Comic Sans (on Mamukkoya) — from THE CARAVAN (may 2013)

This one’s for GF — Q

ON AN EVENING IN NOVEMBER 2012, workers and passersby milling around an old warehouse near a beach in Kozhikode were greeted with the unusual sight of veteran Malayalam film actor Mamukkoya in their midst. Clad in a blue dhoti and an old white shirt, Mamukkoya sipped on a glass of sulemani tea, waiting for his shot to be called. But when he took his place in front of the camera, onlookers who might have expected him to break into one of his famous goofball performances were disappointed—instead, he spoke lines that were tinged with grief.

Read the complete article HERE.

Mariyaan (Image and Trailers) (updated)

thanks to Rahul Tyagi…

Arguing with Gangs of Wasseypur…

It is fascinating that Anurag Kashyap does not discern or at least chooses not to excavate the much greater film that lies hidden within the husk of his ambitious and in many ways formidable epic. He scatters clues of this more important project throughout the first part of the existing film and yet never quite fleshes out their meaning except in the most desultory ways. As ethnography his efforts succeed admirably. His journalistic choices vividly and often searingly portray what becomes in his telling a singular slice of the Indian hinterland. Kashyap clearly knows this landscape well as he does the lives of those who inhabit it. He is also astutely keyed into many of its socio-economic, cultural and ultimately political fault-lines. He knows the relevant cinematic histories from Hollywood to Bombay. His auteurist eye often creates extraordinary visuals. He has the ironic post-modern distance from his world which perhaps of necessity asserts itself at this late date in the medium’s history and certainly that of the genres he tackles. And yet even with everything perfectly located Kashyap frustratingly misses the encounter with that greater work. The reasons for this will turn out not to be accidental.

Amitabh Bachchan on Sachin Tendulkar

thanks to Bliss..
LINK

Amitabh Bachchan, who needs no introduction as an actor, is also one of India’s biggest all-time brands. And he epitomises the same virtues as master blaster Sachin Tendulkar—humility, modesty and grace. Bachchan is an ardent Sachin fan. Interestingly, this is what Sachin says of Bachchan: “He’s the ultimate Indian achiever. I can never be compared to him.” In this candid adda with Boria Majumdar, Bachchan speaks about his favourite Indian cricketer and how he feels about being compared to Sachin.

What does Sachin mean to you as an Indian?

To me, he actually means India shining. He’s one who has done India proud on the world stage and has given the country a lot to speak about. Ours is a land with a 5,000-year-old history, tremendous heritage and culture, and of course, ours is a land of incredible intellectual wealth. But Sachin has been able to add to this heritage and wealth. Every time there is talk of cricket in the world, we talk of India and we say so with a degree of respect and reverence. This has largely been made possible by Sachin, who has excelled on the world stage and taken India to a position of pre-eminence because of his achievements over the last 24 years. When a performer does well despite adversity, he adds to the glory of his country. And that’s what Sachin has done for well over two decades. He has made us all proud as a result of his feats of individual brilliance: and we, as proud Indians, have taken pride in these feats of Sachin.

Sachin stands for all that a mobile, progressive and dynamic India stands for—passion, dedication and excellence. I have the greatest respect for him both as a performer and as an individual.

The Lesser Road Traveled in Nautanki Saala…

In the lives of gifted movie directors there are sometimes interesting moments of pause, points where these talents take breathers and work off the detritus of previous efforts. On their way to becoming transitional links between superior works these start out as so many extra stabs at unresolved terrain. Almost as if in the director’s mind the edits of those older works had left something unsaid. If one definition of a serious filmmaker is the ability to keep providing different configurations of the same set of questions or a set of tropes that migrate across genre boundaries these lesser works represent a certain thoroughness and even honesty. Such turbulence has to be risked en route to greater flights of inspiration and ambition. It might be frustrating for a discerning audience to reflect on these instances or absorb these films whole-heartedly but in the greater arc of an accomplished career these moves even acquire a certain necessity. In any case, if one is willing to endorse such a framing the already remarkable career of Rohan Sippy and his present work Nautanki Saala offer test case scenarios.

There might not be a more accomplished craftsman (or woman!) than Rohan Sippy currently in Hindi cinema. He perhaps has a few rivals though no one who can quite combine his often exquisite refinement in terms of visual composition with his generally understated tonal pitch and equally his thematic subtlety. The films can seem deceptively simple if not obvious or on the other hand rather cool to overbearing interpretive attempts and yet a whole set of cues is mobilized in these works that is deeply suggestive even when it cannot just be reduced to a discursively overwrought reading. These are the films of a sly mind in the best sense and Sippy is in some ways too sophisticated for the unschooled sensibilities of the Bombay critical establishment to be heralded in the manner many of his peers are. The resume of this director is still relatively brief but already contained in it are two significant works, the remarkably skillful Bluffmaster and the arguably even more important Dum Maaro Dum. Nautanki Saala however does not belong to this elevated company and is a privileged example of that lower-order yet useful instinct under discussion here. The kindest one can be to this work is to locate it in this larger economy.

Quick Poll: Which Science-Fiction Blockbuster are you looking forward to the most from Hollywood?

One vote only as always…if I’ve left a movie off then please type it in under OTHER….

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Caravan Piece on B R Chopra’s Mahabharata

thanks to Bliss..
LINK

IN DECEMBER LAST YEAR, between takes for the Hindi romance serial Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara, Mukesh Khanna, dressed in a brown three-piece suit and a polka-dot tie, walked to his dressing room on the set of Rajshree Productions in Mumbai’s Film City. On the way, Khanna, who plays the leading man’s grandfather, ran into Kanwarjit Paintal, who plays a friendly in-law. The two men, both slightly bulging at the waist, exchanged pleasantries and discussed the day’s shooting schedule.

It was, in many ways, a banal moment: two spent actors casually chatting before their next takes for a regular television show. But there was something striking about it, too. Twenty-five years ago, at the very same location, these two actors were locked in battle as two of the most crucial characters in the most significant programme ever shown on Indian television: BR Chopra’s Mahabharat. (Paintal’s androgynous Shikhandi was used by the Pandavas to take down Khanna’s indomitable Bhishma in the battle of Kurukshetra.)

My Review of DAVID (Hindi, 2013)

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Bejoy Nambiar’s SHAITAN was a more pulpy and visually enticing version of Anurag Kashyaps PAANCH. The film was more or less a direct update, though what stood out was debutant director Bejoy Nambiars visual flair as well as his ability to integrate songs into the crux of the storytelling.

His second venture DAVID looks enthralling from the initial promotions. The cast was unique enough to stand out, and the visuals in the promos promised the viewer this was a cut above other films coming out.

So does DAVID live up to expectations? In my humble opinion, yes. DAVID is the finest film of the year to date!

Like AMORES PERROS and later Mani Rathnams YUVA, DAVID is 3 interconnected stories which culminate towards one finale.

RESULTS: Which Bollywood love story are you looking forward to the most in 2013?

The final poll got N=45 votes. The film which had the most votes as the love story people are looking forward to the most in 2013 is LOOTERA with 32.6% votes, followed closely by YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI with 23.9% votes, and in third place is Sanjay Leela Bhansalis RAM LEELA with 21.74 votes. The Dhanush-Sonam Kapoor film RAANJHNAA got 10.8% votes. AASHIQUI 2, KAANCHI, SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS, and DESH DROHI 2 all got 1 vote each at 2.17% votes. CHENNAI EXPRESS also got 1 vote but has been excluded as I don’t consider that as an outright love story…Thanks and till next week

Aashiqui 2 2.17% (1 votes)

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 23.91% (11 votes)

Raanjhnaa 10.87% (5 votes)

Lootera 32.61% (15 votes)

Kaanchi 2.17% (1 votes)

Shaadi Ke Side Effects 2.17% (1 votes)

Gori Tere Pyar Mein 0% (0 votes)

Ram Leela 21.74% (10 votes)

Other: 4.35% (2 votes) * CHENNAI EXPRESS excluded

Prashant Hari

RESULTS: What is your favourite Steven Spielberg film?

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With N=39 votes, the film with the most votes as being peoples favourite Steven Spielberg film is SCHINDLERS LIST with 7 votes, closely followed by JURASSIC PARK with 6 votes. The Tom Hanks starrer THE TERMINAL was in third place with 4 votes. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, E.T and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK all got 3 votes each while CATCH ME OF YOU CAN, A.I, EMPIRE OF THE SUN and JAWS all got 2 votes. LINCOLN, WAR HORSE, THE ADVENTURES OF TIN TIN, MINORITY REPORT and THE LOST WORLD all got 1 vote each.

Duel 0% (0 votes)

Sugarland Express 0% (0 votes)

Jaws 5.13% (2 votes)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind 0% (0 votes)

1941 0% (0 votes)

Raiders of the Lost Ark 7.69% (3 votes)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 7.69% (3 votes)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 0% (0 votes)

The Color Purple 0% (0 votes)

Empire of the Sun 5.13% (2 votes)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 0% (0 votes)

Always 0% (0 votes)

Hook 0% (0 votes)

Jurassic Park 15.38% (6 votes)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2.56% (1 votes)

Amistad 0% (0 votes)

Saving Private Ryan 7.69% (3 votes)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence 5.13% (2 votes)

Minority Report 2.56% (1 votes)

Catch Me If You Can 5.13% (2 votes)

The Terminal 10.26% (4 votes)

War of the Worlds 0% (0 votes)

Munich 0% (0 votes)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 0% (0 votes)

The Adventures of Tintin 2.56% (1 votes)

War Horse 2.56% (1 votes)

Lincoln 2.56% (1 votes)

Schindler’s List 17.95% (7 votes)

Prashant Harish Hari

A brief note on Sanjay Dutt in LoC…

This is in any case an underrated film. To my mind this work is despite the director’s indulgence at a great many points easily superior to the earlier Border. Because its nationalism is not as banal and its characters are much more differentiated. But most importantly for the reason that Dutta really fashioned an old-school epic in the Hollywood mode with magnificent vistas and some real tour-de-force sequences, as for instance the pre-interval action segment. It’s a sprawling work that certainly could have done with less repetition in more ways than one. But it’s also an authentic piece of cinema that was well-worth multiple trips to the theater (for this viewer).

The Sanjay Dutt character here possibly represents the actor’s best outing. His performance is about as ignored as the film itself. He plays his character with a certain weariness and knowingness. War for him isn’t an excuse for nationalistic bravado or buddy humor or sentimental gloss. It is simply something to get through. Dutt is empathetic in this part in a very calibrated way. He’s always been good at evoking a brand of humanism that is not marked by statist definitions though it’s not a talent of his that has often been tapped. He was similarly in fine form in the otherwise empty Mission Kashmir. In general he has specialized throughout his career in playing the somewhat unhinged even psychotic urban type but there are these other rare and less celebrated interludes where he is always uncomfortably an ‘agent’ of the state. His Munnabhai films in this regard present this larger configuration in more accessible (palatable!) form.

Of Bala’s Pardesi and the universality of unconscionable capitalism.. (An Jo on Paradesi)

As film-maker Bala is adding on to his filmography, he is proportionately turning further away from any sort of commercial trappings and making his movies true-to-self and then to the craft. In other words, while the true-to-self and true-to-craft are perfectly fine and valid as independents, the journey while bridging the gap between these two points is not completely free of hurdles for this bold film-maker. Pardesi, then, is an apt representation of this journey while still managing to leave a strong impact on the audience. If Nan Kadavul has been the bitterest pill to swallow in terms of life’s ‘realism’, Pardesi is milder in terms of human misery but harsher in terms of the visceral cinematically.

QUICK POLL: What is your favorite Steven Spielberg film?

One vote only as always..

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My Review of THE ATTACKS OF 26/11 (Hindi, 2013)

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Ram Gopal Varma has been a hit or miss since his debacle with RGV KI AAG, DARLING and SARKAR RAJ worked while CONTRACT didn’t. PHOONK worked, AGYAT-THE UNKNOWN didn’t. RANN and RAKTA CHARITRA 1 & 2 and NOT A LOVE STORY worked, DEPARMENT and BHOOT RETURNS failed, and now Ram Gopal Varma returns with what is undeniably his most hard-hitting film to date.

I would say this is the best film I’ve seen on a topic like this with the exception of Anurag Kashyaps BLACK FRIDAY.

A Debate over Kai Po Che

I put up a comment here in response to this piece which I also then placed in my twitter feed. The author remarked on it and I then added a longer response today. I am extracting all of this here:

Original Exchange

and the more recent one today:

LINK

Quick Poll: Which Sunny Deol film are you looking forward to the most?

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With 4 films set to hit the marquee between now and 2014, which Sunny Deol film are you looking forward to the most?

My Review of KAI PO CHE (Hindi 2013)

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KAI PO CHE directed by Abhishek Kapoor is based on Chetan Bhagats novel THE 3 MISTAKES OF MY LIFE. While I haven’t read the novel itself, the films initial posters and promos gave the distinct vibe the film was a cross somewhere between ROCK ON!, DIL CHAHTA HAI and RANG DE BASANTI but set in the city of Ahmedabad.

The film revolves around 3 friends Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput), Omi (Amit Sadh) and Govind (Raj Kumar Yadav) who open up a simple sports shop in front of a temple compound. The story initially takes us through the trials and tribulations the youngsters have to face to get the shop up and running (including weighing up whether to open a “old shop” or open up something “new” in an upcoming shopping mall). Omi’s uncle (Manav Kaul) helps out the youngers with their finance and the three get the shop up and running.

Actors and the Versatility Obsession

Yet another comment-become-post!

In many ways ‘versatility’ is a bias that seems supremely applicable to the actor compared to any other art form or even the director within cinema. We don’t ask whether directors make different kinds of films all the time but we are more often than not impressed by actors who do radically different parts. Similarly in other art forms a painter or a composer or a writer is judged by how he or she can work through a form or a thought over the length of a career (or life). No one has ever lost points for not attempting what they don’t wish to or cannot. A different bias pervades these other art forms which is that of the ‘supreme’ work, the epic one that puts forth or reorders a ‘world’. Again, even within cinema films that offer great all-encompassing visions are often privileged. But this is not the same as wanting the artist to do all kinds of genres and forms and themes and so on. Of course there are always exceptions who prove the rule. Brando always played Brando, the same for Nicholson, even as they did different parts critics and audiences always wished to see their signatures. It is also true that someone like De Niro went through a whole series of films with Scorsese where a certain persona and/or character was used as a model to then provide variations on in each new film. Better still Pacino in the 70s did a variety of roles that nevertheless involves similar variations on a mood and tone. But the former was often put under the Scorsese label or that of a great director-actor partnership. It was undoubtedly this but this was the excuse used to avoid the more obvious conclusion that De Niro was restricting himself to a certain space. Which of course did not make his job easier by any means.

The purpose of movies?

Bollywood – A Need to Balance?

By Vernika Awal

Farah Khan recently made the statement that “Films should not be Preachy”. This allows us an opportunity to revisit a popular debate on the role of cinema in modern society.

There are several sides to this argument. There are some film-makers, Farah Khan for instance, that believe that the sole aim of a movie must be to entertain. This style of film-making is also associated with directors such as Rohit Shetty that are renowned for making out and out entertainers. There are other film makers and actors however that believe the films must contain a social message and that entertaining films have the ability to powerfully deliver social messages. Aamir Khan has been a proponent of this philosophy. Through movies such as Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots and Peepli Live, Aamir Khan has been able to raise awareness on a wide range of issues. In fact dyslexia became a nationally recognized household term only after Taare Zameen Par. Thus Aamir Khan straddles a middle path whereby he is able to deliver entertaining movies with messages.