Friday, January 13, 2006
Family+Zinda
Family
When directors run out ideas, they revisit their own old films. Rajkumar Santoshi’s Family takes the germ of the idea from Ghayal (man avenging his brother’s murder), and fashions a dreary revenge drama. Considering he co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues himself, he was clearly not too interested in this khichdi, because even his worst film China Gate, had some sparks-- Family is a non-starter from the word go.
A very clumsy contrast is set-up between two families -- gangster Viren Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan) described as so powerful that his influence runs from “sadak to sarkar” goes to any lengths to protect his wayward son Abir (Sushant Singh). His life of crime has alienated his wife (Shernaz Patel) and the rest of the family. On the other side is Shekhar Bhatia (Akshay Kumar), who also goes to any lengths to protect his shiftless brother Aryan (Aryaman), but this is a happy ‘together’ family.
Then, newly married (to Bhumika Chawla) Shekhar is accidentally killed by Viren, and Aryan swears to make him pay. He gets together with his pals, with laughable ease, kidnaps Viren Sahai’s entire family, and gets the “most powerful” gangster all hot under the collar.
A lot of the first half is wasted in Shekhar’s boring romance, and two songs are conferred on Aryaman—including the now mandatory one with bikini babes—just because his father paid for his debut by co-producing the film. When the Akshay Kumar character dies, the life goes out of the film, because it now rests on newcomer Aryaman’s unworthy shoulders. The script goes haywire too, as chases happen in crowded bazaars and hospitals, and the abducted family cowers in fear, when they had any number of occasions to escape.
Santoshi does not create any empathy between the captors and the victims, which might have made some sense. The film staggers all over the place, has Viren massacre a battalion of cops, and finally confront Ayraman to squeak out the raison d’etre for the entire three hour muddle, “How come your family is better than mine?”
This must be the worst, most ill-defined role given to Amitabh Bachchan in the recent past—strange, considering his company co-produced Family. There is no sense of tragedy or doom in his constant defense of his son, even when Abir has done the indefensible. Worse, he is given a white pin-striped suit to wear through most of the film, and puff away on a cigar, with sunglasses hiding his hypnotic eyes. Still, even on a bad day, an ordinary-looking, lisping Aryaman is no match for him. Pitching the two against each other is unfair to both!
Zinda
The imdb.com synopsis for Chan-Wook Park’s Korean film Oldboy reads:
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.
The synopsis for Sanjay Gupta’s Zinda reads:A man, taken and locked up for 14 years without any sane reason, is suddenly released, and has 4 days to figure out why this was done to him.
Coincidence? Copying? Inspiration? In keeping with Gupta’s past record of never having made an original film, this one’s a almost straight lift, with some toning down of truly disturbing scenes (eating a live octopus, incest), but leaving in plenty of gore (teeth being pulled out with a hammer, a drill being rammed into a man’s body) to make the violence titillating.
The plot is totally bizarre and illogical, and requires total suspension of disbelief. Balajeet Roy (Sanjay Dutt, perfectly cast, despite odd wig), just settling in Bangkok with his wife (Celina Jaitley) is suddenly abducted and locked up in a cell, no explanations offered. His wife is murdered and he is framed for it, so even if he did escape, he would be arrested.He is fed fried wontons twice a day, and periodically drugged. His captor is sure that after he is released the ‘monster’ he created will come after him like raging bull, and that’s exactly what happens.
After 14 years, Bala is released and deliberately given clues to reach his unknown foe.With the help of his friend (Mahesh Manjrekar) and an Indian cabbie Jenny (Lara Dutta) he reaches tycoon Rohit Chopra (John Abraham—charmingly evil), who has his own reason for doing what he did to Bala – though why he used such twisted and long-drawn-out method of revenge is not clear. And after all that, why does he withdraw in the end? Because an Indian audience would not be able to stomach Park’s version?
Korean films are known for their explicit use of sex and violence—but what the Cannes Festival jury found award worthy is not necessarily watchable. There is really no need to copy such senseless films, that do not connect to an Indian audience, just to show off some spiffy, derivative ‘style’!
When directors run out ideas, they revisit their own old films. Rajkumar Santoshi’s Family takes the germ of the idea from Ghayal (man avenging his brother’s murder), and fashions a dreary revenge drama. Considering he co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues himself, he was clearly not too interested in this khichdi, because even his worst film China Gate, had some sparks-- Family is a non-starter from the word go.
A very clumsy contrast is set-up between two families -- gangster Viren Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan) described as so powerful that his influence runs from “sadak to sarkar” goes to any lengths to protect his wayward son Abir (Sushant Singh). His life of crime has alienated his wife (Shernaz Patel) and the rest of the family. On the other side is Shekhar Bhatia (Akshay Kumar), who also goes to any lengths to protect his shiftless brother Aryan (Aryaman), but this is a happy ‘together’ family.
Then, newly married (to Bhumika Chawla) Shekhar is accidentally killed by Viren, and Aryan swears to make him pay. He gets together with his pals, with laughable ease, kidnaps Viren Sahai’s entire family, and gets the “most powerful” gangster all hot under the collar.
A lot of the first half is wasted in Shekhar’s boring romance, and two songs are conferred on Aryaman—including the now mandatory one with bikini babes—just because his father paid for his debut by co-producing the film. When the Akshay Kumar character dies, the life goes out of the film, because it now rests on newcomer Aryaman’s unworthy shoulders. The script goes haywire too, as chases happen in crowded bazaars and hospitals, and the abducted family cowers in fear, when they had any number of occasions to escape.
Santoshi does not create any empathy between the captors and the victims, which might have made some sense. The film staggers all over the place, has Viren massacre a battalion of cops, and finally confront Ayraman to squeak out the raison d’etre for the entire three hour muddle, “How come your family is better than mine?”
This must be the worst, most ill-defined role given to Amitabh Bachchan in the recent past—strange, considering his company co-produced Family. There is no sense of tragedy or doom in his constant defense of his son, even when Abir has done the indefensible. Worse, he is given a white pin-striped suit to wear through most of the film, and puff away on a cigar, with sunglasses hiding his hypnotic eyes. Still, even on a bad day, an ordinary-looking, lisping Aryaman is no match for him. Pitching the two against each other is unfair to both!
Zinda
The imdb.com synopsis for Chan-Wook Park’s Korean film Oldboy reads:
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.
The synopsis for Sanjay Gupta’s Zinda reads:A man, taken and locked up for 14 years without any sane reason, is suddenly released, and has 4 days to figure out why this was done to him.
Coincidence? Copying? Inspiration? In keeping with Gupta’s past record of never having made an original film, this one’s a almost straight lift, with some toning down of truly disturbing scenes (eating a live octopus, incest), but leaving in plenty of gore (teeth being pulled out with a hammer, a drill being rammed into a man’s body) to make the violence titillating.
The plot is totally bizarre and illogical, and requires total suspension of disbelief. Balajeet Roy (Sanjay Dutt, perfectly cast, despite odd wig), just settling in Bangkok with his wife (Celina Jaitley) is suddenly abducted and locked up in a cell, no explanations offered. His wife is murdered and he is framed for it, so even if he did escape, he would be arrested.He is fed fried wontons twice a day, and periodically drugged. His captor is sure that after he is released the ‘monster’ he created will come after him like raging bull, and that’s exactly what happens.
After 14 years, Bala is released and deliberately given clues to reach his unknown foe.With the help of his friend (Mahesh Manjrekar) and an Indian cabbie Jenny (Lara Dutta) he reaches tycoon Rohit Chopra (John Abraham—charmingly evil), who has his own reason for doing what he did to Bala – though why he used such twisted and long-drawn-out method of revenge is not clear. And after all that, why does he withdraw in the end? Because an Indian audience would not be able to stomach Park’s version?
Korean films are known for their explicit use of sex and violence—but what the Cannes Festival jury found award worthy is not necessarily watchable. There is really no need to copy such senseless films, that do not connect to an Indian audience, just to show off some spiffy, derivative ‘style’!
Labels: Cinemaah
Monday, January 09, 2006
15Park Avenue+1
15 Park Avenue
Konkona Sensharma is lucky—not many actresses would have a film ‘designed’ to let them show off their talent. That the director Aparna Sen happens to her mother makes 15 Park Avenue the film equivalent of vanity publishing – not that it takes away from the talent Konkona undoubtedly possesses.
She plays Mithi, a schizophrenic, whose condition deteriorates when on a journalistic assignment, she is raped in a seedy hotel. Her fiancé Joydeep (Rahul Bose) leaves, because, as he writes to her, “he is not man enough” to cope.Caring for Mithi then becomes the responsibility of her much older half sister Anjali (Shabana Azmi), with some tearful help from their mother (Waheeds Rehman) and sturdy maid.A successful professor and writer Anjali, seen as intense and overbearing, puts her own life on hold for Mithi, letting her boyfriend (Kanwaljeet Singh) get on with his plans, while forming a tentative relationship with Mithi’s doctor (Dhritiman Chatterji).
They run into Joydeep again after eleven years, in Bhutan where he is holidaying with his wife Lakshmi (Shefali Shah) and kids. Mithi does not recognize him, but his presence calms her.The title refers to am imaginary home in which Mithi lives her make-believe life with a husband and five children, getting messages from Saddam through the television.
It’s a dark and depressing story, and Sen alternates between having the viewer watch Mithi hallucinate or get terrifying bouts of suicidal hysteria, and imparting documentary-like information via conversations between Anjali and the doctor.After a while, when you’re done admiring the well-researched performances, you start wondering what is the point that Sen is trying to make? If it is to get sympathy for schizophrenics, it does not quite happen, because you see a family sacrificing and suffering on account of Mithi-- and of course they are wealthy enough to afford a fulltime maid, who cleans up after Mithi. Anjali rejects the idea of sending Mithi to an institution, but there is no mention of the lack of proper care for the mentally ill. (A small Marathi film Devrai did it better.)
From a director of Sen’s calibre, you didn’t expect such simplistic scenes, like voice of Anjali teaching physics overlapping the exorcism being performed on Mithi; or scenes of the mad woman on the street underlining the fact that but for a caring family, there goes Mithi.
The Bhutan scenes, especially the one of a lunch party which goes on for far too long, or Lakshmi’s dramatic seething at her husband’s sudden concern for his old girlfriend are embarrassing. And what’s with the fantasy ‘happy’ ending? In the end, you feel like having watched the plight of a mentally disturbed girl and her family though a glass barrier, never really being drawn into their lives.
15 Park Avenue remains at the level of a good effort, a festival-National Award kind of film, but not one that a regular audience can relate to.
Jawani Diwani
Not a propitious start to the year, what with the third rate Jawani Diwani being sprung on the unsuspecting viewer, with its cheap lines and vulgar skin show (the hero’s neighbour picking up the morning paper dressed in her underwear!)
Emraan Hashmi—advertised as a “serial kisser” – is the lout called Mann with sex on his mind, and dreams of a singing career. To get ahead, he charms Radha (Hrishita Bhatt), the daughter of a music baron (Tiku Talsania—irritating). But while on vacation in Goa (Mauritius, actually), he falls into bed with Roma (Celina Jaitley) and is forced by her gangster admirer (Mahesh Manjrekar—even more irritating) to marry her.Roma is all set to be the dutiful wife, but Mann whinges so much, she lets him go, and Radha promptly takes him back.
Then Roma reappears as the model in his music video and Mann wavers again.Watching the good-for-nothing Mann makes up his mind between the two colourless women, is not in the least entertaining, in spite of desperate attempts to attract the tapori crowd with plenty of bikini clad dancers and really crude dialogue; note a cock crowing in the background every time Mann spots a sexy girl.
There are silly cracks at real film folk, like a loony composer called Manu Malik-- yeah, it’s that juvenile.
Konkona Sensharma is lucky—not many actresses would have a film ‘designed’ to let them show off their talent. That the director Aparna Sen happens to her mother makes 15 Park Avenue the film equivalent of vanity publishing – not that it takes away from the talent Konkona undoubtedly possesses.
She plays Mithi, a schizophrenic, whose condition deteriorates when on a journalistic assignment, she is raped in a seedy hotel. Her fiancé Joydeep (Rahul Bose) leaves, because, as he writes to her, “he is not man enough” to cope.Caring for Mithi then becomes the responsibility of her much older half sister Anjali (Shabana Azmi), with some tearful help from their mother (Waheeds Rehman) and sturdy maid.A successful professor and writer Anjali, seen as intense and overbearing, puts her own life on hold for Mithi, letting her boyfriend (Kanwaljeet Singh) get on with his plans, while forming a tentative relationship with Mithi’s doctor (Dhritiman Chatterji).
They run into Joydeep again after eleven years, in Bhutan where he is holidaying with his wife Lakshmi (Shefali Shah) and kids. Mithi does not recognize him, but his presence calms her.The title refers to am imaginary home in which Mithi lives her make-believe life with a husband and five children, getting messages from Saddam through the television.
It’s a dark and depressing story, and Sen alternates between having the viewer watch Mithi hallucinate or get terrifying bouts of suicidal hysteria, and imparting documentary-like information via conversations between Anjali and the doctor.After a while, when you’re done admiring the well-researched performances, you start wondering what is the point that Sen is trying to make? If it is to get sympathy for schizophrenics, it does not quite happen, because you see a family sacrificing and suffering on account of Mithi-- and of course they are wealthy enough to afford a fulltime maid, who cleans up after Mithi. Anjali rejects the idea of sending Mithi to an institution, but there is no mention of the lack of proper care for the mentally ill. (A small Marathi film Devrai did it better.)
From a director of Sen’s calibre, you didn’t expect such simplistic scenes, like voice of Anjali teaching physics overlapping the exorcism being performed on Mithi; or scenes of the mad woman on the street underlining the fact that but for a caring family, there goes Mithi.
The Bhutan scenes, especially the one of a lunch party which goes on for far too long, or Lakshmi’s dramatic seething at her husband’s sudden concern for his old girlfriend are embarrassing. And what’s with the fantasy ‘happy’ ending? In the end, you feel like having watched the plight of a mentally disturbed girl and her family though a glass barrier, never really being drawn into their lives.
15 Park Avenue remains at the level of a good effort, a festival-National Award kind of film, but not one that a regular audience can relate to.
Jawani Diwani
Not a propitious start to the year, what with the third rate Jawani Diwani being sprung on the unsuspecting viewer, with its cheap lines and vulgar skin show (the hero’s neighbour picking up the morning paper dressed in her underwear!)
Emraan Hashmi—advertised as a “serial kisser” – is the lout called Mann with sex on his mind, and dreams of a singing career. To get ahead, he charms Radha (Hrishita Bhatt), the daughter of a music baron (Tiku Talsania—irritating). But while on vacation in Goa (Mauritius, actually), he falls into bed with Roma (Celina Jaitley) and is forced by her gangster admirer (Mahesh Manjrekar—even more irritating) to marry her.Roma is all set to be the dutiful wife, but Mann whinges so much, she lets him go, and Radha promptly takes him back.
Then Roma reappears as the model in his music video and Mann wavers again.Watching the good-for-nothing Mann makes up his mind between the two colourless women, is not in the least entertaining, in spite of desperate attempts to attract the tapori crowd with plenty of bikini clad dancers and really crude dialogue; note a cock crowing in the background every time Mann spots a sexy girl.
There are silly cracks at real film folk, like a loony composer called Manu Malik-- yeah, it’s that juvenile.
Labels: Cinemaah
