Self criticism...By a spoofy Director (et al)

I was depressed. Why? Because I wanted to make the Ramayana..oops the Ravanayan...but it got stalled mid way. Reason? "date problems". So while that one song with Linz remains one of my prized videos, that was all. I had planned a plethora of dates, and conjured up a platter of script situations, comic scenes, and (my most favourite part), song picturizations. But that was not to be. Hence I was depressed.



I was still depressed when we went to watch Rajneeti. Coz this was another epic, that reminded me of my "epical spoof". But I came out of the hall, an optimistic man. Coz Aagan had just said "uff...if we made Mahabharat, ours would be better". Sorry I couldnt live up to your expectations. But I tried. And I came out of the hall, again conjuring up cinematic sequences of the Mahabharat. And I had already decided 2 cast members...Sakshi as Kunti and Ritu as Gandhari. But where would I get the opportunity?

It came in the form of a gettogether at Sayan's place. Hence while people went there to enjoy and chatter, I forced everyone to act. People were disgruntled...but I nagged on...and the result was a skeleton of the Mahabharat...with umpteen holes in the plot...naturally an epic cannot be recreated in just 3-4 hours. But I tried my best. And my friends cooperated.

The product was not bad for an epic. Though I had a few technical difficulties while editing. The foremost being the audiography. In a few sequences, the raw audio was defective. The result was, I had to edit out a vast portion of Arjun's triumph, the first meeting scene of Kunti and Draupadi. But I couldnt have done the same with the Arjun-Draupadi interactions. Hence I had to dub for Arjun, whereas u can hardly find Draupadi's voice except for a few shrieks (I cudnt have dubbed for Linz). The other technical difficulty was the loss in continuity, which I tried to eliminate through text and background music. Overall, for an epic of 1000+ pages, I think our version was decent enough as a product shot in 3-4 hrs, including the song and fight sequences.
I know this is not of the same standard with the previous physiopal presentations. The major reason is that in the latter, we only have an outline of wot we have to do...no script, and no particular story...in fact things are much more inpromptu. Here we were bound by a story we knew was impossible to complete, and realize within such a short span of time. There we used to shoot a telefilm...Mahabharata is a film by itself. Hence all the pandemonium.

Even by such constraints of a unrealistic target, my actors did a commendable job. Linz (she herself has admitted),as Draupadi, surprisingly was not in her usual tacky form. She looked disinterested in most scenes, but was good at the song sequences and the vastraharan sequence. If you compare her previous performances like in Mayar Khela (she was a pro in her rendition of the role of Maya Hazra), this is one film where clearly she was uncomfortable. Another falacy was that her role was ill defined, and mostly restricted to being a veiled woman, a tortured woman, or her song and dance sequences.

Sakshi as Kunti was clearly a show stealer. She came the motherly role a new melodramatic , yet modern dimension, much more efficiently than I visualized it.

Ritu as the sophesticated Gandhari is another gem of the film. True, she went a little far with her dialogues, but you dont mind it as she is highly complemented by her on screen husband, Uttam. Her confrontation with Kunti is another highlight of the film, where both the ladies share excellent rapport.

Uttam as Dhritarastra is clearly THE scene stealer. Who could imagine that the usually shy Uttam could be so bold and authoritative in his expressions? Particularly in the Rajsabha sequence.

Sayyan as Arjun the chocolate hero is another delight to watch. From his heroic comedy at the beginning, to his melodrama, he is at top form after the immensely melodramatic "Jab Mile 2 dil, khao I pill". Too bad that I had to dub for him...a few sequences are sounding odd, but his expressions hugely mask his vocal supplementation. And watch out for his Mujra, too.

Agni as the effeminate Yudhisthir is cute and funny. Particularly his entry sequence, and his melodrama with Kunti. Agni is an excellent actor and infuses life and comedy to the otherwise boring Yudhisthir.

Janu, as Duryodhana, is a surprise. This is his first cinematic appearance ( after a brief drama in A chhotto songsar get2gether). He is natural in his cunningness. And extraordinary in the war sequence. Watch out for his rhythmic expressions in the vastraharan sequence.

Neelu, as Bhim, is also a delight to watch in the fight sequence, particularly his collapse shot.

Krishnendu, as Krishna, makes his presence felt in a small role. His godly expression and innocent smile justifies his Krishna avataar.

Sugata, in a special appearance as Karna, is efficient. His role is incomplete, but in his limited presence, he sets the screen on fire. His interaction with Kunti is adorable.

Thus, in the constraint period, the product was not bad, though I was really missing the Linz-Agni chemistry of the previous films. The Uttam-Ritu chemistry was adorable, but the Sayan-Linz one lacked oomph, again maybe due to dubbing problems, and elimination of more interacting sequences due to audio defects. I would give this adaptation a 2/5.

TOP 10 SHREYA GHOSAL SONGS

Recently I came across a post which listed the best 10 songs of Sadhna Sargam. Well, my Bollywood favourite is Shreya Ghosal. A highly talented singer with 4 Filmfare and 4 National awards in the 8 years of her career, she has a golden voice, and excels equally in classical as well as routine songs of the bollywood films (though there can be no songs without classical base in it...). In fact, of the 36 songs in my mobile tracklist, 15 are shreya ghosal songs, 17 Lata Mangeshkar ones, and 3 Geeta dutt ones. Here's listing top 10 of her best songs I have heard.(not listed according to rank)

1. Piyu Bole Piya bole (Parineeta): It was one of a kind with an old charm. With sweet vocals of Ghosal, along with Sonu Nigam, it is perhaps the best romantic song I have heard this decade.

2. Barso re Megha Megha (Guru): The rendition of this song by shreya ghosal was awesome, and revealed a different dimension to her genre. When I hear this song, I can really feel the rain beat, qudos to ARR's tunes and beats, and Ghosal's singing (wont comment on the picturization, though).

3. Ami je Tomar/Mere Dholna Sun (Bhoolbhulaiya), and Main Chali (Black and white): Awsome example of her classical singing. while the first one, atched with Vidya Balan's superb expressions, is a phenomenal in today's age of peppy numbers. The second one has a seer innocence to it, and its classical notes by Sukhwinder Singh, have been superbly rendered by Ghosal.

4.Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gayi (Ghajini).: The last 6 lines she sang were highly melancholic , and only a hearing of it can make you realise the pathos behind the song.

5. Noor e Khuda (My Name is Khan): The whole composition is so touching. All of the singers- Shankar Mahadevan, Adnan Sami, and Shreya Ghosal rendered the melancholy that the song demanded...a desperate prayer in times of need.

6. Chalo tumko lekar Chale (Jism), and Be Panah Pyaar hai Aaja (Krishna Cottage): while one was sensuous to the core, the other was a highly eerie song, sung to the right mood by the versatile Ghosal.

7. Qaatil Aada (Blue) and Tu Hi Mera Dost (Yuvraaj): Two very westernized tracks...while Qatil ada is a killer track in terms of signing of both Shreya Ghosal and Sonu Nigam beautifully blended..( dont know How many heard this song), Tu hi Mera dost is unique in its tune (set by ARRahman)..and the sugar coated vocals of Ghosal, with Benny Dayal

8. Thore badmaash Ho tum, and Sawar Gayi Saawariya (Sawariya): The songs of sawariya are perhaps some of the toughest and sweetest songs she had sung. In fact I had expected her to win a National award for Thode Badmaash (she won it for Yeh Ishq Hai that year). The songs were highly blissful, beautifully composed by Monty Sharma and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and sweetly sung by Ghosal

9. Thirak Thirak (Khoya Khoya Chand): again a wonderful duet by Ghosal and Sonu Nigam, this is one of those songs Il never delete out of my tracklist...the classical composition of Shantanu Moitra has been aptly complemented by both the singers.

10. You me aur Hum ( You me aur Hum) and O saathi re (Omkara): The first one is a lesser heard song...but if you hear it, youl know why I put it in the list. The song's simple, but the expressions, are awesome. Ghosal has used somewhat hushed tones in certain areas, and the overall effect of this Vishal Bhardwaj Composition will bowl you over! Listen to the last stanza " ek din to woh lamha hi aana hai, dono milke saathe me chale jaana hai", and its surely to bring tears in your eyes. The second one is another Vishal Bhardwaj romantic composition, which is simple, and yet one of the best romantic numbers iv heard in recent times...


Amongst the regional albums in Bengali, the songs of Antoheen are undoubtedly the best, though she has sung some very good compositions by Jeet Ganguli. Ihave heard 1-2 of her Tamil numbers, and like them, but those are too few to name and rank.

Wish she'l bring more National Awards home!

2 years with the 14 environmentalists...

I have been a late latif throughout my academic record. Be it school, where I entered mid session, Presi, where I entered only after the second counselling, and my present Dept of Environmental Science, where I entered, 3 weeks late, after the 4th counselling. I still remember the day I joined the department...it was not totally unfamiliar to me as my first day in Presi was, largely because, I had been visiting the HOD, AM sir, continuously for the 2 previous weeks, and also because I had been in touch with one of my future classmates, sayantan.(Apart from that I had also heard that there is a beautiful girl called Avisha, who studies in the department). Anyways, Day1, Sayantan had promised to come early so that I could share a bench with him, but he was late. So, as I sat alone in the first bench 1st sem classroom, the first soul who entered the room was a tall,blonde girl. I mistook her to be a non bengali, as most people do, and she proved me wrong, when she started to blabber....she talked on and on for the next 5 mins...and so, from moment 1, priya banerjee became my friend ( and not girlfriend as claimed widely...u see, she has a lot of....ahem...leave it)..gradually the class started filling up...and everybody gaped at the teddy bear who was sitting in the first bench!! Sayantan entered, and within a few minutes, I was thanking god that he was late, or else, sitting beside him would have made me physically vulnerable! The "beautiful lady" that i had heard of , Avisha, entered...and my first reaction was smsing sayan " well, she IS sexy!" .What i felt good about my class is that from day 1 itself, these people befriended me as if they had known me for weeks.
Gradually, I discovered my classmates...priya, as i said, was an unstoppable chatterbox...and we soon became good friends, as both of us could talk nonsense continuously (except..maybe times when she starts babbling about her...ahem....)..there was the ever serious ahana...who would flinch at the slightest indecent utter....and wud enjoy a "love-hate" friendship with sayantan..there was the ever sweet and dramatic twisha, tomz.....and they formed a talketive lot in the second bench! my interaction with sreetama and twisha particularly increased as we walked up the gariahat way back home.( and..well..tomz's psychopona during the xams). there was our model avisha... friendly, and ever helpful with her beautifully written notes. There was our star vineeta, who would sing us her songs, there were sunanda, mrinmoyee, ishita, gopa, madhurima...my interaction with them was frankly not as excellent as the others,but during our games together, we all enjoyed mutual participation. For instance, there was our sweet gopuz...entering the class cheerfully and narrating theatrically how she slapped a guy in the bus, who was eyeing her. there was our rough and tough abhishek, already ready to bunk classes, and yet ready to help anyone anytime at the slightest of the needs. there was our rupam..the genious, who left the college before the first sem. and finally, our sayantan...the genious, and mr serious..always into studies, and when he's not studying, he's into physical sursuris..
During my first and half of second sem,we really used to enjoy a lot...our games of truth and dare, where our voluntary "dare"s ensured us to break into a plethora of melodramas involving the virual family...where I was the head of family, pwi and twi my two wives, gubu, vini, avs my children...etc etc etc. there was also the killer killer game...i really miss sayantan's famous dialogue "gopar chokh mara mane jeno dhop kore 1ta porda porlo". along with classes, we got involved in a host of other activities like Green Booth, seminars, etc. One other enjoyment was our frequenting priya's and twisha's places...and the more uncensored continuation of our classroom games we had there. I also miss those rehearsal days..for rabindrajayanti and for freshers..(though I do not miss the bashings meted out to me during the programs).

The year turned, and so did the environment of the environment department. differences cropped in amongst few, priorities changed, and the class was not so jolly anymore. but even amongst all these , there were a few positive turnouts...vini came closer to us..and so did ahana, forcing herself to be immune to a lot of indecent talks.. Admittedly, I got a bit more reserved in my attitude in the later days as a result of a few not so nice experiences, but I still enjoy class...
I still love passing comments in a few selected classes with twisha, or punching priya on her legs, or hiding the hair clips of the girls. I still enjoy poking gubu about a special someone, or chatting away during off periods. I still enjoy visiting here and there (read: aquatica) with my classmates, though it has reached its minimum. I still enjoy participating in various programs....but somewhere, I feel the vacuum, the lacuna that was once filled by our games together, our constant chatterings, our "masti". I know its impossible, but even a few days back, I dreamed of us,in the second year classroom, after an skc class, playing a game of truth and dare, and breaking into one of those family melodramas. The dream was shattered halfway by my mom's wake up call...but that was one dream I never wanted to end. Coz its really a dream now :(


Shall miss all of you 2 months hence. Till then, Il try and enjoy the compromised entertainment!!! Long Live Envs!

Watching an old film...

When I took the Guru Dutt CD from Aagan, I never knew that I was soon to be bowled over by its contents. I am not an avid viewer of cinema, though I do appreciate a selected few. But those few are never ... what we call "arthouse cinema". I have no qualms in declaring that I find "arthouse cinema", as labelled today, quite boring. But the film I recently watched, Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam, belongs to an era when there was no separate genre of "arthouse films". That is another way of saying, that the film has a staple diet of tragedy, comedy, songs, intense acting, a great storyline, and a social issue, rightly blended. I belong to an age where the so called superhit movies are compromised with overdoses of songs and skin displayals,with the least necessity of acting, definition of characters, where cinematography means capturing foreign locales in digital colors, whereas the art films are fed with 2 hours of dialogues or silence, no comedy, good cinematography, but zero entertainment. Saheb Biwi Ghulam, and most other films of those era, are made of the good points of these two categories.
Everyone knows the story of the film, so no use brooding all over again. What struck me in the film, was the simplicity of its presentation. Nowhere you find half baked characters, and yet, magically, you can always interprete the characters your own way. This is also the case with the Raj Kapoor cinemas of the era, like Anari, Chori Chori, Shri 420. There were entertainers, they were superhits, they had a couple of songs, and yet, they had intense acting roles, and well defined stories. Above all, the audience then, used to appreciate films like these..hence sahib biwi ghulam was a superhit inspite of having a tragic ending.
What struck me most was the contrast between the two leading ladies- Jaba and Choti Bahu. Waheeda Rehman portrayed the role of Jaba with complete naturalness. That was a time when theatrical acting was prominent. As some people say, the advantage of present day cinema is the natural acting, while the actors in old age films were highly melodramatic. I agree to some extent, but I found Jaba different...it never seems in the film that Waheeda Rahman was acting...it was as if she was Haba herself. So was Guru Dutt as bhootnath. their interactions and histrionics never made me feel that I was actually watching an adaptation from a classic...where the normal thumb rule is..treat the script like a drama.

Meena Kumari as Choti Bahu is the highlight of the film. She gave one of the finest performances in Indian cinema. Her role gave her every chance to be melodramatic, yet she wasnt. Drunk or no drunk, her performance was constraint, and yet, stellar. It is a rare example of a classic beauty, and an excellent actress combined. Whereas she looks simply ethereal in most scenes, like the song "Piya aiso jiya mein", her performance as the drunk bahu is a landmark. for eg, the scene in while she, being drunk, tries to wear a saree, the song "na jaao saiyyan", the last scene in the carriage, which is bound to make you shed tears, where she's optimistic about life even in her death, are bound to remain in your memory long after watching the film. she was not sensuous, she was just trying to be an ideal housewife to a husband who believed that the real gem in being a man is not avoid his own married wife, and spend nights over with other women. and Meena Kumari played it convincingly. I had heard of Meena Kumari as a tragedy queen...but...she's simply the queen!!!

The cinematography is awsome, particularly the parts portraying meena kumari. so are the songs, mainly sung by asha bhonsle and geeta dutt, and composed by our very own hemant kumar.

The just thought that I should share my experiences of watching the film, with my friends through the blog. I wont say its a must watch film...that depends upon your taste, but its rightly a milestone movie.

PHYSIOPALS...

Five glorious years of college life are drawing to an end. As an school student, I would look up to college life as something very alien, something very fascinating, and something very elderly and serious. our backpacks converted to shoulder ones, our formal school uniform of dichromatic shades, converted to informal jeans-t shirt, our tight school routine converted to carefree college bunks, and yet the childishness of school upgraded to a serious image of college life- thats how i had perceived college life.

Hence, when I entered Presidency College (after the second round of counselling), I was proud- not only to be a part of Kolkata's best college, but also to have become a more mature guy...a college guy! The ambiance of Presi- with its large fields and old buildings, with its large LTs and Labs- was a complete contrast to the compact structure of my school, and it felt different somewhere within.

As I first stepped into the long verandah of the Department of Physiology,a few of my future classmates greeted me with open arms ( and protruded ..ahem..). One of my school classmates was already there..and I felt a little at ease, though not completely at home. reason being: I was not sure that I belonged here completely....my apathies for biology, combined with my tensions for JEE never allowed me to enjoy the first year of the college life to its fullest. As the classes started, I found myself enjoying them..not because I liked the subjects or so...but because of my classmates. Most of them (barring 2-3) where from Kolkata and its outskirts. I enjoyed their companionship to the fullest..keeping up to the tradition of CU, classes were scarce, and hence, off periods were not a luxury. My metro journey back home brought me closer to friends like Agnivo, Aparajita, Krishnendu and later, Deboleena. But still, my long bouts of absence .. (I was "studying" at home for JEE).. didnt let me get involved with the general activities of the department ( Reunion for eg). My only link to the Department at that phase was Agnivo, with whom I used to meet regularly at Golpark RKM, to exchange notes, and much more importantly, hog. The rest of the department, was almost alien to me at that time.

What brought us together was me not cracking JEE (expectedly for me, unexpectedly for my father, and I ended up shedding tears in a Meena Kumari pose all afternoon, and then downloading and dancing to KANK tunes that very night), not a lot of people cracking the xam. So, the batch was left with a group of like minded people, and we started to move together everywhere. Hence, (as still classes were rare) we started frequenting each of our houses for get togethers, dancing and hogging away. I started to get more acquainted with the genius to had greeted me on day 1 with protruded ....ahem...Neelanjan Chatterjee, and gradually, became close to Madhurima, Rituparna (who was Agni's soulmate at that time and till today), Deboleena (we both are aquarians), Sakshi (my crush)..and so on. Among the others, Sayan and Sugata would be busy with IC, and I came close to them, ironically, after leaving Presi. Sumitash, Krishnendu, Uttam and Priyanka were always the quieter among the lot, ( though priyanka's songs were not so quiet), and Chadan would always be bullied like anything. Together, we formed what we called the "Physiopals"...our memories embedded in the thousands of fotos and videos, our excursion memories, and our ongoing activities even at MSc....our bonding still goes on, much to the envy of our present classmates. Below, Im documenting what I think of my fellow Physiopals today...after 5 yrs of association.

roll 163: Agnivo Niyogi (aka Aagan aka Agni): maybe my closest friend amongst physiopals. we have had our share of differences no doubt...a plethora of not very common experiences..but apart from that, he's the most helpful person I have ever seen. His priorities change more frequently than Mamata Banerjee inaugurates a railway project. he's also a mental genius, with a photographic memory!! Of late, he has been a little impossible with his twitter mania enshrouding him to the fullest, but that doesnt stop him from being a nice guy, a great physiopal, and my closest among them.

roll 177: Uttam Pal (aka Uti) the quietest among the physiopals, he's one of the most hardworking one with multifaceted talent. His discipline in life is something we should all learn from. Though he's stubborn at times, and surprisingly babbling at other rare times, he's someone we all look up to as an ideal student.

roll 180: Madhurima Dhara (aka madhu) she's jolly, she quarrelsome, she's friendly...she's everything one can be. She's my ma.I wonder what I would have done in the 3rd year without her xeroxed notes! She's ulti helpful, and caring...and almost substituted for my mother during the excursions. She's also an intelligent girl, and an enjoyable classmate

roll 185: Suvosree Ray (aka paperweight aka buladi) she can be called as a physiopalloid, much like a metalloid. she wasnt much of a company during Presi days, but whenever she was, she would be friendly and jolly. what I like is that even after presi days, she calls and keeps in contact with some of us...a testimony of the bonding.

Roll 191: Neelanjan Chatterjee (aka Neelu aka Duldul)the most popular amongst the physiopals, he's a genious with his debating prowess and oratory skills. but more importantly, he's a great friend, and an awesome company. where, on one hand, I wont ever forget the help he meted out to me during 2007, I also appreciate the fact that he constantly keeps in touch from Ahmedabad even if not reciprocated. He's one person we got closest to in 3rd year.

roll 193: Krishnendu Sarkar (Krrishh)We know the least about him, as we saw the least of him. When he's there, he's the coolest, and the only one Iv never seen angry.

roll 194:Sumitash Jana (aka Janu) Again a strict disciplinarian, he's what we call mr perfect- someone every mom wants as a son and every mom in law wants as a son in law. a perfect family guy and an intelligent one, (though indecent and spoilsport at times), he's a sweet company.........when he's there)

roll 247: Sayan Mullik Chowdhury I got close to him (not physically) only after college, as he was busy with the union during the college days). He's a cool company and a jolly one, and though he innocently bluffs at times (revealing bluffs, though), he's also one of the most helpful and jolly friends. And handsome too... :) and we all luv his mom's biryani.

roll 251: Sugata Roy (chhoku): Well, he's a little aloof these days, thanks to his luv and studies, but again, he's also one person who constantly keeps in touch , even without reciprocation. and when he's there, no guy is spared of his hand, and its pressing. :)

roll 252: Rituparna Mandal (Ritu): she's a cute classmate, though craving for attention all the time with her RJs. But she's one of them who really keeps in touch, and demands for our presence ( though her demands irritate us at the moment, its really out of her loyalty to the friendship, as we do realise later). Though some of her antics are ..well..anyways...she's a great pal..and a small pal too!

roll 254: Priyanka Kejriwal: without her mood swings, she's cool! though interactions with her has not been much, she traumatises the crowd with her songs when she's there, and we all luv her mom's aam ras!

Roll 260: Chandan Champa Baha Hembram: (aka tommy): she has always been a target of bullies, but a great pal nevertheless. her histrionic sometimes puts us to laugh...but again, we treasure those moments as the most enjoyable ones. she's a great pal...though mostly missing from most get2gethers, and a "loyal" one too

roll 261: Sakshi Arora (aka pinky). she's beautiful, she's sexy, and she's jolly! she has the potential to make a depressed crowd dance ( maybe with her jolly nature..or maybe with her shouts)...she has been a great friend...though aloof in the 3rd yr, and a great help....(deshapriya park)...(and also a great crush :))...and qudos also to her cheating histrionics....though we missed u big time during the excursions, along with pri..



roll 262: Debaleena Basu (Linz): she's a complex mixture practicality and impracticality....though i still resent one of her recent activities..i agree that my rapport with her is one of the bests amongst the physiopals. and that is evident through my movies featuring herself and agni. and above all we are fellow aquarians (and share the same frustrations regarding studies :P :P ). to add, we'v also turned her house into a shooting studio ;P




that...sums up...my physiopals... :)

Bhamuu's Rating: Kolkata Restaurants

This is not exactly a post. But Im going to rate some of the Restaurants I have frequented in recent times (most of them with Agni), based on certain criteria, out of 10









* Bengali Cuisine
** Chinese cuisine
*** Indian Cuisine
rest: Multicuisine

More coming up.

My Name is Superman

That's how i would like to summarize my perception of My Name Is Khan. What started off with an inspiring journey of a man, a victim of racial discrimination post 9/11 in America, to tell the country that all Muslims are not terrorists, and plead the Americans to stop attacking and detesting the Muslims anywhere and everywhere, ends up being just another SRK-is-my-hero film. He suffers of Asperger's syndrome, but shows those symptoms only when he does not have anything to do, like wooing Kajol. I have not really researched on how an Autistic man behaves, but SRKs robotish mannerisms, as well as many sequences (obviously in Rizwan Khan's heroic journey) appeared artificial in a film which can boast of a realistic and significant theme.
But the film must be given its due credits where needed. Its absolutely true that Karan Johar has taken a stride from his fantasies (which were growing more lengthy and intolerable by every film), and has chosen to direct a theme, which is so true, and inspiring in today's world, where racial discrimination not only against a religion, but also against a country is growing significantly higher. Qudos for that...only if he would have restrained from projecting SRK as a superhero in every frame of his journey!!!
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY:
I felt that the cinematography of the film is an asset. Its one of the finest cinematographed films i have seen recently. Helmed by Ravi Chandran, who has cinematographed in films like Black, the camera movements and angles, and more particularly, the use of sunlight to depict both romance and loneliness is outstanding. While Black was all about using sunrays through the darkness, MNIK is all about letting the sunrays speak. For eg, the sequence (hair cutting) between SRK and Kajol in Tere naina, the song picturisation of Noor e khuda are brilliant. apart from this, the Georgia portion is also worth mentioning. Nowhere did it seem that the camera works were compromised to prioritize a star- it is one of the very few films, where the visuals speak. Iam not aware of the technicalities, but as a viewer, i felt that if the film is worth a watch, it is primarily because of how Mr. Chandran composed the visuals.
THE EDITING:
The editing in Karan's films have been getting more disastrous with each film. If K2H2 was perfect, K3G was overshot by at least 1 hour, and for KANK , it seemed as if the editor was on a holiday. MNIK is better than the last two, but that is far from saying that it has an excellent editing. there are several sequences in both the halves which could have been disposed of. However, if I look at the scenes individually, the editing is perfect. the only fault lay in the fact that many extra sequences, which only added to the length of the film, were retained.
THE STORY, SCRIPT AND SCREENPLAY:
with the seriousness of the topic being talked about, I definitely expected better. But yes, this film is better better than Karan's previous 2 ventures. Only towards the climax, it seemed that SRK was forcefully elevated to be a hero..the Georgia portion seemed illogical in a logical topic. The Parvin Dabbas track was not needed..the whole setup, it seemed, was forcefully incorporated to heroworship Rizwan Khan. Thumbs down! But Kajol's portion was awsome...some of the most sensitive portions I have seen.

THE DIRECTION:
karan johar has matured as a director, though sadly he could not totally keep his SRK-is-a-God mentality down. hence, though the film is nicely directed, the climax portions lack logic. but certain scenes in the film are worth mentioning..for eg: the whole track of the death of Sam, the Masjid track, and again, the Noor e Khuda song. But the music input of the film was optimum, again unlike KANK and K3G..qudos to that. ditto for the sequences where the Muslims are attacked at various places.but next time, I wish to see more sensitiveness in his direction,.and the plotline could be less complicated...and.....no compromising the screenplay for SRK!!

THE ACTING
thats the final aspect we are going to discuss. And the film belongs to..not SRK, but Kajol
the main reason is that Kajol had an optimum role in the film- a compact one, which she not only acted, but lived. Each time u see her in the film, you feel for her. Her histrionics after Sam's death is outstanding!! She deserves a standing ovation for this role. Not to mention, she looks awsome in every frame. I hope this years female best actor awards are swept by her!
I wont comment about SRK. primarily because i could not understand his acting. sometimes, he looks normal. sometimes he is abnormal. sometimes he enjoys with a group full of unknown people. sometimes he shrieks at it. sometimes he rattles off informations like an examinee about to take his/her exam. sometimes he is silent. Sometimes he bends his head while talking. sometimes he is straightheaded. sometimes he looks at the listener, sometimes he doesnt. sometimes he acts like SRK in KANK, sometimes like Rani Mukherjee in Black, sometimes like a true patient, sometimes god knows what. I simply did not understand what he was supposed to do. But if you leave aside these discrepancies, he was so-so, but not the best. the jail and the airport sequences are excellent. But i think the role needed more clarity.
among the others, qudos to the actor enacting Kajol's son Sam. he had an excellent screen presence.Ditto for Tanay Chheda, who enacted the young Rizwan..he was excellent. Zarina Wahab's portrayal of Rizwan's single mother, was excellent..she conveyed the emotions of a distressed mother with ease. Jimmy Shergill and Sonya Jehan almost had nothing to do, but they were decent. to cut a long story short, the film was good in the acting department.

Female Playback singing in Bollywood...RIP???

A few days back, I was going through the music review of "Tum Mile", on a site. the review said, "yet another all male singer album from Pritam, after "Life In a Metro". That comment led me to think...will there be a day in bollywood, when our leading ladies will be barred of the opportunity to lip sync those beautiful songs, which have the power of deciding a fate for a film? Will there be a day, when "duet songs" will be a myth? I think the day is not far away, with our composers ignoring females in their playlist..when our beautiful leading ladies will have no voices to sing for them, while our heroes will take away all the acclodes by the romanticism, or the sexy dance sequences in the songs, we wont have a Nargis singing "pyar hua ikrar hua", or a Madhubala singing "pyar kiya to darna kya", or a Kajol singing "Tujhe dekha to ye jana sanam". I really miss the presence of duets today...they are way far and few. If I remember, the last duets per excellence i heard were "Piyu bole" from parineeta, and "tu bin bataye" from RDB. And if I take a look at last year's albums, while each album had a leading male song as its USP, for eg, Masakkali/Arziyan/Rehna Tu from Delhi 6, Hai junoon from New York, Twist/Aj din Chhadeya from Luv aj Kal,Prem ki Naiyya from Ajab prem ki.. and many more, there were only 3 significant female songs to speak of..genda ful from Delhi 6, Iktara from Wake Up Sid, and Zubi Dubi from 3I. the year before the scenary was no better. With umpteen number of item songs where the instruments bang more than the voices, and the heroes suit more than the heroines, the hindi film industry is slowly losing its songstress. Thats bad, and thats unfortunate. though I really appreciate the return of melodies in Hindi songs in the hands of directors like Rahman,and Shankar Ehsaan Loy, I really miss good duets, or even a good female song...a "barso re" comes, but only once in 2-3 yrs. hope this improves.

Watching 3 Idiots again....

To start with, this is not a 3I review. I had to start off my new blog with something, so i decided writing about what I felt when I watched the recent Hit of Hit films, 3Idiots..again on local television. I remember telling one of my friends that I didnt like the film...the reaction was like.."Are You Mad? its a Brilliant film yaar.."..another acquaintance was of the opinion that while Rang De Basanti was a film with nothing in it, 3 Idiots is the best film ever. I respect their opinions..they felt that way. May be I am really mad...because I did not like my favourite Chetan Bhagat story utterly distorted.. I did not enjoy the innovativeness of delivering a kid by a vacuum cleaner, and the supposedly stillborn infant delivering its first kick at the chanting of "all izz well"..in a supposedly realistic story about the education system..I did not like Farhan's father agreeing to his career decision in just 2 minutes' pleading, while my father never realized so in the whole of my almost quarter of a century lifetime. I did not enjoy the bride running away, YRF style. In short, barring a few sequences, I only kept ridiculing the way the storyline has been treated..a lot of scenes were so taken for granted...for example, the very kiddish romantic track between Rancho and Pia...was it just to incorporate a romantic song ?(again, a nicely sung song like zoobi doobi shot badly)...and the whole idea of the replacement of the actual ranchordas was disgustingly absurd, and only added to the length of the film...the narrative could have been more attractive had they stuck to the original storyline of 5 point Someone.
all said and done, i did really enjoy certain parts of the film. And topping the list is Omi Vaidya's portrayal of Silencer. This debutant really stole the spotlight from the established actors like Aamir, madhavan, Sharman and Kareena. Thus, every scene with a wickedly comical chatur Ramalingam aka silencer had me in splits. And though, being a part of the system itself, I cannot totally deny the "study for exams" legend, yet the underlying message of the film appealed to me "study for knowledge..and not merely for rat races of competitions..". My heart ached for poor Joy..sacrifice of a innovative young life, just because he could not meet a deadline. I really sympathized with Farhan..a victim of parental pressure leading to choice of a wrong path of life. Or Raju, who desperately needs a degree and a job to support his family(whose depiction as a 1950s bollywood flick was really funny). But the fraction of enjoyable parts is very few..as compared to what I expected from the Director of Lage Raho Munnabhai, The actor team of RDB. but my sincere claps to Mr. Omi Vaidya, and also the cinematographer..while the Behti hawa sa song is brilliant, as is the scenary of ladakh, the camera movements throughout the film aptly justified the correct mood of the respective scene..(Raju's house, for example). only how I wish that our editor (the director himself, i guess), could have done away with a few unnecessary relevant sequences, and concentrated on the main theme instead.The culmination of the film was really boring, predictable and irritating!

Lastly, next time, Mr director, please take care that a principal of the no 1 engineering college does not type letters while is laptop is on a Windows Standby Mode.

poor Chetan Bhagat!