Newton- Film Review

A full house for a film with no Khans or Roshans is in itself a great thing. Not to take away from star charisma, but there are other films which deserve a viewing. This is one of them. Please avoid it if you want masala entertainment.

But if you want an honest look at what may be happening in relation to social issues in a place such as Chhattisgarh (could be anywhere, actually), then you may want a look-in. It reminded me of two films that I have seen earlier- Govind Nihalani's Aakrosh, and the more recent Peepli Live.

It is produced by Aanand Rai. The director's name was new to me (he is a kar-Masurkar!), but he has handled a difficult subject very well. The casting is perfect- Rajkumar Rao is brilliant, and so is his counterfoil-the army officer. The tribal girl's character has some meaningful dialogues too. The editing (my favourite punching bag) is spot-on.

Good, meaningful cinema, which cautions you that social problems are solvable, but solutions are not easy. In a democracy, the process is also slow. And that education may help.

Aligarh- Film Review

Watched this moving film (based on a real incident) on a plane- coming back from Singapore. Manoj Bajpai excels, and the portrait that emerges of the man (a prof. at AMU) is endearing. A much misunderstood, lonely, but competent and respected professor (and poet) at AMU becomes the victim of some rivals' shenanigans, and they invade his privacy and take pictures in his bedroom without permission. And he is victimised, not the invaders.

A journalist takes up the story, and exposes the plot, and suppports the prof. through his trials (literally- he is fighting a case to get his unjust suspension from the job revoked). Played well by Rajkumar Rao.

A minimalistic film, thought-provoking. It's about homosexuality, but it's also about a lot more than that. Dignity, privacy, politics in academics, for instance.

Before Midnight- Film Review

This is the third one in the series of offbeat films, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset being the first two. My admiration grew for all the people associated with the movie. There are few films in which the hero and heroine are both involved in the script. This is one of those- along with director Richard Linklater, they are in good form. Like the two earlier films, this is centred around conversations between the hero and heroine.

In this one, one of the long conversations/fights starts during lovemaking. Surprising? Well, they are married in this one, and many interesting things happen when two people are married. The fights, as I always maintained, are some of those interesting things. And the film tries to prove me right.

The difference is that there is also a great conversation around a Greek dining table (they are visiting a Greek writer and his family), which is extremely stimulating, in which three generations discuss the man-woman romantic relationship and its possible future (or no future).

All in all, I loved the heroine (Julie Delpy), and the hero (Ethan Hawke), and the movie, in that order. A fitting finale.