Movie Review- Rajneeti

Once upon a time there was a small time average novel writer who, as they say in the diamond fields, struck a blue vein when he conjured a believable story of one of the most intriguing entities of our time, the Cosa Nostra. That’s Mafia for the uninitiated. However the novel was an average success until its movie rights were bought by Francis Ford Coppola and the rest is history. The Godfather, the book and the movie, went on to become venerable classics of prose and cinema. The movie raged across the world in 1972 and since then movie makers across the world have been paying a perennial homage to it by consistently and dutifully stealing the original concept. Dharmatma & Sarkar are our contribution to this plagiarism and the latest is Rajneeti. But Parkash Jha is a smart alec. He has made The Godfather meet Mahabharat with thinly disguised characters from contemporary Indian politics and well, come out with a winner. So who do we compliment? Mario Puzo, Ved Vyas or Parkash Jha.
Well my vote has to stay with Jha. Having lost twice in the general elections he is no stranger to the rough and tumble of Indian politics and he has successfully captured the dirt and grime of electoral machinations. But at the same time it was a little disturbing to see the portrayal of people controlling the fate of millions plan a clinical execution of gruesome violence. Not once in a single character there is a hint of hesitation or fear of law or retribution. It’s done because it’s required to be done. Cynicism apart it is a little scary to imagine that there are real life people like that. The reality of politics which feeds on money, muscle and manipulation has been skilfully transported to the screen and as a purely cinematic experience it is thrilling and so relentlessly engrossing that one doesn’t feel as if one has sat through a three hour movie which barely has any song and dance routine.

Powered by: Chakpak.com	Raajneeti

The story is an unabashed saga of dynastic politics. The pace of narration is so immediately swift that it takes a while to identify the who’s who of the story. The players are all so recognizable and half the fun is in identifying the character with the politicians of our times. Jha has of course made his disclaimer but there are parallels which are too obvious to ignore. Do successive assassinations in the family and finally the daughter in law donning the political mantle ring a bell? Almost all the actors with the exception of Ajay Devgun have done commendable jobs. He really needs to get his act together. Wooden faced brooding is not acting. Ranbir Kapoor is the pick of the lot for his portrayal of the ruthless behind the scenes Machiavelli. For once Nana Patekar doesn’t scream his guts out. He plays a smiling Lord Krishna of sorts and is aptly named Brij Gopal. On the lighter side there is one great tradition of Hindi movies which has been left undisturbed here. There are three main female characters all of whom promptly become pregnant on sleeping with their beaus. Bollywood still seems unfamiliar with safe sex and with this kind of fertility we will never be able to check our growth rate.
Since cricket and politics are two things which the Indian populace never gets tired of ,Rajneeti is going to touch a nerve of every audience. We swear by our families and therefore despite protestations of nepotism have come to accept and tolerate dynastic politics. And finally here is a movie glorifying all that and we are going to happily lap it up.

Movie Review- Badmash Company

Powered by: Chakpak.com	Badmaash Company

At any age anything fresh is good and at my age a reminder of how things were is better. So that is how the movie starts with a “Company” which is seems promising. Badmash, well, ok, so be it. We are initiated with the things that were. Good old Doordarshan, parental pressure to excel in studies (so what’s new?), rickety auto rickshaws, the lure of everything foreign. A group of friends decide to be carriers for a sleazy smuggler who darlings everyone. One off trip to the South East (when things were cheaper there) gives them adequate moolah and a temptation for more.
While the rest of the crowd is your average Johnny wanna make more money, our hero who is the classic topper of the college has his head swinging with dreams of riches. Anupam Kher has made a career out of his performances of the do gooder, middle class, never be secure, sermonizing father. He does no less here and succeeds in expelling his only son from his life. Not to be deterred the son embarks on plans which seem legal only on celluloid. While the background of the story is set in the Doordarshan era, the director conveniently switches gear to the reformation age of Dr Manmohan Singh who in one budgetary stroke throws a spanner in the spokes of our hero’s business. The phoenix needs to resurge and where else but in the land of everlasting opportunity (as well as the most incompetent- they get equal opportunities too). U S A.
The heroes of Bollywood rarely get to slog, so why should Shahid Kapoor. With SK’s beer swilling, chic ogling friends and an ever ready lover Uncle Sam hardly stands a chance. The first round always belongs to the risk takers and so it happens. Parmeet Sethi has obviously been following the stories of the global recession and the subprime crisis and ought to rewarded for using the subject for furthering the narration of his story where the hero takes a cue from the financial giants of the west and makes millions from repeated sales of an undervalued property. The easy millions and promise of more rip apart the bonds of the friends. One goes the way of the Bacchus, the other for the fairer sex and hero with his delusions of grandeur banishes the love of his life.
Nemesis comes hard and after the statutory incarceration our man starts on the road to redemption. So where does that leave the viewer? The movie is entertaining for the non discerning viewer. There is no message but there is no in your face, oh its pure entertainment kind of stuff either. The essence of the story seems to have got lost in the presentation of the gloss of high life. The shades of gray of the characters are cool and the vivaciousness and independence of the female lead is cooler. There needed to be a greater balance in the strong characters portrayed and the events which overtake them. The director has faltered but only just. The hero takes off on a rebellious path only to end up pleasing his father in the end. Can’t we have a pure villainous hero please? A wicked smile in the final scene would be so much better that the mushy family reunions.

Volunteers say ‘Let’s do it Delhi’- Hindustan Times

Volunteers say ‘Let’s do it Delhi’- Hindustan Times

Movie Review- Karthik Calling Karthik

Powered by: Chakpak.com	Kartik Calling Kartik

This movie is unlikely to make it to the wish list of ‘aam aadmi’ but the discerning cinema buff is going to love it. Farhan Akhtar has proved his talent time and again and he hasn’t disappointed this time either. It’s being promoted by the multiplexes as a thriller but I would like it to be specifically categorised as a suspense drama. And, what a drama! In true Hitchcockian style the suspense is not revealed almost to the end. Of course the medically inclined start having an idea of what’s it’s all about half way into the movie but therein lies the excellence in crafting the narrative. We all know that we are witnessing an impossible situation but the director keeps you thinking about possibilities and even then manages to spook you into believing otherwise.
Farhan plays Karthik the classical white collared pen pusher who is constantly steam rolled into submission by his overbearing boss and riddled with the guilt of having caused the death of his brother in his childhood. Deepika Padukone is the bindaas architect in the same company and also the girl of his dreams who is always looking through his insignificant self. A silent lover he constantly pours his feeling into the numerous mails to her which are always saved as a draft and never sent. Despite his hard work in the office he gets sacked. Alone, without a job, without a girl and after days of mindless punching of the buttons of the television remote and rotating the Rubik’s cube he decides to kick the bucket. Just as he about to pop a few dozen sleeping pills, the phone rings. The voice on the other end who too calls himself Karthik becomes the road to redemption for this also ran creature and metamorphoses’ him into a slick go getter who is re hired by his bully boss with all the money and perks of a hot shot executive. The current lover of Deepika is literally slapped out of her life and in walks our man Karthik oozing charm and sensitivity. The voice on the other end of the phone constantly monitors its student’s upward progress. Everything is perfect? There is a rider. No one is to know that Karthik is calling Karthik. Split between the loyalties to the woman of his dreams and his mentor, Karthik is called upon to make a Faustian choice. The rest of the movie is about the repercussions of his actions.
Its serious stuff but the movie is replete with the classical one liners which are becoming a Farhan hallmark. It’s crazy humour one minute which acquires dark hues in another. The use of Rubik’s cube throughout the movie is a particular deft touch which needs to be interpreted by the viewer. The music by Shanker Ehsan Loy is good as always especially the title song but the surprise package here was the fantastic background score by the rock band Midival Punditz ably assisted by the US based Karsh Kale. I found the movie really good but go and make up your own mind

Movie Review-My Name Is Khan

Powered by: Chakpak.com	My Name is Khan

With the quality of movie making escalating recently it has become rather likely that you come across a movie which leaves you gasping in wonder or split with laughter or thrilled with heart thumping action. Movies that you enjoy but get over soon after you leave the hall. Karan Johar is known for making slick tear jerkers and I had really not expected anything different this time round either. But ‘My Name Is Khan’ blew me away. It’s a rare classic and would be rated so in the annals of Hindi cinema.
Religion is always a tricky subject to deal with and Hindi movies have usually been either way too clichéd or unnecessarily melodramatic, often losing sight of the core issue. In today’s times the scourge of terrorism has affected ordinary lives the world over and yet most of us have sensitised ourselves into reading and watching news reports on rampant killing, shaking our heads and making meaningless noises. Remember Mumbai? Well this movie is a chronicle of the domino effect that unrelated events cause in the personal lives of ordinary people. Oh, did I say ordinary? Well almost! It’s a tale of love between an autistic man and a divorcee hairdresser played out by Kajol and Shahrukh Khan. While Kajol’s craft is expected it’s Shahrukh’s show all the way. He has played the role of an autistic man to near perfection. He marries Kajol after pursuing her with relentless determination and single minded honesty. To me those are the key factors which cement any lasting relationship. Post 9/11, uncontrolled events lead to the beating and eventual demise of Kajol’s son from her first marriage. The grieving mother loses control and blames the killing on the surname Khan and orders him to leave. He immediately accepts the diktat of his love and innocently asks when he can come back? Enraged she gives him the near impossible task of declaring and convincing the whole world that although he is a Muslim he is not a terrorist. So real! How quick we all are to brand an entire community because of the acts of a few. Sikhs in 1984, Muslims in 1993 and well the world changed after the Twin Towers were brought down by a few fanatics. The rape of Iraq is still on and coffins of ordinary men continue to roll. What happened to the love for your fellow man, the respect of human life? The mindset of the autistic Khan knows only one thing. Fulfil his mission by meeting the President of USA and making his declaration of innocence. Thus starts his epic journey across America. Shades of Forrest Gump? Yes, but for once I am not complaining. Along the way he is mistaken for a terrorist and thrown into a prison a la Guantanamo and tortured for information. The media takes up his case (Star News breaking news again!!) and the man is released but he returns to help friends in a hurricane hit village. He eventually does complete his mission and is reunited with his lady love. That’s the story but the narrative conveys a compelling message. The essential goodness and determination of man ultimately prevails over terror and fanaticism. And even in these impersonal times there is recognition of human values which are and will remain timeless. It’s this message of universal brotherhood that to my mind is the appropriate reply to the lumpen goons of Shiv Sena. Reading today’s paper about the movie goers’ response in Mumbai has only reaffirmed my belief. Go and watch the movie. It brings a lump to your throat which refuses to go away long after it’s over.

Movie Review- 3 Idiots

Powered by: Chakpak.com	Three Idiots

Raju Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra with the combined legacy of Munnabhai , 1942 A love Story, Mission Kashmir and Parineeta have a rich heritage of powerful cinema behind them and this time around they have been more than equal to the responsibility of living up to the high standards they have set for themselves. Add Aamir Khan and it becomes an irresistible trio and it was not disappointing. If anything the bar has been raised yet another notch.
First and foremost I do not have my oft repeated complain of a weak or a zero storyline. Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone has been loosely adapted into a powerful narrative of human emotions and at the same time is a telling commentary on the present system of education where emphasis is laid on learning by rote rather than encouraging innovation and lateral thinking. It recognises that the orthodox and conventional stream of thought wherein the middle class redemption lies in attainment of an engineering or medical degree which forces the unwilling victims to compromise on their dreams often with disastrous consequences.
The story starts with a search for Rancho, a friend of friends, by Sharman Joshi and Madhvan accompanied by yet another class mate Silencer, so named for his propensity of letting go silent bursts of gas expulsions through his rear end. Their not so aromatic journey brings back the memories of their college days. Ahh, isn’t it the best time for just about anyone? And if you have been a hosteller, well, you would relive all the good times you had or wished that you had. The main protagonist is Rancho, never mind the full name but a thinker, a dreamer, a rebel, a scholar and a yaaron ka yaar. He constantly slips in and out of classes seeking knowledge and substituting simple and straight answers where profoundness is expected by stuck up teachers. Boman Irani comes up with another class act as the Director of the engineering college but looks suspiciously like Einstein which I guess was by design rather than accident. Nonetheless he delivers a flawless performance as a uncompromising teacher. The movie traces the lives of the three friends through college. Questions are raised about the path they have chosen, their aspirations of what they really want from their lives versus their loyalties to parents and friends. Heavy stuff, I know, but portrayed beautifully and with loads of rib tickling humour. A special mention must be made of the welcome speech made by Silencer which is surreptitiously changed by Aamir to get back at him for his pompous ways. It had my considerable self falling out of the seat. There are way too many such episodes in the movie to merit a mention here but each is executed with near perfection.
Kareena proves yet again that given a good role she can sparkle. Praeekshat Sahni has not forgotten to be loud, so you may dismiss him. The music is great and happily Vidhu Chopra has not flicked a western song and got ‘inspired’ by it. Perhaps the talented duo of Sawanand Kirkire and Shantanu Moitra has something to do with it. The movie is heart warming and a laugh riot but not perfect. There are quite a few impossible situations but you quickly get over them in the larger interest of wholesome entertainment. All in all...Alllll Eezz Welll. Go watch and freak out.