Luck By Chance (2009)

Luck By Chance is directed by debutante Zoya Akhtar and stars Konkona Sen Sharma and Farhan Akhtar along with Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Hrithik Roshan, Isha Sharvani and Sanjay Kapoor in various supported roles.

Luck By Chance

The film is about Vikram Jai Singh (Farhan Akhtar), a struggling actor from Delhi, who comes to Mumbai to follow his dreams and make it big as a actor. The movie then deals with his initial struggles and how he finally rises to the top. Konoana Sen Sharma plays Sona, a struggling actress who falls in love with Vikram. Rishi Kapoor plays an important rolse as the producer Rommy Rolly. ‘The movie proceeds to show us how dreams are made and broken in the dreamland that is Blooywood.

The movie takes a introspective and satirical look into filmmaking but in a way that does not take itself too  seriously. Some of the characters are over the top, there is a over the top extravagant song and dance sequence, the pressures of being star actress etc., but all this adds to the flow of the movie.

The movie is laced with wit and humour. Zoya Akhtar who has written the script as well, does a very good job. The script blends the characters and the situarions in a very nice way that never seems out of place. It is full of funny scenes (star daughter in a super short skin-tight outfit struggling to touch her producer’s feet) and they never seem forced.

In the acting department it is Farhan Akhtar who carries the movie on his talented shoulders and takes off from where he left in Rock On. His understated performance holds the movie together. Konkona Sen Sharma does a good job as well but her role is somewhat predictable. However,  she holds her own.

Credit should be give to Rishi Kapoor who plays his role as the typical astrology obsessed producer in a funny but laudable way. He has the major share of the witty one-liners as well but he doesn’t disappoint. Juchi Chawala is adequate the typical producer wife. Isha Sharvani as Nikki Walia does a good job of being the accented star daughter of Neena Walia (Dimple Kapadia) accompanied with overbold and snotty-nosed moves. She is artificial enough to be believable I suppose. Hrithik Roshan, playing the role of a superstar, is perfect and brings about the charm and all other dimensions associated with a superstar. A so-called review will be incomplete without mentioning the the various cameos. These, for a change, add to the movie.

The soundtrack, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the lyrics written by Javed Akhtar, adds to the movie. It has the mix of medium-paced songs with some good singing and is very ‘Rock on and DCH‘-ish, fit for the modern crowd. Notable tracks being the dark Sapnon Se Bhare Naina and Baawre, a Rajasthani folk tune (accompanied by a lavish song-dance sequence).

___

However, the movie is a good 20 minutes too long. The beginning is a bit wobbly and the ending is stretched. Also, there are few cliches and the story curve can be guessed. But that is not necessarily a bad thing I suppose  considering this is not a suspense thriller.

On the whole a good watch and worth the price of the ticket.

Cheers

Jais

Is Slumdog Millionaire worth the praise?

Is Slumdog Millionaire worth the praise it is getting? It is a well made no doubt. But the more you think about it, the more you realise that the movie doesn’t live up to the hype. In the so called review, I said “from a cinematic point of view, this is a very well made and  directed movie and definitely worth a watch.”

What I had failed to mention, and what is pretty obvious to me, was written in a piece by Matthew Schneeberger (not me obviously) on rediff.com titled, you guessed it, “Is Slumdog Millionaire worth the praise?” (http://www.rediff.com/movies/2009/jan/29is-slumdog-worth-it.htm)

Some of the issues raised against the movie, which i tried debating against Anorak (Who had written a review of the movie), have been put forth in a clear and precise manner. I shall reproduce the same verbatim taking nothing away from the author.  Read on…

___

“Is Slumdog Millionaire worth the praise?

…

Yes, despite what the most zealous of naysayers claim, India’s problems are real and manifold: extreme poverty, communal violence, child beggary, painful vestiges of the caste system, to name a few. And all of these exist even in modern, urban India, the India of all those Western magazines profiles, the India of business process outsourcing and information technology.

So it’s good that someone has held up a mirror to remind India that, yes, you’ve come far, but that you have a long way to go, too.

Before seeing the movie, I thought those who claimed that it portrayed India in a negative light were being ridiculously defensive. Having seen it, I understand where they are coming from. Yes, Mumbai has squalor and violence and cruelty. But it has great humanity and brotherhood and character, none of which were adequately represented in the film.

One of the first negative reviews of Slumdog I read was from the blog The Great Bong, who absolutely lacerated it. In it, the blogger wrote, “Well yes these things do happen in India. However the problem is when you show every hellish thing possible all happening to the same person. Then it stretches reason and believability and just looks like you are packing in every negative thing that Westerners perceive about India for the sake of crowd pleasing.”

He goes on to propose a film about an outlandish string of events happening to an African-American boy in the US, and says, “Even though each of these incidents have actually happened in the United States of America, I would be accused of spinning a fantastic yarn that has no grounding in reality, that has no connection to the ‘American experience’ and my motivations would be questioned, no matter how cinematically spectacular I made my movie. At the very least, I wouldn’t be on 94 percent on Tomatometer and a strong Oscar favourite.”

He’s right. Say an Indian director travelled to New Orleans for a few months to film a movie about Jamal Martin, an impoverished African American who lost his home in Hurricane Katrina, who once had a promising basketball career, but who — following a drive-by shooting — now walks with a permanent limp, whose father is in jail for selling drugs, whose mother is addicted to crack cocaine, whose younger sister was killed by gang-violence, whose brother was arrested by corrupt cops, whose first born child has sickle cell anaemia, and so on. The movie would be widely panned and laughed out of theatres.

That, to me, is Slumdog Millionaire: contrived, pretentious, absurd, hollow, inauthentic, a pseudo-statement about social justice. And yet today the film stands on the precipice of Hollywood’s highest honour, the Academy Award for Best Picture.

… “

___

That kinda sums up what i wanted to write about Slumdog, albeit more creatively. Somewhat an extension of the “Real India” stuff i had written.

Cheers

Jais

Dev D – One Amajing Soundtrack!

Dev D Soundtrack

Dev D… A modern retake of a stoned Devdas. Sounds interesting? Well, if the soundtrack is anything to go by, the movie should be well worth the wait.

Dev D

Anurag Kashyap is associated with the word ‘different’. And the soundtrack doesn’t disappoint. What an amazing soundtrack! The album has 18 tracks and every track is worth listening. If nothing else, they are different! And if you, my dear interested readers , like me, cannot stand Hindi film music and find most of the Bollywood songs interchangeable, this album will be a refreshing change. It uses almost all the genre of music starting from rock to folk to pop.

Love it, Hate it…but you just cannot ignore it!

Recommend tracks: Nayan Tarse (Classical/ Fusion/ Rock) , Emosanal Attyachar (Rock version will knock you out), Pardesi (a folk rock, if I may use the term), Ek Hulchul Si,  Yahi Meri Zindagi (pop, both being slow and melodious) and Dev Chanda Themes (and all the other tracks I have missed out on).

Cheers

Jais

PS: My limited vocabulary limits my ability to describe music. Come to think of it, it limits my description of almost everything.

Recent Releases – A Reflection (Part I)

As Murphy would say, one’s interest in his/ her Blog is directly proportional to the length of the piece. This ‘piece’, in my case, becomes the so called review that I write from time to time.

One of the problems of writing movie reviews is unwanted urge to write reviews for all the movies that you have seen, recently or not. And sadly, I’ve seen too many.

Anyway, an opinion on couple of new releases I have seen recently.

___

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ( 2008 )

Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The movie is directed by David Fincher, based upon a short story of the same name by  F. Scott Fitzgerald, and stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton amongst others.

The story has been publicized a lot in the media. It’s basically the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards.

The movie is intriguing to say the least. At its core the movie is essentially a story of love, loss and sacrifices . However, it deals with so many emotions, so many situations and circumstances, that makes the movie an experience. The acting is uniformly excellent. Brad Pitt delivers his one of his best performances. Cate Blanchett  is equally amazing. So is everybody else.

The direction and Cinematography is amazing. David Fincher has an eye for detail (which was evident in Zodiac) and the movie relives the era. However, I don’t remember anything about the background score.

However, the length is one major issue. I wouldn’t blame the pacing but at 2hrs 45 minutes, the movie is tad too long, even if it doesn’t feel that way.

The curious case is a fascinating tale of human relations with a twist.  Satisfying experience if you have three hours to spare.

___

Pride and Glory ( 2008 )

Pride & Glory

It drama directed by Gavin O’Connor and stars Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich.

The crime drama is centered around a police family. However, this family faces a stern moral test when Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) investigates a case revealing police corruption scandal involving his brother and brother-in-law. Loyalty? or the truth?

The acting is uniformly good. Edward Norton, Colin Ferrel, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich are believable in their respective roles. It is the direction, the uneven pace and the stupid climax that doesn’t let the movie achieve what it could have. However, that does not mean the plot or the story had anything new or interesting to offer. This is the typical formulaic and derivative cop corruption story where one believes in the truth and the other in money. And sadly, the acting, however good, cannot elevate this movie from its pedestrian end product.

The climax was abrupt, meaningless and simply absurd. But I did like the background score and the inventive use of songs towards the ending, which had nothing else going for it. Also, certain side stories were there which did not add to the narration or the story.

___

That should do for the time being i suppose. Will write a few words about Milk and Frost/Nixon later sometime. Both worth watching though. Anyway, that’s for later… if I am so inclined.

Cheers

Jais

Primal Fear (1996)

Primal Fear

Primal Fear, a  drama/ thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit and staring Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard and Frances McDormand.

The movie tells the story of Martin Vail (Richard Gere), a defense attorney, who defends Aaron (Edward Norton), an altar boy, accused of the murder of the city’s Catholic archbishop.

This movie works very well as a thriller and a court room drama. Richard Gere is believable as the publicity seeking defense attorney. Rest of the cast does a pretty good job.

It is Ewdard Norton that steals the show. He does an amazing job in his debut feature and takes the movie to an entirely different level giving a chilling performance. He adds depth and shows intensity making the character, if not the movie, memorable. This debut feature was indeed a sign of things to come (Fight Club, American History X etc.).

Otherwise the movie is just about adequate. And its running time of 130 minutes is 20 minutes too long. And Certain dialogues about the goodness of mankind  et al. seem out of place and could have easily been deleted.

That said, the movie is definitely worth a watch.

Cheers

Jais

Real India?

Recently read ‘The White Tiger’ Written by Arvind Adiga which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008. It was about Balram Halwai and his journey from an Indian village life to entrepreneurial success. And Then happened to watch Slumdog Millionaire, a movie that follows a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on Kaun Banega Crorepati and wins it.

Both of them were lapped up by the critics in US and UK. Do we see a pattern being developed here?

Allow me to elaborate.

Richard Marcus said, “In his book, Adiga not only peels back the gloss of the economic miracle to expose the rot beneath, he instructs us in the means by which a small minority of the population are able to subjugate the majority.” David Mattin was of the opinion that, “The result is an Indian novel that explodes the clichés – ornamental prose, the scent of saffron – associated with that phrase.” It was described by one reviewer as an ‘unadorned portrait‘ of India seen ‘from the bottom of the heap’.

Slumdog Millionaire showed the slums, the poor and their fight for survival. n The New York Times, Manohla Dargis called the film a “sensory blowout,” and “one of the most upbeat stories about living in hell imaginable.

Living in hell.

___

Is this the real India? Or is it the Western outsider’s view, superficial and cursory?

Cheers

Jais

A Wednesdy (2008)

A Wednesday thriller written and directed by Neeraj Pandey and staring Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah and Jimmy Shergill.

A Wednesday

After Mumbai Meri Jaan and Aamir, this is the third movie which deals with terrorism. And like Aamir, this movie is definitely worth a watch (Haven’t seen Mumbai Meri Jaan… yet).

Firstly, it has tobe made clear that this is a thriller. The story revolves around a fateful wednesday when a man (Naseeruddin Shah) calls up Commissioner of Police Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher) and informs him that there are bombs placed in five palces in Mumbai, set to go off at 6:30 PM. And the only way to stop them from exploding is by doing what the man wants. Revealing anything more would expose the plot.

The movie is definitely worth a watch and has rightly featured in the year end list of many critics. Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher, two of the finest actors in India, have put in a forceful performance. Everybody plays their roles efficiently enough. Other than maybe the reporter… she was irritating at times.

The movie is fast paced and crisp. Not what I expected at all. It also is to the point without wasting too much melodramatic scenes. The movie should to be commended for its different approach and definitely classifies as a fast paced thriller even without the flashy stunts or extravagance. And its running time of about 1 hour 45 minutes, which is just right, is a welcome relief from the three hour movie marathons we are routinely fed.

However, it seems a bit cliched and plays to the crowd (unlike Aamir ) and you might even guess the ending. But it goes with the story i suppose.

Good movie. Good entertainer. And definitely worth a watch.

Cheers

Jais

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle is based on the book Q and A written by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It stars Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Anil Kapoor.

The movie follows the life of a young man from the slums of Mumbai to being part of the game show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. It starts with Jamal (Dev), who has made it to the last question of the game show, being interrogated as there were accusations of cheating. After all, how does a slumdog know all the answeres?

Then, in flashback, movie then traces Jamal’s life which revolves around his violent brother Salim and his love, Latika. And how he knows the answers to the questions from his various experiences.

As many critics and reviewers have said, this is one of the better movies of the year. Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting fame) has crafted this movie in his signature cinematic style. The acting is uniformly excellent (especially the young Jamal). Anil Kapoor is amazing as the game show host. However, one gets a feeling that the script could have provided more opportunities to Anil Kapoor to  portray this complex role.

The on location shooting and the photography also adds to it. This movie looks good.

But somehow the movie seems too unrealistic and fake. And at times the feel-good factor seems forced rather than a natural consequence of the proceedings. But that’s just what i felt.

Anyway, from a cinematic point of view, this is a very well made and  directed movie and definitely worth a watch. A heart-warming Bollywood-style romantic drama that makes you feel good about life in spite of its tragic and heartbreaking moments.

A word about the soundtrack by A. R. Rahman

When you listen to the soundtrack it doesn’t seem special (Like most of the works by Rahman, it grows on you). But it takes a viewing of the movie to make you realise how amazing the soundtrack really is. The songs, which sound too abstract initially, makes more sense with a viewing. Its an interesting  mix of Indian and Western and consequently, very engaging. Wouldn’t be surprised if you fall in love.

Tracks worth listening are ‘O Saya” , “Mausam and Escape”, “Dreams on fire” and “Jai ho”. Actually, all the tracks are worth listening to. Brilliant stuff.

The album is definitely worth checking out.

Cheers

Jais

PS: The movie ends with a grand Bollywood style song-and-dance number that adds to the fun. A perfect end in the circumstances.