Appreciate the effort

Thousands of reviews exist in the internet on Swades. Some praises the movie while others lambast it. Everyone has their own opinion. So why do I need to write a review?

I am bound to fall in one of these categories. Eveything that can be said about this movie has been written, every frame has been analysed and every character has been debated. Then what is my point...!!! My point is simple, I loved Swades and my advice to everyone is go and watch Swades.

Why is that ? Is it the best movie ever made ? Ofcourse not. There are very few movies which transcends all barriers and are hailed by one and all. Most movies have glaring flaws. And Swades is no different. It has its fair share of flaws (the picture perfect village, driving in a caravan, the south indian accents of people living in UP etc etc).

However, when the movie is viewed in the current context of Bollywood cinema it can be concluded that it is miles ahead of the junk/tilltilation/mindless crap that is shelled out week after week after week. This is a brave attempt by a filmmaker to make something different, something noble.

The simple gratitude we can pay him is by appreciating his effort. Asutosh’s conviction lies in the message that he conveys. I guess he is so confident of that he manages to extract the best out of Sharukh. We are all gladly surprised to find out how K-K-Kiran has toned down his acting.

Its good for Bollywood in general that big stars realize that a NASA scientist won’t shake and quiver his lips when he is excited. He would exactly be the way Mohan Bhargava is in Swades. Thus when Sharukh weeps silently in his caravan or looks at the pictures strewn all over the floor or signals Geeta to hide the pack of Marlboro we can identify with him. Aren’t these the moments that all of us have endured at some point.

I had stayed in Europe for a while and can easily relate to the loneliness of one’s life in the West. Add to it the sense of guilt we all feel at some point for living too lavishly or not doing enough for the home land. And often we are eager to help the country we belong to, the country we are born in. Swades imbibes all these and lends a voice to it.

It potrays a common Indian living outside of his land - he can be a NASA scientist or a software developer in Microsoft or a doctor with NHS in UK or an oil worker in the Gulf or for that matter anybody living in India itself. Bottomline is we all feel for the land we belong to and kudoos to Asutosh for lending a voice to those feelings.

A nice memento

Back from my political commentry to film review. Here is the review of a film I saw a few days back.

‘Memento’ is the second offering from director Christopher Nolen, it was while watching his third directorial venture ‘Insomnia’ that I grew fond of his unique directorial style and thought of watching ’Memento’. ‘Memento’, often rated as one of the best movies of 2001, is based on a short story written by Nolan’s brother.

The story

‘John G raped and murdered my wife.’ -- This is not the kind of event that a person needs to tattoo on their chest to remember, but that’s what Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) has to do. It was during rape/murder/robbery that Leonard suffers major brain damage and loses all his ability of short term memory. He cannot create new memories and the last incident that he can remember is that of his wife..(how sweet)..dying.

Thus everyday in his life is sort of a puzzle etched in tattoos, Polaroid snaps, notes written down in scraps of paper. Even with that sort of handicap, Leonard tries to track down his wife’s killers through shady motels, warehouses in Los Angeles, his camera and pen with him at all times. During his search for the killers he comes across a bar waitress Natalie (Carie-Ann Moss of Matrix fame) and Teddy (Joe Pantoliano).

The characters also form an intricate part of the mystery in solving the crime and has their own interests in helping out Leonard. To Leonard, Natalie is someone ‘who will help you out of pity’, as ‘she has also lost someone’ and he should not ‘believe in the lies’ of Teddy, he has to recognize them every day out of the snaps. Leonard also recalls a similar case that he had come across during his tenure as an insurance claims investigator, the story of Sammy Jenkins.

Sammy also had a similar problem of short term memory loss, but Leonard during his investigations felt that Sammy was faking the memory loss. Lenny had seen a hint of recognition in Sammy’s eyes each time he went to meet Sammy, but Sammy always denied any recollection. The way Sammy’s story is webbed with that of Lenny’s is revealed in the climax Giving up anything more on the story will be criminal.

The direction

‘Memento’ has one of the most original and riveting of directorial ventures, the whole story being played out backwards, not like rewind, but rather in reverse chronology. This works out very well as it puts the audience in the same predicament as Leonard , sort of unaware of what has happened before, putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.

The kind of movie ‘Memento’ is, always runs the risk of getting slower or becoming predictable but to Nolan’s credit, the momentum keeps the viewer engrossed in his seat throughout the movie, and the end is completely unpredictable and would keep one thinking for a long time. With a murder mystery as complex as this, directors also need to be careful, not leaving any loose ends, any flaws; And this is where Nolan scores.

His meticulous attention to detail is worth noting, except probably for one flaw in the whole script there is nothing which looks a bit murky or not entirely convincing. The one flaw is that of Leonard remembering his condition each time although he fails to create any new memories. His condition of course is not tattooed anywhere, neither is written down in any scrap. But for something as refreshingly original as this, I am ready to overlook this misdemeanor.

The cast

The movie from start to finish is a complete Guy Pearce show. I liked Pearce in his role as Lt. Exley in LA Confidential. But this is even better. Pearce plays a riff on the classic film noir hero, flawed, motivated, tough and sympathetic, and does so with great charisma. Some of the lingering events of the movie is Pearce’s moments with Moss. Natalie, who is perpetually shifting motivations, is depicted well by Carrie-Ann Moss. Joe Pantoliano as Teddy also chips in with a good performance.

Memories

My favorite sequence is the opening scene which shows a Polaroid snap slowly fading. After the credits are over we realize it is actually a scene played in reverse as is the whole opening sequence.

The moment where Leonard forgets in the middle of a chase whether he is chasing or he is being chased is brilliant, so is the intriguing story of Sammy Jenkins played in black and white, Natalie removing the pens from her house or when Leonard says ‘How can I heal ? How am I supposed to heal if I can’t... feel time ?’; Memento is studded with such brilliant moments which leaves an indelible impression on the audience.

Conclusion

There are some films which require you to leave your brain at home and there are some which inspires you to shrug off your laziness and actually write a big review on a boring weekend. Memento ranks as one of the best films I have ever seen, probably the most original; And surrounded by the current heap of mediocrity it stands out as a daring and unforgettable work. I can’t wait for more from Nolan.

Reservations

The whole of country (at least the urban areas) are up in arms against reservation. Thought will share my point of view.

Well, ideologically I am also pro-reservation. But when implemented in a society like ours (morally bankrupt) the whole ideological solution goes for a toss. For instance, any theory (in this case the reservation theory) is only as good until it's validated. Thus it was no good for Newton to tell us that the apple fell from the tree as there was gravitation. He had to do some real world experiments and come up with theories and formulas to substantiate it. Similarly the reservation theory has been put to test in the last 50 years and what are the results of validation ? Not much aint it. The disadvantaged sections of the society goes through the same old grind of agriculture, poverty, not enough output, high school drop outs and farmer suicides. Clearly my ideology which looked so good on paper is not working. There is no evidence that reinforcing it with renewed vigor is going to change the situation. In fact quite the contrary : Consider this, due to the wide spread protests and the fear of losing the upper caste vote bank the govt. is going to compensate it with increasing the number of seats in the IITs and IIMs. Now it's a totally different story that reserving seats in these institutions are not going to pull the drought ridden farmer out of his misery. But that thing aside, this increase in number of seats is going to cost the exchequer 10,000 crore rupees. And who benefits, the same old upper class, the rich among the OBCs, the rich among the SCs. So in effect the govt. now will actually spend MORE money on the upper class (note class and not caste) from its pocket post reservation than it was actually doing. Money that should be used to improve primary schooling, money that should be used to resolve the problems of drought and irrigation. Money that should be used to stop female feticide. Money that should be used to fight fatal diseases. Money that SHOULD NOT be used to benefit half dozen people in IIT/IIM who are anyway going to make it big since they have come this far.

Point 2, consider this -- The UPA govt. goes ahead with the reservation and becomes a champion of the OBC cause. Mass support for it from all sections of backward class. Don’t you think it becomes doubly easy for the UPA to implement it's neo-liberal policies. Now if some backward guy says, 'Hey I don’t want FDI in retail', PC's gonna say, 'Folks you got 50% reservation, we did it for you. We are for you. Go home'. And he is going to go ahead with the neo-lib policies easily. Policies which AGAIN are going to help the already established upper class and not the poor peasant slogging it out in the fields.

Now, all this rambling is well and good, but who ever is anti-quota should also come up with an alternative solution. I have an alternate plan. The real difference between an upper class (again not caste) and a lower class is not created in the IITs and NITs. It happens much before that. In the elite institutions at the urban center, in the convent schools, in the DPSs and St Xaviers. That's where we need a 50% quota. Even on a caste basis would do.

The black and white companion

The other day I had gone to Mondy’s in South Bombay, when I saw that Regal was playing ‘Dosar’ (Bengali movie) in the night show. So I thought I might catch it after a couple of beers at Mondy’s. And I did so. It has been a while since I have seen a Bong movie. I quite liked it and then googled a lot for a Dosar review. Could find only one at mouthshut. So I thought I would express my opinions on the movie.

Well, ‘Dosar’ (which means the companion) is a Rituparno movie. So guys, expect some of the stereotypes, female-oriented, mostly-indoors, upper class Bengali society, smoking male characters, infidelity, well-shot and of course sexual innuendos. But what’s unique about this one is that it’s shot in Black &White. Here is what Ritu says in an interview with Telegraph on the lack of color in the movie :

“I didn’t find the need to use colour in this film. In fact, I didn’t think I needed to use colour for some of my other films too. The use of black and white in Dosar is not a gimmick.”

Well, tough to say really whether it was a marketing gimmick or a poignant artistic need. It’s anybody’s guess really. But whatever said and done, the feeling of watching a 21^st century B & W film is amazing. Laced with cleverly done interiors and brilliant cinematography the look of Dosar is really international.

The other technical aspect of the movie that catches your attention is the background score, composed by a group known as ‘21 grams’. Guess what, they use bagpipes in the movie (kind of like Braveheart). Now that’s something unique, bagpipes in a desi movie. But again it only advances the mystic feel of the whole movie.

Anyway, the story of the movie is really simple. Kaushik (Prasenjit) is the protagonist (or antagonist) who goes to a resort to spend a weekend with his arm candy. While returning he faces a near fatal accident. Although he survives with serious injuries, Mita – the love interest (played by Chandrayee Ghosh) dies on the spot. The whole film deals with the post accident trauma faced by Kaberi (Konkona) , Kaushik’s wife and Kaushik himself. She is torn apart in the dilemma of feeling for her battered husband and the same time angered by his infidelity. So much so that she refuses to sign the hospital papers and even contemplates the idea of consulting divorce lawyers while her husband battles for life.

Kaushik is also caught in the middle. Prasenjit chips in with a brilliant performance as a man grieved by the loss of a loved one and the trust of his wife. But the real star of the movie is Konkona. She plays the role of the undecided wife to perfection, probably her best performance till date. Watch out for the scene when she says ‘Mita is spot dead’ with a straight face to Prasenjit, when everyone else is trying to avoid the topic. She beautifully portrays the vulnerability within her while maintaining a stern, almost feminist exterior.

There is also a subplot featuring another extra marital relationship between Kaberi’s friends played by Pallabi Chatterjee and Parambrata. It intermingles with the main plot and provides an opportunity for the director to portray Kaberi’s opinion on the subject that has a predictable shift.

Ritu’s movies had always had that element of sensuousness. Dosar takes it to a different level. There are a few explicit sex sequences, one with a sensual poetry in the background, one with an indifferent prostitute (this one was gross), and another one involving Pallabi and Parambrata. Some people apparently where shocked by these depictions and would rather not have them in the movie. I am generally ok with them. Infidelity is an adult subject and has to be portrayed in all its colors (oops, B&W).

The question is then what do I make of the movie. Well, clearly the movie does not break any grounds, nor does set any standards for cinematic excellence, but certainly ranks up there with Ritu’s best. So I definitely recommend this movie.

I was also surprised to see the large turn out in a Mumbai theatre (certainly not a Bengali city). This really proves that good cinema has its own audience and transcends language barriers. Ritu’s film making provides hope for admirers of good cinema. His movies bring in audience which certainly keeps the producers interested in investing in good movies. Hope to see Planman producing more good movies in future.