Kai Po Che

  Greetings! How're we today? I'm writing about yet another Hindi movie and I honestly believe that I deserve a cookie or a Ryan Gosling at my window for putting up 2 posts in one month. Truthfully, I was told that I absolutely had to write about this movie because I'd dismissed the idea initially. Catwoomaniya, this one's for you..;)
   So Kai Po Che directed by Abhishek Kapoor is based on Chetan Bhagat's book, "3 mistakes of my life". It stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amrita Puri.
Meaning of the title - "I have cut the kite!" Refers to a kite-flying competition.
Significance of the title - Still haven't figured that out.
   Basically Kai Po Che is like a Jumbo King i.e it's a glorified Vada Pav! You know what it tastes like before-hand just like people who've read the book will know what the movie is about. But hold on, you're in for a pleasant surprise! The movie is a lot better than the book which is refreshing because usually its the other way around. Good to know history doesn't always repeat itself.
   Now if you're not a fan of Chetan Bhagat's writing (Trust me, I'm not) or if that particular book didn't appeal to you then Sushant Singh Rajput and Amit Sadh should give you enough of a reason to watch the movie. Not just for their striking good looks but also for their more than average performances. Raj Kumar Yadav has acted really well too but he tends to be obsolete because his character is kind of a weakling.
  The plot of the film is very simple. It's about three boys, Gopal (Raj Kumar Yadav), Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Omi (Amit Sadh) who want to start their own sports academy in Ahmedabad. They start with opening their own store for sports supplies. Gopal, who is the typical "goody two shoes" teaches Mathematics to youngsters as well as Vidya, (Amrita Puri) Ishaan's sister who Ishaan's fiercely protective of. Not surprisingly, Gopal and Vidya fall in love and are in a surreptitious relationship. Ishaan is an ex-district level cricketer who still reminisces about the glory days which leads to him coaching cricket. He meets Ali, a 10 year old Muslim boy who is a cricket prodigy. No match fixing there folks! Our third character Omi, he is Ishaan's best friend and totally worships him. His uncle is a Hindu politician who provides them with funds for their business. After borrowing money from him to buy space for a new shop in the upcoming mall, Omi is forever indebted to him and must start doing work for his political party. Here is where we start seeing cracks in their friendship. Ishaan is busy training Ali for cricket tournaments, hence Omi feels neglected and Gopal is simply getting busy with Vidya! Apart from this they encounter quite a few obstacles such as the earthquake which destroys the mall where they were supposed to set up shop. Also a short while after, Omi's uncle is left feeling bitter and angry on losing the election to the Minority Party. This, along with the Godhra train massacre, was a contributing factor to the Hindu-Muslim riots. The entire event was a terrible bloodbath during which Omi's parent's were killed. Brief explanation of the Godhra massacre, it was an arson attack planned by a Muslim mob which lead to the death of 58 Hindus in the Sabarmati Express train which is close to Godhra Railway station in Gujurat. That's another reason why Kai Po Che was such a big deal here. The Hindu-Muslim riots is a touchy subject for most and it's very necessary to acknowledge the importance of the background of this film.
   I wouldn't recommend watching this film with your kid, there's quite a bit of violence. But it's still the typical "feel-good" film. Bound to appeal to all kinds of audiences. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant! Great work by Anay Goswamy. One of my favourite shots is when they're travelling by bus, it's sunset and you see the upside-down reflection of trees passing by from the bus window and it looks like rippling water. Absolutely stunning! The music is very good too but you only realise that when you consciously start looking for it or else it just gets drowned out in the hum-drum of the film.
   So harking back to my Jumbo King - Vada Pav reference, (I've been told that if you compare movies to food then it makes reviews a lot more interesting) at the end you realise that your Jumbo King is tastier, more filling and has that extra kick of schezuan sauce which is the Bollywood masala (sans the filmy-ness) that adds to the movie. Even though it's not internationally popular, I'd say that Kai Po Che is a very good choice for a rainy day.

Bazaar

  

    So this time I'll be treating you to an oldie but a goodie. Also this is the first Hindi film that I'm blogging about. I need to warn you though that if you watch this movie expecting the typical Bollywood masala or fight scenes where a guy throws himself in front of a truck and still survives, then don't watch it. Bazaar directed by Sagar Sarhadi in 1982 is an excellent film. Unlike the other films that I've blogged about, this particular film isn't easy to watch. I can't bring myself to watch it again either. It's deeply unsettling but highly impactful. 

   "Bazaar" is a Hindi word which means "market-place". The film is set in Hyderabad and depicts the predicament of the poor, destitute Muslim families who have to sell their daughters to affluent males in the Gulf so that they can put food on the table, if only for a little while. Consequently this tells us about the whole "marriage bazaar" where they conduct rituals and ceremonies so as to make it seem a lot less morally repugnant and a lot more acceptable to society. Bazaar stars Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Supriya Pathak. Stellar performances given by all three of them and they show great competence!
     This film follows two threads which come together after the first half. I won't be telling you how because that would just be a real spoiler. We meet Najma (Smita Patil) and her lover Akhtar who live together. Akhtar wishes to become his own man before he marries Najma which reveals to us that he is financially dependant on his brother Shakhir Ali Khan, a wealthy individual from Dubai. Najma was going to be married off to an individual quite like Shakhir Ali Khan but being extremely stubborn and firm rather than fickle and submissive, she decided to take matters in her own hands and ran away with Akhtar. Next we're introduced to Salim (Naseeruddin Shah) who's the creative type i.e. he's a thinker and a poet. In other words, he's broke. He's loved Najma for years but couldn't marry her because he had no social status. Doesn't mean he didn't try though! You have to love him for that, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve is either a keeper or just a schmuck waiting to get walked all over on. Before Najma ran away with Akhtar he asked her if she loves him and she replied by saying that she cannot marry him. How typical, won't say yes but won't say no either. The fact that he still continues to love her even though she's Akhtar's is heart-breaking. You can see the absolute love, adoration and want for her in his eyes. Talk about unrequited love. He says so much without saying anything. He believes that Najma should become independent of Akhtar and Shakhir Ali Khan and be her own person instead. It's so brilliant to see such a radical thinker in that day and age and who isn't threatened by an independent woman. Don't you just love him for that?
    Elsewhere in Hyderabad we meet Sarju and Shabnam (Supriya Pathak) who are blissfully in love. Sarju is really poor but does small, odd jobs so that he can marry Shabnam and support her. Their love seems so clichéd but on the contrary it is pure, passionate and strong. I think it seems clichéd because nowadays we have such a cynical view on love. Having said that, you find yourselves rooting for them throughout the movie. So coming back to our love triangle, Shakhir Ali tells Najma to find/buy him a bride. He's a very abusive, dominating and creepy man so you can see that he needs all the help he can get. There's a scene in the movie where he's chasing a woman after getting really drunk but she goes and stands behind her three sons. Right at that moment we see a glaring red colour which is just genius cinematography because it perfectly captures that expression of "seeing red". Another example of the absolutely stunning camera work are the flashback scenes. They may not seem too great technicality wise but I personally, loved that it was so unembellished and bare.
     Najma agrees to do Shakhir Ali's bidding because Akhtar tells her that if she doesn't do as he says then Shakhir Ali won't help them out and then they'll never be able to get married. Here, we see the whole crux of the film. It's really important because you see that it's a woman who's selling off another one. It also makes you wonder about how far you'd go and what would you do to get what you want.
    So I'm sorry if this was a super-long one as well but I had a lot to say about this movie.. I haven't told you the entire plot either because there are quite a few twists and turns and you feel pretty helpless while watching it. In fact I'd like to compare it to the book "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. The characters in the movie and the book are infuriating, ruled by their instincts and their predicament is pretty morbid and depressing. Not a movie for the faint - hearted but it will give you a lot of food for thought especially if you compare it to modern Bollywood cinema.

Cadillac Records

  Nowadays I've noticed that people listen to all genres of music, from dub-step and heavy metal to classical and jazz. Yes we do have our individual preferences but good music is always appreciated, no matter what genre it belongs to. Cadillac Records is a movie which has really good and soulful music. It's the ideal movie for all the people who enjoy listening to the rhythm and blues, rock and roll and especially for those hoochie coochie men! That is a Muddy Waters reference by the way. For those of you who haven't heard of him I have just one thing to say to them, "Widen your horizons little ones! Watch the movie!" Please do not get put off by my candid comments. I don't mean to sound elitist it's just that when I read the "Blogging for Dummies" article online I inferred that I can make my readers laugh, cry, happy, sad, angry and even offend them at times but I must not bore them! 
    Coming back to the movie now, Cadillac Records was directed by Darnell Martin. It stars Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, Mos Def, Beyonce Knowles, Cedric the Entertainer and Eamonn Walker.  Boys and girls, you have Adrien Brody and Beyonce Knowles in the same movie, need I give you any more reasons to watch it?! This is an amazing cast. I personally loved Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Columbus Short. 
Basically the movie is based on a true story about how Leonard Chess, an immigrant from Poland started his own record company in Chicago in the 1940's called "Chess Records". It chronicles the lives of the musicians who recorded for Chess Records from the 1940s to the 1960s. Most of the musicians who recorded with Chess Records were African Americans who got their lucky break thanks to Leonard Chess. In that day and age there weren't that many opportunities for the Afro-Americans and racial segregation was on the rise. Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), formerly known as McKinley Morgan was a sharecropper from Mississippi who came to Chicago to try and make it to the big time. The way he played the guitar was just magical! It was like an extension of his personality. He met Little Walter (Columbus Short) playing his harmonica on the streets. I really liked Little Walter's music because I think the harmonica is a forgotten instrument and that's a real shame. The two of them recorded amazing songs that were chart toppers. Muddy Waters' first record was "I can't be satisfied" but his most famous record was "Hoochie Coochie Man". He recorded one with Little Walter that was called "40 Days and 40 Nights" which was really great too! Little Walter's first record was called "Juke" which is basically just an instrumental piece with the harmonica and guitar. It is fantastic. My favorite though would be Little Walter's "My Babe". It was later covered by Elvis Presley too but I like Little Walter's version much more. Call me biased but that's just how it is. And then came the Howlin' Wolf ( Eamonn Walker). He doesn't play a major role in the movie but his character can't be ignored either. After him came Chuck Berry (Mos Def) whom I personally deem as an important character for this movie! He introduced rock and roll in a day and age where the blues was all the rage. "No particular place to go" and "Maybelline" are my favourite but there are a whole lot more like "Johnny B. Goode" and a few others that haven't been included in the movie. Another reason why I really like Chuck Berry is because it was because of his music that racial integration started to take place. In the words of Willie Dixon, "It took just one man duck-walking across a stage to get the people together". It started at one of his concerts, when the people removed the barriers and started dancing together. And finally there was Etta James (Beyonce Knowles). That woman has a really powerful voice! Her records "At last" and "I'd rather be blind" are proof of that. Now the story itself may not be that great but the music makes up for it. It captures the good, bad and ugly side of fame. Kind of cliched but that's what it is. It tells you about the ups and downs in all their lives. These were people who were really passionate about their music. Passion creates and passion destroys. 
  I'm sorry if this was a little too lengthy. I'll be putting up the songs so if you don't feel like watching the movie you could just as well listen to the songs, that's fine too. Like I said, it's more about the music then the movie. For those of you who have already or are going to watch the movie then please comment. 

Why is it not just about chick-flicks?

Greetings earthlings! I am currently in a transition phase i.e I am shifting my blog from Tumblr to Blogspot. I wasn't getting any views and also a lot of it depends on the kind of pictures or videos that you reblog. Sadly I am a very unproductive blogger. Hoping to change that once I start getting more views and maybe even comments. Before you proceed further there are a few things you need to know. I am a little dense at times. Honestly. Why else would someone write about why they started writing about films six months after beginning to write the blog?! Ponder it over.

 Anyway I had a very rare moment of illuminating realization where it dawned on me that I haven’t revealed why I started this blog in the first place and why it has such a bizarre (also lame) URL. That is probably because I am used to doing these things ass-backwards. Pardon my language but alas, tis very true.

Coming back to me now, my interest in films and I mean good, pure, cinema started at a very early age since my dad is writer/director and my  mother has had a love affair with films since she was a teenager.  One of my earliest, favourite films was “The story of Adele H.” by Francois Truffaut. I was completely enraptured by the language and the cinematography. I’ve always loved regional films especially Iranian films like “Children of Heaven”, “The girl with the white balloon”, “Song of the Sparrows” and a few more. My interest in French films grew because of my mother who can speak the language quite fluently. I thought “Amelie” was a very good film and since then I’ve been a huge Audrey Tatou fan! I thought she was absolutely stunning in the movie “Priceless” opposite Gad Elmaleh who is also an incredible actor. I plan on blogging about almost all of the aforementioned films by the end of the year. Very ambitious on my part given my tendency to not blog for months at a time. 

I am and will always be a movie-buff but I do enjoy the occasional chick-flick with my friends. Although there’s a lot more to cinema then just those sort of films. I understand not being able to sit through “artsy” films but then again it’s those films that give you food for thought and are evidence to the fact that films have come a long way. Sure, there has been a lot of evolution in script-writing and cinematography, sound effects etc. but we have also lost quite a few things on the way. My personal opinion is that we have lost the charm of black and white cinema after stepping into the world of color. When I watched Anna Karenina made in 1935 (the Greta Garbo version) and after that I watched the 2012 version, I was left feeling wistful. The characters in the 1935 version seemed a lot more luscious and maybe it’s just me but I think that actors look a lot more beautiful in black and white. Although the 2012 version is a much more interesting remake. I’m comparing the cinematography here. Furthermore, I think that people had to apply more technical skill when there was no color and hence the cinematography was better. Don’t believe me? Watch a Hitchcock film. You don’t see double-exposure shots like those anymore. 

I’m sorry about going a little off-track back there. Anyway films have the capability to impact you, they can be intellectually stimulating, mentally taxing and at times utterly heart-rending. You can’t really have a cogent opinion about”Bride Wars” can you? I don’t mean to sound snobbish and nor am I prejudiced towards chick-flicks. I just feel that everyone should have their own take on things, something to say and films of substance can be instrumental in shaping your own opinion.

Oscar Wilde once wrote, “The purpose of creating something useless is that you admire it immensely. All art is quite useless”. Even though these lines may be true it is very important to know that art matters. As cliched as that sounds it is obstinately relevant to this day.

Frost/Nixon

One of a variety of anti-Ford buttons generated during the 1976 presidential election: it reads “Pardon me! Gerald…” and depicts a thief cracking a safe labeled "Watergate"

Frost/Nixon

So how many of you know or have heard about the Watergate  scandal? The reason I'm writing about this scandal is because if you wish to watch the film 'Frost Nixon' then you need to have a slight idea about this particular scandal. If you think this sort of a movie isn't your cup of tea and it probably might not be for a lot of you since this movie has a lot do with politics, controversies, indictments. In that case don't watch the movie but read this blog anyway to know about the scandal because a little general knowledge has never really hurt anyone.
Now just basic facts, won't bore you'll with unnecessary details. The Watergate scandal took place in 1972-1974 during Richard M. Nixon's presidency. Richard Milhouse Nixon was the 37th president of the United States and is the only president to have ever resigned. Anyway, coming back to Watergate, this scandal has a very intriguing historical and political background arising out of many incidents but the foremost one being the break - ins at the Watergate Hotel which was the headquarters of the Democratic National Party, hence it has been called the "Watergate Scandal". Members of Nixon's re-election committee broke into the offices of the Democratic Party three times before finally getting caught. There are many theories as to why these break-ins took place. Essentially, they were an attempt to find out the Democratic National Party's campaign strategy and so they installed electronic listening devices in their offices which is against the law. They also wanted to know if the Democratic Party had any incriminating information about Donald Nixon (Richard Nixon's brother) which could be used against the Republican Party. This is just one of the surreptitious activities that was carried out under Richard Nixon's administration. Another incident that has been mentioned in the film is the Vietnam War and the Pentagon Papers. The Pentagon Papers were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, a Defence Department employee. They revealed information about the administrative activities during the Vietnam War. I wish I could say right now that Richard Nixon was caught and impeached but sadly that isn't the case. He tried covering his tracks but did not do a good job of it. The cover up infuriated the people. Then when implicated, he went so far as to claim that if the President does it then it isn't illegal! The people who broke into Watergate were convicted and tried. As for Nixon; facing near-certain impeachment and a strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate; he resigned on August 9, 1974.
Now it's actually at this point that the movie "Frost Nixon" starts. Nixon resigns the presidency while the entire nation watched, waiting for him to apologize. After resigning, Gerald Ford who was Nixon's successor, issued him a pardon due to which all chances of a conviction went down the drain!
The movie is based on the play of the same name and tells us the story behind the Frost/Nixon interviews in 1977. The film was directed by Ron Howard. David Frost is a British comedian and a T.V. show host who decides to interview Richard Nixon after observing that over 400 million people watched Nixon's resignation on television. The two characters in the movie are both prisoners of their circumstances. David Frost conducts the interviews to get a whole lot of viewers and Nixon agrees to do the interviews because the money being offered to him for these interviews is too sweet a deal to turn down. David Frost is portrayed by Michael Sheen and Richard Nixon by Frank Langella. Amazing performances by both of them, particularly Frank Langella! It has been nominated for various Golden globes, Academy and BAFTA awards and won numerous awards including "Best Film" and "Best Actor (Frank Langella)" by the Vegas Film Society. 
This film was a real eye-opener for me because before watching it I didn't know a thing about Watergate nor did I know much about Nixon. America during the Nixon years and present-day America are really really different because after watching the movie, reading about it and now writing about it there is nothing that could make me say, "Oh the Nixon years weren't really that bad." The screenplay is impressive and the actors are fantastic. They don't just mimic their characters, they embody them and the way their characters play off of each other during the interviews is really interesting to watch. This movie keeps you on your toes and you hang on to their every word. This political/historical drama has a stinging wit, dark humour and is laced with tension. Definitely worth watching!

Shawshank Redemption

Theatrical release poster.

Ok so let me just start by saying that people who haven't watched this movie, shame on you! No seriously, go watch it as soon as possible! I really love this movie and I thought it's a good choice for my first post. The plot is ingenious, the actors are fantastic. All in all, this movie ticks all the right boxes!
It's a 1994 American Drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It was adapted from Stephen King's novel Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.This movie is the kind of movie that you really need to watch atleast once! Before you do, let me tell you it's not one of those "make you feel good" movies nor does it have a love story of any sort. And those of you under the impression that it's an action movie (I was before I watched it) sorry but it isn't. It's mentally taxing and you need to pay attention while watching it. So if you're planning to watch it after a long day of running around or working or if you plan on watching it with your boyfriend/girlfriend I'd advise you to not do so.. Unless of course the two of you really do wanna "WATCH" the movie! The basic plot of the movie is about a banker called Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), he gets sent to Shawshank Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. Adultery! The movie has you hooked right from the start while you're trying to figure out whether he did commit the murders or not. So anyway he gets sent to prison and befriends Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) who's a contraband smuggler and is serving a life sentence for murder. You see the difference in both their personalities, Andy is still hopeful and dreams of a life outside prison whereas Red thinks that it it's unrealistic to think that way. I think he feels that way because he got rejected twice before finally receiving parole after 40 years. Andy explains that he holds onto hope as it is the one thing the prison can't take away from him. Also Freeman has an authoritative presence and demeanor. Tim Robbins, on the other hand is reserved and also doesn't give off that vibe of nonchalance that Morgan Freeman does. The movie goes on to show us how he tries to improve the decrepit library at Shawshank by regularly sending the state government letters. He helps an inmate pass his General Education Development examinations and later Samuel Norton, the pious but corrupt warden of Shawshank Prison uses him in his money laundering operation. This film captures various facets of prison life like institutionalization, prison sexuality and most importantly how prisoners aren't able to survive once they're let out. The world moves too fast for them to keep up and after having other people make decisions for them, they're incapable of doing so for themselves much less living their own lives. It also made me think about how punishment in reality is something that the government imposes upon criminals to appease society, it doesn't really matter to them whether the criminal has been reformed or not.
So there's a lot that can be said about this movie and I'm not getting into the nitty - gritties or giving too many details because the twists and turns in the movie are just too brilliant! I'm sure you'll get a lot more from it because it is one of those movies that different people say different things about and I think that's what makes it a great movie. If you've already watched it then please leave comments and actually leave comments anyway because this is my first try at blogging and I would like to know what you think about it!