r2i forum

Just my take on some of the flicks I watch.

Many of these were written in the MSN forum over a period of a couple of years.

Pardon the dust.

Khakee (Amitabh, Akshay, Devgan, Aish...)

Powerful stuff.

Two big surprises for me in this.

First, Amitabh gives a great performance as an aging cop going thru his motions, who was once an ideal-ambitious-man-of-action who has been tamed totally by stifling politics and bureaucracy that is the bane of Indian institutions (shades of Stallone's Copland?). The opening scene with Bacchan is sparkling and sets the tone for the character perfectly. Throughout the movie, Bacchan plays the part of a cop torn between duty, his family and a sense of determination that betrays a tinge of fear of the unknown with the kind of subtlety that I would associate Naseeruddin Shah or Om Puri with rather than Bacchan. Great performance.

A bigger surprise was Akshay Kumar. My impression of him before was: If you put Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty in a room, you get more wood than you can find in a lumberyard. (Devgan and Dutt used to be in that room, but have walked out over the past few years - they must have used Deol as the battering ram to break the door). Now Akshay is near the exit door. He displays a sense of comedy timing and natural flair that I have not seen before (agreed have not seen many of his movies). A perfect fit for a role that is good-at-heart but does not complicate things by caring about duty and morals too much.

Regarding Jeetendra's son, sorry dude, you may try hard, but you are a misfit here. Devgan looks menacing, but is not used to his fullest potential. Atul Kulkarni is good as usual. Though Ms.Rai is there for eye-candy, Lara Dutta steals that too in a blistering 'Aisa Jaadoo' item song sequence. Prakash Raj does not have enough to do. The director has a couple of surprises as the movie progresses and does well in retaining the suspense. Though it is a superstar-laden cast, he resists falling into the usual traps and makes sure that poignant side stories of the constables get a mention too. As is the case with most Hindi movies nowadays, it is technically brilliant and catchy. The film makers have to cut out that repetetive music that tries to be menacing every time the villian is on screen, though. Dump the props and let the villian convey the devilishness by acting.

A must-watch.

SHABD: Sanjay Dutt, Aish Rai, along with some other Boy Toy


The only 'shabd' that you can hear is from the snoring audience.

Imagine a cooking show. The chef puts in a lot of effort and comes up with a great food dish presentation. Chooses condiments with great color combinations, places them stylishly, and the dish with the meal looks picture perfect. Eagerly we take a bite. Then we realize the problem... eh... the chef forgot to actually cook the food.

Sums up my view of 'Shabd'.

So, this half-baked movie moves painfully slow (just like the hero trying to type an entire book on an old typewriter with one finger). The supposedly revolutionary story only results is disillusionment. This is just the first half. As you are battling to stay awake, the movie then goes into soft-porn mode similar to some B-grade hollywood fare that Zalman King specialises in, where sexual tensions between characters are buried by meaningless conversations on a dark-rainy night with a mysterious piano music note playing in the background. Only in this movie, the soft-porn is missing, so there goes the good part.

Aish takes another shot at acting and delivers the same mediocre fare that she specializes in. In recent times, only Ganguly (with Tendulkar following closely) has gotten more chances without delivering. By the time she gets into 'ma' and 'grandma' roles, she will know a thing or two about acting, one hopes. I will wait.

I hope Sanjay Dutt learnt to type by the end of the movie. He seems to go for roles where everything is done with one finger: either to pull the trigger or type with one finger. Good thing some other good actor did not get wasted in this role/movie.

Easily Avoidable.

Swades (Shahrukh Khan)


I went into this movie with a positive state of mind, well seasoned with comments from this group and other friends and prepared to put up with 3+hrs of non-entertainment. Came out of it impressed. This is probably the most authentic looking RukhRukh Khan movie ever.

It is an unusual NRI-in-a-village flick that is almost refreshing to see (after the steady onslaught of flicks about NRIs-living-in-palaces-in-Bombay-conducting-lavish-marriages). It struck me that the only familiar face in the movie was Shahrukh Khan. I think that is a masterstroke which really creates the authentic feel.

There are a couple of POWERFUL scenes in the movie that will linger long after the movie is over. One such scene is the when the train stops at the Ajite station. In that scene, Shahrukh Khan proves that he can be a good actor if the role demands it and there is enough guidance to suppress his histrionics. In that scene director masters subtlety that has been sorely lacking in many desi films. The other scene is the Dusshera meeting where the hero takes on the mera-bharat-mahan-because-of-history-and-culture with some brutal plain-talk.

That deep and insightful scene is abruptly followed by a song-and-dance, albeit in the name of Dusshera festivities. Oh well, welcome back Bollywood! It was nice while you were gone.

The other guiding force in the movie is the background music. It is the perfect complement to the theme and situations in the movie.

Ok, it is hard to believe that a NASA PM can make electricity from a small stream in a remote Indian village while providing tech support to a crucial NASA satellite launch over his cell phone. All within 5 weeks of vacation! The director could have done without the cheesy John Madden style graphics to show the shapes stars make in the sky or the flow of electricity thru the lines during the climax. And he remembers that it is almost blasphemous to make a Hindi movie around villages without invoking Ram.

Inspite of these shortcomings, it is a well-made movie, professional to the most part. It has a common-good message and it has been conveyed very well.

Worth watching and pondering.

Crimson Gold - (2003 - Farsi)


Life of a pizza delivery guy in urban Tehran. what a concept! It is not the image that comes to mind whenone thinks of Iran. The most intriguing part of the movie for me was the fantastic views of life in urban Tehran. If you take the language and the proliferation of older model western cars out of the mix, it could pass off as a scene from any Indian city. It was interesting to see that almost all motorbikes on the road had a windshield...

The movie provides great glimpses of contradictions and transition that Iran is going thru. As the story progresses in the main thread, the ongoing battle between the state orthodoxy and the youth influenced by the west is woven into it almost in an indistinguishable way.

The main actor comes up with a brilliant portrayal as a melancholic guy in the lower rungs of the society meandering thru life with such nonchalance. The director builds up the events leading to the climax in simple yet masterful manner. Particularly poignant is the scene when the guy goes to deliver a pizza to an NRI (non-resident-iranian), living in a posh apartment.

A no-frills potrayal of realism. Only for those with the patience and interest.

Vijay's Tamil Movie Album



Gillie - 2003? - Vijay, Trisha, Prakashraj

Pucca masala movie, in the lines of Gemini, that sustains the interest throughout. 3-4 foot-tapping songs with Vijay's trademark group dances in the street. City boy wants to play kabaddi, dad does not approve. Boy goes to village to play kabaddi, finds girl running away from bad guy. Boy wins against villain, wins girl, wins kabaddi game. The end. If you can tune out the fights and the inevitable super-hero stuff, it is a good entertainer.

Thirupaachi - 2004-5? - Vijay, Trisha
Boy in village, goes to city, thrashes villains, wins girl.

Sivakaasi - 2005- Vijay, Asin, Prakashraj
Boy in city, wins girl, goes to village, thrashes villain.

Wow, talk about experimentation! I have a feeling that I know the story for next 10 movies of Vijay which are going to be titled Erodu, Thirichi, Kovai, Katpadi, Pazhani, Thiruthani, Vandalur, Theni, Thuthukudi and Tambaram. (for the benefit of people not familiar with TN, these are the names of some places in TN, just like Thirupaachi & Sivakaasi)

Vijay is aiming to be Rajni's successor and he follows the same formula. The word is that he is being successful in that. The difference between Rajni movies and Vijay movies are the latter has directors who make the movies interesting along with the superhero stuff. While watching rajni movies mean that one has to transplant thier cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla oblongata out of thier heads, to watch vijay movies, you just need a logic shielded helmet, which you should wear during fights and certain scenes. While the superstar dances as if he is walking on hot coals, the little star can really dance. The guy has elevated street dancing (called dabankooth in tamil ) to an art form, with folksy/modern/street music blaring to drum beats (which is the main attraction for me).

The Da Vinci Code (2006- Tom Hanks, Ian McKellan)


This was a movie I wanted to watch only after reading the book. So, after a long gap of 12+ years got back to reading fiction (if you exclude reports of the Indian cricket team?s rejuvenation, election manifestos, etc). As I was reading the book, was astounded at how muted the protest from the Church and Christians is, compared to the charges that were being leveled against a current, very active sect of the religion, albeit in a work of fiction. By the time I finished the book, it was clear how the author has delicately balanced fact and fiction, allegations and compromises that avoided a total smear campaign.

Can a two and a half hr movie do justice to hundreds of pages of a gripping plot, soaked in history, philosophy, symbolism and religious intrigue? Not really, but the movie still comes close. It does not need Tom Hanks. The explosive nature and narration of Dan Brown?s plot is more than enough and even Adam Sandler could have portrayed Robert Langdon in Hanks place.

The first hour of the movie matches every sequence in the book almost to the word. Ron Howard?s team has successfully captured the dark and shadowy ambience of the story. The Louvre museum, the chateaus and the cathedrals all come to life straight from the book. The historic flashbacks done in subdued pseudo-monochrome tones add to the authenticity in reflecting the period they belong to. What falls flat is the cheesy computer simulated representation of the mental workings of Prof. Langdon?s code breaking prowess. In the second half the movie does deviate from the book a few times and one does feel new-found urgency on the part of the director to keep the movie within the 3-hr limit.

The Silas character is brilliantly cast and played to perfection. So is Ian Mckellan as Teabing. Audrey Tautou as Sophie is only as convincing as the main character in the book, which I found to be a weak link. The background score builds up with the plot and reaches its crescendo in the final scene.

It will be interesting to find out how much of this year's tourist influx to Paris can be attributed to Dan Brown and Ron Howard. I for one have this urge to visit the hotspots portrayed in the movie. Wonder whether one will truly understand and enjoy the movie without reading the book. In that case, I feel that a major portion of the movie will be lost as gobbledygook.

Troy - 2004 - Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Peter O' Toole


From a filmmaking point of view, a great movie. excellent production values. beautiful art direction and cinematography that captures the ancient greek ambience in location, costumes, architecture. The battle sequences are just awesome. The one to one duel between Achilles and Hector is breath-taking. Being the highlilght of the movie, the director has resisted the temptation to stretch it and instead it is short and heart-stopping (literally).
Eric Bana, who plays Hector steals the movie with a brilliant performance. He is the human face of the movie. The movie loses its flow with his exit. He has locked up the best actor or supporting actor Oscar. In one single scene, Peter O' Toole has made sure that he will be a serious candidate for best supporting actor.

Now the movie falls FLAT in two areas.
1. The dialogues are straight from daytime soap. It just does not do justice to a serious historical movie. It oscillates between being silly to out right hilarious sometimes.
2. Now, we come to the Achilles, the hero, played by Brad Pitt. Can't resist this. Pitt is the Achilles heel of Troy Frankly, it looks like they picked a surfer dude from CA beaches and time-transported him to the beaches of Troy. Single handedly, Achilles, the surfer dude converts 'Troy' to 'Dude where's my chariot'. The director has sensed the chasm of talent between Pitt and Bana and shoved all the dialogue to Bana and the one-liners to Achilles. Makes me appreciate Crowe in Gladiator.

Anyway, this is one movie where special effects are not glaringly obvious and everything looks authentic. A lot of directorial license has been taken with the original epic. The movie is bloody, but nowhere near the gore of Gladiator.

Watching these movies makes me dejected why some Indian director does not make the epic Mahabharatha in a authentic way. It provides so many stories and sub-stories with massive battlescenes and strategies (e.g. chakravyuh) that can spell-bind the viewers if picturised the authentic way. Instead we get the pleasure of watching the duel of cardboard gadhas of Duryodhan and Bheem and arrows moving in slow motion only to meet mid air, stop, shake hands and disappear. hmmm, hope one day Mani or Govind Nihalini, or Benegal will remake it in its full glory.

Anyway, coming back to Troy, though I have been hard on Pitt (Mrs thinks he is perfect for the role) , I think he has made attempts to act (which might have made matters worse). I liked him better in Snatch. Peace, O' Pitt lovers...

Troy is definitely a must watch on the big screen. While you are at it, say 'whassup, dude...' to Achilles.

Ab Tak Chappan
(2004 - Nana Patekar, Nana Patekar & Nana Patekar)


WARNING- Yet Another Old Movie Review Ahead

OK, I confess, I am a sucker for the underworld genre. I lap it up like one slurps the last drop of vanilla milkshake at the bottom of the glass, in the privacy of thier living room. The point is, I have watched many of these movies and liked most of them. Nayakan is my all-time favorite. Thakshak was rivetting. Company was mesmerizing. Vaastav was gripping. So were Manoj Bajpai's couple of movies, the names of which escape me now.

Ab tak chappan simply blows them all away (except Nayakan, of course). It does not have the star presence of Vaastav, is nowhere close to Company in slickness and NO songs.

What it has is Nana Patekar. This guy is amazing. Not because he is an extraordinary actor. But because, he acts the same damn way in every movie and still comes out so different. The same style of dialogue delivery, the same look, the same body movements yet it is impossible to seperate him from the character he plays. Amazing.

What makes this movie stand out is the unwavering focus on the script, simple casual dialogues that follow the script and the absence of unneccesary distractions for the sake of levity or lust.The single-mindedness of the protagonist is portrayed non-stop even in his interaction with his family. Patekar fits the role of a man who goes to battle in the concrete jungle, day in and day out, one who has no time to look back to regret or rejoice. The director subtly blurs the line between police and criminal, makes one wonder whether they are two sides of the same coin.

As in all mafia movies, the side actors churn out terrific performances. Why they can't be used more sensibly in regular movies, one fails to understand. Someone please tell me that there was at least a murmur of sending this one as an Indian entry to the Oscars. I know, some movie where some Khan chases some girl around some tree might have made that grade...

KRRISH (2006 - Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha)



Our hero Krrish starts out as a Tarzan of the rural area, develops into a Superman after borrowing a discarded mask from Batman (well, a poor man's batman - minus the cool toys). Rekha is the daadi maa who (thanks to not-too-subtle product placements) brings up her potha on pyaar along with Maltova/Boost and washes clothes with Tide. They live in the middle of a paradise in a designer country cottage overlooking magnificant mountains and acres of greenery (sounds like every NRI's dream).

Then comes the girl. Our rustic rambo is rivetted with thoughts of the ravishing Ramba(sorry I had to end the sentence with with an R). Rest of the story is on how he follows her to Singapore and meets and beats the bad guys led by Dr.Arya played by N Shah. Shah's character starts strong, but then fizzles out as the director is more focussed on providing the audience with the usual bollywood stuff like - the hero looks for the bad guys hideout, which is a fortified island (anyone see Enter the Dragon?). When he lands in the island, the villains henchman insist on fighting him by sliding down from bamboo trees with machetes - never mind that they can have guns - the director has seen Crouching tiger, House of Flying Daggers, Hero etc and desperately wants those sequences.. so who cares whether they fit in or not, lets chop some bamboo shoots.

Now for some star bashing: What's with Hrithik Roshan executing all these feminine dance moves? It creeps me out to see him do all those estrogen-loaded moves with bulging biceps and triceps. And with that voice, dude...you are so close to becoming a very beautiful actress who dances very gracefully with an exceptionally muscular body. Please man... do some crazy ungraceful manly moves.. And do something about that chin of yours.. it is entering Jay Leno territory.

The movie does have good special effects by bollywood standards. But there is a total reluctance from the movie-makers part to make it an all-out super hero movie with dazzling effects. As of now, Bollywood has everything that Hollywood has at its disposal. It has the big money and the technology. All that is lacking is the will and creativity. Why make a great movie when you can make an average one and still rake in the moolah? Rather than make a complete movie that stands apart, lets add many half-baked elements to attract kids, grandmas, housewives, middle-aged men and teenagers. The sum of all these parts usually ends up in a big hole.

Probably the best comment was the one I overheard a dude say to his dudette as we were walking out of the theater. "Fillum dekhke mazaa lena. Questions math poochna." Only problem is I have to be within the 5-10 yr age group to do that.