Reviews

Directors are usually reluctant to translate history on celluloid. They are instead inclined to offer new interpretations of history, shed light on little-known facts about their subjects, and even raise questions that were missed. On the contrary, the title of Shyam Benegal's film- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose – The Forgotten Hero- itself tells a story! Nobody remembers what he did, except to say that he was a great big hero. Few people remember that he challenged Gandhi, or that he was married.

The film's narrative is brilliantly broken into three parts. These are headed under Itmad, Ittefaq and Qurbani after the motto of the Indian National Army. The film brilliantly captures the vast canvas of its history, geography and political ambiance just before India's independence from British rule. The film is the product of painstaking historical, documentary and other research that spanned 18 months. The research team explored all available material, interviewed the people alive such as Netaji's Japanese interpreter, then in his late eighties.

The film comepletely lacks loud and bombastic rhetoric, a common feature of most nationalist and biographical films made on national heroes. Its central focus is on the man behind the hero, the human being behind the mask of the national leader, a true lover of his country dedicated to get it liberated from foreign rule. The film is characterised as much by the patriotism and hero-worship that brought young men in hundreds to join their hero, as by its documentation of history. It is the film of a journey- ideological, political, historical and personal that uncovers almost by incidence than by connivance of history, a beautiful fictionalized documentation of one of the greatest national heroes Indian has ever produced.

Mera Naam Joker is certainly one of the most insightful, heart-warming commercial films made in India. This film shows Raj Kapoor's orientation towards world classics. The cinematography is Tarkovskyish, Raj Kapoor's performance draws heavily from Charlin Chaplin, while the ending reminds of Fellini's Otto e Mezzo. This is possibly the greatest semi auto-biographical film- portrays major part of a person's life. It is the Indian Citizen Kane! Where it stands different from Citizen Kane or Otto e mezzo is its inherent optimism, and its commercial value. Raj Kapoor is not hesitant to show small dances and partial melodrama, and the message is loud and clear- 'Life goes on'! The last story (meena) seems out of place initially in this long film, but starts making sense when it depicts Raju's loneliness correctly.

The scene that steals the show is where Raju's mother dies and yet Raju enters the ring dressed as a clown yelling for his mother, squirts water from his eyes, and starts playing his violin- a wonderful depiction of his showman spirit. This film has everything in place, and I can't help but call it- my favourite Raj Kapoor classic!

ust like, Bergman's Wild Strawberries, Kurosawa's Ikiru is a film about life. Constantly complex and thought-provoking, although simple at the same time; it tells a story about life's limits, how we perceive life and the fact that life is short and not to be wasted. Of all of films Kurosawa made, this is probably the one movie that works perfectly on an universal level, because at its core it is about one of the basic truths of life- death.

In its starch and unforgiving black-and-white form the movie records the time of one man's life in such a beautiful and yes, colorful way, that by the time the final moments of the film play out, it will be very hard for anybody not to be touched. The film details the existential struggle of one ordinary man in his desperate search for purpose.

Ikiru is a film that expresses itself in two separate parts. The first half is the exploration of a bitter man's death and the second half is an affirmation of life provided through the awareness of mortality, recalled by those whom he knew best.

Sanjuro is the righteous sequel to Yojimbo, but unfortunately, not as popular- probably because it was never copied to become a western. Mifune is as smart as he was in Yojimbo. In-fact, he has improved! He has developed leadership skills and is more polished. Has has respect for women! Although there are many noticeable differences as well. Yojimbo retains its indebtedness to the sword with heavy doses of ruthless action. There is certainly action in Sanjuro, but it rarely gets truly ruthless- another symbol of maturity in Sanjuro's character. If Kurosawa wanted, he could have included action and made the film more commercial. Instead, he did what was the right thing to do. He had his protagonist claim in the end- "I am just like him (the dead antagonist), he was like a sword that should have a sheath" Yojimbo and Sanjuro are both essentially comedies, but they evoke different senses of humor. The black comedy of Yojimbo is nowhere in evidence here. Sanjuro is more or less slapstick humor. Unlike most Kurosawa films, this film is mostly indoor. Nature comes into play only in the final scene of the film, which the audience knows, is justified once they watch the film!

Cinema is sometimes classified into two categories- the realistic, and the fantastic (fantasy-based). This film masterfully captures both, a specialty of most Frank Capra classics. They are not fixed to a single era, but all eras, the truest definition of a classic. This film released in 1939 has young James Stewart at his very best. It is a political drama/ comedy with elements of patriotism and the usual good vs evil plot. The film has a crowd pleasing element only matched by few.

Jeff Smith (James Stewart) believes that children are the future and they should take the values from their great Country. When a senator dies in his state, the governor is forced into an awkward position of electing him the new senator. When Mr. Smith- the true patriot, arrives Washington, he is amazed by all the greatness that Washington possesses. He comes up with idea to propose a Bill that would let kids come together and enjoy the wilderness in a plot in his home town. His colleague Mr. Pain has his own plans with that same land. The film then releases the full fury of what corrupt politicians can do to a truthful man. The U.S. Senate is amazingly detailed. It's also a nice lesson in how the Senate works, how bills have to go through committees, the rules of behavior and filibustering. A heart warming patriotic film from a very rare and different angle.

If there is one film by which Kurosawa is recognized by, it is Seven Samurai, and it rightly deserves its place! One of the richest works to ever be committed to celluloid, each of its characters is extraordinarily realized; each has his or her own arc, his or her own vital part to play in the film's slow progression towards its dramatic finale.

What really stands out in Seven Samurai are its characters. They run the gamut, from elder teacher to hopeful youth, stoic warrior to undisciplined brigand. Kurosawa even finds room for a youthful romance. No wonder enemy bandits are virtually faceless. There is so much conflict and passion present within the group of our beloved protagonists, the villains need not be more than a vague threat! The run length of the film is its biggest strength- a rare claim, indeed! With a large canvas, Kurosawa painted something that will define cinema till the end of mankind!

Pratidwandi is one of my favourite films of Satyajit Ray. In-fact, I'll place it above Apu trilogy and Charulata. This is political drama at its best. Set in the age of hippies, communism and newly born Naxalism, when Woodstock and the Vietnam war were fresh, the film reflects the bitterness and anger of an intelligent, sensitive young man engaged in the Herculean task of finding a job. This is one film that rightly depicts the Calcutta of the late sixties.

It was a difficult period for India and West Bengal. Corruption was rampant. Unemployment raged the youth of India. I absolutely loved the flashbacks and the way X-ray digressions have been employed by Ray. The ending scene was particularly marvellous, where the protagonist Siddharth, chooses ideology over helplessness. No wonder the inspiring communist of Hazaron Khwashein Aisi is also named Siddharth.

The film is stylistically experimental for Ray, featuring techniques inspired by the French New Wave, such as jump-cuts, edgy framing, dream sequences, and sexual metaphors. Some of the experimental techniques which the film pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks and X-ray digressions. There are a number of dream sequences which reminded me of Bergman's Wild Strawberries.

When I first heard that Manorama- Six Feet Under is a remake of Polanski's Chinatown, my interest in the film was gone. But after watching Dev D, I suddenly found myself fascinated by Abhay Deol. So, finally I decided to watch Manorama. This film came as a pleasant surprise to me. The very first five minutes of the film, with a very skillful long take, made me realize that this film is much above my expectations- in fact by the end of the film I realized that it is, probably one of the best film in the last 10 years! Manoama is an artistic tribute to Chinatown. I have three reasons to support it. Firstly, it is set on the historical disputes over land and water rights of 1930′s Los Angeles, when it was merely a desert. To match this, Director Navdeep Singh sets this film in a small town in Rajasthan. Secondly, the very film noir element of Chinatown is kept intact in Manorama. I felt like watching a film by the Coen brothers. Thirdly, every scene of Chinatown is shot with Jack Nicholson in it, i.e., the film is taken from the protagonist's point of view- letting the viewers move along with the detective, and ultimately the detective outsmarting the viewers by cracking the case. A perfect framework for thrillers. Manorama follows this formula religiously and makes magic out of it! I remember I loved a television series- Vyomkesh Bakshi, for the very same reason.

Wonderfully directed- I really wonder why Navdeep Singh still does not have a page in Wikipedia! The film brilliantly eliminates the 'She's my sister and my daughter!' element of Chinatown to suit Indian audiences. Though Raima Sen has a heavy Bengali accent not suitable for her character, everything else works out for this film. From screenplay through cinematography to editing. This film is a tight slap on today's cinematographers who replace cinematography with expensive locations- here cinematographer Arvind Kannabiran never goes into larger details of the desert, yet you can almost feel the heat of the desert and sand on your face- this is one that film silently hits that bull's-eye!

I believe Anurag Kashyap is one of the greatest directors of today, and Udaan is a story well scripted but poorly directed. And therefor Kashyap is not the one to blame. Let me be very clear that I don't judge films by moral values or message, a reason people may quote for disliking Udaan. My reasons are purely cinematic.

While the film is wonderfully scripted, edited and cinematographed; the show stealer of the film remains its awe-inspiring music. Amit Trivedi is undoubtedly the next Rahman Indian cinema has to offer. With the soundtrack of DevD, Udaan and the more recent 'No one killed Jessica', Amit has proved his mettle time and again! On a personal note, since I am from Jharkhand and completely in love with my place, I loved the familiar scenes from Jamshedpur. It was a treat to watch! However, I have several reasons for not liking the film. Firstly, unlike Kashyap's style, there were many scenes which were begging to me to sympathize with the protagonist. I am still assuming that Kashyap's script was good and director Motwane couldn't do justice with it. I wouldn't have been disappointed if Karan Johar or Yash Chopra would have tried a tear jerker, but Kashyap and his associates should belong to a league of their own.

Secondly, I found that this film has three aspect to ponder. The protagonist's relationship with his younger brother, his relationship with friends, and his terms with his father. While the first two aspects were realistic, the character of his father (played by Ronit Roy) lacked realism. Or shall I call it 'exceptional realism'? The father was outright evil. Fathers like him don't occur in places like Jharkhand. If the film was set in New York, I wouldn't have complained. Moreover, the film lacked progression, character highlighting and surrealism, something that Kashyap's earlier films were known for.

Post world war II, cinema was deeply influenced by the Italian realist wave. Rosselini and Visconti's hard hitting social commentary and De Sica's day-to-day struggle changed film-making like never before (or since). This wave gave birth to directors like Kurosawa, Fellini and Ray. One of the Indian masterpieces of those days was Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin, which can arguably be termed as the Indian answer to De Sica's The Bicycle Thief.

This film has it's heart in the right place. The indivisible nature of the family, all of whose members work towards the fulfillment of a single objective, which is the fabric of Indian society, is the beauty of the film. All of the members- Shambhu, his wife, his father and son, intend to alleviate his situation and try to contribute in every way possible. The film ends in a sad satirical note, which is the principle characteristic of neo-realistic cinema.

Story apart, the most beautiful aspect of the film is the spirit with which on upholding of one's dignity and self esteem in the most perturbing situations. Though, the protagonist, Shambhu could have executed his task easily many ways, he opts for the most ethical choice of all- hard work. It is quite evident that Do Bhiga Zamin has been influenced by (and has influenced) cinema spanning different geographical, linguistic, and social backgrounds, but it still has a firm foot in its culture.

Kamal Haasan's body of works can be broadly divided into two categories- Hey Ram and non Hey Ram. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, and a film is worth a 1000 pictures. I say a movie like Hey Ram is worth a 1000 films. This film depicts the culture of India like no other, which ranges from traditional Iyengar, Bengali and Marathi to conventional British and Gandhian.

Not a single scene, line or character is wasted in this film. Being a period film, art direction becomes critical for description of the story. Right from the old Pears calendar in Birla House to the British cement advertisement in Calcutta, from the Tanjore paintings in Srirangam to the vehicles and instruments in the cities, not one object or concept is out of place! Many films fail here, including Lagaan which had 6 balls bowled per over instead of 9.

With an cast of India's finest actors Like Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Om Puri, Hema Malini, Rani Mukherjee, Atul Kulkarni and Shah Rukh Khan, one cannot complain about the performances. Perhaps the biggest asset to the film is its refusal to employ black and white characterization. Not one character in this epic is projected as an all good person and everyone has their own selfish reasons in life!

Indian films are rarely based on books, and they heavily account for their bad screenplay. Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday tries to portray everything the way it actually happened in Mumbai blasts, or at least as the book says it happened, and succeeds! Unlike most other films of this genre, this film does not hype terrorism, or romanticize the darkness of Bombay, or the coldness of its police- but portrays exactly what happened in reality. The usage of actual news footage of the events add realism to the tale. It takes courage to take names of some of the biggest name in underworld and Indian politics as bluntly, and the filmmaker shows that courage.

The story doesn't point finger on any particular person, group or community as the culprit for what is still Indian crime history's biggest tragedy. It gives a strong message, right on face- the terror, the attacks, the explosions, the riots inhales not any particular community but the whole humanity.

If there is one film after Citizen Kane based on a man's whole life, it has to be the Belgian film Toto le Heros. This film about fate, love, and childhood fantasies which are very hard to describe. Take a kids film of Von Trier, add a spoon-full of Amelie, an essence of Donnie Darko, a sprinkle of Lynchian strangeness and Terry Gilliam's wackiness, garnish it with Citizen Kane and The Third Man, and you'll meet Toto! Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny, sometimes weird, always captivating; this is a film for people who enjoy non-linear and creative story-telling. Also, that much talked about floating plastic bag scene from "American Beauty" is taken straight from this film's unforgettable final scenes! Students interested in editing should learn from this film. This film sets the standards of modern editing, which can be compared with likes of Saving private Ryan, Requiem for a dream, The Conversation and City of Gods. The narration may seem complicated but the story-line is as simple as that- an unpredictable tale about a man who always thought he was nobody, and found at the very end of his life, that he was, in fact, a hero!

8 1/2 is of the most original and spellbinding films I know of. One of the beauties of cinema is to merge the artist's memory and fantasy; Fellini certainly utilized this magic to present his story and characters that embody both humanity and mystery. This film is an autobiographical piece (of Fellini himself) about a movie director named Guido, how his life is consumed by his increasing obsession with work. He avoids questions and problems as if they will go away somehow, only to experience more questions and problems. Ultimately, Guido realizes the only way to solve his problems is to face them rather than escaping, accepting himself instead of wishing he was someone else.

It isn't really possible to place '8 ½' in any simple category. It is a comedy and a tragedy, a satire and a celebration, a movie about love and about the lack of it, a movie about making art and a movie about living, an autobiography and the most challenging kind of fiction, a masterpiece of style and a movie that's really about something. It's not for everyone, but it should be, and it's quite possibly the single greatest movie I have ever seen.

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science fiction film by Stanley Kubrick (who happens to be my favourite director as well). Being my favorite film, I have recommended this it to almost everyone I know. This review is more like an answer to those who found this film slow-paced, and for those yet to watch it, you may continue to read this as a disclaimer to the film- I'll give you a word- Beauty Beauty is an under-rated concept. Sure, you'll often see nice photography and so on in films. But when did you last see a film that contains beauty purely for the sake of it? There is a weird belief among cinema-goers that anything which is not plot or character related must be removed. This is depressing hogwash. There is nothing wrong with creating a beautiful sequence that has nothing to do with the film's plot. A director can show 15 minutes of spaceships for no reason than that they are beautiful, and it is neither illegal nor evil to do so.

'2001′ requires you to watch it, in a different way than you normally watch films. It requires you to relax. It requires you to experience strange and beautiful images without feeling guilty that there is no complex plot or detailed characterization. Don't get me wrong, plots and characters are good, but they're not the be-all and end-all of everything. There are different kinds of film (this being the best of all), and to enjoy '2001′ you must tune your brain to a different wavelength and succumb to the pleasure of beauty, PURE beauty, unfettered by the banal conventions of everyday films.

'2001′ is primarily a technical film. The reason it is slow, and filled with minute details because the aim was to realistically envision the future of technology (and the past, in the awe inspiring opening scenes including an amazing jump cut sequence). The film's greatest strength is in the details. Remember that when this film was made, man still hadn't made it out to the moon but there it is in 2001, and that's just the start of the journey. To create such an incredibly detailed vision of the future that 35 years later it is still the best we have is beyond belief – I still can't work out how some of the shots were done.

The film uses invisible but powerful forces to manipulate the plot but perhaps the most overwhelming one is the picture's vision of man In Kubrick's fantasy, the Golden Age of man was a neglected instant between a man-ape's exaltation at discovering the first weapon and a nuclear-powered spaceship floating in a graceful orbit around the Earth. Man has indeed evolved As a spectacle "2001″ assaults the mind, eye and ear, with stimulating images and suggestions. We are surrounded by a totally believable futuristic environment.The film is filled with brilliant sequences and extraordinary moments: The first interesting minutes in which the story of the apes is told visually, without a single line of dialog; the zero-gravity toilet with its great list of instructions; the stewardess defying gravity by walking the walls calmly upside down; the frightening moment when we realize that HAL is reading the astronauts lips; the magical alignments of Sun, Moon, and Earth; the "Starchild" returning home to charm the orb. "2001″ is filled with poetic imagery: the view of the Sun rising over the Earth; the tossing of the bone into the air in slow motion; the slow images of the giant spaceship revolving in a cosmic ballet. "2001″ is also a work of great visual acuity. It allows us to view more than the mystery of existence and destiny implicit in every man. Its end troubles many viewers as they demand clarity where there can only be mystery. They insist upon an answer where there can only be a question. Every viewer had a different explanation of the mysterious end of Kubrick's film. But for those who can accept mysticism, the climax is deeply moving.

"2001″ is unique among films in content and scope. The cinematography is out-of-this-world, the special and visual effects are breathtaking, and the classical music is sublime. Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is art in the highest sense, like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", or Van Gogh's "The Starry Night". It is actually more than that!