BOMBAY TALKIES - A MIXED FARE

Four successful directors join hands to create a movie as a salute to the centenary year of Indian cinema – a novel idea! Each presents a short story on an aspect of cinema – reminding us of those Doordarshan days when we relished ‘Ek kahani’ and its ilk! There’s no question of not liking the movie in toto – there may be mixed reactions to one or the other story!

Karan Johar’s theme – as usual is bold and ‘hatke’ – in fact he’s getting bolder and bolder! Though LGBT is not taboo in India any more, parents watching with kids definitely squirm even as the scenes get bolder and reach a crescendo! Rani-Saqib is a delightful ‘pair’! Rani is a natural and so it’s no big surprise. The young Saqib Salim more than matches strides with her with ease and confidence. Randeep Hooda completes the triangle with elan. The old melodies used aptly in the background add to the effect. The volley of punch lines is lapped up by the public. A very well-made story without Karan’s trade-mark frills and fancies – if you don’t mind the adult theme, especially in a movie with all other stories with kids / for kids! The tribute is to all the innovative creators – story / script writers, dialogue writers and directors who have left their indelible stamp on Indian cinema.

The next story directed by Dibaker Banerji is an adaptation of Satyajit Ray’s short story. Nawazuddin Siddhique who plays the failed actor accidentally landing up with a ‘face-in-the crowd’ role, is a delight to watch as he grabs at the opportunities to display minute emotions with subtle facial twitches. Authentic shots of chawl and street scenes of Mumbai are a feast to the eyes. The best of the lot is the ‘reading-the-newspaper-over-the shoulder-in-local-train’ scene – even if we have a feeling of having seen it earlier! The highlight is the hazaar ways of uttering the monosyllabic dialogue ‘ay’! The imaginary dialogue- baazi between Nawazuddin and his theatre guru Sadashiv Amrapurkar conveys the acknowledgement of the impact of theatre on our cinema.

Zoya Akhtar handles the next story – very typical of kids obsessed with filmy dance / music. This is the age of reality shows and ambitious parents and super-talented kids. But this father (Ranveer Sheorey) would rather enroll his son (Naman Jain) for football coaching but the boy has a flair for dancing (read item numbers). At the climax scene at the  “ghar ko multiplex banaake rakha hai”, the multiplex audience (we) as well as those in the movie – begin watching the gyrations of the ‘boy’ with wide-open mouth and raised eyebrows but end up easing those creases and smiling and clapping for his superb performance! “Follow your heart and dreams” is the theme – yes, many have come with dreams and made it big in Indian cinema. But couldn't there have been a better icon than Kat?

How can this euology to Indian cinema be complete without the legendary Amitabh Bachchan? Anurag Kashyap’s is the simple rustic tale of the crazy Bachchan fan (Sudhir Pandey) who sends his son (Vineet Kumar) to meet his idol with the home-made ‘amla murabba’, just as his father had sent him years ago on a similar mission to Dilip saab! Mission indeed – as it turns out to be! And the twist in the tale reminds us of Premchand’s short stories! This segment is a salute to millions of frenzied fans like the protagonist and to the legends of cinema.

Unique joint venture, hand-picked actors, natural acting, crisp dialogues, simple themes projecting the influence of the Indian film industry on the common man. The first half is crisp, the second half totters. No big surprise that the film ends with a celebration  - with a glorious star line-up - paisa vasool!

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

CAPTIVATING KAHAANI

‘Kahaani’ lives up to our expectations. A suspense thriller, it is almost on par with the best Hollywood flicks of this genre. And Vidya scores again!

The film begins with a very much pregnant Vidya Bagchi landing at Kolkata International airport – she instantly wins us over – even as she single-handedly tackles the sea of taxiwalas almost pouncing on her to bag the prospective passenger. From then on we follow her in admiration as she undauntedly goes straight to the police station, then to the hotel, and soon to various offices – in her mission to find out her missing husband. Her heavily pregnant state and ‘no-nonsense’ demeanor and grit and guts completely win us over - along with the unbelievably chivalrous and soft-hearted police at the chowky – the charmed Rana is indeed Arjuna’s (Vidya’s) charioteer Satyuki – dropping her off, accompanying her and assisting and guiding her in her mission.

The characters are etched carefully and minutely – Vidya’s little mannerisms don’t escape our notice – her penchant for cleanliness even in the ‘less-than-mediocre’ hotel room, her playful amiability with the kids, her sense of humour with Rana, and her ‘one-track-mind’ which almost makes her forget her advanced stage of pregnancy as she restlessly flits in and out of overcrowded by-lanes and narrow buildings in the various scenes. The ladies in the auditorium can’t help gasping in concern – as the stream of pedestrians could bump into her and knock her down in their hurry! Way to go Vidya – thanks for packing more punch to women-empowerment! Undoubtedly Vidya Balan has already notched a place in next year’s awards nominations with her down-to-earth yet powerful portrayal. All the other characters are props but they leave an indelible stamp of their own – be it the soft-natured Rana, the tough-nut Khan, the gentle Agnes, the sleepy gunner Bob, or even ‘running hot water’ Bishnu.

This movie is an ode to Kolkata. Kudos to the cinematographer who has beautifully captured Kolkata in all its varied shades! We fall in love with the city (despite some of its dilapidated offices and ancient filthy tenements) – not only for its culture and metro and landmarks and a few modern buildings but also for the thronging crowds spilling out on the streets, and the yellow Ambassador taxis and hand-pulled rickshaws (we thought they had become extinct!). The early morning scenes bring a smile on our lips - and the only song in this movie is in Big B’s impressive baritone – haven’t we heard this one before? The dazzling Durga Puja scenes – with close-up shots of the Goddess in all her grandeur and glory are scene-stealers. The icing on the cake is the racy climax picturised amidst the Puja procession.

An edge-of-the-seat thriller from start to finish, the absorbing story and taut screenplay keep the audience guessing through and through. There is not a dull moment as we follow the protagonist who wastes no time as she tries to connect the dots to solve the mystery. The well-guarded suspense is maintained till the very last frame. Kudos to director Sujoy Ghosh and leading lady Vidya Balan for the crunchy treat! Certainly more than worth a ‘dekho’ – for the ‘kahaani’, suspense, thrills, Vidya and the visuals - not necessarily in that order!

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

The Dirty Picture - again

‘The Dirty Picture’ is not (so) dirty despite its title! 

Thank Director Milan Luthria and leading lady Vidya Balan for that! Director Milan Luthria exudes class in piecing up catchy, racy, sensuous and mind-blowing scenes – so the movie doesn’t end up being crass. The story is nothing new but the treatment is! Vidya manages to ooze sexuality and oomph without being vulgar! Her confident, convincing, unapologetic and ‘bindaas’ portrayal of the sensuous and sexy Silk and the dhamakedar dialogue delivery contribute to her stellar performance – she’ll top the charts on all awards lists! She begins with her naughty ‘ah, hm, ah ..’ background score to the couple behind the curtain, then progresses to sexy gyrations in her first film shot and bolder moves on and off screen to climb the ladder of success! 

The dialogues are superlative – sharpen your ears or else you will miss the tangy, raunchy ‘pataaka’ of repartees. When her first director gives her the name ‘Silk’, she acknowledges her ‘creator’ by christening him ‘Keeda’Das. Silk claims with élan that she is used as a boarding pass for a movie’s ‘take-off! She has no qualms calling herself a ‘marinated murgi’. Doesn’t she tug at our hearts when she says “touch toh bahuto ne kiya par chua kisi ne nahi”? There is so much horse power in her lines!

Though the story line is thin, the scenes are so well conceived that they explode in quick succession like serial bomb blasts knocking off the audience! The steamy filmy ‘Silk’ scenes and (s)explosive dialogues – to the accompaniment of ‘adradra naakkumukke’ elicit ‘seetis’ and ‘taalis’. May be a few ‘gaalis’ from some prudes – may be? Cinematography is sensuous (the camera makes love to the sexy Vidya with aplomb – especially in the faked orgasm scene) and visually breathtaking (Vidya-Emraan song). The hilarious ‘ooh la la’ which is a take-off on ‘Himmatwala’ / ‘Tohfa’ dances is racing to the top of the charts. As film buffs are indulging in speculations about the real-life persons superbly portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshaar Kapoor, the producers and director of this movie are deservedly enjoying its success at the box office. 

Full marks for this clean dirty picture which is definitely a crowd-puller!

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

THE DIRTY PICTURE

‘The Dirty Picture’ has the three ingredients defined by the protagonist for a film’s success – entertainment³. Three cheers! 

The first thumbs-up is for Vidya Balan who wows the audience with her uninhibited, stellar performance and is all set for a clean sweep at all the awards this year. She exudes confidence along with unapologetic, stylishly-classy-sexuality as she convincingly portrays the various shades of the bold and brazen country belle with no claims to sophistication. And if we still love the character, it’s because of Vidya’s adaas, and firecracker dialogue delivery! Starting as an ‘extra’, she manages to gain a foothold as a steamy vamp after she ‘tunes’ the aging (?) super hero Surya (Naseeruddin Shah). She even throws the gauntlet at him as she sees the crowds thronging the theatres only for her sleazy dances and realizes that she’s stolen the thunder from the superstar. She becomes unstoppable and ambitious. Before he dumps her, she latches herself on to his younger brother Ramakant (Tusshar Kapoor), takes ‘panga’ with film critic and columnist Nyla (Anju Mahendru) and finds ecstasy in bagging a double whammy as she spoils Nyla’s party just as Surya lands up - with her outrageous ‘come-hither’ gyrations to the thronging crowd on the street. Her saucy speech at the awards function smacks of arrogance and comes as a tight slap on the faces of the self-righteous audience attending the function. Thereafter it is downhill for Silk – but she refuses to be cowed down. Ironically it is Abraham (Emraan Hashmi) - who had cold shouldered her all along - who offers his shoulder for support when she is deserted by the coterie! The firebrand Silk who has been riding the crest refuses to change with the times – she prides on the fact, “main Silk hu, koi film nahin ki interval ke baad badal jaaoon”. The inevitable happens.

The second applause is for the witty, taut, raunchy dialogues – don’t miss the spicy and saucy volley of repartees! Surya calls her ‘raaton ki raaz ho jo din mein koi nahi kholta’. She mischievously teases Ramakant when he wants her to be prim-n-proper in front of ‘appa’ – “Appa ki umra kya hogi? Vaise mein tumhare family ke mardon ke saath ‘hit’ hoon”. When Abraham tells her she’ll burn in hell, she outwits him by saying, “tu use bonfire samjh ke haath sek lena”. We agree with Tusshaar when he tells her, “Battery nahin, transformer ho”!

The third kudos is for Director Milan Luthria for projecting sexy Vidya Balan with élan and not showcasing her as a mere voluptuous sex bomb. The director makes up for the thin story line by piling up mind-boggling scenes like building blocks to project the visual treat! The screenplay is simply superb! In this heroine-centred film it is Vidya all the way; Tusshaar, Emraan, even Naseeruddin Shah are all props – of course effective in their roles. Cinematography deserves special mention – the Vidya – Emraan song tends to retard the film’s pace but the breath-taking visuals more than compensate. ‘Ooh la la’ song is a riot – a parody of producer Ekta Kapoor’s Dad’s (Jeetendra) dance songs – complete with colour powders and pots and buxom belles! The makers of this movie have struck gold – very deservedly!

Are some seniors shying away from the movie? No need - in spite of its title, it is far from dirty!

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

HIP, HIP, HOORAY!

(Published in Filmfare Feb17, 2010, "PASAND APNI APNI"- page138, 140.) Review of Hindi movie "3 IDIOTS"

HIP, HIP, HOORAY

As the movie opens, I settle myself to observe the book unfold on screen – as Rancho ( Aamir), Farhan Qureshi (Madhavan) and Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) form the adorable threesome after the ragging scene. But pretty soon I sit up exclaiming, “Ainh! This is different! . Thank god for that! All deviations from the original are interesting and hilarious and help to lift the movie much above the book. Yes, the film is just ‘loosely based’ on Chetan Bhagat’s book as mentioned at the end credits. That’s why he wasn’t acknowledged at the titles perhaps.

The movie is a laugh riot from the start. Ranchandas Shyamaldas Chanchad to Fungshuk Wangudu to ViruS….buddhe…to witty repartees to shenanigans! Each character has been well-etched. ‘Muchhad’ Virus (Boman) with his sleazy lisp, sloppy gait, high-on-the-waist-pants, and ghosla hair is a cute caricature. His penchant for multitasking is brought forth in a couple of hilarious shots – the funniest being the 7 ½ minute music-power-nap-shave session. His unbending sternness leads to 2 ½ suicides! And he plays the Tom-and-Jerry game with our winsome trio

The campus scenes and Rancho’s scientific and cunning pranks regale us. But what sends the audience rolling down the aisle is Chatur’s speech - sabotaged by you-know-who – by replacing just two words. Kudos to the dialogue writers Hirani and Joshi for the crisp dialogues which invoke spontaneous ripples of laughter. Omi (Chatur) lives his character. So too Sharman. Funny boys Aamir and Madhavan have a bubbly effervescence throughout. Did someone say Aamir looks old? His mannerisms more than compensate for his age. And oh yes, the leading lady Kareena is as spirited as the boys. Stern Dean Boman has added another feather to his already multi-feathered cap.

Sizzling cinematography – specially the Kulu-Manali & Ladakh scenes. Hummable music. The first half is taut and racy, can’t say the same about the second. Last time Hirani advocated Gandhigiri; this time the mantra is “All is well”. And it is.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.