Review of 83- The Film

 Kapil's Devils, as the team came to be known, was not given even an outside chance of reaching anywhere in the Prudential Cup of Cricket. The world cup was considered a West Indian monopoly. Their fearsome pace attack subjugated all other teams then, and made the batsmen's job easy, though they had good batsmen in Richards, Lloyd, Greenidge, Dujon, etc. 

Mostly, it was self-belief after the first two games were won, exemplary leadership by Kapil, and great teamwork with all the members chipping in when it mattered, that got India this cup. It was so unexpected that an English journalist had to literally eat his words!

The film is superb, and recaptures the legendary march to victory over the West Indies, England and Zimbabwe - probably the most important to enable India to get to the semi-final. Ranveer and Pankaj Tripathi are the pick of the cast, but others are very good, and most looked like their counterparts. A good touch to get Mohinder to play Lala Amarnath, his father. Endearing moments with almost all the players captured so well. Man Singh's Hyderabadi was a great top-up to a great movie. Just watch it!

Movies in a Theatre

 Our generation is not a self-service generation, in general. We had people serving us, in most industries. Now, the customer has to do most of the work. Online services included. Only after you do the work, including assorted passwords and OTPs, does their machinery start to move.

So, going to the theatre versus Netflix type movie-watching. You only had to go to a theatre and part with money after which you enjoyed your three hours. Barring the five hundred rupee popcorn combo (I am not kidding!), you can still enjoy it in a theatre, but after booking tickets yourself, online. And carrying the damn phone to show them that you did your job! They pat you on the back (not literally) and let you in. 

Luckily, the guys who fill the petrol in your car or scooter are still doing it, unlike in the U.S., where you had to do it, even in the eighties. 

Where will this self-service pandemic end, I wonder. I fear, not at all. So get ready to give your OTP to all and sundry! You are lucky if they don't ask you to fly your own plane, I suppose.

Machine- Review of the Hindi Film

Abbas-Mustan have made a comedy. It's just that they don't realize it yet. When the critics start comparing this to cult comedies like Gunda, they will.

Just watch the last ten minutes of this film (preferably free) to get what I am saying. No rhyme, reason, and brains. Lady meets her murderer who threw her off  a cliff, and instead of shooting him, listens to him spewing crap about 'love' for 6 minutes, accompanies him to another cliff, listens to him for four more minutes before he throws himself off, tired of waiting for her to do it. DON'T miss the ending, even if you miss everything else.

A mish-mash of Baazigar, Race and a few more films (wih inferior actors), and songs from yet other films, all badly mixed-up, makes up the rest of the story. Johny Lever is the only genuine piece of intended comedy. Actors are like zombies- sorry, machines. The cars used in the races have more emotion in them. They should all go to acting school.

Very funny, if you don't miss the end. Otherwise, somewhat..

Tanu Weds Manu Part 2- A Review

Watched this delightful film without having seen the first. And it was a laugh riot from scene 1 where husband and wife explain what went wrong with their four years of married life. I had expected this kind of fireworks from Shadi Ke Side Effects-that wish remained unfulfilled.

The rest of the film is also in the same vein, mainly due to the character of Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) who with his amazing takes on various things steals the show from the lead actors, in my view. The others are good, but this guy is class! If I watch the film again, it'll be to watch his antics.

Kangana is good in both roles, and appears fairly different in the second. I personally don't agree with the choice made by Mr. (Madhavan) Sharma in the end, but what the heck, that's artistic license to disagree, and should not come in the way of enjoying a thoroughly enjoyable movie- not everyday that this happens.

Shaukeens- Film Review

There is a feeling I get when I watch remakes of good films done amateurishly or in a crass manner. I got that with this film. Last time I had it was with Humshakals, which was not a remake, but crass and stupid nevertheless.

There was this movie called Shaukeen directed by Basu Chatterjee in the eighties sometime, which had three very good actors in the lead roles, Rati Agnihotri as the object of their affection (or lust, if you prefer), and a hilarious series of events unfolding. At the time it was made, this theme was quite novel, but apart from that, the three oldies (Ashok Kumar, AK Hangal and Utpal Dutt) brought such class to the proceedings, that it would be tough to emulate. And Shaukeens shows how true that is.

The stories are similar- the three lustful old men going off into the woods to get themselves a girl, and funny ending to their attempts. Whereas the first one made you laugh or smile, this one ends in a whimper. Akshay Kumar tries his best to infuse life into the second half, but that only brings on a half-smile. Maybe I'll go read Chetan Bhagat's Half-girlfriend to get over this one.

Finding Fanny and Myself

The 'finding myself' is one reason for blogging (and reading blogs). And having just crossed 150,000 views of this blog, I am sure there are a few more trying to find themselves. One positive thing about blogs according to me is that they are mostly honest, at least more so than your projected image on a few other social media (as in 'permanently cool' on fb, or 'eminently employable' on LinkedIn).

Anyway, I happened to 'Find Fanny' in our auditorium at the IIM Indore campus last evening. Also went out to see Omkareshwar nearby during the day, taking in Pataalpani waterfall on the way back, with some new colleagues. Pics will follow when official photographers (we management profs have a way with things, you see) send me those.

The movie was a fitting finale to a productive day, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pankaj Kapur is one of our finest actors- I rediscovered this after watching Jaane Bi Do Yaaro again recently, as also Matru Ki Bijli ka Mandola- and here he is in great form. So are Dimple Kapadia, Deepika and Naseeruddin Shah. This is a quirky movie so unless you are somewhat warped, you will not like it. Don't expect syrupy love, larger than life heroics, or Bollywood dance medleys with 250 dancers with violently gyrating body parts.

Some episodes are laugh-out-loud, and some are more subtle. But great fun. Homi Adjania can make films, Saala!

Woody Allen's The Front

This is a movie about a dark chapter in American history- the persecution of anyone remotely linked to the left. I mean with communist leanings. American people have seen slavery, a civil war, and this mindless persecution which probably ended in the sixties, but not before taking a heavy toll of reputations and people with reputations.

Anyway, trust Woody to make a black comedy about this. Made in 1976, this is the story of an ordinary American who fronts as a writer for a "left-leaning' friend who is on the dreaded blacklist, and therefore does not get any work under his own name. This leads to naturally comic situations, such as Woody pretending to know a lot of authors, and his being asked to rewrite a scene on the sets of a hit TV show because the sponsor has a gas company and wants the reference to gas chambers deleted from a Nazi story episode. He also finds a girl who is in love with the 'writer' in him, and throws a fit when she discovers he is not.

A delightful film, recommended highly for fans of the Woody Allen brand of humour.

Revolver Rani- Film Review

It has its good moments, but unless you are a fan of the badlands movies with doses of emotion, I would say, avoid.

The good parts first. Kangana gets a good role, and she does a fairly good job of it. Not as good as "Queen" maybe, but good. She is a dacoity poilitician, a sort of Robin Hood in female form, who gets elected, and then loses the next election. She allows herself to fall in love with an opportunist, a wannabe hero, and that leads to her downfall. Her Shakuni-like uncle, the plotter of tall tales and master of electoral shenanigans, also turns against her when she gets pregnant from the hero.

The humour is in very small doses, and not very effective. The pace of the film is patchy, leading to your interest waning and waxing. Vir Das's (he is the hero) expressions are confusing, to say the least. He looks quizzical, and makes you feel the same most of the time.

I would any day prefer to re-watch Quick Gun Murugan, that lovely spoof of curry westerns. Is anyone listening?

Film Review of Non-stop

It has the thrills and suspense needed to keep you hooked for the 106 minutes, after a slow start. The post-9/11 idea of air marshals armed for a contingency is the base of the film.

But the way it is presented, as an attempted extortion through text messages, and a craftily planted bomb by a passenger, incriminating the marshal and provoking mistakes from him, is gripping. There are quick turns of events and red herrings (why are they red?) that maintain the pace. The killing of the pilot is ingenious.

Liam Neeson is good as the brooding, alcoholic air marshal who while accused of a hijacking, has to save a planeload of passengers.

May be a good idea to watch it on TV or DVD, because the dialogue would be easier to grasp fully.
Worth a watch if you like 'edge-of-the-seat' (quite literally here) thrillers.

Jai Ho- Film Review

Actually there is not much to review. Better not to view it is a one-line review.

But there are a couple of minor pluses, one of whom is Tabu. After quite some time, she is a pleasant surprise. A couple of minor actors - Mahesh Manjrekar as the auto driver and his portly passenger- act  well.

The kid has some cheeky one-liners. But on the whole, the good idea of pay-forward gets diluted by the violence and stupid song and dance. Daisy Shah is atrocious, and Salman just about Ok.

Avoid, is my suggestion. Or at least, don't pay to see it.

Sholay Revisited

Celebrating 60000 views of my blog (and 900 posts too)..

I first saw it at a grand theatre, Ramakrishna 70 mm, in Hyderabad along with my dad and brother. The effect was mind-boggling. This version was in 3D, and some scenes had an added zing, when objects like bullets or logs in the train robbery sequence flew at us.

But this is a tribute to a legend of a film. The editing is first rate, and won for M.S. Shinde a Filmfare award. Truly well-deserved. Maintaining the tempo for three and a half hours is tough, and he along with the Director, Ramesh Sippy, achieved what few others in cinema have. 

The story is quite ordinary, but the characterisation (with unique mannerisms, accents etc.) and treatment enhance the effect so much that you are engrossed, captivated and cannot take your eyes off the screen. The acting is superb. More so from the first-timer Amjad Khan. What a dream debut he had! Even the bit actors like Keshto, Jagdeep, Hangal, Sachin, and Kalia and Sambha (screen names of Viju Khote and Mac Mohan) are wonderful. Asrani for me had the role of a lifetime as a Chaplinesque jailer.

The dialogues are cutting-edge, and add a lot to the enjoyment.  Even simple lines are well-written, like Ab aayega mazaa. Or Kitne aadmi the? Or Budhiya going jail, jail me budhiya chakki peesing, Hum angrezon ke zamaane ke jailer hain, Holi kab hai? etc. have become classics. Every scene blends into the next seamlessly. Actors seem to have enjoyed the process, and it shows.  The background music is very good, particularly during the initial Basanti tonga ride sequence. And Mehbooba, mehbooba is a rocking number. Even ten of today’s item songs together can’t equal it for effect. Great fun revisiting Sholay.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

This is a movie I am talking about, not ghosts of my girlfriends- though that might be an interesting thing to talk about as well. (Also, they are all alive, so I will leave THAT to a future date)

This guy is a cool fashion photographer, and has girls falling for him like nine-pins (when played well). He believes only in one night stands or less, and has been trained to be this way by an uncle of his, who also comes back as a ghost and tells him to mend his ways.

Anyway, as the title suggests, he meets a few ghosts of his old girlfriends, and they take him through a re-run of his early life, when he used to be a normal guy wanting commitment, but then he chokes on asking his girl for a dance, and then goes off his rocker, turning into a philanderer.

A very interesting premise, and a lot of funny scenes, but somehow, I got the feeling the screenplay could have been better. Some of the scenes and dialogue are pretty predictable, and why he should want to give up what works well for him, is not too clear.

Anyway, fun to watch when it's free (on TV). I may not have paid to watch this one. I saw 'Sweet November' again just after this one, and liked it better even though I had watched it before. A sort of a female 'Anand' with a twist.

Mickey Virus- Film Review

There is a hacking job for which the cop hires a young and vagabondish, work-hating hacker. He does the job, apparently, and then things start going wrong. A string of murders continues unabated, and the hacker is accused of stealing 100 crores from the account of a fence...who is now after him. The police also suspect him of one of the killings due to a misunderstanding..

The rest is an interesting resolution of the above mess. I like whodunits, particularly those which I can't figure out. This is one of those. A commendable yarn, believably built up. The informal dialogues and smart characterisation of the two inspectors, the hackers and his gang of pals, the professor who is their inspiration, are all well-thought out. There are no item numbers to distract, but there is a nice looking actress (Elli Avram who is apparently Swedish) in the brief lead role who fills in admirably. Manish Paul fits the bill for the lead. The graphics are particularly good, and play a role in enhancing the impact.

A good watch.

War Chhod Na Yaar- Review of the Film

This is a new genre in Hindi films, and commendable for that reason alone. It's a comedy with a war-to-be as the backdrop. An India-Pakistan war, to be more precise.

The only complaint I have about it is that the jokes could have been more in number, and the sentimentality could have been cut out- but it is too much to expect that from a Hindi movie, I guess.

In particular, Javed Jaffrey does a good job as one of the lead characters, supported well by his boss in the Pak army, and his bosses - the political and the military. The Chinese general spewing Siddhuisms picked up from Comedy Nights with Kapil (Thok do, Phatak, etc.) are nice touches, and the non-exploding Chinese bombs are hilarious. The nuclear bomb is labelled "new clear" as if it's a cosmetic.

I think Dalip Tajil plays many roles, including that of the American trying to sell arms to India and Pak. Does it well too. Soha is OK, as the TV reporter, and Sharman Joshi looks handsome as the Indian trooper heading the Indian contingent on the scene. The comic interludes (in a comedy?) of the ghuspaithias (intruders) from Pakistan are handled well.

Eminently watchable, though a few more punches would have made for an ROFL experience. But I am all for humour, which is sorely lacking everywhere.

Amir Garib- Movie Recall

This is not Total Recall, but a partial one. On a flight recently, they showed an old classic (for me) Dev Anand film called Amir Garib. Though I missed a favourite song of mine sung by him with a trumpet in hand (Main aaya hoon, leke saaz hathon mein..in case you are interested) because I watched only a part of it (coz I was dozing, in case you are interested), I enjoyed what I watched.

Well, it's a masala classic, if you must know, and has a message- that the poor are better than the rich. This used to be the message in a lot of films those days. These days, the message might be what Gordon Gekko told us (Greed is good, unless you get caught).

Anyway, there is this female thief called Soni and our man is Moni. But wait, he is Moni by day, and Bagla Bhagat, a kind of Robin Hood who steals, by night. I remember Dharmendra starred in  a film where he played a Robin Hood character- in Jugnu. That also had Hema Malini in the female lead, and ran in Mumbai for 50 weeks.

It's all good fun, with the villain's den in garish colours, her's sister engaged to a cop whose mission is to catch Bagla Bhagat, and Premnath in good form as the (real) villain- a rich man, naturally.

Great fun to watch after all these years.

The Name of the Rose- Film Review

I caught this by chance on the World Movies channel. The book (by Umberto Eco, translated from the Italian) I had read a couple of years ago. This is a classical tale of ancient Italy, with intrigue in an abbey where there is a large library of handwritten and translated tomes from around the world.

It is such a tome translated from the Greek that becomes the reason for the intrigue, and murder, because it has the potential to challenge the existing dictates of the Church. How? It advocates doubt and laughter. And it is written by Aristotle. So scared is one of the older monks there that he prevents the book's discovery, and kills anyone who finds it or tries to. There are sidelights like a witch-hunt, and the love story of the young monk with a village girl who gets accused of being the witch.

Brother William, a somewhat maverick monk, along with his understudy, figures out the truth, but not before a lot of drama happens on this remote hill-top abbey. The story is engrossing, and Sean Connery in the lead puts in a credible performance. Do watch it if you get a chance.

Before Sunrise- Film Review

A lovely film, after a very long time. No idea why I missed it, seems it was made in 1995.

A young man meets a young woman, on a train in Europe. He urges her to get off in Vienna, before her destination. She agrees. They spend a night roaming the streets of Vienna, and talking with each other about their lives, views about life, and such. That is the plot. They part, confused about whether to meet, and whether they are in love.

I loved the movie, and wouldn't mind watching it again sometime. It is simple, uncomplicated by too many characters except when referred to by these two. There are some cultural references to the French and American stereotypes. He is American, and she is French.

The dialogue, the script, the cinematography, and the music, all are top-class, and hold your attention. There is also an old-world romantic feel, and a longing that the two actors portray, that you start wishing them well. Great feel-good stuff, and I am going to watch the sequel soon. There is one.

The Bucket List- Film Review

I saw the remake in Hindi (Dasvidaniya) before the original. That was good. This is superb!

A captivating idea, scripted and presented wonderfully by two of the finest Hollywood actors. Their on-screen chemistry is magical, and presents a live 'school of acting' for wannabe actors. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, are the actors. The dialogue is crackling.

The things they give each other, a few weeks before they are about to die, are intangible, and invaluable. As they say in services marketing, it's the experience of being together, living together, traveling together, and learning about themselves, compressed into a small time frame, under compelling circumstances.

What would I do if I find myself in similar circumstances? Frankly, I don't know, but I am certainly inspired by what these two do on their last days on the planet. Of course, zipping around the Kenya-Agra-Hong Kong route is an option, but that is not the point. Maybe one of the points is to discover the joy in your life. Could be your daughter, grandson, or spouse. Or anyone else, or all of them. Not to mention things, though they come a distant second. But things made important by the people associated with them. An old table, chair, home, tree, garden etc.

Live life fully is the obvious other message. But told to us lovingly, through a beautiful story of two people most unlike each other-at least on the surface. This is what movie-making should be all about. Delivering a hard knockout punch, in any genre.

Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola

It was a mixed set of reviews that prompted me to check out the film. And first of all, I must say I enjoyed the film. It is not dark, like Omkara was ( I didn't finish watching that, actually). It is a lot of fun, exuberance, and some lurking evil here and there.

Pankaj Kapur is one of our most talented actors, and he's got something to chew on here. His performances, even the one in Karamchand Jasoos on TV eons ago, were outstanding-of course, he was one of the villains in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro too.

His zany take on the man named Mandola is superb, and some moments (in the end, he does a doggy after the villain lady calls him a kutta in a damning dialogue) are absolutely ROFL! Anushka Sharma has lots to do, and with her mix of good looks and peppy acting, she does it well. I think she has rocketed after Band Baaja happened in her life. Imran Khan is the weak link here, and someone of Nana Patekar's calibre (younger, of course) could have added a lot more to his character.

Shabana is good in a new (for her) kind of role, and the supporting cast is good too. I watched it in Haryana (Gurgaon) and lots of people identified with the lingo the film uses - its setting is Haryana. The political satire is actually not very effective as in jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, but some sequences reminded me of it in their treatment. The take-offs on Mao and the use of the 'b'word- a popular curse word out here, are done quite well. The music is actually very lively, and adds to the mood in general.

Maybe 15 minutes chopped off would have added to its crispness. But I say that about all Hindi films. Anyway, it was paisa vasool for me!

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro- Second Viewing

In my teenage years, old movies regularly re-ran at theatres in Hyderabad. Why this practice was discontinued I don't really know-must be the DVDs that are rampant, and downloads, legal and illegal. But it is fun to watch some old movies in a theatre for the experience. We had one such recently, watching Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro at Pune's new PVR in a mall at Nagar Road.

The antics of all the characters are amazing- Satish Shah as DeMello, the Commissioner who takes commissions, eats Switzerland ka cake (Thoda khao, thoda phenko), and lives and dies for the gutter, the perpetually drunk Ahuja (Om Puri) in a perfect Punjabi accent, Pankaj Kapur as Tarneja the builder who gives good logic for extending buildings beyond permissible limits, Bhakti Barve the 'saviour' of society and editor of Khabardar, Satish Kaushik as Namboodripad the bumbling assistant to Tarneja, Neena Gupta as his sexy sidekick, and so on.

And to top all this, the lead characters played beautifully by Ravi Baswani and Naseeruddin Shah. Script, direction and dialogue are absolutely brilliant, and I think deserve an Oscar-equivalent recognition. Of course, the viewers have already recognised it as such. Kundan Shah, the maker, you are immortal just for this creation. So many dialogues are immortal. Wahan hum dekha, peene ka pani alag, gutter ka pani alag (about America which DeMello has just visited), Or Dhritarashtra's lament, "Yeh kya ho raha hai", through the twists and turns that Draupadi's cheerharan takes, or "Shaant, gadadhaari Bheem" in the same scene. Bhakti Barve also plays her part of seducing Naseer into doing her dirty work to perfection. All in all, a heady cocktail, though it was made in 1983- by a bunch of talented FTII alums (Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra are also in the team). Definitely should be on everyone's bucket list. My daughters liked it too, and they are in their 20s.