On sensitivity among other issues

Its been a long time since I've been so mesmerised about a movie much less write about it. Malligadu joins the elite list of brilliant films that have come out of Tamil Cinema in the last decade. What a breathtaking decade it has been for Tamil Cinema. Oh! boy am I jealous? Actors like Dhanush, Jeeva, Karthi, Aadhi and so many more I haven't had the privilege to see yet. Directors of the calibre of SelvaRaghavan, Ameer, Balaji Sekthivel, Bala, Samy, Gowtham Menon, Sasi Kumar, Samuthirakani and I'm just looking at the tip of the iceberg. But no, this isn't just about Kollywood. Or great cinema. This is also about audience. This is about the power of a community as a whole to be mature, considerate, open and appreciative enough to true genius.


If you have seen Malligadu, you'll understand what I'll be talking about. If you haven't watched it yet, and if you believe you have the ability to be open to great cinema, I suggest you watch it. If for nothing else, for Priyamani. What an actor. Nobody made me flinch like that ever. No other women. And if I hadn't known that this was Karthi's first cinema, I might have under appreciated his intellectual and emotional quotient for pulling Malligadu off. Kamal in Swathimuthyam, Rajni in Dalapathi, Chiranjeevi in Aapathbandhavudu, Suriya in Sivaputrudu, Hirsch in Into the Wild, Warsi in Munnabhai, Akshaye in Dil Chahta Hai, Crowe in the Cinderella Man and now Karthi in Malligadu. There's no great acting skills for display out there, no need for genius. They are truly earnest characters and pulling that off is much harder.


I have nothing more to say. Watch the movie and please don't walk off during the last fifteen minutes citing reasons as varied as "I'm sensitive", "I can't bear to watch it", "There was no need for it", "WTF" and "Its frustrating". And no, all these excuses are not made up. Ameer, I'm getting back to you again soon.

Like Ray said, Our films and their's.

I've been meaning to do this for quite sometime now. Whenever I want to watch movies made in other languages, I Google for a list of films I, as a newbie, am supposed to begin with. And then it struck me that I could do the same with Telugu movies for all those who want to watch them but don't know where to begin, just as I started watching Tamil MA or Pithamagan because I found them to be the finest works in Tamil popularised by it's own people.

So, here's my list of two films for every year. There are a few disclaimer points though.

One, this is no extensive and exhaustive list. These are the movies I'd recommend to my non-Telugu friends and I'm only dealing with those movies made in the last decade because that is where my best knowledge is and also because they would fare better with the younger audience.

Two, I've avoided dubbing films and have searched for those films which have truly reflected our people and vice versa.

Three, I've analyzed the movies as to how an outsider would be able to best appreciate it. We make some fine comedies, but then I'm not sure they would really strike a chord with those who do not understand the language. So, the following films are basically those which I believe can be universally appreciated.

And yes, most importantly, the following list below contains only those films that have made me proud for being a Telugu speaker.

Let us begin.

2000
1. Dollar Dreams- Kammula's debut and Tollywood's first real Indie film.
2. Manoharam- Great performances from the lead cast.

2001
1. Kushi- The film that made Pawan Kalyan an overnight demigod and cultivated here a whole new idea of heroism.
2. Murari- Watch it for the sheer Telugu-ness of it.

2002
1. Aadi- If you've ever seen a Telugu action film and wondered why Sumo's flew, watch this. A perfect example of a commercial hit.
2. Idiot- An unexpected bumper hit that catapulted the idea of rugged heroism.

2003
1. Okkadu- What Kushi did to Power Star, Okkadu did it to the Prince. Heroism never looked more appealing than when it smoked clad in black and black.
2. Johnny- A flop, nevertheless a very aesthetic film from a mass darling.
Special Entry- Aithe- Nobody expected this to reach the cult status it did. A must watch for any non-Telugu audience.

2004
1. Anand- A sleeper hit which again changed the idea of a hit movie.
2. Arya- A formula changer by an ex-Mathematics lecturer.
Special Entry- Grahanam- I am yet to watch the film but many say it is one of the finest Telugu film's ever made.

2005
1. Anukokunda Oka Roju- After a stunner called Aithe, Yeleti came up something so technically rich and intellectually taut that people couldn't get enough of it.
2. Athadu- Considered the greatest dialogue writer in Telugu films, Trivikram and Mahesh Babu transformed the morose, quiet guy into a cult figure.

2006
1. Godavari- A true romantic offing loosely based on the super hit Andala Ramudu.
2. Rakhi- Over the top at best and hypocritical at worst, watch it for NTR's ferociously honest performance.

2007
1. Jagadam- Considered an equivalent to The Godfather and Nayagan, the idea of a 5'7", cute looking gangster seemed so plausible.
2. Operation Duryodhana- A mockery of the system, probably the first of its kind in Telugu.

2008
1. Gamyam- Just when the going went bleak again, Tollywood got a taste of a world class effort from a supremely gifted storyteller.
2. Jalsa- The fact that Jalsa is here proves the kind of mediocre film's we've been producing. No other reason apart from the combination of Pawan Kalyan and Trivikram.
Special Entry- Ashta Chemma- You'll love it if you understand Telugu.

2009
1. Magadheera- Enough of the Enthiran extravaganza. This came a year earlier and is in a lot of aspects, better than that.
2. Arya 2- To the sheer genius of Sukumar's craft.
Special Entry- 1940 lo oka gramam- Won the National award for best film in Telugu for the year.

2010
1. Vedam- The Telugu equivalent of Babel. Anthology, ensemble cast, amazing acting and a magnificent screenplay. A true mirror to the kind of society we live in.
2. Prasthanam- A truly dramatic, intense film that took all the liberties it had to to make the film more appealing and succeeded doing it.

There goes the list. Before I leave you with it, I'd like to discuss a few things.
If you've noticed, I've used the word heroism a lot of times. Telugu film industry has a predominant fixation with the idea of Hero, the demigod, the all-encompassing one who can fight 50 people, sing and dance in the rain, save the life of his ailing father and turn Don to safeguard the society. We've been accustomed to that idea so much that anybody who doesn't do all that is not an hero for us. We cannot accept flawed people to be protagonists because they are far too real. Real, that has been this industry's biggest problem. It all happened when Megastar Chiranjeevi's succession started after Khaidi. Though a totally great, complete actor, he got stereotyped into an image of the perfect man and Indra sealed that fate for him. Sad because it had an adverse affect on the kind of people's expectations of their heroes. Pawan Kalyan was God in Kushi but two years later when he made a very fine film called Johnny, it flopped because we could not handle our heroes getting depressed or not being able to dictate their fates.

The other big probem is that for far too long, we've had only two genres in this industry; Love Stories or comedy-centered ones. True, we have outstanding comedians but then there is a limit, ain't there? We haven't been making films that people could identify with. True, Rajni has an image in Tamil Nadu as well but then surprisingly, Enthiran fared far better than Sivaji. That shows the kind of quality films Tamilians have been making. Directors like Bala, Selvaraghavan, Samutirakani, Ram and heroes like Dhanush, Jeeva, Karthee and Arya, to name the very few I know, have been creating a steady output of alternative cinema which surprisingly have been turning into hits like Tamil MA, Aadakulam, Ko and Paruthiveeran. Despite being mainstream actors competing with Ajith, Vijay and others, these actors have been making great cinema. All that apart, their two most popular stars Vikram and Surya have become superstars though they've been popularised by niche films.

I've been talking so much about Tamil films because I know more about them than other language films, because most of their films are dubbed into Telugu and because their directors and technicians are considered one of the finest in the country. PC Sreeram, Ravi K Chandran, Mani Ratnam, Anthony, Peter Heins, and Kamal Hassan for that matter.I'm not denying we aren't making good films, to hell we have writers and directors of equivalent prowess, if not better. Trivikram, Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi, Deva Katta, Sekhar Kammula, Puri Jagannath, SS Rajamouli and actors like Allu Arjun, Manoj and NTR Jr. not to mention Mahesh Babu and Pawan Kalyan. And then there is our very own inimitable RGV. With the advent of the NRI directors, there's been some change. But we need more real cinema, more real heroes. Gritty, to the ground, gut wrenching and exhilarating.

Telugu cinema for me now is a lot like what Hollywood was five years ago. Popular and money making but lacking reality. Tamil cinema is a lot like the Latin American wave of Alfonso Cauron, Alejandro Inarritu, Guillermo Del Toro, Walter Salles and my favourite, Fernando Meirelles. We need people like those now, people who've seen it all and have enough love to the craft of movie making. I hope we are moving towards that. But most importantly, I hope our audience deserves cinema of such high quality.

"He's walked 40 miles just to keep the flies off his sister's face."

I've never seen more visually stimulating cinema than Fernando Meirelles'. For me, it has always been that the difference between a play and a movie is the extra character of a camera. That's it. Everything that can be done in a cinema can be done on stage, it's just that in case of a cinema, the director has the phenomenal power of showing you what he wants and how he wants it. There have been quite a few exponents of the cinematic camera, but for me, none more so than this filmmaker from Brazil. Some shots in The Constant Gardener are so breathtaking in their composition that you wonder if the every shot is a labour of love.

We've all talked about the great cinematographers from Latin America thanks to the popularity of movies like Y Tu mama Tambien, Amores Perros and Pan's Labyrinth. How could we have missed Meirelles and Salles. I've just seen two films of Meirelles, The City of God and The Constant Gardener and I realise the impact of a camera. Be it the energetic, rotating shots in Cidade de Deus or the handheld, wavering camera here, it's just Meirelles. What captivated me more than anything else in these two movies is the colour and the ethnic music of the place. It's just amazing.

If City of God in itself was one of the finest movies of our times, here with actors like Fiennes and Weisz, he took it a step further. Fiennes is a revelation, what a second act. His character reminds me a lot of Gogol's Overcoat's protagonist, he's dogged in his approach to work, is one-dimensional until he finds something to live for and then once he loses it, his need to avenge it attributes the same style.

Meirelles has us look at Africa and his camera doesn't flinch. He wants us to experience guilt, wants us to be wounded; unlike in his earlier film where he was the objective observer, here he wants us to come in as close contact with the brutal reality as possible. The film is about Pharmaceutical companies testing their drugs on Africans as the Rest of the World is busy. "Disposable medicines for disposable people; It is how they expiate their guilt", one character observes. There are some really heart rendering moments in the movie, like when Fiennes' character yells, "It is one child we can help", bringing back reminiscences of what his wife had asked of him earlier. I'm yet to read John Le Carre's novel but the film gives us the story and more importantly takes us there, into that World where a twelve year old kid walks 40 miles. Meirelles never let's us forget the kind of luxuries we enjoy at the expense of people like them and he mocks the system in a scene where the camera rotates from an expanse of a Golf course, where a few Caucasians are playing, to show a slum where houses are packed next to each other. Diplomatic relationships are like that and despite all that people say, Nobody really gives a fuck.

But despite the hypocrisy pervading the film, Meirelles' does not forget to show us those unheralded heroes, like the cargo pilot who says, "Do not embarrass me with your money, you can't buy this". It is heart-wrenching, provoking and disgusting to realise what order of hypocrites we are to be constantly turning out heads away and quelling our conscience.

There is a woman who cannot stand injustice. There is her husband whose entire world revolves around her, until he realises she ain't never coming back and all he can do is settle her accounts and go to her. It is cinema at its greatest and more than that.

On calling the shots

The film fever's back on me, ever since I started reading Robert Rodriguez's Rebel without a crew. More about that later but what it did was it got me back to films and reminded me of those days when all I did all day was watch and read films. A couple of days ago I stumbled across Jim Jarmusch's Golden Rules of film making and realised how true they were. Here they go.

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Rule #1: There are no rules. There are as many ways to make a film as there are potential filmmakers. It’s an open form. Anyway, I would personally never presume to tell anyone else what to do or how to do anything. To me that’s like telling someone else what their religious beliefs should be. Fuck that. That’s against my personal philosophy—more of a code than a set of “rules.” Therefore, disregard the “rules” you are presently reading, and instead consider them to be merely notes to myself. One should make one’s own “notes” because there is no one way to do anything. If anyone tells you there is only one way, their way, get as far away from them as possible, both physically and philosophically.

Rule #2: Don’t let the fuckers get ya. They can either help you, or not help you, but they can’t stop you. People who finance films, distribute films, promote films and exhibit films are not filmmakers. They are not interested in letting filmmakers define and dictate the way they do their business, so filmmakers should have no interest in allowing them to dictate the way a film is made. Carry a gun if necessary.

Also, avoid sycophants at all costs. There are always people around who only want to be involved in filmmaking to get rich, get famous, or get laid. Generally, they know as much about filmmaking as George W. Bush knows about hand-to-hand combat.

Rule #3: The production is there to serve the film. The film is not there to serve the production. Unfortunately, in the world of filmmaking this is almost universally backwards. The film is not being made to serve the budget, the schedule, or the resumes of those involved. Filmmakers who don’t understand this should be hung from their ankles and asked why the sky appears to be upside down.

Rule #4: Filmmaking is a collaborative process. You get the chance to work with others whose minds and ideas may be stronger than your own. Make sure they remain focused on their own function and not someone else’s job, or you’ll have a big mess. But treat all collaborators as equals and with respect. A production assistant who is holding back traffic so the crew can get a shot is no less important than the actors in the scene, the director of photography, the production designer or the director. Hierarchy is for those whose egos are inflated or out of control, or for people in the military. Those with whom you choose to collaborate, if you make good choices, can elevate the quality and content of your film to a much higher plane than any one mind could imagine on its own. If you don’t want to work with other people, go paint a painting or write a book. (And if you want to be a fucking dictator, I guess these days you just have to go into politics...).

Rule #5: Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”

Forrest Gump

There is a scene in Forrest Gump when Jenny tells him that that kid is his son. I have never seen anything like Tom Hanks there. "Is he stupid too?", he asks. I bow down to you Hanks. And I'm sure the world will not be the same since I have seen it through the eyes of Forrest Gump.

I know most of you have seen Forrest Gump but Forrest Gump isn't just a story. It is a revolution. It is a reminder of everything we have forgotten. When Winston Groom wanted to chronicle the major events of the second half of the 20th century, he had to choose a man who was simple, honest and unbiased. He chose Forrest Gump. Gump, considered the local idiot and who is turned away from admission into school because he has an IQ of 75, is responsible for Elvis Presley's signature moves, plays Football in the All America Team, gets a college degree, is awarded the medal of honour for services in the Nam war, stumbles into the famous Washingtom peace rally, exposes the Watergate scandal, plays ping-pong in China, sets up a shrimp business, appears on the Fortune cover, invests in a fruit company called 'Apple', grows rich, and runs through the entire country. Not bad for a crippled kid certified 'stupid'. And through all this, he is oblivious to the entire world, and all he can think about is Jenny, Momma, God and the promises he has to keep.

Tom Hanks is a goddamn genius. I've just learnt that he was the third choice to play the role of Gump but maybe it is his tryst with destiny. Nobody, absolutely nobody, could've been Forrest Gump. And Robert Zemeckis knows exactly what he is doing in every scene. No shot is wasted, no dialogue is overdone and Forrest Gump, the movie, wins hearts. Forrest Gump made me think. At the end of it it is still a heart warming story of a guy who knows 'what love is'. But the kind of honesty and conviction Hanks brought into the role is spellbinding. His eyes and his voice capture our attention for the entire length of the film and everything seems fine with the world because Forrest thinks it is.

And yes, Forrest Gump reminded me that all is not lost in life, that it is still those things in life which make life life. Things like Love, Loyalty, Honesty and a Box o' Chocolates. In one scene Forrest says, "People told me I gave them Hope. I haven't done anything like that." But that is what exactly Forrest Gump gives us. Hope for a better world. And that if a man wants to do something, nothing else can stop him. When Forrest, who can hardly walk, is told to run, he 'runs like the wind'. And for that, Forrest Gump is a triumph of the Human Spirit. For it is important to have a Big Brain, but more so, to have a Big Heart.

Thank You, Forrest.

Vedam

Vedam is about Money. It is about God. But importantly, it is about something beyond those both. It is about Life. Unarguably one of the greatest of Telugu films to come out in recent times, Vedam is a revolution. The film is a brave attempt of film making, atleast for the Telugu audience.

The basic plot is that there are five different tracks running parallely and most of the film take place in one day. The screenplay is non-linear with the characters' different fates interwoven. A little lapse here and there and film would have been a disaster but hats-off to Krish for that screenplay where nothing goes wrong. And the story moves seamlessly from one track to another, keeping the pace up, giving each one importance and at the same time letting us connect to the characters. That for me, is the film's greatest strength. With so much star power, a huge cast and a complex storyline, the film could've been either reckless, bland or worse, overcrowded. Krish doesn't commit one mistake throughout the film. The casting is spot on, the dialogues crisp and the background score, perfect. Keeravani's done an amazing job because in films like this, music plays a very important part.

And about the actors, there are about 10 important characters and all of them have performed amazingly. All their stories are extremely relatable and you've seen all of them somewhere or the other. My favourite track, personally, is that of Allu Arjun and Rajesh because both of them have come up with career best performances. But the story of the old man in the village is so powerful and portrayed so ruthlessly that in a few scenes I just had to look away from the screen. Manoj Bajpai was wasted in a small role but again Ravi Prakash fit in perfectly. Anushka was competent but the role of Karpuram was played with aplomb. The most poorly written track was that of Manoj and honestly, he didn't have anything to do throughout the film. The film is an out and out Krish's film and whatever was left out, Allu Arjun filled it in.

But Vedam isn't just a film. It's a tool. A tool to look at life in a new way. For instance, there's a talk about 40,000 rupees. What Krish has done is showcase the difference in views of the same money. For someone, that money is worth a new year party. For someone else, it's about freedom and education. There are a lot of things you could say about a film but the best films are those which have two traits, Honesty and Courage. Vedam is both bold, unbearably so at times and there's an inherent honesty in the cast and the crew which glorifies the film. A lot of talk has been going on as to how Leader and Prasthanam are bringing about the new wave in Telugu Cinema. With due respect to both of them, I loved watching those films, Vedam is a completely novel experience. Watch it. And you'll know what people mean when they say films affect them.

If there was one line to sum up the entire experience of watching Vedam, its an Allu Arjun line which says, "Deenammadi Jeevitham".

Love, Sex aur Dhokha

Ages since I wrote about a film. Rather abnormal for me. Not that I didn't want to write. Just that I've been lazy to put things down. But with LSD, I have to cross that barrier. I have to write about this movie or I'd be doing injustice to my feelings.

Love, Sex aur Dhoka , ain't that rather brave for a Hindi film. To hell, DB breaks all barriers about the reach and spectrum of Indian Cinema. No popular Indian Cinema has ever been so brave and novel in its approach. Dibakar Banerjee brings an on-the-face film which is different right from its starting titles. Enough has been spoken about the film, its director and its approach. Infact, Rajeev Masand, a critic I respect says this is probably another movie in the league of Satya and Dil Chahta Hai. Probably, I might've included Swades and Taare Zameen Par in the list myself but I do agree with Masand. Like them then, it breaks every possible inhibition about an Indian film.

A brief idea of what the film deals with. If you've seen the promos, you'd realise that this is about videos and the power of a camera. There are three different tracks each dealing with how video footage can be exploited and how much of an integral part of our lives are cameras. The three tracks are brilliantly interwoven that you wouldn't realise the link until the very end. All the actors are new, there are no songs and most of the cinema seems to have been shot with Camcorders. I thought the first track resembled a lot of Paranormal Activity. Hand held cameras, jerky movements and uncompromising angles. Nothing more can be told more about the plot without ruining it for the viewer. So, I'll not disclose any more details. By the end of the film, you will be startled by what has just unfolded infront of you.

What LSD will do to the industry is this. It will prove that, no matter how mad a story might sound, how unconventional, if the director has the skill, courage and confidence to pull it off, its going to be a massive success. There are some amazing crisp dialogue and impressive performances by what is probably a first time cast. But there's something in the film that stands out, its honesty. Unlike all those films we see, which on the surface are clean family entertainers but are forces of negative energy, LSD is refreshingly original. It is not hypocritical. DB is never scared throughout the movie, never compromises and never really cares if it will end up making money. He does what he does best. He makes a film which is provocative, engaging and truly out of the box.

Kudos DB. And thank you for that engaging piece of Indian Cinema.

Avatar

The finest cinematic experience I've ever had. I'd been dying to watch Avatar since the day I saw the trailer, convincing myself not to watch it on PC but on a 3D screen and I did watch Avatar 3D on the IMAX screen yesterday. Roger Ebert said Cameron definitely knew how to spend $300 million on a movie. I do not know about the money but what a way to spend 15 years of life making something so epic. Before I go down into the details of the film, there is something I have to do. Stand up and bow down to the human mind, to Cameron's mind.

Avatar couldn't have been more conventional in its storyline. There is a Hero, a Heroine, a Villain, a David, a Goliath and the Hero who realises what's right just before its too late. Oh! the same old story. Yes it is but it never tasted this good. I do not want to unfold the story here, now. That is not what I'm here to do. I'm here to tell you why you should or should not watch a film. And trust me folks, Avatar is nothing like you've ever seen before. Everything would seem so real that you'd be as scared as the characters in the film, as awed as them and you will experience the movie as a part of it. Sound great? Well, its actually better than that.

Cameron did the right thing by waiting for the technology to develop. If the film(about 70% of which is CGI) hadn't been so real, we might never have believed it. What really left me awed was the detail in the film. True, an entire new world was to be created and that needed a lot of thinking but every animal, every plant, every native was made with so much attention to it that it was almost as diverse as our own planet. All those kinds of animals resembled a lot of our own but then, shouldn't they? Pandora from a distance is like Earth but when you notice, there's quite a lot of change. Infact, the entire flora and fauna are is charmingly Fluorescent. And the natives. The Na'vi are stunning. The cat-like, humanoid, blue-coloured people with tails have been so painstakingly detailed that they seem more human than humans themselves(wait a sec, is that an oxymoron?!).

As for the performances, there's not a lot for the actors to do but all of them have done a good job. Infact, Neytiri is someone I will never forget. Zoe Saldana comes up with a performance so memorable that she'll be remembered as Neytiri for a long time. This is an out and out Cameron's film. One man's pursuit to show the world what a human mind is capable of.

Before I started this piece, I wanted to write a long post. But now I can't write more than this. Because Avatar is not a movie. It is a state of mind. It is not a story. Its a journey. A journey so enchanting, so powerful that you will never forget it.

3 idiots

Aamir Khan-the perfectionist, Raju Hirani-the good old-fashioned director, Vidhu Chopra-the unconventional producer and 3 Idiots-a pathetic screen adaption of a cult classic. There lies the gist of everything I'm about to say.

I watched the movie with lot of expectations, thanks not just to the cast and crew but to a lot of my friends who said it was one of the finest movies of the year. I know I should have gone to the film with an open mind but it ain't my fault that I was anticipating a lot. In the first place, Raju Hirani shouldn't have claimed it to be a adaption. Apart from the fact that it really wasn't, all of us who had read the book were fiercely protective about our idea of all the characters. And since we could never find a Ryan, no one should've messed with the idea called Ryan Oberoi.

Well, it seems Hirani was courageous enough into adopting only the basic setting of the book and Chetan Bhagat was happy with it. Let me finish talking about the film first. Everyone knows the story. Set in a fictional Engineering college called the ICE(IIT!), Raju, Farhan and Rancho are roommates and so their collective fate is sealed for the next four years. ViruS, the head of the institute is someone who's happy churning out robots year after year for the American market. And Rancho is this free thinker who has a problem with the system and tries to correct it. The setting's done. Let the story unfold. No, that is the story. That's it. The entire film is about glamourising Rancho, how he changes everyone's lives(aww!) and softens ViruS' opinion on non-ICE folks. Meanwhile, in a running time of about 160 mins, Rancho repairs a hopeless flying machine of a senior, saves the lives of Raju and his father, inspires Farhan into chasing his dream, sings a song with ViruS' daughter Piya and delivers a baby on a Ping Pong table. Hold on a sec, I forgot something in his long list of mesmerising acts. Yeah, he knicks question papers for his dear friend. Holy crap! What was Hirani thinking.

And now for the performance part of it, Madhavan and Kareena maybe called a bit more than cameos, Irani's wasted in an Einstein-inspired caricature and Aamir 'awesome' Khan delivers a performance so pukable, I almost sympathised for him for such a badly written role. But I won't pity him for he considers himself to be the perfectionist, he should've seen this coming. Ryan was gone, to be replaced by Rancho who I thought was a bad grown-up version of Ishaan Awasthi(TZP hangover, eh?). He performs silly science experiments, scratches his head to show he's thinking and is dumb enough to talk to ViruS the way he does.

Where's Ryan amidst all this? Maybe its my fault too, for expecting a lot from both Hirani and Khan. Bhagat said the script was Bollywood-ised. Hirani said, the book was anectodal and so this plot was written. You call it a plot. Where I'm supposed to gasp at the Interval scene, laugh at juvenile jokes and listen to preaches about the education system. The only two guys with respectable performances were Sharman Joshi and Omi. Joshi, in not much of a role, has done a commendable job and Omi Vaidya with his histrionics has managed to turn a child joke into something deeper. Infact the guy who played Joey Lobo managed to evoke more feelings than a lot of other characters.

The songs are pretty ok, with hummable tunes. And C.K. Muraleedharan's long shots of landscapes more than please the eye. Apart from a few really funny scenes, the film fails and it fails badly. When asked, the people who hadn't read the book gave a more positive response so I suppose you can watch it if you have not read the book.

But for those who've read Five Point Someone, avoid 3 idiots.

(500) Days of Summer

'This is not a Love Story. This is a story about Love.'

This is what the tagline of this movie says. And surprisingly, it stands true to that. I'd been pestered by a few friends to watch this movie. Roger Ebert gave it a 4 on 4. And so I thought, maybe I should try this. And I did.

(500) Days of Summer isn't one of the finest movie I've seen. But its one of those rare films made with a lot of heart. Here is the storyline- Boy meets Girl. They are together. Then she leaves him. He's lost. He starts all over again. Sounds similar? Ofcourse. This is the oldest tale in the world. But its told in a non-linear, haphazard way, like going through a bunch of memories, none of which are in order.

Tom(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a romantic at heart, someone who believes in soul mates, miracles and destiny. Summer(Zooey Deschanel) is what could be termed as quite an opposite, someone who's happy staying alone and strong enough to admit it. And then they fall in love. No, he does. She doesn't. And she makes it clear to him from the first day. But Tom is happy staying with her without bothering too much about the future. They have their little quarrels, their embarrassing moments in public(Penis in the Park!?), their little gifts to each other and more(You'd know if you'd ever been into a relationship). And then suddenly she leaves him. And he's broken. Technically this is where the film begins. And goes back in terms of his memories. But its not really about the plot or how it may end. Its about each individual memory etched in Tom's mind as he tries to fight through them and get to a new beginning.

Having such a tiny, uncomplicated cast helped the film but the lead pair had to shoulder a lot of responsibility. And both Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel couldn't have been outdone. Gordon-Levitt has that Tom Hanksian charm to him which makes him adorable and he fits into the role of Tom Hansen who is in search of The One. And I cannot see no one else playing Summer because Deschanel is exactly that kind of a woman who has the power to seduce men, to control them but also at the same time, to stay aloof. She's just perfect.

Having just gotten over a breakup, I could connect to Tom in a few scenes but I guess that is pretty much inevitable. The script is soft but not fragile and the movie owes a lot to its director, Marc Webb for the way its been shot. With those witty references to old movies, picturesque Los Angeles and some amazing, sharp dialogue, the movie is a winner of hearts. Least of all, Tom's.

James (Genius) Cameron

3 and a half minutes of visual ecstasy, nothing like I've seen in a long time. If the trailer is any testimony, James Cameron will go down in history as a person who knew how to use every dimension in the process of film making.

I've seen both, Terminator 2 and Titanic. The former gave me an adrenaline rush and "Hasta la vista, Baby". The later is so inspiring that whenever I watch it, James Cameron's genius overshadows the film. Especially that scene in the end, when everyone's running panic stricken, the musician's start playing as an ode to the Ship. Rolland Emmerich needs to learn more from Cameron than high tides and glaciers.

James Cameron is my new God. From what I know, Avatar has been his pet project for about 15 years. And when he approached film studios then, they couldn't believe what they heard about creating an entire parallel universe through Computer Graphics. Infact, that in itself shows Cameron's prowess. He directed a film like Titanic while waiting for his brainchild to grow.

Folks! If you haven't watched the trailer, go watch it. If you have, go watch it again. Honestly, you wouldn't mind. I just made up this concocted sentence while I was peeing. Cameron is someone who can pull off Shakespeare's Love, Dicken's Grimness, Tolstoy's Subtlety, DaVinci's Complexity, Michelangelo's Detail, Picaso's Abstractness, Steve Jobs' Passion, Einstein's Imagination and add to that Walt Disney's Love for Animation. Did I just list down the greatest brains of the millennium. Yeah, I know that goes way over the top but hey, I'm still in the Avatar-Trailer-Hangover and I get goosebumps all over whenever I look at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ceBgWV8io

I don't know if the movie's going to keep up to the expectations, unusual if the trailer's so good but then, I'm praying Cameron has it in him to prove that Man's thinking abilities have reached the next level. Infact, looking back, all that I wrote about him is based almost entirely on the trailer rather than his previous work. But God, do I want it to transport me into another world, both figuratively and rhetorically.

I'm not really a Sci-Fi or a fantasy junkie but I loved watching The Lord of the Rings in theatres. (Psst! A piece of quick trivia. The day I walked out of the theatre having watched The Fellowship of the Ring, I decided for the first time that I wanted to be a Director- a Storyteller). I like everyday stories, with the director focusing more on human emotions rather than the Blueness of a Green tree (and that is why Emmerich pisses me off) but Jackson taught me, no matter how large the scale of a movie, you can still add a lot of humane touch to it. Ditto, Titanic.

And hopefully, Avatar.

Cameron, I'm waiting with bated breath.

P.S: I get a knot in my stomach at 2.06. The jump, the music and the camera are so perfectly synchronized that it feels like vertigo.

Dev D vs Kaminey

Its the thing about rain. It makes me want to listen to Colonial Cousins instead of Black Sabbath and play the guitar instead of gossip around. Yep. It gives me time for myself. And that is precisely why I'm back to blogging after ages. All these days, I start off something and then save it for sometime later. But right now, the blogger in me is yelling for my time and all I can do is say yes.

Alright, now to start off. I thought I should also join the bandwagon of people talking about unarguably the two greatest Bollywood films of this year, Dev D and Kaminey. Till ten days ago, everyone thought Dev D was the film of the year. And now suddenly two parties have split up arguing about the topic over and over again. Before I give you my point of view, I'll tell you what I think about the two movies, individually.

Dev D is the amalgamation of two people's passion for the art of cinema, Anurag Kashyap and Amit Trivedi(Yeah! Dev D is not really a lot about Abhay Deol contrary to popular belief.). Having watched Black Friday and Satya(probably among the finest of Hindi cinema), I knew Anurag Kashyap was upto something big with Dev D. I mean why would a director of his calibre retell the story of the eternal love lost guy, which has been already told so many times. But voila! did he take everyone off guard. I mean right from the titles to the last shot, the same old story could not have been told so differently. A very novel experience of film watching. But Dev D wouldn't have been the same but for Amit Trivedi's 'Musical Attyachar'. Kashyap himself admits that but for Amit, Dev D wouldn't have been the musical it is. 18 mind-blowing songs. 18, for God's sakes, pieces of genius. What makes Dev D so compelling a movie to watch is the sheer depth of it. After walking out of the theatre, I was so hungover that anyone might have thought that it was me and not Dev was so heavily drunk. Dev for the first time, was portrayed not as a pitiable lover but a coward who refused to wake up. Another thing which deeply rooted the film was the honesty and maturity with which Anurag told the story. He actually knew what drunkards, pimps and prostitues were like. He saw it all in reality. And the way he handled Chanda's character with no taboo was so very courageous. Dev D is more an art piece than a movie and it will go down as one of the finest of Hindi cinema. The triumph of a director and his crew who weren't scared to try something new and triumphed in it.

Now, to Kaminey. One man army, Writer-Musician-Director-Visionary Vishal Bharadwaj hits back Bollywood Quentin Tarantino style. To be honest, I've never seen a Tarantino film but Kaminey supposedly resembles a lot of his work. Kaminey is so much like an indie Hollywood movie that after stepping out I thought I had just watched an English movie. One thing about Kaminey is that it is extremely intelligent for a typical Indian commercial cinema. I'm really surprised to hear that this was supposed to be an out and out commercial film. The plot is so Javed-Salim like with identical twins, corrupt cops and shaggy gangsters. But what is so refreshing about this film is the brilliant screenplay which keeps you at the edge of your seat and the minimal, sharp dialogue which leaves you breathless. Probably for the first time in Bollywood that a film has had such extremely talented ensemble cast and all of them have done more than their part. Shahid Kapoor proves to the world what it means to be Pankaj Kapoor's son and does a fabulous job playing the identical twins. Balancing the innocence and honesty of Guddu with shrewdness and brutality of Charlie was no mean task but Shahid does it with panache. Priyanka Chopra, the actor, was born in Fashion and got matured in Kaminey. Everyone in the cast does a brilliant job but Amole Gupte is a revelation. The laziness with which he utters his dialogues is, for any actor, loathsome. And with some very good songs, 'Dhan Te Nan' Kaminey is rocking the charts. Kaminey is the typical Bollywood 'formula film' which is also so acclaimed because Vishal Bharadwaj presents the same old story in a new light.

Now, when the two films are compared, what is strikingly common between them is that both of them are essentially old stories but the method in which they have been told is very unconventional. And both of them are directed by probably Bollywood's finest directors who make films for the heck of it. That's it, the similarities end there.

if I were to choose one film out of them both, I would choose Dev D. Which is the better film, I do not know. But which I loved watching more, surely Dev D. The difference between both the films is that even if Kaminey is high on adrenaline and suspense and you want more of it, you will leave everything behind once the end titles roll. But in the case of Dev D, it took me more than 3 days to get out of the hangover. Kaminey is more about your head. It pumps it, ticks it and takes it on a roller coaster ride. Dev D is about the heart. It makes the heart, at first heavy and then incredibly free and light.

Finally, Kaminey is about skill but Dev D is about genius.

Dev D

Poetic. The first word that came onto my mind as the end credits rolled out. And, only a film as powerful could have brought me back to writing reviews. The story of this egotistic, self-conceited, drunkard loser is portrayed with such adept finesse that even you would want to become a Dev D just for the heck of it.

I thought Anurag Kashyap couldn't get better than Black Friday(not having watched No Smoking) but he takes the ART of cinema to another level. And though his protagonist is a loser, the film is a true winner. Everything about the film, from the use of songs for narration, from the backdrop of break-dancers to let out the emotions of the characters to the not-pitiable portrayal of prostitutes is novel. And all of the cast and crew should be lauded because of their passion for the Art of Cinema.

Anyways, now to the plot. Actually, there's not much of a plot. Dev D is the modern, upto a certain extent its a parody, urban representation of the wannabe loser's idol, Devdas. There was a Devdas, Paro and Chandra. There is a Dev D, Paro and Chanda. And though all of them share the same backdrop, there's a difference of galaxies in their attitudes. Devdas portrays the emotions, attitudes and feelings of its protagonists of that time. Dev D does that for this age. Here, there's neither a pitiable, love-lost Devdas, a weeping, faithful Paro nor a forced prostitute in Chandra. There is a psychotic, sorry-for-himself Dev, a Paro who's "moved-on" and a prostitute by choice, Chanda because she is vengeful of this hypocritic world. You could actually say, Dev D is fiction weaved into fact because of the use of many actual scandals to build the characters.

Mahi Gill stands upto the short role of Paro and though not disarmingly beautiful, she's got a knack for acting. Kalki Koechlin is a revelation as Chanda and she portrays the role with such soft firmness that she can possibly be regarded alongside other prostitute protagonists such as Madhuri Dixit and Rani Mukherji. And, that's a tough task. The vehemence she puts into her voice when she talks about the world who called her a slut is enchanting. But, the real scene-stealer is Dev himself. Abhay Deol lives in the role of Dev and plays it with such elan that you would want to live the role of Dev knowing his character well. I don't think anyone from Dilip Kumar to Shar Rukh Khan have aroused such feelings in their viewers. Probably they evoked pity but the last thing you would want to feel about Dev would be pity. Sexy, stylish, graceful and utterly dazed in the effect of 'nasha', Deol is a winner. Especially those scenes where he knows he is a loser but doesn't want to admit it bring the best out of Deol and anyone would stand to tough competition to win the Best actor award this year.

Now, to the crew. The lines are minimal but brilliant, the art direction is splendid and bold, the cinematography is sleek and the editiing, cut. Amit Trivedi is bound to land in many a offer after this film. The lot-so-many songs composed fit into the film perfectly as a jigsaw and its a fine blend of new-age, urban music and Punjabi.

Watch it for the art of it. Unless you really love this medium called cinema, it is going to be a long, dreary walk for you. Kudos to Anurag Kashyap for making this and to Ronnie Screwwala for being courageous enough to experiment. Dev D is new, novel, bold and arty.

It'll either drain you or dazzle you.

Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na

Aamir Khan's nephew's launch couldn't have been more unexpected. For someone who is known for making all out-of-the-box films and is named the maverick of Bollywood, he stuck to the basic rules of Bollywood for his second film as a producer, a love story of two best friends who until the last scene don't realise that they love each other. Sounds familiar? Sure is.

Jai(Imran Khan) and Aditi(Genilia) are inseperables. They have been the best friends for the past five years, since the first day of their college. But they are just best friends. Period. And they are a part of this gang of 3 'Guys' nad 3 'Gals', who are just the big perfect Dosti-key-vaasthey-kuch-bhi-karega people. And then when Jai and Aditi pass out of college, everyone expects them to end up married, everyone except them. They laugh at each other at the prospect of marrying each other and tell everyone that they are not in love, only to end up getting married at the end of the movie, to anyone's guess.

After Abbas Tyrewala's scripts of MunnaBhai MBBS, Maqbool and Darna Mana Hain, Jaane Tu is a let down from him. Its a typical Bollywood commercial script but narrated in a warm-touching manner. And that is the only reason, you should watch Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. No thrills, no frills, no action sequences and no masala songs. Its just a simple love story and partly defining relationships. Abbas tries to put in a lot of things into his film and that over-crowds the film. Had he been more specific with what he wanted to do, the movie probably might have been brilliant.

But credit should not be taken away from the film for what it is. Some sequences are just brilliant, like the one where Jai goes to have dinner with his girlfriend's parents or when he looks at Aditi when someone calls someone else beautiful. AR Rahman's music is marvelous as usual. How can the great man come up with better music every film and take the notch up a little higher so that others can never reach it. Kabhi Kabhi Aditi, Nazrein Milana and Pappu can't dance add to the flavour of the movie and make the simple characters even more lovable.

The cast looks far too amateurish for their 20-something roles. Everyone looks like a kid and it rather looks unappealing when they romance. Imran Khan fits into the bill perfectly. He's a good actor and is really camera friendly and you attach to him from the first scene. He can look forward to emulate his uncle. Genelia is a scene-stealer. She's sweet, awesome and gorgeous as Aditi. And she puts up a great performance as well. If for no other reason, you have to watch the film for her. Other notable characters include Paresh Rawal and Naseeruddin Shah who provide the required humour.

Tyrewala's debut film as a director maybe a failure in some aspects but it is a simple, sweet, warm film with characters with whom you can connect to. Once you come out of the film, you'll feel good about something and you wouldn't know what that is. And that is why Jaane Tu is a winner. Its such a feel good film that you want to re-live the experience again. But watch it with no inhibitions and no expectations, and you'll love it, trust me.

Hitch

Are you not confident when you speak to women? Do you feel very nervous when you meet the girl you like? You feel your opposite sex cannot understand you? Do you need Professional help? Then, this man is the solution to all your problems-meet Alex Hitchens(a.k.a Hitch), the one-of-the-type "Date Doctor".

Will Smith plays the role of a professional who teaches his male clients the art of wooing women. He works with this simple philosophy to create hope in his clients-Basic Principles-Any man has a chance to sweep any woman off her feet;he just needs the right broom.

And this is where,he declares,he comes in. He helps his clients attract their secret loves and he promises that he can set them up in 3 dates-three dates is all he needs. And he always succeeds with that promise. He tastes success with each of his clients until he meets Albert Brennaman(portrayed beautifully by Kevin James) who virtually is disaster personified.

The movie basically revolves around how Hitch tries to teach Albert on impressing Allegra Cole(Amber Valletta) and his set of misadventures.Meanwhile, in this process, he falls in love with gossip columnist Sara Meles(Eva Mendes) who feels relationships are for those people who are waiting for something better to come along.

But when Sara finds out that Hitch is a The anonymous Date Doctor she has been trying to uncover,everything between them drowns straightaway. The film is basically about how Hitch wins his love as well as how Albert eventually ends up with Allegra.

In his most maverick role up-to-date, Will Smith fits into the shoes of Hitch perfectly. So do the two female protagonists but it is Kevin James who is the real winner. You cannot stop feeling for him as well as laugh your heads-off becaue the way he is. Although the film loses its plot in the last half-an-hour or so, you will appreciate the writer for the story and the beautiful dialogues written. Because in this feel-good movie, dialgues are of the pivotal role and I'm sure you will remember them long after you have seen the film.

It is not a melodramatic or a heart-wrenching movie but you will remember it because its really close to our hearts. The casting is spot-on and Smith's idea to cast Kevin James hits the bull's eye because no one else coud have done the role better. Be it the dance sequence where Hitch teaches him or when he shouts at his boss, James lives the role. The two ladies of the film have nothing much to do but they create the perfect ambience for the story to move on.

I suggest you watch this film as early as you can especially when you are a teenager because you'll understand that there's nothing such as professional help in the art of wooing women. And you will actually believe it when Will Smith says in the end,
Basic Principles- There are none.

Saawariya

Saawariya is a beautiful tale told in an unconventional manner. It is a simple love story set in the midst of a neverland in time undefined. The director tries to answer the philosophy "Is a moment of love sufficient to keep a person content for the rest of his life?".
The best part of Saawariya is its cinematography and 5 stars to Ravi K.Chandran for that visual treat. The cinematographer puts the director's vision on the celluloid in an awesome manner.The two protagonists give a fresh look to the film and make a mark on their debut. Sonam Kapoor,as Sakina, is elegant as the woman torn between the past and the present but Ranbir Kapoor,as Ranvir Raj, is the clear winner between the two. He plays his character, of a happy-go-lucky young man, beautifully and his puppy-dog eyes convey the inner depth in his character which words fail to. He surely has a long way to go. The art direction is good and the sets transfer you from your seats to the centre of the drama.

But the film fails because of its extremely lousy screenplay. Though the film is barely 140 minutes long, it feels like an eternity when you finally walk out of the theatre. And when you get out of it eventually, there is that sense of incompleteness attached to the film which leaves you unsatisfied. The director tries to create a masterpiece but he meanwhile forgets the basics of film-making. The film, spare a few scenes, is not intriguing and rather than getting the viewer into the story, just skims past. Its got a very inhuman touch to it and fails to touch your heart most of the time.

The music is very fresh and fits into the movie perfectly,all credit to Monty Sharma for those lovely 11 tracks. They are inbibed into the film and prove that music touches the heart more than anything else.But the star of the film is, surprisingly, Rani Mukherjee who lives in the role of a woman forced into prostitution. Rani carries the role with her deft touch, firm but soft, and her extremely expressive eyes show the hidden layers beneath her smiling,attractive face she has for the world. Salman Khan has a very tiny role and he plays it well and Zohra Sehgal as lillipop is splendid.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali tries to rope-walk with this venture but fails. He, in search of stars, forgets the basics of film-making, that is, the flow of the tale. Bhansali could not pull of a winner but his failure is more graceful than the success of many other directors.