Ghajini

Dec31

Expectations are always high when you know Aamir Khan is in a movie, so my suggestion would be to go into the cinema not expecting anything. By the end of the movie you are wondering what was worse - the direction or the dialogues and then you wonder how Mr. Perfectionist could have ever let either of them pass.  Though it is a scene-to-scene imitation of the Tamil version, it was thankfully not a direct copy off of the English movie Momento - but the idea of short term memory loss was picked up. Some scenes were well shot, while other parts kept you on the edge of your seat. The songs, as good as they may have been, were completely misplaced and ill timed (and sorry but Aamir is 43… the  Beheka song looks just didn’t gel with your character or your age!) Acting wise - Aamir was ok as usual- Jia Khan was a disaster and Asin- who starts of with a good job -  overdoes the bubliness of the character bringing it to the point of being annoying.  All in all the movie is worth maybe a one time watch if you step into the cinema ready for three hours of long drawn out and unnecessary flashback scenes, coupled with bad dialogues delivered equally badly by all the actors. Poor direction actually causes people to laugh at times when you should feel sympathetic towards the character. So sorry Aamir- you failed to impress!

Slumdog Millionaire

Dec31

So is this yet another movie to show the sad and deplorable conditions of India- the run down slums, the corrupt ethics, the god forsaken state of the poor, the discrimination towards people of what Indians would call the “lower class”- or is this a movie about fighting for the one you love, never giving up hope no matter how down you are on your luck? As an Indian, the bias is bound to creep in and you wonder if you really want to be shown the sad state of affairs that you are already aware of. But putting that aside the first half of the movie is nothing short of brilliant covering all kinds of issues from religious turmoil, to the conditions of children in slums, to kids forced into becoming beggars. The second half of the movie, however, gives way to Bollywood melodrama and almost feels a little redundant, but that doesn’t mean that Dev Patel and Freida Pinto fail to deliver- they even outshone Anil Kapoor. Both Irfan Khan and Anil Kapoor are at their usual best, but as an audience, it sometimes becomes a little difficult to listen to Dev Patel’s (the boy from the slum’s) perfectly spoken English versus Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan’s (the educated bunch’s) very ‘Indian’ English accent.
What could have been a different ending, seems to have given way to poetic justice. The director (Danny Boyle) seems to have given up the charm of realism for a “happier” ending. So barring the stretched out second half- Slumdog Millionaire is definitely worth the watch for its great actors, its gripping first half, its sense of realism and its ability to captivate audiences irrespective of where they are from- truly a movie for world cinema- and its entry into the Oscars and it’s Audience Award win are proof of that.

A Wednesday

Dec30

A movie which is not to be missed by anyone! An absolutely brilliant movie which keeps you gripped from beginning to end. Only a visionary director can create such magic on screen and this movie gives us reason to be proud of Bollywood.  Why movies like this do not get recognised for Oscar nominations are beyond comprehension.
Naseer-ud-din Shah and Anupam Kher prove their acting calibre yet again and the supporting cast does no less of a fantastic job. This movie wakes you up- makes you think – makes you wonder. It makes you challenge your own traditional beliefs- what is right what is wrong?- who decides that for us? All these questions are not answered in this movie but they are aggressively asked throughout this movie. Ethics, values, human rights- everything gets challenged in this movie and is completely open ended for each viewer making it a true treat.
Watch out for the climax and Naseer-ud-din’s “speech” at the end- not only is it a well crafted set of dialogues, but it is so well delivered- that it stays with you for a long time.

Fashion

Nov17

Fashion
This time Madhur Bhandarkar takes us through the fashion world- another hard hitting reality based movie- but how well does Madhur really manage to display his idea. The answer is- not very well. Though the story is interesting but the weak point is the direction, which has always been the case with Madhur’s movies. His lack of ability to carry a movie from beginning to end is reflected in Priyanka Chopra’s unappealing and non-conveying acting skills. Though the promos promised a bolder and fiercer Priyanka Chopra in Meghna’s skin- what the audience got was a weak character development. Priyanka was unable to display aggressively the internal torment that she was going through as the story moves along. The transformation of her character from one point to another due to circumstances was not well portrayed and almost seems abrupt and sudden at some points.
Kangan Ranaut, was a pleasant surprise. It’s for the first time that I felt her as a good capable actress. She truly stood out in the entire film and overshadowed Priyanka in every scene she was paired opposite her. But the best surprise, however, for me was Kitu Gedwani. She was as elegant and sophisticated as ever. All in all, the movie is worth a watch as are any Madhur Bhandarkar films- but don’t expect to come out of the hall with a sense of catharsis – Madhur never really gives time to the audience to soak in all the events in the plot.

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