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but-then-perhaps
Reviews
Shabdo (2012)
How the mediocre society kills geniuses in its effort to make them "normal"
This is an extraordinary film, and that would be saying less. It is about the life of a foley artist Tarak (Ritwick Chakraborty), who is so absorbed in his work, that all the sounds that he hears are ambient, background sounds, and misses out on a lot of what people talk. This leads to a case of what people understand as a severe case of inattention and loss of contact with the "real" world. And by the mundane societal normative standards he is a "patient" who needs to be treated to get back to "normal".
This is where you start feeling extremely angry with society and feel one with Tarak when he smashes a studio mike in anger. Yes, like Tarak, I wanted to scream, that he is absolutely fine. There is nothing wrong with him. Just because he is more attuned to sounds that others who spend their lives listening to the rabble of unmeaning conversations cannot hear, you cannot brand him as abnormal or ill. Ritwick Chakraborty makes Tarak come alive. He keeps you riveted and draws you in enough to actually care for this unheard of artist. In his ordinariness of everyday life and his genius of perceiving the tiniest of sounds, including the sound of light, he is more than words could describe. He becomes the reason why you watch the film.
As for the direction-it is good, very good. The cinematography is apt.There is a dream sequence on the beach which deserves special mention.
The supporting cast including Srijit, Raima, Churni and Victor are good-but just that. Placed in comparison to Ritwick, their inability to rise from adequate actors to awesome ones stand out glaringly. Raima is just a wife, but, unlike Tarak who totally internalizes the walk, look, talk of an otherwise very middle class, suburban man, she fails to become the very ordinary wife. Her urbanness stands out too much. Churni and Victor fail to make their conversation scenes from falling into a sense of monotony. You start wishing that their scene will get over soon. The last scene is one of the memorable scenes that you will take back with you. It'll be there, haunting you. And it'll probably come back to you when you want to brand someone who doesn't conform to the societal standards of normalcy, ill. That is how everyday all the potentiality that could lead to enhanced sensitivity is killed by the insensitive bland commonplace society.
Roga Howar Sohoj Upay (2015)
A very unusual film
It's rather hard to describe this film. It plays out like a comedy and a thriller but is a psychological drama. Parodies of popular Bengali films and ads abound. The concept is rather different and will take some time to sink in. Animated sequences are liberally used along with real ones. Some of it is downright silly or hilarious. But the film keeps you guessing till the end. It has a very contemporary issue at its heart-the culture of judging people by their weight and always feeling somehow incomplete till you've reached that elusive supermodel body. Subconsciously, we as a society and as individuals are always pressurizing ourselves and others needlessly to achieve that perfect weight. In the process we forget to think of a person as an individual with unique qualities that make them so different from others. The films take on this is serious and funny and a little scary all together. Acting is good, but Raima could have done better maybe. This is not a movie to watch with subtitles. It is too mired in the Bong culture that we grew up with and one needs the background to appreciate or follow a lot of the dialogues and puns. Kudos to the team for such a different film.
Bãhubali: The Beginning (2015)
Worth only for the battle scene
Minor spoilers ahead:
At first it was like, Oh OK, the director is not really a physicist...(gravity is a non existent parameter in the movie and certain humans CAN fly!) Then it was, OK- not well up in biology either,(the lead stays underwater and draws a tattoo on the heroine's arm. Also, aging-what's aging?) Then we thought-well, his geography seems a little off (snow covered mountains and tropical forests are all neighbours) Not that he is exactly well up in anthropology, (He's not a feminist too, the friend whispered hesitantly from the side)... And the only humour he understands is probably the unintentional one. By the way, did you know that decapitated human beings can still keep running without a head on their shoulders? Right, I didn't know that too. Why in heaven's name is this movie the "most" expensive Indian movie ever made? Unless they have overpaid everyone. The only redeeming part in this 3 hour long headache with too many cringe worthy moments is a 30 minutes battle scene. That, is, epic. (If you don't mind the usual impossibilities that keep happening). Watch Baahubali for those last 40 minutes. For that and only that. Except of course if you want to spend about 2 hours laughing unintentionally and having too many moments of face palm.
Knock Out (2010)
Awesome
This is one AWESOME film. There is a whole lot of hue and cry that it is a straight lift from Phonebooth. Well, you can judge for yourselves. Phone booth is a movie about this loose character guy who cheats on his wife and gets trapped in a phone booth (while making a call to his girlfriend)by a sniper in a high-rise building who insists that either he confesses his cheating or gets himself/his wife/his girl friend killed. Knock out's similarity lies in that it is also a movie with a guy held up in a phone booth by a sniper, but the reason is political- regarding Indian politicians hoarding the tax payers money in swiss bank. Unlike Phone booth, Knock Out has a solid motive going for the sniper. It has Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan to do the title roles which they do with so much intensity and screen presence that you'll forget everything else. It is also more funny and colourful, what with Irrfan forced to dance to "Zara zara touch me touch me touch me". O God! I was in splits after that and had to re watch it several times. The pace of the film is tense and the drama convincingly gritty. The comedy is real good comedy and not the Hindi film staple of Johny Leverish headache inducing hamming. The action sequences are good. Kangana, Satish, Gulshan Grover are apt in their roles. Gulshan is especially good as the corrupt politician and never overplays it. This has to be one of Sanjay Dutt's and Irrfan's great movies. Kudos to the director for making a movie on a much needed topic with such aplomb. And-it is a whole deal better than Phone booth!
Raanjhanaa (2013)
A film which captures the soul of small town India and the naivety of youth
This film is a slow poison. It grows on you more and more with time and with every watch, as the nuances start seeping into you. Where the film succeeds most is in bringing out that throbbing, pulsating, vibrant, poignant feel of a small town India, that naivety of youth, that hotheadedness of our college days. It brings out that belief we all had in our first youth- that we can fight corruption and make the world a better place to live in. That we can win our heart's love. As we grow older, our optimism decreases and so does our faith in humanity. But that doesn't make our youthful silliness any less true. It is a tale of those days of our life when we first get to know "ki saala dil na left mein hota hai na right mein-centre mein hota hai"because that is where it pains. The tale unfolds a young Kundan's infatuation with Zoya. A girl from a different station in life. She is flighty and lives in the moment. She is aware of her charms and uses them throughout to get her end. What she doesn't realize is she's playing with fire when treating emotions so irresponsibly. Dhanush, as Kundan, surpasses all expectations. He plays a 16 year old as convincingly as a 25 year old. His naivety, his growing up, his pain, his passions show so clearly on his face that you remain awestruck. He is one of the strongest actors around. Sonam does a commendable performance as the flighty Zoya, but fails miserably in the second half as a politically conscious student. Murari and Bindya are gems as supporting actors. The music by ARR is haunting and you'll find yourself humming to most of them. The editing in the second half is the only downer in the movie. The cinematography will make you long for going to Benaras. It is magic.
Overall, it is a tale that will bring you closer to your youthful fantasies and pain and that India which throbs and pulsates with soul.