Desicritics Category: Media: Films - Action

Bollywood's Coming Of Age

Aditi Nadkarni — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:11:43 EST

It all started with my having given up on contemporary Hindi films. I was hopeful after Taare Zameen Par and after watching Race one depressing Sunday afternoon I didn't see the cinematic revolution I had expected. I had also figured out after a Netflixcapade that Chak De India, the last Hindi film I watched with much enthusiasm seemed a lot like the English film called Miracle, except of course Miracle was based on a true story. Having absorbed this, I went into mourning, restricting my Hindi film doses to watching for the second, third or fourth time, classics like Masoom, Katha, Ijazzat and Mandi on YouTube.

And then one day a new name, Nishikanth Kamath, stirred my faith alive with Mumbai Meri Jaan. I laughed and cried and celebrated the filmmaker who finally found Paresh Rawal a role he was worthy of. The very next day, in A Wednesday, Naseeruddhin Shah and Anupam Kher held my attention until the very last scene. I didn't yawn or fast-forward through songs. I sat, eyes glued to the screen, silently applauding two of my favorite actors who thankfully did not settle by spending their greying film years as strict fathers, the perennial villains in desi love stories. The pace was electrifying, the story original and the characters real.

In Welcome To Sajjanpur, Shyam Benegal delighted me further with a simple yet delectable rural comedy that addressed relevant social issues. A modest cast, generous dashes of humor and Shreyas Talpade's acting genius made this film a wholesome and fun watch. Madhur Bhandarkar's style of juxtaposing the real with the glamorous worked in Fashion and I was surprised to find out that the very pretty Priyanka Chopra can, if she tried, act well. More recently, in Dasvidaniya, Vinay Pathak brought a common man character to life. I soaked in this bittersweet and touchingly crafted film, directed by debutante Shashant Shah that has the potential to change how Bombay's middle class views life and relationships. I fell in love with the awkward, bespectacled and podgy protagonist.

Rock On! had me pondering about several things; about what might have happened to Indus Creed, the rock group of the 80s, about what had happened to my dreams of learning to play the guitar some day and most importantly about why I hadn't noticed earlier how very good-looking Farhan Akhtar was! It is always more of a success when one sees new faces in a Hindi film these days and realizes that it is talent being showcased and not merely a family business being passed on cause some star-kid didn't do too well at school.

In EMI, a lighthearted comic plot captured the complicated love-hate relationship between the new and altered Indian middle class and the banks that strive with relentless schemes to catch up with them. Sanjay Dutt is a natural at playing the quintessential bhai and has practically raised the standards for anyone else wanting to play a GGG (gentle-goofy-goonda) character. It was refreshing to see among other things, a more composed and consequently more sexier Urmila Matondkar in a character very different from the over-the-top hysterical damsel that Ram Gopa Verma has had her play in the past.

I saw more. I saw Johnny Gaddar, Manorama Six Feet Under and am browsing sites to see if the seemingly funny Loins Of Punjab is out yet. I am waiting for the likes of Nana Patekar, Atul Kulkarni, Manoj Bajpai to make good while these crazy times of unique plots and talented performances roll.

In the past few weeks I have watched film after film and am wide-eyed at the maverick years of cinema that the Hindi film industry is witnessing. In short, every film was unique and I imagined what the big banners might be doing. Were they scratching their heads wondering what happened to the time when the proclaimed stars and starlets would come out and claim the box office for themselves as the small budget filmmakers took home the consolation prize and maybe a Filmfare Critics' Award? Or maybe they are coming up with a formula to match the present times and create a package that has what today's film buffs need. Maybe they will learn to tap into the free advertising offered by the blogosphere where the new, the creative and the original are spoken about and exalted. Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi tells us that the Barjatyas stubbornly choose to remain in the past and manufacture wedding videos in place of cinema. Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi did not have a gripping story in with the times and Shahrukh's charm could not make up for the lack of chemistry between the two leading stars. None of the bigger stars have yet ventured into the emerging genre of films which may be a blessing for upcoming actors. Maybe this is their channel into tinseltown.

Finally, there are stories in Bollywood! The Indian film director is acknowledging the growing intellect of the masses and catering to it instead of recycling the girl-meets-boy plots. The mother in Dasvidaniya, the child in Taare Zameen Par and the friend in Rock On! all remind us that the "pyaar" they sing about so much in Bollywood has more faces than the two that will sing, dance, hold hands, kiss and eventually marry.

Recently, in speaking of Slumdog Millionaire, Mr.Bachchan on his blog acknowledged the age-long tryst between the commercial and art film industries in India. Films have always been viewed on those lines. What is artful and realistic was assumed not to be of commercial value since commercialism feeds on escapism. But the movies I have been watching lately have the triumphs and fantasy that escapism offers and the realistic depiction of earthy stories that art films showcase. One could call them crossover films; a genre that brings together the popularity of commercial cinema and the delicate craftsmanship of art films. What was parallel cinema, not too long ago, is now intersecting and becoming one with popular cinema. A new day has dawned in Bollywood!

Sanjay Dutt a Security Threat - Ram Jethmalani

Sakshi Juneja — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:32:41 EST

(Ram) Jethmalani, who had unsuccessfully argued for Dutt's bail before the Supreme Court in the late 1990s and had the privilege of going through the probe agency's dossier against him in the serial blasts case, did not mince words in waging a battle against his proposed candidature as a Samajwadi Party nominee for the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

"He (Dutt) does not deserve to be a Member of Parliament and any political party that sets him as its candidate is totally impervious to the security to the nation," the noted criminal law expert said in a press release. [Link]

Amusing. Very amusing in fact. A classic case of - woh angreezi main khehete hain na "Pot calling the Kettle black".

So let’s get this straight – Noted criminal lawyer/politician Ram Jethmalani is no saint himself. Rightly tagged as ‘the Devil’s Advocate’, Jethmalani has more so often sided with those on the wrong side of the law (technically speaking). Underworld gangsters, drug smugglers, stock market scammers & cold blooded murderers fill up his clientele list. The man is also known for making astounding (read: bullshit) statements to serve his agenda or at times simply to satisfy his hunger for limelight. After all out of sight out of mind no?

His stand against Bollywood’s Munnabhai, labeling him as security threat to the nation, to me appears to be nothing but letmegetbackatya aka a revenge scheme. Why? Because Sunil Dutt & family had found Mr. Jethmalani’s legal expertise to be in-effective back in the 1990s when the TADA case was still hanging over Sanjay Dutt’s Mohawk hair styled head. Since then Dutt Jr. has had the country’s best defense legal team propagating his cause; Farhana Shah, Satish Maneshinde, Karan Singh and V R Manohar.

A flip onto the other side; the only reason I see behind Sanjay Dutt’s political debut is the on-going feud with sister Priya Dutt, who also happens to be Lok Sabha Member representing the Indian National Congress Party. What feud? Honestly this question would be best answered only by a certain Mrs. Manyata Dutt.

Update :

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said on Saturday that if Sanjay Dutt is unable to contest because of legal issues, SP may field his wife Manyata from Lucknow, according to a PTI report.

"If Sanjay Dutt is unable to contest the polls, we will request the Dutt family to allow (his wife) Manyata to fight from Lucknow," he said. [Link]

Yes and if wife Manyata is filmy busy then there is pet Alaskan Husky. And if Husky is breeding busy then there is the red Ferrari. It's desi-politics baby!

Movie Review: Ghajini

Aaman Lamba — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:21:41 EST

Directors remaking their own films is not a new phenomenon. Michael Haneke remade Funny Games, Robert Rodriguez converted El Mariachi to Desperado, the Ju-on franchise seems to have entered cookie-cutter mode, Alfred Hitchcock recreated The Man Who Knew Too Much, and long ago, Cecil B deMille took another take at the Ten Commandments. This is often to reach a different audience, as with Haneke's remake that was directed to American viewers. It could also be because the director feels the original material was flawed in some way, and is looking for a do-over. Often, the director has matured in his career, and the later version can be compared with the earlier, but only as if were by another person.

The motivations for the Hindi remake of Ghajini by A.R. Murgadoss are perhaps to extend the dramatic success of his Tamil version to the Hindi audience. He neglects, however, to translate Tamil film sensibilities to those one might expect from a Hindi Bollywood thriller. This is acceptable when a film is dubbed, as with Roja. It creates a dissonance for viewers in the present case, however, as we have over-the-top villains, extreme close-up photography, and an unrelenting assault of violence which does not significantly extend the plot.

There is added slickness in the lead character's role, as Aamir reprises the role portrayed by Surya in the Tamil version, yet, he pushes the film too far in his own direction, making the roles of the complementary characters more props than in the original. Despite Asin playing the same role as before, she is somehow less able to portray the model, first uplifted into a high profile romance with a suave telecom entrepreneur, and then wannabe whistleblower. The larger-than-life villain, Ghajini, played by Pradeep Singh Rawat, with his band of henchmen, corrupt corporate practices, and cliched one-liners, is more able to fill his white shoes (and the screen). The inexplicable transformation of the entrepreneur to Max Payne must be put down to the magic of the camera, which makes simple employees of Punjab Power win Bollywood dance competitions.

The other thing about the film that's over-the-top is the publicity. Aamir Khan seems to have taken earlier criticism of downbeat promotions to heart. This time he spares no channel in his assault on the viewer's senses, from posters to hairdressers. This should help juice initial returns, but viewers are not likely to return, and once they give away the only ending the film has, the rush might slow to a trickle.

Perhaps, the director might be then inspired to remake another of his potboiler thrillers.

Movie Review: Drona - Derivative and Pointless

Aaman Lamba — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 14:45:10 EDT

Drona must be one of the most derivative films ever made. Every facet, from the characters' backstory to the structural underpinnings are unoriginal and borrowed. The early scenes are reminiscent of Harry Potter's travails while Angelina Jolie's Wanted role is used as 'inspiration' for the hero's bodyguard. The larger plot of a hero who has forgotten his origins and must rediscover them to save the world is all too common. The hero must be of royal descent and safeguard ancient secrets. Time has stood still here, as has political and economic progress.

The comic book effects are mostly Virgin Comics-derived, while the soundtrack applies the usual heavy tone to create pseudo-emotional effect. Characters break out into songs and dances when least expected, and the placement of Drona's foster home in bonnie England is somewhat inexplicable, this not being Stardust. The fantasy elements are a mish mash of gladiatorial monsters, ageing horses, Horton-style blue petals, and talking puppets, grounded in a Hindu-themed mythos. Strangely, though, a critical character bears more than a passing resemblance to Gandalf after his great return.

The actors deliver a mostly superlative performance, unfortunately wasted. K K Menon as Rai Raizada, the jaded villain, tends to go off into over-dramatic fiendish cackles, and his sinister demeanor is somewhat spoiled by inane comic relief and he is more of a sleight-of-hand prestidigator than a destroyer of worlds. Abhishek Bachchan provides enough hangdog looks to slaughter a dozen mournful lovers. Of course, since he is the Chosen One, enough fantastic events occur yet he rides through till the end, despite rivers of blood and a deus ex machina resurrection. He doesn't have to do much other than mostly stand through the appearance and disappearance of large sets, oodles of atmosphere people, and magical bracelets, untouched by dust, in response to which he says, somewhat fatuously, "Mere liye?"("For me?")

The women characters don't rise above their silently suffering roles. Priyanka Chopra has limited scope to display her acting talents and seems to rely a bit too much on 'Bauji'. Jaya Bachchan's queenhood is limited to retelling the tale of separation from her hero-son. An interesting bit role is performed by Tat�na Fischerov� as a ninja nun, part of a cabal of protectors of the young Drona.

The film reaches far in its ambitious arch, yet provides little to spur the collective imagination of the human race, and finally leaves one dissatisfied.

Movie Review: WANTED - Some Kickass Action!

Varun P — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 08:35:35 EDT

Not since Iron Man came out earlier this year have we seen such kickass action - I am certainly not taking into account The Dark Knight which came out a couple pf months ago!

If you thought only Bollywood could think up weird storylines, then you need to watch WANTED where the storyline is staler than the morbid Bollywood script we have become so familiar with.. But what stands out in the movie (apart from Angelina Jolie's butts ;-) ) is the sheer graphics and action sequences which leave you gasping for breath! The standout moment was obviously the car chase in the beginning of the movie when Angelina manages to beat the crap out of her sports car!!

Don't worry, I am not going to give much away, just don't go looking for a svelte story line guys -- because there ain't one!! But Hollywood being Hollywood, the cool cats easily blindside the audience with tattoos all over AJolie's lithe body; it's a good flick where they trace how our hero has to undergo the rigorous of trainings to find what he was born for (I am growing kinda bored of this type of a storyline) ... The movie somehow reminded me of Jumper though I'm still trying all feasible permutations and combinations to connect the two movies!

Go catch this movie if like me, you too couldn't get tickets for Rock On!! Even if you do get the tickets for Rock On, take out a couple of hours and watch this great flick!

Movie Review: Mission Istaanbul - Male Booty Call

Deepti Lamba — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:57:10 EDT

Cleavage!! There's a lot of it on Mission Istaanbul from Belly dancers, a pissed off journalist wife, lots of male cleavage, a wannabe Angelina Jolie and a product placement of thaanda Mountain Dew. Is there any redeeming quality for Mission Istaanbul? Its all about popular conspiracy theories coming true on the 13th Floor of a news channel which is a terrorist front. Its about looking like Matt Damon from Bourne and oh yeah! Its about smooching Jolie's little Indian sister.

There is a pseudo-President Bush suffering from Bushism - saying ~~Man-hole-Singh~~ Manmohan Singh, and not wanting to interfere in the shenanigans of some Indians finding out the truth about you know who being dead in the terrorist circles.

So, the movie isn't low budget, the action scenes are packed but here is what I don't get about the movie. Despite all the high tech talk of computers and all why didn't they use YouTube to let the world know the truth? Then again they had to stretch the movie to three hours. (Speaking of YouTube, the full Mission Istaanbul has already leaked in ten-minute clips, if you'd like to watch it in that painful format.)

Hence, there are a lot of chase scenes through the colorful streets of Istanbul, a love interest specially flying to Turkey to complicate matters further and the Indian ambassador chickening out and letting foreign cops into the Embassy.

After the intermission, the movie takes on a Rambo flavor. Two men fighting against terrorists while the world watches on the sidelines.

The movie is fraught with many loopholes, ugly looking terrorists having sauna baths, bare-chested fights and Abhishek Bachchan shaking his scrumptious booty as a guest appearance. Come to think of it, the only reason one should go to see this movie is to watch some male booty in action. Apart from that the movie has nothing new to offer.