Barfi

There is this scene in The Matrix Revolutions where Neo and Trinity are flying towards the machine city and are attacked by squid-like machines. Neo tries to destroy them but their number is too huge. He asks Trinity to fly towards the sky.  As the ship tears through the permanent dense dark clouds, Trinity sees the sun for the first time in her life, shimmering over the clouds. She says – It’s beautiful – and the look on her face is of peace, as if she is not scared of dying anymore.

Barfi is like that warm sun. It reminds us of that rare feeling which we have forgotten to attach with Bollywood – elation. I will not put any spoilers in this post because like wine, this movie has to be smelled and savored. Like wine placed in your mouth, it has to be placed in your thoughts and mulled over.

It is a story of a deaf and dumb boy who was named Murphy by his mother but it came out distorted from his own mouth, so Barfi it was. He is a strange boy who cuts electric polls to test friendship, who eat chocolates from the hand of a kid sitting in a train in Darjeeling while  he cycles holding a window pane of the bogie, who throws his shoe in the air to search for Jhilmil, who dances without knowing what music is, who propose to Shruti and reverses the arms of the clock to make her forget everything. Shruti comes in his life with her own baggage of apprehensions and to make matters worse, borrows a few from her mother. She ends up folding pictures and imagining her present. Jhilmil is autistic and circumstances lead her to spend a few months with Barfi, creating a bond that lasts beyond their disadvantages.

The movie is a case of cinematic brilliance. Every frame is like poetry and they melt seamlessly into each other. Whether it is the toy train in Darjeeling which is a character in itself or the upside down Howrah Bridge or the fireflies caged in a soap balloon or the game of reflecting sunlight from a mirror or the Chhau dance which makes Jhilmil jump with joy, every scene is a well thought out treat to watch.

What differentiates this movie from the crap we get nowadays is that the humor is not over the top but derived from everyday situations of the characters. There are scenes like Barfi wearing a Chhau dance mask and pulling a rickshaw with Jhilmil in it which will make you laugh. It is the simplicity which touches you in the end. You will be relieved that you still have the ability to smile and shake your head on humor so grounded.

Ranbir and Priyanka hardly have any dialogues in the whole movie but you never feel the absence of words. Both of them are a treat to watch, especially Priyanka. It is an achievement when the actors make you forget that you are watching a movie, when you forget the baggage which comes with stars. Ileana D’cruz, who plays Shruti is surprisingly poised and holds her ground. Saurabh Shukla as the police officer who has a love-hate relationship with Barfi is hilarious and raised quite a few laughs. I wish Barfi’s affinity towards his father was explored in more details.

The movie could have fallen flat because of the absence of dialogues but the mesmerizing background score holds the script together and so does the music by Pritam. Although the movie falters a bit after the interval but comes on track soon afterwards.

After watching Agent Vinod, Ek That Tiger and Raaz 3, this movie was godsend. This has been a sunny year for Bollywood with sensible movies like Paan Singh Tomar, Kahani, Vicky Donor and Barfi releasing in quick succession. Let us hope that better sense prevails and we see more quality movies this year and also that the numerous awards give recognition to talent rather than crappy money-minded cinema.

Thank you Anurag Basu for all the goosebumps and making me believe that Bollywood has not lost the knack.

Go and relish this masterpiece. It comes once in a blue moon.

[images from 1,2, 3]

Dostana – Movie Review

I think I am getting old, because the people around me were laughing and enjoying the movie while I was yawning like a hippopotamus(I almost took a nap in the second half). Is this what happens when you are exposed to world cinema and have a yardstick to compare? Or am I seriously getting old!!! 😦

 

Dostana is a story set up in Miami where Kunal (played by John Abraham) works as a fashion photographer (Although for the first 20 minutes, I was in an illusion that he was playing a model), Sameer (played by Abhishek Bachchan) is a “male” nurse (Although he keeps on telling everyone that he is a nurse and everyone in turn keep on asking him whether he wears a skirt to work. He never uses the word MALE nurse!!) and Neha (played by Priyanka Chopra) works for a fashion magazine. Neha needs to sublet her house because she can’t afford the installments. Kunal and Sameer are in desperate need of a house but they are refused an entry in Neha’s apartment because only girls are allowed. Both pretend to be gay lovers and gain an entry. Kunal and Sameer slowly fall in love with Neha but soon enters Abhimanyu ( played by Bobby Deol ) who is Neha’s boss and who is in love with her too!!!! (Very Original. Ain’t it??) Who gets the girl in the end is the darn story!

In the first half there are two things which are shoved right on your face – The word GAY and John’s chest. The word has been used unnecessarily in so many places that it starts getting irritating after a while. Ok! Its great that the movie is making a point but can you please stop underlining it until the pencil breaks??  And what is it with John? He is hardly wearing anything in the movie! In some scenes we can almost see the line separating his two newly acquired tight bums! Again, its great that he got a Firang trainer and did a lot of hard work n all to get that physique but if I have to see a skin show, I’ll go and see something called P-O-R-N. 

If you are thinking that the movie is addressing any sort of serious issue, then forget it. The movie has all the stereotypical Gay cliches expected in an Indian movie. Priyanks do say something like – “I am cool with it! Its a personal choice!” and Sameer’s mother (played by Kirron Kher ) also accepts John as her “Bahu/Damaad/whatever” and makes John perform the “Grihapravesh” and given him her “Khaandani kangan”, but that’s it! That is the extend to which the movie goes to address the issues. 

There is something very disjoint and unsettling about the whole movie. There are certain sequences and background sounds whose reason of existence was beyond my comprehension. For example, when Priyanka is introduced, the background music had a lady singing – “Kiss me baby!!!!”. What was that?? She was just saying hello to her new flat mates. And there is a background score which goes – What the F*ck!!! Yes, you read it right! 

All in all, a completely watch-it-on-dvd-later kind of a movie. It was enjoyable in parts, specially when all the three guys were trying to woo Priyanka and a few scenes where Kirron Khen and Boman Irani make an appearance. The music is topping the charts and is peppy – another reason to watch the movie, although the song “Desi girl” is completely misplaced(There was an auction happening there. Damn it!!!). Priyanka is cool, what a Bollywood heroine is supposed to be. Nothing more, nothing less. Abhishek does his part well. John is naked.

A great story gone wasted. This movie could have been much better. But, I have a feeling that it is going to work. It will be a hit because people were enjoying it! And Oh! Yes, there was this couple(boy-girl) sitting just in front of me in the theatre, whom I took to be conjoined twins. You know, the ones who are born with conjoined heads and which can only be separated by surgery? It was only during the interval when one of them got up to get the popcorns, that I gasped in horror and realised that they were lovers and their heads could actually be separated!  

I am DEFINITELY getting old!

Rating – 2/5

Directed by – Tarun Mansukhani

Official Website – http://www.dostanathefilm.com/

Love Story 2050 – Movie Review

What could have been the first Indian sci-fi movie and a turning point in the Indian cinema turns out to be a damp squib. The movie reminded me of 10,000 B.C. and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. 10,000 B.C. because the promo of the movie were very promising to say the least and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom because I consider that movie a classic example of how a director can castrate a beautiful and fresh story. Love Story 2050 had a story which most of our movies are lacking now a days. It could have turned into one of the best movies of the year, but alas, just showing a “Star Wars” inspired Mumbai does not mean good direction.

Karan(Harman Baweja) is an only son of a multimillionaire who is very much deprived of love and affection as his mother passed away when he was ten and his father has no time for him. Sana(Priyanka Chopra) is a sweet and shy typical Bollywood heroine who is quite opposite to Karan. A few meetings and songs later, both fall in love. Boman Irani plays the eccentric scientist called Dr. Yatinder Khanna who is Karan’s uncle and on the verge of making a time machine. The couple is about to get married when tragedy strikes and Sana dies in an accident and Karan has to take a journey to 2050 to get back his lady love.

The movie takes inspiration from so many Hollywood movies that its mind boggling. Its hard to believe that the Mumbai skyline would undergo such a drastic and sea change in the next 42 years. Maybe the movie should have been titled Love Story 2350. The graphics are straight out of Star Wars with flying cars and laser guns. The female robot is straight out of “Bicentennial Man” while Boo, the robotic teddy bear is copied from the movie “Artificial Intelligence“. Boman Irani’s character reminds one of Dr. Brown from the movie “Back to the Future“. The movie also defies our understanding of reincarnation. If Sana died in 2008, then she must be 42 years old in 2050 after her rebirth, but she is very much a young and successful pop star. Maybe she was taking a break in between and spending some time with our Gods. Dr. Khanna does not find it hard to fix a robot functioning on A.I. in 2050 although the technology has taken giant leaps. And yes, some scenes are shamefully lifted from the the above mentioned movies.

The movie is bearable in the first half when the couple is in 2008 and the love story is developing. It has its own moments although they are very few in number. The second half drags as there are too many unwanted scenes which could have been left at the editor’s table. I could not understand why the Mortal Combat sequence was there in the movie. The movie needs a very heavy editing to make it bearable specially towards the end.

Harman, who is touted as the next superstar, is good enough for his first movie, although its not a dream debut like Hrithik’s. He needs to watch his diction and needs to work on the emotional scenes. His starts squeaking when he cries. Priyanka is passable. Boman Irani overdoes the act a little bit at times although he does not have much of a role. Archana Puran Singh manages to raise a few laughs in her blink-and-she-is-gone role. The music is already topping the charts and is good. “Mausam Achanak ye badla kyun” and “Milo na milo” are certainly above average songs.

A terrific story gone wasted and a terrible amount of money too. But still i would not like to trash it completely as I have seen worse in the past few months. A two out of five as the movie didn’t turn out to be a sheer torture like Tashan. 😀

Rating – 2/5

Director – Harry Baweja

Official Site – http://www.lovestory2050.com/