Change Your Image
user-169-219219
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Shakespeare-Wallah (1965)
Shakespearean in Kalidas' Land
I don't remember any other movie where story was largely based on a family/set of people and they acted in it. Do you remember any movie? Shakespeare Wallah, loosely based on Kendal family, is one such example. Bollywood knows this family by virtue of their strong bond with the Kapoors. Jennifer – wife of Shashi Kapoor – was a Shakespeare Wallah. A Merchant Ivory movie, directed by James Ivory, is sort of a folklore in India Crossover Cinema.
Movie is about a family of English actors – Buckinghams - who stage plays in India. Story showcases an evolving India where a nomadic family tries to accommodate themselves. Story has an pivotal plot of family's daughter falling in love with an Indian, played by Shashi Kapoor, who is in a romantic relationship with a Bollywood actress. Largely autobiographical, film achieves a lot in terms of storytelling and performances. Movie highlights the downfall of theatre culture in India and rise of Bollywood.
Shakespeare Wallah will be remembered for many things. Satyajit Ray's music will be one of them. In fact, a large part of the crew was Ray's and that includes a familiar name – Subrata Mitra. Story is brilliantly carved by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Her being close to Kendal and Kapoor added the realism such movies demand. Like typical Ivory movies, movie is subtle statement of filmmaking.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
Truly Brutal
I have never seen crime glorified in this way. Frankly, a little psychopath in me giggled at the end. Godfather and Goodfellas were great but they seemed to be more white collar when compared to our IT lives. City Of God (Cidade de Deus) is what crime is, means and should end like. Crude, naked and gory. Set in Cidade de Deus in Rio de Janeiro and based on novel by the same name, movie showcases the underbelly of crime in its crudest avatar.
Movie is woven around few characters and shows their rise and fall. Lil Joe and Bene are the main criminals, Knockout Ned is the antihero and Rocket is the protagonist who is a photographer. The story revolves around these central characters and a number of small characters who play their valuable parts as the story progresses. The language is crude. Crime is almost guilt/remorse free. But the most important fact is the convincing power of the actors as they play their role.
Even if story is kept apart, the film is technically brilliant. The shots of the Brazillian suburb are simply brilliant. Be it the initial chicken scene, the chase scene, scenes of brutal murders in den and the climax. Everything is brilliantly choreographed. Art direction is equally compelling. Bets thing is that one can see the locality first hand without any shade of artificiality. Direction is obviously awesome. Fernando Meirelles and co-director Kátia Lund brought out a sensation on screen. Accolades attest that.
Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (1992)
A Masterpiece That Has Been Neglected
Dharamveer Bharti's work Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda never got the recognition Gunaho Ka Devta got. However, on celluloid, Shyam Benegal's adaptation of the story stands tall as one of the most admired pieces of alternate cinema. Rarely we experience such an endearing effort on screen. Maybe SKSG is not as compelling as Benegal's other movies like Bhumika or as moving as Nishant, SKSG successfully balances all the elements of drama brilliantly.
SKSG is a metafiction. Sitting in his room with a bunch of friends, Manek tells some stories. Part of these stories are reality and part of them are his imagination. Stories are woven around Manek, three women in his life and people around them who actively influence the events. Manek, largely, remains a passive character. His friends ridicule him for this fact and he accepts the criticism gracefully. In the end, the way the title is explained by narrative, it successfully ties up all the open threads of different stories and bring about a conclusion that stays with you even after years.
Characters are contemporary and relevant. Even after twenty years, they seems to be carved out of people among us. Like most his films, Benegal keeps the focus on lives of lower-middle and lower class of the society and how their economic situation influences their life. Benegal doesn't try to create caricature. Manek or any other character is as close to the real world as it can be. Their situations, maybe borderline fiction, seems to be very realistic.
SKSG has some nice performances. Rajit Kapur, Amrish Puri, Neena Gupta, Lalit Tiwari and Raghuvir Yadav leave an impact. Music by Vanraj Bhatia is soulful. At no point it attempts to overpower the story and narrative and plays a very understated role. Direction is flawless. Aided by a brilliant story, Shyam Benegal brings out the best from the literary piece. No wonder, it received the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Not just a monkey trial
How man appeared on world? Like what Bible tells us or what Charles Darwin explored and concluded. Creation versus evolution. Based on a real life incident where John Scopes is arrested in Dayton, Tennesse for teaching evolution, Inherit The Wind questioned prevalent McCarthyism and practices. Inherit The Wind is not very hard hitting. It subtly puts forward a rational point. It doesn't rely on lengthy speeches. It, rather, tries to provoke grey cells of viewer. It asks that isn't like all fundamental rights, right to think is equally important?
School teacher Cates is caught for teaching Evolution. Teaching Evolution is prohibited. Mediaperson Hornback decides to back Cates for both personal and professional reason. Col. Brady is brought to prosecute Cates. Brady is a highly respected, failed presidential candidate and Biblical scholar. He is doesn't believe in Evolution and wants to make a point. However, to support cause of Cates, one of his old friends turned rival Henry Drummond decide to defend Cates and Evolution. Since law questions Cates stand, witnesses advocating Evolution are not admissible. Drummond questions the partition between the ideologies and question the literal interpretation of the Book.
Spencer Tracy and Fredric March deliver fine performances as competing lawyers. Their mutual admiration for each other as actor and person is visible. Director Stanley Kramer picked another meaningful subject and made a relevant movie. Spencer Tracy and Stanley Kramer teamed up for many projects – remarkable pieces of cinema, Inherit The Wind was first of them. Inherit The Wind works on two levels – at one level it makes a point that with time one need to see beyond existing knowledge and accept the changes in theory, at another level it supports the argument that one has the right to have an opinion and share it with others.
Innuendo (2012)
A multi-layered Indie
Indie in India is growing. They might not have set BO on fire but have definitely made a mark for themselves. Innuendo is one such indie effort. Made on a paltry budget, it successfully converted some of the handicaps into an advantage. Arvind Kamath along with a talented team made a movie that delivers well. One needs a vision to make a good film, budget is secondary.
The story of Innuendo revolves around three subplots – a mother trying to come close to her son, a writer and his imagination and a bunch of friends celebrating. The first subplot comes out very strongly and undoubtedly is the strong point of the film. The thirst subplot is the weak link. Though three stories seemed to be pretty insulated from each other, one can reason the connect easily. From script point of view, it's an achievement of some sort. Innuendo literally means an insinuation about a person or thing or incident. By the time credits roll, you realize how nicely title reflects the content of the movie. Usage of metaphors is equally laudable.
Performances are pretty decent. However like most of the indies, in some scenes one might find actors trying to act too hard. It might be a little turnoff though. But overall, the interpretation of characters comes out well on screen. Camera-work is good. Music is a little overdone, in my humble opinion. Editing is very crisp. Overall, technically and from performance point of view, it's pretty decent. Direction is really good. Execution of some scenes is studio quality.
It's not path breaking movie or something that will change the world. However, it's a strong and honest effort.
Junoon (1979)
Very subtle realism blended with drama and emotions
Ruskin Bond's works have a different sense of romance, the one people might consider sinful but the protagonist doesn't see it any differently. Shyam Benegal works have very subtle realism blended with drama and emotions without going overboard. Junoon is a perfect blend of both artists' brilliance. Made by Benegal and based on Bond's novella A Flight Of Pigeons, Junoon which literally means Obsession is very true to its translation.
Set in 1857, when India struggles for independence, Javed falls in love with a teenage British girl Ruth. Against Ruth's and Mariam's (Ruth's mother) wishes they are brought into the Muslim household. Javed's wife Firdaus objects to his wish of marrying Ruth. His brother Sarfaraz is a fighter against British and even he opposes Javed's action. In turbulent times, world has turned upside down for the British family. Man of house is dead and they are living a life of destitute. A brilliant script, impressive narrative and outstanding performances complements direction of perhaps the best filmmaker of alternate cinema.
Shashi Kapoor as Javed, Naseeruddin Shah as Sarfaraz, Shabana as Firdaus and Jennifer as Mariam simply excelled in their individual roles and were complemented well by actors like Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Nafisa Ali and Sushma Seth. Jennifer deserves a special note. She is one of the most underrated actresses of this country. Technically Shyam Benegal's movies have been excellent. Junoon is no exception. One scene deserves a special note where warriors return home, that one scene was at par with a similar scene from Gone With The Wind. I hope that summarizes well.
Dharm (2007)
Religion Redefined
Such a movie is once in a decade thing, if not more. Dharm is about religion, as the word literally mean in English, and explores religion in a new way. We have seen many movies where orthodoxy is slammed but Dharm justifies it beautifully and slowly transcends into a secular mode which, again, is affirmed by Dharm only. Religious faith is not seen with disregard but with respect. Rituals are not panned. They are redefined. Its story of a priest known for his values. He is a bit rigid with what he follows. Once incident takes place what follows has definitely no parallel in whatever cinema I had witnessed till today.
Pankaj Kapoor as Pandit Chaturvedi and Supriya Pathak as obedient wife raised their bar of acting to a new level.