salaam balak trust

I just happenned to visit Salaam Balak trust for the casting of a film we were shooting. I was amazed at the amount of love and happiness they doled out to everybody who walked in to meet them.

The only thing they were excited about was to get their pictures clicked.. So here they are.

CHAK DE INDIA

Chak de India, directed by Shimit Amin is a very well packaged film keeping in mind the taste of the Indian audience.

Its like serving Indian chinese to them which gets lapped by people of all ages and genres in India.

And the taste works..

Chakde is certainly not the best sports film one would have seen, compared to the internationa standards of sports films. Its an average film, but, a very well acclaimed effort which needs to be applauded. Its an effort out of the realm of the regular masala films which our industry has been serving for long. And it cannot and should not go unnoticed and unappreciated.

The POV of the film keeps changing from characters to characters. The film begins with Kabir Khan the captain of the Indian men's hockey team . Having lost the match against Pakistan he is declared a traitor, only to come back 7 years later, to enroll himself as the coach of the sinking women's hockey team. The screenplay doesn't explain what he had been doing all this while [for 7 years]- except when Kabir says- preparing for this meeting!! Well, need less to add he wants to win back the honour of the people which he had lost for no fault of his.

As the story progresses the POV of the story changes to individual characters some interesting- like Jat girl Kamal chutala, the captian Preeti Sabharwal, Vidya Sharma and Bindiya Naik. The screenplay is sprinkled with their individual cataclysms to broader conflicts of them as a team. And Kabir Khan has to overcome those conflicts, for them, as a coach and that too a shunned one.

The writer has done a commendable job to insinuate an effort to come out with a story that needed to be told. I just wished that it didn't get dreary, predictable and at times cliche.

Also, the film on the whole varies from being dramatic to melodramatic hammering the background music when they wanted to make a point. I wonder does our audience still needs to be shouted and screamed at? Its got ham scenes where Kabir Khan is leaving his house after being thrown from the hockey team ,where the mother is weeping leaving her purkhon ka house and as one woman in the crowd rushes to give them a dabba of rotees, her husband says do you also want to be thrown out? very filmi and melodramatic, but am sure the makers had a reason to add that.

And their reason works.. their cliches work...

And not to forget the film is a hit...

So go for it.. Watch Chakde and make your own judgements!!!

GOING TO SIDDHIVINAYAK TEMPLE

I believe in God. I believe in his energy, the source that helps us get through life.

Recently, I started visiting Siddhivinayak temple. Again. [More precisely after the wall was constructed around it] I thought I had a calling.

I went to the temple on a Friday, albeit the ubiquitous Tuesdays. I was hoping I would get lesser crowd and more time and perhaps special attention from God.

I reached at the time of the Aarti so I like lots of other devotes stood outside seeing the aarti on a plasma TV. I saw the usual indifferent look on Ganesha and wondered, what is the difference between Ganesha you see from your eye lens and the one you see through the camera lens. What is the difference between this Ganesha and the one lying in my house mandir. What’s the difference between this Ganesha and the one in my friend’s cars or in my office?

Aren’t all of them the same?

As I kept my shoes in the one rupee area, I saw the 50 rupees gate shut. Now, fifty rupees gate is the special gate through which anxious people, like me, get to go in quicker.

“Fifty rupees gate shut madame, “ the shoe keeper gleefully said. “Today is less crowd no”

Less crowd! My eyes scanned the long, never-ending line of people in front of me.

“See- See” he pointed at the half filled shoe racks.

I nodded, a bit amused by his calculation. I imagined how would the shoe rack be looking on Tuesdays. Perhaps competing with the mount Everest. I wandered towards the ubiquitous sweet shops aligned in tandem with each other.

A Prasad shop guy came tottering towards me. ‘madame welkom, please come,” Screaming at someone inside his shop he said, “ ah show madame, 120 rupees and 150 rupees baskets,”


“No thank you, “ I quickly said. “ fifty rupees please,”

“Oh make fifty rupees basket for madame,” he added in his usual fancy style of a marketing guru.

They are such excellent sellers, that I wondered what would really happen if they get a MBA degree. I guess survival teaches all of us to become master sellers!! After all it is all about selling at the end of the day. Selling and making money. And then it doesn’t matter what you are selling. It could even be God.

Smilingly, he added “I can get you an entry from the VIP gate. Madam only 100, ruphees.

“1OO!! Why, take 50,”

“No madame, If I take 50, then I will not have anything left, for myself,”

No I wasn’t ready to let people take undue advantage of me, or of God, so I walked ahead.

Another boy came stuttering towards me, “Rs.250 madam only, through the VVIP gate”

Oh, so the rate had increased as I neared the line. I checked my outfit… was I wearing something fancy that they thought I could give them so much money for an entry.

The doors of the mandir were finally opened as the aarti was stopped. I was in the end of the line. Finally the line started moving and to my surprise in 5 minutes I was inside the Mandir. Wow I thought, perhaps I don’t need to get in through the 50 rupees gate any more.

As the swarms of people headed towards the main mandir area where Ganesha was actually sitting, the noises increased. The girls in the next line were randomly chatting about their boy friends, The couple behind me was trying to pacify their agitated daughter. The man in front of me was eyeing the woman in front of him. The girl in front of her was bitching about her new boss. The mandir pujaris were screaming at the top of their voices- chalo chalo, move fast!

And then I started wondering, why did I ever come to the temple. Why does any one come to the temple? Why did these people come to the temple, when they had to get their mundane lives along with them? Where they had to be what they are everywhere?

Why did I come to the temple? What was I doing here? Would God even notice me amongst this huge spectacle of people? I delved into my mind to think of one reason I had come here… And the only reason I could find was that temple was meant to be a place where we could find peace and tranquility. Where you can spend some quality time, alone, with the only energy you believe in and have surrendered to. Where you can shed off all the negativity which has accumulated over the time in your mind and soul, negativity given by the same people who also go to the temple, perhaps the same time and day as you.


“How do you live here?” I looked at Ganesha and wondered.

So much noise, so little peace, so much commercialization.

The entire purpose of going to the temple was defeated. Why do you go the temple? Why did I go to the temple? I am still wondering.

Will I go there again?

I don’t know.

Perhaps wait for another calling!!

HEYY BABBY

I happenned to catch this 'mega' movie on one of lazy sundays in Mumbai. The first thing which struck me was the lavishly shot title track of the film as the norm has started. The producers and distributors have started believing that the lavish shooting of the title track and its use in the promotion of the film, guaratees the film to be hit.

The film began, and it rebegan, The contents of the scene were the same for the next half hour. Three bachelors who have been screwing and living a lavish lifestyle. Yawn..... can we know what is the story please. Yeah and then one fine day a baby arrives at their doorsteps and lo the baby changes their lives, until the real mother of the baby comes and wants to take her back, but by the time they get so hooked to the baby that they can't let her go. wow!! very original. But the fact remains that I have stopped questioning the originality of the contents, as nothing can be original. But something can be original and that is the situations, the characters. ..

But guess this is not how they wanted to go about it.

A trash of a film is declared a hit.

At this rate it seems that we are not going to be heading anywhere in the department of filmmaking, especially regarding the films going international. And worse never make an original film.

This brings me to question the future of Indian films? Is the audience not ready or are we not ready to take chances of making a good film? Do we have it in us to make a good film or not?
Something which is storytelling in pure sense.

Is the lack of real story tellers because there is no one to spot them and bring them to limelight. Or because we donot have the film schools equipped enough to create/ discover great filmmakers or rather can we have film schools in India to create audiences who would be ready to watch films beyond the regular norm of filmmaking.

DHARM

DHARM

Set on the backdrop of communal violence and religious fanaticism, ‘Dharm’ directed by the debutante women director Bhavna Talwar is in one word- ‘sudorific’. It’s a film which hits you and keeps hitting you for days. It’s a film which will go down in the collection of your film as one of the most cherished movies ever made in the history of Indian filmmaking.

The film is a biography of a fictitious man, Pundit Chaturvedi, the epitome of hollow believes of any religion, in this case Hinduism. His family consisting of his wife and his girl follow the religion in tandem with the pundit.

One day as fate would have its way, pundit’s daughter brings a child home, saying that his mother would come and take him back, Days pass the mother of the child doesn’t come. On Pundit’s wife [Supriya Pathak] persistence he agrees to let the child, stay with them. Three years pass the boy grows and is called Kartikey. Pundit develops a special bonding with the boy. Karthikey is being brought up within the swathes of hindu religion- praying in the morning with his father, following all the rituals, sitting with other students in the study hours,

But one day the mother of the child comes to take him back. The twist being that the mother belongs to the religion whose fanatics don’t have tolerance for Hinduism and vice versa.

Pundit Chaturvedi is shocked, His religion, his beliefs have been threatened, challenged, masqueraded, buffeted. He gets into heavy penance…for days, cleansing his house and his own self.

But despite all the rituals he is unable to cleanse his mind and thoughts from the love his has for the child . While doing rituals, he keeps hearing his voice… sweetly calling him father!!

And on the judgement day another communal violence had buffeted the small town.
Kartikey’s mother requests the pundit’s family to accept the child back or he would be killed by the hindu mob. Unable to curb his love for the child, pundit goes to look for him in a muslim ghetto and finally saves his life and gets him back to his own house.

The film beautifully conveys this very important message in the simplest and yet provocative and powerful way. Shot on hi definition format, the camera beautifully captures the ghats of Varanasi making it picturesque and extremely appealing

Dharm is a must watch for all the politicians and religious dogmatists and ideologists.

It’s Cinema Verite at its best!

THE HUE AND CRY ABOUT "DEVDAS"

Devdas ! Devdas! Devdas! There is so much hue and cry about Anurag Kashyap's Dev.D, based on Sarat Chandra's Debdas. Am a avid participant of Passion for cinema forum and every one has their own view about how the new, out of the box Devdas should be made, and some of them are really hillarious. Imagine Devdas doing comedy!

Now there has already been around 9-10 remakes of Devdas since the time it was written in 1917:

Devdas (1928 film), directed by Naresh Mitra, Phani Burma as Devdas, Tarakbala as Parvati or Paro and Niharbala/Miss Parul as Chandramukhi.
Devdas (1935 film), directed by P.C. Barua, starring himself as Devdas, Jamuna as Parvati or Paro and Chandrabati Devi as Chandramukhi.
Devdas (1936 film), directed by P.C. Barua, starring K.L. Saigal as Devdas, Jamuna as Parvati or Paro and Rajkumari as Chandramukhi.
Devdas (1953 Telugu film) (also known as "Devadasu"), directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah, starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Devdas and Savitri as Parvati.
Devdas (1955 film), directed by Bimal Roy, starring Dilip Kumar as Devdas,Suchitra Sen as Paro, and Vyjayantimala as Chandramukhi.
Devdas (1979 film) (also known as "Debdas"), directed by Dilip Roy, Soumitra Chatterjee as Devdas, Sumitra Mukherjee as Parvati or Paro and Supriya Choudhury as Chandramukhi.
Devdas (2002 Bengali film), directed by Shakti Samanta, starring Prasenjit Chatterjee as Devdas, Arpita Pal as Parvati or Paro and Indrani Halder as Chandramukhi.
Devdas (2002 film), Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Shahrukh Khan as Devdas, Aishwarya Rai as Parvati or Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi.
Untited Devdas Japanese remakeDaimaru(Devdas) Himiko(Parvati) And Koyubi (Chandramukhi)
Devdas (1937 film), Assamese movie Directed by P.C. Baruah with Mohini as Chandramukhi,Chatterjhee as Devdas and Zubeida as Parvati.

So imagine what a hit the character Devdas was despite being submissive, despondent and at times effeminate. People thronged to watch him drown himself in whiskies, and in prostitutes for the only woman he ever loved. For the woman who he had to let go because of his own meekness, because he couldn't fight himself and his own father.

There is a Devdas in all of us! We are trying to over come our own inner demons and weaknesses through various means sometims by turning towards God, by becoming spiritual and sometime by drowning in alcohol and drugs.. So at the end of the day we all are weak, or we would n't need anything to hold on to.

But what about LOVE! Love during 30's, 50's, 70's was impregnable. That's one of the primary reasons that Devdas was such a sure shot success- Love during those times was defined!

Now in 2007, the very definition of love has changed. Its become short and insecure and power oriented, ambition oriented. Its stymied and aggreived and aggravated. There is no patience for love. There is no patience for anything. Everthing has become so shallow, radical, and self centered!

But still love is love, its above money its above ambition its above everything. But how many people in today's world will agree with me. I bet not many!

Love is still the same, its we who have changed!

So I am wondering will the new Dev D survive this "two minute maggie noodle generation"

Well, we will have to wait and watch!!

Wong Kar wai's in the mood for love , is the hongkong film released in the year 2000. The film happens to be the second of the trilogies- days of being wild [1991] and 2046 [2004].

In the mood for love is immensely poetic film, with suggestive sequences and love between two married people played by Maggie Cheung [Su] and Tony Leung Chiu wai [Chow]. Set in 1962 Hongkong, Chow plays a journalist and Su is secretary in the shipping company. The two shift in a friendly neighbourhood and become neighbours. Gradually they find out that their spouses are seeing each other. The scene where the two are having dinner and the camera pans from one plate to the other from one face to the other, when Chow asks him where did she get that bag from he would like to gift his wife. She says the bag has been gifted by my husband, She asks him about his tie, which she would like to gift her husband and he says that his wife has bought that tie from over seas. Thats when we come to know that their spouses are seeing each other. It is one of those simplistic yet brilliant scenes which stay in your mind for ever.

The slow motion shots of them crossing each other the same stairs everyday, enhanced by the slow melodious heart wrenching back ground music takes your heart away. The suggestive shots of the phone ringing, the rain, the out of focus exterior shots are quite mesmerzing.

Despite the fact that they decide that they will not do what their spouses have done to them, they fall in love with each other. They meet each other on the pretext of writing a script.

But when Chow asks her to come with him to Singapore, she refuses. After years they are still unable to forget each other. Scenes where she calls him and then doesn't speak. Scene where he goes to the moutains and splurges the secret of his love for her into a hole [a chinese belief] are extraordinaire.

The film went on to becoming the foreign film to have won a BAFTA. It won best actors at Cannes 2000. Upon its release in America in Feb 2001, it won accolades, crossing, $US200,000.

In the mood for love is a treat for the romantic souls. Its one of those forever love stories which don't get culminated and we yearn for more. But it definitely is not a commercial potboiler. It's slow and absorbing. Its not for the titanic, my best friends wedding and ghost lovers.. Some people may get very dejected with no sex scenes as the scenes at time almost takes you there.

Some facts about the film- The script of the film was never written. The director just threw two people together in the circumstances. It was completely impromtu and thats what makes it more watchable, the non choreography part of it.

I am a quote freak. I collect any quotes which makes sense to me... Here are a few of my favourites

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt"- bertrand russel

"Believe nothing, no matter where you heard it or who said it, no matter if I said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense"- buddha

"wisdom too often never comes and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late"

"The illiterate of the 21 st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn" Alvin Toffler

"It was only when I found I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something"-omett colman

"I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem"- Dilbert

"we are all faced with great opportunites brilliantly disguised as impossible situations"- charles winroll

"The price good man pay for indifferences to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men"- PLATO

"What would you attempt to do if you couldnot fail"

Hey Babby

Yesterday I heard the most funniest thing, the dregs of which are still lurking in my mind.

I couldn't help sharing the news!

HeyY BabBy, the film directed by Sajid Khan is going to be out soon. Its a copy of an English film, Baby's day out I think. [well need to confirm the copy bit] Now, Mr. Sajid Khan is going to be coming out with a documentary along with the dvd of the film.

The documentary will teach the struggling filmmakers and the newcomers HOW TO MAKE a FILM!

Unfortunately I am a huge fan of Sajid Khan, because of his ability to be impregnable, out of the box and a talent to get the whole world in the loop. I really wish instead of borrowing from a english film, he would have used his out of the box ability in his films too.. [too early to comment on that bit right now]

Well, Sajid, just for you, all the newcomers are eagerly waiting to learn filmmaking from your directorial debut- HEYY BABBY!!. I just hope its really worth!

THE TAJ MAHAL- FACT OR FICTION

CLOSE UP OF THE PINNACLE
FRONTAL VIEW OF THE TAJ

THE OM IN THE FLOWERS OF THE WALL

PAVILION WHERE MUMTAZ IS SAID TO BE BURIED

PALACE IN BARHANPUR WHERE MUMTAZ DIED

REAR VIEWOF THE TAJ AND THE 22 APARTMENTS

RED LOTUS AT THE APEX OF THE ENTRANCE




STAIRCASE THAT LEADS TO THE LOWER LEVELS

THE MUSIC ROOM- A CONTRADICTION

NOW READ THIS....... "No one has ever challenged it except Prof. P. N. Oak, who believes the whole world has been duped. In his book Taj Mahal: The True Story, Oak says theTaj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz's tomb but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya ) . In the course of his research Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace was usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. In his own court ch ronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai SIngh for Mumtaz's burial . The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur still retains in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for surrendering the Taj building. Using captured temples and mansions, as a burial place for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers. For example, Humayun,Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such mansions. Oak's inquiries began with the name of Taj Mahal. He says the term " Mahal " has never been used for a building in any Muslim countries from Afghanisthan to Algeria . "The unusual explanation that the term TajMahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal was illogical in atleast two respects. Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani," he writes. Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters 'Mum' from a woman's name to derive the remainder as the name for the building."Taj Mahal, he claims, is a corrupt version of Tejo Mahalaya, or Lord Shiva's Palace . Oak also says the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy tale cre ated by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy archaeologists Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan's time corroborates the love story. Furthermore, Oak cites several documents suggesting the Taj Mahal predates Shah Jahan's era, and was a temple dedicated to Shiva, worshipped by Rajputs of Agra city. For example, Prof. Marvin Miller of New York took a few samples from the riverside doorway of the Taj. Carbon dating tests revealed that the door was 300 years older than Shah Jahan. European traveler Johan Albert Mandelslo,who visited Agra in 1638 (only seven years after Mumtaz's death), describes the life of the city in his memoirs. But he makes no reference to the Taj Mahal being built. The writings of Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra within a year of Mumtaz's death, also suggest the Taj was a noteworthy building well before Shah Jahan's time. Prof. Oak points out a number of design and architectural inconsistencies that support the belief of the Taj Mahal being a typical Hindu templerather than a mausoleum. Many rooms in the Taj ! Mahal have remained sealed since Shah Jahan's time and are still inaccessible to the public . Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Lord Shiva and other objects commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples Fearing political backlash, Indira Gandhi's government t ried to have Prof. Oak's book withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher of the first edition dire consequences . There is only one way to discredit or validate Oak's research. The current government should open the sealed rooms of the Taj Ma hal under U.N. supervision, and let international experts investigate"

Now the basic question is that have we been duped for the last donkey years when our grand father and forefathers have been reading this as the fact. Whats the real truth... aren't we supposed to know. What if this is the truth! then do we get to the conclusion, where we have to question the entire history on which our civilization sits on? Wouldn't we want to know who was the person who actually constructed this beautiful monument?

OR it doesn't really matter?

www.whatawonderfulworld

I happenned to catch this wonderful black comedy, www dot whatawonderful world at the Osian's in Mumbai. The film has been directed by an Arab director, Faouzi Benzaidi.

Before reaching the venue I was hearing all kinds of stories about the film being bad. Until I realised that a few smart chaps were dissuading the public to enter the arena so that they get the seats!! very smart! thank God I used my mind.

By the time I reached the minitheatre I was told that there is no seat. No one was allowed to sit on the stairs as was the norm with the festival audience. Still, I manoevered my way into the theatre, pulling a few strings here and there. A few people kept screeching at the poor guard. A few of my friends who wanted to catch this film, missed it. I wonder why do the organizers screen a wanted film in mini theatres? Its not once but at all the film festivals!! I hope the next time they do a survey before deciding on the venues.

www. is a story between a gunman [kamel] and a traffic controller [kenza]. But its not just the love story but a multilayered, black comedy, which digresses from love to the society and their norms and their mindsets.

Love though plays a prominent character in pushing the story forward. Loves shown in www is very visual and captivating so much that you can SEE LOVE, without hearing it

The hit man, Kamel is the director Ben zaidi himself and I must congratulate him on his visual skills. The scene where the boy and girl meet for the first time and the girl feels the lighting and i t starts to rain and as she joins the crowd we see the rain solely falling on her. The russian and tilted camera shots of her controlling the traffic in slow motion, are transcendent. Its like time stops for a few seconds, which generally happens in a few marvellous scenes like the love making scene in GHOST. But here in what a wonderful world,despite no one making love or talking about it, the time manages to stop. Its that powerful.

The multilayers pour in together with an unexpected ending.

I believe every cinema lover shouldn't miss this beautiful piece of love.

HEIDI FLEISS- a new name in my dictionary

Prostitution is a profession since time immemorial when men with or without money got there desires fulfilled as their women cringed and coveted at homes.

I have always maintained that prostitution was never about sex, but about power. If I can buy you, I have power. The powerful one has been buying and ruling ever since, with or without the permission of the law. When ever I used to cross mumbai streets in the night, I saw women lined up on the roads, selling themselves. I went to Dubal and I saw the same situation. and then one day I happenned to see a man.. being picked not by a woman but another man...
It was like sex had become the prerogative of a man, either ways, after all its been a MAN'S WORLD, as the saying goes.....

I was always keen on delving into the minds of a woman or a man who actually sell themselves for money.. what would be the thought process. i mean how can some one just go and sell themselves.. what would be the circumstances or conditions which would force them to do that. Wouldn't it require lots of guts to actually sell one self or even murder some one or actually get into the dark side of life?

Then I used to think, why aren't men sold the same way as women? Is it that women don't indulge in power play or they don't have money to indulge in buying men for a night or are they too busy cleaning utensils and bringing up their children. Will a time come when there will be a place where women would enter, and series of men were displayed in front of her and she would choose to pick up a man! Will that be the end of the power of man and the beginning of the power of woman? will then we be entering in another world called the WOMAN'S WORLD?

On early tuesday morning my doubts were put to rest. As I was browsing through the times of India, I discovered a new name... HEIDE FLIESS.. I had never heard of her before.. until I understood that she happenned to be a high profile madame. some one who had the richest and famous clientele of arabs, actors, politicians- all men of course, on her list. She has made millions through this racket: she has also served a jail term for 21 months for running her sex racket.

I became very curious to know what would have made her get into this business as a single women.. I mean what would be her thought process.. what could be the back story that would force a woman to start a illegal business like this.. I mean don't we have some sort of a moral responsibility towards the society. Why couldn't she think of starting an ngo to help the needy people in Indian or Africa.

As I read further I came to know that she has announced the opening of a 'stud farm'- exclusively catering to the women client! And she already has 400 women ready to buy a membership. Her website had letters written in bold- EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR MEN....

In a way there was a smile on my face, a smile which showed and hinted at women power, liberation and finally coming out of the closet. A power which men would be intimidated with, a power which often is considered a taboo to talk about... I wonder how would our moral police react to if Heidi Fleiss had to open a branch of the stud farm in India!!! If they were ok with the fact of a woman picking up a man when it was openly displayed that all this while men have been picking up women.. How would they reach to this new empowerment of woman not just in rajya sabha but also in their bedrooms. Will this be the real empowerment or the real doom!!

I wondered would Heidi Fleiss be a hard core feminist.... hating men... I don't know but I would be very keen to make a documentary on her.....to know how was it like ruling the limited worlds of men!!

Oliver Stone's Platoon

Platoon made in 1986, was based on the 1962 Vietnam war. The war is shown from the point of Chris Taylor played by Charlie Sheen, the college drop out who wants to serve his country, but gradually realises that the entire war is a farce. H e is figting in the jungles, battling with the insects, the leaches n his own self. The facts of the war come to the forefront- the lack of purpose, the prevalence of the uneducated and the poor, his own platoon being fragmented into two separate halves, one with the good side, which respects life, and is brilliantly played by William Daefoe and other the evil, with no compassion no rules, just plain killing, played by Tom Berenger. The film is primarily driven by these two characters.

Some of the sequences are finely, rather exceptionally shot. The scenes where they get into the houses of the cambodians, dig them out of their holes, where the woman sees her handicapped son killed, where the child looses her mother and berenger points a gun at the child threatening to kill her of she makes another sound and William confronting Tom for his narssisim.

As charlie Sheen aptly rounds off the film at, "We weren't fighting the enemy outside but the one within us......"

Stone swept all the awards for this one at the gloden globes, the BAFTA and the Academy.

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!THATS ME......

BOLLYWOOD VS CHINEEWOOD

China has had a greater success at the Oscars. Chinese films are being adapted by Hollywood. Hollywood studios are setting up their shops in China. the chinese films overseas market including the boxoffice revenue reached $244 million in 2006. 73 chinese films were released in 44 countries last year.

Where does Bollywood stand?

1046 movies were produced in bollywood in the year 2005, which brought in a revenue of $1.5 billion, compare this with 260 movies coming out of China and getting a revenue of $600million.. worse hollywood produced 563 movies and came up with a revenue of $18 billion.

So why is it that we produce so many films and yet our revenue is not even 2% in the international market.

The primary reason being that despite the industry being really prolific, the movies we make doesn't have great stories. Infact, most of the time we make rehash of our own movies or a foreign movie. With no original content coming up. There is nothing much for the international audience to look up to. The NRI audience will grasp any thing that has been sent to them, mainly because of the nostalgia being served to them in added doses, but what about the non NRI segment. We need to make our movies, which is palatable to this segment as well. Anything which is authentic and something which they haven't seen or thought of before will make them want to see it.

Crouching tiger hidden dragon for example hit big time with the audience all across the world, because it was a typical chinese film with original content and maintaining its authenticity it was served to the audience of the world. Made in a budget of $15 million, it grossed $128 million in the united states alone. We need to serve our authentic content, maintaining our song and dance format and yet original in its stories. We don't have to change our story telling styles to suit the western audience, let it be authentic enough for them to adapt it for their taste like they have been adapting, infernal affairs, the ringo, the grudge, Rashomon, etc etc...

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

The film is a new line cinema production, which last got us LOTR trilogy. How ever with the golden compass the buzz is already there on the net. Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the film,on 7 december 2007, so am I. There are various reasons to it.

Firstly the film is based on one of the three award winning books by Philip Pullman. The story traces the life of teenager Lyra Belacqua, who is constantly with her daemon. Soon she hears in hushed tones about the dust, which his Uncle lord Ariel is going to go insearch for. The dust happens to be an extraordinary particle whichdraws her to the heart of a terrible struggle, a struggle of gobblers, stolen children,witch clans and armoured bears.Lyra hurtles towards the danger in the cold far north........

The book is considered as the extraordinary story telling at its best and going to be in theatres by december 2007. The principal caste includes, Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. watch out, for it could give competition to the Potters. Its been made on a budget of 150 $ million, when the entire buget of LOTR was 281 $ million. And the golden compass has to be a monster hit for it to come ahead of LOTR.

And new line is doing its bit to get the effect. Its got a section on its website creat your own daemon, which is quite popular.

Six months to go for its release its already the most searched film on the net... The film is being directed by the writer, producer, Chris Weitz who happens to be the son of the novelist John weitz

view the trailer

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=THE+GOLDEN+COMPASS&search=Search

YouTube - Live Free Or Die Hard Trailer

YouTube - Live Free Or Die Hard Trailer

DIE HARD

A few men on the verge of killing each other, excites me more than a few men kissing each other, though thats not the reason of dragging myself to watch another action film.

Still, thinking it to be my job, I headed to watching the first show of Die Hard 4 at PVR, Mumbai.

Now let me tell you, I haven't seen any of the earlier Die Hards, even though its considered one of the best action films. [yes people/women like me exist in this world]

I gathered as much popcorn as my hands could carry and coke I could hold on and waited like a queen to pass on my judgement. The place was packed with the filmi Junta, mainly men, which was not a bit surprising. [women are wired differently, they like to do the action than see it]

So the film begins and America is under attack by a criminal [Timothy Olyphant ] who is going to shut down all the major systems and destroy the US OF A. So whats new.. I wonder I have watched live action on all the major channels on Sept 9 2001 sigh. Bruce Willis as John Mclane is meant to stop this criminal with the help of a hacker played by Justin Long. sigh.

Another bite of the pop corn...another sigh... And then...... I am deep into the film. The over the top action, hit and run sequences keep me on the edge. The audience whisles, some clap.. ROCKING MAN I hear. I contribute to the claps a few times. The chopper and the car sequences, the car banging sequence in the tunnel and not to forget the plane and the truck chase on the bridge keep the adrenaline rush and the mouth gaping. The light humour through the one liners by Bruce Willis spread cheese on the hot sequences.

The great action makes up for the dismal plot and keeps the audience hooked.

3.5 out of 5 is what I would give the film. Its a great entertainer for your week ends.

I went back home all smiling.... logged onto youtube and tried to figure out the making of the film. Not able to find anything I went on to researching on the earlier die hard films.

The first one was released in 1988. Based on the book "nothing lasts forever" by Roderick Thorp, and was directed by John Mctiernan, [who also directed the last, action hero, the thirteenth warrior, the thomas crown affair and also Die hard with a vengeance in the year 1995.] Die hard went to become one of the finest and the best action films and made Bruce Willis what he is today.

Die hard-2 [1990] directed by Renny Harlin and Die hard [1995] followed.

Die Hard-4 is directed by a fairly young director Len Wiseman[ who also happens to be the husband of Kate Beckinsale]

Now as I go and rent the previous three die hards, I suggest you guys to watch the new offering. Its def def worth a dekko.

VOLVER

I saw this spanish film at the MAMI festival in Mumbai, just to see what was this overhyped film all about. There were lots of my friends who had seen the film before and I was kind of getting mixed response for the same. And when I finally saw the film, the first thing that came to my mind while the film entered the last act was that it has a serious twist resembling to China town. Something, which I, being in the business of writing, guessed it long time ago. Well that took away some of the excitement, but yes this dark, funny, tragic, fantasy, supernatural film has its moments which makes you laugh more than freezez you or for that matter makes you ponder over it.

Well that doesn't take the credit away from the film and from its director,Pedro Almodóvar,
for effectively creating one of the priceless relationships in the whole world, mother- daughter.

The relationship traces the two generation of people, Penelope and her mother and Penelope and her daughter. Also, Almodovor has managed to effectively create the supernatural stories which the village La mancha survives on. Penelope didnot have a great relationship with her mother.Since early childhood whe developed her own mind and became independent. Her mother and father died in a fire. Now she lived with her husband and her daughter. She struggles and fights to survive like every other person inhabiting the planet.
In a sudden twist, her husband is being killed by her own daughter. Penelope is ready to take the blame on herself.

The story then gazez towards her freezing the body in a restaurant and taking care of some catering work there. In the meantime her mothers ghost comes back[ which according to the local villagers is nothing new, ghosts keep roaming around every now and then] the ghost starts staying with Penelope's sister, running a salon in her house. With time the ghost becomes friendly to Pene's daughter too but is scared of Pene herself. Ultimately the last card is opened which says that the daughter of Rai was born out of her own father, [chinatown angle] So thats that. They are some good moments in the film..... where Penelope remembers her mother a lot without realising that she could be around...

So as a film buff, if I was to review the film I would say, 2.5 out of 5.

THE MOTOCYCLE DIARIES

DIRECTOR: WALTER SALLES
WRITER: JOSE RIVEIRA [SCREENPLAY ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK]

One of the most inspirational and touching films of 2004, the film won the oscar for the best foreign film category. Based on the life of Che Guevara, the film talks about the moment and the journey which made him the great revolutionary that he finally became.

It a travel journey of two friends, Granado and Erneto, from Argentina to peru, where they meet various kinds of people on the way, where they have no money to travel and use various methods to stay in peoples houses and eat. The film is humourous at the same time, touching.
When they finally reach their destination, they have lost everything they had including their bike they were travelling on . The film portrays the sensitivity which Erneto has and grows while this journey, he questioning the way the commuinists are treated, he going and meeting the lepers without showing any kind of malice towards them, he thinking about the way a river divides the ill from the healthy and ultimately crossing that river in the middle of the night just to be with the people on the other side of the river [ people suffering with lepracy] It a touchy and endearing character, something which will take away a part of you, or will add a part in you.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

DIRECTOR ERNST LUBITSCH

One of the finest romantic comedies of 1932, this superbly written directed and acted film, portrays the life of two theifs, [partners in crime] played by Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall. They spot a wealthy woman, kay francis, and want to rob her of her assets. The problem begins when Herbert actually starts falling for Kay and Miriam his actual girlfeind discovers it and decides to unleash the secret.

The film stands out in lot of ways:

The scene introducing Miriam and Herbert is amazingly short and written where the two are playing little prank on each other, as boy friend girl friend wntil the audience realise that they both are theifs and know every little move of each other and are one above each other.

the scene, [one long shot] of how one of the suitors of kay, edward everrt, describes how he has been cheated by one of the woman, who happens to be Miriam

the romantic scenes between kay and herbert are very well executed, long shots used so as not to break the chemistry between the two of them

THE ENTIRE FILM WAS SHOT IN THE SPAN OF 30 DAYS, which is some acheivement, considering the way romantic comedies are made now a days, with huge budgets and no real flavour. Its a master piece, and a school for all the romantic comedy makers. This one is definitely for the keeps.

TRAFFIC SIGNAL

DIRECTOR MADHUR BHANDARKAR
PRODUCER- PERCEPT PICTURE COMPANY
CAST- FISH MARKET [KUNAL KHEMU, KONKONA, RANVEER, ET ETC]

With a director of the calibre like Madhur Bhandarkar, who has given films like page three and Chandani Bar, [his stock is high, ] watching his film is an obvious choice. So , despite hearing lots of mixed and ultra mixed reviews I did go to contribute my bit, and my friends bit to the Indian film Industry and to the man who has made it the hard way. I some how thought he can't go wrong!!

The executive producer of the film is 'Madhur Bhandarkat motion pictures' And then the question what stuck me, invariably was, is it that the directors craft starts affecting the moment they pay more attention to the business side of the films. Well, it had happenned to biggies like Subhash Ghai, the one man show, but then that was a stupid thought because Yash Chopra, Vidhu vinod chopra etc have been able to give fine balance of both. Enough of the balance gyan, so coming back to my review, I would say I don't know what the story was, it was an amalgamation of 'nukkad' with documentary.

The story was neither moving at the traffic signal nor in their personal lives. We have seen enough of Mumbai life style in lot of films, so what was the story with the undeveloped and unwoven characters. Silsila, the kid who wants to become fair, the kid who wants to get through his parents, the girl from gujrat who wants to sell her garments, the character of Afzal Bhai, the character of bigger bai played by Sudhir Mishra [ I would want to see him more as a director though] etc. There was not one character, not one moment where you feel anything for any characters. When the signal is being broken obviously you don't feel anything, because there is no build up to feel about it.

Was the director trying to tell not to give alms to the beggars, or he wanted us to feel for their plight despite their strong manipulation tactics?

Please watch the film and do share, if you can, about what you felt about the film.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

DIRECTOR- MICHEL GONDRY
WRITER-CHARLIE KAUFMAN
CAST, JIM CARREY. KATE WINSLET, KIRSTEN DUNST


EXHILARATING, ENTERTAINING, BIZARRE, COMPLEX, BEAUTIFUL, OUT OF THE BOX, CHALLENGING, STRIKING,FASCINATING, PERPLEXING, BLISTERINGLY FUNNY, THOUGHT PROVOKING,BRILLIANTLY ORIGINAL, INGENIOUSLY FUNNY.

THE MOVIE CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN BETTER WORDS THAN THIS.

Joel Barrish and Clementine, are in a troubled relationship. Clementine is impulsive, brash, loud, friendly, unfriendly, sweet, sour, lovable, doesn't want to commit or be trapped. Joel Barrish is a complete opposite, quiet, thoughtful, non impulsive, subdued, faithful, lovable and adorable. A complete contrast to what Jim carrey generally plays, loud and at times irritating character. You would simple love his under play. He in one word is- out of the world- well thats three words

So the story begins from Joel Barrish looking for a relationship, he is planning to go back to his ex girl friend Naomi, "at least naomi was 'nice', nice is good," he says and as he is boarding the train for his office he meets this over friendly girl Clementine whose colour of the hair changes with her outfit colour. That bit depicts her character rather brilliantly.And they get to talk and become friends, NOT REALISING THAT THEY WHERE ONCE IN A DEEP RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER.

The reason,Clementine, goes and gets her memory erased, of their relationship, at an erasing clinic called Lacuna Inc. When Joel comes to know about this impulsive act of his girlfriend he too follows suit. But every time he sees a beautiful moment of him with his girl friend being erased, his heart aches and he doesn't want to let her go. But since he is already in the process of 'erasement' [if thats a word, oops!!] he cannot stop it. But with a brilliant imagination of the director and the writer Charlie Kauffmann its been brilliantly depicted, [looking for another word for brilliant!!]

Joel tells his girlfriend in the memory that 'they are going to take you away.' So she tells him to hide her in that part of the memory where they wouldn't be able to find her. So he hides her in his childhood and other vivid places. Its the cat and mouse chase as they are the mouse running away from the erasers.

Finally the big TWIST, when they discover the tape about they erasing the memory of each other, they are shocked- MORAL OF THE STORY YOU CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE SAME PERSON OVER AND OVER AGAIN IF ITS TRUE LOVE. Its a brilliant thought, brilliantly executed by the director Michel Gondry.Its love story re- invented guys, so go get a copy now.

And butter on toast- It won the best original screenplay at the oscars 2004.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules Verne [1828-1905]

JTCE, is one of the finest work of the science fiction writer, Jules Verne written in the year 1864.

The story told in first person by the character Axel, who happens to live with his scientist and explorer uncle, Prof Lidenbrok. Professor Lidenbrok is a slightly eccentric , impatient, passionate and determined peson when it comes to him and especially his work. So when he finds a 'mysterious cryptogram' he wants to decipher it.

Jules as the author, has excellently and hilariously sketched the character of the professor through his newphew Axel's pov.

That cryptogram when deciphered, turns out to have said about a journey to the center of the Earth undertaken by the scientist and explorer, Saknussemn. Now the prof, decides that this is the opportunity for him and nothing in this world can possibly dissuade him from undertaking this journey to the center of the earth.And he and Axel[ who is literally forced into it] embark on the most lethal journey.

The story is excellently narrated. There is not one moment of dullness or fatigue and the writer mermorably takes you through the journey [blending facts with fiction] encountering the origin of the Earth, the plants and other species, the sea the island they discover enroute.But towards the journey if there were somemore twists and turns the journey could have been more fulfilling. But nevertheless the style is really good and so is the narrative. But a story told much ahead of its times with its vivid imageries is definetly worth the appaluse.

A MUST READ FOR ALL THE BOOK LOVERS.

BLOOD DIAMOND

DIRECTED:EDWARD ZWICK

Produced by: LenAmato, Benjamin Waisbren, Kevin De La Noy

CAST:Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Arnold Vosloo, Michael Sheen


Sometimes we do get lucky in life, if not in life then def in films. Coz once in a while there comes a film like 'blood diamond' which shakes you wakes you up, because the story has managed to touch you in various ways, through the character of the father desperate to get back his son, through the character of son who is being taken away by the rebels and has forgotten his way home, through the character of Leo who is desperate to get that pink diamond which will make him super rich, and through the character of Jennifer Connely who being a reporter, who despite knowing the real intention of Leo, knowing the real Leo can't help falling in love with him.

The film hits not just on the level of characters, but also on the bigger picture. The mans quest for money and the more flamboyant things in life [like diamond], at the cost of his life and above all at the cost of other peoples lives and values.

Caprio's, performance is immpecable. His undaunting nature and the layering in his character, which initially looked simple turns out to be more complex. Playing as an ex mercenary and diamond smuggler, heis unmatched. His savory, English-flecked patois in which he converses with the thugs is delightful, and there’s a ready humor in his open enjoyment of deceit, bribery, and dirty deals.

Hounson, as a fisherman separated from his family and enslaved by rebel forces terrorizing his village is forced to work in the diamond mines of Sierra Leone, where he comes across a large pink diamond. Caprio comes to know about the diamond and he wants it at any cost. Houson is ready to give it to him, but on one condition if Caprio helps him get his family back.

Caprio agrees.

Along the way the horrors of the chaotic and brutal civil war are revealed. Soldiers recruit children to perform hideously violent acts and drug them to keep them mollified. The film posits the idea that whenever a valuable natural resource has been discovered in an African nation (such as oil, gold, ivory or diamonds) the country itself rarely profits. The standard of living of its citizens is rarely improved. Instead, strife reigns and the spoils go to corrupt, affluent businesspeople in Europe or the USA.

Jennifer Connelly, is an American journalist looking to write a story exposing the diamond smuggling industry. She tries to seduce Caprio at the same time put him off just to get her story.
But ultimately she falls in love with him.

This socio political and action film manages to send a dent in the audiences heart through it breath taking locales, through children being made a part of the violence and the drug crime, and through the brilliantly performances from all the quarters.

A MUST WATCH FOR THE DIAMOND LOVERS!!

watch the trailer

="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSrXKf_eNfY&mode=related&search="

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

Directed by: Davis Guggenheim .
Produced:Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns, Lesley Chilcott

Well we all know that the Earth is going to die someday, a million years may me two when we would probably become one of the stars in the universe. This film tells you its going to happen right now, tomorrow may be day after. This documentary about global warming shakes you from head to toe to the last atom your body is made up of, unless of course, you have a choice not to be human.

Narrated and demostrated by the once U.S Vicepresident Al Gore the film chronicles the chronicle effect of global warming our generation next is going to be facing if we do not do anything about it now. The window of now being maximum ten years. Beyond that the damages are going to be irrepairable.

The film is essentially a visual[power point] presentation on global warming, very different and challenging way of telling a story and yet making it interesting and hooking the audience till the very end. That main presentation is intercut every now and then with the life of Al Gore, the life he has lead, fought, won, lost. His thirty years dedicated involvement to the issue of global warming, and still raring to go. His reasons for getting involved with the issue [ he almost lost his son, he lost is sister due to smoking, the irony being tobacco was a family business, his close connection with the environment during his upbringing]

The film highlights the hard core facts of how we are contributing every day to global warming. population, pollution[ increased use of cars, cutting down of trees, increased food electricity any form of consumption] is destroying nature, putting pressure on it.

A simple formula will explain it better. the sun rays fall on the earth- some is absorbed other is reflected back into the atmosphere. Now due to thickened blanket of co2 already forming above us, the rays get caught in the blanket and more rays get caught and further more every day, due to which the temperatures are increasing like hot oven. And we are going to be melting soon.

The film reflects the chunks of icy mountains falling down like trees being axed. Its shuddering. If greenland or Antarctica melts, the sea level in the entire world is going to rise by 20 feet, which means regions on the Eastern side are going to go down the water by a sizeable amount. There are milion other issues demonstarated graphically by Al Gore. Its a must watch film for every single person existing itn he world. WE TALK ABOUT AIDS, ABOUT CANCER, ABOUT TERRORISM, ABOUT MILLION OTHER THINGS, BUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN THERE WOULD BE NO ONE LEFT TO TALK ABOUT!

The film also tells about the things we can do in order to get the the Earth back in a stable state. So go watch it.

Other effects of the global warming added by my data are:


.Climate change could drive a million of the world's species to extinction as soon as 2050, a scientific study says.

.The United Nations says the prospect is also a threat to the billions of people who rely on Nature for essential goods, food, shelter and medicines for their survival. 12000, species - plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, butterflies and other invertebrates - are expected to move in response to changing temperatures and climate.

. John Lanchbery, of the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, has studied the science and diplomacy of climate change for many years. He has told BBC News Online: "It would appear there is really nothing we can do to avoid at least some extinctions. We are bound to be near to the study's minimum scenarios, even if we can avoid the higher ones ." which means we can avoid the higher disasters

. "If one million species become extinct... it is not just the plant and animal kingdoms but alsoThe the beauty of the planet that will suffer.

.Greenland's ice sheet could disappear within the next 1,000 years if global warming continues at its present rate, a report in Nature magazine suggests

.Of Hawaii's 125 endemic plants (species found nowhere else) added to the Red List this year, 85 are threatened

"The Red List tells us that human activities are leading to a swathe of extinctions that could make these islands ecologically and aesthetically barren."

. Among the countries with the highest numbers of threatened birds and animals are Indonesia, India, Brazil, China and Peru. Plants are declining fast in Ecuador, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil and Sri Lanka.

. European researchers say last summer was the hottest on the continent for at least five centuries

THE APARTMENT

THIS BILLY WILDER FILM,IS A SIMPLE NARRATIVE OF A SWEET, GUY BAXTER,PLAYED BY JACK LEMMON. MOST OF THE BILLY WILDER'S FILM REFLECT THE VULNERABLE SIDE OF A CHARACTER, WHERE HE ALWAYS SACRIFICES HIS SELF TO SURVIVE. IN CASE OF SUNSET BOULEVARD THE STRUGGLING WRITER BECAME THE KEEP OF A YESTERYEARS ACTRESS, IN THE APARTMENT C.C.BAXTER LENDS HIS APARTMENT TO THE SENIOR COLLEAGUES TO BE USED FOR THEIR PLEASURE, THE FILM REFLECTS HIS SUFFERING EVERYTIME HE LENDS THE APARTMENT, HE HAS TO SPEND THE NIGHT OUT, OR GIVE UP HIS PRIVACY. BUT THEN HE FALLS IN LOVE WITH ONE OF THE GIRL'S[SHERLY MACLAINE] WITH WHOM THE BIG BOSS IS SLEEPING WITH, AND HE IS WITH HER ALL THE WAY. RELATIONSHIP GROWS AND THE GIRL REALISES THAT JOH N IS THE REAL MAN, THE TRUE GUY, SHE SHOULD GO FOR.

PLUS

AMAZING CHARACTERIZATIONS

VERY GOOD PERFORMANCE BY BAXTER

BILLY WILDER FILM


THE FILM REFLECTS THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE, THOSE WHO TAKE AND THOSE WHO GET TAKEN!!

AMERICAN PSYCHO

THIS FILM DIRECTED BY MARY HARRON,WAS RELEASED IN THE YEAR 2000.

INSHORT, THE FILM IS ABOUT A 27 YEAR OLD PATRICK BATEMAN, PLAYED BY CHRISTIAN BALE. THE FILM APLTY DEALS ABOUT THE PYCHE OF A STRANGE,ECCENTRIC,INACCESIBLE COMPETITIVE,GUY WORKING FOR MERGES AND AQUISITIONS AT P AND P, WHERE HE IS A VICE PRESIDENT. HE JUST WANTS TO 'FIT IN' AS HE SAYS TO HIS FIANCEE, PLAYED BY REESE WITHERSPOON, BECUASE OF WHICH HE HAS NO TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE.HE IS A TYPICAL PERSON WHO IS AMBITIOUS AND WANTS TO BE BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE AROUND HIM. IFACT, HE CAN'T TAKE ANYONE TO HAVE EVEN A BETTER 'BUSINESS CARD' THAN HIM. HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO HIS SECRETARY TO WEAR SKIRTS, AND HIGH HEELS, SOMTHING WHICH HE LIKES SHOWS THE CHARACTER DESPERATELY WANTING TO RULE, BE A CONTROL FREAK OF NOT JUST HIS LIFE BUT OTHERS AS WELL.AS THE STORY GROWS IT SHAKES YOU UP BECAUSE HE KEEPS GOING INSANE TO SUPER INSANE, AND BY THE TIME HE CONFESSES HIS CRIME, HE HAS ALREADY MURDERED NUMEROUS PEOPLE FROM WHORES, TO HIS COLLEAGUES WHOM HE DISLIKES, TO STREET BEGGARS WHO DON'T MATCH UP TO HIM TO OLD WOMEN WHO HAVE LESSS POWER THAN HIM. THW TWIST IS THAT ALL THESE MURDERS REFLECT A STATE OF HIS MIND, AND ARE JUST A FIGMENT OF HIS IMAGINATION, BUT BY THE TIME YOU ARE ALREADY QUITE SHAKEN UP WITH THE BLOOD AND GORE, AND THINKING ABOUT WHAT IF IT WAS REAL

PLUSES


THE NARRATIVE IS VERY TIGHT AND KEEPS YOU ON YOUR TOES WITH A FEW SQUEAKS, MOUTH OPEN AND EYES SHUTTING INSTANCES.

ITS A VERY WELL DIRECTED FILM.

ONE OF THE GORY FILMS, DIRECTED BY A WOMAN DIRECTOR, WHO GENERALLY GO FOR ROMANTIC AND CHO CHWEET MOVIES, THE FILM CHALLENGES THAT

ITS IN YOUR FACE, AND MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE WE MIGHT ALREADY HAVE STEPPED IN

GO WATCH IT, BUT ITS ONLY FOR THE ADULTS AND DEF NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED.

SUNSET BOULEVARD

THIS 1949 FILM BY THE WRITER DIRECTOR BILLY WILDER IS DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR HOME LIBRARY . THROUGH THIS FILM HE HAS MANAGED TO CREATE CHARACTERS WHICH WILL REMAIN IN YOUR MIND FOR DAYS TO COME.

NORMA DESMOND [PLAYED BY SWANSON THE FLOURISHING ACTRESS OF THE SILENT ERA]IS DESPERATE TO COME BACK TO THE LIMELIGHT. JOE GILLIS THE STRUGGLING WRITER[ HOLDEN] IS ON THE BRINK OF A COMPLETE BANKRUPTCY.

THE TWO HAPPEN TO MEET, AS DESTINY MAY PLAY A PART AND THE STORY UNFOLDS AS THE DESPERATE CREEPY NORMA TRIES TO TRAP JOE ON THE BASIS OF HIS STORY WRITING SKILLS, SHE MAKES HIM HER SEXUAL TOY AND SOMEONE TO BE BELITTLED IN FRONT OF HIS FRIENDS!

THE FILM ENDS WITH JOE DECIDING TO LEAVE HER FOREVER BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GET OUT OF THAT "PRISION" AS HE CALLS IT AND LOOK FOR A BETTER LIFE WITH BETTY WHOM HE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH.BUT THE SELF OBSESSED NORMA KILLS HIM SAYING 'NO ONE LEAVES A STAR' SHE THEN GOES ON THE BRINK OF MADNESS HOGGING THR LIMELIGHT AND THE CAMERAS AND THE PRESS ALL THAT SHE HAD BEEN CRAVING FOR, BUT THIS TIME IT IS FOR A MURDER.

THE SCREENPLAY THE CHARACTERIZATIONS AND THE PLOT IS EXCELLENT.IT'S A THOUGHT PROVOKING FILM, A FILM WHICH TELLS THE DARK SIDE OF HOLLYWOOD. IT'S A DARK FILM WHICH MANAGES TO CREATE AMBIVALENT EMOTIONS IN THE VIEWER. NORMA IS A CREEPY SELFISH WOMAN WHO HAS MADE HER FIRST HUSBAND A PROP AND A DRIVER, WHO IS USING JOE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME YOU FEEL SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS HER. THIS AMBIVALENCE IS WHAT MAKES BILLY WILDER SUCH A GREAT DIRECTOR. IT MAKES YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF HIS FILMS.

THE SCENES WORTH MENTIONING ARE THE SCENE WHEN JOE TRIES TO RECOGNISE HER SAYING "SHE WAS A STAR?"
SHE SAYS I AM THE STAR ITS TH EPICTURES THAT HAVE GOT SMALL"

THE SCENE WHERE SHE LANDS UP IN THE PARAMOUNT STUDIOS AND SCREAMS AT AN OLD GUARD "TEACH YOUR FRIENDS SOME MANNERS, BECAUSE WITHOUT ME YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE BECAUSE WITHOUT ME THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY PARAMOUNT STUDIOUS" ITS THIS SELFOBSESSIVE AGEING ACTRESS HER PERFORMANCE IS WHAT MAKES THE FILM A 'NOIR'

GURU

ManiRatnam, according to me is one of the best filmmakers in our country.

Guru is another tale from the master himself. Obviously we all know that the film is a take on the father of the Indian capital market and the creator of wealth unheard of! The film explores about the man and the very creation of wealth by him!

Gurukant desai is an ambitous young man. He leaves his village, his family in Gujrat, against the wishes of his head master father, to work in Turkey. He returns to start his own business in india. He gets married to a girl who can bring him enough dowry to start that business. He works under all odds to start his own unit of manufacturing 'kela silk'.HIs wife Aiswarya Rai is with him as his support throughout the film. The man grows the scale of his production by bribing everyone who came in his way from the press to the bureaucrats. He smuggled machinery,evaded taxes, and broke every rule to march ahead, and all in the name of creating wealth for others.

Well, that is where, the moral ambivalence of the film, could be the reason where it fails. Or, on second thoughts that's where it could work, because it leaves the entire question very subjective in the people's mind. They have to decide whether the character was doing right or wrong.

The first half of the film is pacier, with a strong chemistry between Ash and AB ad also his rise from a teenage to a industrial icon, the second half looses the pace with the subplot of Vidya balan and Madhaven adding breaks to the main plot. Instead if the screenplay had been able to put a hurdle in the path of guru with Mithun OR WITH with Madhaven as a more powerful charactertrying to make his life even worse[ which is not justified] it could have derived more sympathy for Guru and probably justified his means of creating and manipulating the system. Also second half looks a lot edited [patchy] with no transitions due to what ever reasons.

The cinematography, framing and music by Mr. Rahman add to the story, though I think Rahman has definitely given far better music in Roja , Yuva etc [ Yuva being one of my favourite top fifty films] Dialogues provide humour but lack the depth which was essentail for Mithun's and Guru's character. The work on language for a period film like this could have added to the story the way they did for Lagaan or Omkara!

But despite that its a take on a fresh subject, a biography, if I may say and definitely a dekko for the sake of filmmaking rather for Abhishek Bacchan for he is really good in the role!