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!