Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Movie Review: Ship of Theseus..takes you on a thought-provoking voyage



Ship of Theseus is unlike anything Bollywood I have seen before it – and I mean this in a good way, in fact, the best possible way there is. There are no unnecessary songs, no unnecessary melodrama, mindless action, trite dialogues – none of that. In fact, Ship of Theseus is so removed from traditional Bollywood, that if this is to be the new direction then this movie is the harbinger of good tidings for Indian cinema.

Ship of Theseus is not for everyone and the director, A Gandhi, takes no pains to ensure that it becomes so. Nothing is explained more than required and if you choose not to unravel the layers, so be it. Very deftly, he introduces the concept of the Ship of Theseus in the first scene itself (though frankly you ought to look it up before you go for the movie; a simplistic yet thought provoking paradox)  and expects you to figure the rest for yourself

To help you out though he puts across 3 equally shining examples in the form of completely different stories to illustrate his point. You could have your favorites among the three but you can’t say either of the stories is bad. There is the mainstream story and then there are the snippets of the other stuff topped with loads of irony in each story. The quality of the cinematography is exemplary and some of the wide angle shots are the stuff of great picture postcards. The camera is heavily focused a little too close to the action at practically all times but it fits the context well. The dialogues are well written and some of the philosophical angles and the ensuing debate they cause will hold your attention even after you have exited the hall

None of the actors are particularly well known but each one puts in a solid act. The only possible complaint you could have for the movie is that for the 3 stories he has to show, Gandhi takes an awful lot of time and some scenes could be a lot snappier. It’s a moot point but I think hastening any of the sequences would have capsized this particular boat since there is meaning and substance to almost every moment that lingers

Ship of Theseus, then is every bit worth the hype and packed houses it is running to. If you want to appreciate quality cinema and intelligent story- telling its time you headed to the hall before this one sets sail for good

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Movie Review: D-Day..is a Disaster of epic proportions



I know this is an unusually strong statement but such was indeed the sentiment as I exited the hall. What started as a taut, racy thriller – the kind seldom offered by Bollywood – soon became less than ordinary and one witnessed such a fall from grace that it still hurt long after the impact was made. How could Nikhil Advani get it so wrong after such a promising start – one can only wonder

This movie further bolsters the belief that following the commercial, more popular reviews is a big mistake. D-Day has been hailed as a slick, unconventional thriller with great plot twists and tense action amongst the media. In my view, none of this is true. It starts off in that mould, I’ll give it that. Then the age-old issue of songs interfering with plot developments crops up. That alone, I could have still sat through, but after that the additional love angles and slow pace of the movie kill whatever interest one would have developed previously

The movie intermissions at a point where you only hope that the second half is much better than the first. It isn’t. In fact, its much worse than the first. At one point you are left wondering what the movie is really building up to, if anything at all. At times, it almost looks like a deliberate attempt to make a dysfunctional movie practically as an intentional spoof. If that were true, it could still have made some sense, but the movie tries to show itself as serious and patriotic and that simply looks forced. There are plotholes that are too gaping to ignore as well. As for the plot twist, I didn’t find it convincing at all but that’s probably because it looks more incidental than a real shocker as part of the mainstream plot

The fact that Nikhil Advani had a fairly accomplished cast of characters further added to the disappointment of the movie being so ordinary. Irrfan does a good job but even his best efforts can’t really save the movie. Neither is the striking Huma Qureshi able to do so despite no fault in her performance. Rishi Kapoor in his unusual avatar is probably the worst utilized – while his character starts off menacing as intended, it deteriorates to practically the aforementioned spoof.

Nikhil Advani made Kal Ho Na Ho well. The setup for this one is demanded radically different treatment. While he attempts a good transition to this genre, it seems as if he himself lost the plot somewhere along the way. The first half of the first half, if I were to put it that way, is a laudable effort. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie becomes almost a laughable effort. A movie that I believe deserved such a title more was probably 16th December. Something of that nature presented with a little more finesse and with this cast of characters would have given a lot more ‘bang’ for your buck

As it stands though, D-Day is a disaster but not the kind, the movie wanted to portray – here’s hoping for a better outcome next time around, Nikhil Advani

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Movie Review: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag…is a good tribute to the ‘Flying Sikh’



I am glad this movie was made. There is so much that I learned about the greatness and glory of the achievements of our very own Flying Sikh, which would have been lost on me otherwise. In a cricket obsessed nation, such stories tend to go untold and I am glad that wasn’t the case with this one

However, what prompted the makers to make it a freakin 188 minute offering is what I can’t get over. When you emerge from the movie hall, that is your single, albeit substantial, complaint. Especially when as per what’s shown there isn’t too much meat to the story. Quickly told, this story would have resonated big time and perhaps even made for repeated viewings. However, the pace at which it unfolds would weary even the most determined watcher

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is, no doubt, well made. The cinematography is classy and the movie has a distinct sheen about every sequence. Remove a few songs, a few extra sequences and stick to the main story and you had an explosive offering. Instead, what could have been a beautifully directed and shot movie gets relegated to mere moments – moments which are brilliantly captured and full-on display how forward movie making has moved in Bollywood – but that’s what they end up as – moments. Be it the way his runs are captured to the macabre nature of our partition; a hilarious sequence on a plane journey to the burning of a certain tissue paper - these are the moments that create the real magic about the movie. However, thanks to its runtime and the extra sequences, despite being somewhat of a biopic on a really inspirational life story the film really doesn’t succeed in getting the audience to connect and feel for its main character, which is a pity. Then there are some scenes that don’t really add up with threads that are left hanging in mid-air, making you wonder what was the point of showing them in the first place.

As for the act, well, its Farhan Akhtar all the way. Not only is he visibly fit for the part, he slips into the shoes of his character quite effortlessly. In my view, the character itself isn’t all that complex to pull off but that takes nothing away from Farhan’s performance. The only slight hitch is that his Punjabi accent isn’t all that there – but that isn’t a problem for most of the movie. However, it does come out in sharp contrast to the natural performance of Pawan Malhotra, as his Army coach. Sonam Kapoor has roughly 2 dialogues in the entire movie so that isn’t a problem for this one and she actually looks quite pleasing to the eye for a change. Divya Dutta gets noticed for all the right reasons in her spirited support role while Yograj Singh also does a good job

Regarding the music, quite simply – most of it shouldn’t be there. It slows down the narrative and adds nothing to the plot. Only Zinda is a song that really peps you up and maybe it could’ve been repeated in the background for scenes later in the movie rather than all the other unnecessary music. Tu Bhaag Milkha is decent but its no Lakshya and doesn’t have the same kind of energy about it

To sum up then, this movie should have been a 2 hour watch with much less of the song and dance routine and more on the inspirational story. Still, a visit to the hall is a must, if only to celebrate the story of the Flying Sikh, and ensure his legend is not forgotten anytime soon.
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