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No Smoking (2007)
Awesome compilation of random thoughts in the subconscious
The Plot The Protagonist "K" is a narcissist, self obsessed chain smoker. But I believe most smokers are narcissist to an extend. So is K, the man who spends hours in the Wash Room, to enjoy the smoke look at his well toned body and enjoy his looks, his style, rebuilding his confidence, by self assuring that "nobody tells me what to do". He takes his life for granted, when he says, no body leaves me. The question of leaving, quitting in his life has to go with his past, where his mother and father split.
He is so obsessed with himself, that he is got less time to think about it. A self made cosmopolitan corporate boss, who makes things possible, with out leaving cigarette not even a moment. His name is K, because his name is K, and there is no surname, last name attributes, to add to the fact that he is self made man. His wife Anjali is a woman, who never complained, at last sticks her foot down, and asks him to quit smoking. He is referred to a clinic, Prayog Shala, which has a reputation. K decides to go to the clinic to bring back his estranged wife. He goes down the shabby "Kalkatta Karpets", a shady place where Prayog Shala is located. Bengali Baba, chief there asks him to enroll, or else die. He is got no option but to take it. The conditions put by Baba are simple. If K smokes his first Cigarette after this , his brother who is in hospital will be suffocated with cigarette smoke. Second cigarette, his fingers will be cut off. Next cigarette, his wife will die.
As I was leaving from the theater, I could hear viewers puzzled comments on the movie. I am sure, more than half of the crowd didn't understand the movie. Hence writing this. As Anurag said before the release, there is only one key to understand the movie.
Anurag has employed the same devices that was always incorporated by likes of David Lynch (Blue Velevet, Mullholland Drive etc.), Martin Scorsese ( After Hours), Charlie Kauffman (Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, adaptation, being John Malkavitch, etc. )
This film has nothing to do with quitting smoking. But everything to do with quitting any addiction in life. Smoking being one of the worst, yet popular addiction is difficult to kick, because of the availability of cigarettes was just chosen by him. This film is about habits, that has gotten in to us, in the subconscious, which makes us feel we need it. The inner struggle , whether for good or bad.
the dream K is having is of Siberia, it represents oppression, a communist rule, where there are no individual liberty. He is the one who believes he is independent and free, and he is made to quit his individual liberty, his dream state just signifies that, the state he is in, the desperation for smoke. He will get killed if he goes for the smoke.
* the Baba is a doctor, there is no Baba, he instead of the usual chemical treatment, treats K psychologically. After all smoking is more a psychological addiction * the dialog Baba says about Antaratma, is about subconscious. the struggling K we see is his subconscious, what Baba does is he is taming the subconscious, the key factor of individuality and liberty from the mind of a narcissist man, who says, no one teaches me what to do. For that fear in injected in to his mind.
* there are no actual loss of ears, eyes, family, what ever. Those are fears of losing loved ones, harming them, causing harm to oneself, by smoking, there are no accident, but its what he is going through * there are no Annie, only Anjali. Annie is the guilty feeling that he has in his mind, that if he smokes he will loose her, and also the temptation to smoke. (to cheat or not to cheat one's wife) * he is forced many times to smoke, and smoking he is made to believe causes harm to his loved ones, that explains the murder of Anjali, suicide of his brother (he is made to believe that he is the cause of his brothers lung problem), etc.
* the dialog I reached here through bathtub, him though Almari, signifies the subconscious of other people going through the same, similar phase * the other K inside the that dirty room, trying to reach the original K, is none other than his subconscious trying to reach him, and make him smoke, the dirt signifies many things, the smoking dirt, the suffering he is going through * remember the announcement "those who have paid full fees can go for the bath". It means the course is complete, where the subconscious is cleaned up * finally he, the subconscious, is being burnt , and finally K is relieved and treated.
* the cut finger is none other than the fact that, he is missing the smoke in his had, the fingers which are cut are the ones which we use to smoke, so when he finally quit smoking, he is missing those, the only way he can get out of it is to get himself company and relief, which is why he has to enroll another person for the program.
9/10.Anurag has has suspended disbelief and played with it,. there are more comments to it, explaining each and every incident, but i believe i just have to give key. please feel free to correct me, if i got any thing wrong. one more thing john Abraham has done a good job, really commendable, for the first time ever. seems all he needed was a good director
Ek Chhotisi Love Story (2002)
a cheap lift from Decalogue 6 thou shall not commit adultery
its nothing more than a cheap lift from Krzysztof Kieslowski's Decalogue six, thou shall not commit adultery.
the movie fails to inspire, and is a drag, trust me, watch the original one.
its a classic.
the film by shashilal nair, crated controversies, of course for wrong reasons, i was inspired to see the film as the film contains some steamy scenes of Manisha Koirala, but unfortunately , there is none....
A perfect example of how bollywood can destroy even the most well made movies.
Apocalypto (2006)
awful
After I saw commercial crucification of Jesus in " Last temptation of Christ", I could understand the range of Mel Gibson. This film is none different., It seems that this man has got the habit of making some people walk over a large distance, effective torture on them, making them carry some heavy load.
This movie also we can see the scene, where the tribal are made to walk tied on a piece of wood.
This movie is another example of cultural assassination. Gross violence is portrayed on the scene.one and half hours of the movie, is nothing but torture, proving a point to the world that,see this was how they were, before them the Europeans came to the continent. People call traantino a mad man, cause he shows violence on screen, but his ways of showing violence are subtle and innovative, you could never feel the pain.
This man, Mel has crossed all possible limits, trust me.
I refer to (again) Amen. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280653/, where they don't even show a single torture scene and still make us feel sad for the plight of the Jews, see schindlers list, see the movie, shooting dogs, Mr, Gibson, you are too out of the way Watch it if you got nothing else to do
300 (2006)
MMM, no clear title
1. 300 The legendary movie of the year, worth watching 300 times
. This was the review that was visible in the newspapers I could get my hands on. I began watching the movie, with just more than Lil hope, that it would do justice to itself. I could see well build athletic men, walking with stupendous beauties on the screen, The stupidity or rather bravery, bravery is some times the other name of stupidity, Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C is the plot, why 300 men were deployed to fight the Persian army. Leave apart all that, I can see even an Imax version of the film is being made. I could not believe that they even made so many mistakes which are jump cuts, I could spot at least 5 of it. The bleach by pass technology is used to perfection to have the gritty look. The cinematography department has done a competitive job.
My aim is not to talk about the film. But to talk about the underlying message of the film. Through out the film, I could see that Persians are portrayed as evil, devil worshipers, womanizers, people with no morals and no values, which I could not stand, in these days of growing intolerance in the name of color is this actually needed. It's a sort of cultural assassination. I agree half the people who sees the movie know that its based on a graphic novel by frank miller, that's the justification for the use. But still its portrayal of history, I believe that film makers can show their versions, they have the freedom. But why exaggerate this to this much horrible level.
Watch if u are of a typical taste.
Achanurangatha Veedu (2006)
caresses as a whisper ,leaves you spellbound with despair
The name speaks for the movie, dedicated to all the houses where the father does not sleep, or our society does not allow him to sleep. it shows the plight of the humiliated who suffers injustice while they seek for the justice. The movie revolves around the story of the family in a "elappara Sex scandal", and is inspired obviously from the " 'Suryanelli' sex scandal" Samuel played by Salim Kumar, is a Pentecostal who converted to Christianity to marry his love mate. he is still seen an outcast by many, he has three daughters. after the demise of his wife, he lives a life taking care of his three daughters and leading a commoners life with his job at a government office. youngest of the three, Lissamma, who is also the brightest goes missing, and Samule's dream of making her a doctor shatters. when his daughter was found missing, he along with his friend , played by Murali. they come to realize that Lissamma has left the place with a rich bus owners son. they believe in the bus owner's promise that he will marry them off, and does not lodge a complaint against them. two weeks later he finds that, they also have deserted him, and realizes that his daughter has been used for prostitution by more than 40 odd people. the girl returns to the house. she was cheated by her lover. and the famous sex scandal begins, the media, police, and local people hunts her down, she is subjected to ridicule, the police investigation which is a mockery, absolves the main culprit, who cheats her and involves Hari (Prithvi RAAJ), an innocent young man, who had nothing to do with the incident. Samuel decides to face all the ridicules, and fight for justice, but the High Court acquits all the culprits, the last resort of the common man, judiciary also deserts him. the news was received by Samuel, and he retorts by attempting suicide and also, giving poison to his daughters, when thy recover from it, they are punished by the court for attempting suicide. Samuel and his two daughters are sent to prison , while the youngest Lissamma, is again in the society and there are hawks to pry on her.
all Credts to the director, LAL JOSE, who has come up with such a bold film, unless typical Malayalam movie, the movie has an innovative way of story telling, the grief of the father becomes our grief, Lal Jose who has always given the hunch that he will once be the best in industry is again showing the glimpses of his genius. Scenes from News Channel, inter-cuts etc., increases the pace of the movie,.the climax is unconventional and brave and is an exception compared to any Malayalam movie. surprisingly no rape scene is shown but the intensity of the tragedy is felt. i remember Amen, ( a German film,which revolves around the German atrocities and in Nazi camps, with out even showing a single torture scene, the movie succeeds in making us feel empty) introduction song of Hari, can be termed unnecessary, but he rest are very good, and are shot beautifully. their prayer song, and all other songs in the movie, are too good, and its is the lyrics by Vaayalar Sharathchandra Verma stands out.
the screen play by Babu Janardhanan is brilliant, so is the camera by Manoj Pillai, who really deserved an award. Salim Kumar is exceptional and can be ranked as one of the best in Malayalam Film industry. in the last scene where he enters the police jeep, by uttering the words" one who knows everything is a judge, thats why we call him a judge" is exceptional. all supporting cast plays their part perfectly. and my opinion is that state award and national award for best actor should go to Salim Kumar, his performance is far too good compared to Mohan Lal's in " Thanmathra". may be the jury was too scared to ignore Mohan Lal, as he is the superstar. and this is un-doubtfully the best movie of the Year, unfortunately it went to "thanmathra", lal Jose also deserved to get the best director award. All the departments in the film., director, screen play,editing, acting, music, everything scores and makes this film, unforgettable experience. watch this film, i can guarantee it will put a dagger in to your conscience.
Guru (2007)
disappointment
Well, when you hear that Maniratnam who has always worked magic on screen, teams up with Abhisheksh, Madhavan, Mithun, Aishwarya, Vidya Balan. Rahman, Anurag kashyap,Sreekar Prasad,Gulzar, and Rajeev Menon, all of whom are the best in respective areas of performance, you expect the Mani magic striking again. unfortunately GURU, disappoints. lack of planning is seen from the beginning of the movie, where some shots are clubbed with the music from MAYYA MAYYA, where Guru is seen returning to home. to note down a few, unlike all the other Maniratnam movies 1.lacks technical perfection
2. loose editing, there are so many jump cuts,(sreekar what happened)
3. bad background music, for a movie set in 50's, 60's, 70;s and 80's. Rahman should learn to compose music for period films(not to forget that he has done so in Lagan, iruvar etc, which were exceptional)
4. Bad screen play, usually you see a very tight screenplay with no unnecessary dialog's or scene in Mani movie, well guru is an exception well one day during the shoot, every actor came for the shoot, but Mani didn't start shooting, he kept them waiting and said pack up, i guess even he had his doubts about the screenplay, as it has never happened with Mani, who is more than punctual and professional 5. Dialogs lack fire...i wonder why Anurag Kashyap backed out, the man of his talent backing out from a Mani movie....
6. the last speech of Guru before the inquiry commission, too filmy for a Maniratnam movie, i expect it from ordinary director, not from some one like you 7. Rajeev Menon has succeeded in making the film looks good, but why was the camera panning from each judges face to other face during the sitting of the commission. well i guess he has not learned that making a movie is different from ad films. (but there are beautiful visuals through out the movie,, but cinematography should carry the essence of the movie, not movie which should carry the essence of cinematography, )
7. songs are good, but BGM is miserable, the Gurukant Desai bit, is almost like the BABA song from that movie, and Italian bit also fails to strike
8. Aishwarya is seen cycling, running away from home singing the song bar sore....may be Mani you tried to add the Bollywood realism in to your movie making
9. the intelligent decisions, as it is portrayed in the film , as guru's smartness are dumb, like threatening IAS officer to re-open the trading place by dumping the clothes,,,, well he can just call the police and remove it, no need to go and beg before a merchant...
10. again bad use of music, where Abhishek is on the bed due to illness. he just had a stroke and his wife and children, are singing the song, Jaage, which means, i was awake all the time, let me rest some time.. what a bad song to sing when a man is fighting his life
Technical perfection were a trademark of Mani Movies. this movie i guess, was delayed because, Ambani's wanted a screening, Mani did it, and deleted certain scenes..( which would explain the jump cuts)
Ambani-Goyankar fight and Ambani-Mafatlal fight ,, is just shown in the movie..no completion is given to it.. .and deliberate effort is made to white wash the character of Guru, once he acquires a dark shade but that shade is fading away towards the end of the movie. usually a Manirathnam movie will not have a character who is insignificant. whether small or big they will have a part to play, but what about Vidya Balan?. so i just delete guru from the list of Maniratnam movies, and i prefer to live in the comfortable past from Mauna Ragam to Ayitha Ezhuthu, where Mani is like a god to me
Thanmathra (2005)
a good movie-which would have been made better
bit over rated movie,but still a good one, the movie has excellent performance from Mohanlal. the anxiety and worry over Alzheimer's's is through the film. inspired from the 'orma' by 'Padmarjan', a shot story, Bessy gives us a view about the life of a govt employee in Kerala. his dreams, aspirations about his son.typical middle class dreams in an LPG affected society. the main flaw with the movie is the artificiality in duologue's, which could have been done better by Bessy, Bessy who had given us Kaazcha has not disappointed us with this work,but unlike 'Kaazcha' this film has faults in many departments, including cinematography and duologue's.also there is a stream of thinking, are sons just deployed to make their fathers dream come true?....trivial question, subjective one......and an obvious effect of making the lead character look like a genius is made,,,..... in short a good movie,,but never watch it with 'Kaazcha' in mind, because its a different movie altogether
Thoovanathumbikal (1987)
The classic
This is should be in fact the best movie by Padmarajan, ever. thats my opinion. It is a bold story of love versus lust..love doesn't win. lust doesn't loose the game also. The game of life is practically won by love, as lust takes a back door exit. Clara the prostitute unlike many others, enters her profession not because of her life problems, but because she wants to. Protagonist, Jayakrishnan played by Mohanlal is drawn quite masterfully. He is bold and daring, and in his town, the most popular. In his village, he is a humble landlord and a farmer, who is conservative.
Both faces of the character are safe with Mohan Lal. He again displays his genius as he eases through the role. The directors brilliance is shown in so many shots like the song sequences, and when he proposes Clara.
This will be boldest movies ever in Malayalam Cinema. I am sure none of the Directors of this age wouldn't dare to make a movie like this. And to add, this is different from Padmarajans Novel "Udakappola", though the characters are the same in both the movies and the Novel.