Good Night Good Morning | @SudhishKamath Indie Effort | Editor's Pen

Hi All,

While some ‘big’ actors star in mindless meaningless senseless cinema, Indian Indie is trying to establish itself. Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night Good Morning is such a film. Its ‘Before Sunrise’ kind of film which has a defined audience who watch and appreciate cinema rather than just enjoying those 120 minutes. However, it’s so sparse in distribution that even breaking in is difficult for these kind of movies. They depend a lot on ‘word of mouth’ and wait for the ‘cult’ label.

Two strangers over a call, talking and trying to understand each other is a little clichéd. We have seen this in so many romantic movies. However, the treatment is a little different. In Black & White Split Screen, the conversations has a very Victorian feel set in contemporary frame. It’s not out of box. It’s not extraordinary. Its feel good. You can sense some subtle tributes to many romantic movies. I firmly believe that if a movie can touch 80 percent of what it aims to, it’s a success story. Though a little short of 100%, GNGM definitely crosses that cut-off of 80 percent and leaves a fine taste in mouth. Some scenes are really lovely and unlike many  other movies/sitcoms, split screen doesn’t offend you as a viewer. This I guess is an achievement. Definitely a decent watch.

Performance-wise the movie is pretty good. Actors especially Seema Rehmani impress with their presence. Production quality is good. The ‘classic’ feel comes out well on screen. Story line is a lot predictable. However, it doesn’t leave you sore. Direction is pretty decent. Sudhish, I will have great expectations from your next. Hail Indie.

Will write more...

Sujoy Ghosh

Pransh And The Unwanted | An Interview | Golden Podium

Thriller is a difficult genre. We haven’t seen many great movies in last few years. In fact, it won’t be an understatement that this is perhaps the most unexplored genre in India. Some people are trying to change the picture. The Unwanted is such an effort which will see light in coming days. Presenting a short interview with the Actor- Pransh Chopra… Here we go.

Q: The Unwanted... Interesting name, I must say... Can you cast some light on the story line of the movie?
Pransh: This is a supernatural thriller. Everyone wants good things in life, but sometimes life puts you in an unwanted frame, but you have to accept it as part of your life and repent continue living with it. This film is speaking of the same.

Q: Pransh, what character are you playing?
Pransh: For that you will have to watch the movie.. Can't reveal much but it definitely will be interesting to watch myself through this film..

Q: Thriller is a difficult genre. Many movies, including the ones with big star cast; failed to make a mark. How do you perceive opportunities for your film?
Pransh: A film is just not made by big stars, and in any genre the script has to be very strong. As far as "The Unwanted" is concerned, the script is the protagonist of the film. We consider this movie as Realistic Experimental Cinema.. We are confident that people will appreciate this new treatment and a different way of storytelling.

Q: Any inspiration? Some real story or incident or just an interesting thought?
Pransh: A simple story driven by writers plot.. That’s what makes it a great film.. The director Mr. Jitender Kheterpal experienced some moments which inspired him to work on the concept and the result is this fruitful outcome.

Q: Pransh, Percept Films ‘?’ have a very similar plot. That’s what murmurs are saying. Is this ‘Unwanted’ co-incidence really a co-incidence?
Pransh: It was a shock for us. We had been working on the project for almost 2 years and during the final stages we get such a news.. So you can imagine the rest.. This really is an unwanted co-incidence.

Q: Any 'Unwanted' incident on the sets?
Pransh: A lot of them actually, where we went through the unexpected. For instance we planned to create something graphically in the film during post production as the script demanded, but we were shocked to see that we did not have to create anything, and it appeared naturally. That particular day, we could not shoot anything after that incident, all of us had goose bumps, and we kept discussing late into the night, as to what actually happened. And these natural one take scenes are the beauty of the film.

Q: Anything you would like to say to our readers…
Pransh: All I can is that you will see many things that you must have not seen in history of indian cinema.. we have tried to show something different from the usual, where our audience will relate to our film and take back an unexpected surprise the way our team did and that will be reality..

TRM wishes best of luck to the entire cast and crew of The Unwanted.

Ek Main Aur Ek Tu | Reel Review

Dial M For Murder | Love Wrecks | The Critique

Nothing hurts a man more than the fact that his wife is having an affair. More than his manhood, it hurts his love and emotions which are usually subtly tabled, not openly expressed. Dial M For Murder is thriller woven around a man’s vengeance against a cheating wife, directed by perhaps the biggest and most respected name in the genre- Alfred Hitchcock. Based on a stage play, the movie is largely shot in living room of the central characters- the husband Tony Wendice and his beautiful wife- Margot.

Within 15 minutes into the movie, one realize that Margot who had a fling with novelist Mark Halliday, has decided to mend her ways. Unaware of her intentions, her husband still believe that she is steady in her affair. When Mark comes to meet her, Tony decides to put a lid on the story, forever. He hires con Swann, a college-mate of his. Swann reluctantly takes the job. But he fails and is murdered in self-defense by Margot.  Tables had turned and Tony finds himself cornered. Will his secret come out or will he come out of it, unscathed? Watch this movie. It’s one of those movies which can make you rewind the tape.

Speaking of performances, there are four characters and they all delivered good, especially Ray Milland who plays the role of suspecting husband. As a scheming person he looks convincing and as romantic, he is really charming. In the last scene, in particular, he excels. Screenplay deserved a special mention. Though shot almost entirely in a room, the movie rely a lot on how the dialogues come up and are delivered on screen. The way thrill is kept intact till very end of the movie, it’s a case study for all script writers. Direction: you don’t comment on Hitchcock. Its blasphemy.  

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Qatl | Murder And Murderer | The Critique

Qatl is a not-so-popular movie which can make you think that why didn’t this click. It is easily one of the better thrillers made in Bollywood. It has the Alfred Hitchcock feel and boasts of a fine performances by a seasoned Sanjeev Kumar and an impressive Shatrughan Sinha. Rated at 7.4 by 10 on IMDB, Qatl is a treat for all cine buffs.

Rakesh (Sanjeev Kumar) is a blind rich man. He loves his wife Rohini (Sarika) a lot. However, unsatisfied by a blind husband, she reaches out to his best friend Ranjeet and it converts into an intimate relationship. Rakesh’s nurse Sita, played by a subtle Ranjeetha, comes to know about the affair. It disturbs her and she feels very bad for Rakesh who is a very nice person. Suddenly, one day, Rohini is found dead at Ranjeet’s place. Inspector Shatru has been assigned to the task. Will he be able to find the murderer? Suspects: Rakesh who may or may not be aware of his wife’s affair. Sita, who likes Rakesh and wants to replace Rohini in his life. Ranjeet... the natural suspect; might have fought with Rohini and killed her in fit of rage.

Qatl boasts of a very strong cast and a very well drafted script. Though it lets a few ends open, hardly anything fizzles out easily. Director R.K. Nayyar made a brilliant movie. Kudos.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

The Myth Of SRK | Under Lens

He never played a role that can come even a mile within Rick Blaine of Casablanca or George Bailey of It’s a Wonderful Life but still he is a heart stealer. He doesn’t as handsome as Tom Cruise but still have a fan following that can beat the Top Gun phenomenon by numbers. Something is special about him. His failures as actor were always masked by success as a star. He doesn’t belong to the league of Dileep Kumar or Aamir Khan known for their acting prowess but compensates it well with his charm and wit. He is undoubtedly the king of millions of hearts, more belonging to the fairer gender. This Valentine, we will try to understand what makes SRK such a myth.

When He Speaks He Speaks: Be it KJo or Barkha Dutt, whoever is the interviewer, SRK knows what to say and how to say. The way he articulates his thoughts you can’t stop admiring him. He takes his persona to another level which is far more mature and sensible than most of the roles he played. Maybe Swades’ Mohan Bhargava comes closest to his real persona. When he talks about his father, mother, wife, children, extended family and friends, when he talks about his memories from Delhi and old TV days, he shrugs away all the buffoonery his reel persona carries. One-to-one he seems to be more real than any other lead actor.

Romance: In OSO, he mocks his signature move of swaying arms for lead ladies. One of my female friends once said that whenever she sees SRK swaying his arms, her heart melt. String of romantic roles he successfully played in 90’s and early 00’s established him as a huge romantic hero. It started with DDLJ and Baazigar where he romanced talented Kajol. Then Pardes further cemented his image. Dil To Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam, Devdas etc. confirmed his market value. Apart from these blockbusters, there were romantic movies like Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (incidentally one SRK favorite SRK Movie) and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman which impressed critics but failed to deliver huge profits.

Wit And Comic Timing: Though SRK is known for his romantic hero image, in many movies he got the opportunity to discover and polish the comic side of his personality. Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman is a personal favorite where he plays a Tramp-like character. His sense of humor comes out well in his interviews and adds value to his image.

SRK is not an amazing actor. His best performances were in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Swades and Chak De India but none of them qualify for ‘Amazing Performance’ tag. He has damaged his image with some of his latest outings. But still he is huge. And we know there are reasons.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Age Of Remakes | Editor's Pen

Some of the gold diggers of 2011 were remakes/sequels. Singham, Don-2, Bodyguard, Ready. And now 2012 saw biggest opening ever with a remake- Agneepath. Looks like we have lost the proclivity to ape west and copy from our reserves. Though I was a little disturbed when Karan Johar announced remake of Agneepath, I am not against the trend. There is a saying that life traces its roots to Shakespeare. It means that every shade of life can be seen in plays and write-ups of Shakespeare. True, to a large extent.

While remaking an old film can make new generation watch a classic, it also gives a good opportunity to the maker to tell an omni-known story in a different way.  Farhan’s Don is a fine example where he made a slick thriller out of a cult movie. The other trend rocking the industry nowadays is to remake a popular/interesting movie made in regional language in Hindi which gets a wider audience. Three blockbusters of 2011 Bodyguard, Ready and Singham were originally made in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil respectively. This year we will see lots of remakes and sequels but there are two names I am waiting for- Ek Diwana Tha and Bol Bachchan. Former is remake of Tamil Blockbuster Vinnaithandi Varuvaya and latter is remake of classic comedy Golmal (Amol Paleker and Utpal Dutt). Ek Diwana Tha is definitely in safe hands as Gautham Menon is himself remaking his Tamil movie. For Hindi cine-lovers, he is the same person who directed (rather remade) Rehna Hai Tere Dil Me with R. Madhavan and Diya Mirza. Given his track record, I will reserve my tickets in advance.

In Bollywood, money is the bottom line. When a good movie fails to make money, it affects the film maker. Sometime it hits bad. I can’t imagine how Anurag Kashyap would have felt after TGIYB failed to make a mark on BO. A decently made Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night Good Morning was bargaining for shows in multiplexes while sometime back people were tortured with movies like Double Dhamal and Rascals. No wonder, producers and makers want to recycle established products... at least bottom line is manageable. But is that desirable? Over to you...

Thanks

Sujoy Ghosh

Agneepath And The Cult Status | Under Lens

While Hritik’s adaptation of Vijay Deenanath Chavan impressed critics and masses, it polarized opinions on net. Some people who watched the older version for the first time in recent times due to curiosity developed by the remake, were not able to figure out why the ’90 flop is so much lauded by cine-pundits. It lack a streamline flow in story, it is full of clichés and surprisingly, boasts of loud performances. It bombed on silver screen when it was released and along with some other movies of that era like Khuda Gawah and Hum, marked the end of ‘Young’ Angry Man. Still, awards were showered. Still, many ace directors consider it to be one of the finest Bachchan movies. Still, huge... really huge fan following exists and a huge portion of that expressed displeasure when the remake was announced. What makes Agneepath version 1.0 such a cult movie?

Vijay Deenanath Chavan... Poora Naam: Amitabh Bachchan always had a rich baritone in his voice. In Agneepath, it’s a little coarser. You can hate this voice if you have it but when you hear it on screen coming from a person who has a larger-than-life character; it’s enjoyable in a little sadistic way. The pain and angst in life of Vijay Chavan comes out strongly in his voice. This one dialogue sets the mood for the film and doesn’t look awkward in the flow of movie.

Clichés And Stereotypes: A strong willed righteous mother (both cliché and stereotype), a Madrasi trustworthy friend falling in love with sister (a stereotype and then a cliché), a strong willed friendly cop and a greedy cop (cliché and stereotype) and murder of father for being honest and right... mother of most of the cliché’s. When you see one cliché, you smile. When you see many, you feel a sting. You somehow start to connect with the story.  This is one of those things which make Agneepath such a popular movie.

The Villain Kancha Cheena: The name itself can cause goosebumps. Danny in role of a sophisticated criminal, is brutal and classy. He is smart and doesn’t give a damn to deterrents. While playing games, he keeps a card in pocket and this makes him very dangerous. Kancha Cheena belongs to a different league of villains. He is more hollywoodish than any other iconic villain. He has a charm which makes presence of moll totally natural.

Story: Agneepath has some very convincing scenes which bind the story strongly. Be it the prologue where Master Deenanath is brutally killed by mob, be it the scene where Vijay expresses his lack of trust in the system in front of Gaethonde, be it the scene where Krishnan saves Vijay, be it the scene where mother asks Vijay to wash his hands, be it the scene where Krishnan fights to save Vijay’s sister, be it the scene where adult Vijay meets Kancha, be it the climax where his last few words explains why its Agneepath Agneepath Agneepath... Story has huge loopholes and lack of consistency but the scenes compensate well.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Knocked Up | The Critique

When a friend suggested me to watch this one, the first question I asked was, “is it funny? “ And soon my aching buccinators gave me my answer.

This belongs to the genre of sex comedy and under wrong direction, could have easily degenerated into a slap-stick comedy — one that plays every scene for the cheap laugh. But Judd Apatow’s characters are grounded in reality. The humor lies into common, awkward, sometimes embarrassing situations, which are pretty believable in real life. The best part being that though it provides a insightful look at life and relationships but never gets preachy.

All from the simplest premise: boy and girl sleep together, girl gets pregnant, panic ensues. The twist being here that, the boy is a paunchy jobless pothead and girl is a gorgeous, television producer, and this was the first time they had met and in drunkard stupor get knocked up. When she finds she is pregnant, she gets back in touch with him, and then they work towards to figure out how their relationship should work now that they will be parents.   They attempt to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but love doesn't seem to be blossoming. The movie watches as the baby develops through most of the phases of pregnancy, along with their relationship. The situation is taken seriously, but comic moments are mined in almost every scene.

The subplots and characters add spice and humor to the story. Be it the girl’s bitchy sister and her husband facing midlife crisis or boy’s nerd, sophomoric buddies.

Knocked up is sweet without being saccharine and funny without being ridiculous. Don't set your expectations too high and you'll have good time with this one.

Rating: ***

Written By: Neha Jain

Simba vs Kimba | Hammers High

As the Lion King roared on the screen in 1994, uproar went across Japan, not in appreciation but in opposition. The countrymen felt cheated, their culture undermined, and above all, their lovable artist Tezuka not credited of what he deserved.

Osamu Tezuka is the most reverend comic and cartoon artist of Japan. He also introduced the idea of epics to comics, which he first realized with Jungle Emperor. This was a comic and later made into a weekly TV series in 60’s. It was then translated in English and aired as ‘Kimba the White Lion’ in 70’s, which turned out to be a landmark in animation industry. The basic storyline, being of an orphaned cub, raised by humans, who gets back to his kingdom to fight the villain and establish a civilized kingdom. I am sure, you must be thinking I am narrating The Lion King’s story with added spices, but dude, Kimba and Simba have much more in common. An all knowing baboon, an annoying squeaking bird, love interest female cub, evil uncle with a scar on eye and pack of hyenas. No one can ignore, the similarity in pride rock pose, unfortunate stampede, funny face while eating bugs, and guiding parent speaking between the clouds. Even, as per sources, Simba started out as a white lion until one of the animators spoke up: "Not even OUR lawyers are THAT good!"

But let me tell you other side of coin too. Tezuka had himself acknowledged Disney’s influence on his life and art. He considered Walt Disney as an idol and wrote an autobiography to show his dedication. He was inspired by Bambi and Tarzan to create Jungle Emperor, and even critics agree on Disney’s influence on it in terms of cartooning and animation style. Looks like, we came back a whole circle.

The heir of Tezuka’s copyrights did not file a law suit against Disney, considering the relationship Tezuka and Walt Disney held. He stated, “If Tezuka were alive and knew about, even the rumour , that Disney might have copied elements of his work, he would have been proud.” Leaving aside emotions, a fact could have been that the rights to ‘Kimba the White Lion’ were tied up in legal battles for many years, and nobody knew who had the US rights to Kimba from 1978 on.

As a Disney lover, I cannot deny that they have been retelling others stories, be it fairy or historical tales, so why not one more. But a simple note of acknowledgement would have done no harm. I'll let you be the judge. I have merely presented the case, such as it is, with the facts that I could gather.

Written By: Neha Jain