Friday, December 26, 2014

Movie Review: Ugly…50 shades of black!!



In my customary style of using a direct connection to the movie title, to write my review title I was originally considering to title this one as Ugly..doesn't paint a ‘pretty’ picture. Story and plot wise, it would certainly portray the reality. However, purely from a film making perspective, that would be far from the truth.

In the world of Anurag Kashyap, people are hopeless – they have already condemned themselves to hell and are living that hell each day. While most film makers try to uplift their audience even when they tell a story with grey characters by providing the protagonist with some hope, courage and opportunity to rise against the odds, Kashyap indulges in his fantasy nightmare that simply gets darker with every passing sequence till finally, you can’t see – its all black and the darkest shade of it at at that. He gleefully smothers out the last spark of hope that might have been ignited had anyone shown the slightest bit of respite, compassion or even consideration.

Despite not taking a step wrong in the actual movie making - complete with a long conversation between a police in-charge and one of the central characters that displays a grim reality with dark humor, barely present songs that progress, not hinder the narrative and the usual Anurag Kashyap touches with random psychedelic music intact, this particular narrative becomes so soul sucking by the end of it all, that it doesn’t leave a nice feeling. This is especially on display in one hellish scene – which could as easily have been implied than shown in its truly ‘ugly’ form

Performances wise, there is hardly a glittering star cast with Ronit Roy being the most recognizable actor of the lot, but true to the Anurag Kashyap brigade of the past, they all come to the party with solid performances. Vineet Singh and Girish Kulkarni do a brilliant job (I wish Girish’s character’s dialogues had subtitles since a lot of them were in Marathi). Rahul Bhat also does justice to his role though his performance is a little wooden in comparison. Tejaswini Kohlapuri and Surveen Chawla both look dull and worn out but then that’s what the script demanded.  Ronit Roy shows a restraint that he earlier showcased only in Udaan though struggles in scenes of high strung emotion.

While it baffled when it was first revealed – Ugly is a near-perfect title for this movie. The world doesn’t get uglier and murkier than the one that Kashyap showcases, with each character blacker than the other and a situation and progression that is not just unsettling but downright choking and unrelenting – If that’s not ugly enough, I shudder to think what is. Think before you watch this one, its certainly not for everyone

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Movie Review: PK..the best you’ll see this year



2014 hasn’t been a generous year for those of us who crave genuinely good cinema. In this respect, calling PK the best this year may not seem as the great compliment it would otherwise be. The good news however, is that this movie would have been amongst the best any year. Its just that given the dismal offerings this year, it’s the best watch by far.

Its all good - Rajkumar Hirani re-affirms our belief in him as a master storyteller and writer. One of the few, if not the only one, who has managed to maintain his consistent high standards. Aamir Khan proves that Dhoom 3 was a mere aberration. His quality stamp is still as high as ever – it only needed the right canvas. If a certain other film that played quite heavily on a similar theme had not been made recently, the kudos for PK might well have doubled. However, if I were to compare, this one considers the debate from a far more positive and mature perspective

There is simply an innocence to the script – a child-like quality to its characters that is conveyed in as many words towards the latter half of the movie. But even if it wasn’t specifically told to us, the effect is felt just as much. Especially in the first half, Rajkumar Hirani does such a good job, that It makes one wish that even they could tell such stories – so much simplicity and innocence and yet delivered with such panache. While it doesn’t start with a great bang, post PK’s entry the movie grabs your attention with renewed vigor.

The second half doesn’t delight as much, though it is by no means any sort of a drag. Rajkumar Hirani again achieves the feat of taking you from laughing till your sides hurt to have tears welling up in the eyes as the movie progresses which itself says a lot. Some scenes teeter dangerously close to the edge of falling into the stereotypical or cheesy mould but are saved by a cut just at the right time – thank goodness for that.

As for the songs – while some are melodious most are unnecessary interruptions to the unfolding story.  So interesting are PK, his thoughts, his dialogues, his actions that they are the only things you want the movie to focus on and nothing else.

Aamir Khan and PK are the life-blood of this well written story. The master performer is at his vintage best doing complete justice to a character that would have not been easy to slip into the shoes of. There is so much that I can talk about his character and dialogues but anything I say will dampen your fun at least somewhat, so I’ll refrain. Anushka Sharma yet again has her familiar ‘independent, modern girl’ role and she’s probably most comfortable in it so she pulls it off convincingly

Christmas has arrived in style. While there’s nothing remotely resembling Christmas in PK, it does give every reason to celebrate. After all the hype and expectations, PK delivers and is the best reason to be in a cinema hall not just this week, but for all of 2014 – don’t miss it.
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