Editor's Pen: Full On "Between Breaths"

Hi All...

Shahrukh dared and found support of lacs of people standing with him in defiance of the Moral Police who apparently lost their morality as well. So, as a result, couples had special time in confined theatres with their beloved to celebrate love this Valentine watching a beautiful love story... My Name Is Khan.

This edition, we are presenting some love stories and something that will linger in your mind for some good memorable time. I hope that the feat will be well accomplished...

Short Movies are getting a lot of hype these days. We have started an event "BETWEEN BREATHS" and now finally are opening up the timelines for everybody who may be interested...

• Last Date To Submit Video on mail with script (story in written) at the.reel.admin@gmail.com : 30th March 2010
• Prize: Gifts and Goodies with Certificate for three best works; promotion on different forums and "Special Recognition" by Golden Podium.

So be a part of the contest... you never know what may click...

Regards

Sujoy Ghosh

Love is in the air | Under Lens

Firing the Cupid’s firearms, we at TRM figured out some really watchable movies celebrating the feeling of love. Revert with your opinions and more suggestions as well… would love to read them.

From Hollywood:

· 50 First Dates

· Notebook

· Sweet November

· Finding Neverland

· P.S. I Love You


From Bollywood:

· Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

· Socha Na Tha

· Pyar Ke Side Effects

· Rules- Pyar Ka Superhit Formula

· Dhokha


Beyond the Holly and Bolly:

· Bomarillu (Telugu)

· A Moment To Remember (Korean)

· Classic (Korean)

· A Millionaire’s First Love (Korean)

Death In A Loop… Guru Dutt And Sanjeev Kumar | Under Lens

1964… Guru Dutt died due to an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol. That time he was involved with K. Asif’s saga Love and God. Sanjeev Kumar replaced Guru Dutt however little he knew that his end will be similar.

Sanjeev Kumar was not able to recover from his personal issues and drank heavily. Something parallel to the life of Guru Dutt. What an irony, Sanjeev Kumar died in 1984 and the movie in which he replaced Guru Dutt was released in 1986. By ’71, even K. Asif was history. Three legends of Indian cinema expired even before the movie that linked them released.

Even Sanjeev Kumar had a pending movie when he left this world. Movie was Professor Ki Padosan. The movie was three-fourth complete when Sanjeev died an early death. Director was confused and finally on suggestion of a senior member of cine-fraternity included an Invisible-character sequence to justify Sanjeev’s obvious absence. Movie bombed as expected.

Life doesn’t give what you want. Guru Dutt had a tormented marriage and Sanjeev Kumar was turned down by the lady he loved so much. Guru Dutt was unlucky as there was no one to support him… not even Waheeda Rahman. Sanjeev Kumar might have been luckier. There was someone who loved him… Sulakshna Pandit. But he turned her down. He didn’t gave his life a chance.

They always say… “marry someone who loves you… not the one whom you love…” but sometimes you don’t hear what you yourself say to the world.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Arth | The Critique

When movies are autobiographical, they create great furors because even in broad daylight everything is not simply bright. There are shadows as well. Arth casted light on shadows that were meant to be in dark only.

“Tum Jo Itna Muskura Rahe Ho…” this song by Jagjit Singh must have pricked Mahesh Bhatt to the core as his affair with Parveen Babi must have shattered the life of his wife who had no mistake. Exemplary music by Jagjit-Chitra laced a beautiful story that can boast of some great performances by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raj Kiran and magical ladies- Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi. A great directorial effort by Mahesh Bhatt, this is one of the finest movies of its time.

The story is about a director (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) who needs money and success. He ditches his wife (Shabana Azmi) to live with a star (Smita Patil). The star is extremely moody and needs psychological help. On the contrary, his wife is an extremely balanced lady who knowhow to live life without the support of her estranged husband. She finds a friend in a struggling singer who consequently falls in love with her. However, she maintains a distance.

Finally, should she go with him or will her husband return to her after the delusion of stardom vanishes or should she live an independent and peaceful life? Let the question be unanswered. The Arth i.e. meaning of her life depends on her decision.

The ghazals in this movie are masterpieces. They remain in your memory for long and so does the images of Smita and Shabana at their best. The drunken Shabana scene and raging Smita’s performance are the two highs of the movie. People must appreciate the way movie was made and the honesty of Mahesh Bhatt to portray the suffering of his wife. Watch it… it worth it…

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Philadelphia | Critique

Aren’t we too prejudiced about AIDS and homosexuals? Are we ready to accept them as human beings? This may not be a question to be asked in 2010 but what about 1993? These were no better than being criminal, atleast by a section of society that may be labeled as Homophobic. A movie “Philadelphia” asked the question.

Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are competing lawyers with a graceful respect for each other. Hanks as Andrew Beckett is on his purple patch when he discovers that he is sick. He is fired and now he wants a compensation for the pink slip, not for his being an underperformer but for his employer’s prejudice against AIDS and homosexuals. He meets Joe (Denzel) who is a homophobic. Though initially reluctant, Joe finally decides to take up the case. And the court case is a brilliant example of the caliber of both the artists. Atleast, this is the best one I saw in my life.

The questions and replies followed by discussion, Joe proved that there was definitely a lot more than Andrew’s incompetency attributing to the unceremonious pink slip. His employer Charles Wheeler (portrayed by Jason Robards) is a homophobic and his attitude and decision needs to be replied in appropriate measure as he is setting a wrong example for the entire society. What will court decide… too easy to guess.

Antonio Banderas as Hank’s screen lover did a fine job. So did Jason Robards. But Denzel and Hanks stole the show. Hanks bagged the best actor Oscar.

Some movies make a difference to the entire world around. Philadelphia is one of them. It asked why are we so hypocrite and why so narrow-minded? Homosexuals and HIV+/AIDS patients are human beings and they deserve humane treatment. These people are amongst us only… Don’t drift them into closets.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

My Name Is Khan Movie Review | Critique

Rating 4/5 Stars
Note if you're SRK fan: 5/5 stars

A Sweet Friend almost dragged me to theater and I found a Forrest Gump carrying a burden on his shoulder. The burden was not of few terrorist banging on to WTC; It was of people who targeted Muslims for being Muslims. And all he asked was a label-"I am Khan and I am not a terrorist." And Why am I saying that he carried burden of people who targeted on Muslims - He forgave them at the first place and there I saw Jesus in him who carried the burden of people who stoned him.

Now that is the "issue" Khan is more about love - Rizwan's implicit love for Mandira and Sameer, his son. In his journey he had a simple point, he doesn't need to prove the world that he is a non-terrorist Muslim. Rather he wanted love of his beloved who believed that her son was killed because of Rizwan added word Khan to their name. Yes it happened because of him but it was not right.

Script was the only spoiler. Dialogues were good but script was vague at times and at times too naive. I can't understand how so many people including Kajol, SRK and Karan didn't notice it. You had a brilliant plot and you ruined it. The Georgia Hurricane Sequence was a bouncer. Why was it there.

Performances- SRK was brilliant. Only Swades and Chak De had better perfomances. He was not like Tom Hanks but like Rizwan only. Kajol was too good. She carried the role with great conviction. The ‘Hair Cut’ and ‘First Night’ sequences were excellent.Two child actors Sameer and Rizwan younger days- were simply awesome. Vinay Pathak was good as usual and the cub reporter and Parveen Dabbas were apt in their roles.

Three special mentions - Jimmy Shergill, Sonia Jehan (as Jimmy's wife) and Zarina Wahab. Zarina's performance will stay with me for a long time.

Direction and cinematography were approaching benchmarks. Music is already on a roll and dialogues were highs. There was some clarity in thought but script was not proper state. A few scenes made it stay short of a legend. Anyways, Sena controversy will make it a legend in history.

Wrtten by- Sujoy Ghosh

Editors Pen: VK Murthy

While, we had some amazing feedback from our readers, we had some great news as well. In Jan we did a story on Kaagaz Ke Phool and when the Dada Sahab Phalke awards were declared, our happiness knew no bounds. The legendary cinematographer of three great movies of Guru Dutt- Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa and Sahab Bibi Aur Ghulam- V.K. Murthy is being honored with the prestigious award.

V.K. Murthy is one of those highly respected technicians of this country whose brilliance is recognized even by the legends beyond the borders. It is a great achievement because for some or other reason, technically Indian films are considered to be inferior. Someday we will bring up stories reflecting his genius.

Change is the only stagnant phenomenon and hence, we are also experimenting with our content. We need your suggestions as this website is just for you. Each word will be heard and criticism will be appreciated…

Regards

Sujoy Ghosh

Dilip Kumar - Raj Kapoor Rivalry

Two of the tallest personalities, in the history of Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, shared a healthy rivalry over films they made. Both started their career in mid - 1940’s. In a matter of a decade, it became clear they would be stars for a long time to come.

Pretty soon they were in tough competition, with each other. There movies often released in the same year, and most open would end up being the top two films of the year. It must be noted, here at that time there was a strong communal tension in the country. So eventually division of fans became stronger, to some fans they seemed to be represent both communities.

At the height of this debate, came Mehboob Khan's Andaz (1949), with both actors starring in a love triangle plot with Nargis playing the common love interest. Much as fans wanted, both stars had on screen confrontations in the film. The competition resulted superb performances from both the actors.

In one of the scenes in Andaz, RK’s character slaps DK’s character. For that shot, RK landed an actual heavy slap on DK’s face. So much so it startled the crew who were present during shooting. The chemistry of both rocked the film, and Andaz became Super Hit.

Unlike today, when rivalry between actors gets down to extent of naming dogs after the other, back then things were cordial. They both never got into public spat, they would often meet at parties award functions and would be amicable.

This competition continued for decades. 1960 saw the release of ‘Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai’ on theme of reformation amongst dacoits. It was very well received. Dilip Kumar followed it up with 'Ganga Jamuna' in 1961, which became a bigger hit and was critically more acclaimed than JDMGBH.

Decades of competition turned to admiration when both of them got elderly. It is said that after watching Dilip Sahab’s ‘Shakti’, Raj Kapoor called up and said, “Today I saw your film Shakti and now one thing is clear to me, that there is one and only one actor like Dilip Kumar.”

As of today both have a lasting impression on Indian Cinema, Raj Kapoor as the Showman and Dilip Kumar for his excellent acting

But as a film buff there rivalry resulted in both trying to do better work and in process made excellent films.

Written By Ali Naqvi

THE DECADE THAT WAS: year 2000 | Under Lens

Please allow me to discuss some films of the decade that is about to pass by. Some films that changed our perspective of the way we look at films. Some films that were lucky at the Box Office, some that weren’t. Nevertheless, these were films that reinstated our belief in creative cinema. In this segment we will discuss three films in each part- A Hindi film, an English film and a foreign language film.

HEY RAM! (2000) -
A fictional story of a man named Saket Ram (Kamal Hassan) who nurses a grudge against Muslims (some of them raped and murdered his wife) with the partition of India as its backdrop, Hey Ram failed to set the cash reisters ringing. But, since when did a movie have to be lauded based on its BO performance? Hey Ram, since then has achieved cult status and a strong fan base. Kamal Hassan, Shah Rukh Khan, Vasundhara, Naseeruddin Shah….you name them, each one of them shone in their respective roles. People complained that Kamal Hassan got “too indulgent”, but if this is indulgence, then we ought to have some more of that on screen. A visceral example of can’t-look-away filmmaking. Also, who can forget that memorable performance by Atul Kulkarni (in his nascent stages, he still was a find)?

MEMENTO (2000) -
When it first premiered at The Venice Film Festival, it garnered universal acclaim and standing ovations. A vendetta tale like no other, Memento revolves around the story of a man suffering from Anterograde Amnesia (short term memory loss) after he has been hit on his head by the person who murdered his wife. Now, he is out pursuing the murderer, the only problem being he does not remember anything. His body is tattooed with little clues he has collected and everyone seems a deceiver. Christopher Nolan, who worked on a short story from his brother Jonathan Nolan, created a story that had the words, ingenuous, innovative, twisted stamped over it. Structured in a non-linear manner, this film served as the template for the Ghajinis of India (which the director claims are originals -except that the stories revolve around a man suffering from short-term memory loss, who has his body tattooed with clues, is searching for his wife’s murderer), in two languages - Tamil and Hindi.

AMORES PERROS (2000) -
I can go on and on and on about this film and never stop but that would mean I wil have to write a book. Director Alejandro Gonsalez Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga created a new format of filmmaking wherein three stories being told separately collided at a certain juncture and boy, was it good! This film worked on the themes of rivalry, aspirations, love, infidelity and served us a palette of brutally real filmmaking. Though, Gonsalez followed the same format with his future films such as 21 Grams, Babel, none were as stupendous and gobsmackingly brilliant as Amores Perros. Roger Ebert hailed Gonsalez as “…the new Mexican wave of filmmakers (alongwith Alfonso Cuaron and Gillermo Del Toro) who will change the way we look at films.”. Ever heard of a prophecy? I heard it from Ebert.

Written by Gyandeep Pattanayak

My Name Is Khan…Shah Rukh Khan | CineTalk

Few days back,Karan Johar confirmed the presence of ‘Obama ji’ in his latest SRK-Kajol starrer MNIK…

So guys, remember the date,12th February,this is when you get to see the World’s No.1 person sharing screen with King Khan…

While watching the first look of the movie...my father said,
“Is this a Hollywood movie in which SRK is working”…Yo man!!!

He was right, even I felt I was watching the trailer of a Brad Pitt /Johnny Depp movie…

Ok,Ok…Kaafi taarif ho gayi…Now let’s get down to the script…

Rizwan Khan is a Muslim child who grew up with his ‘Ammi’ in the Borivali section of Mumbai. Rizwan has Asperger syndrome…matlab people with it show difficulties in social interaction and are low on self-confidence…But guys,“Ye pagal nahi hote…They are very smart and brainy”…The only problem they have is interaction with others…that’s it…
As an adult,Rizwan(SRK) falls in love with a single mother,Mandira(Kajol) in USA.
Further,the storyline explores the period afterwards 9/11.

At that time,authorities arrest and detain Rizwan, after interpreting the visible aspects of his condition as "suspicious" behavior. Thereby he gets separated from his wife…

Rizwan then begins a journey to find and meet President Barack Obama in order to clear his name and to reunite with his family…

But guys, 2009 saw many movies on 9/11…So will it be different???

REVIEWER’s TIP: 3 Things that make MNIK a must watch:
1.Khan-Kajol-Karan…The 3 K’s unite after 9 yrs.Look out for SRK-Kajol magical jodi
2.Co-Produced by Fox Star Studios,will be a world-wide release like Avatar.
Let’s hope it’s the first Bollywood movie to touch 1 Million mark…
3.You get to see Barack Obama in a Indian Movie!!! Aur kya chahiye...

Note: jyaada happy mat ho,real wale Obama ji nahi aa rahe hai…President Barack Obama will be played by American actor ‘Christophor B Duncan’ :)

Written by - Yajur Kochhar

Editors  Note- People please welcome Yajur into TheReelMag, he is a die hard fan of SRK.and writes on his filmy blog 'Now Showing' :-)

Pawan Malhotra | Statesmen

I remember watching, a very - very intense scene on TV more than a decade back. It  was set in some dark alley, had three actors, two men and a lady into a heated argument. Although all three actors were excellent, one actor stood out. Stout in body structure with moustache and fury in his eyes. It seemed the actor would literally explode with rage. I was spell bound by the performance. Days later I tried to trace the show, but in vain.

But I had a mental impression of the actor scene that I remained etched into my mind. I wished I could see the actor somewhere.

In 2008, came the moment, when I watched the actor in ‘Black Friday’ as Tiger Memon; and he did an excellent portrayal, playing each expression to the hilt. The cool calculated plotting, the rage after his business gets wrecked after 1992 riots, the passion when Menon incites his mates to bomb Mumbai. I was thrilled to watch his performance. I patiently watched for end credits to see his name; Tiger Memon -  Pawan Malhotra said the credits.

Pawan Malhotra has gone on to star in Jab We Met as Geet’s Uncle. Although role was short and Cliché but his performance leaves an impression. Then he starred in Don, but role did nothing to extract much from the actor. His Delhi 6 role (as Sonam's Uncle) was again a powerful character, that he played to perfection, specially the mannerisms.

Last performance that I saw of his was in Vishal Bharadwaj’s film based on AIDS-  ‘Blood Brothers’ alongside Siddharth of RDB fame. Excellent performance there. Watch that scene where he catches Siddharth in the lift. Here watch this short film and see what I mean…

He is underrated and under utilized, and it is upto film makers to exploit his potential. Here’s hoping that we as audience get to see more of him.

Written By- ‘Ali Naqvi’

Shahrukh Shahrukh Everywhere… | Eyes Read It

People love him… why? Because he is a people’s man. Simple! But I was really disappointed the way some people talked about him on different platforms including social networks when he said that deep down, Pakistanis are good. Obviously, he was not referring to the fundamentalists out there. He was talking about the common man out there…

“Agar Hum Hai To Kya Hum Hai, Agar Tum Ho To Kya Tum Ho…” this dialog from movie Border depicts the interdependence of individuals and brings out a feeling that for success, nothing more than mutual understanding is needed. Common man in Pakistan wants good relations with India and we should hate the fundamentalists (on either side) who are creating the differences, not the people across the border. That’s what SRK referred to but some things are destined to be blown out of proportion. Unfortunate but true. When we hear about the words Pakistan and Love together, we tend to label traitor and that is more wrong than the other way around.

Beyond IPL even Hockey had a piece of SRK. He came out of his comfort zone to do Chak De… and now supported Hockey players. He has a past with hockey stick, so his indulgence seems to be fine (and apt) but may be on the grey side; with Khan coming up… publicity is expected. Anyways, the tweets grabbed some prime time on TV channels and raised the voice of players with a greater echo.

“Sajda… Tera Sajda…” this song run down the heart. Its beautiful. Promos are promising as well. But the most exciting thing is that despite of having a 9/11-Terrorism backdrop and a focus on Asperger Syndrome, the entire cast and crew is stressing on the fact that MNIK is a love story of Rizwan (SRK) and Mandira(Kajol). Story is about Rizwan who needs to prove his innocence and win back his wife. Karan Johar even brought in Barack Obama to do a cameo… I know silly joke! Its Christopher B. Duncan who is portraying Obama.

IPL row, Hockey India and My Name Is Khan… Man! He is always in great demand.That was the story as of now… we will return with review of Khan!!