DevD

DevD. A kickass movie made after ages! Contrary to popular belief, this movie assures me of hope in Indian Cinema. I caught the first glimpse of this movie with the hillarious "Emosonal Attyachar" soundtrack on youTube, and for almost anyone who has seen this movie, the song has been a super hit!

I don't think this movie was meant for mass appeal, so I am not surprised that a lot of folks did not really like the movie or considered it too dark. But if you care for an unconventional blend of story, acting and music, look no more.

Inspired by the classic story of Devdas, this version proves to be a hell lot sexier. Abhay Deol with new faces Kalki and Mahi Gill set the screen on fire! The music in fact is unbelieveable awsome. Nayan tarse, rock version of emotional attyachar are two of my top tracks. While you will be blown away by the movie in the first watch, a second watch was is highly appropriate to appreciate the power of the music in this film. Its been months and I cannot tire from the music. Truely, a master piece.

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye

Its taken me a few trips to Delhi to start enjoying Dibakar Banerjee's stints like these, but truly, its been worth the while. I must admit, when I first saw Khosla ka Ghosla, I was no where close to comprehending why my fellow movie goers from the NCR region were falling off their chair every now and again.  :)

Oye lucky promised to be a bag of fun and I was not one bit disappointed. What made the movie a super comedy was not its wise cracks and jokes but the proper stitching together of the attributes that define the average dilliwales. Slick execution of the thefts and some kickass soundtracks to blend along with it.

I was quite impressed with the directors contribution to the lyrics, and the overall music as well (Check out the tracks Jugni, Superchor, and the title track). Great utilization of music to move the movie forward!

If you haven't seen this flick yet, go and watch it NOW! Watch it for being a dilliwala, for knowing a dilliwala, or heck not knowing one ever at all... watch it for some superb acting by 'the young sardar', Abhay Deol, and Paresh Rawal.. watch it for some funky punjabi music... watch it, for I promise, the next time you see a delhite shrug a  'namaste ji'... you will smile. :)

Flashbacks of a fool

Just saw this yesterday and I am not sure why its unblocked my writer's block (even if only for a few lines).

Let me see.. the movie had patches of real goodness about it, but there was a period within the early half where I felt the movie lacked a strong sense of purpose (well of course flashback and all). But gosh! there was this amazingly strong moment that the film had with young Joe and Ruth singing to Bryn Ferry - 'shake your head girl with the pony tail'.. Oh my God! what a classic moment that was. I think that one scene captures so much of the movie's essence - like how life can be so simple, so full of excitement, thrill and purpose. This scene alone takes us back to the lives of the characters in a flashback moment and leaves the audience totally enthralled.

A couple of other nice shots in there too which really makes it worth viewing on big screen. But, aww, despite all the patchwork that makes most of the movie, its only for enjoying this moment that you should watch it! :)

Sideways

My last post was perhaps a year ago. A lot has changed since then, a lot has happened since then, but .... hey! timeout! that's not what this blog's about! well, I am not really sure what it is about either, but heck this post is about my new found interest in ... wine!

It probably all started during my recent trip to South Africa where I discovered how sometimes it's easier to get wine or beer than 'still' water. Well anyhow, since the basic theme for the trip to Africa was opening up to new things - new hemisphere, new continent, new meat! - it was only fair enough to extend that to new drinks! And hence the interest in wines.

Well, so, classic timing to catch Sideways! While the story can be summed up as the traditional pre-wedding bachelor conversation, it's narration in the backdrop of wine tasting in south California and of course over ... wine, makes all the difference.

The film does not top the charts for me in the 'conversational' or 'roadtrip' category of movies, but it's worth a watch. The actors have played their parts well, and the story is an easy one, so 'clink' 'clink', cheers!

Mausam

One look at the movie poster and my mind was made up! Two of my
favourite actors, Sanjeev Kapoor and the very sexy Sharmila Tagore,
sure promise a few hours of good cinema.

Mausam (season)
though decades old, stills remains an attractive movie
owing to Gulzar’s candid story telling. While the plot itself is not
what I would rave about, its the way Gulzar and his actors have handled
the story, that glues you to the expected end. Amarnath Gill (Sanjeev
Kapoor) guilty of a failed relationship with a small town vaid’s (local
village doctor) daughter Chanda (Sharmila Tagore) and incidentally,
twenty odd years later stumbles upon the remnants of Chanda’s life, in
an off-season vacation in Darjeeling. Filled with remorse and regret,
Amarnath embarks on a journey to seek what remains of his lost love,
Chanda’s daughter Kajli (also Sharmila).

Of the several paths that this story could walk down, the choice of
simplicity and bare truth exposed in the character s feelings makes the
movie so convincing! Without actually dwelling on the notes of sympathy
(for Kajli’s life as a prostitute), or revenge / hatred (for Kajli
towards Amarnath, the lover who failed her mother) or self-loathing
(for Amarnath who realizes the cost of his erroneous choices in life),
the movie paces on, leaving it for its viewers to experience this
basket of emotions.

Some rather nice tracks, befitting its generation, accompanies this
movie. Take those hours off and grab yourself a copy of this film.

PS: An interesting thing pointed out to me was that this movie has a slight take off from the AJ
Cronin novel Judas tree!

Haazar Chaurasi Ki Maa

Its been about a year since my last post, but rest assured the movie count has only gone up!

Among many others, this weekend I saw Haazar Chaurasi Ki Maa. This much acclaimed film is a narrate of Sujata Chatterji's (Jaya Bhaduri) discovery of her son's (Brati Chatterji played by Joy Sengupta) life. Made in the backdrop of the Naxalite uprising in Bengal's Naxalbari, the film mostly deals with Sujata's quest for understanding her deceased son's ideologies and outlook to life. Starting off with a mere corpse number '1084' (which lends the film its name), she establishes her son's true identity, despite the social barriers surrounding her.

What appealed to me the most was Sujata's character defined as a simple minded mother whose love for her son gave her the strength to not only discover his pursuit in life, but also, find meaning in her own. That apart, Govind Nihalani brings out a nice diagnosis of the varying ideologies of an entire generation - how a protected and almost shrouded environment can co-exist with an uprising that seeks to change the very foundation of society. The movie explodes at a point where Sujata questions this very oddity, thus marking a moment of change in her own life.

The film has tremendous talent in its actors like Anupum Kher, Seema Biswas, Nandita Das, Joy Sengupta, Milind Gunaji and of course Jaya Bachhan making a comeback in 1998 after a long gap in her cinema career. A very good film to watch.

At home this diwali

At home this diwali vacation, carrrying on in high spirits of movie viewing, here are some more comments on the films I saw over the vacation break...

My second of Majid Majidi's films, Baran, turned out to be yet another beautiful and touching story, narrated with the simplicity that is typical to Majidi's work. Although this is only the second of his movies that I have seen, his earlier film Children of Heaven also had the very same gentle appeal to itself. The movie does not have any deep plot as such, its just the simple narrate of a young worker in Tehran, Lateef, who falls in love with the Afghan worker, Baran, when he realises the truth of her identity. Though not professing his love for the pretty Baran, Lateef goes out of the way to ensure the comfort of the girl he has fallen in love. A simple and interesting story told in the backdrop of a pretty countryside, this movie is a good watch!

Children of Heaven, also has the same simplicity about itself. A story of a little boy and his sister, whose shoes he has lost, and the innocence with which the deal with their shoe crisis! :) It is really a very "pretty" movie. The charm of the young children and the decisions they take while trying to figure out a way to manage the lost pair of shoes, is just so touching. The story line is also impressive here, as Majidi brings out some subtle and ironical twists to the tale. Another excellent watch!


Monica Belluci is so beautiful!!!! Thats all I could think of while watching Malena. Really....! :)
Well, I quite liked this film too, and I would recommend it. Quite a sexy film, narrated by a teenage boy who is enchanted by the beauty of the talk-of-the-town Malena Scordia. In the backdrop of Mussolini announcing war, this story is of a town "attacking" the life of the beautiful and helpless woman Malena, turning her from Bride to widow to prostitute, leaving her no other means for survival. Young Renato however, a boy of 12, silently "watches" over Malena and safeguards her innocence until the return of her presumably dead husband. With the war having ended the couple returns to live in their family home and are treated with respect by the locals this time.
Some reviews I had read on this film, had drawn interesting parallels between Malena and Italy itself, in the way both are cherished, mis understood, illtreated and then respected again as they go through a period of war / struggle. Interesting!