review

“Denzil Washington” in ‘Badla’?

Badla - Movie Review Paper Cutting

Be honest now — wouldn’t you be hysterical hearing the news that the ‘Baadshaah of Bollywood’ is paired with a Hollywood legend on a Bollywood movie, and to watch these stalwarts together on the silver screen, wouldn’t that be amazing? A freaking, Hindi language movie. The moment I read “Denzil Washington” in the cast of a review of Badla by a prominent national newspaper and a renowned film critic, my eyes almost popped out on the keyboard and nearly got squeezed between my dancing fingers. I brought myself back to my sense, and read the names once again. Both, Amitabh Bachchan and Denzel Washington are defining legends of our time’s all credit to their innate competencies, it’s needless to judge that both have garnered a cult following of their own in their respective realms and both have tons of awards to their name — an Oscar, nonetheless, for Washington. Crime & suspense thrillers are my personal favourites, and Badla seemed like one such taut suspense thriller if the Internet was supposed to be believed. This latest offering from Sujoy Ghosh has gained some rave reviews from critics as well, and I am particularly fond of his other creative craftiness such as Jhankaar Beats (2003) and Kahaani (2003), and the Radhika Apte starring short film Ahalya which was truly mesmerising. That Ghosh managed a casting coup of sorts by effecting a collaboration between two gigantic doyens in a Hindi cinematic experience was mind-boggling to read. In fact, it was so mind-boggling, that I didn’t trust the news in the first place, although, Ben Kingsley has acted opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Teen Patti (2010).

So then I checked IMDB, skillfully perused the Wikipedia page of the movie, and it wasn’t long before the shiny tiny bulb in my brain finally glimmered brightly. The actor in question was Denzil Smith, a distinguished Indian stage actor and a producer, not the renowned American legend I had truthfully imagined. No regrets, except, what seemed like a dream-come-true cinematic experience was, in fact, one hell of a typographical error, and faux pas that not only sent me on a wild goose chase, besides smashing my ambition of ever feeling the pride of enjoying Denzel Washington in a Hindi movie on a big screen. But who’s to know the future? Eventually, it did bring me back to my filmy duniya that’s Bollywood!

Chef And A Dil Chahta Hai Moment

Bollywood offers myriad stories & sequences including in refashioning original Hollywood movies for the Hindi audiences for diversion, however, there has also been a crop of official remakes in recent times, such as Bang Bang, Players, just to name a few. There was a moment in one such recent movie with Saif Ali Khan called Chef that caught my attention and which was probably missed by many viewers.

Chef is an official remake of that Jon Favreau 2014 classic of the same name which I probably watched a couple of times, about an uncompromising chef who quits his respectable job at a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant to go back to his roots and rediscover the happiness in his cooking. The remake follows the same course, save for Roshan Kalra (Saif) who embarks on his path to enlightenment from the USA to pristine Kerala, but alas, the movie loses the plot somewhere between Goa, Delhi, and that “Rottza” whatever, that people thronged to relish. In all the munching, the heartwarming, ‘slice-of-the-life’ delight which Favreau’s Chef provided was clearly lost its way in its Indic avatar raising more questions than amusement. As an instance, why do all of Bollywood’s ‘reputed’ chefs come from the UK (Cheeni Kum) or ‘Umrika’ and not from the Taj Mahals or the Oberois in India while experiencing the boredom of metro-life, moving to a rural place in India and rediscovering their true passion? I suppose it’s not prudent to decode Bollywood’s logic of life so regardless I just enjoy or dislike the show.

The Dil Chahta Hai Connection

Dil Chahta Hai - Chef Connection
Saif Ali Khan as Sameer and Beatrice Gibson as Kristine in a still from Dil Chahta Hai.

In the second half, there’s a fleeting mention of the Saif Ali Khan classic Dil Chahta Hai when Roshan Kalra recalls an embarrassing moment to his assistant Nuzrool in Goa about visiting the place twenty years ago with his two friends and getting robbed. Saif’s actually talking about his character Sameer visiting Goa (with Akash & Sid) and succumbing to his desires for Kristine who plunders his personal belongings in an outlandish situation. His mention of 20 years is a tribute to 2001, the year when Dil Chahta Hai was released! Chef may have truly gone south but this tiny detail provided the only bright spot for me.

‘Ringan’ Is The Rekindling of A Spiritual Bond

Ringan - Movie PosterAs a fan of regional art cinema, it’s the best time to live right now. Especially more satisfying to realize that the current spate of Marathi cinema continues to enthral audiences by deviating from its commercial attitudes — also possibly the reason why it’s become harder for sensible cinema to find distributors, such as Kaasav, for example, which is disappointing. Nevertheless, it’s precisely this matter-of-fact approach of the scriptwriters, in that, deliberating emotions through personally identifiable characters have created some critically acclaimed and award-winning cinema such as Killa, Fandry, and Deool. In continuing with this trend, Ringan portrays realistic human values in an unvarnished personality, with a poignant tale of a struggling father and an adorable youngster against the backdrop of socio-economic repression in rural Maharashtra.

The title of the movie originates from the Hindu festival of Ashadhi Ekadashi held annually in the city of Pandharpur where a large number of devotees of Lord Vithoba (the ‘warkaris’) congregate to sing and dance making a circular formation that’s commonly referred as a ‘ringan’ in Marathi. It completes a beautiful analogy of this unique celebratory pattern in the film depicting a cyclic order of desolation or dejection, happiness or jubilation in a human’s life span. Which is precisely what a poor and heavily indebted farmer named Arjun Magar (Shashank Shende) has been experiencing in a drought-ridden village in Maharashtra . A widower, and surviving on meagre earnings from his parched land which hasn’t yielded any crops he’s on the verge of surrendering to his fate. But for his dearest son Abhimanyu (Sahil Joshi) and often overlooking his repeated transgressions, it keeps him away from becoming suicidal and to start believing in himself. Frustrated and dejected, he finally decides to dump his tragic past and undertakes a bold journey to Pandharpur braving hunger and fatigue to break free of his misery.

Ringan is a heart-wrenching and a powerful narrative representative of different world views. The perspective of a father facing a bleak future of hardships and later coming to terms with his ultimate destiny, and of a 7-year old in pursuit of discovering nuances in a web of personal relationships as each traverses life-altering situations. Honestly, the simplistic voyage capturing the highs and lows of a father & son’s bonding as they find a new meaning through their emotional & spiritual turmoil, it easily underlines Ringan’s value as one of the greatest cinematic experiences of our times.

Come And Find Me (2016)

Come And Find Me

I basically like thrillers and this was yet another addition to my list in that genre, Come and Find Me is a thriller and a love story with several angles. When Claire disappears suddenly David relies on the law to make breakthroughs and find her but when they reach a dead-end he decides to pursue the case himself. What begins as a simple case of disappearance gets embroiled in a string of lies and deceit, involving mobsters and federal sleuths. Technically, the movie becomes compelling at various intervals as the story swings back and forth to capture intimate moments between the couple while introducing Claire’s persona before her disappearance and details on their fledgeling relationship. Halfway through the plot as David wades through the suspense, the plot gets even murkier and I am now doubting my knowledge of Claire which forces me to focus more closely on the events and the individuals as they reveal themselves.

The climax left me with more questions than providing the justifications straight away much like the situation I faced with The Open House. This probably comes from my expectations with run-of-the-mill thrillers and I believe the thriller/suspense genre has undergone some welcome changes. But Come and Find Me is still worth a watch.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Baahubali’s Fantasy Adventure Is Amazing!

BaahubaliAfter brooding over my choice to watch the Baahubali films (BB) for years I finally garnered the motivation to catch up on the series yesterday, both flicks back-to-back. Frankly, I have become sceptical to watch mythological/historical period films with the current spate of drab historical Bollywood offerings not providing any entertainment value per se. And then BB fell into the category of ‘dubbed’ Hindi cinema, the ones made in the South but rarely given its due production importance for its Northern masses. It does remind me of the LOTR series but being made in India on such a grand scale (the CGI, et al) made this series that much more compelling to watch. Here’s the funny part – back then I couldn’t wrap my head around the whimsical Internet memes on “Katappa Ne Baahubali Ko Kyun Maara?” (Why did Katappa kill Baahubali?), but after watching ‘The Beginning’ that question came to haunt me too as it did millions of fans in 2015. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait for a year for the sequel (‘The Conclusion’) to get my answer.

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