Death Is Not the Pause | J. Mer-Khamis | Editor's Pen

An Israeli actor, director and activist was killed at point blank. One single reason didn't surface. In fact, reasons popped up.  Juliano Mer-Khamis was more popular as a cinema personality than any other role he performed in his life. The assassination took place in Palestinian city of Jenin, where masked assailants opened fire on him.

Palestinian police claimed that Mujahid Quamiri is the murderer. According to sources, he is said to be related to an organization close to Hamas. In defense, Hamas claimed that the incident should be treated on as a criminal incident and not as a political murder. However, there are many reasons why it may be a political murder; more than anything else.

Mer was vocal about Israel-Arab conflicts and through his movies he tried to show the inhuman side of this unnecessary fight. He also opened a community theatre names 'Freedom Theatre' and involved people of this part of world to show reality to the rest of the world. By his works like Arna's Children, to some extent he was able to make the point visible. His last movie was Miral, a movie of a girl and her struggle. The movie raked few wounds.

There have been efforts to curb creative voices in different countries in different times but can they really do that? People can kill voices like Mer-Khamis but they can't kill the spirit.

Love...

Sujoy Ghosh

Despicable Me vs. Megamind | Mega Review

When i entered to watch 'Despicable Me' i was somehow under the impression that it was a Pixar creation, and was thus pretty excited to watch the movie. Within minutes, it became clear that despicable me can’t be a Pixar creation. Animation quality was comparable, but human factor was missing.

After a few months, i saw cut-outs of Megamind, i was underwhelmed. I could see a superhero kind of figure, along with a blue bulb-headed villainous character holding a big eyed damsel-in-distress. ‘Typical, Cliché’, I thought. Another few months later, when i actually saw, Mega mind, much to my surprise and shock Megamind is highly enjoyable joyride.

Why combined review of both you may ask. Well if you notice both Gru of Despicable Me and Megamind were aspirants of being greatest villains of all times, and both were NOT as cruel, cunning or <insert a kickass villainous quality here>, as they thought they were. That said about similarity of central characters I have highly contrasting views about both the movies.

Gru somehow never touched me as a character, i never found him charming enough. Megamind on the other hand is playful, full of fun, frolic and has a vulnerable quality about him.

However, there are a few gem of scenes in Despicable Me as well, like the scene in which he tells story of three cats to his daughters. In contrast, Megamind is full of superb scenes. what works in it favor is that it is a parody of Superman Myth and still stands as film on its own. Hats off. This said, it is still not as much fun as Pixar’s ‘The Incredibles’.

I’ll keep it short and simple and recommend Megamind over Despicable Me any day.

Written by- Ali Naqvi

Dum Maaro Dum | Movie Review | Critique

For some good reason, I always find the plot of Abhishek Bachchan's movies very interesting and for some real bad reason, he screws up most of them. Luckily, in Dum Maaro Dum AB was not the culprit. A shabby and overtly cliched script laced with stupid and unrealistic drama screwed it up all. After an interesting first half, the half baked script ruined it totally.

A cop with shady background and a family tragedy is given top job to screw everyone with 'stuff' in Goa. Then there is a tycoon who proclaims himself to be a humanatarian and does the 'stuff' business in hindsight. Then there is a kid who is arrested for smuggling the stuff and there is a supporting friend who wants to save him. Lots of intelinks and cliches in lives of people plus lots of loop holes in the plot. This is Sippy's movie? They made Sholay, if I am not wrong. First 30 minutes into the movie, you like it because Prateik delivers an amazing performance. As AB enters the picture, DMD becomes a more sophisticated version of Saif's Race. As Rana comes into scene story settles for a while but Bipasha's portion is raw shit. A tycoon with no personal security, yes Aditya Pancholi is no where close to his best as an villain in Striker. He is fat and appears comical when he tries to be dangerous.

Music is ok. Cinematography is good. Among all, Rana and Prateik were impressive. Rest were just forgettable. Story is too dramatic and though they try hard to keep it a secret, little thinking will reveal everything in the first half. Atleast, it happened to me. Direction is poor. And yeah... this movie is low on action, low on content... and what not.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Amrish Puri | Goodie Known For Being Baddie | Statesmen

The other day my 5 year old cousin got a gift from his father and in his cute voice said, “Mogambo Khush Hua !!” That was the moment I realized that character of Mogambo is immortal in Indian cinema. Once, Amjad Khan’s Gabbar Singh act in Sholay was considered to be the height of villainy but when Mogambo hit the screen – Gabbar Singh had found himself competition.


At the age of 40, when most of leading role heroes are about to retire and play character roles, Amrish Puri got his first break. This is the only thing he repented in his career, that if he started earlier he could have got much stronger author-backed roles to play. Yet, his towering height, deep, resonant, baritone voice, often put to shade even the lead actors in the frame. He realized the importance of that voice, when he began getting offers for ad jingles in the early days of radio commercials while he was working in Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre. He often attributed his success and talent to the rigorous training in theatre.

Reshma aur Shera was his debut movie. This was the ‘70s -- the era of the parallel cinema. He was then offered roles (mostly as bad guys) by Shyam Benegal in his art films. 1984 also saw him achieve a target that most Indian actors would have killed for. A Hollywood studio offered him a significant role in a Steven Spielberg film! It was Indianna Jones and the temple of doom. Spielberg said to him, "You are the real devil”, “my best villain...". He also worked with Ben Kingsley in Gandhi. Just a note, that both his international films, became great hits. In 1987, one film made him the highest paid villain in the industry. Mogambo and Amrish became like peas in a pod. In 1995, he got to play one of his most endearing roles, as an authoritarian father, Bollywood’s mega-hit - DDLJ. He also played comic role in Chachi 420 & emotional in Ghatak. Amrish Puri added a punch to the roles by lending them his persona, charm and liveliness. Still, having done numerous films in a positive role, he is always introduced as the biggest villain in the industry.

It is very difficult to be popular in villainous roles, because you are not a villain in real life. There have been many famous heroes, but you can count the number of successful villains on your fingertips. The villainous characters played by him were so loved, that I can very well remember from my college days, that boys used his character names as each other nick names, be it, Dong (Tehelka), Chuniya (Saudagar), Paasha (Hero) or Tau (Divya Shakti). . But the villain which slowly venomed his life was a disease called myelodysplastic syndrome. On 12 January, he fought his last battle.

Hope from somewhere up, when you read this article Amrish Ji, you say, in your perfect style, Mogambo Khush Hua !!
 
Written By: Neha Jain

Vaaranam Aayiram | Tamil Movie | Critique

When the name Gautham Menon comes across me, something in me wakes up. Such was the impact of Kakka Kakka and Vinnaithandi Vaaruvaya. Vaaranam Aayiram has the best of both. It has perfect blend romance and action, sensibility and wisdom and Surya and Surya. VA is one of the finest movies on father-son relationship, I have ever seen.

Krishnan is a simple person who believes in what his heart says. He loves a girl and marries her. They have a son and a daughter. Son is names Surya. The movie is about father-son relationship between Krishnan and Surya. Krishnan teaches Surya important lessons of life and makes him a perfect man. When Surya falls in love, he supports him and asks him to go for her. When Surya breaks down in the middle, he stands with him and supports him. When Surya succeeds, he is smiles and gives him his blessings. All this and more from Surya’s POV. His interpretation of his father’s love and ideals makes sense and might give you goosebumps as well. There will be a feeling of déjà vu.

Some scenes are really brilliant. Whenever Krishnan vetoes in favor of his son, the expression on his wife’s face world worth a million dollars. Then the romantic scenes in train and academy are brilliant. But the real catch was the retro sequence. It was too good. Remarkable. Thousand light years ahead of Action Replayy.

In double roles as father and son, Surya did a fine job. Divya and Simran complemented well. Sameera was just okay. Music and background score were good. Action was also nice, if not great. Direction and script were the real stars. It’s a movie everyone would be proud of. Gautham Menon… I bow down.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh