Dev D

This one depicts Delhi’s sub-culture. The movie got me hooked and I really look forward to the directorial ventures by the director Anurag Kashyap. I had minimal knowledge about the prevalence of a deep gutter belly, before I got the opportunity to see this movie. Now I analyze happenings around keeping in perspective the existence of it.

Narrated with the rich brat perspective about the son of Chandigarh based Industrialist, Dev (played by Abhay Deol) is presented as a typical male chauvinist. He was sent by his father to London, who thought that the boy will mend his ways without being with family. This took Dev away from his childhood sweet heart Paro (acted by Mahee Gill).

Some years down the line he comes back, with an implicit understanding of getting along with Paro. It goes along with dramatised nitty-gritties of dopes and alcohol! A parallel narration of Lennie’s (Kalki Koechlin) episode takes place – inspired by the notorious DPS MMS case. She soon becomes ‘Chanda’, a part of the notorious flesh trade based in Delh’s Paharganj.

All in the entire movie clearly indicates how the entire world conspires to take you where you aspire to reach. But often your aspirations and dreams are shattered by trust stabbers around. Beware of them and be smart to lead a respectful life!

Author’s Note: Unlike my previous reviews, which has been the narration of entire movie. I preferred to keep this one has been crisp and to the point. Thanks to the suggestion by a friend who said that my reviews should not be a narrative but something which will compel the readers to see the movie. Thanks dude!

Jab We Met

I just don't get tired of this one! Turn it on a trillion times and I will be happy to see it again. This is a cute movie. The movie is narrated as a travelogue between Mumbai - Bhatinda - Manali.

It gets you hooked with simple yet stunning views, though the camera work has been from two angles only. The acting is imbellically simple and direction has been an example of clear cut vision. Read Imtiaz Ali's take on JWM

Kareena's acting has visibly evolved and caught the genere of her first movie 'Refugee'. She plays the character of a typical sikh girl, Geet. She has a big family and she is planning to elope with her boy friend as the guy is not a sikh. The girl just don't stop talking and is crazy to marry her boy friend Anshuman. Shahid Kapoor plays Aditya Kashyap. A businessman whose girlfrined ditched him, dad expired and mom is married to someone else. He looks at life with a prism of hopelessness. The lead characters meet in the train and the travelogue beguns. 

The girl runs away from her house and her family is under the impression that Aditya is the one to trick her and leave the house. She goes to her boy friend but he refuses to accept her. She spends 9 months in Shimla expecting to convince Anshuman. It is when the family of Geet locates Aditya and ask him to call Geet. 

A must watch for those who dont know how to come out of thoughts of past love. This one teached how to just flush it off. 

Slumdog Millionnaire

Stereotyping of Indians come with exceptional camera and allied technical specifications in the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire. The movie relates each question in the Indian version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' to the life of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) in his journey to find his lady love Latika (Frieda Pinto). The direction inputs are offered by Danny Boyle. It has perfect contrast in presentation of sky high buildings, the Hindu deity Lord Rama, angry mob killing mercilessly at Muslim dominated area, call centres and Jamal Malik - the Chaiwala. The movie is based on the debut Novel "Q & A" written by Vikas Swarup.

Finding her is not that easy, but the hero braves all odds. It begins with the last Rs 20 Million question and a flashback to his childhood.

The unfortunate part is Jamal's brother Salim, who stabs his trust by first leaving childhood love Latika while running from a centre meant to train kids to become experts in begging. They ran just before Jamal's eyes were to be spooned out! Second when Jamal found her again, his brother kept Latika in captivity.

SM has the Taj Mahal, to a kid whose eyes were spooned out pose them to fetch better Alms. From brothels, world of gangsters and of course a ray of hope, exactly its the show 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'. The show host (played by Anil Kapoor) feds in wrong answer to a question Jamal did not know the answer to. Still Jamal chooses the right answer.

This gets the host to consider that Jamal might be a fraud, cheat, and hands him over to the Police. The contention behind his arrest was, you see Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers do not go beyond Rs. 16,000, what can a slumdog possibly know?? The slumdog was on Rs. 10 Million! Jamal manages to comes out clean based on the narration of explanation about how he knew answer to each of those questions. And he knew that a 100 dollar note has Benjamin Franklin, but did not know that a Rs. 1000 note has Mahatma Gandhi on it. During the night in police custody, he braved the electric shocks, and sticks while being tied to the roof.

Its not money but the belief that Latika would be watching, takes him on the show. She watched and managed to gain Salim's mercy and runs away from the clutches of the gangster. At last they meet, in a safer place. Salim is dead, and Javed Bhai (the gangster) too has been killed. The movie ends with a safe place for Latika and Jamal. With an optimism to be together forever.

Please share your opinion /comments on following :

1. Whether the movie would have won so many accolades had it been directed by an Indian?
2. Does the movie has an inherent advantage of being directed by a western, despite the fact that numerous bollywood movies associating with it?
3. The sheer fact for winning accolades was that it was genuinely a good movie.

Thought I agree to the third one, and would say that 'Movie is a piece of art and SM has an exceptional narration in the most creative fashion'. This is strengthened from the acclaimed received from Indian music maestro A R Rahman who brought home India's very first Oscars for his compositions in the film.

Before coming down to any criticism on depiction of India, I would urge to please stand corrected, numerous Indian films find close resemblance with it, like Sarak, Contract, etc. Besides movies, let us not forget that the nation is full of hate mongers, always ready to offer offensive comments on people from different identity, this ranges from road rage to religion etc.. you know all the drama right!

So let the world speak of our bad too and let us not be too autocratic on only India Shinning features. Lets try and be good, I mean genuinely good.

A Wednesday - should have been a non fiction

I wish someone would actualize this fiction!

This flick is a day's account of planning by a "stupid common man" which shook Mumbai's administration. It attempts to convey to the people, it attempts to educate the administration, it attempts to inform the terror! The movie has three dimensions attached to it as to! Namingly, how the administration looks at it? What do the terrorists think of it? And what a common man does?

It begun with a “stupid common man” – named? Anonymous! He visits the police station to file a complaint of his lost wallet, and successfully places a bomb in the Mumbai Police Headquarters. Follows a call to the top cop warning him of bomb blasts across Mumbai, which can be avoided if 4 terrorists were relieved. The negotiations proceeds in a very strategic way. In the meantime he informs a TV journalist to keep himself abreast with live developments on the idiot box.

This is no melodrama, it shows how confidentially and abruptly the police force gets to the act, to knowingly surrender to the demands of an anonymous. Side by side the police arrange a professional hacker, a college dropout by choice, to crack the location of anonymous. Mildly mentioning the laxity on technology updation by the police department, the hacker gets on to the task assigned. Also they try to fetch the sketch os the person who came to file the FIR for his lost wallet, as the police man who filed the case made out that this bag was with the same man.

Assigning deadlines to every negotiation, the anonymous finally succeeds in getting the terror mongers to the desired location, the Air force base. He orders the police in a con-call to follow as he says, make the four of terrorists stand at bench close-by and step out of the place immediately. They followed his orders, but left only 3 of the terrorists at the spot assigned so that they don’t loose the hold on the situation. Walking merely a few steps, a mobile phone set below the bench rings. One of the terrorists picks it up and they explode to ashes.

The explosion leaves the police clueless. The fourth terrorist is terrorized. Again a con-call with the anonymous reveals that he is a common man trying to take revenge from those who blew apart his acquaintances, people whom he did not know by name, but met then everyday in the train and said “hello” to them. He demands the fourth terrorist to be killed then only he would reveal the location of the bombs, and the same should be verified on TV. He got the news, “four terrorists killed in a bid to run away. They were being relocated. Police had to kill them”. Hacker’s computer screen blinks with the location of Mr. Anonymous.
His last call to the top cop says “there were no bombs”. ACP Rathor consents to him by saying that I know, and heads towards the location which the hacker cracked. And Mr. Anonymous destroys his apparatus and rushes out of the place with his vegetable bag.

They met, had a brief chat, not about the incidence, just a normal chat, what’s the time? ACP Rathor was sure of the identity of Mr. Anonymous as he had the sketch of the person who came to file the FIR. They introduce each other, but Mr. Anomymous remains anonymous for the audience. For the ACP, name depicts ones religion – which is the cause of concern.

rOcK oN !O!!

Lets get to the serious business, its no child's play, but we all can find association with it. Its called 'dreams, aims, motto, objectives and aspirations'. Rock On! presents a true depiction of music and spirit, of dreams to fulfillment, from pals to passion!

The movie begins with a bang and ends with a bigger bang. Its a story of four friends and shapes up as how destiny brings them together to actualise an unfulfilled dream.

Some ten year ago Aditya the singer, Joe the guitarist, Rob at the keyboard and KD strums the drum. Today Aditya is well hi-flying investment banker, Joe is still looking for work, Rob is working as a music composer and KD is with family's jewellery business.

Ten years ago, they got an opportunity to make a music video. The boys wanted the video to serve as a platform to establish their music band "Magik". But the notoriously cunning producer mended their theme and the ended up spiting the group.

In a fit of anger Joe walks out or the shoot with a tough blow on the producer's and Aditya's faces. Aditya withdraws and went on a hiding in Delhi. Rob and KD are clueless and Aditya's girlfriend helplessly grief about the incident.

Ten years down the line, Aditya's wife tries to reunite the friends and they decide to reform their Rock Band "Magik". Ultimately the Magic happens on a sad note, Rob had brain cancer. Debbie, Joe's girlfriend turned wife wants Joe to follow a secure profession and was strictly against him singing for Majik.

Ultimately it turns out to be an ideal story, where they sing at a concert and take the crowd along with a passage across the oceans. The movie conveys that one should follow her/his heart, and passionatly work towards achieving dream.

Please comment with how did you like the flick.

Tahaan - depicting innocence in lieu of conflict

The beauty of art movie lie in the fact that they convey the message in the most sensible ways. They depict the reality with minimal shades of grey!

I herewith begun with one more blog to my credit themed on movie reviews.



The movie, Tahaan is about a family in Kashmir, the chief wage earner of the family is missing and all the members are longing secretly for him to come back. A child, Tahaan loves his donkey Birbal, which was gifted to him by his missing father. He pledges to get his pet Birbal back after finding out that Birbal was sold off by his mother to a Kashmiri trader, after his grandfather passed away due to cold stroke. The trader further sold off the donkey to an old vendor, who has lost his entire family except his nephew and grandson.

Tahaan loves Birbal so much that he would cross the LOC a thousand times to get him back from a tough old man who vend apples across the LOC. A series of events unfold through the script, as the child mistakenly fall prey of the militants. I lieu of getting Birbal back to him an innocent looking militant manage to convince Tahaan to help him get a grenade across the LOC. Upholding the innocence of an eight year old, the climax brings back his father and his beloved Birbal to him.

The major issue of Kashmir has been related to a child, who heard bombardment across the border and often find the army strolling on the street besides his house. The child braves the curfew and a raid at his house. In this directorial venture by Santosh Sivan, the child actor, Purav Bhandare stands out with his conviction and inquisitive appeal to the theme. The video captures compliment the audio.

I welcome your comments!
Thanks