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Reviews
Nishabd (2007)
awe-inspiring cinema
Nishabd is an extremely well executed film.
The visuals are great with excellent cinematography. The film is not exactly brightly colored but rather a beautiful version of duo-tone print. The black/silver-blue tints really enhance the mood.
And, the storyline. Definitely quite controversial for Bollywood. The film is narrated by the 60 yr old, Amitabh Bachan and is about his love with a young girl Jia. From the start (or nearly from the start), the story speaks for itself. Jia, a friend of Bachan's daughter comes to stay at their house, and the attraction starts to build up on both sides. The life of the married old man starts to fall into agonizing pieces when his family gets to know of the unconditional affair. The story evolves and matures into a very realistic climax, that leaves the viewer sad and overwhelmed with emotions.
The performances of Big B and his wife are great. Big B speaks such a lot of words without opening his mouth. The acting of Jia as a neglected teenager is also fine. The daughter is very natural as well.
The background score is very soulful and adds to the emotional feel.
Ram Gopal manages to build up and portray the sexual tension between Amitabh and Jia very realistically and the film delivers some truly powerful moments. Generally, there is no one great climax, but the film gets more powerful as it approaches the end.
All in all, it is a positively overwhelming ride. The film leaves you stunned for a minute or 2 after the end as you come back to your surroundings. This is a critics' film; the kind which gets less attention at the box-office due to its overly sensitive subjects but loads of bravos from the critics and award shows.
9/10
Darna Zaroori Hai (2006)
Though not as polished as it could have been, Darna Zaroori Hai is still a stunning accomplishment
Darna Zaroori Hai is one of the few Indian Movies that are made in this genre -that is horror-and considering that alone, I think we all ought to give it some credit for this venture. Prod/Dir Ram Gopal Verma proves once again that he can not only pick up unusual stories but also portray them well.
Based on the same format as its predecessor, Darna Mana Hai, Darna Zaroori Hai Has got six stories-one in the beginning (not related to the plot) and five others which an old hag narrates to five unlucky children which are caught inside the woman's mansion due to heavy rain and storm. And then there's one main story; that of the old woman and the five kids which binds the movie together.
All the stories have there own charm. Some are good, others are even better. Apart from sticking to the creepy theme, they portray their individual meaning.
There have been several improvements in the sequel technically as well. The film has been shot most beautifully, the direction being pretty good. The special effects put now and then into the scenes are also surprisingly slick for an Indian film and completely enhance the ghostly setting. There is also quite a huge star cast in the film with most actors acting very well. The Audio effects remain typical for a horror flick and help you immerse deeper into the feel of the movie.
All good said, I would want to add that although Darna Zaroori hai is still a stunning accomplishment with what it does do, there are many finer points in the film that remain half baked deteriorating what could have been a most thrilling horror film. The main story has no depth and is absolutely typical in its very root. The short stories are all good but in one or two cases you may have wanted the ending to be more climactic then what happens eventually, even though the setting for the climax has in all cases been done most proficiently. The pace is quite astonishingly managed in the first half of the film but begins to twitch severely in the latter half. All this leaves you thinking that if only this could have happened like this, it would have been perfect.
In the end, let may say it comparatively: that although not as polished as Ram Gopal's excellent horror thriller "Bhoot", Darna Zaroori hai still makes on my "good-movie" list. It is definitely better then its prequel.
I give it a 6/10 (Good).
...Yahaan (2005)
An inspiring Tale of a Kashmiri girl and an Indian soldier.
At first when i heard of Yahaan, I thought it would just be a lame love story based based on the typical Indian style, but after seeing the movie i don't think i can say that. The location of the movie well suits the story, and it has been filmographed very well. The stars acted very well and the story line was also well paced. It does not only shows romance but also the current situations of Kashmir, torn by rivalry by both the countries India and Pakistan. The dialogues are good and it is and inspiring love story. The songs in particular are also very very good and suit the story line perfectly. Unlike most of the movies i enjoyed this movie a lot!