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Reviews
Haasil (2003)
"Haasil" is refreshing.
We, who live in metros, away from the rest of India need to be reminded sometimes that there lies a larger India outside the metros. We, who criticize politicians and call politics 'dirty' and never vote out of laziness and apathy yet disguising it brilliantly as our only act of protest against the corrupt system, need to be reminded that politics does run the country. And if we don't, someone else less worthy will take the reins in their hands. We, who watch films to escape from our otherwise dreary, tiresome, collapsed lives need to be reminded that possibly film can mean more than a sneak preview into the lives and lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Haasil, does all that. And more. Now while the film is not without its problems, lets begin by saying, it's a refreshing, thought provoking change from the regular onslaught of dancing on European alpine valleys; zipping on Mercedes Benz; parties - poolside in the lush greenery of palatial mansions and of course, designer clothes on designer bodies.
Set in a university in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, where the Director Tigmanshu Dhulia himself studied, the film revolves around two rival political gangs in a college. One headed by college veteran and students' union president Gauri Shankar (Ashutosh Rana), and the other by an aspiring politician Ranvijay Singh (Irfan Khan), encounter each other constantly in corridors of the university, the labyrinths that control student political power. While Aniruddh (Jimmy Shergill) and Niharika (Hrishitaa Bhat), both students of the college, fall in a simple and 'looks real on screen' kind of love creating a parallel narrative in the film, the plot thickens, as Aniruddh, after turning a deaf ear to the warnings of his friends and lover, gets slowly sucked into the world of Ranvijay's politics. He blindly places his faith in Ranvijay, who uses him to win votes from the `a-political' students. One thing leads to another and before he can realize what is happening, Aniruddh finds himself neck deep in the game of power politics which leads back to the rooms of ministers and the state.
Let's take a look at what I like and what I don't in Haasil.
I like:
1. The story, though not original, is a refreshing change. 2. The editing is neat and the narrative flows on perfectly. 3. The extremely real life dialogues give it a sense of being rooted 4. It has no stars, just characters. The actors perform these characters well. Irfan Khan as an upcoming, ambitious, brash, fearless student leader and yet nervous of his appeal to the other sex is brilliant. One wonders what's it with Bollywood, which can't nurture such talent! Jimmy Shergill, as a young boy from a middle class family of a small town finally gets to do in this film what he has never got a chance to do before, act. Hrishita Bhatt as his coy yet strong-minded girl friend is promising. Tinnu Anand as Jimmy's father needs a special mention. He performs the role of a father constantly aware of the growing gap between him and his son attempting to bridge it, yet not quite succeeding is believable. Ashutosh Rana as the president of the student association fails to impress beyond the stereotype he is being made to perform lately. 5. The film makes 'love' watchable again on screen. It is sensitively handled, looks believable and does not pretend to be anything other than it is; i.e. two college mates being attracted to each other and falling in love! Jimmy's impulsive kiss on Hrishita's cheek followed by a nervous 'sorry I'm really sorry'; the scented letter that makes her go into a bout of sneezing; the newspaperman turned love-letter delivery boy; the cycle and the ricksaw; the arguments in the old dilapidated movie hall where they meet secretly; all seem out of real life 'falling in love'. 6. The music scores are good and worthy of an ear though failing to make a lasting impression. Yet, it complements the film well. 7. The Director's involvement with the film, his personal experience with student politics in a small town is evident in the film. Even his understanding of the town of Allahabad, with its huge population of out-of-Bengal Bengalis, who have lived there now for ages and have managed to mingle with the locals yet keeping their festivals and customs alive prove that he has studies the city. 8. It is small budget. It cost just Rs 4 crore and it is doing pretty well inspite of the lack in advertising and promotions moneys. I guess word of mouth still works.
I did not like:
1. It gives in to the stereotypes and conventions of a mainstream Hindi film time and again. We could have done with fewer songs for instance, or less number of change of clothes for the heroin. 2. Irfan's character, its gray edges came out beautifully in the first half till the director decided to make him the ultimate villain and willfully simplified his emotions midway giving him no chance to redeem himself.
3. The introduction of the mosque, the `good Samaritan' Muslim friend and the song in the mosque ending with Jimmy's verdict on how friendly Muslims truly are inspite of popular belief, seems tokenistic and banal. If anything, it seems to be working against the very purpose it was meant for. And that I guess is the problem. When one tries to achieve a purpose in a sequence with no links to the main story it looks imposed, banal.
American Beauty (1999)
A Tribute to the Beauty of Life.
It happens very rarely. You meet people in life who leave you with a lingering sense of familiarity. People, who no matter what they are, leave you with a sense of having asked a few questions; questions you have been wanting to ask yourself for a long time but have been putting it away simply because you don't want to face them. That's what happens when you start understanding the characters of `American Beauty'. It's like looking at the mirror and seeing someone you don't want to see, you don't want to know.
This film is an acknowledgement of our times; the pain and the curses that it brings
and the hope that it still instills in individual inspite of it. The story begins in a slow, casual narrative with a kind of indifference that makes it extremely tragic. But then as you zoom in to the lives of the characters you sense the dormant passions, the fears, the hope. Sam Mendes has done an excellent job in scattering a handful of characters in a plot where they are caught in the ebb and flow of life. Even if they run, they don't go very far, and finally come back to where they started. The background music complements the sensitive slowness of the film in a manner that is quite soulful. The camera acts almost like a silent observer and its role is, to have no role in the story. It just documents actions, reactions, emotions and feelings. In the noninterference of these other ingredients of film making, what gains poignance is the story, the plot, the lives of the characters. All the character in this film, the father, the mother, the daughter, her friend, the daughter's boyfriend, his father, his mother the neighbours
all of them are all caught in a society which has sapped their spirits in some way making them dysfunctional pieces of life. Life, which leaves no purpose, no meaning. It is a simple rambling on of mundane existence which one seldom questions. Yet one cant blame the society because what makes a society is the people. And one can't blame the people either. They are caught in such a black hole in time, which refuses to acknowledge them, as individuals with their individual preferences, which they can't live with, can't live without! The loveless marriage of Kevin Spacey, the stage of his life determining his need for a sensuous relationship if not a fruitful one, his life drifting away in front of him like he never belonged, his wife's new lover, his unhappy job situation, his lust for his daughter's friend are not connected events yet they have a bearing on each other leaving him no room for escape. Yet he tries to be an understanding father, a compromising husband, a faithful employee. He tries but fails. He is a guy I have seen next door, you have seen next door. He could be anywhere, but only in a time like this, when individualism has brought with it the bane of isolation. You empathize with him and wonder, `Haven't I ever felt this way?' And then when you see this man changing
slowly but steadily transforming himself to what he would really like to be, you feel happy for him. He is beginning to understand his space in this world and Kevin Spacey does a wonderful job of portraying that transformation in the character. He has got into the character like it was he. The collage of the other characters brings out the fears, the insecurities, and the confusions that we live with. Annette Bennings' portrayal of the frustrated wife is absolutely fantastic. The character lives through her emotional outbursts, her rigorous routine life, her crippled relationship with her husband, and her unsatisfied professional life with such amazing chaos and yet it is so simple actually. It is so natural! Her internal traumas are well portrayed by the actress and you feel sorry for her even when you know she might have had a way out of the tragic situation she is in. Thora Birch is the absolute teenager. Caught between socially accepted concepts and her own self which does not fit in there, like any other teenager anywhere in the world in times like these she wonders whether she is a freak! Allison Janning and Chris Cooper are stunning in their short roles. They portray the senselessness of a system that breeds self-denial as part of societal ethics, some cope with it some take shelter in letting their minds wander. They are like two sides of a coin, so different from each other in dealing with truth yet so similar in what they are running away from.
Wes Butler as Ricky is perhaps the only one among the characters who has retained his sanity. His ability to see beauty in small, inane things surface so gently through the chaos in the film that one suddenly realizes what one is missing. It questions our inability to fathom darkness and touch light, our insufficiency to deal with our schizophrenic selves caught up in the mess of societal paradigms. He retains his individuality by being a part of a system that is rotting. In fact by helping the system to rot. His dealing in drugs thus becomes symbolic of a person who is helping a dying system die. He is abnormal. He does not fit in; perhaps that is his way of not conforming. But the most poignant part of the film is the end. When you see Lester's entire life pass through a haze of the present, you feel so completely awed at what beauty life actually holds for every one of us. As the glorious days of his childhood, the loving days of his marriage, his daughter float across his mind, and you hear him say how full of gratitude he is for all the wonder and beauty life actually has to offer, you just sit there in that balcony seat and shut your eyes for a second to glance into your soul. You wonder, `Why did all that laughter have to die?'
Greedy (1994)
A lesson for life!
This is film is about a very basic instinct in all of us, simply put forth in the title "Greed".
As the story unfolds the characters seem very familiar, people we have seen and known and loved. They are not evil people. They have slowly and simply given in to the lure of greed. Here is a story about a multi-millionaire uncle and his clan of relatives each trying to beat the other in pleasing their uncle to get quoted in his will. Even the nicest and most honest of them all (Michael J Fox) slowly get sucked into the plot and get into this run for money.
The story is an eye-opener. It gives us an opportunity to look into ourselves and our own set of values. It makes us introspect and re-prioritise our lives. How many times have we ourselves given in to the rut? Without meaning to hurt how many times have we actually fooled ourselves into believing that what we are doing is for a noble cause when actually all that we were actually interested in was the money?
the ending is great. It brings back faith to people who have become cynical enough to believe that good does not beget good in return always. It raises our hopes and makes us feel good about being simple and honest with ourselves. it is a must watch movie for the whole family.
Earth (1998)
A film that blends into your soul.
A good story may not always make a great movie. In my experience if I have read a book and then seen the movie, most often than not I find that in spite of thoroughly enjoying the book the movie has fallen flat on its face. However 1947:Earth is an exception.
I had read the book and when I entered the theatre I was a little anxious because I had really loved the book "Ice Candy man". The story of a few common lives in the dusk of partition and told by a child was a moving saga indeed. The storm that rose then have still not settled its dust in the minds of millions who have gone through the pain of lacerating their roots from the soil they belonged to.
But once the film started I just could not help but let myself loose with the flow of the film. The first thing that I fell in love with was the music. It had an amazing ability to blend with the story and the background. It was so much a part of the film yet did not stand out on its own. Like salt in food, one would not be able to do without it but one would not see its existence separate from the film.
The actors merged into the characters so well that I was actually living the moments of the film. Aamir Khan , Nandita Das and Rahul Khanna did a really commendable job. The casting was great even for the smaller character roles.
The treatment of the story in soft rich colours and the slightly fairy tale variety of the narrative made it seem like a long forgotten tale rising out of dust. The pain and the pathos of the individual characters played so well by the actors left you with a tinge of guilt for not belonging to the generation that saw the "earth" split. It left me with a feeling of personal loss. Last but not the least was the voiceover by Shabana Azmi which will haunt me for quite sometime.
I wish Deepa Mehata all the best for her future "elements". After "Fire" and "Earth" I will be eagerly waiting for the rest.