Two Indias | Bodyguard Vs TGIYB | Under Lens

In last two weeks, different social network forums have been boiling over how Bodyguard worked while TGIYB barely survived. Many people critically discussed the artistic value of latter and absence of the same in former. Some people analyzed the BO collections which tilted the weight in favor of the obvious one. Some involved Bol in the discussion and added more fuel to an already agitated potent mix of gunpowder and rdx.

Agreed that That Girl In Yellow Boots is a victory of Cinema. It deserves a watch by everyone with even a half eye for quality cinema. Though it’s not in the league of Dev D., its not trailing by a big margin. Its good cinema. Though quite a cliché now, the word is Respect. On the other hand, Bodyguard is watched and to some extent loved by people who want to have some good time watching a movie which can blow Sheldon Cooper into flares. Some brainless action. Some cheesy and some funny dialogues. Lot of overacting that can move your 17 muscles. Something you can watch with your girlfriend, sharing a popcorn and... you don't miss a thing if you get busy.

TGIYB is a perfect piece of art which would attract people who follow Shyam Benegal, Indie Cinema, Argentinean movies, Danny Boyle etc. This is the India which has access to Broadband, use torrents and avidly follow the movies in languages one might not be able to spell properly. Bodyguard is the other kind of cinema where people follow stars religiously. They respect the 'class' of parallel cinema but are seriously not interested in hooking up their brain in something cerebral. For them, purpose of cinema is just entertainment.

I have generalized a lot, apologies for that. There is a sizeable chunk of population which is part of both Indias. While some of them genuinely panned Bodyguard for being mindless some panned because they wanted to be part of a class... you see, 'Pretending' is such a show-business.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Sehar | Real Drama | Critique

Real life characterisation has never been the forte of B'wood Cinema. More than once, we cling to old clichés and ruin the charm of the story for sake of adding entertainment. Sehar, however, is a perfect case study of the exceptions. Loosely based on gangster turned politico Shiv Prakash Shukla and SSP Arun Kumar and his STF in Uttar Pradesh.

Sehar is story of SSP Ajay Kumar who struggling hard to control the nexus between gangsters-politicians involved in the government sector which is taking the shape of organized crime. The advent of mobile phones is working against him as Police is not well equipped to track the phones. To resolve this problem, they get Prof. Tiwari in loop with main focus on a particular Gajraj Singh who has become extremely powerful by taking Railway contracts (by force), kidnappings and extortions. Miffed with Ajay Kumar's success, Gajraj tries to hide behind electoral. Ajay Kumar senses his plan and realizes that if Gajraj becomes a part of legislative, it would become hard to ground him.

Arshad Warsi has proved that he is an ‘actor’ bearing the burden of successful comedies. Sehar is perhaps his best work and can be rated higher than Ishqiya. Pankaj Kapoor and Sushant Singh, both are seasoned actors and they know their job more than anybody else. It’s unfortunate that Arshad is forced to do worthless comedies and Pankaj Kapoor and Sushant Singh never got the acclaim they deserved. Mahima and other actors have done justice to their characters.

The USP of this movie is the script. Perfect script without loopholes. Lucknow has never been portrayed so naturally. The language and the tone are so Laknauvi. Detailing behind characters is really good. Entire crew of Sehar and especially Director Kabeer Kaushik deserve a bow.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

McDowell's Alex and Heath Ledger's Joker | Under Lens

Every now and then I tend to do little R&D on Heath Ledger's Joker. It’s like my little obsession, please bear with me. After watching A Clockwork Orange by Kubrick, I felt that I saw a Joker in eyes of Alex.

Both characters, Joker and Alex, are extremes. He is an anti-hero who is devious and manipulative. Just like Joker, he is ultra violent and don't feel like backing violence with reason. He is not dangerous, in fact he is ultra dangerous. Just like Joker, Alex tends to glorify himself. The very usage of "Your Humble Narrator" stamps this. He seeks nirvana in acts world frowns upon. Just like Joker, Alex is highly manipulative. He volunteers for experimental Ludovico Technique as he sees it as an opportunity to come out of the prison.

Alex is a weak character, much unlike Joker. He has a weak will and Ludovico Technique makes him frail to the core. Joker, is a strong never-say-die villain of highest degree. He is dangerous as he is a psychopath on killing spree who doesn't give a damn to human life. Alex is a mental wreck but not a psychopath. He enjoys sadistic activities but for him, it’s an instant pleasure. He doesn't plan them. Joker does and does it brilliantly.

Heath Ledger studied Alex while preparing for Joker. No wonder, I felt like that.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh 

That Girl In Yellow Boots | Spectacular Kalki | The Critique

I am not a great fan of Anurag Kashyap, in fact, I simply hated No Smoking and Gullal was a total bouncer for me. Then what made me to watch That Girl In Yellow Boots over Bodyguard ?……..to your surprise, it was Kalki, and of course she didn’t disappoint. I really feel Kalki is speedily moving from ‘Best supporting Actress’ to ‘Best Actress’.

If we talk about the movie, the first thing that strikes to me is the unexpected and discomforting climax.  Oops…..my mistake, I shan’t talk about the end in the beginning. So, I will start with our protagonist’s character sketch. Ruth, a young British girl, comes in quest of her father to Mumbai, and is soon engulfed by the dark side of this fast moving city. She has neither Visa nor a Work permit but soon realizes that the under the table money can do the trick (Mr. Anna where are you?) She works at a massage parlor, offering clients a ‘special’ Swedish massage which leads her to meet and associate with some seedy characters. And to worsen the case, she has a drug addict boyfriend who is being chased by a gangster. Ruth is a complicated character, and in spite of her connections to illicit activity and the lengths to which she goes in pursuit of her goal, she is fragile. As an audience you feel to protect her, may be coz as Aamir says, ‘atithi devo bhava’, but indeed because Kalki has handled the character splendidly. Truly speaking, I would like to put the movie in the biography / character study genre instead of thriller.

The plot is quite engaging but confusing at the same time too. The sub plots though not very interesting but yes, do contribute to Ruth’s ill fate during her quest. The other one things that’s splendid in TGIYB is its cinematography with a restless camera and nothing flashy, may be due to budget constraints, but that’s what makes the movie close to reality. The side characters as of the parlor owner (Pooja Swaroop) and the gangster (Gulshan Devaiya) have also done justice to their roles. Pooja, seems to be truly living the character, as a chatter box. But some splendid actors have been really wasted, which includes Naseeruddin Shah, Ronit Roy and Rajat Kapoor (scene less than 5 secs, no dialogues!!).  As a movie buff, I really feel sad when an actor is wasted. This may make me to reduce the movie rating, but yet not make me to stop you from watching the movie.

TGIYB is a typical Kashyap film and has almost touched the mark, which it set out for itself. I won’t say it as a must watch, and you may prefer skipping it, if you are interested in light entertainment instead of something which discomforts you for minimum 1.5 hours. The thing that disturbed me even after stepping out of the movie was the Yellow boots, both in terms of title and in design. Title may be justified, that they denoted a journey / quest, but their design was awful, looks they could not get a sponsor. Anyways, movie is a good watch; you may try it if you liked Dev D & Shaitan.

Rating : 3/5

Written By: Neha Jain

UTTKRISHTT-2011