Aligarh

#Aligarh: Timing, they say, is everything. There couldn’t have been a better time to release Aligarh. The Supreme Court has just referred the petition seeking decriminalization of section 377 to a five member panel. There is a raging debate going on in the country about Individual freedom being suppressed in the name of religious fanaticism, collective morality and jingoistic nationalism. While the premise of the film is based on Prof. Srinivas Ramachandra Siras’s sexual orientation, deep down Aligarh doesn’t just talk about homosexuality; it in fact asks much deeper questions about Individual dignity, about the right to privacy and equality. It bares open a deep rooted moral myopia that we as a society suffer from, it talks about love that needs to be felt and understood , it exposes the loneliness of advancing age.

                                                           

Sitting on a chair, in one corner of the room, Prof Siras is slowly sipping his drink and humming “Aapki Nazron ne Samjha”. His eyes are shut, he is completely hypnotised by Lata Mangeshkar’s mellifluous voice, his hands move automatically in tune with the music. The weariness on his face slowly starts going away being replaced by a sense of bliss. The song and the scene is a poignant portrayal of the essence of Aligarh.  Manoj Bajpayee who earlier worked with Hansal Mehta in “ Dil pe Mat le Yaar” gives a scintillating performance as Prof. Siras. Taking method acting to an altogether different level ,Bajpayee, brilliantly depicts the fragility and loneliness of an aging man with alternate sexuality. As a scared and scattered Prof. Siras, Bajapayee’s distressed yet scathing eyes will haunt you long after you leave the auditorium. Standing upto Manoj Bajpayee in such form is a tough act to follow. But Mehta’s Man Friday Rajkumar Rao as journalist Deepu Sebastian does a fine job. He brings in an honesty that is so palpable. Their conversations are a fodder for contemplation. Credit also goes to Writer – Editor Apurva Asrani, who has earlier worked with Mehta in Shahid & City Lights, for fleshing out the characters, for making them real and for keeping the length at 120 minutes.   Mehta shoots Aligarh metaphorically, capturing the lonely road in a winter night, the boat ride in the vastness of the river, capturing the inner loneliness of an aging man being brandished as an outcast. The agony is so palpable, the anguish is so poignant.

Aligarh is an important film, in the context of where we as a society stand today. It asks many disturbing questions. Who decides what is right or wrong? Who defines the contour of morality and ethics?  It reiterates the importance of individual freedom in a democracy.  Aligarh forces you to think, to contemplate, to reflect. Your courage to answer them will determine how history will judge you. Go and experience it. 

A Tale of Courage, Commitment & Compassion

#Neerja : “ Zindagi Badi honi Chahiye Lambi nehi” said her screen idol Rajesh Khanna in Anand. Neerja Bhanot lived only for 22 years and 363 days and then she became a legend. Youngest to receive Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peace time gallantry award, probably among a handful few to receive awards from three governments, India, Pakistan & USA, Neerja Bhanot lived an extra ordinary life displaying finest qualities of human spirit. Faced with an extremely adverse Hijack situation she demonstrated most conspicuous courage, indomitable gallantry, unparalleled compassion and quick presence of mind to save 359 lives while sacrificing her own. She went beyond the call of duty. She stood her ground supervising the safety and welfare of her passengers, when she could easily have been the first one to jump off the ill fated Pan Am 73. Neerja’s life was an extraordinary tale that needs to be retold, especially during the times when jingoistic nationalism is peddled in the name of courage and patriotism.

Director Ram Madhvani takes the difficult task of telling a story which is already in public domain and does a fine job of balancing between taut storytelling and restrained melodrama. The film opens with shots cutting back and forth between showing Neerja’s life and the terrorist’s preparation, creating the necessary tension. It invests in building the character of Neerja . It uses flashback to show her troubled marriage, the father- daughter bonding and her steely resolve to create her identity. It beautifully captures the inner vulnerability behind a composed exterior. There is an inherent honestly in the way the narrative has been set.  The crisp editing helps the pace of the film and captures the anxiety. To Madvani’s credit it has no unnecessary song and dance sequence that stalls the progress.

Sonam Kapoor as the protagonist is a revelation. No matter what happens from here on, she will always be remembered as Neerja. She sinks her soul into the character and transforms herself.  It is difficult to imagine anyone else as Neerja. She portrays multiple emotions with aplomb. She makes the character believable. Her portrayal of Neerja underlines the fact that, it is the ordinary people, who under adverse situation have the potential to become extraordinary. Shabana Azmi and Yogendra Tiku as Neerja’s parents play out their part quite beautifully portraying the helplessness and pain of parents who lost their effervescent child. And then it is the hijackers who make you terrified with their madness.

It is a pity that, it took three decades for Bollywood to tell this story of supreme sacrifice and gallantry. But, then, it’s a relief that finally when it decided to do it, they managed to do it beautifully, hitting all the right nodes. If you have decided to watch just one movie this February, make sure it is Neerja. I will go out with 4 out of 5.

May the spirit of Neerja inspire us to go beyond the call of our duty, may it help us understand the meaning of humanism , may it make us overcome fear and be “ Brave” in its true spirit and give us the courage to stand for what is right !

“Goodbye Darling... Please Keep Coming”

Fitoor - Great Expectations - No Way !

#Fitoor:

“Take nothing on its Looks, Take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule”

                                              - Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

The greatness of Charles Dickens’ one of the most celebrated novel “Great Expectations” lies in its narrative flow, in its ability to present different literary genre, in its representation of the class conflict of the Victorian era, the moral dilemma or rather the lack of it, in capturing the social and emotional isolation of its characters and the meticulous care with which the characters were developed, from an weird, jilted Miss Havisham to the coquettish Estella.  Hence its adaptation requires depth, sensitivity and emotional resonance.

Unfortunately director Abhishek Kapoor who had previously adapted Chetan Bhagat’s “The 3 Mistakes of My Life” doesn’t see the broad  line that differentiates a Dickens’s Classic from a Bhagat‘s “Literature”. The result – a beautiful mannequin, how I wish he would have made some attempt to breathe life into it. Neither the breathtaking cinematography of Anay Goswami , capturing the ethereal Kashmir , nor an usually brilliant Tabu or Amit Trivedi’s lilting music could save film that has been written badly.  Talking about mannequin, the film’s leading lady Katrina Kaif , who debuted 13 years back ( remember Boom !) continues not to exercise her facial muscles too much , the result – those standard dumb expressions .She looks so disinterested that in many scenes featuring her , during her dialogue delivery ,the camera is facing her back, sparing us the horror of looking at her expressionless face.  Aditya Roy Kapoor starts from where he left in Ashique 2, drunk and disoriented. Playing the character of Pip requires depth, Aditya instead has been asked to display muscles, which he gleefully does.  To be fair to him, the role requires certain maturity that comes with experience.

However not everything is wrong with Fitoor. In fact the film starts on a promising note. The young Noor enticed by the cute Firdaus with a snow clad Kashmir as backdrop looked magical. Their Impish innocence, their chemistry, as Noor started falling in love with Firdaus looked believable. The class difference seemed real. Yet as the story progressed it started losing its soul. Noor’s movement to Delhi and then to London happened in jiffy.  The plot started getting disoriented. Aditi Rao Hyderi , playing a young Tabu, seemed unbelievable. And from there on it was a downward journey. Fitoor’s biggest disappointment, besides its casting, is the way its dialogues been written and delivered. They never seem natural. 

I will go out with 2 out of 5 for Fitoor.  It can be celebrated as a great initiative towards “Incredible Kashmir “campaign, but Great Expectations, no way!