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Showing posts with the label Movie

Reason and Religion

Watched Umesh Kulkarni's Deool on Sunday. I didn't like the movie. Yes, it was topical and relevant. And real - the commerce that goes hand in hand with religion. I have spent half of my life in small town so I have seen the sudden upsurge in economy, and the playing up of religious factor. But what ails the movie or in my opinion makes it one-dimensional is the strangulation of the voice of reason or rationality. Dilip Prabhavlkar's Anna is the rational voice in the movie, who suddenly packs up and goes off to his son in Bangalore. He's the counterfoil to Bhau (Nana Patekar) and his brigade of itching to do something young men. But while Bhau says building the temple is the way of development, Anna doesn't offer any convincing argument or observations or alternatives to the path of development to be forked out. We all have enough Bhaus in our midst and we all can see the effects of their development. But not enough Annas. Perhaps the movie could have been di

Love you Bagwati

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"Love you Bagwati" "Dilon me tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho,to zinda ho tum..." My google status mssg is alternating between these two lines since I watched Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.  I was in a wretched, wound-up kind of state before I saw the movie. And, after watching it...I am smiling all the time and you know about my status mssgs! Watching the movie is like meditation (Sorry Laila for borrowing your expression). I mean, aren't we all tired of rushing around, crackling with energy and being constantly on the move? That's why just being along to glide along with the movie is such a blessing. I could actually feel all my knotted organs unwinding themselves. Uggh...the metaphor isn't very appropriate. But that's what I felt. I laughed, giggled and grinned at the "inane" jokes. I soaked myself in Imran's sheer magical imagery of words. And, of course the beauty of Spain mesmerised me. I wish I had the money and f

Bal Gandharva

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I watched Bal Gandharva this week-end. It's a lovely movie - extravagantly mounted with no expenses spared. Much like the man who strove to appeal to the senses of his audience. Spraying expensive scents/perfume when they walked in to watch this musical plays, giving the ladies a reason to shop for expensive, rich and exquisite sarees, shalus and of course jewels. Who can forget the creative, imaginative and innovative props for Bal Gandharva's plays? And, of course the music. Bal Gandharva alias Narayan Shripad Rajhauns is music. All those who watched the movie knew this. In almost every Marathi household, the elders have to swear by Bal Gandharva. His plays enacted by the younger generation of actors still run housefull. Of course the elders and those who had the pleasure of hearing the original, pooh-pooh the attempt. Therefore, when people like me who have been brought up in such households decide to watch the movie, can't help but be disappointed. We have heard

Chasing the Blues

It's a stupid, sultry afternoon. I am sitting in the comfort of a fully air-conditioned office. So I shouldn't be complaining, right? Well, I am not exactly complaining, or fault finding or even griping. I am just ruminating...ah that sound so like a cow who is chewing the cud. I just finished eating dahi-bhat (hence the simile is apt) and now I am thinking of how if I was somewhere else (read...not in office) I would spend the afternoon in pleasurable pursuits. And, for me, that is either watching a movie, reading a book or just curling up and snoring away to glory. I haven't watched a decent movie in ages, or ate decent food in ages (I am exaggerating) and sleeping...yes I get my beauty sleep of 8 hours, but don't mind stretching it to 10-12 hours on a Saturday morning. But since I am stuck in office this afternoon, I can just visualise... Movies: I am an avid movie buff, but I have realised that my choice of watching films on an afternoon like this has narrowed d

Live from Peepli

Yup! I know lot has been said about the movie. It was sure to do well, right from the moment Aamir Khan decided to produce it. Well, yes, the movie was good. Damn good. Slick, humorous and as 'real' it could get. I thought it was going to be about farmers suicide. But...yes it does talk about the farmer's or A FARMER'S SUICIDE. The farmer, in this case, is Natha. And, his suicide is discussed in DETAIL by the mediawalle from Delhi and also by the regional satraps. The media makes a mockery of his death. And, like all the media reports, exclusives, breaking news - nothing CONCLUSIVE, comes out of it. The movie, I mean. Personally, three scenes touched me. One is that of the farmer, Hari Mahto, who has lost his land because he didn't have the money to repay the loan he took from the bank. He works in a pit now, digging mud. The mud is sold to contractors for meagre Rs 100 per day. He dies. The media, meanwhile, is tracking Natha's death (will he? won't he?

Harishchandrachi Factory

I saw the movie 'harishchandrachi factory' a couple of days back. My verdict......ummmmm Not all that great. I think the movie, which was meant as a tribute to Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian Cinema, has been trivialised. The foresight, the persistence of the man and the support of his family doesn't really come through. The director's (Paresh Mokashi) attempt to show the trials and errors, the tribulations his family goes through in a light-hearted manner (perhaps the word is 'humourous')falls flat. There are blunders too. How could a brown-skinned native sit along with the Brits and watch a motion picture? In 1911? Didn't the Brits have notice board on most of the public establishments - Indians and Dogs Not Allowed. The characters too are not 'developed'. They are mere caricatures, their roles/contribution in the life of Phalke not fully explored. I wish they would have shown more of the man, Abdullah, the inn-keeper (hotelier/restaur