Reinas (Queens)

I remember watching this movie a few years back on World Movies. Those were the days (she says sounding undoubtedly like a 60 year-old pensioner). But you can't deny the fact that that particular channel did showcase some of the best regional films. I would apologize for the delay in uploading a new post but that would be redundant. Also if I do get an indication that my apology has been accepted, I may take you for granted but I'm getting too ahead of myself here. Pardon the digression.

I don't generally put restrictions on age groups for movies but for some it's mandatory. You cannot let a 7 year old watch A Clockwork Orange! That is not me talking from experience. Honestly.
Anyway, Reinas isn't a film for children below the age of 15 and people with an aversion to homosexuals. There isn't much explicit content but it would be better if you're of a certain age to understand and appreciate the humor in the film.

Reinas or "Queens" as it is called in English, is like an exotic, pulpy and refreshing drink with a certain tang to it that you just cannot get enough of. It's like the kind of drink that you'd want to sip slowly whilst savouring the flavour and one that leaves you wistful and yearning for more. It's a Spanish film directed by Manuel Gomez Periera in 2005.
Queens is a comedy which stars Carmen Maura, Unax Ugalde, Daniel Hendler, Betiana Blum, Verónica Forqué, Paco León, Gustavo Salmerón, Mercedes Sampietro, Tito Valverde, Marisa Paredes, Raul Jiminez, Hugo Silva and Lluís Homar. The plot revolves around the lives of three homosexual couples, their mothers, not to mention anything of the dog and the ridiculous events that take place two days before all 3 couples are married. The film is set in Madrid where homosexual marriages have been recently legalized. For our couples, it is a right conquered and it leads to a huge event where twenty homosexual couples are married at once and covered by the press and television channels. Even though it may seem like they're making a huge spectacle out of something personal, I can't help but find it endearing.
Magda (Carmen Maura) is the owner of a very high-end, luxurious hotel wherein the marriage ceremony will take place. She's a shrewd business woman who refuses to tolerate any nonsense. Not from her lover/head chef at the hotel, Cesar, who's leading a protest against the hotel authorities to increase their wages and least of all from her in-law Ofelia (Betiana Blum), who wishes to bring her dog in the hotel. The relationship between their sons, Miguel (Unax Ugalde) and Oscar (Daniel Hendler) becomes quite awry when Ofelia moves in with them. Their problems become much greater than just the usual coitus-interruptus. Jonas (Hugo Silva), a heart surgeon has always done everything he could to please his father except for falling in love with Ken instead of Barbie! His father, Jacinto (Lluis Homar) is Reyes'(Marisa Paredes) gardener whom he's been lusting for since quite some time. Does Lady Chatterley's Lover ring a bell? Reyes is an actress and lives with her only son Rafa (Raul Jiminez). Inspite of Jonas' education and prestigious job she still doesn't consider him as good enough for Rafa. Both the parents disapprove of the match which inadvertently makes our young couple's relationship stronger. Our last couple seems to generate the most amount of controversy. Narciso (Paco Leon) is a politician who's taking a stand for homosexual rights and will be marrying his boyfriend Hugo (Gustavo Salmeron). Narciso's mother Nuria (Veronica Forque), a sex addict, travels to see him get married while also trying to avoid having one of her "encounters". Nuria is quite supportive about her son's wedding but Hugo's parents are less enthusiastic. His mother, by some trick of fate, ends up becoming the judge in charge of the ceremony whereas she wasn't even going to attend the wedding. His father, Hector (Tito Valverde) is a police officer and a terrible one at that. He doesn't seem to have a problem with Hugo being homosexual although he is quite intrigued when he realizes that his son's never been with a woman. Because of the rift caused by his parents, Hugo has cold feet before the wedding and he cheats on Narciso. Turns out he isn't the only one.
This is the typical feel-good film and does not cease to entertain me. What was surprising was that the relationship between the sons and mothers were not unlike any Indian household let alone a heterosexual one. The constant banter between Miguel and Ofelia reminded me of a "saas-bahu" serial! Although the main idea about acceptance of homosexuality tends to fade out in the background because of everything else that's going on, the subject is touched upon at various points throughout the film. Opinions on this movie have varied greatly. I, for one, can watch this film over and over again and not get tired of it but professional critics will tell you that the film isn't worth watching. I'd appreciate it if you gave it a chance, you maybe surprised by just how much you enjoy it.

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.