Sunday, June 28, 2009

Gulaal : A heady mix!

Political ambition at the cost of human aspiration. Forced acceptance in the wake of critical denial. Changing face of good to evil. Revolution, anyone?

Gulal is a stroke that makes you straighten up in your seats for want of more. (If at all there is anything missing in the movie is this want of more. But let me come to that later. To begin with, I am thrilled.)

I am truly thrilled. Gulal is a high voltage political drama cutting through number of pawns in the big game. It is gritty, raw in its commentary on political inferno and absolutely brilliant in its writing. Piyush Mishra does a wonderful job as co-dialogue writer, song writer and musician. Take the lyrics and soundtrack out from Gulal and it would lose half of its impact.

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The movie starts with Dilip Kumar Singh (Raj Singh Chaudhary), a law student coming to a college in Rajpur. Dilip puts up with Rananjay Singh (Abhimanyu Singh), who actually belongs to royal family of Rajasthan, but hates his father and lives on his own terms. Then there is Dukey Bana (Kay Kay Menon), trying to build an independent Rajput Empire with the help of erstwhile Maharajas who are unhappy with the government and particularly, with democracy. Dukey Bana is influential in college elections and uses it as a platform for his political aspirations. His illegitimate brother, Karan (Aditya Srivastava) has his own grudges against his father who has not given him his name. Karan also carries a hidden political agenda. Dukey Bana makes Rananjay fight the general secretary election. The proceedings take an ugly turn and Rananjay is murdered. Dukey Bana forces Dilip to contest. Dilip wins and enters Kiran (Ayesha Mohan), Karan’s sister, who eventually takes control of Dilip and towards the climax, eliminating everybody, helps her brother achieve his goal.

So, there are men who have an agenda, there is a man who had an agenda, there is a young man who does not know what agenda is and there is a femme fatale. Political aspirations are on the burner, with links rooted in the past and eyes set on reviving the past.

As I said, the entire experience is thrilling with speedy developments, knock out dialogues, music and terrific performances. There is an ensemble cast and everyone is just perfect. Kay Kay Menon again delivers a towering performance. Raj Singh Chaudhary plays the meek Dilip convincingly. Abhimanyu Singh is impressive. Deepak Dobariyal (plays Bhati, Dukey Bana’s right hand) is excellent. Piyush Mishra, (plays Prithvi, Dukey Bana’s England returned eccentric elder brother, whose ideas and dreams are shattered and he now enjoys being a poet who slaps the system with his amazing political satires) needs a special mention. After a long time (after Dil Se and Maqbool), he is in action and he is just unbeatable. One more special mention is to be given to Bhanvar Singh, the cook (Mukesh Bhatt) for his short but memorable act. There are two more characters – Anuja (Jesse Randhawa), who is a professor and is a victim of physical abuse. Madhuri (Mahie Gill) is Dukey Bana’s mistress. Out of these two, Anuja’s track gets completely lost as the drama unfolds. Madhuri, played well by Mahie Gill, does not have to do much except for a couple of song sequences.

Anurag Kashyap again applies his craft over the medium and delivers an engaging drama. Having soaked in its violent splashes, once you sit back and think, you essentially would realise that it was a really a ‘drama’. In fact, a high voltage drama that makes you surrender to its spell, but later you discover that a few parts of the circuit were actually loose. You would have some obvious questions about sudden rise of Kiran, her influence over the men (without an influential figure!), Dilip’s sudden make over and his ability to defy Dukey Bana, portrayal of college as so powerful a platform for politics that you wonder if there is any governing body in the college or the students are actually supposed to be ‘Bhaais’ in the making as a part of their curriculum.

Gulal goes little astray in the second half. Progressions seem so sudden that you are actually not fully convinced with them. Just that cinematic presentation is so damn good that you tend to ignore them.

So, want of more exists. But as an explosive drama, Gulal works well. Do watch it. Watch it for Piyush Mishra and his words. Watch it for the performances. Watch it for its sleek composition. Gulal does not make any political statement neither it can be considered as a riveting, out and out political movie, because the focus is more on dramatic rendition than on the ideological debate. However, it is fiery enough to make your emotions sizzle. Go, get your dose!

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Dev D : As dark as it gets

So, is it about love? Is it about intimacy? Is it about passionate self proclamation? Is it about pure, unadulterated lust? Is it about ‘halaat ki majboori’?

Forget ‘The’ Devdas that has been written and portrayed so far by different filmmakers. Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D is just about one’s self. His Devdas is alienated from the rest of the world with an unprecedented amount of indignity, his Paro is jaw droopingly passionate, articulate, vivacious and at the best of her sexual self. His Chandramukhi is demure, bitten by the societal apathy and self assuredly free.

Dev D boils with the living bodies of these three people with the soul that they have almost lost. A word of advice for Devdas, the tragic hero lovers – do not expect a heart warning, ‘I have lost my Paro and now is the time to gulp the sorrow’ kind of picture. The idea remains as is, but the rendition is way different. It is much more of – let me say this – itching Paro and Devdas for whom dil ka milan has taken place long back and now it is time to do some serious stuff which you can do only while lying in the bed (does not matter where the bed is, because Dev D’s Paro goes to the extent of arranging one in Ganne ka khet!)

So, Dev D is your brutal self. Self destructive? Yes. For Dev (Abhay Deol), it is self destructive by all means. Doubting Paro’s (Mahie Gill) virginity, he leaves her and then repents. Accompanied by bottle and beauty (Chanda - Kalki Koechlin) he starts an inward journey and finally lands in the prison following accidental killing of a few people. The movie is shot superbly with all the technical finesse, the scene of accident being one of such instances.

Mahie Gill is great to watch. She is super possessive about Dev and turns equally destructive when Dev insults her. The chemistry between them before break-up and then watching her ego superseding her love makes an engaging story. Mahie Gill does full justice to the character that has been conceived. She places everything at the right place – let it be her love for Dev, her lust, her anger or her practicality. She is actually a ‘good mix’!

Abhay Deol is first rate. But he actually does not have much to do. He is of course not made to cry loudly in Paro’s yaad nor he has to deliver yawn full of dialogues about dard-e-dil. He is mostly shameless and edgy looking man demanding booze and babe. He is not a bad guy but what to do when bad is so attractive? Only his relation with Chanda, his nascent love for her gives him a softer shade. What is remarkable about Dev D is Dev finally goes to Chanda and says that he does not love Paro. His admittance actually does not elevate his character (in fact, for some, it may add to his disgrace), but it creates an intrigue for the viewer and makes him wonder as to what does he mean by that? It may easily be called as ‘one more sin’ by a drunkard, but it also points at love – past, present and future. It is much of a present ‘tensed’ statement. You know that this guy is hopeless, but you feel that he might be somewhere around your own self!

I have only one problem and that is with Chanda. I have always liked this character for its sheer attitude, but Kalki Koechlin, may be because of her phirangi looks, does not find a place in your heart. She has a story to share but again her appearance is a disconnect. I understand that from the perspective of the entire plot, she is shown as the one from a non Indian family, but still the need is not clearly understood. Professionally managed sex trade (in which she gets engaged) with its innovative ways might be one of the reasons.
And then there is ‘the’ music. Amit Trivedi rock once again after Aamir. While the lyrics, (especially ‘Emosanal Atyaachar’ being the team’s creative best) are wonderful, Amit Trivedi’s captivating compositions make up to every mood of the situation. After so many years, with brilliantly written and composed Emosanal Atyaachar, I have heard whistles in the theatre and that too in a multiplex!

Dev D is an irresistible latest addition to new age Hindi cinema which is in the league of Aamir or Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. A bindaas take by Anurag Kashyap with that ruthless ‘wow’ embedded in it. Looks like we have found Quentin Tarantino!

Do watch Dev D. The emosanal atyaachar is worth the money you would pay for the ticket. There is pleasure in the pain!

Aamir : When cinema speaks for itself!

Silence speaks volumes. However clichéd it may sound, at times you do experience it. Today, when I came out of the theater after watching Aamir, I experienced it. There was a silence with me - unbearable, unthinkable, unwanted too because I could notice that it was disconnecting me with the world around me. And all this was because I actually wanted to talk about Aamir.

This movie, ladies and gentlemen, is indescribable. I really am searching for words. Terrific. Master craft. Wonder of cinema (and a marvel of music. Aamir has the kind of background score that clinches you, sucks you in its groove and haunts you till the end scroll.) Here is what we can doubtlessly call work of art. Aamir is a low budget film, the interval happens in 40 mins., film ends in an hour after that and these 100 odd minutes pack up the best that movie making can offer.

I might sound repetitive and you may complain that I have still not got down to the content of the movie, allow me to say this - this is how you make a movie! This is how you build the characters, this is how you operate the camera, this is how an actor (Rajeev Khandelwal, welcome sir and take the seat - actor's i.e., please don't start working on six packs!) make you feel the pain, this is how cameraman 'shows' the story, this is how director controls every inch of the reel and this is how you offer an experience to the viewers and not just make them munch the popcorn by reducing film making to a two hrs dose of action and sleaze.

It has been long since Johny Gaddar gave us the best of the shots. Aamir, I must say, lands in the league of extraordinary film making with enviable confidence.

There is no way I am going to tell you anything about the story. In one line, it is one man's unsought, frightful journey in the bylanes of Mumbai following his arrival at Mumbai international airport where a death trap is waiting for him. And this is a kind of Mumbai, that is never seen before. I dare say that this Mumbai is worth watching even for the substantive filmmakers like Ramgopal Varma and Anurag Kashyap. There are torn buildings and shredded faces and a 'neatly' dilapidated life and the camera actually does the talking. Some shots are incredibly brilliant, which include a couple of short fight scenes. Boy! I wonder how did they do it?

Rajeev Khandelwal delivers a power packed performance. Its about the protagonist's inner conflict, which he has been able to showcase very very effectively. Watch out especially for the climax scene. You actually move with him, feel his anguish, can relate with him and get awestruck with the choice that he makes in the end. Other characters, some of whom we have seen, many of them we have not seen yet, do their bit with perfection.

Aamir is inspired by a Filipino film Cavite, but kudos to Rajkumar Gupta, as he has shown Aamir to the makers and has got a no-objection certificate from them. This, actually is something that does not come easy to me, because however great a movie is, if the roots remain somewhere else, it becomes difficult to enjoy the splendor of the blossom. This happened with Shaurya (inspired by A few good men) also. But then, Aamir is an amazingly outstanding work and moreover, obtaining permission from the makers is a gesture that wipes off all the doubts regarding plagiarism.

Efforts by lensman Alphonse Roy (a wildlife cinematographer and debuting with Aamir) are captivating. If this is a debut, then one can possibly make out what to look for in his next film. I actually could not get enough of a particular chase sequence. It was painstakingly shot and ended just when I was demanding for more run. And that was it. Take a bow, Mr. Roy and Mr. Gupta, for the perfect timing!

Editing by Aarti Bajaj (Black Friday) is sleek, cut to the point and screenplay is so powerful that you cannot take your eyes off. Alongside, ladies and gentlemen, comes the music of Aamir. With your eyes, your ears too are glued to the screen. Be it the upbeat track during the titles or Amit Trivedi's brilliant compositions that work literally as a narrator, it rocks!

Aamir is arguably the best debut so far by a director, cinematographer and actor. We must applaud the effort because this is some serious cinema where camera, lights and action MEAN camera, lights and action. This is the cinema where these words do not lose their sheen by a star or debut of a star kid backed by media management. This is the cinema where cinema talks for itself and not for the stars!

Drishti : Relationship status - fluid

What do we do with our questions about human relations? Run away? Confront? Smile at them? Destroy them? Look at them as if they are an alien entity? Or let them destroy us? And what happens to our relation? Existing and impending? What?

Absurd? Or true? Boring or curiously interesting?

'Drishti' tries hard. I would not say that it leaves you totally contented with the answers, but certainly, it tries very hard. For a long, I have been waiting to watch Govind Nihalani's Drishti, but could not get the CD. Recently a CD got out in the market and a friend bought it for himself. I got hold on it the next day after he finished watching it.


Govind Nihalani's movies are never 'common'. And the reason is his characters do not TALK average. They talk substance. Nihalani wins half the battle because of his writers. And Drishti is no exception. Shashi Deshpande pens power. Totally.

So, its about Sandhya (Dimple Kapadia) and Nikhil (Shekhar Kapur) who are happily married with a daughter. Leading a comfortable life in Mumbai. Rahul (Irfan Khan), accompanying his uncle who is Sandhya-Nikhil's friend, comes for their wedding anniversary celebrations. Eventually, Sandhya and Rahul have an affair. But Sandhya is clear about her love towards her family and does a 'balancing' act. Time trails and one day Nikhil tells Sandhya about his love for his colleague Vrinda. He leaves Sandhya and the movie henceforth is a continuous dialogue between Sandhya and Nikhil, which is interesting, revealing and at times little confusing too.

'Drishti' packs a lot. Ahead of its time, it shows a man and a woman as they are. I was in total disagreement with Nikhil's character because of his idiotic behaviour and was in total agreement with Sandhya because of her certainty in thoughts (which generally is woman's attribute and seldom is man's), but still I was eager to listen to Nikhil.

Fundamentally, why both of them got attracted to different people even though married happily with each other is something that I would not understand being a single man. But I could really 'experience' it through their dialogues. (This is where Nishabd failed to let us 'feel' the simmering sensation.) The way Sandhya 'explains' her feeling for Rahul and Nikhil to her friend Prabha (Meeta Vasishtha) is the highlight scene. Her claims might seem little tall to some people, but if your claim is honest then probably appearing tall to others is the inherent feature of such claim.

Nikhil's stand does seem ridiculous when he leaves Sandhya, then wants divorce from her, then changes his mind and wishes to be with her again. Vrinda also leaves him, gets married and goes to the US. This is ridiculous because it is typical of a man. Men are polygamous and social conditioning applies strong restrictions to it. I feel that marriage system has benefited women more then men. I do not mean that woman is bound to be happy with any rogue, but women, unlike men, are more focused. Whereas a man turns frantic and seems idiot if he starts being true to himself, a woman is sane enough to handle her emotions and not to run after 'sought after' men. Man is purely an artist of emotions and woman is a good manager of emotions. The same figures while you watch Sandhya and Nikhil. You find that Sandhya is also vulnerable, she also emotes heavily but the roots are totally feminine. Nikhil, on the other hand, is intelligent but comes as a fickle minded individual.

The movie is to be watched 'closely' to be interpreted. There are lots of good dialogues that make you stop and think. For me, it was really interesting to interpret Nikhil and Sandhya in the light of their own deeds.

Of the cast, Dimple Kapadia excels. She is THE one! Little, just a little dramatic at times, but she delivers a powerhouse performance. Shakher Kapur on the other hand, falls really short on acting. He is in total dissonance with Dimple's lyrical portrayal. I guess, Govind Nihalani could have thought about Naseerudin Shah. Meeta Vasishtha is superb, remains with you although she disappears in the second half. Ramesh (Vijay Ksahyap), as Prabha's cynic husband does a good job.

Drishti belongs to the writer, Shashi Deshpande. Majority of all the claps and cheers go to her. The film drags a bit in second half. Mainly because you continuously watch Nikhil and Sandhya on the screen giving it a stage feel.

Towards the end, you see Sandhya and Nikhil enjoying the raindrops on a beach. They know each and everything about each other now. I do not know, but while I was watching them, I did not consider Nikhil as an idiot, which I did initially. Or I did not have questions about Sandhya’s affair with Rahul. They were just looking at each other, smiling and I too smiled.

That was my affection towards the child in Sandhya and Nikhil. Yes, the child. That child made me overcome my disturbance, which they had caused to the adult in me.

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Guru : A love story


Love is welcome when it is the only thing you can live with, but it certainly does not find a place if you want to talk about business and economy.

In Guru, A.R.Rahman rocks, Rajiv Menon's camera rocks, Gulzarsaab's lyric rocks, Abhishek, Mithunda's acting rocks - but 'Guru' fails.

The story is no doubt challenging and has a wide scope for detailing which would let the people learn about journey of a businessman. Gita Piramal's books might fail to arouse the general public’s interest, (Gita Piramal : India's Business Maharajas and also one more book. I don't remember the name.) but a director's eye can surely engage them as it's about cinema. Indian 'Janata' cannot miss 'Hindi picture'. No matter what, reels are getting winded and unwinded daily in the theaters across this country and people with popcorn are madly listening to 'kya tum muzse itana pyar karate ho' or 'aaj maine tumhare liye gajjar ka halwa banaya hai'!

And I think that is where Guru stumbles. Dreamland stories are meant for viewer's two-hour entertainment. But story like Guru has a much bigger canvas. It's about individual's talent, aspirations that lead him to build a mammoth business empire. It's also about the complexities that come in its wake, because behind every great fortune there is a crime. (Courtesy: Mario Puzzo). Guru is a village guy, he is ambitious – ok, great....we are here to appreciate his struggle. But tell us HOW did he do it? HOW? 'Guru' does not tell this. It portrays Guru mainly as a man deeply in love with his wife who also does business. I simply did not understand why Aishwarya Rai is given so much of footage. I do not deny importance of a lovely wife, but I honestly feel that Reliance was made by Dhirubhai Ambani and not because Kokilaben was there in his life. I agree that there is a woman behind every successful man, but mind you, it's a 'woman', not 'wife' always. In case of razor sharp minded, ambitious businessmen, it is all the more true. (Hard, but true. Think over it!). Well, in case of TATAs, the story is altogether different. Ratanbhai is still unmarried.

Gurukant Desai (Abishek Bacchhan, good job, and close resemblance to his father in a few scenes) - a village boy leaves for Turkey on a job. Makes money there, dances with super sexy Mallkia Sherawat (a nice song - Mayya Mayya) and comes back to India with the stars in his eyes. Gets married to a village belle - Sujata (Aishwarya Rai, ok ok) dancing on Rahman's magnificent tunes. He decides to marry because he is getting the much-needed 25000 rupees (as dowry) to start a business. The couple along with bride's brother, who is Guru's partner, comes to Mumbai - sorry, Bombay. Yes, it was Bombay then.

Their life begins and so is Guru's struggle. He meets Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty, a pleasant comeback), who runs 'Independent' - a no nonsense newspaper, befriends him and his cute niece who is unfortunately on a wheelchair. ‘Gurubhai’ grows and the battle starts with Nanaji as Nanaji finds that Guru resorts to unethical practices to earn more profit. Shyam Saxena (R.Madhavan, good with that smugness), a reporter with 'Independent', investigates into Guru's businesses. He also marries Nanaji's niece (Vidya Balan, good – but why this character was needed?).

I was eagerly waiting for the clash of titans when Nanaji goes against Guru. But nothing happened. I was expecting that Guru would come up and make his point in front of Nanaji. When there is so big a story, why it is devoid of an ideological debate? It is almost like Ayn Rand confronting Karl Marx. But 'Guru' does not show us the debate. It does not churn up your mind. It does not bring forward the key questions. In the climax, facing the enquiry commission, Gurubhai asks, 'Khada hokar baat kar sakata hoon? Ya isake liye bhi license chahiye?' I doubt how many people have actually understood this question. If they have not then it is because Gurubhai is shown as engaged mainly in singing and dancing on the birth of his kids, getting sentimental for Vidya Balan, getting nostalgic with Sujata. Why did not he talk at length about the problems faced by entrepreneurs in getting licenses for their business ventures? Why did not he bring forward the loopholes in the political system? Why did not he argue with Nanaji about need of enterprising individuals? Why did not he delve into the meaning of individual ambition juxtaposed against overall social well being? DETAILS are required. Because devil lies there. And that is why you need to cut the flab because you have two and a half hours to tell the story of meteoric and questionable rise of a businessman.

Guru could have come as a great battle. A battle within an individual mind, a battle between two rock-solid individuals, a battle between an individual and the whole socio-political system. But Guru comes as a masala flick and if it works as a masala flick, then what is the point Maniji?

Watching Guru was a gross disappointment. And my heart bleeds, because Mani Ratnam is the director.