Mystic India is a must watch for every Indian and for every religion. It is the journey of an 11-year old boy, Neelkanth, who walked over 8000 miles across India barefoot and barebody in quest of truth and spiritual enlightenment, before obtaining sanyas (Asceticism or spiritual yoga). This boy Neelkanth later grew up into a renowned saint and world reformer, Swaminarayan after embracing Uddhav Sampraday from Swami Ramanand.
The film captures the real mood of spiritual India - its architectural wonders, ancient wisdom and the innumerable holy places along the length and breadth of the country. Every picture frame in Mystic India is awe-inspiring and leaves you wanting more of it. The breathtaking locales from the Himalayas to the Cherrapunji, from the South waters to the Ganges are enough to blow your mind. The story of Neelkanth is neatly woven into this epic film on the unity, cultural diversity and the underlying spirituality in India.
The casting done for Neelkanth's role in the film is brilliant - Latesh Patel and Rupak Mehta playing the young and the adolescent Neelkanth respectively. The film was made in Hindi and its English version has a scenic narration by Peter O 'Toole.
Mystic India is much more than a documentary considering its reel time of 50 minutes. As the film was made on the 70mm film or the Imax format, it is not possible for it to be played everywhere. It is currently being shown in India at Prasads Imax, Hyderabad and Adlabs Imax, Mumbai. I recommend Mystic India to every human being who would like to get inspired.
My rating for this film - *****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
April 22, 2009
April 20, 2009
13B is an interesting watch
I got to read mixed reviews on 13B starring Madhavan since its release. I liked the movie myself when I watched it on Saturday. It may not have the most interesting plot ever shown in any movie, but it is gripping in parts. Please put your logic aside because this one is a supernatural thriller and we just cannot discuss logic here - ghosts defy logic.. they can enter a telivision or even a cell phone for that matter and communicate with you! Do ghosts exist? is something which is not relevant to this post. We assume ghosts exist and that is how you gotto watch this film.
Manahor aka Manu (Madhavan) and his brother Manoj move into the 13B flat on the 13th floor of their new apartment with their families. Things somehow do not seem to be going well for Manu after shifting into this new house. Adding to that, he realizes that everything that is to happen in his life (or in their house) is planned in advance by a daily soap on T.V. called Sab Khairiyat, which the women in the house get addicted to. Rest is all about how he chases the mystery surrounding the bad omens of number 13 in his life, the characters that appear in that daily soap and the reason behind their death some 20 years ago in the same building where this new apartment is now built.
13B is a cautiously made film and with extreme care not to miss continuity with any of the links in the story. Everybody did well on the acting front especially Madhavan, Neetu Chandra (Madhavan's wife) and the one who played the mentally disturbed Ashok. 13B progresses in the hollywood style of narration and it is no wonder that the US based production house, Weinstein Co has already offered to buy its remake rights in hollywood.
My rating for this film - ****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
Manahor aka Manu (Madhavan) and his brother Manoj move into the 13B flat on the 13th floor of their new apartment with their families. Things somehow do not seem to be going well for Manu after shifting into this new house. Adding to that, he realizes that everything that is to happen in his life (or in their house) is planned in advance by a daily soap on T.V. called Sab Khairiyat, which the women in the house get addicted to. Rest is all about how he chases the mystery surrounding the bad omens of number 13 in his life, the characters that appear in that daily soap and the reason behind their death some 20 years ago in the same building where this new apartment is now built.
13B is a cautiously made film and with extreme care not to miss continuity with any of the links in the story. Everybody did well on the acting front especially Madhavan, Neetu Chandra (Madhavan's wife) and the one who played the mentally disturbed Ashok. 13B progresses in the hollywood style of narration and it is no wonder that the US based production house, Weinstein Co has already offered to buy its remake rights in hollywood.
My rating for this film - ****
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
April 15, 2009
'Let's Vote' Campaign Shoot
We shot a film for the Let's Vote campaign on Sunday. It is a 1 minute film made on a very simple concept - A group of friends having tea at their favourite hangout are made to realize the impact of one's vote by one amongst them. We were unaware of the impending JEE exam at a centre very near to our selected location. The shoot went uninterrupted, though. All of us (crew) gathered at the spot by 8:30 A.M. and called it a day (pack up :D) at 12:30 P.M.; of course not to forget the gallons of Irani chai and dozens of osama biscuits we had munched on at the road-side tiffin stall (a small road side dhaba will definitely earn us much more than what we would be earning otherwise :D). We were lucky enough to get an experienced person (Suresh) to handle the camera for us. The first cut editing is done. The re-recording is scheduled for today and if everything goes as planned, we should be ready with the final copy by tomorrow.
Let us Vote.
Let us Vote.
April 06, 2009
8X10 Tasveer
8X10 Tasveer is a supernatural thriller that stars Akshay Kumar as Jai Puri, a forest range officer, who has an unusual power of knowing the past just by looking at a photograph. He gets to see, for a minute, everything that took place at the time when a particular photograph was taken. The film is all about how he uses this power on multiple occasions with a single 8X10 photograph to unravel the mystery behind his father's death.
The suspense element is maintained until the end and this forms the pulse of 8X10 Tasveer. The climax, however, could have been better sans all the typical bollywood drama. The suspense, though, when revealed might look silly or bring out the usual 'ah! is this what I have been waiting for?' kind of an expression, but you bet is highly unpredictable. The recording done for the film is brilliant and so is the photography.
Javed Jaffri as an ex-cop helping Jai with his investigation is very good and brings in good humour at times. Sharmila Tagore is convincing as Jai's widow mother and Ayesha Takia also looks promising. The film is very rich in its technicalities. Nagesh Kukunoor made every effort to make 8X10 Tasveer look technically brilliant and has come out quite successfully with it.
My rating for this film - ***
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
The suspense element is maintained until the end and this forms the pulse of 8X10 Tasveer. The climax, however, could have been better sans all the typical bollywood drama. The suspense, though, when revealed might look silly or bring out the usual 'ah! is this what I have been waiting for?' kind of an expression, but you bet is highly unpredictable. The recording done for the film is brilliant and so is the photography.
Javed Jaffri as an ex-cop helping Jai with his investigation is very good and brings in good humour at times. Sharmila Tagore is convincing as Jai's widow mother and Ayesha Takia also looks promising. The film is very rich in its technicalities. Nagesh Kukunoor made every effort to make 8X10 Tasveer look technically brilliant and has come out quite successfully with it.
My rating for this film - ***
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
March 31, 2009
Aakasamantha - "Memoirs of a Father"
The latest Telugu movie Aakasamantha, directed by first timer Radha Mohan, is quoted as a small but cute film by its producer ('Dil' Raju) and director. The film unveils the experiences of Raghuram (Prakashraj) as the father of a girl (played in three stages) as he narrates them to a stranger (Jagapathi Babu in a cameo) at a park.
Raghuram owns a tea estate in Coimbatore and lives with his wife (Aishwarya) and daughter (Abhi, played by Trisha). He loves his daughter very much, so much so that he once slaps his wife when he realizes that Abhi is hurt in the kitchen. He is very protective and possessive of her. The film is based on the father-daughter relationship (another Telugu flick on parent-child relations), though few scenes look quite unnatural.
Prakashraj is a delight to watch (in spite of getting bored with his monotonous act all along, I am amazed at his comic timing which came forth strikingly in this movie). He is in fact the only asset to this movie. If it were not for him playing Raghuram, I do not think the film would have been at least half as good as it is now. G.V.Raman makes his debut as a well educated sardar, who also forms Trisha's love interest.
Aakasamanta may not be a great film to vouch for, but it has its own comic punches and feel good moments. You can go for it if you have not much to do on the weekend.
My rating for this film - **
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
Raghuram owns a tea estate in Coimbatore and lives with his wife (Aishwarya) and daughter (Abhi, played by Trisha). He loves his daughter very much, so much so that he once slaps his wife when he realizes that Abhi is hurt in the kitchen. He is very protective and possessive of her. The film is based on the father-daughter relationship (another Telugu flick on parent-child relations), though few scenes look quite unnatural.
Prakashraj is a delight to watch (in spite of getting bored with his monotonous act all along, I am amazed at his comic timing which came forth strikingly in this movie). He is in fact the only asset to this movie. If it were not for him playing Raghuram, I do not think the film would have been at least half as good as it is now. G.V.Raman makes his debut as a well educated sardar, who also forms Trisha's love interest.
Aakasamanta may not be a great film to vouch for, but it has its own comic punches and feel good moments. You can go for it if you have not much to do on the weekend.
My rating for this film - **
(* You will shoot me
** Waste of time
*** Can sit through
**** Worth watching once
***** Must watch)
March 23, 2009
రండి వోటు వేద్దాం
హలో.. మీరు వోటు వేస్తారా?
“వోటా..!! ఏమో వెయ్యకపోవచ్చు. “
అదే?
“అవును మరి! ప్రతి పార్టీ తమ అజెండా తో ప్రచారం మొదలుపెట్టింది. కానీ, ఆ అజెండా లో నాకేముంది? నాకు ఉచిత కరెంటు రాదు.. కలర్ టీ.వీ. రాదు.. నెల నెలా సొమ్ము ముట్టదు.. పొనీ కనీసం ఉన్న ఉద్యోగం ఊడదన్న నమ్మకం ఉందా అంటే, అదీ లేదు. ఇప్పుడు చెప్పండి నేను వోటు ఎందుకు వెయ్యాలి? ఎవరికోసం వెయ్యాలి?”
ఎక్ష్క్యూజ్ మీ... మీరు వోటు వేస్తారా?
“వెయ్యాలనే ఉందండి. కానీ, ఎవరికి వెయ్యాలి? ఎలా వెయ్యాలి.. ఇదేదో పెద్ద పని లా ఉందే!”
అదేంటి? మీకు అందుబాట్లో చాలానే పార్టీలున్నాయి గా, మీరు చెయ్యాల్సినదంతా మీ పేరు వోటరు లిస్ట్ లో నమోదు చేయించుకుని నచ్చిన గుర్తు కి వోటు వెయ్యడం. అంతే.
“… సరే చూస్తా!”
హలో, ఒక్క నిమిషం... మీరు ఈసారి వోటు వేస్తారా?
“తప్పకుండా. కానీ, ఎవరికి వెయ్యాలో తెలీట్లేదు.“
తెలీట్లేదా? విచిత్రంగా ఉందే!
“లేక పోతే ఏంటండీ? అసలు ఎవరికి వోటు వెయ్యాలో మీకు ఖచ్చితంగా తెలుసా? ఏ పార్టీ గెలుస్తే న్యాయంగా, నమ్మకంగా పరిపాలిస్తుందో చెప్పండి, వేస్తా. 'వోటు వెయ్యండి. అది మీ హక్కు ' అని బాధ్యత గల పౌరులు అంటుంటే, ఆ వోటు మాకు వెయ్యండి.. మీ సొంతానికి ఈ లాభాలు పొందండి అని పార్టీలు సిగ్గు విడిచి బహిరంగ ప్రచారాలు చేస్తున్నాయి. నాకు నా సొంతానికి ఎదీ వద్దు. కానీ నా దేశం అవినీతి-అక్రమాలు, కుళ్ళు రాజకీయాల నుండి విముక్తి పొందే ఆ రోజు కోసం ఎదురుచూస్తూన్నా. చూస్తూనే ఉంటా. ఇప్పుడు చెప్పండి నన్ను ఎవరికి వోటు వెయ్యమంటారో!”
ఈ సంభాషణలు చదివారు గా! మనకి మొదటి రెండు రకాల మనుషులు కనిపిస్తూనే ఉంటారు. మనలో చాలా మంది ఈ కోవకి చెందినవారే. మూడో రకం వాళ్ళు కాస్త అరుదు గా తారసపడినా, కొద్ది శాతం వీళ్ళూ లేకుండా పోలేదు. వోటు వెయ్యడం మన హక్కే కాదు, అది మన బాధ్యత కూడా. ఈ కాలం లో చదువుకుని ఉద్యోగాలు చేస్తున్న వాళ్ళకి కూడా ఈ విషయం అనుక్షణం గుర్తుచెయ్యాల్సి రావడం చాలా దురద్రుష్టకరం. మీ ఒక్క వోటు దేశాన్ని మార్చలేకపోవచ్చు కానీ, మన అందరం కలిస్తే ఇది తప్పకుండా ఎప్పడికయినా సాధ్యపడే విషయం.
రండి వోటు వేద్దాం. ఒక్కటవుదాం.
March 02, 2009
Delhi-6 or Kala bandar - How does it matter?
I will not recommend Delhi-6, the new film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (director of Rang De Basanti), to anybody except for Abhishek Bachchan or Sonam Kapoor fans. The film created much hype before its release, more so with names like the above. The film is more like a narration of few chronological events from the diary of a US born Indian, Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan), who visits India for the first time when he brings his ill grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) back from the US.
Sonam Kapoor plays Bittu, neighbour of Abhishek and a college-going girl who aims to make it big in the world of music through a reality show on music called Indian Idol. Sonam plays her usual self and fits the role. The best thing about this film is its cast. There are the likes of Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Atul Kulkarni, Supriya Pathak, Divya Dutta and Prem Chopra.
The film runs in parallel with the Ram Leela (the stage potrayal of Ramayan by theatre artists anywhere from 11 days to one month) at Chandini Chowk, a busy market place in North Delhi. The film tries to give a message through an imaginary character named Kala bandar (black monkey) that is rumoured to harass the residents of Chandni Chowk. There is a lot of chaos towards the end of the film when the community people mistake Abhishek to be the Kala bandar they have been lookign for. The scene in the heaven between Abhishek and his grandfather (Amitabh Bachchan) seems totally out of place - just imagine people eating jalebis (an Indian sweet made from jaggery syrup) at heaven and also licking their fingers. This is nothing when compared to what Abhishek suggests his grandfather, asking him to call up his wife (Abhishek's grandmother) who is still alive (on earth!) and say sorry. Technology at its best... eh?
Finally, the film should have been called 'Kala Bandar - The black monkey' instead. :D
Sonam Kapoor plays Bittu, neighbour of Abhishek and a college-going girl who aims to make it big in the world of music through a reality show on music called Indian Idol. Sonam plays her usual self and fits the role. The best thing about this film is its cast. There are the likes of Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Atul Kulkarni, Supriya Pathak, Divya Dutta and Prem Chopra.
The film runs in parallel with the Ram Leela (the stage potrayal of Ramayan by theatre artists anywhere from 11 days to one month) at Chandini Chowk, a busy market place in North Delhi. The film tries to give a message through an imaginary character named Kala bandar (black monkey) that is rumoured to harass the residents of Chandni Chowk. There is a lot of chaos towards the end of the film when the community people mistake Abhishek to be the Kala bandar they have been lookign for. The scene in the heaven between Abhishek and his grandfather (Amitabh Bachchan) seems totally out of place - just imagine people eating jalebis (an Indian sweet made from jaggery syrup) at heaven and also licking their fingers. This is nothing when compared to what Abhishek suggests his grandfather, asking him to call up his wife (Abhishek's grandmother) who is still alive (on earth!) and say sorry. Technology at its best... eh?
Finally, the film should have been called 'Kala Bandar - The black monkey' instead. :D
December 03, 2008
When terror strikes...
The whole country cried with Mumbai during the terror strike from 26th - 28th November and they now stand united in their war against terror and power politics. What we saw last week was really ruthless and painful.
What followed is the resignation of few leaders at the centre and the opposition party trying to mould the situation in their favour for the upcoming general elections.
Can't we stand united as a nation at least during such a terrible situation?
What followed is the resignation of few leaders at the centre and the opposition party trying to mould the situation in their favour for the upcoming general elections.
Can't we stand united as a nation at least during such a terrible situation?
November 17, 2008
Review - Dasvidaniya, AvakayBiryani
It was a busy weekend for me now that I have started looking for actors to act in my trailer and also somehow managed to watch two films - Dasvidaniya (Hindi) and AvakayBiryani (Telugu).
Dasvidaniya is a decent attempt to make a low budget film. Vinay Pathak (Amar Kaul) is the only face that stands out in this 2 hour filck. He acted really well, especially in the dumb charades scene where he expresses his love to Neha Dhupia in rain and also in the scene where he leaves Rajat Kapoor's (Vinay's friend in the movie) house at mid-night after overhearing Rajat's and his wife's conversation.
Neha Dhupia (Vinay's childhood friend) does not have a role to talk about - a blink and miss kind of role - and the director could have used anybody for that matter. The movie lacks in pace and you might sometimes also get a feeling of boredom. Kailash Kher's music is an asset to the film. Especially the first one and the Alvida song. The lyrics are pretty decent and hold your attention throughout.
Rajat Kapoor and Gaurav Gera (Vinay's brother in the film) have played their parts really well. On the whole, it is Vinay who carries the film on his shoulders.
AvakayBiryani, I must say, is a very slow movie. he director tried very hard to push the technical aspects of the film much more than he did to engage the audience at a stretch. The story revolves around Akbar (Kamal Kamaraju), an auto driver and Lakshmi (Bindu Madhavi), who sells avakayi (Pickle) in Vikarabad. The film also touches upon communal harmony and few rural issues. The plot could have been handled better. Cinematography by Shyam is good and music by Manikanth Kadri is average except for one song.
Kamal Kamaraju was good as Akbar, but Bindu Madhavi needs to improve a lot on her expressions. On the whole, AvakayBiryani might give a feel of telefilms aired on Doordarshan, but with good cinematography.
Dasvidaniya is a decent attempt to make a low budget film. Vinay Pathak (Amar Kaul) is the only face that stands out in this 2 hour filck. He acted really well, especially in the dumb charades scene where he expresses his love to Neha Dhupia in rain and also in the scene where he leaves Rajat Kapoor's (Vinay's friend in the movie) house at mid-night after overhearing Rajat's and his wife's conversation.
Neha Dhupia (Vinay's childhood friend) does not have a role to talk about - a blink and miss kind of role - and the director could have used anybody for that matter. The movie lacks in pace and you might sometimes also get a feeling of boredom. Kailash Kher's music is an asset to the film. Especially the first one and the Alvida song. The lyrics are pretty decent and hold your attention throughout.
Rajat Kapoor and Gaurav Gera (Vinay's brother in the film) have played their parts really well. On the whole, it is Vinay who carries the film on his shoulders.
AvakayBiryani, I must say, is a very slow movie. he director tried very hard to push the technical aspects of the film much more than he did to engage the audience at a stretch. The story revolves around Akbar (Kamal Kamaraju), an auto driver and Lakshmi (Bindu Madhavi), who sells avakayi (Pickle) in Vikarabad. The film also touches upon communal harmony and few rural issues. The plot could have been handled better. Cinematography by Shyam is good and music by Manikanth Kadri is average except for one song.
Kamal Kamaraju was good as Akbar, but Bindu Madhavi needs to improve a lot on her expressions. On the whole, AvakayBiryani might give a feel of telefilms aired on Doordarshan, but with good cinematography.
October 17, 2008
Mysterial Myth
Long long time ago.... someone used to write on this page - a spirited being, an awakened soul (?) - that it (read a person) created for itself to vent its opinions and feelings. People say the spirit has died down because it vanished all of a sudden after making few solemnly rare appearances for sometime. Now, nobody knows what the truth is or where the spirit has gone? Some call it the mysterial myth!
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