Saturday, July 25, 2015

Masaan

#Masaan  : Have you ever stood near a Masaan ( Crematorium),  where each single day number of people are brought in as bodies ,just plain life less bodies. As the funeral pyre lights up, comes a moment of vast emptiness followed by a sense of letting go. After all as one of the protagonist says in the film “Anyways I have heard everything gets sorted out after sometime “. It is the place where the skull gets crushed mercilessly in order to liberate the soul!  And what better city to depict this journey than Benaras – A city that celebrates life and death, with some sense of equanimity.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s directorial debut “Masaan” is about a society in flux. It celebrates love as much as it celebrates letting go, it celebrates life as much as Death. It captures the essence of a small city bursting at its seams thanks to conflicting value system. It is the “Doms” who pile up and set the bodies on fire, they are the last stop in our march to salvation, yet the society doesn’t accept them. When a higher class girl falls in love with a guy who sets the funeral fire, she knows her parents won’t accept him. Yet, there is a new shining India, full of aspiration – so the guy is competing hard to get a respectable job, the girl is ready to run away with him, if required. There is still hope, all is not lost yet. But then life’s ultimate truth, death dawns on them. Yet life must go on....


Somewhere else in the same city, Devi, a fiercely independent and aspirational girl is paying the price for   being caught while having premarital sex with her boyfriend. She denies being apologetic and bold enough to explain her escapade as an “act of curiosity”. Her boyfriend is “Killed” ,her family is blackmailed by the cops, who are supposed to provide protection to the society . While she is mourning the loss of her lover, her father is mourning the loss of family honour. This is the dichotomy India encounters every day, this is the hypocrisy we take pride in. Yet she is not cowed down. Life must go on ....

Varun Grover’s screenplay is crisp and compelling and Neeraj Ghaywan’s direction is astute and assured. It is not a flawless film, yet considering it is his directorial debut, he has done a commendable job. No one has ever breathed life into a (Sa)Msaan the way Neeraj has .  Richa Chaddha , in spite of her inconsistency ,manages to pull off the character of Devi. New comer Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathy are absolutely brilliant. Shweta as Shallu gives an endearing performance. Vicky Kaushal is the find of this year.  And that man, Sanjai Mishra , what an actor he is . With each of his release he is exploring new facets of his acting prowess.

Masaan is a poignant portrayal of multi layered storytelling. It has so much to say, yet so many times the silence in the film speaks louder than the word.  It is highly metaphorical. It shows the conflicts in our society. It reflects the confusing value system we have been a part of.  It shows how a new generation driven by technology and aspiration are ready to move in to a new era. It reflects Hope. There is a bridge, there is a river, both of them bring people in and they also take them away. Yet life must go on.......

Forget awards , forget ratings , forget reviews , just go and be a part of the story !


Saturday, July 18, 2015

Bajrangi Bhaijaan- where love triumphs !


#BajrangiBhaijaan : Not often you get a chance to spot “Eid Ka Chand”, not often you get to see Salman Khan not behaving like Salman Khan in a Salman Khan movie, not often you go to watch a Salman Khan movie which is not Bhai Porn , not often you enjoy a Salman Khan film where he doesn’t take off his shirt to display those beefy biceps , not often you need a review for a Salman Khan film, not often you find  a Salman Khan film which has a script. Bajrangi Bhaijaan for a change has a script, however manipulative and oversimplified it may be, and characters who are relevant and who get to play a part.

The film opens with a beautiful shot of the snow capped Himalayan Range taken leisurely and almost makes a statement on the predictable and slow pace at which the story is going to unfold.  The first half is set at a languid pace exploring the life of Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi played by Salman , his meeting with Shahida/Munni , a six year old speech impaired girl from Pakistan who has been separated from her mother during their journey to India and Pawan aka Bajrangi’s effort to ascertain the identity and root of Shahida . Salman effortlessly slips into the role of a too good to be true Hanuman Bhakta Bajrangi , who never cheats , who doesn’t lie.  Khan, known for his larger than life, on the face portrayals, plays a simple, subdued character this time around and pulls it off rather nicely. He is endearing and vulnerable.

The story picks up  pace and the drama builds up  as Bajrangi and Munni enter  Pakistan and director Kabir Khan introduces Nawazuddin Siddique as the Pakistani reporter Chand Nawab. Nawaz steals the show with his amazing acting and impeccable comic timing. The story becomes predicable yet interesting as the cat and mouse chance begins between the Pakistani authorities and a determined Bajrangi out on a mission to reunite Shahida with her parents. Harshali Malhotra as six year old Shaheeda is absolutely stunning. She doesn’t get to utter a single word till the last scene, yet her eyes communicate effortlessly through the length of the film. She seems effortless in her performance and unaffected by the presence of Salman and Nawaz.  Kareena Kapoor plays her part well.  The supporting case of Sarat Saxena , Om Puri and  Rajesh Sharma does a wonderful job.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan celebrates the triumph of humanity over religious and parochial intolerance, albeit in an over simplified and sugar coated manner. At 160 minutes it is a bit too long, with Kabir Khan’s attempt to pack it with emotion; it will require you to take your handkerchief along. Yet it is a well written film that has its soul at the right place. In a strife torn world, manipulative love provides the much needed succour than manufactured hatred.Go have your share of honey dipped goodness then.
And rating –Well, do they even matter for a Bhai Bhakt!


Sunday, July 5, 2015

Asha Jaoar Majhe .. Labor of Love

In an age of instant connectivity, where love needs to be explicitely expressed several times in a day to be understood Aditya Vikram Sengupta's‪#‎AshaJaoarMajhe / ‪#‎Labouroflove celebrates ethereal love. The husband hangs the clothes to dry in the morning , the wife removes them in the evening. They eat the cake from the same bakery. The husband paddles the cycle faster so that he can meet the wife just before she leaves for work. The wife carefully keeps the food for her husband. Such mundane activities. And labour of love explores the extraordinary love, in these ordinary everyday activities , which we so carelessly ignore. Set in the backdrop of a recession hit world, Asha Jaoar Majhe is a real tribute to the essence of love.
                             

It celebrates the silence in an age where noise reigns. The cinematography is poetic & surreal; the attention to detail is almost obsessive. In one particular scene the camera pans on the cycle wheel as it keeps on moving at a break-neck speed. An allegory to the modern world where everyone is running at a pace beyond their control. The world where survival is a question & losing is not an option , sanity can rarely prevail !

With a languid pace & no dialogue it is not an easy film to watch . But if you manage to sit through , in the last scene , which has touch of Ray , you would realise the entire movie was a build up for the sublime ending. Asha Jaoar Majhe is a poetic story presented with a painter's sensibility. Watch it if you possess the patience to appreciate the quintessence of Love.


P. S. -Watched it last week & as the end credits rolled the audience stood up and clapped . In Kolkata there were 2 shows in the 1st week & the whole week it ran houseful. Reiterates the faith in the power of Good Cinema & an ever evolving audience.

2015- Bollywood So far ....

Last weekend of June and that eventually marks the end to the first six months of releases for twenty fifteen at the movies. As monsoon touches down on most part of the country, let’s look back to find out the impact the winter and summer had on bollywood. As far as content and variety is concerned this year’s releases resemble a beautiful tapestry replete with myriad hues. So we had few edge of the seat thrillers, some sensitive films that touched the heart, couple of witty rom-coms and few bold indie releases. While #Masaan brought laurels on international platform, regional language films like #Court  , #Killa (Marathi) and Labour of love/Asha Jaoar Majhe (Bengali) breached the language barrier and garnered acceptability across, reiterating the fact art has no boundary.

While all these were happening in the theater, #Drishyamfilms came up with a wonderful and welcome step of promoting and producing films with substance, giving wings to the aspiration of many directors who chose to tread on the path less traveled. And this is a significant step towards encouraging good cinema and bridging the gap between art and commerce.  Not only this, Drishyam in collaboration with the prestigious Sundace Institute will also conduct the screen Writers’ lab for India. With few exciting releases lined up, the future only looks brighter.

All right then, my pick from the bollywood releases so far this year that you should watch, in case you haven’t yet  

Piku: The sheer simplicity of this endearing story about the relationship between an aging father and his young daughter makes it my top pick.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns: In case you thought it is just a witty film with brilliant dialogues, go back and watch it again. It is a serious take on man-woman relationship and the mirage called marriage!

NH10: A powerhouse performance from Anushka , exposing a world we all know exists , yet don’t accept.

Margarita With a Straw: Dealing with Cerebral Palsy this film will win your heart with its honest portrayal of real issues.

Dum Lagake Haisa : A beautifully written , simple story about the most difficult issue with women , their weight and the most important part in an arranged marriage , settling down !

Dil Dhadakne do- No one exposes the facade associate with the rich upper class the way Zoya Akhter does it. Though it is not her best work, yet, it raises some very tough questions about the Indian Family and dares to bare it all.

Baby , Badlapur & Hunterrr also make it to the list and worth a watch .


And finally inspite of their several weaknesses, if you love cinema go and watch Bombay Velvet and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. You will learn as much from its grandeur as you would from the makers over indulgence leading to the story falling apart. After all learning what not to do is as important as learning what to do, isn’t it?