Movies

Haider – Not a movie review

Movies are generally a medium of entertainment. But there are certain film makers who go beyond the fluff & weave compelling stories. Watching such movies is no different from reading a book. Vishal Bharadwaj is one such film maker. Apart from his regular movies, I love his adaptation of plays of Shakespeare. Be it Omkara (adapted from Othello) or Maqbool (Macbeth). He brings a fresh Indianised perspective to the stories. And he has done a commendable job at retaining the flavour of the original stories. I doubt any of the Hollywood directors could do equal justice to the plays. Therefore, when Haider (adaptation of Hamlet) was announced that too with Shahid Kapoor playing the lead role, I was too excited!!

This Indian Hamlet has been set in Kashmir of 1995. Haider’s dad (a very handsome Narendra Jha) is a doctor, whose first priority is treating patients & he doesn’t discriminate between militants & civilians. Haider’s mom (Gorgeous Tabu) is a school teacher. There is a mention of Haider, he is not to be seen for a while though. Haider’s dad is captured by militants for harboring a militant in the house & their house destroyed. Haider (Ever Charming Shahid Kapoor), who was sent away to a far off place, comes home to search for his father. Arshi (Beautiful Shraddha Kapoor) is his support throughout. The film begins on a slow note. I guess it was necessary to build the background of the characters.

After a futile search, Haider gets a message from Roohdaar (Amazing Irrfan Khan) and then the movie picks up pace. How Haider finds out about his dad’s murder, how he confronts his mom & uncle & how it leads to a horrifying climax is the crux of the story.

Vishal has changed the climax a bit, I won’t reveal it though. The story as expected is mesmerising to say the least. The screenplay is very taut & engaging. The cinematography is fabulous and the advantage was of shooting in Kashmir. One more interesting fact was the use of Kashmiri folk songs & absence of background music. You could say it was very organic. The only commercialised part would be the love making scene of Shahid & Shraddha. The film also has some humorous moments.

The actors have played the part to the hilt. Be it Kay Kay as the evil uncle, with a very cute Kashmiri accent (he is the best in the climax scene) or Tabu, a woman who only wants the best for her son, Irrfan Khan, as a messenger of Haider’s father, Shahid Kapoor, a guy who loves his father so much that it drives him crazy, Shraddha Kapoor, a subdued Ophelia or Lalit Parimoo, a cruel Polonius. It was also nice to see Aamir Bashir (Perfect Laertes) & Ashish Vidyarthi after a long time.

All in all the movie was more than expected & I could watch it more than once!

The movie is not only about Hamlet though. One thing that struck me was plight of Kashmiris. Ever since partition, the people of the valley are living in turmoil, which has been aggravated since the 80s. The dilemma of Hamlet, is the dilemma of Kashmiris. To be Indians, Pakistanis or to have a separate country. This dilemma has given rise to terrorism across borders & people have lost their homes & family. It is high time this is decided once & for all & let the Kashmiris leave peacefully & let Kashmir be the heaven it is supposed to be & not the hell it is now.

Django Unchained – Unchaining the shackles of mind!

 

A black man carried like cattle with chained feet & bare back doesn’t sound like a movie hero. But 10 minutes after the movie & you know he is no ordinary slave! The premise may seem very ordinary, almost a bollywood romantic movie. A man freed from slavery by a man with selfish interests, helps him find his lady love, another slave. The climax is predictable as well. But what is not predictable is the way Tarantino tells the story through extraordinary characters played by brilliant actors!

The slave is not an ordinary submissive African as Calvin Candie (who enslaves Django’s lady love Hildi) thinks he should be. The man who frees Django is a dentist turned Bounty Hunter who needs Django to identify his targets. He kills mercilessly but he is also compassionate. This compassion leads him to help Django find his love. Her name is an added incentive to help Django.

Calvin Candie is again a multi layered personality. He is as charming as he is brutal. He is as intelligent as he is insensitive.

Stephen, Calvin’s care taker is a black man himself but is blind to the atrocities to his folks & blindly loyal to Calvin.

Broomhilda (aka Hildi) is a feisty girl. Girl who, as Dr Schultz says, inspires passion.

Also different is the way the film is shot. The early nineteenth century atmosphere is well replicated in the form of locales, costumes & dialogues. And when characters kill each other? They don’t just clutch their chest & collapse! The blood doesn’t flow, it explodes & the dead bodies just fly around. Just look at the way Lara Lee is shot!

The story might not have been a true one but it certainly was gripping! Some of the scenes were not for the fainthearted for sure! Like one of the fighters being mauled by dogs! (Done nothing but aggravate my fear of dogs!) Christoph Waltz played the character of multiple personalities to the hilt! But the best actor definitely was Leo. The way he depicted the cruel plantation owner with such ease was amazing, outstanding, mind blowing 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

What is my future?

You have to make the right choice. As long as you don’t choose, everything remains possible..

Any of the choices you make is the right one! Every path is the right path. Everything could have been anything else and it would have just as much meaning. 


Each & Every day of our life we have so many choices to make..Right from what time to get up, to what breakfast do we have, what do we wear to work, what kind of attitude I wear today, what profession to choose, to whom should we marry, where should we live, etc.. Life sometimes feels a plethora of choices..And even after making a choice, we deliberate..did we make the right one??? 

Nevertheless we go on with our choices only sometimes stopping by to reflect what if we had taken a different path??? 

Today, I realised whatever path I would have chosen would have been the right one..Till the time I did not choose, the possibilities were endless but once I have chosen, whatever it may be, is the right path for me! 

Did I read any self help book? or did I meet any spiritual guru??? 

I just saw an amazingly incredible movie “Mr. Nobody”!!! 

Is it Science Fiction? or a Drama? or a Love Story? or is it a Spiritual Journey??? 

It is all of these bundled into one! 

Breathtaking plot, incredible direction, mindblowing performances, thought provoking quotes, some gyaan on science..this movie has it all! 

 


My most favourite part of the movie though is the Love Story of Anna & Nemo..A Love so passionate yet so pure…Diane Kruger is officially now one of my favourite actresses..The way she portrays Anna’s love, passion & helplessness really touched a chord of my heart!!! 

Choices alter our life forever..choose to watch this movie..you will surely be altered for better 🙂

Talaash – In search of a Good Movie

Fantasies have been a way of human beings to escape from the mundane reality since the beginning of the world. From bed time stories told by parents or grandparents in childhood, to comics to books like Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew to the latest fad Harry Potter, growing up to more mature fictions. Movies have also played their part in creating larger than life characters for us to revel in their world.

Every decade has had their movies stereotyped. The current decade is no exception with its mediocre romantic movies, with the typical love triangle & rowdy action movies ruling the roost each vying to enter the 100 Crore club. But nonetheless, just like lotus blooms in a muddy pond, there are some movies who have carved their separate niche. These are made by film makers who are creating their own trail rather than walking on the same old path.

These film makers create movies which are not your typical masala movies, but they tend to a different palate. The taste is to be acquired, just like you acquire a taste for dark chocolate, bitter but definitely better than the sugary bar. The main ingredients of these movies are the script & path breaking actors. They are into films because they love the art & not just to mint money. Together, they take the movie to another level.

Aamir Khan is one such path breaking actor. Post Lagaan, his each & every move has been watched with a hawk like curiosity. And after the tremendous success of 3 Idiots, the hype around him has increased ten fold. So obviously when Reema Kagti (Director of Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd & Writer of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) announced a movie with Aamir Khan, it was eagerly awaited by all movie buffs. The cherries on top were Rani Mukherji & Kareena Kapoor in the cast, both fabulous & path breaking actresses.

There was a lot of secrecy involved around the movie. The film makers were genius enough not to reveal the plot or genre of the movie. There was no marketing hoopla surrounding the movie. But this Under Marketing did kill the movie it seems. The movie goers assumed that the movie was a Suspense Thriller & went to watch it with much anticipation. Spoilers were being floated to reveal the suspense of the movie while everyone was begging or threatening not to reveal the suspense.

But you know what the real spoiler was? Talaash is not a suspense drama!!! Gotcha. Yes, Talaash is actually an emotional drama film. The track of finding the killer is not the main track. The main track of the movie is Aamir & Rani dealing with the loss of their son & eventually loss of their marriage & how do they come to terms with it.

With all the larger than life movies, we somehow have forgotten to enjoy the simple moments of life. Talaash is a movie which brings that simplicity on celluloid. In this movie, there is no Aamir Khan or Rani Mukherji or Kareena Kapoor. There is a police inspector who fights crime but can not fight his guilt, there is a housewife who is coming to terms with the loss of her son but is more baffled with the loss of her husband, a prostitute who is treated as trash, a pimp who wants to lead a better life & so on & so forth.

Don’t watch this movie looking for suspense, for there isn’t any. Watch this movie to enjoy a story being told. It will definitely engage you & enthrall you.

Aiyyaa!!!

 

Rani Mukherjee has always been my favourite actress. After Madhuri Dixit, if I have loved any actress on celluloid, it is Rani. She is a born actor & expressions come easily to her. She is the Queen of Charm, Naughtiness & Expressions. I always look forward to her movies. Though Dil Bole Hadippa was a disappointment, largely because of the stupid dialogue delivery of the movie, Rani still shone in the movie.

When I first saw the promos of Aiyyaa, I was impressed! The song was hilarious, the hero HOTTTT & Rani in a different avatar, yet amazing. I fell in love with the entire music album of Aiyya as well. Don’t remember which was the last album which put a big grin on my face 😉 I couldn’t wait to watch the movie & see how the songs were choreographed 🙂

I have stopped seeing movies in theatre long time back, Shanghai being an exception. I would have downloaded the movie or waited for its TV premiere. But God had other plans 😉 Sunday morning my bestie called me & we planned to watch this movie.

Too many Aiyyaa moments happened. Me watching movie in a single screen theatre with uncomfortable chairs, that too on a Sunday & that too with someone for company. I was not too excited to go out on a Sunday afternoon. Sigh! what lengths we go for our friends 😉

The movie started & I was mesmerised. The dream sequence reminded me of Madhuri & I knew I was going to love this movie. As the movie progressed, the prediction became true!

A truly different story, taut screenplay, awesome actors (not only lead, the supporting ones too) made it an interesting watch!

I would not want to ruin the movie for you in case you have not watched it yet. But still would like to share something about each of the element of the movie.

Romance: The heroine falls in love with someone who ignores her existence. The way the heroine behaves would remind many of us who have been there, done that 😉

Suspense: The Mystery surrounding the hero, the dilemma whether the heroine would chose to go with a guy chosen by her parents or would pursue her dreams are woven beautifully in the story 🙂

Drama: Or should I call it melodrama? 😛 It helps in involving you more in the story.

Comedy: The comic dialogues & situations had everyone in the cinema hall roaring with laughter. By the end of the movie, my jaw had started aching. 😉

Sex: Double Bonanza! You can not get enough of the hero, with smoldering eyes &  an angry young man kind of persona plus a sexy body (shown only in the songs). I want to see the Dreamum Wakeupum song again & again only for him. As for Rani, I have never seen her in such a sensuous avatar. With Aga Bai song, she has proven that she is a true successor of Madhuri Dixit 🙂

Story: The story of a girl who gets attracted to a guy because of his smell & how it leads to the end is quite a unique one. Truly “Different”

Acting: The actors have performed to the tee. You can’t help but relate to the characters in the movie.

Music & Songs: The piece which is played whenever the heroine follows the hero’s scent is very enchanting. Songs are weird but humorous & never feel out of place.

Are you still reading??? 😛 I could go on & on but I think I should put a stop here 🙂 All in all an afternoon well spent!

This post is proof of how much I loved the movie. But I would also add that many people have found this movie boring & not liked it. Watch the movie on your own risk & don’t come looking for me if you don’t 😉

 

London Paris New York

 

Three Fascinating cities. Three Fascinating Nights. Two people. One Love Story.

Before Sunrise. Before Sunset. Hum Tum. London Paris New York.

Different Movies. Same Premise. Makes us believe if you are meant to be, you will be 🙂

Before Sunrise & Before Sunset were sweet & innocent movies. And to know if they would finally be together, we would need another sequel.

LPNY was more nearer to these movies then Hum Tum.

Since its release, I had been longing to watch it. For Paris & for Ali Zafar.

MBKD had made a mockery of Ali Zafar, I wanted to see more of him on big screen & Paris is my dream city.. I would never miss to watch it.

Today, thanks to my dear Tata Sky, got to watch it!

And it was amazing – a true rom com, which puts a smile on your face when it ends…

The script was “Different”, edgier than what you see in the run of the mill rom coms, I specially loved the Paris part.

Acting wise, Ali Zafar didn’t disappoint & Aditi Rao Hydari was a real gem. Sad that the media promotes the talentless Katrina Kaifs & Nargis Fakhris & ignores real talent like Aditi. The ones who have seen her in Delhi 6, Rockstar & Ye Saali Zindagi would surely agree with this, I think.

 And what bollywood love stories would be complete without songs? But the songs in this movie are not for the sake of it, they are woven in the script at the right place & take the story forward.

All in all a superb movie, which engages you right from scene one & you don’t want to live tweet it but enjoy every moment without distraction 🙂