Change Your Image
dbdipashri
Reviews
Raanjhanaa (2013)
A Distinctive Take On Love !!
PROEM: It was an intensely hued picture which showed a young boy standing with a fascinated glance in his eyes & a pretty girl portraying the semblance of cheerfulness amidst the vibrant colors of pink, green, yellow & red; thereby recreating the festival of Holi in a rectangular first look poster of 'Raanjhanaa' !!
Colors always attract our eyes.Also I felt curious about the movie after knowing that it belongs to romantic genre.'Love' is probably the only word in a Dictionary which neither can be explained in a sentence nor has any perfect synonyms.Today while watching this love story, I could virtually visualize that thought of Rose Franken: "Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.." !! Let me illustrate this journey of 'Raanjhanaa' in the following paragraphs !!
MOVIE: Shot in Benaras & Delhi, 'Raanjhanaa' narrates a tale of love through Kundan (Dhanush), Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) & Akram/Jasjeet (Abhay Deol)..Kundan (a Brahmin boy) & Zoya (a Muslim girl) were brought up in Benaras, where Kundan expressed his love for Zoya during his teenage days.After growing up, Zoya took admission in Jawaharlal Nehru University where she fell in love with an university student cum socialist Akram..What happens next forms the crux of the story.
'LIKE's: 1) Cinematography by N. Subramanian and Vishal Sinha is astounding + Editing by H. Kothari & Choreography by Bosco-Caesar are impressive + Story/Screenplay by H. Sharma is a bit different than an usual romantic drama + Dialogues are extremely witty at many sequences + Acting by the leading & supporting casts are marvelous + Set design by T. U. Khan is befitting + Direction by Anand L. Rai is appreciable !!
2) MUSIC: A big applause to A.R.Rahman for such an wonderful soundtrack (well supported by Irshad Kamil's catchy lyrics) & appropriate background score..For example,
a) When Kundan showed his anger on Zoya for the first time, there the synthesizer chords fluctuated in a bizarre way to create the effect of displeasure & it was done repeatedly with different chords to break the harmony, so that audience could better relate to the scene.
b) In a gloomy conversation between Kundan & Zoya, where Kundan suddenly felt the ray of hope, he turned up his head towards Zoya..In that split second, Rahman used the rhythm of 'Tabla' in a tricky way to express Kundan's expectation which struck the heart of viewers too !!
3) A SPECIAL MENTION TO :
a) That scene where Zoya was about to leave Benaras by train with teary eyes & Kundan ran to meet her, multiple water patches were shown in the rail station, as if rain just happened, thereby subconsciously magnified the mood of separation since rains are often attributed to a heavy heart..
b) MakeUp Artists for giving Sonam the minimal touch up, which amplified the innocence of a face rather than glamour..Beauty can either flashes the eyes of a beholder like a mid-day sun or soothes the same like a morning dewdrop..Since the latter better suits the character of Zoya, so the lipstick/blusher/eye-shadow even eyeliners were absolutely unnecessary here apart from the marriage scene, where a loud make up was needed & make up experts also did the right job there by painting the line of eye-liner a bit above the corner of eyes + stark red lipstick..
'DISLIKE's: Very few are there, for example; 1) In the song 'Tum Tak', the lip movements of Dhanush were not synchronous with the voice of the playback singer..Looked like, the song was coming from a mike & the actor was just singing on his own..
2) First half was too romantic & at times, the efforts of Kundan to please Zoya looked silly..In Second half, the focus were more on politics, thereby concentration of romance got diluted by leadership activities..
3) Both Dhanush & Sonam looked misfit in the role of school going teenagers + Opening sequence was dull + Too much slapping on Kundan's face by Zoya ultimately invited humor rather than sympathy..That profound scene where Akram's mother was about to touch Kundan's cheek for greeting, I heard some boys laughing crazily behind my seat & saying, "Stop..Stop..No more slapping" !!
MESSAGE: There is a lyrics from the musical 'Cinderella' which says: "Do I love you because you're beautiful, Or, are you beautiful because I love you ?" !! One can easily relate this line to those love struck eyes of Kundan which glitter more than the pole star even in the shadow of Zoya..Of late, Zoya fell in love with Akram, because she considered 'Kundan part' as a childlike crush + Akram fitted the bill as per educational & social qualification..From here, the dilemma of selecting a lover/partner arrives, accompanied by a dialogue where Kundan's friend Murari (M. Z. Ayyub) told him that girls are more likely to marry Doctors/Engineers rather than ordinary boys of the same locality, since the question of love comes secondary to their mind..Obviously material satisfaction plays a vital role in such decisions..But, if an abstract force (love) plays a guest appearance in the same scenario & makes one cherish that pleasure somewhat like this: "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world", then should not one rise above the narrow parameters set by the society/religions ?
Once Tom Robbins said: "We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.." !! Life does not give us multiple chances..In this densely populated sphere of Earth, there is always a scarcity of those persons who can sacrifice his/her deepest desires to bring sunshine in the face of their loved ones..Don't let go that kind heart, if by chance you find him/her..
With the mellifluous touch of Shehnai, 'Raanjhanaa' sublimely delivered this tacit message in a pictorial way, making the film worth a watch !!
Absolutely Recommended !!
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013)
A Confusing Cocktail Of Dream & Desire !!
A QUESTIONNAIRE: 1) Do you want to flee away from reality for 2 hours & 42 minutes, in order to relax your drained nerves & soul in an electrifying way ? 2) Do you love to dream about the unclouded happiness, which is barely visible when you keep your eyelids open ? 3) Do you believe in the magnetic power of unalloyed friendship which transforms a weary mind into a jovial one ? If 'Yes', then Ayan Mukerjis most recent offering 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' is eagerly waiting for you..Bursting with youthful energy & boiling with contagious emotion, this drama is meant to spread the current of vivacity from the optic nerves to the cerebrospinal fluid, thereby invariably invigorating our fatigued desires...However, apart from the superficial liveliness, is there really any brilliance behind this high-budget flick? Continue reading below to know the answer !!
THE MOVIE: The story is all about friendship & love, shown through the main leads; Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor), Naina (Deepika Padukone), Aditi (Kalki Koechlin) & Avi (Aditya Roy Kapoor).Shot in the immaculate locations of Manali, Udaipur & Paris, the film primarily shows how the male & female leads affect each other's attitude, supported with a permutation of light/heavy emotions + peppy dance numbers & quirky dialogues !!
'UP's : All the lead characters, as well as supporting casts precisely stole the show.Cinematography (V.Manikandan) & Editing (S.Rahmathulla) were superb, whereas Music (Pritam) & Direction (Ayan Mukerji) conveniently delved deep into viewer's soul !!
'DOWN's : So many absurd scenes were there..For example: 1) In trekking, one needs to be physically fit & for physical fitness, regular workout is essential.As displayed here, the character of Naina is like a bookworm, who is not at all into gymming or such activities.Then how come she effortlessly climbs the difficult mountain peaks, when the so called audacious Bunny feels tired every now & then ?
2) The Bollywood pattern of equalizing a seductive girl with utmost silliness & a studious girl with weird spectacles is another defective custom, when in reality there are abundant instances of 'beauty with brain' as well as 'ravishing fashion sense with scholastic aptitude'...It's highly annoying when Bollywood still lacks behind in such territory..Equally irritating to see Naina still wearing the same (old designed) spectacle after a couple of years, when her dress sense changed significantly... Not to blame Deepika anywhere, it's only the people behind camera whom I am referring to for all the blunders, mentioned above !!
SOME OBJECTIONS: Am afraid I may sound awful, but the way this movie portrayed the fundamental concept of 'To dream : Not to dream' & 'To love : Not to love', that's something really shaky !! Very similar to that already famous dialogue of Bunny ("Shaadi ke basic concept mein hi jhol hai"), the writer of this film (Moshin Khan) seemed to be over sensitive regarding the idea of 'want' & 'need', hence added unnecessary water (jhol) while cooking (writing the story) a simple dish (message).Let me clarify this in two points !!
1) Love:Marriage : The typical conception of viewing marriage as the only goal of love is dysfunctional.As shown in the first half of the movie, Bunny's character strongly believes in adventure & hates to lead a stereotype married life.But, within a few years (Second half), he suddenly realized 'what he really wants from life' & left behind his age old passion for the sake of love.Once Ayn Rand quoted, "To say 'I love you', one must first know how to say the 'I'.The meaning of the 'I' is an independent entity..A person who exists only for the sake of his loved one is a spiritual parasite. The love of a parasite is worth nothing." The basic fulfillment of love exists in sharing happiness/sadness together + in cherishing every moment, irrespective of distance & age + in respecting the doctrine of 'space' & 'freedom' = which normally evaporates sooner than camphor when the same couple exchanges the wedding ring with each other.Then why to propagate the myth of 'being complete' via alliance, when the basement of such institution is unstable ?
2) Person:Passion : I can understand that, life becomes easy when one finds a like minded partner, but if there comes a point, where one has to choose between an explicit love (person) & implicit love (passion), then the deciding parameter obviously lies in the main focus of that particular person.Why love always has to be oriented toward a person ? It can very well be directed towards a dream too, ain't it ? Love means the celebration of one's euphoria/something which one likes to do...Ultimately we all come & leave the earth alone.So why to cling on to a person to feel blessed ? That's why it looked so uncool when Bunny forgot his basic vision to tie the knot with Naina, because the script badly required him to do so, consequently leading to a clichéd climax !!
INFERENCE: Thanks to all the hype, that ticket prices soared exorbitantly high for this particular cinema (Today it was Rs. 220 per head, whereas normally it stays Rs. 150 per head, in Delhi).I would suggest not to spend your money now in such shallow movies, unless you are a big fan of leading casts or believe in frivolous philosophy of love.'Yeh Jawaani Hai deewani' is a value for money if watched in a Television/DVD later on.. But keeping in mind the stupendous dance movements & some awesome moments (Especially that sequence when Aditi says that, "Love is meeting that particular person who makes you feel happy, when you otherwise think that you are content/okay with your life"), I would like to give it a 'Entertaining/Feel Good' status...
Recommended !!
Gippi (2013)
'Gippi' : Where Imperfection Wins Over Perfection !!
A POETRY: Certainly it was embarrassing, when I first realized that I had been changing automatically & no longer be classified under 'Child' category...Some restrictions from my elders expectedly came into my way, in the form of 'to do' & 'not to do' lists, making my mind echo that poem by Cilla Henriette: "I was awakened...To a light of liberation/ It was bright but shy...I wonder why/ I was a child yesterday...But today is different/ I'm just like a clay...To be shaped or bent"..
Today, while watching 'Gippi', I was reliving a slice of my adolescence & school days...In fact, everyone (especially womenfolks) can relate to this film, since almost everybody experiences that freakish combination of discomfort-pleasure, arrogance-humiliation & jealousy- sympathy during their transition from childhood to adulthood, which kind of reflects that idea of Carol Burnett, "Adolescence is just one big walking pimple.." !! Here, let me draw a picture whether 'Gippi'-the latest presentation from Dharma Productions & UTV Motion Pictures effectively cures such pimple of juvenility or not...
A MOVIE: Based in Simla, the movie tells the story of a 14-year-old girl Gippi (Riya Vij), who is quite ordinary in terms of studies, sports & looks..At home, she faces trouble for her parents are divorced, whereas in school, she is constantly teased by an attractive & intelligent girl (hence, popular in the school campus) Shamira (Jayati Modi)...Meanwhile, she feels awkward with the hormonal changes affecting her physically & mentally, followed by a failure in her first love-story with Arjun (Taaha Shah)..What happens next forms the crux of the drama..
'HIGH's : The movie scored really high in Cinematography (Anshuman Mahaley) + Editing (Yashashwini Y.P) + Music (Vishal-Shekhar) & Acting (full marks to Riya Vij & Divya Dutta..The supporting casts also shined in their respective roles)...The kids looked as fresh as morning dew, thereby adding the required sweetness to the show !!
'LOW's : The movie scored equally low in Screenplay (so, deccelerating the flow & increasing the predictability of the story) + Climax (lacked right intensity) + Showing Gippi dancing to Shammi Kapoor numbers looked out of place, because teenagers of today's era would normally connect to contemporary songs/heroes...Also, Shamira's meanness toward Gippi (for no reason) gets diluted in audience's mind, when Gippi does the same towards Ashish(Aditya Deshpande) & Kabir(Mrinal Chawla), without any strong provocation = All written by debutant Director Sonam Nair showed the mediocrity of her effort...
A MESSAGE (Perfection vs Imperfection): The moment Gippi learnt that 'A beautiful thing is never perfect' (Tagline of 'Gippi'), the movie silently delivered a subtle message regarding the pursuit of perfection & imperfection
Interestingly, this pursuit is nothing new
Let's see chronologically, 1)In Egypt (around 2500 BC) Pharaohs were considered as perfect human beings, thus worshipped in the temples as GOD.. 2) Aristotle (around 323 BC) defined 'perfection' as "something which is complete + has attained its purpose"
3) During renaissance (around 16th Century), sculptors made masterpieces of perfect human body
In addition, Leonardo Da Vinci used geometry to make flawless human figure
4) In today's world when women pamper themselves with 'Dior' in their lips or 'Gucci' in their eyes and men indulge themselves in 'TAG Heuer' in their wrists or 'Giorgio Armani' in their wardrobes, the same conflict between perfection & imperfection whispers..
And this conflict has no end, unless one decides what is more important: Attainable happiness or unattainable satisfaction !! Since perfection has no fixed terminology, so the same thing can be viewed as perfect & imperfect by different observers...But, if you can give your best at whatever you do,without thinking of 'being perfect', then irrespective of the material outcome, achievement will surely greet you since you are the best judge to yourself...Constantly aiming for perfection gives birth to despair since it has no limit, symbolizing the thought of Vladimir Horowitz: "Perfection itself is imperfection" !! Won't you agree that luscious smiles are mostly asymmetrical/ 18 Karat gold ornament always glitters more than 22 Karat gold ornament or, a husky voice is often more alluring than a smooth voice ?
As the movie ended, an imperfect girl (Gippi) truly brightened those lines of a perfect beauty (Marilyn Monroe), "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring..." !!
An OPINION: Although having a deep message, the movie somehow failed in impactful execution...Overall, 'Gippi' is good for a one time watch only, complemented by a feel-good factor...Go & watch this Coming-of-Age flick where a small girl proves that 'Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect...It means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections' (Tagline of 'Gippi')... Recommended !!
Ek Thi Daayan (2013)
TITLE: An illusive Stratum whirling Belief & Disbelief !!
'POSTER' POWER: It was something beyond just an oil painting...Standing in front of the 'Witches at their Incantations', amidst the dimness, in National Gallery, London, I was trying to conceptualize that art work by renaissance Painter Salvator Rosa...Set in a nocturnal landscape, the painting aesthetically depicted the revulsion associated with witches
It was the summer of 2010, when I first saw this composition there...A few days before, when I chanced upon the enigmatic 'First Look Poster' of 'Ek Thi Dayaan', my mind automatically flew back to that masterpiece of blackness, that amazed me roughly 3 years back...The flying cilia-like hairs of three leading ladies in the movie poster, almost camouflaging the branches of a ghostly tree, while encircling a male face, accompanied by different expressions in their respective faces, thereby highlighting the sharp contrast of light & shadow unanimously increased the 'mystery quotient' of this film, which is surely a prerequisite for the success of such genre of movies...Now when, the seed (expectation) is carefully sown in the Poster/Trailer of 'Ek Thi Daayan', the rest certainly depends on the farmer (Director) how methodically (Screenplay/Acting/Editing) he harvests the crop (Movie) in his allocated land (Mind of viewers, including critics)
Let me shed a little light on this !!
PLOT: The film is about the constant hallucinations which painfully attack the successful life of magician Bobo (Emraan Hashmi)...Death of his father & sister by a dreadful power (perceived as a 'Daayan') in his childhood, keeps him haunted till his adulthood, as the sorcerer (Konkona SenSharma) promised to return to him someday...Bobo seeks psychiatric help from Doctor Palit (Rajatava Dutta) who brushes off his fear as sheer fantasy
Tamara (Huma Qureshi) marries Bobo & they lead a joyful married life until the arrival of a fascinating lady named Lisa Dutt (Kalki Koechilin)...Bobo starts to believe that Lisa is that 'Daayan' who came back to break him down, followed an unexpected twist at the end
THUMBS UP: 1) Plenty of spine chilling moments are there, along with clap worthy performance by Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sensharma, Vishesh Tiwari (in the role of young Bobo) & Kalki Koechlin !! 2) Writing by Mukul Sharma & Vishal Bharadwaj added a distinctive coating to the film's spooky atmosphere
Appreciating cinematography by Saurabh Goswami optimized the eidolic flavour of the drama !! 3) Skillful editing by Sreekar Prasad & superb special effects upgraded the paranormal aspect of this fiction !! 4) Music by Vishal Bharadwaj brims with sincerity, with a special mention to 'Totey Ud Gaye' & 'Kaali Kaali'...'Yaaram' sounds better in terms of lyrics (credit goes to Gulzar)...As a debutant Director, Kannan Iyer showed sufficient intensity in his story-telling ability !!
THUMBS DOWN: 1) With a few insubstantial moments, the movie becomes inconclusive in the second half, followed by a strange climax.. 2)The storyline appeared half-baked after the intermission...Also, the unnecessary length of the movie imposed a barrier to it's natural flow, hence reducing the overall entertainment value !!
DOWN THE MEMORY LANE: In my childhood, I was highly reluctant to devour the required amount of meal, which I was supposed to eat...One night, at one such moment, my grand mother pointed her index finger towards the darkness outside our home & said, "Don't make tantrums..Finish your meal soon..Or else, Daayan will take you away.." Me (ignorant about the existence of Daayan): "Who is this 'Daayan' ?" Granny (making her eyes rounder, with a pinch of horror): "Daayan is an evil woman with magical power...She takes away naughty kids & has a very long hair...She keeps her hair tied up by a single 'Choti' (twisting three different portions of hair around each other) & can transform her physical appearance into any entity" !! Being terrified, I no longer made any trouble while eating
After nearly two decades, when I went to a rural village with one of my classmate (a girl) to do a project during my Post- Graduation, we were advised by the locals of that village, not to keep our hair open while roaming at night (to keep ourselves safe from the Daayans) !! They also narrated stories regarding witches & when I interrupted at a particular story, they reminded me my language & replaced the word 'story' with 'True Incidents'
Today, while watching 'Ek Thi Dayaan', a few eerie moments & some dialogues by Bobo, describing the nature of an witch rekindled that memory for me
Once again I realized, the grey matter of human brain, which gives birth to such an weird imagination is really an amusing subject to study !!
FINAL WORDS: Starting from the cave paintings of estimated 30,000 years old (showing a pregnant woman standing in a circle with eleven other people) to the famous Shakespearean play of 1606 (the character of Lady Macbeth), the traditional beliefs encompassing witchcraft have dominated the folktales of nearly all nations across the world till date
I always wonder, why superstition in the name of mythical assumption/religious custom mainly embraces the shoulder of women ? Is not it ridiculous when girls (after puberty) are abruptly told to stay away from worship as they become 'suddenly impure', for a couple of days, every month (due to a physiological process) & after those few days, they become 'pure all at once' ? Is the definition of decency so easy ? Though based on necromancy, 'Ek Thi Dayaan' underlines such spurious beliefs on womenfolks, in it's own way
Despite being a supernatural thriller, this flick won't disappoint you as it ambiguously eulogizes that thought of Ayn Rand: "There are two sides to every issue..One side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil..."
Review By: Dipashri Bardhan,
New Delhi, India