Paa-wonderful film.
This is Amitabh Bachchan’s Opus majus. He has already made a special place, very special place in our cinema by having scripts written around a man who is past his sixty. Today he can hang his boots not with just the satisfaction that he has made his quota of tons of money (or enough for a few others) but also for having his best. Every bollywood star first works to create an image of his own. Latter this image eats into the actor. The actor shrinks proportionately to the growth of the image of the star. Most often, this is a choice that the artist makes and lives with. Cultivated and treasured, the image is larger than the persona. Sooner than later the star completely consumes the artist. So is it with Bachchan. In this context Paa comes as a whiff of fresh air. It is thus wonderfully refreshing to see him overcome his cultivated image. Completely stripped of all the props and trappings that made him the super star : the brood, the sophistication, the anger, the baritone, are all not hidden but buried in the immensely likable 80 year old looking teenager Aura. He lives every moment of the script and ensures that the film does not go over board with tears. In the final moments it sure touches your heart but on the way to the climax, he ensures that you enjoy the character and his wit.
Vidya Balan is not just awesome but in the pre interval script effortlessly and with class reaches out to you like no contemporary actress – save Dimple could have. This is truly a compelling performance and a reiteration that our cinema will continue to part with millions without making the difference between the wheat and chaff. Porcelain vulnerability and internal strength make a classic combination. Take your hat off but slowly – even that may hurt here. As an interpretation, this is one that should stand alongside some of the best. It is a reminder that art is about subtlety. It is about depth. It is also about reaching within, to reach beyond. For an actress who has for long attracted flak for her sense f dress, she turns out gorgeous and her dress designer has got her a wonderful wardrobe of cottons. As a single mother who not only has the trauma of a child with a fatal genetic disorder, but a past catching up her she brings great credibility and respectability to the role. This far, it is truly her best film.
Abhishek Bachchan yet again points out that he is best doing challenging roles. It is good to see him in roles outside of the clichéd. He plays the new generation politician, trained in management and who is focused to ensure that the electorate and does it with sincerity. There are some who believe that the script needlessly meanders into politics etc. I beg to differ. Director Balik obviously moves a little away from the main narrative to ensure some balance and space for the audience. Abhishek thus carries the onus of having to keep interest in the goings on and this he does with great success .
Technically if the stars- sorry the actors, add great credibility, the technical support is just as good. Take Illayaraja”s musical score. It has class and concern written all over. Take for instance the brilliant cinematography of Sriram and you realise that the team has truly invested its soul into the film
Paa is a wonderfully scripted film of a differently placed person. It is neither a sympathy seeking nor a sermon giving indulgence. In contrast, it is an attempt (very successful one at that!) at telling a simple tale of a victim of progeria – a genetic disorder. Auro grows up and lives with his single parent Vidya (Vidya Balan), a practising gynaecologist and his grandma Bum (Arundhati Naag). He goes to a school, where children are normal and not vicious as ever so often portrayed in our cinema. The school and his friends specially Vishnu (Pratik Katare) deal with him in a near normal way. The Chief Guest at a school function Amol Atre (Abhishek Bachchan) takes a liking for him. Auro wants to see the Rashtrapathi Bhavan in the Capital. Amol makes the promise, but forgets about it, in the midst of his life as a politician fighting for better living conditions of his electorate.
Push back a little and Vidya a student at Oxford meets up with Amol a management student. They begin to see each other. Vidya becomes pregnant. When Amol perceives the arrival of the stork as a career hindrance, she walks out of the relationship. She takes up the challenge of rearing the progeria affected child without Amol. She does not want to be a hiccup to the political dreams of Amol.. With dignity in tact she just disappears from his life ( a watershed role in our cinema of a self respecting woman) No tears, no wailing no complaints. She simply moves on. Tragedy shadows her in the form of the son being affected by progeria. She fights it wonderfully. She is often tempted to tell her son that Amol is his father. Amol and Auro spend a day together in Delhi and return. A chanced reference to the expression: Bastard, accelerates the coming together of the parents in a smooth finish.
Watch the film for Bachchan. Amazing. Even by his standards this is truly a riveting performance. Stripped completely of his mannerisms of decades, he reaches out. He has been completely ‘deamitabhised’ and from there he delivers. It is a stand out performance and something that is to be seen in the context of Bollywood cinema where nothing of this kind is to be seen any where near abouts.
Finally the film is truly a Director’s achievement. From its conception to its execution, you can see the sensitivity. The tragic tale appeals more than gnaws. Do not miss the smart one liners and repartee and you will understand that you are seeing a truly class film- a rare experience. Those who thought that Cheeni Kum was a good film, would enjoy this even better. Paa in a context is more Maa thanks largely for Vidya Balan.
It is not a film you must see. It is a film you must see again.
L.Ravichander.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
De Dhana Dan: Starring Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty Katrina Kaif, Sameera Reddy, Paresh Rawal Direction: Priyadarshan
Got to watching this Indian film at a multiplex theatre one very cold night in New York. If nothing, the film was worth watching for the decibel levels of the sound system in the theatre and the behaviour of the crowd. We often talk about how are film makers do not make the grade? Do we as an audience? Perhaps our cinema is loud because our audience is such. Yet another strange factor is that if the same predominant Indian audience can be so well behaved outside of the country where is it lost within?
Priyadarshan has a signature of his own and the choice therefore is that of the viewer. Caveat Emptor. The yardsticks of evaluating a humour piece are different. Good comedies with a sense of humour , more than just the slap stick variety have eluded our cinema surely in more recent times when our cinema has left the subtle and has chosen the loud as its defining style..
Chaos, the illogical, speed are factors that energize a Priyadarshan script. He has surely made for himself a place that is very different from the one cultivated with style and concern by the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chaterjee.. Like many of his earlier films he sets out to present a laugh riot. This is a riot truly..
De Dhana Dhan gives aplenty . Good or bad is very individualistic in perception. One golden rule to comedy is brevity. This is a great challenge to our cinema. Schooled in the belief that a film should necessarily last over two hours , directors tend to go overboard and this could defeat the purpose of a well meaning comedy. Resultantly the audience begins to stop laughing at the gags. They begin to ask questions and look for logic. This can be counter-productive in the space of comedy cinema.
The narrative is people and incident packed. The story revolves around two friends Nithin (Akshay Kumar) and Ram Mishra (Sunil Shetty) who are no gooders. Both are hoping that fortune would walk in through the door. Nithin’s shrew and master (Archana Puran Singh) makes life difficult and his love life with Anjali(Katrina) is a prey to the vile of her dad (Tinu Anand) Ram’s girl Manpreet (Sameera) is scared that Dad (Manoj Joshi) would have her married to some money bag. Out there to marry her is Nommy Chada (Chunkey Pandey) the son of Chada (Paresh Rawal) who too is looking for the shortest route to wealth.
For different reasons all of them land up In a hotel Pan Pacific . A motley collection of people which includes Misa Heerapurwala (a lecherous Shakti Kapoor) the girl he hops to wed or bed Anu chopra ( Neha Dhupiya), a former Ambassador Lamba (Vikram Gokhale) a supari killer Kala (Johnny Lever) Mamu (Asrani) and Inspector Pereira (Sharat Saxena) . Chaos rules with crisis of identity or purpose and everyone is trying to conceal or reveal something. This part of the script has tremendous potential for a hilarious finish and you are hoping that it is going to be just great. Then comes the climax which literally takes you off guard.
A film like this does not give too much time or space to an actor to leave an impression. With characters walking in and out they are given time just to deliver and not leave an impression. However from among those who have some time it is the Priyadarshan favorites : Akshay and Paresh who get the best lines. Unfortunately when most things are happening, the script does not need Akshay and in a way this is the undoing of the narrative. Paresh’s timing and Akshay’s energy contribute to the film. The rest of the cast does nothing to leave any impression and this includes the inform Katrina and the dazed Sameera.
The film is recommended for the simple reason that beyond a point a laugh does not harm, even if you get the lurking feeling that the director too is having it at your expense.
L.Ravichander
Got to watching this Indian film at a multiplex theatre one very cold night in New York. If nothing, the film was worth watching for the decibel levels of the sound system in the theatre and the behaviour of the crowd. We often talk about how are film makers do not make the grade? Do we as an audience? Perhaps our cinema is loud because our audience is such. Yet another strange factor is that if the same predominant Indian audience can be so well behaved outside of the country where is it lost within?
Priyadarshan has a signature of his own and the choice therefore is that of the viewer. Caveat Emptor. The yardsticks of evaluating a humour piece are different. Good comedies with a sense of humour , more than just the slap stick variety have eluded our cinema surely in more recent times when our cinema has left the subtle and has chosen the loud as its defining style..
Chaos, the illogical, speed are factors that energize a Priyadarshan script. He has surely made for himself a place that is very different from the one cultivated with style and concern by the likes of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chaterjee.. Like many of his earlier films he sets out to present a laugh riot. This is a riot truly..
De Dhana Dhan gives aplenty . Good or bad is very individualistic in perception. One golden rule to comedy is brevity. This is a great challenge to our cinema. Schooled in the belief that a film should necessarily last over two hours , directors tend to go overboard and this could defeat the purpose of a well meaning comedy. Resultantly the audience begins to stop laughing at the gags. They begin to ask questions and look for logic. This can be counter-productive in the space of comedy cinema.
The narrative is people and incident packed. The story revolves around two friends Nithin (Akshay Kumar) and Ram Mishra (Sunil Shetty) who are no gooders. Both are hoping that fortune would walk in through the door. Nithin’s shrew and master (Archana Puran Singh) makes life difficult and his love life with Anjali(Katrina) is a prey to the vile of her dad (Tinu Anand) Ram’s girl Manpreet (Sameera) is scared that Dad (Manoj Joshi) would have her married to some money bag. Out there to marry her is Nommy Chada (Chunkey Pandey) the son of Chada (Paresh Rawal) who too is looking for the shortest route to wealth.
For different reasons all of them land up In a hotel Pan Pacific . A motley collection of people which includes Misa Heerapurwala (a lecherous Shakti Kapoor) the girl he hops to wed or bed Anu chopra ( Neha Dhupiya), a former Ambassador Lamba (Vikram Gokhale) a supari killer Kala (Johnny Lever) Mamu (Asrani) and Inspector Pereira (Sharat Saxena) . Chaos rules with crisis of identity or purpose and everyone is trying to conceal or reveal something. This part of the script has tremendous potential for a hilarious finish and you are hoping that it is going to be just great. Then comes the climax which literally takes you off guard.
A film like this does not give too much time or space to an actor to leave an impression. With characters walking in and out they are given time just to deliver and not leave an impression. However from among those who have some time it is the Priyadarshan favorites : Akshay and Paresh who get the best lines. Unfortunately when most things are happening, the script does not need Akshay and in a way this is the undoing of the narrative. Paresh’s timing and Akshay’s energy contribute to the film. The rest of the cast does nothing to leave any impression and this includes the inform Katrina and the dazed Sameera.
The film is recommended for the simple reason that beyond a point a laugh does not harm, even if you get the lurking feeling that the director too is having it at your expense.
L.Ravichander
Monday, November 23, 2009
Kurbaan :Worth watching.
Starring Kareena kapoor Saif Ali Khan and vivek Oberoi.
Debutant director Rensil D’ Souza may have chosen the Karan Johar production house for his launch pad but he makes a film different from the Kuch Kuch Hota hai genre. Largely the film could be seen as yet another justification of terrorism in a world which has lensed itself with prejudice. On both sides of this prejudice are persons with baggage and the innocent pay the price. Within the precincts of ‘our – cinema’, the debutant Director makes an interesting essay. Tight and sleek, the film is watchable more than really talkable. The film is worth watching and if nothing for some riveting and sincere performances coming specially from the support cast and some excellent technical support. The bane of the film, as with our cinema, is the climax where you are let down. It gets chaotic, simplistic, and bloody without conviction.
The story line revolves round Professor Ehsan Khan (Saif) who woos colleague Professor Avantika (Kareena) a visiting NRI and marries her. The young Professor couple go to U.S. and establish a home in an ‘Indian neighbourhood’. Soon they run into Bhaijaan (Om Puri) and Nasreen Aapa (Kirron Kher). A instance of domestic violence in the neighbourhood raises the first questions of suspicion and as she digs she is confronted with the can of worms. A trifle too late and now pregnant too, the world around her crashes.
There is also Rehana (Dia Mirza) a tele journalist who is a victim of a bomb blast. Rehana’s fiancée colleague Riaz Masood (Vivek Oberoi) swears to identify the killers and thus runs into Avantika.
The FBI is just closing into the killer group, even as the fatal plan to send the final instalment of the message of death, disaster and hatred is being executed with ruthless accuracy. The suicide bombers are out their hunting for their headlines and victims and taking their last tube rides. Innocent victims blissfully unaware of lurking death embrace the killers in their midst. The sacrifice is on…… Kurbaan.
The dialogue by Anurag Kashyap and Niranjan Iyengar is crisp. Each of the characters speak even the most ordinary of sentences with a certain accuracy that is a delicate match of the rhetorical and the normal. There lies the skill. The cinematography is good. Debutant Director Rensil D’Souza may have the backing of Rich Bag Karan Johar, but to his credit, it be said that the film is focused, organised and clear. Fortunately this is outside the mould of “Kuch-Kuch. Kabhi Kabhi” school of cinema.
.Om Puri looks a trifle jaded. Kirron Kher delivers. Vivek Oberoi is hardly given the space that would have made the difference for him. Kareena is gorgeous. Her performance has shades of poor, good, average and brilliant. In the looks department – she reigns but while acting, there are moments of synthetic execution. Saif lives his role. In fact he executes the task with arithmetic precision and holds the script together with his understanding of the psyche of a man who has been wronged and has since chosen to be the avenger. Truly a noteworthy performance.
Can terrorism succeed? Is it the answer if not the only answer to Oil Imperialism? How long, just how long will the innocent be the helpless victims of the war of the powerful and the deceiving wicked? How near is the doom day given the level of terrorism? Is the queer match of technology and hatred pushing mankind towards the fatal button? Kurbaan is perhaps a step and albeit a seemingly justified one towards Armageddon.
Coming in the light of New York it raises the question as to whether the world has justified its conclusions on terrorists and therefore cannot find a solution to it. As reams get written and reels done up, blasts, killings and death rules. Blood yet again is scripting out times. The message that hatred cannot win causes seems too naive. Yet there can be no human problem that cannot have a human solution.
Or, for humanity is terrorism the last layer in the Pandora’s box?
LRC
Starring Kareena kapoor Saif Ali Khan and vivek Oberoi.
Debutant director Rensil D’ Souza may have chosen the Karan Johar production house for his launch pad but he makes a film different from the Kuch Kuch Hota hai genre. Largely the film could be seen as yet another justification of terrorism in a world which has lensed itself with prejudice. On both sides of this prejudice are persons with baggage and the innocent pay the price. Within the precincts of ‘our – cinema’, the debutant Director makes an interesting essay. Tight and sleek, the film is watchable more than really talkable. The film is worth watching and if nothing for some riveting and sincere performances coming specially from the support cast and some excellent technical support. The bane of the film, as with our cinema, is the climax where you are let down. It gets chaotic, simplistic, and bloody without conviction.
The story line revolves round Professor Ehsan Khan (Saif) who woos colleague Professor Avantika (Kareena) a visiting NRI and marries her. The young Professor couple go to U.S. and establish a home in an ‘Indian neighbourhood’. Soon they run into Bhaijaan (Om Puri) and Nasreen Aapa (Kirron Kher). A instance of domestic violence in the neighbourhood raises the first questions of suspicion and as she digs she is confronted with the can of worms. A trifle too late and now pregnant too, the world around her crashes.
There is also Rehana (Dia Mirza) a tele journalist who is a victim of a bomb blast. Rehana’s fiancée colleague Riaz Masood (Vivek Oberoi) swears to identify the killers and thus runs into Avantika.
The FBI is just closing into the killer group, even as the fatal plan to send the final instalment of the message of death, disaster and hatred is being executed with ruthless accuracy. The suicide bombers are out their hunting for their headlines and victims and taking their last tube rides. Innocent victims blissfully unaware of lurking death embrace the killers in their midst. The sacrifice is on…… Kurbaan.
The dialogue by Anurag Kashyap and Niranjan Iyengar is crisp. Each of the characters speak even the most ordinary of sentences with a certain accuracy that is a delicate match of the rhetorical and the normal. There lies the skill. The cinematography is good. Debutant Director Rensil D’Souza may have the backing of Rich Bag Karan Johar, but to his credit, it be said that the film is focused, organised and clear. Fortunately this is outside the mould of “Kuch-Kuch. Kabhi Kabhi” school of cinema.
.Om Puri looks a trifle jaded. Kirron Kher delivers. Vivek Oberoi is hardly given the space that would have made the difference for him. Kareena is gorgeous. Her performance has shades of poor, good, average and brilliant. In the looks department – she reigns but while acting, there are moments of synthetic execution. Saif lives his role. In fact he executes the task with arithmetic precision and holds the script together with his understanding of the psyche of a man who has been wronged and has since chosen to be the avenger. Truly a noteworthy performance.
Can terrorism succeed? Is it the answer if not the only answer to Oil Imperialism? How long, just how long will the innocent be the helpless victims of the war of the powerful and the deceiving wicked? How near is the doom day given the level of terrorism? Is the queer match of technology and hatred pushing mankind towards the fatal button? Kurbaan is perhaps a step and albeit a seemingly justified one towards Armageddon.
Coming in the light of New York it raises the question as to whether the world has justified its conclusions on terrorists and therefore cannot find a solution to it. As reams get written and reels done up, blasts, killings and death rules. Blood yet again is scripting out times. The message that hatred cannot win causes seems too naive. Yet there can be no human problem that cannot have a human solution.
Or, for humanity is terrorism the last layer in the Pandora’s box?
LRC
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Tum Mile
Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Soha Ali Khan, VJ Mantra
The movie is rich with moments. It is a layered story of the protagonists who meet, depart and meet again and are given the luxury to re-examine their decisions.. Opportunity strikes twice and in the context of cinematic fiction the second time the players make no mistake. Director Kunal Deshmukh works in the raw frame work of a Bhatt film.
To med the film is a revisit to Basu Bhattacharya’s Aavishkar. The film maker as part of his marital triology win laurels with this Rajesh Sharmila film. The protagonists visit three years of their married life where familiarity breeds contempt.. There the film maker took the times of the middle class family and drew around it the romance and reality of the protagonists. Times have changed. The viewer has already seen the likes of Love Aaj Kal and Wake Up Sid- urban youngsters living together without keeping matrimony as part of the larger scheme.
Here too the protagonists have met up and have moved in together. She is rich, organised and a control freak. He, a freak who detests control, has only failure and rejection and is poor. The narrative however starts with the two walking down memory lanes. Sanjana (Soha Ali Khan) and Akshay (Emraan Hashmi) carry the baggage of the joint past. Even the road to their common past is different. One tries the façade of indifference, one stoic silence. One is willing to talk of the forgotten past (tongue in cheek), one refuses to reach the buried unforgotten past (tongue tied)
Sanjana is the rich daughter of an absentee ‘dad’ who has compensated his absence with wealth. Akshay is a poor struggling artist with middle class parents back home . He who wears his angst on his sleeve. At art school to learn painting he is already a guy with a strong opinion. Like the fictional Howard Rooke (the standard rebellion in the world of Self Believers) he refuses to compromise or even hold back his scathing opinions. The relationship is revealed in short stints from the past. The two share a very warm relationship – but somewhere the pressures of life creeps into the emotional space. Typical of the times, again, they have their ups and downs . Sanjana volunteers assistance, Akshay recoils. She probes, he cocoons. In the ocean of his rejection, there is simply no possibility of sharing his barren space of defeat. She is eager to take on the relationship. He is the hesitant recuse. At every stage she seeks the warmth of bondage, he the calm of recluse.
Akshaye is the artist who craves for success- and on his own terms. He cannot take rejection( can anybody?) He suffers in silence and even in company draws his invincible circle. The non penetrable area of his emotions challenge Sanjana who cannot perceive the emotional problems of her love form the stance of her luxury based life. At one stage the embers of the initial romance disintegrate into the bitter quad of mismatched expectations. They drift, move their respective paths and meet again.
This time it is not the picturesque Cape Town. It is Mumbai on its worst evening – July 26, 2k5, when rain played villain. The compulsions of the situation and the now successful protagonist is willing to take on the relationship... The high voltage story of expectations, failures, frustrations, and love suddenly is swept by the current of the Mumbai night. The script shifts pace, direction and content and leads to the death of friend (Mantra) who is electrocuted. Shocked the prime players now reach out...
Apart from its semblances to a few contemporary films, it forces you to take a compare with Aavishkar (Rajesh-Sharmila¬ --Basu Bhatacharya) classic) in a different time zone. While smooch specialist Emraan looks the role he also adds a high degree of credibility with an accurate mix of simmering anger and frustration. Good performance.. It is however Soha who really steals the show. As an actress she grows with the character and justifies the rich tradition she inherits in Aavishkar. Soha now gives it a classic new interpretation. It is a stand out performance and arguably one of the best this year. Full credit to director Kunal Deshmukh for not loosing focus. The many layers of human relationships in contrasting persona is narrated with a soreness that is a signature product of the Bhatt factory.. May not be a wonderful movie. It is a statement making moving film.
It is interestingly a film that eschews moral stances and delves with life in a true world. The later moments of the film when the Mumbai night of storm and hijack the narration, do not have the same credibility that the relation phase of the screenplay has. Even here, the warm chemistry between the stars nearly makes up for the other short comings. Even the chemistry between the sophisticated Soha and the notorious Emraan has a novelty that makes it less filmy. The film is interesting. Intriguing.
L.Ravichander
The movie is rich with moments. It is a layered story of the protagonists who meet, depart and meet again and are given the luxury to re-examine their decisions.. Opportunity strikes twice and in the context of cinematic fiction the second time the players make no mistake. Director Kunal Deshmukh works in the raw frame work of a Bhatt film.
To med the film is a revisit to Basu Bhattacharya’s Aavishkar. The film maker as part of his marital triology win laurels with this Rajesh Sharmila film. The protagonists visit three years of their married life where familiarity breeds contempt.. There the film maker took the times of the middle class family and drew around it the romance and reality of the protagonists. Times have changed. The viewer has already seen the likes of Love Aaj Kal and Wake Up Sid- urban youngsters living together without keeping matrimony as part of the larger scheme.
Here too the protagonists have met up and have moved in together. She is rich, organised and a control freak. He, a freak who detests control, has only failure and rejection and is poor. The narrative however starts with the two walking down memory lanes. Sanjana (Soha Ali Khan) and Akshay (Emraan Hashmi) carry the baggage of the joint past. Even the road to their common past is different. One tries the façade of indifference, one stoic silence. One is willing to talk of the forgotten past (tongue in cheek), one refuses to reach the buried unforgotten past (tongue tied)
Sanjana is the rich daughter of an absentee ‘dad’ who has compensated his absence with wealth. Akshay is a poor struggling artist with middle class parents back home . He who wears his angst on his sleeve. At art school to learn painting he is already a guy with a strong opinion. Like the fictional Howard Rooke (the standard rebellion in the world of Self Believers) he refuses to compromise or even hold back his scathing opinions. The relationship is revealed in short stints from the past. The two share a very warm relationship – but somewhere the pressures of life creeps into the emotional space. Typical of the times, again, they have their ups and downs . Sanjana volunteers assistance, Akshay recoils. She probes, he cocoons. In the ocean of his rejection, there is simply no possibility of sharing his barren space of defeat. She is eager to take on the relationship. He is the hesitant recuse. At every stage she seeks the warmth of bondage, he the calm of recluse.
Akshaye is the artist who craves for success- and on his own terms. He cannot take rejection( can anybody?) He suffers in silence and even in company draws his invincible circle. The non penetrable area of his emotions challenge Sanjana who cannot perceive the emotional problems of her love form the stance of her luxury based life. At one stage the embers of the initial romance disintegrate into the bitter quad of mismatched expectations. They drift, move their respective paths and meet again.
This time it is not the picturesque Cape Town. It is Mumbai on its worst evening – July 26, 2k5, when rain played villain. The compulsions of the situation and the now successful protagonist is willing to take on the relationship... The high voltage story of expectations, failures, frustrations, and love suddenly is swept by the current of the Mumbai night. The script shifts pace, direction and content and leads to the death of friend (Mantra) who is electrocuted. Shocked the prime players now reach out...
Apart from its semblances to a few contemporary films, it forces you to take a compare with Aavishkar (Rajesh-Sharmila¬ --Basu Bhatacharya) classic) in a different time zone. While smooch specialist Emraan looks the role he also adds a high degree of credibility with an accurate mix of simmering anger and frustration. Good performance.. It is however Soha who really steals the show. As an actress she grows with the character and justifies the rich tradition she inherits in Aavishkar. Soha now gives it a classic new interpretation. It is a stand out performance and arguably one of the best this year. Full credit to director Kunal Deshmukh for not loosing focus. The many layers of human relationships in contrasting persona is narrated with a soreness that is a signature product of the Bhatt factory.. May not be a wonderful movie. It is a statement making moving film.
It is interestingly a film that eschews moral stances and delves with life in a true world. The later moments of the film when the Mumbai night of storm and hijack the narration, do not have the same credibility that the relation phase of the screenplay has. Even here, the warm chemistry between the stars nearly makes up for the other short comings. Even the chemistry between the sophisticated Soha and the notorious Emraan has a novelty that makes it less filmy. The film is interesting. Intriguing.
L.Ravichander
Friday, November 6, 2009
Community bias!!
The label of our community is the ticket of social acceptance . The most learned of us, do not give up our tale telling names . In the centre of many a metro, we talk of our ‘social connectivity’ in the context of our birth signs. We place ourselves in the context of our birth- the first biological accident life is victim to. We proceed to brick our structure on considerations of caste and class. We play the card brazenly, shamelessly and often to our immediate advantage.
Our pretensions of social catholicity are driven by a cockeyed vision. For instance when we choose a person belonging to the under privileged section to a high public office, we first choose the community, then the person and then go about claiming the egalitarian nature of our social order. Rarely do men of great talent make it on their own and then throw the shadow of their great achievement on the community they belong to.
I am saying this in the context of a recent development in the state High Court. A advocate questioned the ongoing process of selection of four persons to the constitutional office of High court judges. I am not party to the content of his affidavit, since the writ petition is yet to be admitted. The counsel stood up opposing the constitution of the bench that was hearing the matter. He pointed out that one of the judges had the ‘proximity’ disadvantage of hearing the lis. In short he said : I do not believe that you will be unbiased in the course of deciding the constitutional issues raised herein. The judge recused form hearing the matter. The other judge did not qualify to any aspect of ‘proximity’ and wondered if he too gained the lack of confidence of the lawyer petitioner and oh behold! he answered in the affirmative.
Vasireddy Prabhunath the lawyer voicing concerns of the institution stopped short of dubbing the judge as incompetent to deal with a matter that deals with a person of his own community!! If any proof of the unsaid allegation was needed it came screaming in the packed court when the lawyer “with out fear or favour” snapped at the Advocate General and said he too was ‘part of the group” It is known that the few things the judge and the Advocate General share are their height, love for language, Shakespeare and their community. Surely since height love for the Bard are not the questionable disqualifications it is not difficult to conclude the alleged disqualification.
In the corridors of the hallowed High Court , we all talk of communities. Tragic, that at the sanctum sanatorium of Articles 14, 15, and 16, the high priests and the vendors talk this language. Now it out in the open. To quote form a gem that fell in the midst of the embarrassment: “ We live in perilous times where on occasion passion dominates reason. “
WE THE PEOPLE gave to ourselves this great nation. We the people, in the historic voyage understood the disadvantages of a society divided on community and other similar denominators. We the people in the midst of a bloody birth inherited the sanity to ensure against such unhygienic denominators. Today as we head to the Shashtiabdipoorthi- the sixtieth birth day of the paramount parchment we return to the roots. “Let it be in the open” a wise man said. A complicated adult world that sanctions adultery still holds back its approval for the act at a public place. We in a way have liberalised this sensitivity.
Time to think. It is easy to blame my colleague Prabhunath. That will be the task begun. The other aspect is the more challenging one!!.
LRC.
The label of our community is the ticket of social acceptance . The most learned of us, do not give up our tale telling names . In the centre of many a metro, we talk of our ‘social connectivity’ in the context of our birth signs. We place ourselves in the context of our birth- the first biological accident life is victim to. We proceed to brick our structure on considerations of caste and class. We play the card brazenly, shamelessly and often to our immediate advantage.
Our pretensions of social catholicity are driven by a cockeyed vision. For instance when we choose a person belonging to the under privileged section to a high public office, we first choose the community, then the person and then go about claiming the egalitarian nature of our social order. Rarely do men of great talent make it on their own and then throw the shadow of their great achievement on the community they belong to.
I am saying this in the context of a recent development in the state High Court. A advocate questioned the ongoing process of selection of four persons to the constitutional office of High court judges. I am not party to the content of his affidavit, since the writ petition is yet to be admitted. The counsel stood up opposing the constitution of the bench that was hearing the matter. He pointed out that one of the judges had the ‘proximity’ disadvantage of hearing the lis. In short he said : I do not believe that you will be unbiased in the course of deciding the constitutional issues raised herein. The judge recused form hearing the matter. The other judge did not qualify to any aspect of ‘proximity’ and wondered if he too gained the lack of confidence of the lawyer petitioner and oh behold! he answered in the affirmative.
Vasireddy Prabhunath the lawyer voicing concerns of the institution stopped short of dubbing the judge as incompetent to deal with a matter that deals with a person of his own community!! If any proof of the unsaid allegation was needed it came screaming in the packed court when the lawyer “with out fear or favour” snapped at the Advocate General and said he too was ‘part of the group” It is known that the few things the judge and the Advocate General share are their height, love for language, Shakespeare and their community. Surely since height love for the Bard are not the questionable disqualifications it is not difficult to conclude the alleged disqualification.
In the corridors of the hallowed High Court , we all talk of communities. Tragic, that at the sanctum sanatorium of Articles 14, 15, and 16, the high priests and the vendors talk this language. Now it out in the open. To quote form a gem that fell in the midst of the embarrassment: “ We live in perilous times where on occasion passion dominates reason. “
WE THE PEOPLE gave to ourselves this great nation. We the people, in the historic voyage understood the disadvantages of a society divided on community and other similar denominators. We the people in the midst of a bloody birth inherited the sanity to ensure against such unhygienic denominators. Today as we head to the Shashtiabdipoorthi- the sixtieth birth day of the paramount parchment we return to the roots. “Let it be in the open” a wise man said. A complicated adult world that sanctions adultery still holds back its approval for the act at a public place. We in a way have liberalised this sensitivity.
Time to think. It is easy to blame my colleague Prabhunath. That will be the task begun. The other aspect is the more challenging one!!.
LRC.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Acid(sic) Factory:Acid Factory: Starring Fardeen Khan, Dino Morea, Aftab Shivdasani, Manoj Bajpai, Danny, Irfan Khan, Dia Mirza. Direction: Suparn Varma.
Tried following the film in the midst of the ongoing solitaire I was playing. The film did not leave me alone with the game. No, it was the content that was seeking attention. It was the high decibel level of the narration. We have had this assembly of dudes, all bad guys and the like before. This time too we have an assembly of non actors who try hard and live up to their reputation as actors. Even actors with the reputation hf having delivered before seem victims of the contagious bug of the majority non actor assemblage.
Yet another problem with the film is the Black hang over. Can we simply not leave it behind? The Kaante style is all too visible and surely unimpressive. Brevity is its most obvious virtue. Dictated by the commerce of the multiplex the film ends just when you are about to walk up and out. For some strange reason all men in the film are dressed in black and wear black always. Save Danny and Irfan in a scene, they are all dressed in black and acting like men who have lost their moorings without a cause. They are all inhabitants of this middle of nowhere place where no one thinks straight or behaves properly The prime performers in the script seem like they are picked from a school of the mentally mal adjusted. Fair enough for a subject. However the treatment is not at that level . It is restricted to the physical. Not even truly physical. It is brazenly dedicated to violence, destruction, destroying cars by the thousands, shooting as if it were a fair sport.
The story and screenplay expends most of its time in shoot outs and automobile destruction, and that is when guys recovering from an acid caused spell of amentia. All style and no soul, the tale moves form one brisk action scene to another, labelled by the weeks, and depicts destruction at its virulent perverse best. If this be entertainment then watch and savour the smoke and gas in the name of acid. There is strangely more destruction outside the acid factory than in it. So disjointed is the narration that it takes you a while to get to grips with the happenings in the script. So consistent is the nature of the narration that you are left with no choice but to assume that it is intended. The cinematography (Sahil Kapoor) ands to the bedlam.
Disconnected persons wake up in a factory effected by the leakage of some acid that effects the mind. The guys: Fardeen, Dino, Aftab, Manoj, Danny suffer from amentia but a telephone call ensures they know that the group has a person who is about to be killed and a guy whose task is to kill. Trust is absent in this Acid Factory with everyone doubting the other and somewhere himself. Interesting base for a tale and am told that the brilliant idea has since been borrowed. To tell the remaining part of the story(!!!) is to play spoil sport.
The problem with the film is its style. Every thing from its violence to its script, from its screenplay to its action is bathed in dark hues as are the characters. So much has gone into making a style statement that nothing else remains. All gloss and no substance. None in the cast, and this includes the ever reliable Danny, put the script to credible levels. From moment one to zee you feel you are caught in a clueless mire of violence and caught up with a set of the bad boys – guns, babes, cars and destruction.
Chaos in Kaminey very recently told a language. It made a statement in the context of the theme. Perhaps Vishal Bharadwaj’s presence added a credibility and the critic was willing togive more credit. Here it stops at style . consequentially it falls flat. The movie begins with a helluva lot of promise but falls flat, too soon. The manner in which the characters regain their memory and the audience is pushed from the present to the past and brought back to the present is physically disturbing and lacks a flow that makes a film.
Like the characters in the film you feel struck by some alien force you are not able to handle and heave a sigh of relief in about an hour and a half. Even actors like Danny fail to carry conviction and deliver as if they are acid effected. Relief comes in the length of the film. Short and sweet, they say. Just short!!
L.Ravichander
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Watch Wake Up Sid for Ranbhir
Wake Up Sid Starring : Ranbhir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Supriya Pathak, Anupam Kher , Namit Das, Shika Talsania, Rahul Khanna. Direction: Ayan Mukherjee.
Debutant director Ayan Mukerjee offers a very confident tale and takes the bow in style. The debut , coming as it does under Karan Johar’s debut is bound to draw comparisons with the said film maker and even more with Farhan Akthar’s debut making yuppie tale Dil Chahta Hai. The genre style and thematic content is contemporaneous and the tale is told with the feel good factor that instantly attracts the audience to the multiplex. The work show cases the skill sets of the director who in keeping with the production house backing him places a premium on style.
Two important things need to talked about. First the heterodox pairing of Ranbhir and Konkona Sen Sharma. It must be said to most part of the film their relationship bordes on the platonic and yet the simmering of relationship is wonderfully crafted by the two. It is a moot question as to whether it is the talent of the players, the imagination of the director or the sheer chemistry of the stars that gives you a very polished final product. Suffice it is to state that they make a very nice if contrasting pair. As Konkona walks into commercial cinema she surely needs better advice on her sense of dress. After disappointing outings in Laga Chunuri Mein Daag and Aja Nachale, she is called upon for lesser sacrifices and the camera works on her with greater care than before. Yet her presentation needs attention.
The other aspect that needs special mention is the performance of Ranbhir Kapoor. This year surely he will not walk away with awards for Wake Up Sid. Too early in his career, but the fear that he would fall into a category like his dad is tragic. Rishi Kapoor is one of finest and under rated actors. Make a list of great actors and most film pundits will overlook this actor who throughout his career was given poor roles and he delivered them all with great sincerity and merit. We often confuse a performance with a role and thus every great role is seen as a great performance. I very sincerely hope that this dynamite of talent does not get lost in the vile world of Bollywood. True to the title Sid not only wakes up from his slumber but delivers the slug in true cinematic (and over simplistic!) style. He gets into the skin of the role with ease and shows that dramatics is often a needless virtue in this medium of entertainment. He states- neither under nor over and this is a quality to be marked and awarded. Our cinema does not notice such nuances. I hope this will not work to the commercial peril of this young and promising actor.
Wake Up Sid is about Ritchi Rich Sid who shops and lives life king size on dad’s wealth. While he is willing to use Dad (Anupam Kher) as his credit card he is not prepared to credit dad with too much. He moves into the designer flat of new fried Aiysha (KonKona) who unlike him wants her wealth, her space, her money etc. While the two start living together in this single bed room apartment, their Chemistry for a change does not get the physical. Brewing within their emotional maze however are questions and sentiments that would explode some time. As a film buff we know the inevitable and so it is the route that engages us.
Debutant director Ayan Mukerjee offers a very confident tale and takes the bow in style. The debut , coming as it does under Karan Johar’s debut is bound to draw comparisons with the said film maker and even more with Farhan Akthar’s debut making yuppie tale Dil Chahta Hai. The genre style and thematic content is contemporaneous and the tale is told with the feel good factor that instantly attracts the audience to the multiplex. The work show cases the skill sets of the director who in keeping with the production house backing him places a premium on style.
Two important things need to talked about. First the heterodox pairing of Ranbhir and Konkona Sen Sharma. It must be said to most part of the film their relationship bordes on the platonic and yet the simmering of relationship is wonderfully crafted by the two. It is a moot question as to whether it is the talent of the players, the imagination of the director or the sheer chemistry of the stars that gives you a very polished final product. Suffice it is to state that they make a very nice if contrasting pair. As Konkona walks into commercial cinema she surely needs better advice on her sense of dress. After disappointing outings in Laga Chunuri Mein Daag and Aja Nachale, she is called upon for lesser sacrifices and the camera works on her with greater care than before. Yet her presentation needs attention.
The other aspect that needs special mention is the performance of Ranbhir Kapoor. This year surely he will not walk away with awards for Wake Up Sid. Too early in his career, but the fear that he would fall into a category like his dad is tragic. Rishi Kapoor is one of finest and under rated actors. Make a list of great actors and most film pundits will overlook this actor who throughout his career was given poor roles and he delivered them all with great sincerity and merit. We often confuse a performance with a role and thus every great role is seen as a great performance. I very sincerely hope that this dynamite of talent does not get lost in the vile world of Bollywood. True to the title Sid not only wakes up from his slumber but delivers the slug in true cinematic (and over simplistic!) style. He gets into the skin of the role with ease and shows that dramatics is often a needless virtue in this medium of entertainment. He states- neither under nor over and this is a quality to be marked and awarded. Our cinema does not notice such nuances. I hope this will not work to the commercial peril of this young and promising actor.
Wake Up Sid is about Ritchi Rich Sid who shops and lives life king size on dad’s wealth. While he is willing to use Dad (Anupam Kher) as his credit card he is not prepared to credit dad with too much. He moves into the designer flat of new fried Aiysha (KonKona) who unlike him wants her wealth, her space, her money etc. While the two start living together in this single bed room apartment, their Chemistry for a change does not get the physical. Brewing within their emotional maze however are questions and sentiments that would explode some time. As a film buff we know the inevitable and so it is the route that engages us.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
A tribute to the living legend-lata
Lata turns 80:
No single artist in Hindi cinema has arguably a sweep as encompassing as Lata Mangeshkar. Her amazing stay in reckoning has almost defied time and age and surely been an exception to the Friday syndrome. When she said :Mujhe dar lagta hai, for Dimple in Bobby, for someone approximately 30 years her junior, she had made her musical statement (note?) of being eternal . Her magic continued further. She then went on to sing for the likes of Kajol, Priety Zinta and the like. Strictly speaking when she sang for Karishma Kapoor it was for third generation since she started. Lataji has been the voice of four generations and arguably the most melodious one at that.
To pick 20 gems from a crowded crown is near impossible. We all have our own favourites and our own reasons for picking them. Given here is mine.
Intaqam: “Aa jaane jaa”. To those who believe that Lata did not add enough oomph to her repotire, this is the final answer. LP chose Lata for this Helen number and Lata silenced her critics once and for all.
Mujhe Jeene Do: “Raat bhi hai kuch bheegi bheegi”. This Jaidev number was framed on Waheeda and a classic example of how Lata can start on a high note even a classic mujra and lets her voice match the dance with the grace that Waheeda brought to it.
Bees Saal Baad: Kahin deep jale kahin dil ” haunts you not just bees saal baad, but continues to haunt even after four decades. The song must be seen in the context of a time when even eco recording was not easy and still Lata gives it the eerie feel through the magic of her rendition.
Parakh : “O sajna”. Try singing this Salil Da number and you will realise how Lata can make simple a complex tune. She often had something special for Salil Chowdary as he held out the most complex tunes for her . This combination has added a whole genre of melodies to the archive.
1942-A Love Story: “Kuch naa kaho”. R.D. Burman’s swan song. The great master of melody could not have picked a more soul stirring tune to bid adieu and even less surprising his choice of Lata to add soul to the tune. She in turn gave it her all. Brilliance par excellence.
Taj Mahal: “Zulm-e Ulfat pe”. For the Marathi girl to sing songs in Urdu was a great challenge but beyond diction was a feel that was Lata which was stamped in this aching melody. Still early days in the career, she disproved the cynicism of Dilip Kumar and reiterated the confidence of Naushad.
Aakhri Khat: “Baharon mera jeevan bhi.” This Khayam-Lata combination places both artists in perspective. The music director has a great sense of melody and out classed himself in this experimental film for Chetan Anand. Lata seems to be taking advantage of her rare talent and talking to even Nature with this number.
Bahu Begum: Duniya kare sawal”. You can well do a list of greats of Lata for Senior Roshan. Lata was truly the melancholic voice of the tragedy queen Meena Kumari. The defiance in love, was then, an emotional revolt and who but Lata could have placed it in the precincts of sheer melody !! This song gets its place at the cost of kabhi to Milenge (Aarti), nagma o sher (ghazal) etc.
Hamrahi: “Man re tu hi bata”. Lata’s voice was a match to Shankar Jaikishan’s orchestra. The rich orchestra added value to the voice and vice versa. Rafi Saab handled the orchestra with his melody, Lata her versatility and the timbre in her voice. The combination added a rich texture to the credibility of commercial music. Shankar Jaikishen and Pancham thereafter were truly the trailblazers of great orchestra. Those who followed sure may have had more international success, but notice how the orchestra silences the singer and even the lyrics and places rhythm over everything else.
Manzil: “Rim Jhim gire sawan”. For sheer effervescence, this song has no match. Lata’s range in the Antara of this song is in perfect tandem with the monsoon and the music of the waves on a sea coast!! Don’t even attempt to compare this vibrant version with Kishore’s male sober version. They speak different energies, different takes . A true tandem
Bhabhi ki Choodiyan: “Jyoti kalash chalke”. This must go down as one of Lata’s most difficult renditions. Strong in its classic connectivity, Lata displays hidden places into which a song can move in, navigate and return to base.
9. Kohra: “Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat”. The Hemant-Lata combine gave us some haunting melodies. Look above (number 18). In the pre RGV era melody monopolised even thrillers. Whether it was Hemant’s music or Lata’s delivery, at this point in time is a mute question. This melody as a combination is a product to savour.
8. Baiju Bawra: “Mohe bhool gaye sawariya”. Even by the standards of such high quality combination (Lata-Naushad) it is difficult to get an encore of this level. This film with classical music had great numbers, great musicians and above all- Mohe bhool gaye sawariya. Unforgettable for any self respecting music lover.
Haqeeqat: “Zara si aahat”. Lata has confessedly reserved something special for her Madan bhai. The ghazal king touched words as if they were made of velvet. Notice how Lata leaves a quasi question: “Kahin yeh who to nahin” and you will understand Lata’s mastery over her art.
6. Baharon ke Sapne: “Kya jaano sajan”: Pancham decides to experiment the technology, decades later the salutation comes in Dil Vil Pyaar Waar. The one constant feature is the brilliance of RD Burman’s soul caressing melody and the perfect execution by Lata. There is as much perfection there as there is in a Ganguly cover drive. Grace all over!!
5. Rudali: “Dil hoom hoom kare”. No one could have played the musical hook better. Bhupen Hazarika surely threw at Lata a song that only she could have rendered with such vigour in the context of tragedy. This is not contradiction; this is art at its sublime; In short it is: Lata.
4. Amrapali: Tujhe yaad karte karte. This Shankar-Jaikishen album had four gems-each vying for a place in eternity. Eternity does not brook repetition. The sole ticket in the tough competing category is this high pitched melody. At the highest level of the song, Lata journeys with characteristic felicity of a colourful kite on a breezy morning transcending the costume beauty and height of Vyjantimala.
3. Annadata: Raton ke saye. This grossly underrated Salil Chowdary number points yet again to how Lata can pitch without scream. Also the complicated tune and beat leave you gasping as to how she makes it effortless. In case you hear this some day, even by accident, it is one song that will remain in the labyrinths of your psyche for days on end till another from another genre displaces the inertia of its being.
Anupama: “Kuch dil ne kaha”. Its four decades since I saw this black and white movie. Even as I recall with clarity, the dainty La-Tagore picking flowers on a mist filled morning, all coy and dimpled, Lata’s whiff of fresh air voice comes with photographic exactitude. What more can a song do than hum itself involuntarily on your lips, four decades after you first saw it on screen!
Lehkin: “Yara sili”: Is this Lata’s best? Can there be ‘a Lata’s best’?. In a tapestry so rich in texture, so vast in sweep, so timeless in creation can there be a singular precipice ? If there be one, is it one by popular choice or is there a science that can matrix the nuance of the art and place one piece at the top? We may debate thess issues, but in my dying moment, I would crave for a couple of minutes to listen to this melody in my last mortal moments. Like MS’s “Kurai Onrum Illai”, this is Lata’s signature. Only an avtaar of Saraswati can execute the complexity of such a piece with such clarity, poise, command and reach. Truly to be placed in the archive of all time great art.
LRC
No single artist in Hindi cinema has arguably a sweep as encompassing as Lata Mangeshkar. Her amazing stay in reckoning has almost defied time and age and surely been an exception to the Friday syndrome. When she said :Mujhe dar lagta hai, for Dimple in Bobby, for someone approximately 30 years her junior, she had made her musical statement (note?) of being eternal . Her magic continued further. She then went on to sing for the likes of Kajol, Priety Zinta and the like. Strictly speaking when she sang for Karishma Kapoor it was for third generation since she started. Lataji has been the voice of four generations and arguably the most melodious one at that.
To pick 20 gems from a crowded crown is near impossible. We all have our own favourites and our own reasons for picking them. Given here is mine.
Intaqam: “Aa jaane jaa”. To those who believe that Lata did not add enough oomph to her repotire, this is the final answer. LP chose Lata for this Helen number and Lata silenced her critics once and for all.
Mujhe Jeene Do: “Raat bhi hai kuch bheegi bheegi”. This Jaidev number was framed on Waheeda and a classic example of how Lata can start on a high note even a classic mujra and lets her voice match the dance with the grace that Waheeda brought to it.
Bees Saal Baad: Kahin deep jale kahin dil ” haunts you not just bees saal baad, but continues to haunt even after four decades. The song must be seen in the context of a time when even eco recording was not easy and still Lata gives it the eerie feel through the magic of her rendition.
Parakh : “O sajna”. Try singing this Salil Da number and you will realise how Lata can make simple a complex tune. She often had something special for Salil Chowdary as he held out the most complex tunes for her . This combination has added a whole genre of melodies to the archive.
1942-A Love Story: “Kuch naa kaho”. R.D. Burman’s swan song. The great master of melody could not have picked a more soul stirring tune to bid adieu and even less surprising his choice of Lata to add soul to the tune. She in turn gave it her all. Brilliance par excellence.
Taj Mahal: “Zulm-e Ulfat pe”. For the Marathi girl to sing songs in Urdu was a great challenge but beyond diction was a feel that was Lata which was stamped in this aching melody. Still early days in the career, she disproved the cynicism of Dilip Kumar and reiterated the confidence of Naushad.
Aakhri Khat: “Baharon mera jeevan bhi.” This Khayam-Lata combination places both artists in perspective. The music director has a great sense of melody and out classed himself in this experimental film for Chetan Anand. Lata seems to be taking advantage of her rare talent and talking to even Nature with this number.
Bahu Begum: Duniya kare sawal”. You can well do a list of greats of Lata for Senior Roshan. Lata was truly the melancholic voice of the tragedy queen Meena Kumari. The defiance in love, was then, an emotional revolt and who but Lata could have placed it in the precincts of sheer melody !! This song gets its place at the cost of kabhi to Milenge (Aarti), nagma o sher (ghazal) etc.
Hamrahi: “Man re tu hi bata”. Lata’s voice was a match to Shankar Jaikishan’s orchestra. The rich orchestra added value to the voice and vice versa. Rafi Saab handled the orchestra with his melody, Lata her versatility and the timbre in her voice. The combination added a rich texture to the credibility of commercial music. Shankar Jaikishen and Pancham thereafter were truly the trailblazers of great orchestra. Those who followed sure may have had more international success, but notice how the orchestra silences the singer and even the lyrics and places rhythm over everything else.
Manzil: “Rim Jhim gire sawan”. For sheer effervescence, this song has no match. Lata’s range in the Antara of this song is in perfect tandem with the monsoon and the music of the waves on a sea coast!! Don’t even attempt to compare this vibrant version with Kishore’s male sober version. They speak different energies, different takes . A true tandem
Bhabhi ki Choodiyan: “Jyoti kalash chalke”. This must go down as one of Lata’s most difficult renditions. Strong in its classic connectivity, Lata displays hidden places into which a song can move in, navigate and return to base.
9. Kohra: “Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat”. The Hemant-Lata combine gave us some haunting melodies. Look above (number 18). In the pre RGV era melody monopolised even thrillers. Whether it was Hemant’s music or Lata’s delivery, at this point in time is a mute question. This melody as a combination is a product to savour.
8. Baiju Bawra: “Mohe bhool gaye sawariya”. Even by the standards of such high quality combination (Lata-Naushad) it is difficult to get an encore of this level. This film with classical music had great numbers, great musicians and above all- Mohe bhool gaye sawariya. Unforgettable for any self respecting music lover.
Haqeeqat: “Zara si aahat”. Lata has confessedly reserved something special for her Madan bhai. The ghazal king touched words as if they were made of velvet. Notice how Lata leaves a quasi question: “Kahin yeh who to nahin” and you will understand Lata’s mastery over her art.
6. Baharon ke Sapne: “Kya jaano sajan”: Pancham decides to experiment the technology, decades later the salutation comes in Dil Vil Pyaar Waar. The one constant feature is the brilliance of RD Burman’s soul caressing melody and the perfect execution by Lata. There is as much perfection there as there is in a Ganguly cover drive. Grace all over!!
5. Rudali: “Dil hoom hoom kare”. No one could have played the musical hook better. Bhupen Hazarika surely threw at Lata a song that only she could have rendered with such vigour in the context of tragedy. This is not contradiction; this is art at its sublime; In short it is: Lata.
4. Amrapali: Tujhe yaad karte karte. This Shankar-Jaikishen album had four gems-each vying for a place in eternity. Eternity does not brook repetition. The sole ticket in the tough competing category is this high pitched melody. At the highest level of the song, Lata journeys with characteristic felicity of a colourful kite on a breezy morning transcending the costume beauty and height of Vyjantimala.
3. Annadata: Raton ke saye. This grossly underrated Salil Chowdary number points yet again to how Lata can pitch without scream. Also the complicated tune and beat leave you gasping as to how she makes it effortless. In case you hear this some day, even by accident, it is one song that will remain in the labyrinths of your psyche for days on end till another from another genre displaces the inertia of its being.
Anupama: “Kuch dil ne kaha”. Its four decades since I saw this black and white movie. Even as I recall with clarity, the dainty La-Tagore picking flowers on a mist filled morning, all coy and dimpled, Lata’s whiff of fresh air voice comes with photographic exactitude. What more can a song do than hum itself involuntarily on your lips, four decades after you first saw it on screen!
Lehkin: “Yara sili”: Is this Lata’s best? Can there be ‘a Lata’s best’?. In a tapestry so rich in texture, so vast in sweep, so timeless in creation can there be a singular precipice ? If there be one, is it one by popular choice or is there a science that can matrix the nuance of the art and place one piece at the top? We may debate thess issues, but in my dying moment, I would crave for a couple of minutes to listen to this melody in my last mortal moments. Like MS’s “Kurai Onrum Illai”, this is Lata’s signature. Only an avtaar of Saraswati can execute the complexity of such a piece with such clarity, poise, command and reach. Truly to be placed in the archive of all time great art.
LRC
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Dil Bole Hadippa: Starring :Rani Mukherjee, Shahid Kapoor, Raakhi Sawant, Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil, Sherlyn Chopra. Direction: Anuraag Singh.
Debutant Anuraag Singh delivers like an enthusiastic school kid focused on impressing his school teacher by repeating to a fault montages of the Yashraj library and worse seems to bite the Punjabi flavour without the backing of a script that can make the debut worth talking about. It is just not the loud pitch of the film but also the total lack of purpose that makes the goings on a trifle too chaotic and wild.
Take the script and story (Jaya-Aparijita) and you realise that not too much thought has gone into it. In case you think that the protagonist is a strong willed lady looking for and fighting for her place in the male world , you need to wait a little longer and pinch your self at this ridiculous bra burning facet of gender equality.
With Rani Mukherjee at the centre of the script you expect the script or at least the camera to give her some lingering moments. Here too you are disappointed. The actress, any way over rated, hams heavily and does more mimicry than acting. She is so loud that you wonder if she was reaching out to you directly unmindful of the media she has chosen.
Must spend a couple of lines on what the story is about: Two friends Vicky (Anupam Kher) and Lucky ( Dalip Tahil) have lived in their respective countries post partition but have let an annual cricket tournament keep the bondage alive. Unfortunately, for Vicky the Indian team keeps loosing with shocking regularity. IN this small loud town, is loud mouthed Veera Kaur who is a real spectacle wanting to make cricket her profession. She promises to be Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raaj in one and put to shame the Sandeep Patils and Yuvraj Singhs. Since she cannot be part of the team she is threatening every bowler with over the boundary hits. Into this contrived scenario, walks Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) who returns home to Papa Vicky leaving behind in U.K. his Mom (Poonam Dhillon) . He coaches the entire town and avenges the habitual defeat with a last ball six in a theatric climax that mocks at your intelligence.
Forget the film, the script, the acting is as loud. While veterans like Anupam Kher just pass off with reputation, Rani is so so over the hills that you feel like walking up and telling her to tone down. The success of her over kill performance in Black has obviously gifted the audience this encore. The one saving grace in the film is Shahid Kapoor who is blossoming into a very quiet but sure performer. This dark horse is making it to the Derby and could sure be the winner. Watch the film for him and if you are noise fan.
LRC
Debutant Anuraag Singh delivers like an enthusiastic school kid focused on impressing his school teacher by repeating to a fault montages of the Yashraj library and worse seems to bite the Punjabi flavour without the backing of a script that can make the debut worth talking about. It is just not the loud pitch of the film but also the total lack of purpose that makes the goings on a trifle too chaotic and wild.
Take the script and story (Jaya-Aparijita) and you realise that not too much thought has gone into it. In case you think that the protagonist is a strong willed lady looking for and fighting for her place in the male world , you need to wait a little longer and pinch your self at this ridiculous bra burning facet of gender equality.
With Rani Mukherjee at the centre of the script you expect the script or at least the camera to give her some lingering moments. Here too you are disappointed. The actress, any way over rated, hams heavily and does more mimicry than acting. She is so loud that you wonder if she was reaching out to you directly unmindful of the media she has chosen.
Must spend a couple of lines on what the story is about: Two friends Vicky (Anupam Kher) and Lucky ( Dalip Tahil) have lived in their respective countries post partition but have let an annual cricket tournament keep the bondage alive. Unfortunately, for Vicky the Indian team keeps loosing with shocking regularity. IN this small loud town, is loud mouthed Veera Kaur who is a real spectacle wanting to make cricket her profession. She promises to be Anjum Chopra and Mithali Raaj in one and put to shame the Sandeep Patils and Yuvraj Singhs. Since she cannot be part of the team she is threatening every bowler with over the boundary hits. Into this contrived scenario, walks Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) who returns home to Papa Vicky leaving behind in U.K. his Mom (Poonam Dhillon) . He coaches the entire town and avenges the habitual defeat with a last ball six in a theatric climax that mocks at your intelligence.
Forget the film, the script, the acting is as loud. While veterans like Anupam Kher just pass off with reputation, Rani is so so over the hills that you feel like walking up and telling her to tone down. The success of her over kill performance in Black has obviously gifted the audience this encore. The one saving grace in the film is Shahid Kapoor who is blossoming into a very quiet but sure performer. This dark horse is making it to the Derby and could sure be the winner. Watch the film for him and if you are noise fan.
LRC
Jagan Bhajan: Vox -Populi
Minutes after the chopper tragedy was known the whisper to bring back MP Jagan to the state turned into a roar. There are surely many ways at looking at it. While his detractors believe that he is a political green-horn, his supporters and admirers see him as the natural heir to the job his father had undertaken, performed and left behind. Political legacy is not new. Not to India. Not in many places across the world. John Adams the second American President had his son becoming an occupant of the White House very early in the history of democratic governance. India is replete with examples of children, grand children, spouses and the rest make it to politics. Some times you wonder whether the family picture was a well thought of idea for the future!!
It is now over twenty days that the enigmatic leader breathed his last. It has also been twenty odd days of demands made by various sections seeking to have Jagan as the Chief Minister.
The city bred intellectual may ask: What are his credentials? The most honest response to which would be: what need be? After all the greatest power in a democracy is the will of the people. There is obvious that large sections of people ( organised or not) are asking for him. It is unhealthy for the state to leave it to a “High Command” The people in the state have the right to choose a person of their choice as the Chief Minister. Young, novice-not withstanding. After all he is not filling up the office of a Governor to be chronologically challenged.
To those who believe that the present incumbent is a good choice, it may be suggested that a look at his skill sets as a vote catcher needs to be examined. It must not be forgotten that politics is not about good governance. It is about popular governance. We do not except Nobel Laureates to lead the country. Even on that count we could not have enough. We do not expect MBA grads to lead this country. The lesson we learn from the French Revolution must stand us in good stead. Chuckles not withstanding, if the roar of the popular voice is for Jagan, then Jagan it should be. It is not my stance that he would make a great administrator or that he is the answer to the challenges of the day. It is simply my stance that the only hygienic aspect of our democracy is that it reflects the voice of the majority. Let us not stifle the last straw. Vox Populi.
For the Jagan camp it must echo the words of Charles Dickens:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
LRC.
Minutes after the chopper tragedy was known the whisper to bring back MP Jagan to the state turned into a roar. There are surely many ways at looking at it. While his detractors believe that he is a political green-horn, his supporters and admirers see him as the natural heir to the job his father had undertaken, performed and left behind. Political legacy is not new. Not to India. Not in many places across the world. John Adams the second American President had his son becoming an occupant of the White House very early in the history of democratic governance. India is replete with examples of children, grand children, spouses and the rest make it to politics. Some times you wonder whether the family picture was a well thought of idea for the future!!
It is now over twenty days that the enigmatic leader breathed his last. It has also been twenty odd days of demands made by various sections seeking to have Jagan as the Chief Minister.
The city bred intellectual may ask: What are his credentials? The most honest response to which would be: what need be? After all the greatest power in a democracy is the will of the people. There is obvious that large sections of people ( organised or not) are asking for him. It is unhealthy for the state to leave it to a “High Command” The people in the state have the right to choose a person of their choice as the Chief Minister. Young, novice-not withstanding. After all he is not filling up the office of a Governor to be chronologically challenged.
To those who believe that the present incumbent is a good choice, it may be suggested that a look at his skill sets as a vote catcher needs to be examined. It must not be forgotten that politics is not about good governance. It is about popular governance. We do not except Nobel Laureates to lead the country. Even on that count we could not have enough. We do not expect MBA grads to lead this country. The lesson we learn from the French Revolution must stand us in good stead. Chuckles not withstanding, if the roar of the popular voice is for Jagan, then Jagan it should be. It is not my stance that he would make a great administrator or that he is the answer to the challenges of the day. It is simply my stance that the only hygienic aspect of our democracy is that it reflects the voice of the majority. Let us not stifle the last straw. Vox Populi.
For the Jagan camp it must echo the words of Charles Dickens:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
LRC.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Safety crashes at Nallamalla.
YSR rests in Idupulapaya. Ironically this is where he went when he wanted to rest. This is where he will eternally rest. Buried in a place which was close to his heart and hearth, his death was a picture of how the high flying some times bite the dust.
In a week two major accidents in a city should have the citizens scurrying for safety measures. In case the past is any indication, it would not be too long before we forget it all and get back to our old careless ways.
Death has its myriad traps and this time it chose the hills of Nallamalla to get at its recent popular victim. The blame game will soon make the rounds. Technicians at some level will be blamed and soon the normalcy of life will dictate terms. We already hear stories of how the mood of the pilot was not at its best. ( We all go our offices with our moods, don’t we? ) .
The accident may take us by surprise, but the possibility? That is the question. The quicker we address safety issues, the greater the chances we return to our nests by the evening. Civic life in Indian cities has any way gone amuck. One needs to at least take a look at its disastrous consequences in a time like this. The common man may take consolation from the fact that he is not likely to have a chopper ride. Yet, the indifference to accountability is what makes the processes suspect.
Helicopter deaths are not new. Many blamed the dare devilry of Sanjay Gandhi but the death of then Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi and later film actress Soundarya would well have led to enquiries. Little is made known of what such enquiries have achieved. It is strictly in the domain of hope that lessons were learnt and precautionary processes were placed in perspective.
This is not the first time that helicopters of the state chief minister or of lesser mortals have touched danger before touching base.
· Days after Chandra Babu Naidu became the Chief Minister in1995 his chopper force landed in Yellamgutta forests. Travelling with him were his colleagues Devender Goud and Mandava Venkateswara Rao.
· Again the chopper in which the then CM Babu was travelling landed in Ramayampet in Medak district after loosing radio contact.
· On a visit to the flood affected areas in Prakasam and Guntur districts Babu’s chopper ride was cut short at Nadargul in the city outskirts.
· TDP leader Srihari and BJP leader Vidyasagar have also had close calls.
· Even for the YSR this was the not the first time, though tragically it proved to be his last.
In one rare mood the chief minister had introspected of retirement at 60. He kept his promise. He took with him to his final destination two officials, two pilots and the confidence of the laity. That is the issue.
Dangers of varied varieties lurk in every street corner. From pot holes to psychopaths, crumbling walls to crackling fire, death drivers and road dividers, hidden maniacs attack civic life. As a system we are crumbling. Accountability is an old fashioned concept. We are all drunk in our flights, only some times with alcohol. Most often the killer is the heady dosage of power or stupid adventurism and ever so often a logic defying irreverence to law and safety. The death of the Chief Minister and the way he leads his life is perhaps a personal call. This time it was not. The magnetism of the persona, the scale of his achievement, the swing of his politico economic agenda made him the true darling of millions. The way he died is not just a sombre remainder of the fatality of life and futility of dreams, it is also a pointer towards a region in the crumbling system.
Is there a record of the weather conditions when the chopper took off? Is there a certification by the ground staff when a chopper takes off? Are they akin to safety measures of commercial flights? Are our chief ministers and such high placed dignitaries required to sign a safety document when they fly high or is it a given for those who choose politics for a career? To revert, the question is one of placing safety measures in place. It is also about implementing them. Civic society is safe when all – the powerful and the others follow the laws scrupulously. The stakes are high: Law and Life.
LRC.
YSR rests in Idupulapaya. Ironically this is where he went when he wanted to rest. This is where he will eternally rest. Buried in a place which was close to his heart and hearth, his death was a picture of how the high flying some times bite the dust.
In a week two major accidents in a city should have the citizens scurrying for safety measures. In case the past is any indication, it would not be too long before we forget it all and get back to our old careless ways.
Death has its myriad traps and this time it chose the hills of Nallamalla to get at its recent popular victim. The blame game will soon make the rounds. Technicians at some level will be blamed and soon the normalcy of life will dictate terms. We already hear stories of how the mood of the pilot was not at its best. ( We all go our offices with our moods, don’t we? ) .
The accident may take us by surprise, but the possibility? That is the question. The quicker we address safety issues, the greater the chances we return to our nests by the evening. Civic life in Indian cities has any way gone amuck. One needs to at least take a look at its disastrous consequences in a time like this. The common man may take consolation from the fact that he is not likely to have a chopper ride. Yet, the indifference to accountability is what makes the processes suspect.
Helicopter deaths are not new. Many blamed the dare devilry of Sanjay Gandhi but the death of then Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi and later film actress Soundarya would well have led to enquiries. Little is made known of what such enquiries have achieved. It is strictly in the domain of hope that lessons were learnt and precautionary processes were placed in perspective.
This is not the first time that helicopters of the state chief minister or of lesser mortals have touched danger before touching base.
· Days after Chandra Babu Naidu became the Chief Minister in1995 his chopper force landed in Yellamgutta forests. Travelling with him were his colleagues Devender Goud and Mandava Venkateswara Rao.
· Again the chopper in which the then CM Babu was travelling landed in Ramayampet in Medak district after loosing radio contact.
· On a visit to the flood affected areas in Prakasam and Guntur districts Babu’s chopper ride was cut short at Nadargul in the city outskirts.
· TDP leader Srihari and BJP leader Vidyasagar have also had close calls.
· Even for the YSR this was the not the first time, though tragically it proved to be his last.
In one rare mood the chief minister had introspected of retirement at 60. He kept his promise. He took with him to his final destination two officials, two pilots and the confidence of the laity. That is the issue.
Dangers of varied varieties lurk in every street corner. From pot holes to psychopaths, crumbling walls to crackling fire, death drivers and road dividers, hidden maniacs attack civic life. As a system we are crumbling. Accountability is an old fashioned concept. We are all drunk in our flights, only some times with alcohol. Most often the killer is the heady dosage of power or stupid adventurism and ever so often a logic defying irreverence to law and safety. The death of the Chief Minister and the way he leads his life is perhaps a personal call. This time it was not. The magnetism of the persona, the scale of his achievement, the swing of his politico economic agenda made him the true darling of millions. The way he died is not just a sombre remainder of the fatality of life and futility of dreams, it is also a pointer towards a region in the crumbling system.
Is there a record of the weather conditions when the chopper took off? Is there a certification by the ground staff when a chopper takes off? Are they akin to safety measures of commercial flights? Are our chief ministers and such high placed dignitaries required to sign a safety document when they fly high or is it a given for those who choose politics for a career? To revert, the question is one of placing safety measures in place. It is also about implementing them. Civic society is safe when all – the powerful and the others follow the laws scrupulously. The stakes are high: Law and Life.
LRC.
Our cinema has made a virtue of the glam dolls. While on the one hand it boasted of great acting skills in the likes of Meena Kumari and Madhuri Dixit, it presented them as either designer doormats or as seasonal Christmas trees , This is an attempt to take a look at ten of the greatest actresses of cinema. Broad is the divide between the actor and the star but in the context of our film makers thin is the line dividing the beautiful actresses from the great performer. This effort however is to look for the actress who has talent , not just the killer looks.
The count could well begin with this diva who had tremendous screen presence. Electrifying smile, she had everything the director wanted, not to mention the producers!! Her presence lifted the script and thus at the beginning :Maduri Dixit. From the effervescent giggly lass wooing her Prem in HAHK to the : Aap mere Pati ho, Parameshwar banner ki khoshish mat karo in Mrityu
At number nine I am compelled to get two actresses as different as chalk is from cheese: Dimple and Jaya Bahaduri. If the later was the one you can take home to Mama, Dimple is the one you would love to take home when Mamma isn’t there!! . Incidentally both shared a filmfare moment with their spouses in a single year. Jaya did some great mid stream cinema. Directors like Basu Chaterjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar cast her repeatedly in their films. Dimple was gorgeous reiterating sensuality. Her matrimonial hiatus did not in any manner discourage Ramesh Sippy to present her as the sensuous heroine in her come back vehicle Sagar, Dimple added to her repertoire some brilliant serious films. Rudali, Drishti are just samples. Our Guddi started with a brilliance that continued till she changed gears with time and age.
Nargis Dutt Her role as Mother India remains the singularly most coveted role. Her swan song Raat Aur Din won her the Urvashi though it was not the sweetest song. Her Mother India is enough to get her a special place in the gallery.
Waheeda Rehman: Want to know the virtues of this grace filled actress ask Guru Dutt, and if immediately Amitabh Bachchan. Grace truly was her middle name. She stood out in the black and white era as the chiselled face that told it all. She could have gone up a couple of notches if only her dialogue delivery in the earlier days was less flat. Special mention of how she holds her own in Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam and her strong role in
For sheer vibrancy and screen energy she was matchless. At a time when actresses ran to the parlour, she studied the script. Kajol achieved everything that Mama could have but did not. Her magical pairing with Shahrukh added the icing to a short but eventful career. Even her post marriage career saw her deliver performances like Fanah and U Me and Hum.
A filmography which had four outing with Ray and as many with Shakti Samanta and Hrishikesh tells how seriously every one took our Censors Chief. The queen of Nakhras, made as straight a statement in Mausam as she kept quiet in Anupama. Too much glamour at the end of the day. I hope even now she gets some good scripts. Talent in abundance : Sharmila Tagore
Tabu: True royal talent. One Astitva is enough. Then there is Hu Tu Tu. Talk of her greatness and you have abundance of proof without even talking of Maachis and Chandini Baar. Unfortunately, this career is Cheeni Kum for lack of focus.
Nutan: Not for nothing did this actress get her shelf full of awards. Bimal Da made some of the best films with her centre stage. From the negative Bandini to ever weeping southie films with Sunil Dutt, her presence in the gallery at the near top is a true salute to great talent.
Shabana Azmi: No actress has so much to show in the name of brilliant performances as she. Give her any brand of cinema and she delivered with a signature that spelled class. From Ankur to the latest every script was a reiteration of brilliance and commitment. International standard- Oscar or no Oscar in the shelf.
Meena Kumari: Given the definition and limitation of the part heroines played in her times, she stands out in the galaxy for not just being the perfect door mat ever but also for giving us the rebellious Biwi in the Guru Dutt classic. Watch her nuances in the final movie ( or nearly) Mere Apne and you cannot but wonder what she could have done with the Directors who came after she left early and in tragedy.
LRC.
The count could well begin with this diva who had tremendous screen presence. Electrifying smile, she had everything the director wanted, not to mention the producers!! Her presence lifted the script and thus at the beginning :Maduri Dixit. From the effervescent giggly lass wooing her Prem in HAHK to the : Aap mere Pati ho, Parameshwar banner ki khoshish mat karo in Mrityu
At number nine I am compelled to get two actresses as different as chalk is from cheese: Dimple and Jaya Bahaduri. If the later was the one you can take home to Mama, Dimple is the one you would love to take home when Mamma isn’t there!! . Incidentally both shared a filmfare moment with their spouses in a single year. Jaya did some great mid stream cinema. Directors like Basu Chaterjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar cast her repeatedly in their films. Dimple was gorgeous reiterating sensuality. Her matrimonial hiatus did not in any manner discourage Ramesh Sippy to present her as the sensuous heroine in her come back vehicle Sagar, Dimple added to her repertoire some brilliant serious films. Rudali, Drishti are just samples. Our Guddi started with a brilliance that continued till she changed gears with time and age.
Nargis Dutt Her role as Mother India remains the singularly most coveted role. Her swan song Raat Aur Din won her the Urvashi though it was not the sweetest song. Her Mother India is enough to get her a special place in the gallery.
Waheeda Rehman: Want to know the virtues of this grace filled actress ask Guru Dutt, and if immediately Amitabh Bachchan. Grace truly was her middle name. She stood out in the black and white era as the chiselled face that told it all. She could have gone up a couple of notches if only her dialogue delivery in the earlier days was less flat. Special mention of how she holds her own in Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam and her strong role in
For sheer vibrancy and screen energy she was matchless. At a time when actresses ran to the parlour, she studied the script. Kajol achieved everything that Mama could have but did not. Her magical pairing with Shahrukh added the icing to a short but eventful career. Even her post marriage career saw her deliver performances like Fanah and U Me and Hum.
A filmography which had four outing with Ray and as many with Shakti Samanta and Hrishikesh tells how seriously every one took our Censors Chief. The queen of Nakhras, made as straight a statement in Mausam as she kept quiet in Anupama. Too much glamour at the end of the day. I hope even now she gets some good scripts. Talent in abundance : Sharmila Tagore
Tabu: True royal talent. One Astitva is enough. Then there is Hu Tu Tu. Talk of her greatness and you have abundance of proof without even talking of Maachis and Chandini Baar. Unfortunately, this career is Cheeni Kum for lack of focus.
Nutan: Not for nothing did this actress get her shelf full of awards. Bimal Da made some of the best films with her centre stage. From the negative Bandini to ever weeping southie films with Sunil Dutt, her presence in the gallery at the near top is a true salute to great talent.
Shabana Azmi: No actress has so much to show in the name of brilliant performances as she. Give her any brand of cinema and she delivered with a signature that spelled class. From Ankur to the latest every script was a reiteration of brilliance and commitment. International standard- Oscar or no Oscar in the shelf.
Meena Kumari: Given the definition and limitation of the part heroines played in her times, she stands out in the galaxy for not just being the perfect door mat ever but also for giving us the rebellious Biwi in the Guru Dutt classic. Watch her nuances in the final movie ( or nearly) Mere Apne and you cannot but wonder what she could have done with the Directors who came after she left early and in tragedy.
LRC.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
AP High Court suffer short circuit of power
High Court victim of short circuit .
When institutions crumble they do not leave ashes behind. This is one major consolation to those sensitively connected to the fire affected High Court in Hyderabad. The majestic stone structure bathed in Moghul Architecture will now carry scars. Scars of fire. Scars of carelessness. Fortunately for now it is only symbolic.
First a salute is in place to Justice L. Narasimha Reddy who handled the fire accident in the early hours of August 31, with the skill of a trained fire fighter. Thanks to his promptitude and courage a part of history was saved of this ravaging fire. The hallowed structure has been a part of the city’s glamour wedded to history. Housed near the historic Charminar and on the banks of the ‘rarely furious Musi’ it was truly a picture of dignity and grandeur. It stood tall and with characteristic aloofness till a ‘short circuit’ caught every one unawares. The historian with a tongue-in-cheek may record this as the ‘second short circuit’ after the one that effected the judicial institution in 1975.
This time it was truly physical. This time it is an accident and all in the system were shocked by the effect of the short circuit. Engineering experts reveal that the system could not take the load. There were a few signs of the system incapacity, but the same were obviously not visibly alarming. It operated in the illusion that all is fine or that safety is automation, fine tuned to changing demands, styles, patterns etc. A good portion of history lies there in ashes. The paste of ashes and tears are a poor, very poor alternative to the fund of knowledge, packed with historic relevance. Reports reveal that the epicentre of the accident had knowledge packed in over 35000 books. To quote a judge- they are not known for exaggeration- “The books we lost here are the rarest of books, the pride of Hyderabad”
The loss is the sudden disconnect with the past and “age old wisdom”. Perhaps there is in the ashen debris the instruments of clinical examination of jurisprudential histology Instrumentalities now deprived of some instruments due to a short circuit!! Reports from a leading daily point out that a panel of judges would probe “whether the over drawing of the power capacity could have caused the short circuit” One lawyer reacted “Res Ipsa Loquiter”
In two days the system is back in place. Amazing how well tuned the system is and how concerned we are to get back to normalcy. We only have to tell ourselves that “we have to move on” The dramatic statement: The Show must go on finds utterance in the feel and commitment of the higher judiciary to get back to work. Kudos to the commitment!! Another report in a popular daily reads: Lawyers say that judges would feel handicapped in the months to come before some of the books could be brought from other old courts. Incorrect. So vast is the collective wisdom, that the challenge, would be, I guess one more of logistics than logic. Fortunately our judges are judicious, the wisdom profound, the commitment impregnable. The accident, if at all, will only energise their commitment.
Fault finders, historians, chroniclers, critics, bloggers, twitters, will all pour their wisdom (individual and collective). The system and its regal executants will not be effectuated. The “constitutional karma charis” (to borrow the expression from Justice Raghuram) will not only carry out their task with single minded devotion but will be re-energised to their constitutional commitment. They will, yet again, be inspired by the lady of justice with her eyes tied and holding the balance symbolising the loftiness of law.
The short circuit has brought a few lessons in safety that we will do well to learn from. A few sparks can energise. A few sparks too many can burn up. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Lords learn. I am sure that once they come to a final conclusion (by discussion, debate or vote of majority) about the short circuit and also about the over drawl and the use of power beyond capacity, they will audit its use and ensure that power is balanced with capacity.
When the judges step in ( sorry – drive in, in their majesty: sleek automobiles with sirens clearing the urgent path) they will step into a building where history and human wisdom, stored for decades was destroyed by energy that was seemingly over used. Judges are not physicists or electrical engineers. They are unaware about the nuances of power. They do not know the disadvantages of the improper application of kinetic energy or its administration through clogged arteries and wires. They obviously went by the operations of day-to-day needs to administer justice for the common man. They were over burdened by the demands and needs of the citizen. Like martyrs they walked into a unknown simmering death trap. It was Providential that the short circuit happened when the Lords were not administering justice. It is Divine Mercy in recognition of the temporal variety.
In a commemorative volume of the Golden Jubilee, the court produced a recording document where it is said :Robed in its dignity, the institution designed for the citizen must so device its Physics that it is user friendly within the overarching architecture of the organic document. Now many a document is truly reduced to its organic form.
Lawyers, intellectuals and the like will surely submit with modesty that they had been indifferent to some alarming signals in the corridors they walked so often. The place that once had one too many heated arguments witnessed the effect of too much heat. Engrossed in the word of the statute, the logic of the researched citation, propelled by the fee or cause of the client or citizen as the case may be, many lost sight of what was ticking away. The Collective forgot the dictum: Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
To those who see this not as a mishap but as a tragedy and a personal loss I can only lead on to the wisdom of Paulo Coelho with whose words I sign off: But then, how many of us will be saved the pain of seeing the most important things in our lives disappearing from one moment to the next?
LRC.
When institutions crumble they do not leave ashes behind. This is one major consolation to those sensitively connected to the fire affected High Court in Hyderabad. The majestic stone structure bathed in Moghul Architecture will now carry scars. Scars of fire. Scars of carelessness. Fortunately for now it is only symbolic.
First a salute is in place to Justice L. Narasimha Reddy who handled the fire accident in the early hours of August 31, with the skill of a trained fire fighter. Thanks to his promptitude and courage a part of history was saved of this ravaging fire. The hallowed structure has been a part of the city’s glamour wedded to history. Housed near the historic Charminar and on the banks of the ‘rarely furious Musi’ it was truly a picture of dignity and grandeur. It stood tall and with characteristic aloofness till a ‘short circuit’ caught every one unawares. The historian with a tongue-in-cheek may record this as the ‘second short circuit’ after the one that effected the judicial institution in 1975.
This time it was truly physical. This time it is an accident and all in the system were shocked by the effect of the short circuit. Engineering experts reveal that the system could not take the load. There were a few signs of the system incapacity, but the same were obviously not visibly alarming. It operated in the illusion that all is fine or that safety is automation, fine tuned to changing demands, styles, patterns etc. A good portion of history lies there in ashes. The paste of ashes and tears are a poor, very poor alternative to the fund of knowledge, packed with historic relevance. Reports reveal that the epicentre of the accident had knowledge packed in over 35000 books. To quote a judge- they are not known for exaggeration- “The books we lost here are the rarest of books, the pride of Hyderabad”
The loss is the sudden disconnect with the past and “age old wisdom”. Perhaps there is in the ashen debris the instruments of clinical examination of jurisprudential histology Instrumentalities now deprived of some instruments due to a short circuit!! Reports from a leading daily point out that a panel of judges would probe “whether the over drawing of the power capacity could have caused the short circuit” One lawyer reacted “Res Ipsa Loquiter”
In two days the system is back in place. Amazing how well tuned the system is and how concerned we are to get back to normalcy. We only have to tell ourselves that “we have to move on” The dramatic statement: The Show must go on finds utterance in the feel and commitment of the higher judiciary to get back to work. Kudos to the commitment!! Another report in a popular daily reads: Lawyers say that judges would feel handicapped in the months to come before some of the books could be brought from other old courts. Incorrect. So vast is the collective wisdom, that the challenge, would be, I guess one more of logistics than logic. Fortunately our judges are judicious, the wisdom profound, the commitment impregnable. The accident, if at all, will only energise their commitment.
Fault finders, historians, chroniclers, critics, bloggers, twitters, will all pour their wisdom (individual and collective). The system and its regal executants will not be effectuated. The “constitutional karma charis” (to borrow the expression from Justice Raghuram) will not only carry out their task with single minded devotion but will be re-energised to their constitutional commitment. They will, yet again, be inspired by the lady of justice with her eyes tied and holding the balance symbolising the loftiness of law.
The short circuit has brought a few lessons in safety that we will do well to learn from. A few sparks can energise. A few sparks too many can burn up. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Lords learn. I am sure that once they come to a final conclusion (by discussion, debate or vote of majority) about the short circuit and also about the over drawl and the use of power beyond capacity, they will audit its use and ensure that power is balanced with capacity.
When the judges step in ( sorry – drive in, in their majesty: sleek automobiles with sirens clearing the urgent path) they will step into a building where history and human wisdom, stored for decades was destroyed by energy that was seemingly over used. Judges are not physicists or electrical engineers. They are unaware about the nuances of power. They do not know the disadvantages of the improper application of kinetic energy or its administration through clogged arteries and wires. They obviously went by the operations of day-to-day needs to administer justice for the common man. They were over burdened by the demands and needs of the citizen. Like martyrs they walked into a unknown simmering death trap. It was Providential that the short circuit happened when the Lords were not administering justice. It is Divine Mercy in recognition of the temporal variety.
In a commemorative volume of the Golden Jubilee, the court produced a recording document where it is said :Robed in its dignity, the institution designed for the citizen must so device its Physics that it is user friendly within the overarching architecture of the organic document. Now many a document is truly reduced to its organic form.
Lawyers, intellectuals and the like will surely submit with modesty that they had been indifferent to some alarming signals in the corridors they walked so often. The place that once had one too many heated arguments witnessed the effect of too much heat. Engrossed in the word of the statute, the logic of the researched citation, propelled by the fee or cause of the client or citizen as the case may be, many lost sight of what was ticking away. The Collective forgot the dictum: Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
To those who see this not as a mishap but as a tragedy and a personal loss I can only lead on to the wisdom of Paulo Coelho with whose words I sign off: But then, how many of us will be saved the pain of seeing the most important things in our lives disappearing from one moment to the next?
LRC.
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