Shaitan | The Devil Inside | Critique

Bejoy Nambiar has definitely seen Paanch and got a lot of inspiration from there. If not; me, God and the Holy spirit would be more than just surprised… We would freak out bad. It’s interesting that unlike the inspiration, the inspired got a screening and is kind of ruling the screens… and despite of my reservations against dark films with ‘gore’ as probable content, I liked this movie like anything. Bejoy… as I confessed on twitter, I am a fan now.

Shaitan is a story of five young people who are directionless in life and trying to enjoy it to the max. They booze and do drugs. On day in a state of ecstasy they crush a couple under their hummer. The dead couple was no way related to actor Rajeev Khandelwal playing a trying-hard-to-remain-honest officer (thank God, it would have been a bad cliché). They are just another middle class family. However, another cop finds that these five are responsible for the accident and blackmails them by asking for 25 lacs. To arrange that money, they device a plan that goes wrong. Rajeev Khandelwal and his friend (played by VJ Nikhil Chinappa) decides to hunt them to their last foot prints.

This movie needed a brilliant background score and there they were spot on. The effect of visuals which ranged from hazy to crystal clear, steady to wobbly complemented with amazing score and songs can give any Hollywood movie a good run for their money. That’s their class. Performances are surprisingly stupendous. Kalki and four fresh faces were able to bring out the psycho feel. And Khandelwal… Man, what is he doing? He can be the next best thing in Bollywood after Aamir Khan. He is absolutely a delight on screen. We as viewers deserve to watch more of him. Rajit Kapoor, Pawan Malhotra and Sheetal Menon did justice to their roles… as expected.

Speaking of Bejoy. His direction and understanding of the script deserves a standing ovation. He has excelled in his maiden outing. Thanks Anurag for lending hand to this movie… Shaitan is not a movie you will remember. It will be etched on your memory cells.

Rating: 4/5

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Face To Face With Readers | Editor's Pen

Not every day you go to watch a movie and there is a good looking girl sitting next to you… who incidentally reads posts on your website. It happened to me a few days back when a good looking girl sat next to me in multiplex down the lane. She noticed that I was wearing a tee with TRM’s logo. She asked if I knew someone from TRM. A six inch wide grin floated on my face. We have a fan…

Anyways… before I could have added her to my list of conquests over the fairer sex, I realized that not every day you happen to sit next to a good looking girl who reads/likes/appreciates your blog but has a boyfriend who buys her caramel popcorn and flexes his 18.75 inch biceps every now and then… and definitely, his Arnold Schwarzenegger tops his list of ‘Best Actors Ever On Screen’. Nevertheless, we exchanged the numbers.

Anyways, in the segment CineTalk we have started a new thing. We will discuss about movies and post the transcripts. If you are interested in jumping into it... drop us a mail at the.reel.admin@gmail.com

Love

Sujoy  

Paanch (Hindi) | Sneak Peak | Cine Talk

Paanch… This is a banned movie which has been seen by almost three fourth of Indian cine-buffs. Directorial debut of Anurag Kashyap which failed to get a public screening, tells story of a maniacal Rock performer Luke and his four friends. Luke kills a someone and thus the killing spree is ignited. Story is pretty common and barely has anything interesting to offer. However… the movie has a lot.

Shot in dim light (one of the reason why the movie was not given a certificate), to a large extent Paanch do glorify violence, just like many war movies glorify wars. Its pervert in a sense because the outcome of the movie barely offers anything positive. But I suppose it’s not the first film that is totally dark in character. In fact, many films had nothing to offer (read sex-comedies). Atleast, Paanch has a story that can make you skip a heartbeat. It has simply unbelievable performances by everyone… a rare feat in Hindi Cinema. It has dialogues that cuts through your senses… and the forbidden dim light effect, murals on walls… they all add to the effect. Paanch is not about a story. It’s about everything beyond the words on paper.

Having said that, I feel there is an amount of gore in the movie making it unsuitable for a U or U/A rating however, banning it forever makes little sense. People are mature enough to decide what they can handle and what they can’t… and given the fact that its present everywhere, Ban makes no sense.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Star Bestsellers - Part 1 | Unknown Heritage | Under Lens

When I was young school-going not-so-movie-freak and Star Plus was not as boring as it became since the advent of legendary Ekkta Kkapoor, I used to watch one show which my grand mom disliked… Star Bestsellers. While only a few TV shows from 90’s still linger in our memories, SBS deserve a special place along with wonders like Neem Ka Ped, Byomkesh Bakshi and few others.

In SBS, each episode was a different usually unconventional story presented by some budding director/writer. They were less tele-serial and more tele-films. The content of most of the episodes were really impressive and were adapted into films as well. There was not usual pattern in the story which is usually a case for many such shows. Some stories would revolve around romance and other human relations while some would stress on ambitions and crimes. Each story had a special feeling, a special freshness.

90s was a different age altogether. Conventional movies used to work and people loved even Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty’s stupid movies which made no sense. It was like Post Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood stopped thinking and making cinema. Television imitated cinema to some great extent. SBS was a relief. Had it been showcased at late evening slot in second half of last decade, SBS would have got what it deserved. It’s unfortunate that SBS never got big TRPs… though it was fortunate that SBS existed. Why?

Anurag Kashyap, Hansal Mehta, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Imtiaz Ali, Sriram Raghavan are some names Indian Cinema is proud of. They all are SBS alumnus. Interesting nah? Infact, one of the most riveting episode Last Train to Mahakali was directed by Anurag Kashyap. Also, Hasil fame Tigmanshu was perhaps the biggest contributor to the series. In two seasons, he directed about six episodes.

In next few issues, we will cover some of the best of SBS. If you want us to cover some episode, let us know.

Feel free to mail us at the.reel.admin@gmail.com.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Jean Renoir | Early Life | Statesmen

Revered as one of the icons of French Cinema, Jean Renoir was a visionary ahead of his time. Movies like Les Bas-Fonds, La Grande Illusion, The River The Diary of a Chambermaid, The Southerner etc. engraved his name in history of world cinema with golden letters at par with likes of Akira Kurosawa and Satyajit Ray. Infact, while Renoir was in India for the shooting of The River, he interacted with Ray and later Ray confessed that Renoir had some great effect on him as a filmmaker.

Born in Montmartre, France, Jean Renoir was son of Aline Charigot and noted French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. His father achieved both critical acclaim and financial security as a painter. Jean got good schooling in boarding schools. Though it shaped him as a person, he hated them. Due to environment at home, he inherited a sense of art and literature which became his forte in later years.

As young man, he joined armed forces during World War 1. He got injured when a bullet found its way to his leg. It left him partially handicapped for rest of his life. However, this turned out to be the turning point for him. He watched a lot of movies and found a passion for it. Though after War he tried his hand on ceramics but later gave it up to pursue the motion cinema. The journey thus began…

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Destiny And Amitabh Bachchan | Part 1 | Cine Talk

Sujoy: Hey Ali… I happened to see this wonderful movie called Saat Hindustani about two-three months ago. Seeing a lanky Amitabh Bachchan was quite a pleasure. I wondered how he survived and reached these heights. Fate was definitely a big factor. He suffered many setbacks, was ruthlessly grounded but every time he rose like a phoenix. You remember Zanjeer? That role was first offered to Raaj Kumar and then to Dev Anand. Finally, it went to him. Destiny…

Ali: Yeah destiny is a funny thing. He happened to get Zanjeer due to Bombay To Goa!! Although he was protagonist in the movie (BTG, he had a small role. He has a fight scene, in the movie, which actor Om Prakash (of Daddu from Namak Halal) got impressed with. He told director of Zanjeer, ’there is this new lad, who has come in Bombay to Goa; you might want to look at his work ’. And pretty soon he was in for role of a lifetime. But if you notice in Zanjeer there were strong artistes like Pran, Om Prakash and Ajit (of ‘sara sheher mujhe Lion ke naaam se jaanta hai’) to support the film, to pull in the crowd if this young lad is not able to pull it off by himself. But that was not to be, AB pulled off Zanjeer in style.

Sujoy: Pull off is an understatement. BO went crazy that time. But Zanjeer was just the second step after a humble Anand. Anand and Parwana gave him recognition. Abhimaan, Saudagar and Namak Haraam helped him strengthening his feet in bollywood but he was still trailing behind Rajesh Khanna who was the king. In1975, 3 movies came and changed his life forever. Chupke Chupke, Deewar and Sholay. While Sholay went on to become one of the highest grosser ever in India, I think, Deewar was the movie which cemented his image of ‘Angry Young Man’. His portrayal of coolie turned criminal, Vijay, is legendary. The character was sculpted on real life smuggler Haji Mastan. You know, Navin Nischol who was the lead actor of Parwana rejected the role of Ravi (later played by Shashi Kapoor) allegedly saying that he cannot play second lead to a second grade actor (referring to BigB; Nischol was considered to be next Rajesh Khanna that time and BigB was still struggling with average successes). What a miss… Both Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan had a role of their life in this movie.

*** Based on conversations between Sujoy And Ali. ***

Limitless Review | The Critique

Rating: 3/5

Long known fact that an average human uses less than 10% of his brain has always fascinated me. What if we could use all our brain? Limitless is one way in which such a state of mind can lead to.

                                       

You take a pill and it puts all of you brain online!! Promising premise. This is the first of many positives of the film. Also I am surprised how much of the film is conversational in tone. Atleast 25% of the movie is in Voice over of the protagonist.

As the film is from point of view of protagonist, it also has to show physical manifestation of the condition, like what protagonist sees telescopic views etc. Or multiple version of self working together. Movie just nails it in this department. It is technically awesome.

Thankfully, movie never sets Eddie to be super human, but only gives him some powers like  ablility to access all memories and ability to learn new things while just seeing/listening to them, like martial arts and foreign languages.

But all is not hunky dory with pill, other people know about it, and use it too. It has ‘after effects’…

Of the cast Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra is perfect, in all versions of character.Also in the cast is Robert de Niro, who hasn’t got much to do here but is fine nonetheless.

It is a good watch, go catch it!

By Ali Naqvi

Kaakha Kaakha | Critique

The punches, the kicks, the blood and the bruises… Kaakha Kaakha is all about fights. After a successful Minnale (a romantic movie), Gautham Menon’s second Tamil movie was a contrast to the first one. An action film about a cop. Nevertheless, there is a subtle love story as well which literally becomes the backbone of the plot. Despite of many handicaps, Kaakha Kaakha works because direction is strong, acting has conviction and script is tight. Music is an add-on.

There is a cop who has sworn to wipe out crime from the city. He crackdown on the biggest local goon. In a side story, he marries a simple girl who teaches in school. Now, dead goon’s maniacal brother decides to avenge death of his elder brother and he can go to any length in order to do so. He has no moral, no ethics. Now the question is… how will cop save his wife? Story has almost every masala from 60-90s. Love, romance, action, deceit and twists. Characters are extreme and most of the sequences are clichéd. Still, the treatment of each twist and even the clichés is interesting and one can still enjoy them.

The movie shot Surya to stardom. In his role of a tough cop with soft heart, he is unmatched. His eyes opens up his heart to audience and in the first look you start liking him. The nemesis played by Jeevan can cause goosebumps to young girls. He is rowdy and dangerous. Music is likeable and makes the love making scene a classic one. Editing is crisp, though in some scenes it could have been done in a better way. Script is tight, as mentioned, leaving behind very less complaints. Direction is simply awesome. Your admiration for Menon would grow manifold hence.

Rating: 3.5/5

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Jude | Beyond The Some Scenes | The Critique



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Like Reader, on internet Jude is also more known for some explicit content than the quality of art. My sole intent to watch this Victorian drama was to familiarize myself with more works of my favorite actress Kate Winslet. Though the movie is pretty dark in its content and is not in the genre I usually prefer, stellar performances and impressive presentation of Hardy’s Jude the Obscure left me spell bound. It took me some minutes to recollect my voice and say… wow.

Jude aspires to become a scholar but class system creates hurdles for him. His marriage is unhappy. Then he meets his beautiful cousin Sue. Both are attracted towards each other. Sue marries Jude’s teacher. However the relationship end in tragedy. She leaves her husband and starts living with Jude. The incestuous relation is abhorred by the society. Jude is no way close to his aspiration to become a scholar. One fine day, a boy Juey/Jude comes. He is son of Jude and his former spouse. He starts living with Jude, Sue and his step-siblings. Another tragedy is in waiting…

As an actor both Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet did a fair job. Their chemistry gives you a feel of comfort and discomfort which complemented the role reprised. Liam Cunningham and Rachel Griffiths were good as supporting cast. June Whitfield was commendable. Jude, being based on a classic demands lots of effort to restore the era. The movie justifies the Victorian era beautifully. The story is a dark tragedy and the entire movie stands on two pillars- acting and conviction. Jude stands tall. Screenplay by Hossein Amini and direction by Michael Winterbottom deserves special mention. Carrying the burden of such a classic is a thankless job. No matter what you do, if its good… they say it’s a classic… if its bad, they call for your head.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Ready | Dhink Ka Chika... | Critique

I wanted to wait for sometime before writing a review. I wanted the dust to settle. I wanted to let the foolhardiness of Anees Bazmee overshadow remarkable work by Salman. I wanted to write like a reviewer than a die-hard Salman Khan fan. After sleeping over it for two nights, I finally rate it 2/5. Salman and ‘Character Dheela’ earned three stars, minus one for everything else in the movie.

When first made in Telugu, Ready was a story of a guy who just came out of college. It was definitely not a custom role for Salman. Thankfully, Salman has realized that he can’t do what Aamir did so convincingly in 3 Idiots and crew chopped of many scenes in the first half. Nevertheless, that was the first blunder. In Ready (2008), Ram and Genelia did an amazing job in those scenes. The kidnapping scene and the consequences were really charming. Those scenes were removed and replaced with cunningness of Asin’s character which looked very bad on screen. Also, this didn’t allowed the romance to seep into the characters. This romance was the high for the Telugu version. Scriptwriter (was there one??) should have applied some brain. Hence, comedy was the only resort for the movie… Fortunately Paresh Rawal did a fair job (though he was no match to Brahmanandam. Other actors were mostly over the top. Asin was bad in first half and just okay in second half.

Rest of the story was same. Girl has two uncles who want their relatives to marry her because she has about 200 crores assets. Uncles are fighting. there is a mother’s last wish and a determined boyfriend who can turn the world upside down for her. Scenes were direct copy and for the first time in my life, I felt good about it. Had Annes Bazmee tried to do something else… Due to the rip-offs there is something to watch out for in this movie.

Salman was the only good thing about the film. His acting, comic timing and dance will make you smile. You can feel that he is enjoying his work. That reflects in his on-screen aura. Music is ok and Pritam has done a good job with google and youtube. Cinematography is just ok. Direction is so Anees Bazmee that even he won’t be proud of this fact. I think it’s high time to go on strike to ban Anees Bazmee from making movies.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

DK Bose... Under Belly Logic | Editor's Pen

The word DK Bose is a masquerade for an abusive word. Everybody knows and understands this. If I am not wrong, it was first used in Tusshar Kapoor-Riteish Deshmukh starring sex-comedy Kya Kool Hai Hum. It instantly became a part of college slang however faded soon. Cut to 2011. The slang is back. A desperate Imran Khan is smeared in dirt and singing in a broken shriek-style rock.

Frankly speaking, I don’t have any issue with usage of slangs/abusive words in cinema provided that censor board can beep them or give a proper certificate. You always have a choice of avoiding any movie which might offend you. Also, sometimes you can’t avoid usage of f-words. If they are removed, the scene remains incomplete.

Arun Ravindran | Avatars

But I have some problem with public exhibition of such songs on TV where kids and youngsters watch it. It’s not like that they don’t know them. It’s not like that they don’t use them. It’s just that by putting them on TV, one ensures that every one catches the term. The word becomes a fad and causes unwanted embarrassment to many. The youngsters learn it quick and pass it on to toddlers… much to parent’s helpless angst. Deep down even Mr. Khan would accept that this is a shame. We want our children to be sensible and mature but not by means of learning words like these.

I know someone whose name is D.K. Bose. I can’t imagine how he might be feeling…

Anyways... the pic here is of Arun Ravindran who won the second prize at Between Breaths. The smile on his face tells it all...

Kudos... great work mate.

Regards
Sujoy

Missing Raj Kiran | Eyes Read It

Nobody who watched Karz can forget it. Especially the poor souls who suffered its disastrous remake as well. LPs brilliant score, riveting story, amazing direction and what not. Can anybody forget Rishi Kapoor singing ‘Om Shanti Om’? can anybody forget the gory scene in which Simi Garewal mercilessly kill her husband Raj Kiran?

Yes, Raj Kiran… The same guy who appeared in numerous family drama movies along with Govinda and Kadar Khan. The same guy who gave a brilliant performance in Mahesh Bhatt’s most acclaimed work Arth as a budding singer. The same guy who has been missing for more than a decade. His co-stars and good friends Deepti Naval and Rishi Kapoor were trying to locate him. Even his own family had no knowledge of his whereabouts. However, fortune favors the brave. Rishi Kapoor succeeded in his efforts and tracked him down to a mental asylum in Atlanta, USA (if sources are to be believed).

What went wrong with him? After stupendous success of Karz where he played an important role, he didn’t got the success he always desired. He was appreciated in roles he played but most of them were of second or third male lead. These roles were neither financially good enough nor were they strong enough to motivate the actor beneath the skin. All this followed by family problems started damaging his mental health and according to close friends, he became violent. For some time he went under treatment in India. Later he left India and went to US. Some people allegedly noticed him driving cabs. Only when Deepti Naval started asking about him, people in industry realized that he has been missing for past 10 years.

On The Face Of Senator- Aviator | My Take | Under Lens

This is a memorable scene from Martin Scorsese’s work of art based on life of Howard Hughes. On a personal front, I loved this film and might have seen this particular scene, again and again for maybe more than 1000 times in about 100+ reruns of this movie on my system. This scene almost flows in my blood.

Senator Brewster is firing questions and a determined Hughes is replying to each of them. Brewster is spitting venom on behest of Trippe who wants to buy TWA (Hughes’ company) and ruin him. Hughes, on the other hand, is mentally sick and is searching for love. He needs satisfaction and his pursuit is akin to that of Kane in Citizen Kane. He can be easily grounded. However his will power and arrogance are two things that keep him going against all the odds.

The question about ‘Hercules’ comes up. A giant monster which was supposed to rule the air but given the technology in hand and other issues, it has failed to meet the expectations. His honesty, his character and his willpower are challenged. He finally vents it all out. He says nothing can stop him from flying Hercules… it will fly because he has promised so and he is not someone who does not honor his word.

The stage setup is perfect. It gives a quintessential feel of claustrophobia. The camera clicks by press add to the effect. The arguments between two parties appear as if one person is fighting with the system. This was brilliantly emulated by Mani Ratnam in Guru. Acting… when someone like Leonardo Da Caprio is on screen, do I need to say anything?

Director is able to deliver exactly what he might have thought. The scene increases your heartbeats and you sympathize with Hughes.  You can feel the impact. When the scene is over you can feel yourself rejuvenated. Not many scenes in the entire history of cinema can do this to you. Martin Scorsese is God. I mean it.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Shailendra- Lyricist | Statesmen

“Chhoti si yeh duniya pehchaane raaste hain,    Kahin to miloge phir poochhenge haal”

This couplet woke up Shankar Jaikishan from their sleep and reminded them about the promise they made to a budding lyricist. The depth in the sarcasm pricked them hard and the raw emotion laid the foundation of one of the most memorable musician-lyricist team with Shailendra being the latter.

Songs like Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Piya Tose Naina Laage Re, Kisi Ki Muskurahaton Pe Ho Nisaar, Dost Dost Na Raha etc. are still hot favorites among those who love Antakshari and smile at the thought of Aakashvani. These memorable songs were written by Shailendra whose pairing with Shankar Jaikishan and Raj Kapoor shelved out many memorable hit numbers in ‘50s and ‘60s.

A communist at heart, Shailendra initially turned down Raj Kapoor’s lucrative offer to write poems for his film because IPTA opposed Mainstream cinema those days. However, later due to financial crisis he wrote a few songs for Kapoor. Kapoor was generous and thus, they became great friends. Kapoor himself believed in socialism. Iconic song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’ was a sincere tribute to communism of Russia and its socialist adaptation by Congress in India. The protagonist keeps imperialist & industrialist Japan under his feet. He doesn’t pay much respect to English by keeping them under belt (‘Patloon Englishtani’). However salutes Russia (‘Sar Pe Laal Topi Roosi’) and is proud of being an Indian (‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’).

Shailendra invested on a movie- Teesri Kasam based on Renu’s ‘Uff Maare Gaye Gulphaam’. The movie is considered to be a classic however it proved to be a poison-coated diamond for him. Shailendra was a poet and had no bone to be a producer. But he wanted to do it. Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman were roped in. Basu Bhattacharya, the director, was a short tempered person. One day, he left the project like that. It was editing phase. Raj Kapoor himself volunteered and completed the editing. Movie was beyond time, over budget and Shailendra was under hefty debts. To help him out, Raj Kapoor waived off his bill and asked for only one rupee. But by then damage was already done.

1966, Teesri Kasam saw its release. 1966, Shailendra left… forever.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Just Ada Movie Review | Critique

Just Ada is an interesting attempt but inexperience of the team gives it away.  Given the fairly simple plot, it needed brilliance on other departments, which it is not able to deliver.

In terms of performances, Gaurav as Deep lacks subtlety, however he has performed well the scene of asking Ada’s hand from father. Madhuri as Ada is theatrical in some scenes but emotes beautifully in a sequence without any dialogue. Little Ada is a sweet touch to the movie. Ritwik as Ada’s father is spot on, he was one character which felt most real. Thankfully though the script keeps away from topics like religious or regional differences of the couple, but there are times where movie feels rushed, we don't get to see transition in moods of people, Ada’s extreme step looks sudden.

Technically speaking choices like sepia tint to the movie, including a time lapse shot are indeed interesting for a small film. Bravo.  Also having hummable song as part of film is pleasant surprise. Background score, where ever present is nice but it could have been used in more places .On the downside, the voice over could again have been more subtle. No close-ups meant we miss out on characters expressions. Adding more scenes without dialogue could have worked for the movie.

All in all a brave attempt by director Sujoy Ghosh (better than his last Aladdin , just kidding). Best of luck to the team, hope they come up with their next outing soon.

PS including goof ups at the end was a good touch.

Written by Ali Naqvi

Stanley Ka Dabba | Flash Review

Stanley Ka Dabba is a simple tale of a kid and his 'khadoos' teacher played by Gupte Junior and Senior respectively. Without being preacher at any point, Gupte brings out a story that’s totally about children and their ‘life’.  There is a kid who is very talented but never brings his lunch and shares food brought by peers. There is a teacher who eats from tiffin boxes of students and he is disturbed seeing Stanley eating his pie. He threatens him. What will Stanley do? This tale mesmerize you to the core and you leave the hall with a smile.

Rating: 4/5

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh