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June 17, 2005

Matrubhoomi – A social sci-fi

[Pic – Frontline]

Reading this quasi-review Matrubhoomi directed by Manish Jha, I’m pushed to look out for the availability of the film in video stores around me. While most science fictions deal with gizmos and fanatasy stuff, here’s a sci-fi with a social sense.

From what’s been written, the movie could also end up as yet another message movie. It’s the premise of the movie excites me for this is what is expected from our folks at woods of India. Also the note that Jha, the director of this movie had already won a Prix du jury at Cannes his feature, for A Very Very Silent Film, makes me have high regard on his abilities as a director.

From Frontline –

Futuristic films are supposed to be an escape into fantasy, even if they do make passing or pointed references to current attitudes and cultural fashions. They are usually not grounded in current social reality – a reality rooted in centuries of accumulated prejudice and burdens of history. Jha’s film is more a doomsday warning – of the approaching apocalypse of moral collapse and sexual depravity caused by selective decimation of women – than a futuristic sci-fi scenario. The film describes the nightmare of what happens to a society that systematically kills girls – after they are born, if they have not been finished off in the womb itself. Our past foretells the future. The past Jha resurrects is from the Mahabharata, of a Draupadi married to five brothers – in this case, not out of the choice of a swayamvar but because there is a dearth of brides in a sex-starved patriarchy. Will this enhance the value of women and the girl child? So the proponents of sex-determination tests would have you believe, as they try to offer a sociological rationale for the morally indefensible practice of selective abortions.

His short A Very Very Silent Film (a pavement dweller is raped through the night by the many passers by till it is discovered to be a corpse the next morning) won the Prix du jury at Cannes in the year our media went gaga over Devdas (ignoring the quickly emptying halls) to the exclusion of everything else – including the arrival of a major new talent.
June 16, 2005

LMAO !!

In the case of new films, the ban would be subject only to some rare situations such as the treatment of historical personalities known to smoke, and period films. Also, it would be allowed as part of social messaging against smoking itself. As for old films, due to technical difficulties, it was agreed that instead of a prominent scroll containing a health warning accompanying smoking/tobacco-using scenes, theatre owners would have to show warning slides.

What else to say of this. I remember a short story which a friend of mine shouted over my shoulder while biking on GST. A greedy disciple wants a boon from his guru while leaving for his hometown, after schooling. The guru understanding the covetousness of his disciple, plans to whack him smoothly. As the disciple asks,” I need a magical power that would give me whatever, when I think of it”. The guru says,” Given. But whenever you are using the power, you shouldn’t think of a monkey”. The disciple thinks,” I need a ton of gold and yeah !! I am not going to think of a monkey”. Whacked !!

Similarly during a smoking scene in the movie, if they are showing the scroll, Cigarette smoking is injurious to health, our friend would get reminded of the single cigarette left in his pocket an walk out of the movie hall, to smoke. Aren’t you LYAO ??
June 16, 2005

Star War[s] of the Worlds

[From Slate]

It’s the summer movies week at Slate and to celebrate the block busters releasing this summer they got their dudes to write some hot gossip. With George Lucas’ Star Wars already taking a box-office by storm, StevenSpielberg‘s sci-fi thriller War of the Worlds is set to rock the theatres by June 29th. To cook some masala here is pretty easy. They do it pretty well in this article named, Lucas vs. Spielberg – The worst best friends in Hollywood.

Not just gossipy but this story seems to have some really interesting trivias on the duo. If you are a fan of atleast one of them, you would read it without taking a breath. If you love both, it is a treasure because the kind of stuff is said seems pretty true. I don’t think Slate can just bluff like this in public space. It talks about the outwardly friendship and the true inside competition that goes on between Steven Spielberg and Lucas during their movie releases. Steve seems to admire Lucas so much from his debut film, THX 1138. And Lucas seems to be extremely aware of the sharp director in Steve right from his first tele-film, Duel.

Spielberg—it was revealed—had lent a helping hand to the climactic light-saber duels in Sith. “George gets stuck sometimes,” said producer Rick McCallum, as if the Star Wars saga were a particularly stubborn patch of lawn. “He never asks for help, but you can feel it when he needs it. With Steven he got encouragement from a directing peer and a good friend.” Meanwhile, Spielberg hired the same pre-viz-effects supervisor sent to him by Lucas to help with his aliens for War of the Worlds, much as you or I might borrow a trowel or Rotavator. “We’ve always helped each other,” said Lucas when approached by the cable network A&E about a documentary detailing the rivalry between the two directors. “[Spielberg] and I have never had an argument in our lives. … I want DreamWorks to succeed. They want me to succeed. And we’re going to help each other succeed.” So, there you have it: just two successful movie titans succeeding, side by side, successfully.

Not just this but a no-harm debate on – Did George Lucas and Steven Spielberg Ruin the Movies?. Don’t miss it.
June 15, 2005

Tamil Cinema – Netru Indru Naalai

When Mani Ratnam directs Kamal Haasan, Vikram, Madhavan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek, Laila, Sadha, Asin, Pooja among others for an A.R. Rahman musical, with sets created by Sabu Cyril and lit up by Rajiv Menon, on a stage which is 80 feet wide and 40 feet deep, you know it does not get bigger than this, At least, not in this part of the world. With over a hundred dancers around sets such as the train from `Chayya Chayya’ and the ship from `Atho Antha Paravai Pola,’ the latest edition of the `Netru Indru Naalai’ show will be nothing short of a spectacle. On par with what people usually find only in musicals in Broadway and Westend, Mani Ratnam told the media at The Banyan on Tuesday evening. “We have one change to announce. We are positioning it in August to make it a spectacle,” he said.

“We want to make it a special show because it is for a special cause and for special people,” the filmmaker said. “It’s our desire to recreate the magic of the songs over the years. We are looking at the journey of the film industry over the years, from the black and white era to colour to the futuristic sets and sounds of A.R. Rahman. We will hopefully recreate those moments,” Mani Ratnam explained.

“Kamal will do a Sivaji song and a MGR song while Vikram will do a Kamal song and a Rajni song,” Mani Ratnam said, explaining the theme for the musical. “As a part of the audience, I would be more interested in how the stars of today interpret what the stars of yesterday did.’

Adeyappa!! Enjoy Chennaites. Read more of Sudhish Kamat’s article from The Hindu.

I read the same news from New Indian Express too. Is it because of Sudhish or Hindu, the article was more interesting and informative, than New Indian Express, for the kind of filmy news it dealt with. One more reason why I love to read Hindu, anyday.
June 14, 2005

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

I had no idea what Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi was until I watched it. Srihari had written a review which I comfortably forgot to read. I heard him comment elsewhere about HKA being a good film and hence I wanted to watch it. Turned out to be sweet.

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi a.k.a Thousand Dreams Like These, has Che Guevara, Beatles, Bob Marley, naxal movement, sex, politics and love in widely varying proportions. All these described and experienced through three people who lived in the post-independent India during 70’s. HKA can just me defined as Sudhir Mishra’s tribute to the 70’s generation. With Subha Mudgal’s opening song and those explicit politically charged lines on screen, I was certainly suprised that it wasn’t the kind of film that I expected it to be from the DVD cover.

Delhi. St Stephen’s College. Three people who meet here as friends, with just their emotional attachment in a triangular fashion, see the extremes of life by living life they choose too. After a decade, their lives changed beyond recovery, their love undying. Delhi was intellectually charged up at 70’s. Voices in need of reformation ended up being naxal movements. Many rich class college yuppies were moved by idealistic ideas and moved to villages for reformation. Sidharth is one such. With the corrupt political cloud over Delhi, one could just talk his way-up the career. Check-out Vikram. Then we have the girl. For the 70’s she is the educated, independent but emotional Indian woman. So we have Geeta. They follow life and it’s dark corridors only to finally end up with thousand dreams like these.

Sudhir Mishra’s portrayal of India at the politically charged 70’s era is something that I couldn’t relate to. Not many movies have tried to tread this way. With the cry for true freedom, political imbalances and the times of emergency forms the canvas of HKA. Without harping too much on the political issues, Mishra takes a tight-rope walk. He wins. He wins first for his intriguing, non-boring and highly charged narattive of HKA. Then for his casting skills. Kay Kay Menon as Sidharth, Shiney Ahuja as Vikram and Chitrangada Singh as Geeta are great finds for theie respective roles. Chitrangada Singh looks and smiles like Smita Patil. The kind of dark beauty we see in Balu Mahendra’s flicks. Kay Kay has a role that needs downplay. He does that with grace. Shiney Ahuja as the vivacious Vikram out performs others. The talkative role adds up to the personality. If only Mishra would have mixed the english/hindi in proportion, it would have been a rational move. There was excessive english even after the characters live in the deepest villages of Bihar, for nearly a decade. Could have been handled better.

Yet another gem among the heap of half-baked nonsensical hindi films made these days. If you get some leisure movie-watching time, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is a good watch.

BTW, I also wanted to comment on Madhur Bhandrarkar PAGE 3 which was dubbed as a rare film of the year. All I wanted to say is that Page 3 is one among the heap that is mentioned in previous paragraph. It should have been directed by Shobha De. She has probably lived and written more about Page 3 people of Bollywood than anyone. What starts as good idea ends up as a pretentious movie that canont convert the original idea on-screen. The whole movie is sprinkled with skin-deep characterisation, party clips, neon lighted dance floors and low/no hip culture of the ‘happening’ bollywood. Madhur Bhandarkar’s earlier flick Chandini Bar was laudable. He should probably be highlighting Chandini Bar in his filmography. Page 3 is yet another sample of hazaaron bad films aisi.

Matrubhoomi – A social sci-fi

LMAO !!

Star War[s] of the Worlds

Tamil Cinema – Netru Indru Naalai

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi