ankur Warikoo

If you are reading this review to figure out whether you should go for the movie or not, you are wasting your time. I would suggest you go!

If you have already seen the movie, you know you are wasting your time!

Avatar is a not so great movie, made fantastically. I honestly went in expecting something like the Titanic, a decent story done well with special effects. Avatar is one-third the story and 2000 times the special effects!

Jake Sully is an Ex-Marine and even though paralyzed waist down is recruited for a critical mission because his DNA matches his twin (dead) brother’s! Mission is to enter the world of Pandora (not to be confused with the box’s owner!) through a mixed breed (of the local community and humans) called Avatar, mingle with the local community and eventually persuade them to move from their current habitat. Because beneath that lies the most abundant resource of an element unobtanium (who thought of that name!!) which is the only way to save Earth.

And as expected…(and ala SRK) Jake’s Avatar merges a lot more than needed, with the local community, falls in love with the chief’s daughter (are they usually the one chicks around…why not the sweeper’s daughter…or the chef’s…why always the chief!!)…and eventually comes on their side. The climax is a battle between the humans and the locals, in which not surprising the locals win simply because animals matched with bows and arrows can anyday fight stun guns and AK47s!

However, what lies in between the story, is this entire, almost independent story of how Neytiri (the chief’s daughter) shows Jake ‘their’ ways…! Thats what James Cameroon has used to showcase the beauty of special effects. Pandora has been created in a  breath-taking manner, the relationship of the locals with nature has been expressed sensitively…

Its not a bad movie at all…cmon…we are from the land of “Om Shanti Om” and “Rab Ne Bana Di something something”…

My opinion is…that dude has spent 2,000 crores in making this jazz….you can surely spend 200 bucks…!

And hey…do watch it on a big 3d screen…

Rating: 2.5/5

Paa, in addition to multiple awards (that I am sure it will fetch) should win the Simplest Movie of the Year award. Its a wonderfully simple story, narrated in a simplistic fashion from the eyes of Auro. It is honestly, as if watching the world from the eyes of a kid.

Amol (Abhishek Bachchan) is a politic, ala Rahul Gandhi (or Sachin Pilot, if you will). Young, suava, sophisticated, committed and single! In his normal world, he bumps into Auro (Amitabh Bachchan), a 13-year old kid suffering from a rare genetic disorder Progeria. The disease speeds up the aging process, thereby making Auro look like an 80-old year old.

But Auro is happy. He has a fantastic mom (Vidya Balan, looking at her best!) and a cool grandmom (Arundhati Naag – where was she all this while) whom he fondly calls Bum, for obvious reasons! And in his happy world, he strikes a chord with Amol, which blossoms into a wonderful relation. Ofcourse, its only the audience that knows that Amol-Auro are actually father-son!

What follows is a wonderful father-son relationship unfolding through the eyes of Auro (and more importantly experienced by the audience). The dialogues are fantastic…crisp, funny (remind you of Dil Chahta Hain) and Amitabh is at his best.

I thought of who all could have done this role, in Indian Cinema and could think of anyone apart from Kamal Hassan. Maybe Aamir?

Needless to say, full credit to the make-up artists Christien Tinsley and Dominie Till who made this look totally unbelievable and yet believable! And for the director Kalki to bring about such masters together.

A Comparison to Taare Zameen Par is unevitable, and I find the battle a little hard to resolve. Unlike TZP, Paa doesnt focus on the sensitivities of the disease. It has a few unnecessary sub-plots (political wars, love story etc). So while I would call TZP a social movie which saw commercial success, Paa is a commercial movie meant to simply entertain. Its another thing that in the process it has brought forward Progeria and some astonishing stories!

Acting performances are top-notch. ALL are awesome! Even Paresh Rawal in his teeny role! The music begins with the catchy Mudi-Mudi track and continues with the “hummable-but not fantabulous” music!

Overall, a great movie to catch, for the sheer genius of Amitabh Bachchan! And the art of simple and effective story-telling!

Rating 4.5/5

As is with everything else in India…it’s taken us 8 years to realize the impact of 9/11…or maybe it was 26/11 that made us go…”wow, there is a story in there”!

Kurbaan is (yet another) version of terrorism under the guise of religion, juxtaposed with a love story (without which there is no desi movie).

I felt it wasnt better than New York, and at the same time I felt there were moments which made the movie stand out (or made it feel realistic, which is not expected from a KJo production…for god sake…he called Kabhi Khushi his most realistic movie ever!)

Storyline predictable – Kareena (Avantika) is a Prof who lives in NY and is back in India because of her father’s ill-health. She falls in love with Saif (Ehsaan) and both of them decide to move to NY and start a life there, in the backdrop of an unwilling father.

Once in NY, the usual post-marriage love story unfolds…finding  house, setting it up, kisses on way to office and back home from work, grocery bills etc etc. They move to an Indian neighborhood, which is a Muslim dominated area and thats where the trouble begins. Avantika realizes that one of her neighbours is in danger and in an attempt to save her uncovers a truth that rips her apart (cmon..we all can guess what it is!!).

This is where the movie breaks down! The characters unfold themselves in a fashion that is not normal…and honestly at no point of time are you able to connect to them, unlike New York (the movie).

The movie does attempt to (half-heartedly) bring out the other side of terrorism, pointing to the way the US has bulldozed the Middle Eastern Region due to selfish needs. And while the argument is not entirely wrong, the movie fails to really grip the audience into believing it.

And ofcourse, the high point of the movie is the realization that NY Cops are as useless as Delhi Police, when it comes to chasing convicts. To showcase simply this fact, Shiela Dixit should make the movie Tax-free!

However, to his credit, the debutant (Rensil D’Silva) does a fantastic job of making the movie LOOK awesome (but then again, its a KJo production! You would expect that, though I was surprised that Saif didnt sport any DKNY outfits throughout the movie). The cinematography is fantastic…there are some really brilliantly executed scenes which the Indian cinema has not been subjected to so far.

And if nothing, Vivek Oberoi’s American Accent steals the show, oh so totally! That guy is all set of join Genpact as Team Lead – US Processes!

Overall, good attempt. Though I wish New York hadnt happened before. Just in comparison, I would give this a lower rating

Rating – 2/5

—–

And while at it, this has got to be the best review of the movie possible…!

So I watched the movie…and honestly…quite liked it! Cmon…what were you guys expecting? Oscar Movie of the Year! it was meant to be this crappy…but with great visual appeal. And it delivered on it…!

However, as is with every movie, no matter how crappy…there are always learnings (and hidden philosophies!).

Here is my book on…

20 Things You Learn from 2012 – The Movie

1. With a wave as high as Mt. Everest some 200 feet away from you…cellphone signals are still strong enough to call your friend in the US and tell him you are dying!
2. Blacks will eventually save the world!
3. It will friggin take much more than a billion people in size, for India to have one of its citizen up on that ship
4. After the world ends…all that will remain will be “Made in China”
5. If you wish to save your ass from the world’s end…get some flying lessons! And no…no need to get a friggin license…a flight or two will suffice!
6. One day you will be able to fly only 200 miles to reach US, cause the earth would have moved alongwith you!
7. Africa is the only continent that will not drown. So yeah…they could die of AIDS or Malaria…but flood…not happening!
8. The 2010 London Summer Olympics will be held in December…!
9. If you are a stepdad…you will eventually die and the original father will take over!
10. John Cusack is the world record holder for the longest duration underwater without breathing!
11. The Russian President´s English is sufficient incase you want to tell him that he is going to die…in English
12. The chinese build the worst things on this earth, but will make sure that there are cameras installed all across the ship to cover the remotest of insignificant corners!
13. But hey…after all the billions spent…the gates can still get jammed by a tool!
14. Animals will be saved more for zoo value (Rhino, Giraffe) rather than real value. So yes…no cows, pigs, sheep on the ship please!
15. There will always be a senti 10 minute speech on opening the gates, when they are 11 minutes left for impact!
16. Russians will always have a sense of humor, when when they are dying!
17. Arabs will speak good english but will insist all paperwork and documents to be in Arabic! And yes…they love their family as much as Indians do…so they will pay for all.
18. Your hot mistress will always have an affair with your hot driver!
19. No matter how much you have paid for the ticket, the boarding will remind you of Air Deccan. However, there might actually be some people who will never make it to the ship, unlike Air Deccan (almost!)
20. And oh! When you know 3 years back that the world will be flooded…always make a ship..! Not a submarine…a ship!

Please add your own!!

District 9 is an absolute gem…and the funny part is…i dont know why!

The film has a documentary feel to it…the kind that reminds one of The Blair Witch Project. It starts off with a series of documentary-like interviews, which lay the story for the viewer. An Alien spaceship arrives above Johhannesberg, some 20 years back…and just stays put. Humans finally decide to do something about it..after they have waited for 3 months…and they enter the ship. Only to find the aliens in a terrible state…as if some epidemic had taken over. So as a gracious welcome, the aliens are moved to the city.

The place where the aliens stay is District 9.

Its been 20 years and people are fed up of District 9. Its a slum (yup…even aliens have one) and the Prawns (which the aliens are called, since they resemble them!) are not welcome in society. So you see all these roadsigns segregating them from humans (which would have been easier for South Africa, considering their past!)

A private company, MNU is entrusted with the task of moving these aliens to a new place of refuge, District 10. Spearheading the task is an MNU employee, Wikus. Its later realized that the very reason why the aliens have been tolerated this far is because of their (guess guess) weapon technology. Unfortunately, there hasnt been any luck on that so far, since humans are incapable of operating those awesome guns!

Wikus sets out on the eviction plan and during once such visits enters into a slum house that has some crazy shit going on. Computers and wires and some equipments etc. He starts to search through the place and in the process spills some dark liquid onto his face, which came from a silver can. he confiscates the can

Wikus’ health starts deteriorating and he is admitted to the hospital. Its there that the doctors realize that his left hand has transformed (or mutated) into an alien hand! MNU immediately takes over him and needless to say, trie to see if he is capable of operating the weapons. And yup…he is! The doctors figure out that by some mechanism the alien DNA has entered Wikus’s body and found a perfect balance with the human DNA. He is still a human, but transforming slowly into an alien.

What happens thereafter is an awesome ride during which Wikus struggles to find his own identify and the secret of what happened to him. It is during this, that he meets Christopher, the alien who had collected that dark fluid over the past 20 years!

District 9 is unlike any other alien movie I have seen before. Yes, it does have fight sequences and ugly aliens, but the underlying tone is very different. Its not, for a change, about aliens trying to kill humans or taking over Earth. Or aliens becoming friends with humans and helping them in their daily chores! Its a thriller…and a good one at that…and its a common man’s story about his fight! I could identify with Wikus’s character because at no time was he a superhero…nor was he the savior of the human race. He was a simple guy who wanted to become a human again and go back home…and think it was all a bad dream!

Brilliantly done…! And yet..its such a simple movie at the end of it!

District 9 is a must watch

Rating: 5/5

Movie Site: http://www.d-9.com/

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

Geniuses dont do different things…they just do things differently!

Imtiaz Ali, in that manner, will classify as a genius. A story that has been beaten to death in Indian Cinema…and yet this dude decides to pick it up…and handle in possibly the most simplistic and elegant manner. Juxtapose it against what we always hear from our parents – humaare zamaane mein aisa hota tha…!

Then - Boy sees girl…decides to marry her. This birth…and all others that shall follow. He wins her heart…fights the word…and eventually makes her his! This is when he has never they have never exchanged words…when they have not spent time together. Its all driven by the concept of love!

Now – Boy and girl meet…move in together…sleep around…have an awesome life…booze…parties…work…the works! And then the fear of a long distance relationship looms large on them. So they simply decide to break up! This is when they have spent 2 years together…are possibly best friends with the other person…and love each other a lot! Its all driven by the concept of practicality!

Imitiaz proposes that while the foundation of Now & Then are different…whats identical is how love remains the same through the ages. And he couldnt he more correct!

Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika) are a happy couple…and (like all other modern couples) are practical. So, while they have had an awesome 2 years together, they decide to call off their relationship when Meera decides to move back to India (from London). The sequence when Saif suggests that they should is one of the moments that make the movie memorable!

They continue to be in touch…continue to share their lives…their inhibitions…and underneath their fears of finding someone else soon. They eventually do…

All this while Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor in a fantastic performance again), a friend of Jai, narrates a parallel story of Harleen Kaur (who is this stunning girl!) and his. Which ofcourse Jai finds straight out of mythology! He cant believe the shit young Veer (played by Saif in a surdy role!) went through to be with Harleen…!

Saif realizes his love for Meera…goes down to India to meet Meera…and on the day of her wedding (to Rahul Khanna who is kind of wasted in the movie) proposes to her in possibly the best manner ever seen in Indian cinema! But too late. Meera marries…

What follows…is a beautiful rendition of love…in Imtiaz’s language. The scene towards the end when Meera breaks down as she is approached by Jai after a long wait…is emotions at its best. One can easily identify with the character and the sense of relief she experiences.

The best moment for me during the movie is the transformation of Jai within just one song…! A story that others will make an entire movie on…Imtiaz handles it in 5 minutes with absolute perfection! Brilliant.

I think the risk of playing Saif as young Jai plays off well…even though it might leave some pop corn crunching audiences confused…so focus on the movie.

The music grows on you…! Pritam (atleast as of this morning, though am sure that 102.6 FM will soon figure out) has not been inspired by anyone…and the songs are rather nice. Dooriyaan is the best!

and hey…I think Deepika can act. I think…maybe…just maybe…i am beginning to like her! And saif…while he has streaks of Hum Tum…is adorable and simply the best for this role…(though i am always left with the feeling that Aamir will do more justice…in almost any movie i watch..except for the ones in which SRK plays the lead actress..err…actor!)

Love Aaj Kal is a must watch…! Go today…

*****

EDIT: This has got to be the biggest surprise of the movie!!

inspired

R and i were heading towards K’s place. catching up on life in the past 5 days…and planning the evening ahead. its rare that i listen to music in the car when with her…! but had burnt a new CD and (i dont know if someone else has it) there is this unusual excitement as to which will be the next song. cause you really dont remember when you had put them in an order…to be written…

kaise tujhko dikhaun yahaan hai kya
Maine jharne se paani maa
tod ke piya hai
Guchcha guchcha kai khwabon ka
uchal ke chuwa hai
Chaaya liya bhali dhoop yahaan hai
Naya naya sa hai roop yahan
Yahaan sab kuch hai maa phir bhi
lage bin tere mujhko akela

i kept drivin…she kept looking out her window…there was no talk…
…and we looked at each other…and we had tears in our eyes…


unfortunately i have never really credited cinema with much. i know that SRK has a lot to do with this…but seriously…’bollywood/hollywod/crapwook’ never held any value for me except for pure viewing pleasure. it was rarely that i came out of a screening all shaken up…contemplating…thinking about what just struck me…! there are only a few movies that went that far…

1. Pi
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Requim for a dream
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. City of God
7. Motorcycle Diaries
8. American History X
9. The Matrix
10.The Fight Club
11.Schindler’s List

And no…i am not an angrez who swears by hollywood…! there have been quite a few (unfortunately…a few) movies in hindi that still have me in awe. Anand, 3 deewarein (shit…i really have to think hard here..!)

However, 2 movies lately have fascinated me…

and that…finally…is the theme of today’s entry..

Rang De Basanti

The movie made me feel pathetic…about my life. I figured that no matter what MG says…at somepoint of time i will have to stand infront of the mirror and be hard on myself. at somepoint of time i will have to question my very existence…and my purpose. its surely not to sit infront of a laptop and churn our excel sheets. its certainly not to get married and see my kids become the finest kids ever..! and its surely surely not to get that bloody hasselblad of my last post.

And this movie…made me question all of that. it got so hard on me…that each time i spend lavishly on something…there is a certain guilt that takes over. and that guilt doesnt easily go when i sign that monthly check to CRY. infact it gets only bigger. it only reminds me that as an individual i feel that offering money is my excuse to exist. i dont even know where the money is going…!!

this movie made me realize the power of cinema. the reservation protests…the opening of the priyadarshini mattoo case…the retrial of the jessica lal case…were as if retakes of the same movie. it literally reawakened an entire generation…

and i am not far behind….


Lage raho Munnabhai

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. It made me laugh…made me cry…made me think…and more importantly…left a message so powerful…and in such a subtle manner…that it was only later that i reazlied what a stroke of genius this was.

i personally never really had a strong opinion on Gandhi. ofcourse…it takes a lot to move an entire nation and i dont know how many of us are capable of doing so…(and no…mallika sherawat is not what i am talking about…!)..! so the respect is there. but apart from that…i used to feel…what if we had resorted to violence…wud we have gotten our independence a decade earlier…?

but what the movie made me realize was that i at my own small level have been practising the same thing..! i am not the agressive sorts…rarely will i raise my voice…and if i think about it…my way of dealing with things has truly helped me. dont know if it would work with someone else…but for me…the main idea is that if the other person is wrong…make him feel guilty about it…so so guilty about it that he never does it again. but do it in a manner that he himself realizes it…and is not forced upon by society and laws. its hard…cause it takes a lot of time…but it works…works wonderfully..!

silence…is the best weapon…! i love this in me…narcissistic or whatever…tht silence coms naturally to me. people think that simply slapping someone is the best form of retaliation…however…silence is the cruelist..!

gandhigiri…or whatever you may want to call it…found itself redefined through the movie.


contrast
RDB shoke me…munnabhai amused me.
RDB made me feel horrible within…munnabhai consoled me of my potential
RDB was shock therapy…munnabhai was ‘Patch Adams’

2 movies…almost the same message…almost diametrically opposite ways of treating…

~a

PS: help me with hindi movies that can create the same effect.