It has been a while since i have posted something out here. and i decided to start my regular posting ( yes this time i promise to be regular), with my own reveiw of a movie that i saw recently.
Rang De Basanti, is in one word a Good movie. A novel plot, beautifully sketched out, comprehensively acted out, amazingly scored in music and what have you.
Sue, an english filmmaker comes to India with a dream to make a documentary on the Indian Revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru etc. Shes inspired by her grandfather who served in the Indian prison where these revolutionaries were lodged, and wrote a diary on his daily interactions with them. She chooses for her cast a group of collegians from Delhi, comprising DJ, Sukhi, Aslam,Karan,Sonia and Lakshman Pandey.
Its a group that any youngster would connect with. Wild, fun loving, with ideas of their own that are yet still in the making even if they appear permanent. A group that tends to live for the day and then wait only for the next. Of course you have Pandey as a fanatical Hindu nationalist but he has a change of mindset as the story progresses. So do all the others as the movie within the movie completes. The mood changes with the death of Sonia's Fiancee Flt Leiutenant Ajay in a Mig 21 Crash. The events that unfold thereafter are poignant and tragic leading to a an emotional climax.
What i liked about the movie as i said before was the portrayal of the idea. The way the flashback of the Indian Freedom movement is gelled with the story of the current is simply great. In fact i did not realise in the beginning why it happened but when the end approaches you know why it was done.
All the performances are strong, and you can beleive it when i say even Aamir Khan cannot overshadown his co-actors here. Of course credit goes to him too for his own portrayal of a Punjabi brat ( DJ), but the others are equally strong characters. The music is one more point. AR Rehman shows once again his genius.
Its a beautifully made movie, and as commented by one of my freinds, one hell of a movie after Dil Chahta Hai.
Of course just as anything cannot be perfect and i do have a couple of points. I thought Anupam Kher as the industrialist father and Om Puri as Aslam's father were wasted. i mean you cant give such measely roles to such great actors. but then thats just a point. Then i also thought maybe the part about the crash and the subsequent actions should have been given 15 more minutes. it was kinda abrupt.
But as i said before, nothings perfect, and hell i am also not a perfectionist. I really enjoyed watching the movie, and i plan to watch it once more with my family when i go back hom in Feb end.
till then
Kudos
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Frankly My Dear I dont give a damn
I guess that is what Mr Rhett Butler would have said when queried about why the movie " Gone with the Wind", was not selected by Time Magazine as a part of its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time so far.
And hes right. Why should he or for that matter even Margaret Mitchell give a damn about the same? The reason why i ask this is because of many articles appearing in the newsprint about how surprising or shocking it was to note that the movie does not appear in the list.
Let me look at it from two veiwpoints, first the hypothetical vewipoint of the author herself, and then from that of the selectors from time magazine.
For Maragaret Mitchell, she created a masterpiece, a great novel, that enthralled and continues to enthrall readers worldwide. she wrote a book that was named as the most widely read book after the bible. All this is very very true, but at the end of the day, other than of course the actual feeling of a contentment at having created something fabulous ( in this case a great story), would possibly greatly override all the accolades showered by the rest of the world. for is it not true, that if one is not happy with ones own work, would all the accolades really matter?
As Ayn Rand would have probably stated, the work itself would be the greatest accolade possibly to the worker. So i really dont think maragaret mitchell or for that matter Rhett Butler would give a damn.
Now lets come to the selectors. Of course Gone with the wind is a fabulous novel, a romantic masterpiece. the story is beautifully written and the plot is great. But at the end of the day, its precisely this- a beautiful though sad love story. Thats it. And the movie also is just that. If you look at it from the critical angle, i dont suppose one could really find any piece of cretivity worth voting it as one of the great pictures of the century. Or anything that would have a profound impact on someone.
I suppose the selectors were probably looking for movies, that were masterpieces in terms of creativity or imagination or the effects ( for the techno age of today), or human emotions, or situations or history. In terms of that Movies like Schindlers List or our very own Satyajit Ray's Trilogy including Pather Panchali would have figured. Not a plain old flick like our GWTW, which is what it is at the end of day, made out of a great book, even though it has enamoured audiences the world over, though definitely less than the book itself.
But then reiterating what Butler said " Frankly, i dont care a damn". Neither should anyone else. The books great. thats what matters.
And hes right. Why should he or for that matter even Margaret Mitchell give a damn about the same? The reason why i ask this is because of many articles appearing in the newsprint about how surprising or shocking it was to note that the movie does not appear in the list.
Let me look at it from two veiwpoints, first the hypothetical vewipoint of the author herself, and then from that of the selectors from time magazine.
For Maragaret Mitchell, she created a masterpiece, a great novel, that enthralled and continues to enthrall readers worldwide. she wrote a book that was named as the most widely read book after the bible. All this is very very true, but at the end of the day, other than of course the actual feeling of a contentment at having created something fabulous ( in this case a great story), would possibly greatly override all the accolades showered by the rest of the world. for is it not true, that if one is not happy with ones own work, would all the accolades really matter?
As Ayn Rand would have probably stated, the work itself would be the greatest accolade possibly to the worker. So i really dont think maragaret mitchell or for that matter Rhett Butler would give a damn.
Now lets come to the selectors. Of course Gone with the wind is a fabulous novel, a romantic masterpiece. the story is beautifully written and the plot is great. But at the end of the day, its precisely this- a beautiful though sad love story. Thats it. And the movie also is just that. If you look at it from the critical angle, i dont suppose one could really find any piece of cretivity worth voting it as one of the great pictures of the century. Or anything that would have a profound impact on someone.
I suppose the selectors were probably looking for movies, that were masterpieces in terms of creativity or imagination or the effects ( for the techno age of today), or human emotions, or situations or history. In terms of that Movies like Schindlers List or our very own Satyajit Ray's Trilogy including Pather Panchali would have figured. Not a plain old flick like our GWTW, which is what it is at the end of day, made out of a great book, even though it has enamoured audiences the world over, though definitely less than the book itself.
But then reiterating what Butler said " Frankly, i dont care a damn". Neither should anyone else. The books great. thats what matters.
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