in RDB.

I am still wondering why the critics said this movie is crap, preachy and a waste of time. Agreed, there were too many references to the Kaala bandhar but I really do feel it all fit nicely with the intent of the film. Even the climax which was said to be 'horrible' didn't seem odd to me that I was left searching for the 'horrible' part. Only problem was that at some places the subtlety of the metaphors were lost but I guess that was intentional on the part of the director to make it more accessible to the common man you see on the streets of Delhi-6. All in all, its a film thats a worthy successor to RDB in that it shows a mini version of India in a Delhi street. India, with all its problems and negativities, is still a million times better than any other place. So, is Delhi 6. From today, am sure I will see something different when I look into the mirror.

PS-Pic from the net because my mob cam's not working from yesterday :(

your crusader Praveen

Pick this Flick 11:Slumdog Millionaire

“Everybody likes the underdog, because everybody feels like the underdog. No matter how successful you are, you always think, No one's being nice enough to me!”-Kate Beckinsale.

We all love to see the underdog win. Its the reason why I wanted Bangladesh to win that thrilling test match against SriLanka two days back, when they came up with an awesome fightback but eventually lost the match. Its the reason why filmmakers rehash this old formula over and over again and we cheer on shamelessly for the umpteenth time. We did it with Lagaan, Chak De India, City of God and many more. At the same time, if not handled carefully this very formula can be the filmmaker's doom. We've seen how not to use this formula in so many 3rd rate masala movies. Danny Boyle, the man who gave us the drug classic 'Trainspotting' is a guy who knows his art. He redefines the underdog formula, packs it in the attractive wrapper of 'slumdog' and delivers a powerful product which will leave you spellbinded by the end of 2 hours.

The plot minus the spoilers reads like this. Jamal Malik(Dev Patel) is one question away from winning 20 million rupees in the "who wants to be a millionaire" show. But everyone suspects he's a cheat and he ends up in the police station. There, he narrates his life story and clears the air on how he knew the answers. There is this core message underlying in the movie that inorder to succeed in anything in life, you needn't be a genius, you just need to learn the lessons from your own experiences. This may seem like reading too much into the film, but once you look under the surface you'll feel it. What attracted me most to this movie is this very own message. He answered all the questions on the show with the help of various situations in his life and also with loads of luck. The luck factor is best embodied in the scene Where Irfan Khan asks him whose face is in the hundred rupee note and he is ignorant of it. At the same time, he answered a similar question on the US dollar on the show. He says, "Its not my fault that they din't ask me whose face is on the Indian rupee".

I read so many criticisms levelled against this movie, the prominent one being it shows only the bad side of India. After watching the movie, am sure that its not a deliberate attempt, its just that the story needs that. Yes, its not deliberate bashing like the famed 'White Tiger'(about which I'll write soon). So you will see a ringside view of life in the Mumbai slums, the life amidst rotten waste, smelly shit and what not. The way the camera captures the innocent kids is just superb. Latika, Jamal's lady love played by Freida Pinto is a well etched role. Dev and Freida have done their roles full justice. Irfan Khan did good as usual in the small role that he has got in the movie. Anil Kapoor din't impress me much. All the kids played their parts to perfection.

Now, I've to speak about the star of the show-our very own music maestro A.R.Rahman. If Jamal and Boyle carries the movie with visuals, the sound of the movie is carried by Rahman. The soundtrack blasts off from the title with the beaty 'O Saya'. Rahman's high pitched vocals and MIA's popish singing give this track a different feel. The impact of almost every scene is magnified by the larger than life score going along in the bankground. My favourites of the BGM tracks were 'Latika's theme' and the high speed sitar blast titled 'Mausam and Escape'. There's 'Ringa Ringa', the raunchy rework of 'Choli Ke Peeche kya hai', which is many times better than the old song. 'Paper planes', which accompanies Jamal and his brother's train escapades is a real fun track and MIA rocks with this one. There's an innocent quality to this track. 'Jai Ho' which accompanies the end title could've been picturised better. The choreography looks straight out of an 80's bollywood movie. Was that deliberate? I dont know. With the soundtrack of 'Slumdog Millionaire', Rahman has well and truly arrived in Hollywood. Though its certainly not his best, it will go a long way in making him a part of mainstream world music. At last count, the number of awards Rahman won for this stands at 5 with many more nominations awaiting final results. The awards that he won till now are LA Film critics award,Newyork film critics online award, IPA Satellite award, Black Reel award and San Diego Film critics soceity award. The Golden Globe and couple of other nominations are awaiting results. Hope he wins an oscar too. Its unbelievable that he finished this soundtrack in 2 weeks.

PS-As with trainspotting, we have a really disgusting scene involving the toilet and a load of shit in 'slumdog Millionaire. Seems like Danny Boyle is obsessed with this. Strange obsessions indeed.

PPS-Belated Happy new year to all.

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 10- Sadayam

Mohanlal, an actor of unparalleled brilliance in world cinema. We all have our own favourite roles of this man. And his roles in films like Kireedom, Bharatham, Chitram etc will be in most of those lists. But, there is one film which doesn't find mention as often as it deserves-Sadayam. After years of watching Mohanlal and most of his movies(don't count the trash he's acting in off-late), his performance in the movie Sadayam has remained a top favourite of mine.

Directed by Sibi Malayail, Sadayam is a deeply disturbing film. It starts off with the sounding of a verdict on a high profile case of a man killing 4 people including 2 minors. He's sentenced to be hanged till death. The convict, played by Mohanlal is taken to the central jail. For the first 20 minutes of the movie, he doesn't speak a word. But he conveys a hell lot with just his expressions alone. With just a tilt of his head or a deep look with his eyes, he speaks a thousand words. You will get confused on what he's really thinking inside, the brutal happiness of a seasoned killer or repentance of having committed a crime. And this is at the start of the movie, when you don't know the nature of the crime he did or the situation in which he committed it.

caution-small spoiler alert...but this wont spoil the movie experience..
Mohanlal plays Satyanath, an orphan who is a very good painter. Nedumudi Venu, his care taker lands him a job with a small advertising company. In his locality, 2 prostitutes are also staying. He's concerned about the 2 little girls and their elder sister staying along with their prostitute aunts. He helps the kids in their education and also helps the elder sister to land a job in the company in which he's working. But circumstances forces this girl to end up as a prostitute. Satyanath kills both the guys responsible for her state. Then he proceeds to kill the 2 little girls also, possibly to save them from prostitution.
spoiler over

The story by M.T.Vasudevan Nair is depressing, but its a refreshing change. Same goes with the eerie background score by Johnson. But what really catapults this movie to the league of a classic is Mohanlal's incomparable acting in the scene were he kills the girls. I still rememeber watching this scene some years back, when I was in school. The expressions that comes on his face and that controlled dialogue delivery team up to give you a scary experience. The way he moves that pointed blood stained knife over an unfinished canvas and the slightly smiling face that he puts up is enough to shock you. He just blazes through this role like an epitome of acting perfection. Am sure, no other actor would've done justice to this role, in the way Lal has done. Don't see this as the ramblings of a blind fan. You wont believe it until you see it.

Another actor who makes this film worthier is Thilakan, playing the role of a doctor who comes to check the health of Mohanlal in jail. He opts for the post to oversee the proceedings of Satyanath's death sentence. He finds this as a way to avenge his son's death(one of Satyanath's 4 victims and the reason for the girl becoming a prostitute). During the first half, he's picturised as a ruthless cruel man who is hell bent on seeing his enemy's blood. But during the second half, when he learns the actual truth of why Satyanath killed his son, a big transformation happens in him. He wants to save Satyanath somehow. Thilakan has portrayed these different shades brilliantly.

Altogether, this is one movie which should be on the 'must see' lists of any serious malayalam movie buff. If you want to see what acting perfection means, then you dare n't miss this.

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 9- Home Run

Its not often that u get to see films as sweet and simple as the Singaporean film 'Homerun'. The film is in chinese language. Its an adaptation of Majid Majidi's Iranian classic 'Children of Heaven'. Am still in search of the Majidi original. Most of the critics have not given a favourable review for 'Homerun'. Its because of the simple fact that its compared to the original. The story revolves around a brother and sister, their shoes and their friends.

Chew Kiat Kun(Shawn Lee) takes his sister Seow Fang's(Megan Zheng) shoes to repair but he loses it. They keep it a secret as their family is suffering from poverty and there's no money to buy new shoes. She can't go to school without wearing shoes. To get around this problem, they devise a plan. She'll wear his shoes to school in the morning and then run back home in the afternoon, when he can wear it and go to school. Kun's shoes are too big for Seow. She has a hard time in school wearing it and then running back home. This also creates problems for Kun as he's late at school. At school, Kun and his friends get football shoes in exchange for doing homework to their wealthy mate Beng soon and his friends. But, because of some petty quarrels, they split and there are no more shoes to play football. Once Kun and Seow find out their shoes in the legs of one of her classmate. But when they find out that her father is a poor blind man, they decide not to ask for the shoes. Its at this bleak juncture that a Primary school cross country competition is announced. And the third prize is a pair of shoes. AM stopping the story here. See the little that is left for yourself.

'Homerun' is a touching account of sibling love, friendship and poverty. The scenes between the brother and sister are just too cute. Seeing it, I wished I had such a sweet adorable little sister. One funny thing I noticed was the headmaster who was played by a Keralite. I found this out from his looks and that unmistakable malayali accent. Am still wondering how this guy ended up in this film. His name is listed in IMDB as Sivaji Raja. Coming to the direction, though Jack Neo has overdid the emotion part in some of the scenes, you won't feel it that way most of the times mainly because of the kids. The scenes involving Kun and his friends are just fabulous and make you wanna go back to school. The last dialogue from Beng soon to Kun is my fav- "I never knew what it is like without a shoe." Guys, try to get the original 'Children of heaven'. If you are unsuccessful, go for this. And if anybody has the original, please do let me know.

PS- 'Children of Heaven' is being remade in Hindi with our own TZP wunderkid Darsheel Safary. The role of his sister is still not filled up. [Cute little girls out here can apply] Am waiting to watch this movie.

your crusader Praveen

Pick this flick 8-Khuda Kay Liye

I never had high opinions about the Pakistani film industry. Whatever clips I've seen in youtube from their movies looked amateurish and a pale imitation of bollywood. That was until yesterday when I watched the path breaking Pakistani film "Khuda Kay Liye". I had heard a lot about it being one of Pakistan's best movie ever. Still I didn't have much of an expectation. The only reason I found to watch the film was the presence of Nasseruddin Shah. The movie directed by Shoaib Mansoor takes you from London to Pakistan and then to USA. The film opens with a shot of a sad lady in a US hospital. Before you can understand what its all about, the action cuts to Pakistan.

In Pakistan, you get to see the story of an affluent family. Mansoor(Shaan) and Samad(Fawad Khan) are two singers who become quite popular locally. At the same time, their uncle is living a wealthy life in London, having married a British lady. His daughter Mary(Iman Ali) is in love with a British native Dave. He disapproves of their relation with such fickle reasons like "A pakistani male can marry anybody, but if a female marries from outside, it will create problems within the community". But, all of a sudden he agrees to her marriage and takes her to a visit to her home country before her marriage. There, Samad is on his way to become a religious fanatic, having quit singing and grown a beard after some ill advice by an Islami Mullah. The Mullah talks at length on how music is just another vice like drinking which should be avoided by true followers of the religion. Samad even asks his mother to wear a burqha. Mansoor is shattered and he leaves for US to study music. Meanwhile, Mary's father fools her into marrying Samad after taking her to a village near Afghanistan. The scene where she is forced to marry him will have you seething with anger. Mansoor joins a music school in Chicago where he falls in love with Janie. They get married soon. Thats when tragedy strikes in the form of 9/11 and he's arrested as a suspect just because he was having a muslim name.

The scenes of Mansoor's torture are well-shot. He is made to write his feelings on the wall after the torture. Still, he writes "I love USA". But, after a point he realises that they just want him to confess as a terrorist and won't believe whatever he says, even if its the truth. Thats when he changes "I love USA" to "I love USAMA". Its a poignant scene when he says "afterall, USA started it". The writer has indeed got his history right. Mary tries to run away from Samad but she's caught. But she writes a letter to Dave about her plight and as a result the British government rescues her from the hell hole. She takes her father and her husband to court. Thats where the best part of the movie happens. A Maulana(a brilliant cameo by Naserruddin Shah) delivers a speech on how the principles of Islam are twisted by the so-called learned scholars and clerics to their own advantage and spread hatred around. He convincigly disproves the notion of Islam's disapproval of music with some brilliant examples. He also talks on the inequality of women and such matters. In the end, you'll feel like standing up from your seat and clapping. After winning the case, Mary going back to the village to teach the illiterate young girls is a master stroke. She could've chose to go to London and live a luxurious life. But, she wants to set an example. The transformation of Samad back to his old self is also heartening. You will have a smile on your lip when he comes with his modern outfits and a cap turned backwards to sing "allahu akbar" at the local mosque.

The film works at various levels conveying a flurry of messages. Many might not have forgotten the news of Lal Masjid closing all music shops and banning all music education in Pakistan. These kind of retrograde steps are due to some twisted notion of the religious texts. The scene where a tortured Mansoor says that he doesn't know a single word of the arabic writings in his locket tells a story. He says he can read it but doesn't understand the language. And this is the case with many other people. In such a scenario, getting misguided by elder religious clerics who are hell-bent on spreading hatred is relatively easy. Another one important aspect of the film is how the plight of women are filmed. Women are considered unequal to men in Pakistan, most evident from the dialogue of Mary's father that I mentioned above. The Pakistani women are mostly uneducated and even those who are educated are not allowed to cross the boundaries of their house to interact with the soceity. At the end of the movie, Mansoor's lover Janie reads a letter that he wrote while he was in jail. The letter ends with the words "I can't hate all Americans because some of them have done injustice to me. In the same way, please don't hate all muslims because some of them have done have to your country". A superb movie! Must watch! The movie also has a great soundtrack with some chart topping songs like "Bandya" and "alla hu".

Quick 3 Recos
3 more recommended movies
1. V For Vendetta- A political commentary scripted by the Matrix makers, Wachowski brothers. Set in a futuristic England, it tells the story of 'V' who single handedly fights against the totalitarian regime. He wears a Guy Fawkes mask to cover his face that got a bad burn as a result of a Government purging experiment gone awry. Hugo Weaving gives an amazing performance without ever showing his face.

2. Infernal Affairs- Cantonese language film which inspired Martin Scorcese to make 'Departed'. You will see scenes straight out of this one in Departed. It has the same plot. But, somehow I liked this more than Departed.

3. Good Morning, Night- An Italian film directed by Marco Bellochio which chronicles the kidnap and murder of Aldo Moro, the former prime minister of Italy by the terrorist group 'Red brigades'. Watch out for an awesome performance by Maya Sansa, the female member of the group. Also, Roberto Herlitzka playing Aldo Moro evokes a lot of sympathy. Beware, this is a real slow movie.

pic courtesy-muziqpakistan.com

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 7- Into The Wild

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild. - Alexander Supertramp May 1992 "

-from 'Into the wild'

I decided to see the movie 'Into the wild' after hearing its rousing soundtrack by 'Pearl Jam' frontman Eddie Vedder. Filled with gems like 'Hard Sun', it was enough to make me see this movie somehow. Still I didn't expect much great things from it. Written and Directed by Sean Penn, 'Into the Wild' is based on a book written by Jon Krakauer about the real life adventures of Christopher McCandles, who embarked on a journey of self discovery after his graduation. Christopher, played brilliantly by Emile Hirsch, was an idealist who alongwith his sister, had a troubled childhood owing to the constant fighting of their parents. He hated his parents' materialistic ways most evident in the scene where he rejects their offer to buy him a new car as a gift for his graduation. The film is shot from the point of view of two persons, the first hand account of Chris and the narration by his loving sister Carine.

After graduation, Chris donates the $24000 in his account to charity and sets off in his car to the edge of America, the wilderness of Alaska. He loses his car to a flash flood. The rest of his journey is a series of hitchhikes when he meets with different people who influences him a lot and he inturn influences their lives also. He has destroyed all his personal identity informations, credit cards etc and travels under the name of Alexander Supertramp. He meets a farm owner Wayne(Vince Vaughn) , the hippies Rainey and Jan and old and lonely leather worker Ron(Hal Holbrook). On the course of his journey, he canoes down the Colorado river to Mexico. And this without any prior experience in manouevering such dangerous waters that too without any protective headgear. This single incident reveals the amount of craziness in him. Ron teaches him leatherwork and tries to dissuade him from going to Alaska. He even offers to adopy him as his grandson. But, in the end, no one can prevent Chris from reaching Alaska after a 2 year journey. There he lives in an abandoned bus which he calls as "The magic Bus".

The real Chris McCandles

In Alaska, he puts to use all the things he learned in his life changing journey. He hunts with his rifle but his inexperience in preserving the flesh causes him to starve. When he decides to go back, he finds that the river which he had easily crossed while coming there has now turned dangerous. He is trapped. He tries to survive by eating plants but he accidently eats a poisonous plant which causes problems in his digestive system and he starves to death. Its when the end title card flashed that I was in for a shock,'In memory / Christopher Johnson McCandless / February 12, 1968 - August 18, 1992'. Thats when I realised this was a true story. Imagine a man going on such a journey. This film will make you think with some of the best dialogues that I've seen in recent times. Some are truely poetic and some really inspiring. At the end of the movie, a self-portrait of the original chris, which was found undeveloped in his camera, is shown. His body was found only 2 weeks after his death by moose hunters. According to Wikipedia, Chris himself welcomed his death by going to such wilderness without a proper compass or map. There was a hand operated tram near the place where he died, using which he could've easily crossed the river. Anyway, one has to salute the spirit of this man. Truely awesome! And kudos to the cast, especially Emile for his fairly accurate portrayal of Chris.

Following are some of my favorite lines from the movie(courtesy-IMDB)

"I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong. "

"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed."

"The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences."

"Mr. Franz I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one." (I agree a 1000 times)

"Happiness only real when shared. "

Also lookout for some of the best visuals that you'll ever see in a movie. Another one to add to my list of favourite road movies headed by the classic "Motorcycle diaries". After I watched the movie, I checked the IMDB rating of the movie and yes, it was there in the top 250 list of all time great movies at #137.

Sources-Additional info on Christopher courtesy Wikipedia.

PS- Don't forget to checkout Eddie Vedder's soundtrack which led me to this movie, rather than the other way around.

Unrelated PS- Morrow am going home for Diwali. So taking a brief hiatus till next Tuesday. Wish you all a Happy Diwali. Will miss your blogs.

your crusader Praveen

Pick This Flick 6-Changing face of Bollywood

Been a long time since I wrote something in the 'pick this flick' series. So, here I am offering you 3 movies in one post. 3 movies that are a commentary of the current troubled times that our country is facing. 3 movies that are a departure from Bollywood's tried and tested to death masala formulas. Am talking about 'Aamir', 'A wednesday' and 'Mumbai Meri Jaan'. Watched these 3 movies over the past 3 weekends.

'Aamir',directed by debutant Raj Kumar Gupta is a neatly packaged movie which will manage to keep you on the edge of your seat till the end. It is all done so tightly that even after the interval, you are left in the dark on what is actually going on. The movie starts with the words "Kaun Kehta Hai, Aadmi Apni Kismat Khud Likhta Hai?" (who said man writes his own destiny). As we progress into the movie, we understand the true meaning of these words. How circumstances force the protagonist to act in ways which he wouldn't even dare to if things were normal. Aamir Ali(Rajeev Khandeiwal) returns to India from London after a longtime. The scene where the customs checks his baggage more than once just because he belongs to a particular community makes you think. And aamir then asks the officer, "what if my name was Amit?Would you treat him the same way?". As soon as he finishes, the next man in queue arrives and utters his name 'Amit'. Aamir lives through a nightmare right from the time he steps out of the airport. He's forced to play a treasure hunt like game obeying the orders that he gets through a mobile phone from an unknown person. Am not revealing anything more as it'll spoil the experience of watching this movie. The climax is just superb. It is a slap in the face for those who sympathise with terrorists and blaming circumstances for their barbaric act. Some may brand this climax as too cinematic, but I for one doesn't think so. Its so apt. Kudos to the debutant cast and crew of this film for such a wonderful film.

Next up is 'A wednesday' directed by another debutant Neeraj Pandey. Its the story of a strange case narrated by police commisioner Prakash Rathod(Anupam Kher). He tells us about a man, played brilliantly by Naserrudin Shah, who called him up and told that he has planted bombs in 5 key places in the city and is set to go off in 4 hours. To prevent the bomb from being detonated, the police has to obey whatever he's telling. He sits atop a half finished building with all the latest gadgets and driving the police mad. To dispell the doubt whether he's a hoax caller, he makes them search out a bomb from the nearby police station, which he had placed earlier. Rathod employs his best young officers to solve the case. A young funky hacker is also brought in to trace the man's whereabouts. the hacker makes a really funny comment on the outdated equipments used by the police which leaves us in splits. The man also gives mysterious tip offs to the media regarding what is going to happen in the next 4 hours. This all leads to one of the best climatic scenes I've seen in bollywood in recent times. The speech that Naserrudin Shah gives at the end is just spellbinding. He talks at length about the plight of the common man faced with terrorism. A touch of class is given by not revealing the man's name even at the end of the movie. It just ends up as a case which doesn't have any official record. Its only there in Prakash Rathod's memory. In the same way, this movie will be there in the memory of everyone who has watched it. I really wish things like what is shown in this movie happened in real life too.

The final film in this series is 'Mumbai meri jaan' directed by yet another newcomer Nishikant Kamat. This is his first film in Hindi after his debut with the Marathi film 'Dombivili fast'. The film chronicles the life of 5-6 random people in Mumbai during the 09/07 train blasts. Rupali(Soha Ali Khan) is a typical news hungry journo who thrusts her mic into the face of grieving victims of some tragedy and asks that stupid question "how do you feel?". Her fiancee makes fun of her in this matter. Nikhil(Madhavan) is a professional who never travels in a taxi or doesn't have plans to buy a car, preferring instead the local trains. He also preferrs to work in the country having said no to lucrative offers in the US. Suresh(KK Menon) is a Hindu who has a suspicious eye over all the muslims. He reminded me of Edward Norton's character in 'American History X'. Then there is constable Patil(Paresh Rawal) who is soon to retire from service and spends his time making others laugh and teaching some good things to the hot blooded new recruit Kadam. Thomas(Irrfan Khan) is a madrasi tea vendor who finds himself a misfit in the big city of influential and rich people, which is clearly portrayed in that scene where him and his family visits the mall and ends up insulted. All these people's lives take a different turn after the blasts. Rupali loses her fiancee to the blasts and finds herself as the target of news hungry journos who are eager to sell her story and make a soap opera out of it.'Rupali ki rudali' reminded me of Aaj Tak. Nikhil who had a close escape from the blasts is scared to travel in trains anymore and prefers to take a taxi instead. Suresh suspects the muslim guys who used to frequent the tea shop as having a hand in the blasts. Thomas, in his fit of anger against the mall owners who insulted him, starts making hoax bomb calls to the city malls, which ends up bringing hardships to many. But in the end, something good awaits each one of them. The film is a tribute to the resilience of the Mumbaikars. The most beautiful thing in the movie is the portrayal of the change in Suresh's anti-muslim mindset. Towards the end of the film he is seen sharing a cup of tea with a musalmaan. This movie is worth watching just for that. And hope Raj thackerey sees this and get some sense into his bloody senseless head.

The timing of these 3 movies is so apt. We are having terrorist attacks every other day in this country. There are so many misguided opinions flying around everywhere. Films like these can end up educating people regarding the need of the hour and prevent them from doing anything rash. It also helps to reduce the building tension in the soceity. It also reinforces the idea that new directors can bring in fresh ideas. We don't need big banners, big stars or big money to make meaningful films that contribute in some ways to the soceity. For that, we need creative directors and powerful writers who can script things which are unthinkable in the masala framework. This new wave of cinema which is neither purely parallel nor purely masala can do a world of good to Indian cinema. It can bring in the audiences as well as increase the stature of Indian cinema in the world. Thanks to the multiplexes and the changing mindset of the audiences without which such a revolution wouldn't have been possible in Indian cinema.

PS-Sorry for the really long post. Can't help it. :D

images courtesy-dearcinema.com,indiatarget.com

your crusader Praveen

Pick this Flick(5) Special-Rock On

"Live your dream"-so screamed the catch phrase of the movie 'Rock On'. And the movie did match every word of the title and the catch phrase. If you are expecting the usual bollywood masala fare, you'll be disappointed. If you are expecting 'dhak dhak' beats of the dholak or copied and remixed music, please stay away from this. Because here's a refreshing whiff of fresh air that is blowing and it has broken all stereotypes of a typical bollywood film. Agreed, there are shades of 'Dil chahta hai' lying somewhere underneath its musically fertile surface. But that doesn't rob this movie of any piece of accolade that it deserves. Its a musical as well as an emotional drama rolled into one.

Just a short synopsis of the movie(no spoilers). Directed and written by Abhishek Kapoor, 'Rock On' chronicles the life of four guys Aditya Shroff(Farhan Akhtar),Joe Mascrenhas(Arjun Rampal),KD(Purab Kohli) and Rob(Luke Kenny) who set out to form India's greatest rock band 'magik'. But somewhere down the line, they falter. Personal and creative differences are the culprits here also. They all go their separate ways leaving behind their rock dreams to gather dust. Now they've all settled into their mundane lives. 10 years down the line, Aditya's wife Sakshi(Prachi Desai) stumbles upon a bunch of photographs and other materials of the band in the attic. This, and a chance meeting with KD paves the way for a reunion of the band. See the rest for yourself.

What strikes you at first is the uber-cool look of the movie. The styling guys deserve a warm round of applause for giving such perfect looks to almost all the characters. coupled with the styling is the cinematography which is just mind-blowing. For a minute, I wondered whether am watching a bollywood movie. The movie kicks off with the 'Socha Hai' song, which the band is shown performing live at a roadside concert. The way the concerts are filmed is just flawless. Right from this first one to the climatic big arena performance, the concerts oozes intensity. The instrument playing by the actors at most of the times were believable. This is a far cry from the days when you had to see the hero strumming his guitar as if he's playing some chord, while you are hearing some high speed leads being played. The live versions of 'Pichle Saat Dino Mein' and 'sindbad' is sure to make you jump from your seat. 'Zehreelay', the heaviest of the tracks is also picturised in a pretty aggressive manner(though its not shown continously) and its one real headbanger track. Without this soundtrack, the movie wouldn't have felt half as good. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy has really lent soul to the movie. More on the music here.

This movie is not just about the music or the band. More than that, it carries a high emotional quotient. And that exactly is what makes it connect with non-rokcers too. The four of them are so different in character and music is the one thing that unites them. Vocalist Aditya comes off as a pretty serious guy who's prepared to compromise on the content of their album for the sake of getting a contract. On the contrary, guitarist Joe is a true musician who loves his craft and no lure of money can make him do any compromises. To ease the tension, there's the joker and drummer of the band KD who provides comic relief with his blunders. And then there's the level headed keyboardist Rob who lives for the band. Farhan Akhtar shines as Aditya especially in scenes where he's required to emote. Prachi Desai is a picture perfect wife whose life revolves around her busy husband who doesn't have time even for himself. Arjun Rampal and the girl playing his wife(donnow her name) towers above the rest in the acting department. Purab Kohli as KD has done a world of good to his resume with his comical performance. Luke Kenny, Channel [V] India's all in all, does a role that reflects his real life persona.

'Rock on' has so many comical as well as thought provoking scenes. My favourite scene is the 'wedding rock' scene, where the band plays rock versions of old wedding songs so as to raise money to buy new equipments. Their attire and the expressions on their face at this concert will tickle your ribs. Then, there's the meeting with the recording company executive who insists on a 'remixed wedding song' on their album. He says this is what sells and this is what the youth wants. Indeed, a thought provoking comment on the rut that has settled into today's film music, the main selling point of which are remixes. One other scene is the one showing the transformation in Aditya's character. He used to be so engrossed in work as an investment banker. But after the band reunites and starts practising, he's shown grooving to music at work and then switching off the computer monitors early and running to practise. The scenes of the music video shoot where the band is made to wear some fancy clothing and bear with an idotic producer are also great. The only one thing I didn't like in the movie is the guest appearance by one of the musicians I hate most, Anu Malik. The copymalik looked out of place in the movie. Maybe, he was put there to show how Rob's life's going through a bad phase as he's working as a keyboard player to one of the most boring and unoriginal musicians of bollywood.

Watching this movie was a nostalgic as well as an emotional experience. It reminded me of the great days which I had with my band back home. And now am missing it all the more. There were so many scenes that can see parallels in the life of most of the bands in India. The lack of support at home, the perception of rock music in soceity as not a worthy career option and above all the compromises that bands in India have to make for them to forge ahead are all shown vividly. And the biggest message of the movie-'Never compromise with your dreams, Just live it and leave all the rest aside.' Sometimes the movie may seem cliched. But, who cares as long as it makes you let your hair down and enjoy. All in all, this is a must-watch movie for all the rockers as well as non-rockers of India. With its 'alchemist' like message, full scale rock concerts and underlying emotional drama, 'rock on' is one helluva journey.

At the end of the movie, there was a message to all of us-"Please don't download the music. Buy original CDs." Am happy that I brought one on the 1st day of its release.



PS-I heard some respected(I don't know who respects them) bollywood reviewers trashing this movie as lacking depth and having too much masala. Please don't listen to those jugheads and miss this movie.

PPS-I dedicate this movie review to all my band members back home. Missing them very much after watching this movie. Hope somewhere down the line a reunion happens.

your crusader Praveen