With Love, Calcutta !

Between Calcutta & Kolkata falls the shadow! The choice between preserving 300 years rich history & heritage or accepting modernity and consumerism with all its pompous glory, between choosing to remain cut off from the pace of other cities or embracing globalization, between the desire to make time irrelevant or changing with time, between being comfortable in remaining “City of Joy” or aspiring to “Become City of Hope” can be an unnerving one for any city with traces of humanity and shades of past, let alone Calcutta. There is a constant conflict between the old & the new. They say “Change is the only constant”, but “Poriborton” demands its share of sacrifices.    And these contrasts and conflicts are the essence of all the short stories in “With Love, Calcutta”. There is nothing common in them except the city.

The play brings out plethora of emotions, questions convention, harps back on bygone era, hypes over a colourful future, reflects on contrasting thoughts that moves continuously to arrive at a compromise, talks about existentialism  , makes you nostalgic and forces you to fall in love once again with the city , its absurdities , its idiosyncrasies . Most of the performances are Top notch.  They move you. The live music adds depth to the narration.  Video projection has been used very intelligently to make the play impactful. And in case you have missed the play right now log on to you tube and listen to “ Byartho Sahoro” & December’er Sohoro”

“With Love, Calcutta “leaves you with a lump in your throat. It is an ode to the city, its people and the immense possibilities.

“After all when it comes to the could have been Calcutta can be such a bitch”

Take a bow my MAD bunch of prodigies.

With Love -

My top 10 movies of 2016

That time of the year when you sit back and reflect on the films that made a mark during the year, the films that touched hearts and performances that left a lasting impression.  While 2016 can’t be termed as a watershed year in terms of the quality of films that we had this year, it for sure was a year when our leading ladies continued their march towards playing strong women centric characters. They ruled the roost. 2016 can be termed as a year of liberation for Hindi cinema as the films explored myriad themes starting from drug addiction to mental illness to female sexuality to homosexuality. The response to films like Aligarh, Phobia, Dear Zindegi , Udta Punjab and  Neerja  are a sign of maturing audience . And boy, that’s a fascinating and promising sign. The year that started with Airlift and ended with a bang with Dangal had couple of rom-coms, sports drama and Biopics as well. And somewhere else, Nagraj Manjule gave us two endearing characters Archi & Parshya and a gem of a film “Sairat”.

Alright then, my favorite Hindi films of 2016 that made me happy, made me uncomfortable, made my eyes moist and gave me hope

1.Dangal: The story of Phogat sisters and their father is sure to inspire many in days to come. The film will always be remembered for its ensemble cast, brilliant uniform acting and an inspiring story. More on Dangal here

http://souryadash.blogspot.in/2016/12/dangal-man-cant-be-defeated.html

2.Kapoor & Sons: Some terrific life lessons, some phenomenal acting, some meaningful music and beautiful storytelling makes Kapoor and Sons an endearing film that tells you even a so called “Dysfunctional Family” somewhere deep within nurtures a desire to be framed in one single frame. Behind the subterfuge lies an overwhelming desire to be loved, to be noticed. Living on a borrowed life do we have the luxury of keeping our real feelings under the wrap for far too long? It makes you laugh, makes you cry and literally makes you understand the nuances and nuisance of Family. The family can be yours, mine or Kapoor’s!

3. Aligarh: 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. Watch out for that scene where 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 hypnotized by Lata Mangeshkar’s mellifluous voice, his hands move automatically in tune with the music.

More on Aligarh here

http://souryadash.blogspot.in/2016/02/aligarh.html

4. Pink: It is just not a film; it is a tight slap on our feudal mindset, a Kick on our hypocritical male entitlement approach. A powerful script, crisp screen play, appropriate casting, seamless performance and scathing background score makes it a must watch film of 2016.

5. Neerja: Courage has nothing to do with age, call of duty is beyond religion or heightened nationalism, she was just 22 yrs 363 days old , What mattered to her was the safety of her passengers, Neerja Bhanot's life was an extraordinary tale of courage ,commitment & compassion and Ram Madhavani made a brilliant attempt of depicting it on screen. Watch out for Sonam Kapoor’s fabulous performance.

More on Neerja here

http://souryadash.blogspot.in/2016/02/a-tale-of-courage-commitment-compassion.html

6. Udta Punjab: There are many telling scenes in UdtaPunjab , starting from the opening one. But it is the last one which is the most poignant. The nameless hockey player from Bihar who had come to the land of five rivers with a hope to earn her livelihood as a migrant worker and accidentally gets entangled in a world of drug and inhuman torture finds her redemption and rechristens herself as Mary Jane ! All through that excruciating journey she had never abandoned hope or her zest for a life beyond. In spite of the allegation of plagiarism Udta Punjab is a very fine film that takes on the issue of drug menace in a land that has been romanticized for its mustard fields. Alia ,Shahid and Daljit Dosanjh are terrific and that song “ Ek kuddi” still elicits nostalgia.

More on Udta Punjab

http://souryadash.blogspot.in/2016/06/udtapunjab-it-soars-high-very-high.html

7. Ae Dil Hai Muskil: Finally we had a bollywood mainstream cinema that explores the complexity of love and the heartache that follows unrequited love. It shows feelings that are bare, unapologetic and real and passion which is uninhibited. Ranbir and Anushka are in fine form and the music is top notch. And if you have ever been in ‘State of love’ go discover the Ayan, Alizeh, Saba and Tahir in you.

8.Budhia Singh Born to Run: This heat wrenching film on India’s youngest Marathon runner delves deep to explore the multiple emotional strands while exposing the babudom that has engulfed Indian bureaucracy in general and sports administration in particular. Saumendra Padhi’s direction is astute and Manoj Bajpayee yet again gives a stellar performance as coach Biranchi.

9.Dhanak: Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak is a film that takes you back to world of Santiago in” The Alchemist” , it almost cajoles you to believe in miracles.  It makes you part of Pari & chotu’s journey. The fairytale like treatment and effortless acting of the child artists make Dhanak a delightful watch.

10. Dear Zindegi: Dear Zindegi explores the Journey of Kaira . Alia is awesome and Shahrukh as Dr. Khan charms his way through Kaira’s psyche and Audience’s heart .Gauri Shinde’s narration is interesting.

More on Dear Zindegi Here

http://souryadash.blogspot.in/2016/11/dear-zindagimay-be-slice-of-your-life.html

Few more films that could not make it to my top 10  list but definitely deserve a watch are Parched,Kaahani2,Nil Batey Sannata,Airlift ,M S Dhoni –the Untold story ,Phobia , FAN and Sarbjit.

Dangal - A Man Can't be defeated

#Dangal : Few minutes into Dangal , Aamir Khan disappears . And we meet Mahavir Singh Phogat , a former national wrestling champion , who wants to have a son who can fulfil his unfulfilled desire of winning an international gold medal in wrestling . The dream tends to get crushed as his wife delivers four daughters, but the determination of a man possessed by single minded devotion can rarely be crushed.

Ernest Hemingway in “The old Man & the Sea” tells us “But a man is not made for defeat.” And men like Mahavir Singh rarely succumb to circumstances. They rise like phoenix from ashes. That Geeta & Babita belong to a Khapp ridden state where there are rampant cases of female foeticide and the child sex ratio is one of the worst in the country, is a testament to their indomitable spirit to stand up against all odds and their father’s perseverance. Dangal is as much a story about Mahavir Singh Phogat’s extraordinary journey of coaching his daughters to become world beaters as it is about the stereotypical mindset that our society suffers from. Somewhere in between it also talks a bit about the role of a coach and the importance of backing one’s natural instinct and ability.

It is not easy to make sports film based on a real life story. The audience is already aware about the outcome, yet every time Geeta goes for her bout they bite their nail, cheer for her.  And that is where credit must be given to director Nitesh Tiwari and the screen play writers. They keep the narrative engaging. They bring out the struggle beautifully. The wrestling matches have been shot skilfully to create tension.  The songs are beautifully woven into the narrative to take the story forward and the lyrics are peppy and hilarious.

But the biggest achievement of Dangal is the way each of its character has performed. Each character has been picked carefully. Mukesh Chabbra , who has done some fabulous work earlier as well , once again comes out with flying colours as the casting director. Sakshi Tanwar as Mahavir’s wife who is balancing between helping his husband to fulfil his dream and yet being a doting mother to her daughters does a fabulous job. Aparshakti Khurana as Mahabir’s nephew and the narrator of the story adds panache. Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar effortlessly slip into the shoes of Geeta & Babita . They are a delight to watch. But it is debutant Fatima Sana Sheikh, who plays the grown up Geeta , steals the show with a superlative performance. And yes Dangal also has Aamir Khan giving arguably his finest performance till date.  The way he has transformed himself for the role is commendable. And yet he doesn’t come across towering over others and that is a testament to the quality of acting in Dangal.

It is the climax that becomes a bit contrived in an otherwise fine film and that is a bit of a letdown But then Dangal is an important film of our time, it tells us once again what women of our country are capable of, it tells us the importance of gut and grit, it tells us how little we know about real life heroes and above all it makes a statement about how we must change our mindset. This sure deserves a podium finish.

 I will go out with 4 out of 5 for a film that reiterates “A man can’t be defeated .....” As Mahavir would have said Sabbash !

Befikre..Stay Befikre ...Stay away..far far away

#Befikre : The Horney err the Delhi boy meets  the Parisan girl of Indian origin , they passionately locked lips , dared bare their animal instinct , unleashed themselves on each other and got onto the bed .They fell in lust and  kept on repeating it. Our boy, with any girl he could lay his hands on. And the commitment phobic girl had already had her share of escapades in the past. Nothing wrong with that. The society has evolved and rightly so, over the last couple of decades.  The hero, who would have waited for the heroine’s father to allow his daughter to marry him, doesn’t beat an eye lid now while informing her parents casually about their decision to live in. The heroine who would have waited for his hero to “ Palat” , just to get a confirmation of his love is now content with checking out his ass. 

Nothing wrong. It’s just  that ,as an audience,  you get bored to death waiting for the story to progress, some chemistry to develop, while Emran Hashmi must be cringing in this bed.  

The problem with Befikre is, it is pretentious and superficial. It takes the audience for a ride. It doesn’t dare to go beyond the convention.  Behind its effort to portray an evolved society lies a camouflaged conservatism. Hence the gay jokes, the lesbian references. Not for a moment it makes us believe that Dharam & Shreya would continue to be just friends after break up. 

Chopra delivers a dud that neither connects at emotional level, nor becomes successful in titillating in spite of its generous does of “Labon Ka Karobaar”. The narration is boring, the screen play is wafer thin and the story ... well they had a sensational superstar as lead actor, a girl to go under the knife to look French (really!) , 70 crores to spend  and Yashraj Banner .

To his credit, Ranvir does try to butt his way to your heart with lots of steroid driven exuberance. Vani Kapoor also takes off whatever she had to try and keep you invested in the film or at least in her or her french. But alas in the absence of a story everything falls flat. It is only the foot tapping numbers and the shots of Paris that act as saving grace.

The film starts with the concept that in France people kiss a lot and ends with promoting carefree Kissing. In between though, lots of shit happens, on repeat mode, inside the sheet and the theatre.  So you stay Befikre. 

You survived demonetization. You survived standing in the queue for hours and days to withdraw your own money. But then surviving these 130 minutes can be too much for you. Unless you would like to watch Paris on a 70 mm screen , unless you are fascinated by Ranvir’s butt , unless soft porn is your definition of a classic ,  stay away, far away. I will go out with 1 out of 5 for an extremely stupid film. 

There are very few films where I contemplate walking out of the theatre mid way, last evening I was Befikre and walked out. 

Kahaani 2: Story of a mother....

Kahaani2 : Comparisons are unfair , but comparison are  inevitable when the director & producer decide to use the name of the massively successful first film  to start the franchise , when in both the  films the lead character is a female protagonist named Vidya errr Bidya, when in both the films the central theme somewhere veers around a societal issues , terrorism in Kahaani & child sexual abuse in Kahaani2 , when both the films have a contract killer with a day job and when both the films have a sleuth who seems somewhat concerned about the main protagonist. The list seems endless.

If in Kahaani Bidya Bagchi was out to avenge her husband’s killing, In Kahaani2 Vidya Sinha is ferociously protective about the little girl and goes all out to save her from predators . But then the way director Sujoy Ghosh unravels his story keeps one on the edge of the seat.  In spite of few gaps in the screen play, the first half zips past in a flash. There is beautiful use of songs and scenes from   old films be it  “Yeh Ratain Nayi Purani” from Julie or the scene from Rajnigandha to tease the audience, to give  away just a bit of plot point , to engage the audience in a mind game. And these are Ghosh’s quirky little masterstrokes to breathe life into his story. Like his earlier films In Kahaani 2 also the surroundings play a major role.

Arjun Rampal is a revelation and the supporting actors including Khairaj Mukherjee do a delightful job. But then it is Vidya Balan who steps up the gas in Kahaani 2. She is absolutely spectacular, displaying multiple emotions, be it her vulnerability as a lady who has been abused as a child or her ferocity as a saviour of her daughter. She completely sheds make up and picks up substance to get back to her A game. The background score keeps the tempo up and the cinematography is upto the mark.

However it is post interval that the pace slackens, the story becomes predictable, the mind games stop.  And that is where the film loses out to its predecessor. Ghose takes an extra effort to explain every bit, where he should have left something to the audiences understanding.  

However some plot holes and some unrealistic expectations not withstanding Kahaani 2 is a first rate thriller that dares to take up the issue of child sexual abuse. 

Give Sujoy Ghosh Bengal & Balan he will give us a story of a mother if not mother of a story it seems!

P.S. Kahaani, first film of the franchise is my favourite bollywood thriller.

Dear Zindagi..May be a slice of your life..

#DearZindegi : Half an hour into Dear Zindegi , there is a scene where Kaira and her friends are jogging in a park  and a love struck couple bump into Kaira. She reacts hysterically. One moment you wonder why and the next minute you realize that’s how probably anyone fighting a battle within would have reacted. And that is the essence of Dear Zindegi. The journey is personal, very personal. The scars are for real, beneath the superficial surface resides the fear, the fear of being rejected. And that fear has created a strong wall of resistance, which the outside world can’t penetrate.

Now it is the responsibility of the writer, director to make the audience feel that inner struggle. And Gauri Shinde has been able to do justice to that. The writing which initially seemed to have rough edges around it, may actually been done intentionally to portray the journey of kaira. The slow first half makes all the sense, when post interval we get an opportunity to delve deep into Kaira’s life, her past , her longing for love , her fear of rejection.  Be it Shashi Godbole in English Vinglish or Kaira in Dear Zindegi , Gauri Shinde’s female protagonists are always independent , full of aspiration and yet vulnerable. While Shashi was endearing, here we have Kaira who is cantankerous.

Breaking that outside resistance and understanding Kaira’s psychology is not easy. But then Shahrukh’s Dr. Jahangir Khan, the therapist, does what he does, charms his way through Kaira’s psyche and the audiences’ heart.  Shahrukh light up every frame with his charisma, but then Dear Zindegi would not have been half of what it is without that young, magical Alia Bhatt. She plays a complex character with remarkable ease. She holds up every second of that long scene where she breaks down. Hemanti Sarkar’s editing is crisp and Laxman Utekar’s cinematography does justice to a picturesque Goa. And of course the casting is a masterstroke.

Yes the film at times gets preachy and some of the banters which could have been fun actually end up being hollow. It also tries to touch upon too many issues. But then overall Dear Zindegi does have a therapeutic effect. And since it is a season of quotes, let me quote Dr. Khan “Everything that’s broken can be fixed”. So go fix your past, watch a slice of Kaira’s life, who knows it may well be a slice from your own life. I will go out with 3 out of 5 for a journey that was quite personal.

Akira

#Akira : First things first . I watched Murugadoss’s Ghajni in 2009 and I still wonder how it became such a huge hit. When I watched his second hindi film Holiday- A soldier is never off duty, it seemed to me that probably he had handed over his job to some soldier and gone on holiday for most part of the shooting. So honestly I was not expecting too much from Akira, except that I wanted to watch Anurag Kashyap on screen. But as a pleasant surprise Akira started on an interesting premise and sets the context for an action thriller.The film starts with a sufi proverb that speaks about how life always tests one with the virtue that already exists in one self .As a girl growing up in Jodhpur Akira has been taught very early in her life the value of standing up for what is right, be strong enough to fight injustice and even be ready to pay the price for it.  So as a kid she confronts antisocial elements who threw acid on her friend, gets into a brawl with them, accidentally ends up throwing acid on one of them and spends three years in juvenile remand home. When she moved to Mumbai she accidentally gets embroiled into a vicious net of deceit, crime and unwittingly becomes a threat to a group of corrupt cop led by a terrific Anurag Kashyap.

In spite of plot holes of the size of manholes the film manages to keep one on the edge of the seat till interval, thanks mainly to Kashyap who brilliantly plays his part of a maniac , joint puffing cop who  doesn’t bat an eyelid while running his car over pavement dwellers , slapping an old professor or killing someone for money. Sonakshi Sinha as Akira effectively makes the transition as a martial art trained women ready to take the fight to the opposition. Her fights scenes are quite convincing. 

It is post interval that the screen play gets convoluted with introduction of multiple logic defying plot points. Murugadoss seems to have developed a strange obsession with mental asylum may be due to the Ghajani success. However in Akira the long and languid mental asylum scenes become repetitive and too boring.  Another problem with Akira has been its half baked characters. Konkana Sen’s key character of an honest and pregnant cop suffers from some rather unimaginative writing. However it is the final act where the ass kicking Akira decides to become a sacrificial lamb in order to save Mumbai from a possible communal violence seems the most bizarre one and probably been written while the writer was puffing a joint.

In spite of several loopholes Akira is a partially entertaining film that treads on a path away from the regular song, love and romance sequence and dares to present a film where the main protagonist is a female in Kill Bill mode. 

I will go out with 2.5 out of 5. Leave your brain at home and let reason take a sabbatical, go kick some serious butt!

Shaheb Bibi Golaam

Suppressing all her desires Jaya, a house wife, lives a life of a puppet focusing on bringing up their daughter as her husband & mother in law pull the strings, till she finds out her husband's extramarital affair. That becomes the point of inflection for her. The transformation from Jaya to Sukhatara can be liberation or an escape. Jimmy, an ex-cop turned contract Killer has lost his wife, while being on the line of duty is waiting to find a reason to add meaning to his life. His transformation from cop to contract killer is an escape from reality. Javed , a taxi driver falls in love with a girl from upper class and waiting to be united . For him also probably falling in love with a girl from a higher class is an attempt to escape from a reality. All three are so different yet united by their longing for love and their attempt to escape from themselves, to find solace in a world away from their “real" world. And then a brutal incident brings them together.

 #Shahebbibigolaam is so much beyond being just a thriller. Its a film that talks about emancipation of heart, it somewhere smartly presents a slice of our life , it is about love & longing -it in fact is a beautifully woven love story presented in the guise of a thriller. Ritwick and Parno are brilliant as Jabed and Rumi . Pratim manages to beautifully weave the screen play to keep it tight and moving. Anupam Roy's music is heart touching. The background score helps in building tension. Editing is crisp and smart cinematography captures Kolkata beautifully. At two hours Shaheb Bibi Golaam is an entertaining thriller that will keep you on edge of the seat as you discover the metamorphosis of its protagonists.

UdtaPunjab : It Soars High , Very High

#UdtaPunjab: There are many telling scenes in UdtaPunjab , starting from the opening one. But it is the last one which is the most poignant. The nameless hockey player from Bihar who had come to the land of five rivers with a hope to earn her livelihood as a migrant worker and accidentally gets entangled in a world of drug and inhuman torture finds her redemption and rechristens  herself as Mary Jane ! All through that excruciating journey she had never abandoned hope or her zest for a life beyond .Her soul soars as high as Alia’s brilliant and brave performance. If Highway established her as an actress with substance, UdtaPunjab is a testimony of her ability to drive at a neck brake speed and yet maintain a fine balance on that very thoroughfare.

A Gabbru popstar , who lived on ‘ substance’ and whose lyrics were constrained  just about “cock and coke” realises how substance less his existence has been when he comes across teenage youngsters who idolize him  and his drug habits . One in fact had killed his mother, when she denied him money to buy drugs. The transformation from Gabrru to Fuddu is an arduous one. Yet the journey is essential. And Shahid Kapoor once again gives an absolutely stunning performance playing a character that is eccentric and nuanced. If you thought he couldn’t better his Haider heroics, watch him as Tommy Singh, this boy for sure knows how to embrace lunacy, the lunacy for playing out complex characters.

And then there is a doctor who runs a drug de-addiction centre, comes across a policeman who was making his hafta from the drug chain , till his own brother got almost killed due to drug overdose. They are on a mission to wipe out the drug cartel. Daljit Dosanjh making his debut in hindi film does a terrific job of adding authenticity to the role of Sartaj Singh .

A land we romanticised for its mustard fields, since the release of DDLJ in 1995, has been replaced by field full of poppy seeds. A generation is growing up on Bhukki ( Poppy Husk). More than 60% population of the state is addicted to some form of drugs and cinema being a reflection of society can’t be a mute spectator to this degeneration. Director Abhishek Chaubey and writer Sudip Sharma (who wrote the fabulous NH10) bring individual narratives to drive home a strong message. The style is fictional and the narrative is factual. They move their characters beautifully. And just when the plot gets bit slow with the track between Kareena and Daljit , Chaubey uses music to take the narrative ahead. “ Ek Kudi Jida Naam Mohobatt Gumm Hai” written by the famous poet Late Shiv Kumar Batalvi and composed by Amit trivedi is evocative and metaphorical. And like his last film Desh Ishqiya , Udta Punjab too has a Tarantino touch !

Udta Punjab, at places, is not an easy film to watch. But then reality can’t be served as candy floss.  It holds you by your neck and brings you face to face with a problem that must be accepted, confronted with and addressed, TODAY. I will go out with 4 out of 5, it really soars high, very very high!

TE3N

Set in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kolkata TE3N is a reflection of the city , its languid pace , its myriad mood , its fixation on hanging on to the past and its determination to stand up for justice . In an age where Whodunit are quick paced and sleek, TE3N, which is based on South Korean film Montage, surprisingly takes you back to the world of Ray’s Feluda . Eight years is not enough for John Biswas to let go the memories of her granddaughter Angela, who was kidnapped and then subsequently got killed. Every single day he visits the police station to seek justice. His eyes may be anguish laden, but time has not withered his determination to seek the truth.  Nawazuddin’s conversion from Inspector Martin to Father Martin on the other hand is to escape from the truth. The transition has happened, but not the transformation. Deep inside both realise it is truth that will bring them peace.

The film’s narrative oscillates between past and present making it edgy. Considerable time and effort has been given to build the story.  The setting, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Bada Imambara, the Ganges, Immersion of Durga Idol, the lanes of Kolkata and an old scooter add layer to the narrative and help in building tension. Amitabh Bachchan gives a fabulous performance. He makes John Biswas’s pain so palpable, his haplessness so conspicuous and his determination so blatant. That long face, that open mouth, that hunched walk, those determined eyes, he doesn’t play the character , he becomes the character. Nawazuddin playing the role of a Cop turned Father with Cop- Instincts is at par. But we have seen Nawaz in much better form.Vidya Balan , whose part surprisingly has been mentioned as a cameo, plays a full fledged role. How I wish her character has been written with a bit more fineness and nuances. The music keeps pace with the mood.

However where TE3N misses out is the twists, so essential for a crime thriller. Fifty minutes into the film you would have guessed the whodunit. And that makes the wait for climax so boring and predictable. Ribhu Dasgupta who had earlier directed Amitabh Bachhan in TV series Yudh makes the same mistake once again of not letting his story move. And that is where the film suffers post interval.

TE3N is much like that old, rickety scooter that Mr Biswas rides. It stop- starts quite frequently. A new spark plug and few kicks would have made it such an enjoyable ride. I will go out with 2.5 out of 5. If not anything else, go and watch it just for that Man, the superstar of the Millennium! He for sure doesn’t need “TEEN” to lift a film .

Azhar : Butter Fingered

#Azhar: There can’t be a better story than the life of a fallen superstar to be adapted into a bollywood entertainer. And if the protagonist happens to be a sporting icon, whose debut was sensational, rise was meteoric, life was flamboyant, full of rumor and glamour and fall from grace was catastrophic then the story is going to get groovier. But then every story needs a story teller with a soul and a purpose. Unfortunately all Tony , Sony & Balaji wanted was to use the title “ Azhar” to bring crowd to the theater. Don’t go by what the tagline says “Love him, Hate Him, Judge Him” the moment you purchase the ticket and go inside you will be greeted with a full page disclaimer (they are in fashion now).

                     

From there on it’s about wasted opportunities, watching it is as exasperating as watching butter fingered fielders dropping catches by dozens. Every complex human emotion, be it greed, love, passion, or relationship between players, the inquiry process which could have been explored has been treated with  as much disdain as Ricky Pointing has treated Indian Bowlers on that fateful 2003 world cup final. The story fails to hold the attention for too long. Emran Hasmi tries hard to get into the groove but all he ends up doing was meekly imitating a shoulder drooping Azhar and his lazy elegance while walking to the field.  Nargis Fakri looks old and her glycerine laden acting is so terrible that they could well have taken the real Sangeeta Bijlani instead. Prachi Desai has noting much to do and she doesn’t even try to go beyond playing the Balaji Bahu ! Lara Dutta as the lawyer behaves exactly like a cat on hot tin roof. Kunal Roy Kapoor as the defence lawyer gives a good performance.

For me the only high points in the film are those silken wristy flicks and that one handed catch. I will go out with 1.5 out of 5 for this Bajali Masala Curry served as Biopic. Watch it, if you must only for nostalgia’s sake! Some people learn from their first mistake, some from their second and some other make Blue and Boss and still remain Tony!

Fan ; Its SRK's second Coming

The word has been derived from “Fanatic”, meaning filled with or expressing excessive zeal. That is what Gaurav indicates when in the opening scene his voiceover announces “Connection bhi na kamaal ki cheez hai, baas ho geya to ho geya”. From there on it is a different relationship, an altogether different world, a superstar’s larger than life yet fragile world and the Fan’s fantasy world. It is a rather absurd world. For a star, the stardom is a reflection of his fan following, yet most of them remain faceless non entity for him. For a fan, that mere feeling of being part of the star’s world provides him the zest for life. They must co-exist peacefully in their own world since it is a parallel world that will never converge.  Everything snaps and the world turns upside down the moment the star makes the fan accept “ Tumhare mere beech main kuch apna nehin hai”. From there on the chase begins. And the long chase is metaphorical. This time the star is chasing the FAN. It has to be a long & arduous. The chase every fan goes through just to get a glimpse of his star. The star must also feel it.  

FAN is a SRK blitzkrieg. The actor playing the protagonist and antagonist, the star and the fan, gives a nuanced, career defining performance. As superstar Aryan Khanna he beautifully depicts the restlessness and eccentricity associated with stardom. He even doesn’t shy away from taking few pot shots at his real life controversies. However it is as Gaurav Chandana, he is well and truly back as the SRK of yesteryear. He is phenomenal as an obsessive Fan. No doubt he has played such roles in Bazigaar and Darr , however this time around the added maturity gives depth to his character and makes it much more believable.

However FAN is not just about the star and the fan, it is also about the constant insecurity that a star goes through, the myth around stardom and the fear of getting trapped into an image.  Somewhere Aryan tries to explain Gaurav , he too is a man with a family , with his mood swings , with his insecurities . Cinematically FAN as a film has flaws, but then does it even matter. For the zillion SRK fans out there, he is the man who effortlessly charmed beautiful girls with outstretched hands, convinced the prospective father in laws by feeding pigeons, inspired the young generation by reaching stardom on his own and countless women swoon just over that dimpled smile.

Go be a FAN and enjoy the second coming of Mr. Khan. And as one of my friend said on Facebook – those who will dissect this film will just remain critic and possibly can’t be a FAN!

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! 

Airlift : It surely lifts the mood

#Airlift : There are two kinds of people in the world , one who get bogged down by adversary and find an escape route  . And then there is another tribe, who when pressed against the wall, rise like phoenix from the ashes. Adversity brings the best out of them.  They are the ones who stand testimony to the indomitable human spirit. They are the men in Ernst Hemmingway’s words “who can be destroyed but cannot be defeated”.  They are the Heroes.  And many of them remain unsung heroes whose heroics have been buried in the pages of history.

Raja Krishna Menon’s Airlift is an attempt to celebrate the heroics of these unsung heroes who toiled hard to evacuate the 1,70,000 Indians stranded in Kuwait during the 1^st Gulf war in 1990.  Menon makes it clear at the onset that his film is not a historical adaptation; rather it is a dramatic representation, where the main protagonist, Ranjit Katyal’s character (played by Akshyay Kumar) is an amalgamation of two Indians Mr. Sunny Matthews and Mr. Vedi whose valiant attempt ensured the safe return of Indians.

Airlift is a deftly done film which balances beautifully between fact and fiction. It evokes emotion without attempting to be too melodramatic. Akshyay Kumar sinks his teeth into the role to give one of the finest performances of his career. He is supremely convincing as his character moves from being a Kuwait loving Indian for whom “ Profit Explains Everything” to an Indian Living in Kuwait who is trying to rescue his countrymen probably at the cost of his own life. His restraint is remarkable.  Nimrit Kaur , whom I have always admired , takes a bit of time  to come to form. But once she is in, she stays put with some brilliant dialogue delivery and some deft expression. Kumud Mishra  once again provides a good supporting hand. Inaamul Haq as  the quirky Iraq  Major with a peculiar accent is a delight to watch. Priya Seth’s cinematography is another high point of the film.  However Airlift would have been a much better film had it stayed away from the unnecessary song and dance sequence. They spoil the narration and sometimes even seem out of place.

Yet Airlift’s success lies in its honest attempt and in its ability to stay away from the conventional bollywood format. Menon stays true to his story and doesn’t go for any heroics. And that makes Airlift a winner. I will go out with 3.5 out of 5.And as the end credits roll, showing news clippings of the gulf war evacuation and photos of the real heroes, the audience stands on its feet and claps. That for sure is enough to lift the mood just before the republic day.