Movie Review

There are 4 posts tagged Movie Review (this is page 1 of 1).

रविवारीय: अंग्रेज़ी में कहते हैं की …

Detective examines a corkboard with maps and photos to solve a mystery.

आज भाषा और उस भाषा के सिनेमा को लेकर बड़ी बहस छिड़ी हुई है। क्या सिनेमा की कोई भाषा होती है? मुझे याद है जब मनोरंजन का साधन सिर्फ़ दूरदर्शन ही हुआ करता था तब अंतरराष्ट्रीय भारतीय फ़िल्म महोत्सव की कई फ़िल्में दूरदर्शन पर आती थीं। मैंने कई सारी भारतीय और विदेशी फ़िल्में देखीं। विश्व सिनेमा की ये सर्वश्रेष्ठ फ़िल्मों का प्रदर्शन कई शहरों में भी हुआ करता था। भोपाल में ऐसे आयोजन नियमित रूप से हुआ करते थे।

आज जब फिल्मों कई भाषाओं में डब करने का चलन बन चुका है तो मुझे याद आता है वो समय जब सिर्फ़ सबटाइटल अंग्रेजी में ही हुआ करते थे। ये सुविधा सभी फिल्मों में नहीं हुआ करती थी तो कई फ़िल्में उनकी मूल भाषा में ही देखी।

अगर हम कुछ देर के लिए भाषा को अलग रख दें और सिर्फ़ कहानी पर ध्यान दें तो ऐसी कई कहानियां पिछले दिनों देखी जो मूलतः किसी और भाषा में थीं और उनको हिंदी में डब किया गया था। कहानी को बदला नहीं गया बस उसकी अच्छी अलग अलग भाषा में डबिंग करी गई। 

अगर यही फ़िल्म या सिरीज़ मूल भाषा में ही रहती तो क्या होता? कहानी तो तब भी उतनी ही अच्छी होती। बस आपका उससे जुड़ाव भाषा के चलते कुछ कम हो जाता। लेकिन मनोरंजन तब भी होता।

भाषा की इस बहस में जो पता नहीं कहां से शुरू हुई और कहां पहुंच गई, हम ये भूल जाते हैं की आपको कहानी पसंद आती है। भाषा आपको वो कहानी समझने में मदद करती है। जब तीस साल पहले जब ए आर रहमान की पहली फ़िल्म \’रोजा\’ का संगीत आया था तो उसको पहले उसकी मूल भाषा में ही सुना था और पसंद भी किया था। इसका हिंदी अनुवाद तो बाद में सुनने को मिला। वैसे इसका रुक्मणि रुक्मणि गाना बहुत ही घटिया था और इसको हिंदी में सुनना एक दर्दनाक अनुभव था।

सिनेमा में अच्छे कंटेंट की कोई भाषा नहीं होती। हाँ अगर आप कुछ पढ़ रहे हों तो उसमें उस भाषा का ज्ञान ज़रूरी हो जाता है समझने के लिए। लेकिन सिनेमा और संगीत में ऐसे कोई बंधन नहीं हैं। ये भी एक कटु सत्य है की हिंदी छोड़ अन्य भाषाओं में हमेशा से ही अच्छी कहानी पर ज्यादा तवज्जो दी जाती रही है। उन्होंने साहित्य से कहानी चुनी जिससे अच्छी फ़िल्में मिलीं। ऐसा नहीं है की वहां मसाला फ़िल्में नहीं बनती। पुष्पा इसका अच्छा उदाहरण है। लेकिन उसमें भी कहानी पर मेहनत कर उसको अच्छा बनाया है। बहरहाल इस पोस्ट को भटकने से पहले मुद्दे पर वापस लाते हैं।

पिछले दो दिनों में दो बहुत अच्छी कहानी देखीं – दिल्ली क्राइम सीज़न 2 एवं गार्गी। इन दोनों कहानियों में कोई भी समानता नहीं है। पहली पुलिस के कामकाज से जुड़ी है तो दूसरी एक बेटी की कहानी है जो अपने पिता के साथ हुई तथाकथित गलती के खिलाफ़ लड़ाई लड़ती है।

अगर आपने दिल्ली क्राइम का पहला सीजन देखा हो तो आपको अंदाजा होगा दूसरे सीज़न में एक नया अपराध होगा और अपराधियों को पकड़ने की दिल्ली पुलिस की कहानी। इस बार भी वही टीम है मंझे हुये कलाकारों की। जब इसका पहला एपिसोड शुरू हुआ तो मुझे लगा शायद ये अंग्रेजी में है। लेकिन थोड़ी देर बाद हिंदी में शुरू हुई। वैसे इस सीज़न में शेफाली शाह का क़िरदार ने कुछ ज़्यादा ही अंग्रेजी का इस्तेमाल किया है। सीज़न 2 अच्छा है लेकिन पहले सीज़न के जैसे बांधने में थोड़ा कमज़ोर। शायद इसके पीछे ये कारण भी है की पहला सीज़न निर्भया केस से जुड़ा था और हमें उस घटना के बारे में लगभग सब जानकारी थी बस किस तरह पुलिस ने ये काम किया इसकी जानकारी नहीं थी। दिल्ली क्राइम का पहला सीज़न आज भी मेरे हिसाब से हिंदी का सबसे उम्दा काम है।

उस कामयाबी के चलते दूसरे सीज़न की बात होने लगी। शायद निर्माताओं पर भी दवाब था इसके चलते दूसरा सीज़न पर काम किया। ये कहने का मतलब ये कतई नहीं है की इसमें कुछ गलत है। दूसरे सीज़न में कहीं कोई कमी नहीं छोड़ी गई है लेकिन शायद हमारी उम्मीदें पहली सिरीज़ से बहुत बढ़ गई थीं। क्या इसका तीसरा सीज़न भी आयेगा? शायद। क्योंकि इस पांच एपिसोड की छोटी सी सिरीज़ के अंत में इसको खुला रखा गया है। शायद नए लोग हों। इंतज़ार करना पड़ेगा नई घोषणा का।

जो दूसरी बहुत ही बढ़िया कहानी देखी वो थी गार्गी। मूलतः तमिल में बनी इस फिल्म में सई पल्लवी का दमदार अभिनय है और एक ऐसी कहानी जो आपको अंदर तक झकझोर तक रख देगी। बहुत ही कमाल का लेखन है। भाषाई बहस में न पड़ते हुए सिर्फ़ इतना कहना चाहूंगा इस फ़िल्म को आपको देखने का मौक़ा नहीं छोड़ना चाहिए। सई पल्लवी की पहली फ़िल्म प्रेमम से ही मैं उनके अभिनय का प्रशंसक रहा हूं। बीच में एक दो फ़िल्में और देखीं उनकी लेकिन ये बहुत ही बेहतरीन फ़िल्म है। आप फ़िल्म के अंत के लिए बिल्कुल भी तैयार नहीं होंगे। आपको लगेगा कहानी अब बस खत्म और अंत भला तो सब भला। लेकिन कमाल की स्क्रिप्ट शायद इसे ही कहते हैं।

आज जब ये भाषा की बहस होती है तो लगता है अच्छा सिनेमा या कंटेंट देखने की चाह रखने वालों के लिए इससे अच्छा समय नहीं हो सकता है। आप फिल्में या ओटीटी दोनों पर भारत ही नहीं विश्व का अच्छा कंटेंट देख सकते हैं।

Bell Bottom review: Wish there was bell to sound script writers to stop writing bottomless scripts

There is catch phrase in Bell Bottom, \’It isn\’t over till it\’s over\’ which is obviously said by Akshay Kumar who is playing the title role. The same catch phrase is true for the ordeal of watching the latest offering by Kumar. It isn\’t over till the end credits start rolling which is 123 minutes after it started playing on Amazon Prime.

Now Akshay Kumar had mastered the art of becoming new age Bharat Kumar. I am sure like many things, he discovered accidentally that was the space he could easily fill. To be fair to him, he was part of many such successful patriotic films. But to give him the credit alone would be wrong. He had directors like Neeraj Pandey and wonderful script writers too. Sadly after successful films the two parted ways and since then Kumar is trying to find the winning combo with little success so far.

Coming to Bell Bottom, if you have seen the promo or if you were lucky enough to watch the film in cinema halls (really? lucky?), you know it\’s about a plane hijack incident and Kumar plays a RAW agent whose code – you guessed it right, is Bell Bottom. Now if you read the synopsis it\’s like tailor-made for Akshay Kumar. There is little that could go wrong. But after spending 123 minutes of a lazy Saturday afternoon, I am sharing the big secret. Everything about the film is wrong.

Script

As said earlier, the script synopsis sounds great. But the full script needs more meat to hold the audience. Here it fails miserably, which has been the case with past so many Akshay films. Agreed the film was shot during strict lockdown conditions but a half baked script won\’t have survived even during the normal times. It looks like the script was not ready and the makers decided to go ahead with the shooting.

Going back to Neeraj Pandey- Akshay Kumar combo (sounds so much like a dish you are ordering that would taste much better than this tasteless film), the characters were fleshed out and there were good, rather excellent actors in other roles too. There are glaring loopholes in the film and without giving away too much let\’s just say ignore them to sit for next 123 minutes.

There is scene in Baby climax (it reads so weird, read that again to get the punch), when the flight is waiting for ATC clearance to take off. Bell Bottom has a similar scene. While the Baby scene had tension building up because you so badly wanted the flight to take off with the prized possession, in this latest offering you don\’t care if the flight is allowed to take off or not. You just want this to end (there is till few minutes left if you check the player). Don\’t worry.

Actors

Ever since the trailer of the film was out Lara Dutta got special mention for her role as Indira Gandhi. Getting the look is fine. It\’s what the script offers after the look that matters. And she is not present throughout the film (it\’s not about her). Adil Hussain is great actor but had very little to do in this film. Vani Kapoor continues her War role of a song, couple of scenes and pack up. It\’s sad to see actors like Huma Qureshi, like Hussain, have been reduced to itsy bitsy roles.

And Akshay Kumar has age catching up with him. Fast. How on earth can he be passed off as a 30/32 year old is beyond me. I mean he is no Aamir Khan who works really hard on his character/look. That Kumar cannot act is a well known secret. It\’s just that producers get their money back and that\’s how he has survived. But not anymore. He reinvented himself to become the Bharat Kumar Hindi film industry was looking for. After all these years, looks like time has come for him to reinvent again. A lean, mean, fit Akshay Kumar is fine but films need more. There are other actors vying for the Bharat Kumar slot like Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff. So there is competition for Kumar.

There are two songs in the film. First one is picturised on Kumar and Kapoor and the other one plays in the background during the climax. The KK song is pretty early in the film and it\’s not even on my playlist, which kind of explains there is nothing much to write when it comes to music.

I think the makers also realised the film will not have a long shelf life, like say Baby (I have lost the number of times I have seen it),  and hence thought it best to release it on Amazon Prime before it\’s too late.

I was wondering what if the code name was either Sunder, Saand, Pucchi or Dollar given to other RAW agents in the film, instead of Bell Bottom?

While you think about it, look for Baby. It must be playing on one of the platforms and may be watch it again. Give this bottomless movie a miss.

Mumbai Diaries 26/11 review: A lifeless saga

Hospital drama in India have been popular but so few have been created. The ones that were, had less to do with hospitals and more to do with individuals. The best one I had seen and still remember something about is \’Lifeline\’. I still remember the title music by Vanraj Bhatia. In case you are wondering, it was on Doordarshan (yes the golden days when DD had awesome content). It looked like a real hospital and the characters (both doctors and patients) were believable.

Then there was Pakistani serial \’Dhoop Kinare\’ which was thoroughly enjoyable (again less about hospital and more about relationship between a young doctor and her senior). In between there was Sanjeevani which I haven\’t seen (I believe it was inspired by Dhoop Kinare) and then there was one with title Hospital but it was more about a journalist trying to expose wrongdoings going on and less about the hospital.

The 26/11 terrorist attacks has so far been seen from the eyes of cops, from Taj hotel staff member and now we have the doctor\’s side of the attack in the latest web series available on Amazon Prime – Mumbai Diaries 26/11. Interestingly, all the versions cover the attacks but the focus remains on whose version it is. So the first installment focussed on police version of the attack and it\’s aftermath, the Taj hotel was about attack on hotel and how this staff member saves lives of hotel guests.

Some thirteen years after the November 26, 2008 attack we get the doctor version of it. Like 9/11, this attack was widely covered on television (too much of it, if you ask me) but more on that some other time. While the other two versions were based on real life characters, I don\’t know if it\’s based on real life doctors present that day.

The plot

Since we all know about the attack and the plot and those behind it, there is nothing much to add. But this series is based on what happened at the hospital on that fateful day and creates the ground for what will happen in the night. So we have three fresh doctors who report to join as trainee doctor. There is no shortage of characters here and hospital also becomes a character. With other normal serials, the space where it is played out has little to contribute. But when it\’s about hospital, it becomes a character too. Unlike the spic and span hospitals which have been part of other serials, the Bombay General Hospital in this series, is as sarkari as any govt hospital could be. Overworked doctors, shortage of supplies and those stained walls – you get the perfect hospital setting.

Characters

As I said, there is no shortage of characters in this series. Bad thing is they all have a background story. But the good thing is it applies only to the hospital staff or couple of patients. Else it would have been endless series instead of just eight episodes. So there is Dr Kaushik who is head of trauma department and he has a team of nurses, attendants and the three trainee doctors who join him on the fateful day.

There is also the CMO and director social services played by Konkona Sen Sharma who is not a qualified doctor. There is just one patient who is there from the first episode till the last – one septuagenarian Punjabi lady. There are more patients but she is the only one writer could give some sort of flesh and bone.

There is a bad cop too who is after the good doc for not following the due process of informing the police about cases that should be reported. He is as foul mouthed as police characters get and he is also after a nurse for…

Since it\’s a sarkari hospital so things are in short supply but the canteen has fruit salad to offer. There is no link but just wanted to mention this. It gives you fair and not so lovely amount of idea that stage is set.

Before the terrorist storm the hospital, background stories of all the main docs (old and new both) needs to be set up. So before the terror unfolds we get to know about these characters and what all is wrong with their lives. Sounds like a regular soap opera where something or other is wrong day after day? The busy doc has no time for his wife, the pampered kid of doctor couple doesn\’t like all the attention, another trainee doc has typical middle class background where her parents ask her to offer sweets to her senior, the nurse couple is trying hard to offer a better life to their kids and hubby is selling hospital secrets to journos. Did I miss something? Oh yes. Communal harmony – we need to have a Muslim character too to complete the script and here he is in form of the male trainee doctor. The recipe looks complete. The scriptwriter managed to finish it in eight episodes nahin toh there was ample scope for extra marital angle as well. A bolder script writer would have introduced a gay/lesbian angle too. Blame it on short and sweet series.

Performance

To be fair to the actors, they have done a good job. It\’s not your run of the mill kinda set up where you look good and mouth few lines and done. They had to learn procedures and mouth what a doctor would. So good job by all.

Except Mohit Raina, there is no one else that stays with you. He is not there in every frame but whenever he is there, he just steals the show. Konkona Sen Sharma plays her part perfectly, like she always does.

Shreya Dhanwanthari as TV journalist chasing exclusives is superb. Having played print journalist in Scam and TV journalist in Mumbai Diaries 26/11, she is learning journalism on the job.

Writing

The first and may be the second episode manage to hold your attention. But third episode onwards it\’s downward journey as far as writing is considered. The tension which should be part of hospital drama is missing and the writers seem to have lost plot. Bits and pieces manage to hold it together but a better script could have done wonders. Watch Scam or Delhi Crime, again if you have already, to know what I mean.

There is scene in episode seven where doctor needs to operate upon a patient and there is some senti line thrown in by one of character. It was supposed to be rather emotional high point, choking and tears welled up kind of scene. But nothing happens. For a person who gets emotionally invested rather easily, I was completely not interested in whatever was happening. Like Mohit Raina in the last episode who looks at one of trainee crying over a dead body and pleading for help.

There is another scene which is so so filmy. One character has to call his wife using mobile of another character. Unable to reach, he tries to message to only discover a secret on the mobile. I have tried not to give away too much info by smartly omitting the names. 🙂

Verdict

As mentioned in the beginning, I began watching this series hoping to get a good hospital drama (even after knowing the story). But was let down by poor writing, which is often the case these days. And why the hell we cannot have series without the F word and reference to ladies? The docs use F word like there is no tomorrow and the less said about the gaalis the better. It\’s actually my pet peeve with content creators. I also realised that there is hardly any series without these words. Like writers who use these words in any and every situation, the viewers have also started treating it as normal. (Angry face).

There is lot of blood and gory cuts, stitches and shots of human organs. So if blood is not what you like to see, you can give it a miss. Otherwise watch it for Mohit Raina and hope he gets better scripts.

Lootera Movie Review: Poetry In Motion

\"lootera\"

Before we left home I had warned my kids not to expect their kind of regular bollywood masala. No item songs. No comedy.  I was expecting requests for toilet breaks/something to munch or some such excuse to leave the hall. But not only they waited patiently for the interval but after the movie ended they wanted to watch it again. This to me is the biggest victory of team Lootera.

My daughter loved the film especially Sonakshi and her simple style while the son wanted a revisit for that tiny winy action-chase sequence. There was a group of youngsters which came hoping something else and left half-way through disappointed. But I believe they remain a minority.

What makes Lootera exceptional is the treatment of the story. You feel it is slow. But never for a minute you want to leave the hall. The movie may not have something for the mango people. But if they can appreciate the masala (leave your brains behind kind of films) they can survive this 135 minutes of pure, unadulterated emotions of love, hate, betrayal and loneliness.

As Pakhi and Varun, Sonakshi and Ranveer, are completely in control and you get the feeling no one else could have done justice. Sonakshi can be pardoned for her earlier masala outings and she is here to stay. Her future releases will be eagerly awaited. It helps that her next release is going to be Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaraa which is directed by Milan Luthria.

As for Vikramaditya Motwane: He is going to be in a different league after this. What makes his achievement more commendable is the impossible feat he has achieved with actors like Sonakshi and Ranveer. That perhaps is the biggest USP of the film.

The other two stars of the movie are its cinematography and music. They both complement each other so well that it becomes difficult to see them as two different components of a scene. Amit Trivedi once again proves his mettle with both the songs and the background score.

Lootera can be as commercial as any other movie and at the same time it has loads of Wow moments that makes it so different from the typical bollywood films. Go watch one of the finest love stories of the decade.