Inglourious Basterds

Why don’t hindi movies come up with supercool names like “Inglourious Basterds” ? The name itself promises so much – evil men, lot of wickedness ….
(Though its never quite explained why the bastards are called Inglourious – or why they are spelled in that way)

Maybe its lesser directors who bother about tying all ends neatly in their movies - Tarantino and his ilk just make up really wicked crazily cool movies – and leave us enraptured. Havent heard anyone complain so far about lack of background story for Lt. Aldo Raine or his men – or anyone for that matter. Most of it is certainly his style of moviemaking – moving from cut to cut with big jumps in the story. And to be honest – it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Inglorious Basterds in one hell of a gripping movie.

The movie has two main plots – first is Lt. Aldo Raine , an American officer who parachutes into German occupied France, with a chosen group of Jewish subordinates – to wage guerrilla warfare and terrorize the Nazi soldiers with their brutality. The second is Shosanna Dreyfuss, a French Jew whose family was wiped out by the SS Colonel Hans Landa, nicknamed ‘Jew Hunter’ and who in living in Paris under a new identity. Then there are substantial sideplots - German movie star Bridget von Hammersmark, who is a British agent, Lt. Archie Hicox, a German-speaking English commando sent into France to execute Operation Kino and Pvt. Frederick Zoller, a Nazi war hero who is acting himself in the celluloid version of his feat.

Each of these stories are introduced separately, and each of them are intriguing on their own. The first sequence especially, is an awesome indicator of what is to come. It’s a excruciatingly polite conversation between Colonel Hans Landa and a French farmer in his house – which slowly but surely, tightens the screw on the farmer without him realizing where the conversation was going. There is no violence – just the subtly menacing Hans Landa, played brilliantly by Christopher Waltz (won Best Actor at Cannes this year)

And this intensely thrilling conversation style appears once more in the pub cellar full of Nazis. This one’s tension is so mindblowing, everyone in the hall was squirming in their seats !!

The climax is the premiere of the latest German propaganda movie called Nation’s Pride – where all these characters converge, some unknowing to each other. And its only during this stage that the screenplay slips just a wee bit – and you start muttering ‘c’mon do it’. But then it does happen and it takes your breath away with this audacity – you just didn’t see it coming !!


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Vals im Bashir : Waltz With Bashir

Think animation movie and we usually form images of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and maybe Wall-E in our head. But there is a school of filmmakers that use animation as a medium to depict darker themes – it provides a distinctive visual experience compared to the regular celluloid. And I am not talking about graphic novels like 300 or Sin City – you need big money bankrolling animation studios for those.

Instead Ari Folman directs a partly autobiographical movie documentary about his efforts to exorcise the demons of his military past – Ari Folman fought for Israel in the Israel-Lebanon war of 1982. A war, which among other things, is principally remembered for the Shatila massacre in Beirut. It was a massacre of Palestinian refugees by right-wing Christian Lebanese militia to avenge the murder of their leader and President-elect Bashir Gemayel, while the occupying Israeli army turned a blind eye.

Folman was there, right outside of the Shatila refugee camp – and yet he cant remember any details about it - nor anything about the war itself. And so he sets out to talk to people who were with him in the war – to discuss what they remember, and hopefully help him find his own memories. And the entire movie is a delectable mixture of Ari Folman’s conversations with his ex-comrades, lawyer friend, psychologist etc and the flashbacks of actual events in 1982. All rendered in a graphic style, which is light as well as disturbing, in parts.

Particularly cringe-worthy is the scene with the dying horses – we people have become immune to seeing people die onscreen – even if its gruesome. Yet it was the death of these animals that becomes too much to bear – even animated horses. Ari Folman deftly shows through his canvas, how little sense war makes – and how any race is not immune to performing barbaric acts - without preaching it in so many words.

The title of the movie is derived from one of the interviewees – who describes an ‘insane waltz with a machine gun’ under heavy enemy firing on a Beirut Street with huge posters of Bashir Gemayel. But what is really interesting about the movie is that barring two characters, all the original people have provided their own voices for the movie.

Overall, a superb movie – the kind not to be missed if possible. Watching director Ari Folman’s personal view of the historical events of 1982 – interspersed with a little quirky humour from time to time – is a treat. And it leaves a lasting impression on you as you watch the actual footage of the devastated Shatila camp at the end of the movies.



Waltz With Bashir is playing only in PVR Cinemas
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Sankat City

Although you might not have heard about it at all, Sankat city is a delightful surprise. First time director Pankaj Advani delivers a very enjoyable two hours – on what must have been a very tight budget. The cost cutting is visible in the opening scenes, where the Chunkey Pandey scenes look quite … handycam-ish. But the distraction is not for long and you soon adjust to the cinematography. The opening credits of the movie themselves look very 70s-ish, a-la Johnny Gaddar.

In a movie such as this, its is best not to talk about the story-line. Lets talk about the nuts instead.

• Faujdar bhai – Bhai-cum-money lender. Devoted follower of Swamiji. Uses a pair of dice to decide how many days to grant to a defaulting borrower and has a hitman named Lovely.
• Swamiji – Compulsive carnivore without too much spirituality and a liking of hot tub baths
• Gogi – Film director who is ready to hang up his boots and open a film studio out of the city. And to make his last film a hit, he wants to kill off his flop hero on the movie sets itself.
• Lingam – Gogi’s assistant director. Devoted to his boss, but has only one wish – Aishwarya Rai must come for the studio opening, minus Abhishek
• Paschisia – Builder. Owes Faujdar bhai 2 crores and is about to default. Loves popcorn and the ladies, but stomach is a problem
• Guru – Small time car thief. Along with his senile chacha Ganpat, runs a well oiled carjacking business.
• Mona – street-smart con artist who doesn’t mind using her feminine charms to lure the likes of Paschisia. But cant stop spouting Bengali
• Philip Phattu – Faujdar’s driver and Mona's erstwhile partner-in-crime. Apropos to his name, doesn’t have any cojones at all. Dreams of marrying a prostitute
• Suleiman Supari – hitman without any scruples, with a liking of shiny gold shirt buttons

If some of the characters appear familiar to you, it is because such madcap gangster movies have recently started appearing with regularity. The closest I can come to describing Sankat City is as a sort of mixture of 99 and Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. While the story appears madcap, the entire flow is very seamless and the situations are genuinely laugh out loud. And the entire madness resolves neatly at the end.

Performance is top notch all across – Chunkey Pandey is probably the only weak link, but he hardly has a role. Biggest surprise was Rimi Sen – her acting was much better than I remember. Kay Kay Menon plays a lighter role with aplomb and Lingam, Ganpat etc are a hoot.

Its still playing a couple of shows at most multiplexes and given the state of this week’s releases (Luck & Night at The Museum 2), you are better off catching this gangster caper.


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The Hangover

I have been trying to analyze why The Hangover is such a uproariously funny movie – and I cant seem to be able to pinpoint any one single reason (or two or three or four for that matter). I mean the plot is not at all new - 4 guys have a wild bachelor party in Las Vegas two days before the marriage. The group itself is predictable – one hen pecked guy, one dashing ladies guy, one fat moron and one normal chap. Not a single big name star either – comic or otherwise.

Yet it is definitely the funniest movie of the year. Instead of any one reason or sequence, the entire movie just works !! From start to finish ! And the movie succeeds in being a laugh riot without the vulgarity that inevitably accompanies every guys-only movie. The humour comes in form of smart one-liners, bizarre incidents and some really random images with the end credits !!

The movie is basically about the groom’s three best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) who wake up after a wild bachelor party in Vegas to face some really unexplainable things – and a missing groom ! And worst of all, they don’t remember a thing about the night !! As the poor guys struggle to reconstruct the previous night, the night starts to become more and more bizarre …

Interestingly, the movie hardly ever goes into a flashback mode, so we dont actually see what happens – its left for us to imagine & recreate from the conversations of the movie. Which probably adds to the enjoyment of the movie. The three guys themselves share a great chemistry – which makes you, the viewer, get interested in what actually happens to them. Or rather what happened to them the night before. Mike Tyson also makes a guest appearance in the movie … though that’s all I would say.

Alan is the most lovable of the guys – he carries off the weird-guy-act with such conviction that you would think he is like that in real life !! The others are equally good in their roles - Phil as the dashing alpha male who is always looking to take the lead, but turns out to be as clueless as everyone else and Stu as the hen-pecked and bullied boyfriend.

The ending of the movie is slightly sweet – it does seem a bit out of place, but then we are soon presented with the end credits and there are some real howlers there !!

But one thing the makers forgot to explain – what was the chicken doing there ???


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99

Right from the word go, 99 seems to be a bit ‘different’ !! Even the normally humdrum disclaimers that you see in the beginning of a movie (“Any resemblance to real people or events is a coincidence .. blah blah”) sings a different tune for this movie – you will understand when you see it. And on hindsight, it was a fair warning.

Coz nothing else about the movie – the unknown director pair of Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru, the boring lead pair of Kunal Khemu (who ?) and Cryus Broacha, the cute but hardly a top-slot-actress Soha Ali Khan – nothing prepares you for the absolute blast this movie is !! Simply put – it ROCKED !

(BTW, doesnt Nidimoru sound a little Japanese ?)

The movie starts in 1999, with two small-time crooks Sachin (Kunal Khemu) and Zaramud (Cyrus Broacha), on the run from the police. They hotwire a car and try to escape, only to lose control of the vehicle and smash it into a truck, then a lamppost and all sorts of other things – completely wrecking it. And to their luck, the car belongs to local bhai AGM (Sanjay Manjrekar) – to pay off for the car, they start working for him. AGM is bigtime into satta and has many outstanding debts to him. He dispatches our lead duo to Delhi to extort money from a non-paying gambling junkie Rahul (Boman Irani).

All this is only the first 10 minutes of the movie.

The movie is named so because it signifies just one short of a century – and all the characters in our keep missing their mark in life, just by a little bit. 99 is full of comic twists and turns – AND cricket jokes !! You could probably classify this as a comic heist/gangster story I suppose, but it wouldn’t be doing this movie complete justice. The closest to this movie is probably last year’s Abhay-Deol-starrer Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Intelligent humour and lot of fun being poked at the city of Delhi itself – there are lot of similarities in the two movies. But storylines are very different.

Performance was standout across the board – Kunal Khemu, Boman Irani, Cyrus Broacha, Mahesh Manjrekar, Amit Mistry (Kuber), Vinod Khanna – and everybody else. Soha Ali Khan & Simone Singh didn’t have much to do, but Soha looked rather cute – and both do their parts very satisfactorily. Mahesh Manjrekar continues to shine in comic roles – though I think his character would have better been named ATM instead of AGM. Boman was good as usual and Amit Mistry as Kuber was a hoot, to say nothing of Dimpy !! But the star was Kunal Khemu – the guy CAN act !! Not that I am complaining about this movie, but he should be getting better roles ! And Cyrus Broacha was a surprise too – he wasn’t as over the top as I imagined he would be.

Being released in the middle of the multiplex-producers dispute will probably help this movie, as compared to being released in a normal schedule, competing with 5 other movies in a week. So yes, definitely go for 99 - it’s a little gem of movie that you shouldn’t miss.


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Firaaq

I admit that I was quite interested about Firaaq, mainly because of the international felicitation that it has received. Yet I was a little hesitant in going for the movie – especially after a long week at work - I didn’t want to watch a heavy movie about the Gujarat riots! I instead chose what I thought would be a light movie – Straight (and regretted it). But I couldn’t be more wrong about Firaaq ….

Yes its set amidst the Gujarat riots – a month after it, to be precise. But it doesn’t have any of the violence or bloodshed of the riots. It instead follows a set of people who are struggling to come to terms with life in the aftermath of the riots. Nandita Das has taken some ordinary people and showed us how they react when faced with something extraordinary – it brings out the worst in some like Paresh Rawal while some like Sanjay Suri look to escape.

It is a rare movie that can stir up a whirlpool of emotions inside the viewer – feelings as diverse as loathing, despair, hope and happiness and everything that is in between – all in a runtime of just 100 minutes. Nandita Das exceeds expectations in her directorial debut in Firaaq, taking on the Gujarat riots issue with a wonderful sensitivity. Sure, she has the advantage of having a stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah & Paresh Rawal in Firaaq - but the finesse with which the screenplay seamlessly weaves all the story together is completely to her credit.

From a slightly disturbing opening scene, we are introduced to the different characters and their dilemmas - the hindu-muslim urban couple who are leaving town, a muslim couple who come back to their home to find it burnt down, the gujarati housewife struggling to come to terms with her guilt, a orphaned child looking for his family and an ageing singer oblivious to reality ….

Each of the actors’ performance has been stellar – you cannot help but loath Paresh Rawal and equally you share Deepti Naval’s agony and her wish for atonement. Naseeruddin Shah is in a league of his own, playing a musician from a forgotten generation who is disconnected from today’s world.

As if the multitude of stories were not enough, each of the stories tug at your heart in different directions. From the despair at finding her entire household in ashes to the suspecting her best friend, from the fear of the police to the anger at the bride’s silly remarks about the riots, Muneera (Shahana Goswami) bares her thoughts to us. The sharing of the bindi between friends and the intermixing of the names Mohan and Mohsin – the movie is replete with such subtle subtexts.

With its limited runtime, Firaaq doesn’t conform to the traditional norms of giving a background to each story or taking each of them to a logical conclusion. So maybe it might feel a little abrupt at the start to some. But such trifling irritants are completely forgotten by the time you finish watching Firaaq as you would find yourself overwhelmed with conflicting emotions.



PS – the word firaaq means both separation and quest – couldn’t have been a better name for this movie
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Gulaal

Intense and violent, Gulaal is a peek into the dusty Rajasthan heartland, where the bleakness of the surroundings complements its macho (and sometimes violent) men folk – the Rajputs. A dark and brooding tale about politics, lust and love - and how sometimes mixing these can go horribly wrong. The movie opens with a shot of the Thar Desert and the protagonist Raja Chaudhary walking towards a bar with neon signs in the middle of nowhere! He plays Dileep Singh, a law student new to the fictional town of Rajpur. (He is also the co-writer of the movie, not to confused with the loser from Big Boss 2)

When the mild natured Dileep comes into Rajpur, he couldn’t have in his dreams imagined what he would face – his unabashedly hedonist roommate Ransa or Rannvijay Singh, local autocratic Rajput leader Dukki Bana with grandiose dreams, scheming brother-sister duo of Karan & Kiran who are seething at their illegitimacy and Anuja, his unlikely confidante who he can never understand. In no time Dileep in caught up in events that are out of his comprehension and he just gets sucked into the whirlpool of politics, love and insanity.

The attraction of Gulaal is the way the director peels off the story layer by layer and things go progressively rotten. What starts off as a innocent student’s ragging becomes more and more putrid as you are surprised by how little value life sometimes has – and how ruthless people can become to reach their long cherished goals. Anurag Kashyap never lets down on the intensity as we follow Dileep and the others down to moral hell. The only relief from the narration comes from the madcap yet satirical poetry from Prithvi Bana, Dukki Bana’s delusional elder brother.

Casting has been perfect and its difficult to think of a better person to play Dukki Bana than Kay Kay Menon. The slightly tinted lenses add a touch of menace to the sharp face – and when he exhorts to rise and fight, you cant help but admire the powerful oratory. An equally admirable performace is from Aditya Srivastava as Karan. He seems to gel really well with Anurag Kashyap – his performace as Badshah Khan in Black Friday also attracted rave reviews. His character is understated, not given to histrionics – but immensely complex. Piyush Mishra does a great job as Prithvi Bana, but even better as the music director – do listen to Yaara Maula separately and you will be blown away !

Deepak Dobriyal does good as usual, and newcomer Ayesha Mohan is even more impressive. But the standout character by far is Abhimanyu Singh as Ransa – he has a powerful screen presence – arrogant and in-your-face. The lasting image of him is wearing a soldiers helmet and riding a Bullet around town.

After Black Friday (and Return of Hanuman), this is the first movie where Anurag Kashyap has somewhat controlled his weird trippy ideas that alienate most of the audiences (No Smoking, Dev.D). I say somewhat – because you can still see some of the weird ideas running around in the form of the Ardha-Nareeshwar. I still cant, for the life of me, comprehend what he/she is supposed to signify. But these aberrations thankfully do not distract from the main drama.

Gulaal is a hard hitting story about human frailties & greed, set in politics of Rajasthan. It is not a movie to make you feel good – but something on the lines of Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Shool, Omkara etc. If you appreciate good cinema, definitely do not miss it.


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Revolutionary Road

Almost every couple likes to think they are special - their love is unique, their chemistry is out of this world or maybe even that they have the best sex ever!! That somehow, they are better than the others. And they try to back this up by hyping up every small celebration - an office promotion, a vacation abroad or a new car. But somewhere down the road of life, everyone comes around to the fact that they are meant to be just ordinary people - and their lives are going to be ordinary.

But what if you REALLY believe that you are the special ones - and you refuse to admit that you are just the same as your next-door neighbours ?

This very dilemma forms the crux of the story Revolutionary Road. Based on a novel by Richard Yates, Sam Mendes directs this wonderful period drama about the Wheelers - Frank and April Wheeler - living on Revolutionary Road in a Connecticut suburb in the 1950's. Having moved into the suburbs because of the children, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) commutes everyday to the city - he works in Knox Business Machines, the same organization that his father used to work in. The work doesnt interest him at all. But he is doing it to provide for family. He thinks he is destined for greater things - but isnt quite so sure about it anymore.

April (Kate Winslet) isnt too happy with her life as a housewife either. She has aspirations of acting, but all she manages are two bit roles in small productions which end in disaster. Their life has become mundane and they fight frequently. Infact, her arguments with Frank are one of the best parts of the movie. The emotions are raw and every feeling they go through is transmitted to the screen in a powerful way - as if you, the viewer, can see into both their psyches ....

Both characters are painfully human, Frank more than April. He is arrogant, liar and in many ways, immature. Yet you can see that more than others, he is lying to himself. April is the more free-spirited of the two - yet tragically for her, she was a little ahead of her times. This was the 1950's where people wore hats and ties to work - and women stayed at home and brought up the kids. Her inability to accept this 'ordinariness' as her destiny makes the story so powerful. (The art director and the costume designer won oscar nominations for the period look)

The movie is littered with memorable sequences - and some of them really touch your heart. It wont be right to discuss all of them now, but I cant help mention the scene where Shep sheds tears by the coffee machine in the hospital and then walks out with two cups of coffee.

Apart from the lead duo, Michael Shannon gives a brilliant performance as the manic maths genius. He completely steals the show in all the scenes he is in - and in a way, he is the most sane man there. The other cast in the movie do pretty well too. And with Kathy Bates teaming up with Kate & Leonardo, it was very reminiscent of the Titanic (Molly Brown - the fat female who lends Leonardo a suit). But the lead duo - Leonardo and Kate are exemplary - and both of them should have been nominated for the Oscars instead of just Kate.

With an ending that raises as many questions as it produces laughs, Revolutionary Road is a definite watch for everyone. Not the most entertaining of movies, but its a movie that showcases how powerful cinema can be - and is something that will stay in your mind for a long long time.


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Slumdog Millionaire

This is the first – and probably going to be the only - English movie that made me wish I had seen the dubbed Hindi version instead !! Almost completely shot in the underbelly of Mumbai - and with almost exclusively hindi dialogues in the first half, the english dialogues jarr a little when they make their appearance in the second half. However, the setback is momentary and you are soon immersed back in the engrossing tale of Jamal Malik (played by a British NRI Dev Patel).

The opening sequence of the movie shows an 18-year-old Jamal being interrogated by Irfan Khan (playing a police inspector) and Saurabh Shukla (the constable). In the questioning, we come to know that Jamal has been on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) and is just one question away from the Rs. 20 million jackpot. However, he has been accused of cheating on the show – how else can a Slumdog know answers to questions that have stumped doctors, engineers, lawyers etc ?

And as Jamal begins explaining his answers one by one, we get a window into his past, right from his childhood days – and see how unlikely events in his life give him the answers to the questions. To say Jamal had an interesting life would be to put it mildly – and thankfully Danny Boyle tends to portray most of it in a positive light. I agree the crap scene cant be called positive, but I think it’s the only blot. There aren’t any scenes where the kids are in deep anguish – and lets face it, an 8-year-old homeless orphan in India (even enterprising ones like Salim/Jamal) is going to have some very sad days in his life. Organized crime, pedophiles, the police – the list of oppressors is too long . With so much furore about the movie already, I can imagine what brickbats would have been thrown if they showed the actual misery these children undergo throughout their childhood.

Jamal is very sweet natured and innocent, especially in his childhood years – and shows native intelligence in his grown-up avatar. Salim is Jamal’s elder brother - more worldly and street-smart, while Latika is an orphan girl from the same slum as theirs. All the three characters are played adorably by two sets of children – once when they are 7-8 years old, and again when they are in their early teens. I cant stress enough how well the kids have performed. The fact that they are real-life slum children with no prior camera exposure, makes their performance even more wonderful.

Danny Boyle extracts commendable performances from the entire cast – the lead trio, as well as seasoned actors like Irfan Khan and Anil Kapoor. Irfan Khan plays the role of a cynical but impartial cop perfectly and Anil Kapoor brings the right amount of energy into his role. As far as characters go, according to me, the standout character in the movie was Salim. Jamal is the good sibling, who grows up to become an apprentice at a call center – and the one who is one tv in KBC. Yet in terms of character, Salim with his limited screen presence, outshines him. Salim is a go-getter who is not troubled by morality of things – and is fearless. He doesn’t flinch from stealing from his own brother – as long as there is profit to be made. Yet under everything else, his affection for his younger brother is still there.

Though critics in India have cried themselves hoarse about Slumdog showing India in a negative light – I just dont get it ! Its not like the creators of Slumdog invented slums, forced begging and all the other “objectionable” things shown in the movie. All these things are widely prevalent in India – so what are we complaining about ? Infact we should applaud the commendable skill with which he has fashioned a hopeful and happy story based in these conditions. The entire world is appreciating the movie for what it is – and we should join them.

However, is it worth the best picture Oscar ?

Answer – NO !

While its no doubt a very good movie – it totally misses out on the “wow” moments. And in my humble opinion, an Oscar winning movie should have atleast a couple of “Wow” moments. [hint – watch The Dark Knight to understand “Wow” moments :) ]


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Dasvidaniya

Usually all of us make movie-watching decisions based on the reviews we read – IMDB, Rajeev Masand on CNN-IBN, Khalid Mohammed in Hindustan Times or Raja Sen on rediff. (Ofcourse I like to think atleast one or two people take this blog into account too :D). If you read atleast a couple of these reviews, you usually get a very good idea of what a particular movie is like. I have another personal test – admittedly a sort of rough indicator. In case of mainstream hindi movies, just look at the schedule of a multiplex when the movie is released. So if a movie has 4-5 shows a day, it’s a decent movie – while movies with just 1-2 shows in the first week are just bad. Incase of a ‘multiplex movie’ like Johhny Gaddaar, it’s the second week schedule to watch out for.

However, sometimes these calculations go quite wrong. Dasvidaniya is one such movie. (In its second week, its running just 2 shows a day in all multiplexes – and all major reviews have given it two stars, blaming the slow narration and/or ridiculing the contents of the final list). And I thought it was one of the best movies of this year.

Just for those few of you who don’t know what the movie is about, it’s about a common man – Amar Kaul – who leads a very dull and inconsequential middle class life, with nothing to look forward to except for his obsession with ‘to-do’ lists. He makes them everyday, ticking off things that he accomplishes – till he gets to know that he is terminally ill and has just three months to live.

As he did during his lifetime, he decides to make a final list – ‘Things to do (before I die)’ and sets out to fulfill them.

But this movie is too much to be summarized by just this one line! Sure that’s the essence, but the movie has to be watched to appreciate the wonderfully tender moments captured by the director. Vinay Pathak plays the man with just three months to live, who suddenly has to fulfill a lifetime of ambitions – wishes which had been buried under the daily grind of existence. And the beauty of the script is in the things he chooses to put on the list. Nothing exotic or deliberated. Just simple heartfelt desires that probably most of us have – buying his first car or going on his first 'foreign trip'. Seeing his first and only crush Neha one final time - or meeting his childhood best-friend Rajiv before he dies.

Some experiences are heartwarming, like his mom’s reaction on seeing the new car - and some bittersweet, like finding out Neha is now married and a mother. There are many more touching moments - the final parting between Rajiv and Amar and making peace with Vivek – which linger on after the movie. Vinay Pathak gives a wonderful performance, first reflecting desperation, then a breakdown and finally a wistful acceptance of fate.

Kailash Kher has given his unique touch to the music – and while Alvida is the number which everyone is humming, the Maa song is very nicely picturized (without too much overt sentimentality) – and is catchy too.

Not all is perfect with the movie though – Amar’s alter ego’s appearance is a little jarring and he should have had less screentime. The russian’s popping-up act is also a little weird – but it also gives the movie its unique flavor. And if you think about it, how much money would an account manager’s provident fund be left with, after a Rs. 9 lakh car and a round trip to the US ?? And wouldn’t you want to leave it all to your mother instead?

But inspite of these loopholes, this movie is one of the most warm and thoughtful movies to come out of Bollywood in sometime. The director cheekily doffs his hat to mainstream movies Kal Ho Naa Ho and Munnabhai – and indulges in a bit of genuinely funny situational comedy, but you would remember the movie for touching your heart in its earnestness and simplicity.




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2 Days in Paris

You remember ‘Before Sunrise’ – and its sequel ‘Before Sunset’ ?

‘Before Sunrise’ was definitely one of the most refreshing – and honest – boy-meets-girl stories I have seen (if you haven’t watched it yet, do try to grab it somewhere). And the reason to bring it up here is that the lead actress, Julie Delphy is back with another romantic comedy, set again – in Paris. This time over two days - hence the name. And whats more, she writes and directs it too.
(Don’t you think Julie Delphy looks a lot like Phoebe Buffay of FRIENDS in this photo ? )

But while the ‘Before’ movies are composed solely of interactions between the guy and girl and nothing else – this movie is a story of cross-cultural connections and misunderstandings. And it’s a satirical look at the growing intolerance around us – French who don’t like Americans (or Arabs or Germans for that matter) or the hero Jack who doesn’t like Republicans (and Bush). It takes a lot of potshots at the French culture as well – lampooning their openness to sexuality which sometimes borders on the bizarre !!

The story is about a Anglo-French couple who decide to take a vacation in Europe – and do a 2 day stopover in Paris to meet Marion’s parents before flying back to US. Jack (Adam Goldberg) is a sarcastic Yankee, who doesn’t know much French apart from Bon jour and Merci – and is on his first trip to Paris. Marion is a photographer, who is born and brought up in Paris before shifting to NY – who has been seeing Jack for 2 years now – and who has somewhat of an anger-management problem. Both of them are slightly over-the-top characters, but 10 minutes into the movie, you are least bothered about that as you hold on to your sides, doubling in laughter.

Over the two days, Jack gets increasingly agitated as he negotiates a variety of people who do not talk in anything but French – Marion’s America-hating parents, her numerous ex-boyfriends, racist/flirtatious taxi drivers and even the local burger joint personnel. He doesn’t have a clue what is being spoken and feels left out as well as ridiculed. Marion’s dad makes special effort to deride Jack and his American tastes – which doesn’t help matters between him and Marion. And then there are the ex-boyfriends … who seem to be more than happy to see her (Jack describes one of them as looking at Marion as if she was a piece of lamb and he had a knife and fork in hand !!)

(Tagline of the movie - He knew Paris was for lovers. He just didn't think they were all hers)

Marion’s non-english speaking parents are characters themselves – Marion’s dad’s art gallery is to be seen to be believed while Marion’s mom’s Jim Morrison story is well … interesting !

Both Adam Goldberg and Julie Delphi put in admirable performances – especially Adam. The look of disbelief and incredulity on his face is hilarious, while his sarcasm is to die for. In a scene where Marion’s dad deliberately serves him rabbit curry – and then offers him some carrots from the gravy, he asks “Oh so now we are going to eat the bunny’s food too ?”

I am very tempted to give away the hilarious incidents of the movie – but I’d doing the movie a disservice. This movie doesn’t take itself seriously at all till the last 10 minutes – the characters are wacky and the French ones even more so. You would be laughing your guts out at the situations and at the snide comments that Jack makes for most of the movie. At the end, it tries to justify the romantic part of the tag – and the movie slows down – but its easy to overlook the last 10 min.
Very enjoyable movie – do try to watch it.

(Its been released in India by PVR only - so you cant catch it anywhere else. Worldwide it was released last year. The movie is anglo-french, so some subtitles are there.)


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Mamma Mia

Enthralling and exhilarating at the same time, Mamma Mia is a must watch for us Indians - just to see how exactly to use song and dance in a movie !! I had to suppress the urge to break out into clapping more than once during the movie (and I wasnt alone in feeling that way as low clapping could be heard at times in the hall). People who have watched the broadway show tell me that the stage version is much better - which makes me regret not seeing it when I had the chance.

About the movie - its a feel-good musical (it can be called a chic flick) - with the best Abba songs for a soundtrack - about a girl who wants her dad to give her away at her wedding. Only problem - according to her mom's diary, she dated three guys in that summer 20 years ago - and it could be any one of them. So she invites all three of them to the wedding (without telling her mom ofcourse) and so the story goes.

The location of the movie is outstanding - a white old style villa on a mediterranean island - and the cast is stellar. And the soundtrack is superb - though I hadnt heard half the songs before. The only bad bit about the movie comes towards the end when a couple of songs in the sad scenes could have been avoided. But overall, a celebration of cinema - definitely do watch.

Coming back to Indian movies, while we have songs in each and every movie of ours, the only movie which came close to being a good musical was Jaan-e-man (the Salman-Preity-Akshay starrer). Most people didnt get the point of the movie - but that is probably another post.


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Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day

A wonderful romantic comedy about the adventures of a down-in-the-dumps governess over one single day as she attempts to find her feet in upper crest of London life ...

The the two main protagonists - Frances McDormand and Amy Adams are adorable - and the entire movie very light and frothy. And the british accent is just perfect ...

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Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.

I decided to go through what other readers said about the movie before putting up my thoughts - and I am appalled - how can people not like this movie :o ??

A delightful roadtrip movie about couples on a honeymoon tour - it has some subplots like Abhay Deol and Minissha Lamba, which probably eluded the general public for what it was - a superb spoof - but overall it was a delightful & light-hearted movie.

Infact, I have met quite a few people whose major grudge against the movie was the superhero angle. C'mon people, cant you make out a spoof when you see one. Infact the Jignesh angle eluded most people too - I mean you dont expect a dashing smashing dude like Arjun Rampal with bulging muscles and long locks to respond to a name like Jignesh :D

All the actors do exceedingly well - the most memorable definitely being "Partho" Kay Kay, "Oscar Fernandez" Boman Irani (loved the accent) and Ranvir Shorey as the Gujarati groom. The fight scene between him and Kay Kay is one of the high points of the movie ..

The movie also follows a delightful little trick of introducing each plot with some FM commentary and an old hindi hit song depicting the situation. Memorable among them is the placement of the song "Saala main to sahab ban gaya" :D See if you can remember exactly where

I already have the DVD and I am really looking forward to Reema Kagti's next :)


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Kung Fu Panda

I will start with listing the bad parts of the movie. Ever noticed how almost ALL animation movies (Ratatouille, Madagascar, Ice Age, Monsters Inc etc) - doesnt matter what animal or surroundings - is all about how the main character discovering himself/relationships/meaning-of-life etc etc ? Can you remember the last animation which didnt have this main theme ??

So now you are not surprised when I tell you that this movie also has the same theme, are you :) ?

But then again - what was the common thing in the above named movies apart from the fact that they are all animations ?

That they are all BIG SMASH HITS.

And so is this one. Doesnt matter how many times we have seen the same themed movie. The clever wizards at Dreamworks (or Pixar, for that matter) create such a witty situations, that you cant help get engrossed in each of these movies. Kungfu Panda is set in ancient China - yet nothing in the visuals remind you anything about Mulan, the other animation movie set in China. Its only when I sat writing this review that I realized that both of them are set in the same place - such is beauty of the story telling.

Jack Black as Po, the sleepy, lazy, kung-fu-dreaming Panda, has some really hilarious dialogues and the fight sequences are done superbly.
All in all, a great movie - something you will come out of, with a smile.


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Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

A delightful light romantic movie about friendship and love - deftly handled by the director and carried on the shoulders of its leading couple - Imran Khan and Genelia DeSouza. Actually the story is similar to the Abhay Deol-Ayesha Takia-Imtiaz Ali (director) debut movie 'Socha Na Tha'. The area where Jaane Tu scores is the support cast - Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Khan are a gem, while the other friends who are narrating the events are also very captivating. While it starts off in a bit humdrum way, at the end you are equally interested in what happens in the present tense between Jiggy and Shaleen as you are bothered about Imran and Genelia. In a way, you already know how the movie is going to end, but the brilliance lies in keeping you interested despite that. Music is the high point of the movie with Pappu cant dance and Kabhi Kabhi Aditi being played in every mall and pub. So in conclusion - go and watch it for just the joys and the romance of youth

PS - the much hyped debut of Prateik Babbar (about whom Amitabh Bachhan wrote so highly is his blog), while good, is not mindblowing.

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Live Free or Die Hard

Actually watched the movie sometime back when it was released - but got around to the ratings now. Well, what do you say about John Mclane :) - if you are a Die Hard fan, its a must watch. If you havent seen any Die Hard movie before, then welcome to the world of Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker:) !!!

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Persepolis

A very interesting take on life in Iran through the revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. Someone like Khalid Hosseini would have turned it into a sad tearjerker. But the director shows a remarkable optimism in life and it reflects in the movie - focussing on how people fight to make life more happy than what circumstances allow ....

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In Bruges

Terrific movie - the Brit accent is just too good :) Manages to make you smile - even if some scenes are a bit gory. But the chemistry between characters is great - especially farell's fixation with midgets and the racist midget - their interaction is just hilarious. The closing comments by Farell just take the cake ...

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