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Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008)
Film Very Good, Songs Not Needed
ONE OF BENEGAL'S BEST WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR brings caricatures from real life, with anecdotes that would have you either rolling down the aisle or push you into deep thought. It is a mirror of the caste-ridden, male-dominated, superstition-riddled, and employment-less society of north India. The story is set in a fictional village called Sajjanpur. We do not know where this place is exactly, but the characters talk of other nearby places like Gorakhpur, Jaunpur and Satna. Gorakhpur and Jaunpur are well-known places in eastern Uttar Pradesh while Satna is in Madhya Pradesh. So it could be concluded that WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR is a story about nearly the whole of the "Cow-Belt of India", that is, the underdeveloped states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which are, as mentioned above, caste-ridden, male-dominated, superstition-riddled, and employment-less.
The main character is a young man called Mahadev Kushwaha (Shreyas Talpade) who is one of the few literate people in this village. Mahadev wants to become a novelist but finds himself working as the letter-writer and letter-reader of the illiterate folk of the village. As his name suggests, he is a Kurmi by caste. His childhood sweetheart Kamla (Amrita Rao), who belongs to the potter caste, is married for four years and comes to him to get letters written to her husband Bansi who is a migrant labourer in Mumbai. Through Kamla's letters to Bansi and Bansi's letters to Kamla we catch a glimpse of the lives of migrant labourers from India's underdeveloped working in India's metros.
Other characters include a rich Rajput, Ram Singh (Yashpal Sharma) who is hell-bent on making his wife Jamuna – who is wanted for murdering the girl her son had tried to rape – and through this anecdote we are told about the increasing clout of criminals in India's political system. Ram Singh moves around the entire village on a big motorcycle – a black Bajaj Pulsar – with a gun-toting elderly uncle on the pillion. In Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh it is quite common to see such "rich and powerful" people roaming around in big motorcycles and SUVs with fully armed bodyguards. There is a eunuch Munnibai (Ravi Jhankal) who contests against Ram Singh's wife to oppose the candidature of a criminal. A perennially nervous elderly aunt Ramsakhi (Ila Arun) is worried about her born-on-a-Saturday (and hence unlucky) daughter Bindiya (Divya Dutta) and in order to bring her good luck wishes to marry her off to a dog first as advised by shamans and astrologers. The problem? The dog, too, has to be born on a Saturday and has to have half his tail black and the other half white. The fact that her daughter is educated, has a job and rides a two-wheeler does not make any difference to her. Finally, there are the lovebirds. Ram Kumar (Ravi Kishen) dares to fall in love with a widow, Shobha (Rajeshwari Sachdev), and marries her. They are later killed for defying the norms of the society. There is also a street play anecdote in the film where the villagers are shown to oppose the building of a factory in their village. Mahadev, who wrote the play, is accused of having a revolutionary intention and he is scared on being accused so. Armed rebellions have become common in northern India and villagers are often rounded up by the police for supporting the rebels. The Street Play anecdote and Mahadev's fear, perhaps, underline this very reality.
With true-to-life characters and incidents brought alive on the screen by a celebrated filmmaker and his bunch of well-chosen actors, WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR is a delightful film which, I believe, serves its purpose well. That is, presenting a slice of life in northern India. It is hard to pick out any one actor as the best for all of them are so good. But I personally loved Amrita Rao's transition from a Bollywood girl to a veiled village woman who dreams of going to her husband who she has not seen for four years. She suits this role. This is the third time after 'Ishq Vishq' and 'Vivah' that I liked Amrita's work. Ravi Kishen's lover boy role is very touching. He loves this widow but does not know how to tell her and he ends up in so many humorous circumstances because of it. And I liked Ila Arun and Divya Dutta. Arun, as the screaming, fussy mother and Dutta, as her motor-mouth, opinionated daughter, will surely have the viewers falling out of their seats.
WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR is a very good movie. Its only drawback are its songs. There are not too many songs but the thing is they are not good and they are placed at the wrong times. Only one song – "Sitaram Sitaram", which works as the theme song – is worth hearing. WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR is not the usual Bollywood fare so director Shyam Benegal could have done away with the songs, they just slacken the pace of an otherwise well-paced movie. Everything else is perfect. The sets are really rural. The clothes, the mannerisms, everything. Though quite mainstream, WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR is one of the best from Shyam Benegal.
My rating: 9/10.
Maya Memsaab (1993)
Fantastic Adaptation Of A Sad Novel
I saw MAYA MEMSAAB some two years after I read the book it is based upon. Gustave Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary'. The English translation of it from Bantam Classics. I had heard about MAYA MEMSAAB a long time back, sometime around when it was released. That was in 1992 or 1993. I was very young then. 10 years old. So technically I couldn't see a film like MAYA MEMSAAB, nor read a book like 'Madame Bovary', classic or whatever.
Though I couldn't see MAYA MEMSAAB, the film intrigued me a lot. Whatever I learnt about it from the media was enough to stir me. There was Shah Rukh Khan, a rising star. There was Deepa Sahi, who I had seen in her husband Ketan Mehta's earlier film 'Hero Hiralal'. I didn't quite understand what role she played. She was this mysterious woman who wore this huge cape and wielded a Mandarake-like wand. But that intrigued me. And I was like – What is MAYA MEMSAAB What is MAYA MEMSAAB? I saw a scene from this film on the weekly news-show 'The World This Week' on Doordarshan. It was a time when satellite channels had not invaded India and Doordarshan was the only TV channel and Prannoy Roy-hosted 'The World This Week' was the only English-language news-show in the country and all thanks to 'The World This Week' I came to know of brands like Gillette, Cathay Pacific and Van Heusen. Next, I read about it in the Sunday magazine of The Telegraph newspaper. Deepa Sahi wearing a white salwar-kameez, lying on a bed of rose petals. Wow! I was just waiting to grow up so that I could see MAYA MEMSAAB or at least read 'Madame Bovary'.
I read 'Madame Bovary'. When I turned twenty. It is one of the best books I've read so far. I liked its honesty. Its openness. I liked how this book calls a spade a spade without beating around the bush. And I liked its ending. It is very sad. Emma dies, her father dies, Charles dies, and Emma's little daughter is sent to work in a factory. A very suitable ending. Sad – for one couldn't help feeling sorry for the little child – yet, justified.
I saw MAYA MEMSAAB and found out that it is a very fantastic version of a sad book. Though it is fantastic, with some magical elements thrown in – hence, the name 'Maya', I guess – it, in some places, retains the darkness of the novel. There is this questioning feeling. What happened? What was supposed to happen? Sort of.
The acting is good. I liked Deepa Sahi. I liked Paresh Rawal. But I didn't like SRK at all. He looks like a fool. And I liked Farooque Sheikh in places.
The cinematography is nice. It brings out the fantasy element very well. The chemist's lab, the houses are very well done.
And I loved the songs. Just loved them. "Ek Haseen Nigaah Ka Dil Pe Saaya Hai", "O Dil Banjaaray", and "Yeh Shehar Bada Purana Hai" are songs I am constantly listening to on my mobile phone and laptop. Plus, there is this song-like conversation between Deepa Sahi and Farooque Sheikh. I don't have it and I couldn't find it anywhere. So, through my comment, I'd like to ask the readers if they could help me find this song. MAYA MEMSAAB is a nice movie. Well-made, aesthetic, with a hint of sophistication. Quite art-house.
Im Juli (2000)
Just Loved It
I love road movies. 'Diarios di Motocicleta,' 'Cheun Gwong Tsa Sit', 'My Own Private Idaho', and this one, IM JULI.
The first Faith Akin-film I saw was his most-celebrated and most-awarded picture 'Gegen Die Wand'. I liked 'Gegen Die Wand' but I can't help saying that it was very depressing.
IM JULI is good. It is fresh, sunny, lively, and with a lot of delightful moments.
The story is very believable. Girl sees boy, boy sees girl, and though the girl has feelings for the boy, the boy is oblivious. So the girl devises a way to express her love for him. Problem is, the plan takes one real long route that sees the boy travelling from Germany, through Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, before ending up in Istanbul, Turkey. In the way he meets a few interesting and good-looking characters. And there is a very amazing soundtrack playing in the background to highlight our hero's adventures.
The characters are very lovable, and the actors who play them even more lovable. Moritz Bleibtreu (of 'Lola Rennt') is the boy-next-door; Christiane Paul is the smart July who's in love with him and, quite unknowingly, makes him do a cross-country through eastern Europe; Mehmet Kurtulus as Isa, the mysterious stranger, has the most imposing presence of all; and there's also Birol Ünel (Cahit of 'Gegen Die Wand') as an eccentric character in an underground restaurant where our hero nearly succumbs to the charms of the sexy Luna (played by Branka Katic).
Overall, IM JULI is a great film. I enjoyed every moment of it.
Dnevnoy dozor (2006)
Couldn't Understand It, So I Didn't Like It
I had heard some very good things about DAY WATCH, so when I found the original DVD with Russian language soundtrack in DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 I promptly bought it. Unfortunately, I did not like what I had bought. Reason, I could not understand the film. I followed the subtitles, I followed the scenes, I gathered all the patience that I have and I saw this film thrice, thinking that perhaps I missed something during the first viewing. But, alas! I missed the film again. I don't have enough patience in me to watch this film a fourth time. Maybe, after 6 months or a year later I might play this DVD again and lose myself in the stunning special effects – because that is what DAY WATCH has – but I really can't sit through the entire DAY WATCH.
I think I should have seen 'Night Watch' before watching DAY WATCH. Perhaps, then I could have made sense of the Dark Ones and the Light Ones and the Truce and all. But then, every time we see a sequel, do we need to see the first part? I mean, a film has to be complete in itself. For that it needs a story which might take things from the first part, but it also has things that are unique to itself. In DAY WATCH, I am so sorry to say this, I couldn't find anything that could keep me engaged in any way. Except the special effects.
The comparison with 'The Matrix' made things even more difficult. The DVD blurb says— "Like 'The Matrix', DAY WATCH combines cutting-edge digital effects and mind-blowing action to create a stunningly original world."
To be very honest, I did not understand 'The Matrix'. Nor 'The Matrix Reloaded', nor 'The Matrix Revolutions'. But there is something about 'The Matrix'-series that makes it so so watch-worthy. It is not just the special effects, but the narrative, the things that happen on-screen, the dialogues, the action. Everything is just so right in 'The Matrix'-series. Plus, when 'The Matrix' was released – in 1999, I suppose – it was the only film of its kind. No one had thought of something like that before. It was so new, so novel, that it is still very new even after repeated viewings. It is what one calls a classic. The machine and virtual world and the characters jumping over buildings and travelling through phone-lines and fighting in slo-mo wearing those huge coats is still very alien to me, but I like watching them again and again. Even now when 'The Matrix' is shown on the TV, I take my dinner plate and place myself in front of our TV.
With DAY WATCH, I couldn't eat in peace, for I had to follow each scene, each movement of the characters. Yet, I couldn't make out anything. But I loved the special effects. They are awesome. And if DAY WATCH is compared to 'The Matrix' only on the basis of the special effects then I think that this comparison is somewhat justified. They have, indeed, created a "stunningly original world". I couldn't take my eyes off the screen during the stunning Tamer Lane opening sequence and the Alicia-driving-the-red-car scene. The Anton-Olga body-switch part was so puerile it was a complete turn-off. The special effects in the climax looked very unbelievable, especially the small lorry breaking through the huge truck thing. Overall, DAY WATCH is only about special effects. And some good-looking Russian actors.
Thelma & Louise (1991)
A Must-watch
My god! I wasn't expecting Thelma to do what she did to that licentious truck driver who had been making funny gestures at Louise and her. When they pointed their guns at him, I was expecting Louise to shoot him dead. Like she shot Harlan. And I was quite sure she would do it for what had happened to her in Texas was now known. Anyways, I was also expecting both the women to spare him because they had already been charged for homicide and they knew it. So I was like maybe they won't shoot another man, they are just going to rob him of all his money and clothes and stuff and give his truck some flat tyres and drive away. And then I was also expecting each one to pump at least 2-3 bullets into that man. But then, what Thelma did was incredible. She shot at the tyres, Louise shot at the tyres too. And then Thelma does the unthinkable. She shoots at the oil tanker and blows it up. That was
that was amazing.
But then, THELMA & LOUISE is amazing. Every moment of it. What these girls do on the run, their encounter with other people, the things they talk, everything makes up for a superior movie-watching experience. Some scenes and lines are so fresh in my mind. I liked the final Grand Canyon scene. It was evident that neither Thelma nor Louise had seen the Grand Canyon before and had just heard about it. The look on their faces tells it all. This scene is quite ironical because it sort of gives away the ending. It sort of tells the viewer that after coming so far, after having the drive of their lives, after seeing this spectacular Grand Canyon, these girls are of course not going to give up, not going to return. And that is what happens.
The lines, I think, are quote-worthy. Lines like "when a woman's crying like that she isn't having any fun", "Think you've found your calling? Maybe, the call of the wild", "You be sweet to your wife, my husband wasn't sweet so look how I turned out" and "looks like the army, all this for us" stay in mind long after the film is over and they keep coming back even after days and make one smile and thoughtful.
Thelma's transformation from an un-worldly-wise housewife to a woman who learns to take control of situations (and her life) and also rob a store after being 'properly laid' then duped by JD is both humorous and tragic. I liked the scene between Louise and Jimmy in the hotel room. Jimmy has flown across three states to see Louise and Louise doesn't want to return to him. I like how Louise pulls Jimmy's head and they kiss. Plus, the tension between Louise and Jimmy in one room and Thelma having the sex of her life with JD in another room have been put together with nice effect. There's a couple trying to bring their love-life on track in one room, and there's a runaway housewife having a wild romp with a good-looking stranger in another room.
THELMA & LOUISE may be about friendship. But it is also about learning to face things, learning to take control, about standing up to something wrong or undesirable, and it is about emancipation. A great story, told very effectively. And, yes, photographed excellently.
Ying xiong (2002)
Confusing Plot, Charismatic Visuals
'Ying Xiong' is quite confusing. Jet Li's character Nameless tells so many stories to the King of Qin (played by Chen Dao-ming) and I couldn't keep up with any of the stories. And because these stories were shot in so many colours matters were even more confusing. I was too busy gawking at the screen, going "Oh! my, that is wonderful" and in the meantime, another story passed me by.
Zhang Yimou's story is grand. Three warriors, each one better than the other, from the different warring provinces the King of Qin wants to unify under his rule, come together to assassinate the King. Since killing the King is no easy task, they hatch a plan. 'Ying Xiong' is the story of their plan and whether they are successful in killing the King and freeing their respective provinces.
The three warriors have been played by three of China's best known actors. Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Broken Sword, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk as Flying Snow, and Donnie Yen as Sky. Jet Li the most best known star in this film plays a character called Nameless who is an official in the province of Zhao and who has, supposedly, killed all these assassins. Killing these assassins was difficult but now he is faced with the toughest task of all. Convincing the King of Qin that he has, indeed, finished the assassins.
Zhang Yimou's scale is grander. If 'Wo Hu Cang Long' opened up the doors for classy kung-fu movies, 'Ying Xiong' could very well be considered the Mother of all Wo Hu Cang Longs. And that, perhaps, takes 'Ying Xiong' down.
Time magazine, issue dated 21 January 2002, says this about 'Ying Xiong': "Zhang Yimou's martial-arts epic 'Hero' has a boffo cast, a big budget, an award-winning crewand the burden of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'" This burden sinks 'Ying Xiong'.
'Wo Hu Cang Long' was simple, fluid and feminine. It had a linear plot with no twists and all. The serious Chow Yun-fat, the gorgeous Michelle Yeoh, the good bandit Chang Chen, and the cute little dynamite Zhang Ziyi were like people we know. Though the characters belonged to a different era, each one was like so familiar. Chow Yun-fat was like a father-figure, a man we could always rely upon. Michelle Yeoh was like an aunt or an elder sister, one who does embroidery, makes tea, keeps secrets, gives the best advice. Chang Chen was like this neighbourhood lout who climbs trees, plays games on the street, bullies young children. And Zhang Ziyi, well, she's like that daddy's spoilt daughter who wants to run away, try a bold dress or hairdo, mix with the guys, stuff like that. In 'Ying Xiong', you could hardly identify with a character. There are stars, my god, all of them. But that connection with them is missing. Plus, there are so many sub-plots, a different colour for each one of them red, blue, green, white, yellow and these sub-plots (the entire film, actually) has been shot so well, so well, that this beauty just acts as a distraction. The actors put in a great job, a very great job, but somehow it is only the non-action scenes that stand out. The action scenes seem so unconvincing and (after 'The Matrix' and 'Wo Hu Cang Long') so repetitive.
The technical aspect is the real star. Christopher Doyle Wong Kar-wai's right-hand man could actually shoot day scenes. I've seen Doyle's work only in Kar-wai's films 'Cheun Gwong Tsa Sit', 'Hua Wang Nian Hua', 'Chung Hing Sam Lam' and '2046' and I had ended up believing that he specializes in no-lights photography. But his work in 'Ying Xiong' is so superb I had to change my opinion. Doyle could do anything.
The music by Tan Dun sounds like 'Wo Hu Cang Long' but the tunes are different. Sounds good. Very good.
Time magazine has gone ga-ga over the fight scene with Maggie and Ziyi (who has a very small role as Moon, Broken Sword's disciple). I found it quite ordinary. Maggie and Ziyi are just doing acrobatics and there are leaves flying around. Not that appealing. Plus, after seeing Maggie in Wong Kar-wai's films, it is hard to accept her doing action scenes. Ziyi is so lithe, plus, I still remember her as the girl who stole the Green Destiny, so, watching her doing action was more OK. Tony Leung's action scenes are nice. He carries this grave expression throughout and that saves him. Maggie looks good crying. Another Wong Kar-wai hangover. The action scene I particularly liked was the Arrow Deflecting scene featuring Jet Li and Maggie. It's amazing. The Lake fight scene is also good but it looks like an extended 'Wo Hu Cang Long' water-surface fight scene.
I would give this film 9/10 for the technical aspects, which are the real stars; 9/10 for the acting because all actors are very good Tony Leung, especially; 6/10 for the story because I ended up confused although the end is nice, the reason that Broken Sword gives. That adds up to 24 out of 30. That is, 80 out of 100. So my rating is 8/10.
Outsourced (2006)
Wow!
I knew nothing about this film called OUTSOURCED. I had never heard of it. I was just channel surfing at our home in our village and happened to stumble upon the listing for this movie on the programme schedule. The synopsis sounded interesting. An American whose job has been outsourced to India coming to India to train his replacement. I thought, another culture-clash film. I was quite right, though. Plus, I was informed that the film starred one of my favourite actors, Ayesha Dharker, who is playing the lead opposite Josh Hamilton who I just faintly remember as the handsome young man from Ismail Merchant's 'The Proprietor'. I found Josh Hamilton good-looking and I've always loved to see Ayesha Dharker and, honestly, I had nothing good to do that afternoon, so, I sat down to watch OUTSOURCED and enjoyed it immensely.
OUTSOURCED shows India in all her exotic splendour there is Ganesh, Kali, the Shiva Lingam, the ubiquitous Bollywood number, Holi celebrations, cows on the road, juicy mangoes, even a garishly decorated hotel suite called the Kama Sutra suite but nowhere does it present India as a poor, backward or a Third World country. The film starts with the power of India. Quite flattering. We see a whole bunch of Americans losing their jobs because their jobs have been outsourced to India. Then, there is this disgruntled American, Todd (Josh Hamilton), who is being sent to India by his boss Dave so that he could train the new recruits on American society, culture and accent and tell them how much important those cheese-shaped hats are to them. "Kitschy", he calls them.
The fun begins the moment our hero lands at the Mumbai airport. He misses the driver who had been sent to pick him up because that poor fellow was holding a placard that said "Mr. Toad" instead of "Mr. Todd". And so poor "Toad" has to travel on an auto-rickshaw, then by the local train (which he was trying to board with all the western civility, brandishing his ticket, but has to come down to the Indian method of jumping randomly into any compartment when he sees that there is no space), and then over the potholed and cow-filled roads of the real India. He eats a "barf ka gola" and encounters another very Indian problem. No change. Because of this he has to pay a one-hundred-rupee note just for one ice lolly. We Indians would have somehow managed to find a few ten-rupee notes.
Then, there is this guy he has to train. The stars-and-stripes-in-his-eyes guy, Puro (Asif Basra), who thinks his fiancée is more beautiful than Aishwarya Rai. Of course, Mr. Puro, too, calls our hero "Mr. Toad". "Mr. Toad" has to teach Puro how to make "small talk". First, he has to explain to Puro the meaning of "small talk", "kitsch", and the like. Then, "Mr. Toad" puts up with aunty ji (Sudha Shivpuri, 'Ba' of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi') who tells our hero that eating with the left hand is "unclean". Her errands-man then demonstrates to a shocked "Toad" why eating with the left hand is unclean in a scene which had me rolling in laughter. Aunty ji cleans, starches and irons "Mr. Toad"'s underwear because that is what all Indian mothers do.
"Mr. Toad" has a bout of diarrhoea, is shocked to see a cow walking into his office; learns of the power of Goddess Kali; comes to know the meaning of Shiva Lingam; plays Holi; has his mobile phone stolen and returned and stolen again and returned again; dances to the "Sajan ji ghar aaye" song from 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'; befriends a man from the dhobi ghaT; dresses up in a kurta; eats a ripe mango the Indian way, by peeling it with teeth and sucking on the pulp; does a very typically Indian "jugaad" (which is the Indian art of very economically managing big things with the least resources) of electricity with his friend from the dhobi ghat when his office is flooded and lines are down; and falls in love with the stunning and smart call centre employee, Asha (Ayesha Dharker), who opens his eyes to why the Indians and our English is superior to that of the Americans. Because, our pronunciation is better accurate, in fact and we pronounce Internet as "Inter -Net" and not "Inner-Net" the way the Americans do. Sadly, the hero discovers that this smart Indian woman who could have been his true love is already engaged to be married, and he is shocked to learn that she was engaged when she was only four. When he tells her that he found this early engagement stuff very odd, she tells him that she found the nearly 50% divorce rate of the Americans odd. Smart.
I realise I have revealed too much about this film, but that was unavoidable. I liked every second of this film. Every second means each second. The scenes, the sets, the dialogues, there is nothing which seems exaggerated. The end of the film, too, is very positive. The film starts with a laugh and ends with a smile and I sat till the end credits ended. I liked OUTSOURCED that much. The story, the direction, the acting, the soundtrack, everything is just right. OUTSOURCED is a great film. Just watch it.
P.S. I noticed that the producer of this film is Tom Gorai. Now, Gorai is a common surname in eastern India. I was wondering if Mr. Gorai was an NRI and if this is a film with some Indian connection. I later did some Wikipedia research on Tom Gorai and learnt that Mr. Gorai is an American. OUTSOURCED is a complete American work on outsourcing and India and the US. And it is a very funny and quite sensitive film. This, I believe, is its real strength. Watch it. Watch it.
Le divorce (2003)
Fine Blend Of Physical Beauty And Panache
LE DIVORCE swept me off my feet. I had to fall in love with it.
Merchant Ivory's films are known, first, for their sophistication. Their prim-and-properness. Whether set in India, England, the US, France or the Caribbean, they have tried to present near-accurate representation of the place they are set in. Second, they are known for their beauty. If you are watching a Merchant Ivory film, you could be sure to have a copy of the National Geographic magazine in motion, unfolding in front of your eyes, on the big screen.
To say that LE DIVORCE is beautiful would be an understatement. It is Gorgeous. There is Paris, there is the beautiful French countryside, there is the legendary Hermes Kelly bag, there are scarves from Chanel, and there are Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Bebe Neuwirth, Leslie Caron, Stockard Channing, Thierry Lhermitte, Jean-Marc Barr, Melvil Poupaud, Sam Watterson, Romain Duris and Stephen Fry. In the best clothes, looking their best even when they are supposed to be sad, photographed in some eye-catching houses, rooms, bookshops, restaurants, parks and the Eiffel Tower. You need something more beautiful? Then there are the moments. Just check these out.
A playful Kate Hudson at the Paris airport, who then coquettishly introduces her to the concierge (Catherine Sami) at Roxy's apartment. It is the same coquettishness with which she accepts to become Edgar's mistress. See her licking her fingers, sucking her thumb, removing the padding from her bra, shop for lingerie, grin seductively at one and all, observe very wide-eyed-ly the heated conversation between Roxy and Charles-Henri's mother. Then there is Naomi Watts as Roxy, the good, grounded sister. She reads poems with all the passion, advises her sister on why she should not receive expensive gifts from men, fights for her marriage, opposing divorce "on principle". The supporting characters are equally interesting. The wise author Olivia Pace, played by Glenn Close, who has a strong opinion about French women, right up to their fascination for scarves. Uncle Edgar played by the handsome Thierry Lhermitte; the boyish Melvil Poupaud as Charles-Henri; Sam Waterson, Stockard Channing and Leslie Caron looking every bit the harried parents; Jean-Marc Barr as the handsome divorce lawyer, Bertram; and the beautiful Bebe Neuwirth as Julia, the woman from Getty's.
The very appropriately selected cast is helped by the incidents, something this film is all about. You have Paris, its restaurants, pubs, boutiques and the Eiffel Tower. You have the characters having some great time at those places and talking some very nice things. Like, Edgar and Isabel's secret meetings, and Edgar telling Isabel to prepare a drink of mint and orange and something to perfume the juices and Isabel actually trying that stuff; Isabel and Yves (Romain Duris) discussing the cultural impact America has on France with Yves telling her that some people in France actually want to drink Coke and draw Donald Duck on everything; Rhys telling Isabel that at a jail in France the inmates' uniforms are designed by Yves Saint Laurent; Isabel smiling mischievously at Charles-Henri's imbecile-looking girlfriend Magda while Charles-Henri fumbles with "certainty" and "certitude" while describing what he came at after meeting Magda; Margeeve's (Stockard Channing) "like mothers, like friends" conversation with Mrs. de Persaund (Leslie Caron) and Aunt Amelie; Margeeve's looking up terms in her French handbook; Margeeve's "not on Chester's salary" comment on the Kelly bag; Olivia's conversations with Edgarat the bookshop "Are you still giving Kelly bags?" "Do you still have yours?", and at the Chanel boutique "are we buying gifts for the same person?"; Janely's (Stephen Fry) "only the French could serve boiled eggs with such effrontery" comment; Julia (Bebe Neuwirth) being asked "Has your saint been fasting?"; and Bertram paying the tip after the Walkers have left the restaurant. There are many such moments in LE DIVORCE, I can't remember all of them, but these are the things that make LE DIVORCE a must-watch. There's not one actor who stands out because everyone stands out. Each one is like the best.
LE DIVORCE is a quintessential Merchant-Ivory film. Look-wise, manner-wise. Sets and characters have always played and important role in Merchant Ivory's films. Remember, 'The Europeans', 'Shakespeare Wallah', 'The Householder', 'Howards End', 'The Remains of the Day', and 'A Room with a View'. LE DIVORCE has been made with the same hard work that has gone into the making of each of these masterpieces. And I have always admired Ismail Merchant and James Ivory. And Ruth. There could be no one like her. A Booker winner, then an Oscar winner. LE DIVORCE, after 'The Householder', 'Shakespeare Wallah', and 'Howards End', is one of the best from this trio. Beautiful, civilized cinema. Perfect Ten.
Kalpurush (2005)
See 'Kalpurush', please
There is this father-son conversation in the climax of 'KALPURUSH'. I quote the English DVD-subtitle version. Shumonto tells his father: "I may not have become someone, but when I see two people in love, I smile. And when I see someone eating alone, I cry." Ashvini, his father, replies wistfully: "I wish I could've lived my life like you did." These 2 lines, perhaps, comprise the gist of this new film by Buddhadev Dasgupta - director of teeny-weeny gems like 'Tahader Katha', 'Bagh Bahadur', 'Uttara' & 'Mondo Meyer Upakhyan' - which took nearly 3 years to reach the cinemas in India.
The film opens with a man called Ashvini following a younger man called Shumonto, who, we are told, is his son. It seems that the father is stalking - or haunting, rather - his son. As the film progresses and we meet Shumonto's ambitious wife, Supriya, and his mother, Koyel, who seems to be tied up with something in her past, we realise that the son is, indeed, haunted by his father who was a somebody. He was a successful doctor and they had this beautiful family, but something - or someone - comes in and this happy husband-wife-child drift apart. This drifting apart is too hard for these three to endure, and the son, we see, is unable to lead even a proper relationship with his wife.
I don't know of too many father-son films from Bollywood or other Indian language films. I've seen only Ramesh Sippy's 'Shakti' & Feroze A. Khan's 'Gandhi, my father'. Both were the powerful types with dramatic, sad endings. I've also seen 'Thevar Magan' & its Hindi remake 'Virasat', but they were different. KALPURUSH is drama, but not the powerful type. It is, like other Dasgupta films, creatively- photographed, dream-like, poetic & soft. This keeps the viewer absolutely un-prepared for the surprise ending, for the film hardly feels like a father-son film. It starts like a husband-wife story, creates the tension, goes to become a mother-son film, and then explains why it is so, why the son is so, what was his relationship like with his father, what happens to the father, the mother, what the son's wife does, and how the son carries on with his life.
It would be unfair to dub KALPURUSH strictly for Buddhadev Dasgupta fans. However, I do suggest that the viewers acquaint themselves with Dasgupta's films before going to see KALPURUSH. Dasgupta's films are often accused of having a near-invisible storyline. KALPURUSH is no different. It starts, too, in a very un-Buddhadev Dasgupta-ish way. Instead of bare landscapes of Puruliya & Midnapore, one sees the trams of Calcutta in the opening credits. It helps, though, for it is like - What is this, urban Bengal? Soon after this, the film turns typical Dasgupta. The rural Bengal, this time, are the scenic outdoor locales of coastal Orissa.
The actors are stupendous. Mithun Chakraborty is a legend. This is his second film with Dasgupta. He plays his age, suits the part, one just has to see him in this one. Rahul Bose is so silent one could feel the loss of his loser character. Sameera Reddy has looked good in just 3 films - 'Musafir', 'Migration' & 'Kalpurush'. I haven't seen 'Ami, Yasin ar amar Madhubala' so I can't comment on that. She better shift to the Bengali film industry. A mentor like Dasgupta would surely do her a lot good. Sudipta Chakraborty's Other Woman role is short, but long enough to bring in that right amount of glamour, desire & heartbreak. Labony Sarkar is natural with a capital N.
With the usual Buddhadev Dasgupta tropes in place, KALPURUSH is a visual treat. There are bare landscapes, dry leaves flying in the wind, haunting background score, mysterious folk artistes in even more mysterious costumes & masks, dilapidated, old buildings, and things rustic and antique. This time there is also the sea and an aeroplane flying right outside the open window. KALPURUSH is a film which needs to be seen.
Delhi-6 (2009)
Feels Like A Book
Delhi-6 is not a film, it is a novel. The way it starts with Amitabh Bachchan reciting a poem, like an epigraph in a novel the opening dialogue something in the first person, like a debut novel written in the first person the number of characters, the (often looney) events, the setting a right ingredient for a novel to be chosen for those hot-shot literary prizes and Abhishek Bachchan's character jumping over rooftops and demons and vaanars of the Ramleela flying in the air and the Statue of Liberty growing right there in the middle of Chandni Chowk (Gali Paswan in the film) are what a litterateur would call elements of magic realism that Marquez and other authors of Latin America, Rushdie and Yann Martel have popularized. So, Delhi-6 has everything that a budding writer could dream about. Rakeysh Mehra should have written a novel called Delhi-6, got an agent, and had it published, and seen it climb the bestsellers list. He could have, perhaps, won a prize or two. Because Delhi-6 the movie is just two-hours-and-a-half of gibberish.
First, it takes quite some time for the viewer to figure out what is happening, because what is happening starts happening only after all the characters have been assembled. An ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) who wishes to return to India to die in the city she was born in; her NRI grandson (Abhishek Bachchan) who brings her to India but has no intentions of staying; the friendly Muslim gentleman (Rishi Kapoor) who receives them and who was once in live with the NRI dude's mother (Tanvi Azmi); two warring brothers (Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra); their friendly wives (Supriya Pathak and Sheena Chadha); the unmarried sister (Aditi Rao Hydari); the girl who wishes to break free (Sonam Kapoor); the fraud neighbourhood photographer (Cyrus Sahukar) who, she thinks, would help her break free; the greedy lala (Prem Chopra); the Muslim halwai (Deepak Dobriyal); the elderly Muslim gentleman (K. K. Raina); the saffron-clad monsterly baba (Akhilendra Mishra); the corrupt Haryanvi cop (Vijay Raaz); the alley fool (Atul Kulkarni); and the low-caste sweeper (Divya Dutta) who has a crush on the alley fool. To add to the mayhem there is the Monkey Man (yes, you're reading right) who has tormented the entire city.
It would have taken a little above 300-pages in a standard paperback to bring all these characters to life. In a 2-hour-30-minute movie it was a bit difficult, but thanks to these wonderful actors each one of them is a gem, Rishi Kapoor, Divya Dutta and Atul Kulkarni, especially Mehra's work was rendered too easy. It is difficult to catch either the head or the tail of the plot in the first one hour, but the characters are so endearing and the songs by Prasoon Joshi and A. R. Rahman (especially the 'Genda Phool' number) are so catchy, the viewer is lost in the film.
Post-intermission, there is this Abhishek-Sonam love angle, and it would have been better had Mehra put in a little more of their sweet-nothings (for Sonam fresh and willowy looks heavenly, while Abhishek in his beard and fake accent is just cute). But hey! As I've already written, the film is gibberish, and the gibberish begins here. A communal tension angle spoils the entire thing. The film has a very tacky climax, a very tacky climax. One of the tackiest in Bollywood. And I'm so particular about this climax because Delhi-6 is not your usual Bollywood fare. It is, to use the cliché, different. And I mean it. And I wish Mehra had retained its differentness. He tries to put in some social message stuff like 'Rang De Basanti' and it spoils everything.
However, it is not to late. Mehra could still turn Delhi-6 into a novel. And I'm sure it would be enjoyed more as a novel. Perhaps, he would put in a few more characters. We'll take them all. But Delhi-6 the film, well, watch it for the Abhishek-Sonam chemistry, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Rishi Kapoor, the comedy by Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra, and the music by A. R. Rahman. Don't ask for anything more and you won't be disappointed.
A Passagem da Noite (2003)
Silent & Powerful
This is one of those movies that doesn't come with big big promises of being this or that, they just creep up to you noiselessly, tell a good story, and leave you quite speechless and hunting around for a conclusion. often the result is that you begin asking for an encore, for it is hard to believe that something that you've just seen has really taken place.
Mariana is this sweet, 17-year-old, only child of working parents who are quite possessive about their daughter. The mother wouldn't let her daughter go to sleep on empty stomach. Now, this over-protected girl is, of all horrors, raped. But, just see her guts, she decides to keep silent about the entire thing. A cop offers to help her out because of a similar tragedy he has gone through, but no, Mariana won't take any help. She refuses to identify the rapist in the courtroom, becomes pregnant, contemplates abortion but drops the idea after some time, breaks up from her boyfriend because her body's been used by somebody else, and despite her school-leaving exam coming up, she decides to give birth to the child, naturally, and make that very peculiar gateway into adulthood. To hide her bulging tummy she wears over-sized clothes, puts ink-marks on sanitary pads to show that she's having her periods, and then, she delivers this sweet little girl.
What I liked most about 'A Passagem da Noite' is the power. you can't see it, for it doesn't come in the form of heavy dialogues or tense sequences. They come, yes, like I've already mentioned, noiselessly. Things up there on the screen progress like they ought to progress. You see Mariana Attending classes, going out with her friends, eating, taking a bath; you see her parents running their shop, talking to their daughter about her studies and exams; you see the cop doing his duty; things like that. However, there's this something explosive running beneath this apparently placid veneer. And this is what gives a very nail-biting element to this almost-normal-everyday-story.
It's hard to understand why Mariana chose to remain silent about her tragedy. But she has the guts, man! And the girl who plays Mariana, Leonor Seixas, is not just beautiful and fits the part, she also has this something about her face and mannerisms that makes the character of Mariana come alive. Had there been some real Mariana maybe she'd have looked like Leonor.
'A Passagem da Noite' doesn't make any promises, but it is one promising feature film for it tells the story of a girl who finds her way out of a dark and brooding night.
Khamosh Pani (2003)
Haunting Scenes
I saw Khamosh Pani on DVD released in India by this firm called Excel Home Videos. Unlike other DVD biggies released (like Parineeta, Dor, 2046, Hero, Moulin Rouge, Ice Age, etc) released by the same firm, Khamosh Pani begins in complete silence. First, there's the firm's logo, then, the warning notice, and then, the main menu. So far, things have progressed in pin-drop silence. I choose the subtitles On option as the film is in Punjabi. I am informed that Kirron Kher won the best actress award at Locarno for her performance in Khamosh Pani. This information, too, comes noiselessly. When no sound emanates from my 5.1 home theater system I begin to panic. My three-hundred-and-forty-nine rupees gone (That is the price of this DVD). And then, Just like my heart beats gaining momentum, some soft music is audible through the speakers. I relax, and as the film proceeds, I understand why it is called Khamosh Pani, and why silence is so much integral to its plot.
The year is 1979. Ayesha (Kirron Kher) is a middle-aged Muslim widow in this village called Charkhi in the Punjab region of Pakistan. She has a teenage son called Saleem (Aamir Malik) who she loves very much. Saleem wishes to marry Zubeida (Shilpa Shukla), an ambitious young girl with dreams of attending a college, getting a job in an office and owning a mixer and a ceiling fan. Ayesha has spent her entire life in silence. There's a secret she's hidden from everyone. A secret, parts of which come to the viewers in the form of some very disturbing images shot in black and white, showing young girls running, screaming, and a really intriguing visual of the round surface of water in a deep well.
There is communal harmony in this village of Muslims and Sikhs, till two strangers from Lahore come to inform the Muslim villagers of the new martial laws laid down by the then President, General Zia-Ul-Haq. Matters are worsened by the arrival of Sikh pilgrims from India who are often teased by some intolerant Muslims of the village. One Sikh man (Navtej Johar) is looking for his elder sister Veero who had gone missing during the Partition in 1947, a time when Sikh, Hindu and Muslim men were killing their own wives, daughters and sisters or were forcing them to kill themselves in order to keep them from being raped by the men of the enemy community as dishonoring the womenfolk of a particular community was seen as the easiest way of dishonoring that community altogether.
In the meanwhile, Saleem, gullible and impressionable youth that he is, has gone neck-deep in his involvement with the two fundamentalists. He has grown a bushy beard, learns to shoot guns, prays regularly, and cannot stand the sight of non-Muslims. Zubeida fails to understand what has gone wrong with the boy who had wanted to marry her, for Saleem starts disapproving of her plans to pursue further studies and earn her own livelihood. To make matters worse, Saleem questions his own mother about her origins.
The performances are commendable. Kirron Kher truly deserves the awards that she's won for Khamosh Pani. Ditto for the other actors. However, what I liked the most is the way this film has been shot. The scenes are grainy, giving the film a very raw look. This is more striking as the film deals with a very strong theme and such raw in-your-face treatment gives the feeling of actually seeing thing live. Here I should make a special mention of the flashbacks, the secrets shot in black and white I was talking about. They are not exactly black & white, they carry a hint of sepia. The visuals in these flashbacks are not very distinct, very much like Ayesha's memories which are old and unclear, yet unforgotten.
The scene showing a a woman standing on the well's edge, with dust billowing all around her, spreading her arms like Christ, is truly haunting.
Another scene that stands out is the one showing a lone Saleem offering Namaaz on the mosque patio. It has been shot in blue (or is it natural moonlight?). The cinematography of Khamosh Pani reminded me of two other movies I've seen -- Lars Von Trier's Breaking the Waves (for the grainy images) and The Ring (for the raw home video-like feel).
Finally, there's one scene which will haunt me for a few more months at least. I can't say too much about it as it might give the plot away. This scene has been done in blue (natural moonlight?). This makes the character appear very ghostly, like an apparition. It's amazing, and to enhance the effect, the scene doesn't last more than a few seconds.
Khamosh Pani is aptly titled. And the khamoshi (silence) that runs through the movie is justified. This silence makes questions grow inside one's head, it makes one think. I can't believe how I got such a beautiful movie so cheap? My money has been recovered. The silence of Khamosh Pani doesn't scare me anymore.
Meili de dajiao (2003)
Very touching. Worth seeing at least once.
I had an opportunity to see this wonderful film at the recently concluded Jamshedpur film festival and I consider myself really lucky for being able to do so. My review, I'm sure isn't quite upto the mark, simply because my knowledge in Chinese films doesn't really go beyond Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. But this isn't a review. This is just an expression, a sort of a feedback to a commendable job that has gone into the making of this film.
The story is set in a very arid region in China where a young, single mother Zhang (Pi Ying) runs a school, the only school in that region. A beautiful city-bred young woman Zia (Yuan Quan) comes to join her as the new teacher. Life is difficult, and Zia finds it absolutely hard to adjust to conditions at her new work place. But a very strong bond develops between these two very different woman coming from totally disparate backgrounds.
I've just given a rough idea of what the film is all about. Although I want to type more I can't really do it for the fear of divulging some spoilers. Plus, maybe this film is too serious to be discussed in this flippant tone that I've deployed. However, this is one worth-talking-about film.
There are certain scenes in this movie that really stand out and are there inside the head even days after having seen this film. The relationship between the two women has been portrayed very beautifully. Zhang's outburst at a Beijing mall is quite powerful and touching. That one scene, perhaps, sums up the spirit of the entire picture--how far could a person could go for the sake of others? The opening sequence is equally engaging. The rugged Chinese landscape make for a very nice visual experience. The lead actors are awesome. Both Pi Ying and Yuan Quan look very good. However, I should make special mention of this child actor (his screen name is Da He). He'll leave you in splits and, in the climax, in tears.
I'd like to recommend this film to everyone, whether they're serious cinema afficionados or whatever. Movies like this shouldn't be missed for anything.