Message Of The Genie | Editor's Pen

Hi Friends,

 

Recently Paresh Rawal’s Oh My God raised some question. Fortunately we didn’t see any protest against the movie. Even if there were a few, they were conveniently ignored. We were happy. Apt questions were raised and fanatics had nothing to offer. Finally some sensibility. However, Student Of The Year faced wrath and petition of some random person in some random city. He somehow felt offended by the use of word Radha with modern materialistic lingo and though of filing a petition on behalf of all followers. Epic facepalm to say the least.

 

Religion has been an integral part of cinema. Just like other mediums of art, even cinema like to see religion in different shades. In Stanley Kramer’s Inherit The Wind, in the last scene we can see Spencer Tracy holding and trying to balance Bible and Origin Of Species in his hands. This sums it up all. The message is that be open to ideas. Following a religion doesn’t mean that one should close himself in a closet. One should, in fact, look beyond what Holy Books tell in letters and try to understand the essence, not the words.

 

Films have done a fairly good job in handling such topics. Movies made in Middle East in recent times have raised the need to reinterpret religion to be more inclusive, especially keeping women-folk in mind. In a conservative structure existing there, efforts deserve to be lauded. Unfortunately, in India we are moving towards dark ages. Every time you hear a word about religion on screen and there are ten organizations to apply their code of law. Unfortunate. Can we do anything about it?

 

Regards

Sujoy

 

 

 

 

Passion Narrative - Story Of Guru Dutt - 3 | Statesmen

Waheeda Rehman was discovered in Telugu film industry. When Guru Dutt found her, she was raw as an actor. Over time she matured and gave memorable performances. Her platonic relationship with Guru Dutt was fodder for gossip magazines. He had a soft corner for her and she had emotions for him. But was that an affair, no one really knows.

 

As marriage was on rocks, Guru Dutt was slowly killing himself. He was either thinking about films or drinking. Suicidal tendencies surfaced.

 

Two movies – Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa defined his life and cinematic brilliance.

 

Pyaasa was reflection of his angst against hypocrisy in society. How people misbehave with the no-ones and run behind the names? How people don’t even hesitate in exploiting people in inferior position? How even the blood betrays? Pyaasa was story of a poet who is cheated by not only strangers but also by the people he had faith in. When his brilliance is admired by masses, they suddenly start celebrate his art. What should he do? Jump in and enjoy the empty stardom? He would rather renounce the world. Guru Dutt suffered this dilemma. Owing to responsibilities, he chose the middle path trying to balance between what he wanted and what people expected. How he wished to make more movies like Kaagaz Ke Phool which got it due years after his death.

 

Kaagaz Ke Phool was a glimpse in his life and life of his mentor Gyan Mukherjee. A successful man who fades away in the winds of changing times. Suresh is successful but unhappy because he doesn’t have a free hand in his work. His marriage is on rocks and is trying very hard to sort issues with his arrogant wife. He discovers an artist accidently and they fall in love. However, she walks away when his daughter objects. In the end Suresh doesn’t get anything except an unknown death. There was so much in common with his own life. Sort of a mirror image. Sort of a fore warning.

 

When Vasanth come he brings in gifts of nature and the bounty is cherished by all. When he leaves, he leaves silently. His absence is noticed much later. How prophetic was his name...

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

 

 

Insights

 

Mandi | A Great Ensemble | The Critique

Beat this – Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Saeed Jaffery, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Satish Kaushik, Pankaj Kapoor, Neena Gupta, Soni Rajdan, Annu Kapoor and Amrish Puri. A Shyam Benegal movie. When was the other rare occasion when you have seen such an illustrious star-cast. Probably actor-cast would be more appropriate. Based in Ghulam Abbas’ famous short story Aanandi, this movie stands out due to its brilliant treatment where prostitution is not treated with disdain. It’s a profession which demands dedication and patience. Despite of social outlook towards it, in its core humanity lies.

 

 

Rukmini Bai (Shabana) runs a house in Hyderabad. Zeenat (Smita) is a dancer whose chastity is guarded by Rukmini Bai for some unknown reason. Zeenat falls in love with a young boy (Aditya Bhattacharya who later turned director and made Raakh). Love is mutual. Meanwhile, on behest of social reformers, the house is moved to a place where a holy shrine is there. As the house moves, the place becomes famous. The secret of Zeenat and the boy comes in open and… Each actor has at least one good scene and they played it with great honesty. Special note should be made about Shabana and Smita who put aside their rivalry and gave brilliant performances. Their chemistry can put all gossip magazines to shame. Om Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Saeed Jaffery got good amount of screen time and they delivered the goods. In a very complicated role, Naseeruddin Shah accomplished what few can do. Watch the movie to make a note.

 

Shyam Benegal used metaphors in a brilliant way. Something only a person with great knowledge of Urdu literature can manage. The movie can be divided into multiple short subplots and each of them mean something different from what is coming on screen. It leaves behind multiple layers of thoughts… some static, some dynamic. The taste it leaves can’t be explained. One can just experience it.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

 

Adam's Rib | Delightful | The Critique

This movie happens to feature on every respected list of good movies especially the romantic comedies. The question is why? There is nothing exceptional about it. The story build up is average. The dialogues are way short to be termed as brilliant. Atleast by the standards the era had. Waht makes Adam's Rib such an experience - one word - Chemistry. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn - Hollywood's most successful pair had a face off in court in this courtroom drama cum romantic comedy.

 

Doris tries to kill her husband Warren when he is with his girlfriend. The news gets space in paper. Married lawyer couple Adam and Amanda read it in morning. Adam (Tracy) doesn't approve of Doris' act. Amanda (Hepburn) supports her saying that world is unfair to women. To worsen and augment the argument, Adam and Amanda find themselves as prosecution and defense lawyers in the case. Their neighbour Kip who flirts with Amanda causes more problems for them. What happens when a couple find themselves on two opposite sides of courtroom.

 

The amazing chemistry between Tracy and Hepburn has filled tons of paper with adjectives. This movie is a fine example why they are held with such regard. Together their capabilities multiply. The story develops beautifully. Writers take their time to explore their affection and insecurities. It is one of those movies you can watch many times without fatigue. One of the greatest romances, one of the greatest comedies.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Two Legends | Editor's Pen

Hi,

 

Recently we lost two icons of entertainment world. Yash Chopra and Jaspal Bhatti. Tragic.

 

Yash Chopra will be remembered for making big movies. Big not only on scale of budget but also on scale of story, star cast and drama. Who can forget Waqt? Who can forget Chandni? Not many directors have been able to achieve adulation and admiration of masses and classes alike. Yash Chopra managed that. It was not that he made only blockbusters. But whatever he made had substance. Remember Lamhe?

 

Today, TV channels are overflowing with comedy shows. In 90s, Jaspal Bhatti was the man. Satire, in true sense, was his forte. He never felt the need the adding masala to his jokes. He kept them simple and sensible. Though in Hindi films, he was not able to replicate his success in TV Show Flop Show, he remained an icon of Punjabi cinema. His ability to depict common man’s tragedy has inspired many and will continue to do so.

 

Indian cinema will miss them. The Show will go on but will the new Showmen scale the benchmarks?

 

Love,

Sujoy

Chittagong | The Critique

One of the biggest turn-offs in any movie about a real incident is the exaggeration of valiance. Heroes, who are supposed to be real, are made to look like legends. More than often, they fell short. Chittagong steers away from this. Characters are strong but vulnerable. Their fears are real and bravery is not extraordinary in magnitude. They are more closer to what they were in reality, not folklore.

 

They story is coming of age tale of a young boy Jhunku who has a faint understanding of what Masterda (Surya Sen played by a brilliant but subtle Manoj Bajpayee). The movie is like Jhunku's diary where he describes his initial resistance to the movement due to personal terms with Magistrate, his disenchantment, how Armory raid was conducted and how were the revolutionaries hunted. In the end, Jhunku returns to his place only to start another movement.

 

Script is the real hero of this movie. They was story unfolds in front of viewer is simply amazing. There are not many powerful dialogues or out of the box scenes because they are not required. People don't say punch dialogues in real life. Performance wise, each and every actor has given a very disciplined performance without going over the board. I wonder, how I saw Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddique on screen but failed to notice them. They were just two revolutionaries from an era my grandfather might have seen.

 

Cinematography was exceptional. I remember The Bridge Over River Kwai. The scenes where villages are shown. The scene where railway track and woods are shown. Brilliant, in one word. Last but the most important thing, direction... Bedabrata Pain gave so much for this movie and the result shows that. The way characters and most importantly actors have been handled in this movie, its something sort of exceptional.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

When Husband And Lover Confront In Kabhi Kabhie | My Take | Under Lens

In Deewaar, Shashi Kapoor asked Amitabh Bachchan if he will sign the papers and surrender or not. Amitabh says no and questions the morality of his question in light of natural justice. In Kabhi Kabhie, a deja-vu moment comes when Shashi Kapoor comes across the fact that during college time, his wife played by an elegant Raakhi and Amitabh had an affair. He tells that he would have appreciated had he come upto to him upfront and told the truth.

 

The beauty of the entire sequence lies in the fact that as it begins, you know that Shashi Kapoor is very upset but is hiding disappointment. Then he curses himself because he doubted the faithfulness of a lady who is married to him for 20 years and gave up all her joys. He asks why all these years, they ignored each other. He tells that he would have appreciated their frank confession rather than knowing about it accidently. The transition of his character reveals the character so beautifully that one cannot resist giving a standing ovation.

 

The sequence follows up with Amitabh’s monologue expressing his reasons and defending them strongly. He defends Raakhi as well. Yashraj always brought an amazing streak to their characters. The way the conflict and mutual admiration between lover and husband of a woman has been explored in Kabhi Kabhie, its an example to follow.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Yash Chopra Beyond Romance | Under Lens

Yash Chopra, by large, will be remembered for beautiful romantic movies. This impression is because he made some of the most mesmerizing romantic films of Hindi Film Industry. But Yashraj has made many movies beyond the chiffons and Swiss Alps. As we lost him, TRM remembers some of such gems:

 

Ittefaq: With Rajesh Khanna and Nanda, Yashraj made one of the finest thrillers. Ittefaq, based on a Gujarati play, plays with viewer’s prejudice against a convict. A convict charged with murder hides in a house. He threatens the lady of the house to ensure his safety. But later he realizes that what he saw was a hogwash.

 

Deewaar: Mere Paas Maa Hai. This iconic dialogue was an imagery of a son’s emotion for his mother and a true contrast. Loosely influenced by Haji Mastan and other mafia of 70s, Deewaar told story of two sons, born under same circumstances but with different outlook towards world. Deewaar made Amitabh Bachchan the Angry Young Man he was. Khush To Bahut Hoge Tum can still cause goosebumps.

 

Dhool Ke Phool and Trishul: Both DKP and Trishul dealt with a sensitive topic of illegitimate children. Yashraj always believed that a child cannot be illegitimate. If someone has to be so, the blame should lie with the parents. Though both the movies are different, the way the topic has been dealt is exemplar.

 

Daag: Though people might count it as a romantic movie, its basically a movie that talks about a situation and dilemma the protagonist is in. A man is convicted for a murder he committed to save his wife. As destiny desired, he escapes and meet another woman who is expecting. But her lover has dumped her. He decided to attain a new identity. But things go awry when he meets his first wife.

 

Chakravyuh | Mess As Expected | The Critique

While Arjun was far, Abhimanyu entered the Chakravyuh setup by Kauravas. In the end he dies while Arjun goes on with the fight. This is an easy way to summarize the story. Though it can be denied, Chakravyuh is definitely inspired from Drohkal. A cop plants his man as a bug in Naxal group. This is what happens in Drohkal and this is how story begins in Chakravyuh. Rajneeti failed the viewers. Aarakshan was a celebral tragedy. Chakravyuh is a blunder. At least by Jha's standard.

 

The biggest problem with the story is the characterization. Characters and sometimes scenes are straight lift from different movies with similar backdrop. Spicing it up with too much grey characters doesn't help the cause. At some point you believe that one side is right and at a later point you support the other. As you go about with story, you end up in the middle. As aloof as you were before entering the theatre. To screw it up more, there is no conclusion. It might have helped a thriller but not a social drama.

 

Manoj Bajpayee, Om Puri and Abhay Deol were wasted. Arjun Rampal is still growing and is definitely better than the rest from his batch. Esha Gupta had less to do and she managed to screw it as well. Applause. Anjali Patil is NSD grad. That shows up. She is the highlight of the movie. The angst in her eyes is real.

 

Story is weak. Dialogues rarely leave an impact. More than often you end up sympathizing with yourself than the characters. Cinematography is just okay. Music lacks the local touch. Direction is really weak. Development of scenes look so clichéd. Prakash Jha needs a rejig. Nothing else will work. He is a great director but unfortunately he is losing his grip.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Passion Narrative - Story Of Guru Dutt - 2 | Statesmen

Guru Dutt mentored Abrar Alvi and V. K. Murthy. Former wrote some of the most memorable scripts while later raised the bar of cinematography by yards. 

 

Guru Dutt helped Abrar develop skills for direction. Abrar went on to make Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam with Guru Dutt and Murthy. Their methodology was so similar that people believe that it was ghost-directed by Guru Dutt, a thought rubbished by people involved. However, its noteworthy that it took a Guru Dutt to bring out a director from the writer Abrar Alvi was. Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam turned out to be his only directorial venture.

 

V. K. Murthy knew how to stretch the envelop. Brilliant use to contrast shades in black and white, especially in Kaagaz Ke Phool, caught the imagination of filmmakers across the globe. However, just like Abrar, he failed to stand at par with his own standards. Guru Dutt influence was there. With him, the light was gone. 

 

Another name which cannot be separated from Guru Dutt was Johnny Walker. Born as Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi – Johnny Walker, along with Rehman, was one of the most common faces appearing in Guru Dutt’s cinema. He provided Guru Dutt’s intense cinema with the light moments it needed. Their bonding was so strong that absence of a role in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam was Johnny Walker was opposed by Guru Dutt. Abrar remained adamant and Guru Dutt gave in once Johnny Walker gave his best wishes.

 

Like many iconic filmmakers, Guru Dutt was not able to separate his personal and professional life. Had he taken the path followed by Raj Kapoor, we would have seen more of him. Guru Dutt fell in love with Geeta Dutt, a singer of great repute. She was very successful as an individual and as a result, clashes happened. Alcohol didn’t helped either. Both took to hard drinks and slowly ruined their life. People believe that Geeta Dutt was always very suspicious of Guru Dutt’s personal life outside home. Rumors of his affairs compounded more problems. And there was a Waheeda…

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh