m_shankar20
Joined Jan 2007
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5 reasons why you should see My Name is Khan (MNIK):
(1) MNIK is an important film in the journey of deconstruction of SRK into an actor. (2) His critics would hate to read this but the truth is Karan Johar is one of the best we have. He is in total control of every frame of each his films. MNIK is no exception. Sadly, his deconstruction has not started yet. (3) We get to see actors like Vinay Pathak and Arif Zakaria play roles with hardly 5 minutes of screen time. The importance given to characters roles is amazing. Also amazing is the fact that actor are valuing the meat of the role rather than duration. Good start! (4) Ravi K Chandran's cinematography. He shows us things differently every time he is behind the lens. The arial shot where SRK is walking through the maze of electricity towers and wires in the Arizona desert is a work of a master. We don't have directors to challenge Chandran enough. (5) Strong messages.
5 reasons why you should not see My Name is Khan (MNIK):
(1) It assumes Hindi is the second language of USA - everybody speaks and understands it, including the 'Mr. President'. (2) Either they should not have shown George W Bush in the original or they should not have faked Obama. And what a fake, he looked a basket ball player more. An intelligent option would have been to always show Obama's back, never show his face. That would have been true to history completely. (3) If there is a place in their country that the US administration cannot reach to provide relief, trust me, a bunch of enthusiasts just cannot reach there with plastic covered cartons on their backs (Ref: The flooded Georgia town rescue scene). (4) The truth is that even our PM cannot meet the 'Mr. President' just because he wants to, leave alone one of us immigrating into that country. (5) A film with such strong and relevant message should be rooted in reality to be relevant over time. At the end, MINK is still masala messaging.
(1) MNIK is an important film in the journey of deconstruction of SRK into an actor. (2) His critics would hate to read this but the truth is Karan Johar is one of the best we have. He is in total control of every frame of each his films. MNIK is no exception. Sadly, his deconstruction has not started yet. (3) We get to see actors like Vinay Pathak and Arif Zakaria play roles with hardly 5 minutes of screen time. The importance given to characters roles is amazing. Also amazing is the fact that actor are valuing the meat of the role rather than duration. Good start! (4) Ravi K Chandran's cinematography. He shows us things differently every time he is behind the lens. The arial shot where SRK is walking through the maze of electricity towers and wires in the Arizona desert is a work of a master. We don't have directors to challenge Chandran enough. (5) Strong messages.
5 reasons why you should not see My Name is Khan (MNIK):
(1) It assumes Hindi is the second language of USA - everybody speaks and understands it, including the 'Mr. President'. (2) Either they should not have shown George W Bush in the original or they should not have faked Obama. And what a fake, he looked a basket ball player more. An intelligent option would have been to always show Obama's back, never show his face. That would have been true to history completely. (3) If there is a place in their country that the US administration cannot reach to provide relief, trust me, a bunch of enthusiasts just cannot reach there with plastic covered cartons on their backs (Ref: The flooded Georgia town rescue scene). (4) The truth is that even our PM cannot meet the 'Mr. President' just because he wants to, leave alone one of us immigrating into that country. (5) A film with such strong and relevant message should be rooted in reality to be relevant over time. At the end, MINK is still masala messaging.
It is difficult to get the image of that flying house suspended by countless colorful balloons off your head, once you see Up. I guess, it would stay with me for the rest of my life.
Up easily climbs up to claim a place amongst the finest animation films ever. Not surprisingly, it comes from Pixar, the team that gave us Wall-E, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo. Also, after a quite a long time, its about 'people' as against a garbage-crusher, a rat and fishes respectively earlier. Up is as colorful as an animation film ever was. What a color riot! Some frames just stay with you, the mastery of their composition impossible to miss.
The choice of characters itself breaks clichés. A grumpy old man as the hero and an amiable obese kid as his ally completely contrast against what one would have thought would be the choice for characters who are supposed to be on an adventure trip to South America. Both characters endear themselves to us as the story moves along.
Two things that stood out for me - (a) The initial sequence that chronicles the life of Fredrickson and Ellie together is a master-stroke. As it ends, it leaves the eyes moist - and all that without a word spoken. (b) The closing shot with the house perched besides the paradise falls - it is one for the textbooks; probably one of the best closing shots ever.
Not to be missed at any cost.
Up easily climbs up to claim a place amongst the finest animation films ever. Not surprisingly, it comes from Pixar, the team that gave us Wall-E, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo. Also, after a quite a long time, its about 'people' as against a garbage-crusher, a rat and fishes respectively earlier. Up is as colorful as an animation film ever was. What a color riot! Some frames just stay with you, the mastery of their composition impossible to miss.
The choice of characters itself breaks clichés. A grumpy old man as the hero and an amiable obese kid as his ally completely contrast against what one would have thought would be the choice for characters who are supposed to be on an adventure trip to South America. Both characters endear themselves to us as the story moves along.
Two things that stood out for me - (a) The initial sequence that chronicles the life of Fredrickson and Ellie together is a master-stroke. As it ends, it leaves the eyes moist - and all that without a word spoken. (b) The closing shot with the house perched besides the paradise falls - it is one for the textbooks; probably one of the best closing shots ever.
Not to be missed at any cost.
It is hard to follow Omkara, even for someone like Vishal Bharadwaj. So he takes a very predictable, though risky route - do something completely different with no trace of his past works. Thankfully, he does well.
I guess, there are two ways in which we may look back at 'Kaminey' a few years from now (depending on how those few years turn out): (a) The coming-of-age film for Shahid Kapoor; (b) The watershed film for 'Indianized' thrillers.
There are very few who would bet on Shahid Kapoor in a role other than that of a lover boy. Fewer still who could pull it off. Vishal Bharadwaj unveils a Shahid Kapoor we never knew. He (the latter) does a fantastic job in the double roles of Charlie and Guddu. In fact, none of the actors disappoint. All get under the skin of their characters.
In last few years, we have been made to endure endless crap in the name of thrillers or worse still comic-thrillers (e.g. Tashan, all Sanjay Gupta films, all films with Sanjay Dutt as 'bhai', etc). Indian directors have been desperately trying to create stylish, sleek thrillers but ended up with cheap Hollywood imitations studded with expensive cars, Armani suits and aerial shots of America/Europe. Style comes naturally to 'Kaminey' through its pace, realistic locations, brilliantly sketched characters and smart screenplay.
Vishal Bharadwaj is extremely and variously talented. The risks he takes without being carried away (why am I thinking of Anurag Kashyap?) makes him probably the best we have. Kaminey is definitely not an Omkara or Maqbool or Blue Umbrella. But it is original, funny, stylish and dark. A must watch.
I guess, there are two ways in which we may look back at 'Kaminey' a few years from now (depending on how those few years turn out): (a) The coming-of-age film for Shahid Kapoor; (b) The watershed film for 'Indianized' thrillers.
There are very few who would bet on Shahid Kapoor in a role other than that of a lover boy. Fewer still who could pull it off. Vishal Bharadwaj unveils a Shahid Kapoor we never knew. He (the latter) does a fantastic job in the double roles of Charlie and Guddu. In fact, none of the actors disappoint. All get under the skin of their characters.
In last few years, we have been made to endure endless crap in the name of thrillers or worse still comic-thrillers (e.g. Tashan, all Sanjay Gupta films, all films with Sanjay Dutt as 'bhai', etc). Indian directors have been desperately trying to create stylish, sleek thrillers but ended up with cheap Hollywood imitations studded with expensive cars, Armani suits and aerial shots of America/Europe. Style comes naturally to 'Kaminey' through its pace, realistic locations, brilliantly sketched characters and smart screenplay.
Vishal Bharadwaj is extremely and variously talented. The risks he takes without being carried away (why am I thinking of Anurag Kashyap?) makes him probably the best we have. Kaminey is definitely not an Omkara or Maqbool or Blue Umbrella. But it is original, funny, stylish and dark. A must watch.