Movies

Saving Private Ryan -“Earn It”

January 19, 2018 Movies

Ryan

‘Saving Private Ryan’ is one of those rare movies which I may have caught probably a dozen times. And it breaks me every time I watch the bridge scene at the end where a mortally wounded Captain Miller is feebly uttering to Private Ryan – “James…earn this…earn it…”, a grim reminder that he was saved by his men against heavy odds, and now he mustn’t take this privilege for granted as long as he lives.

Many years later, a visibly tearful and fragile James Ryan, accompanied by his loving family, is standing next to the gravesite of Captain Miller and asking for the departed soul’s acceptance of a cherished life bestowed upon him. His profound words hit me hard every time I hear it:

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I’ve earned what all of you have done for me.[/perfectpullquote]

It’s such a truly, contemplative quote from the movie.

Source: IMDB

Baahubali’s Fantasy Adventure Is Amazing!

January 13, 2018 Movies

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.

Continue reading…

‘Muramba’ Is Just As Sweet As It Sounds!

December 23, 2017 Movies

Muramba - Movie PosterThe lush warmth of Pune’s sunshine apart, ‘Muramba’ conveyed the quintessential, endearing Marathi culture in oodles and that in itself totally won my heart. I chose to relish this scrumptious cinema on a frigid evening yesterday with only one desire in mind, and that was to enjoy a good Marathi movie. And, oh boy! ‘Muramba’ didn’t just entertain me, but the cosiness and the envious modesty of an urbane middle-class household, the sunny locales, not to mention the constant references to delectable Indian food, and alongside some unpretentious performances by the actors left me completely homesick!

So, Alok (Amey Wagh) and Indu (Mithila Palkar) are passing through some rough weather in their love tale and the parents step into a mentoring role for these youngsters. But that’s not all because there are personality issues to cope with before our man ties the knot. Which is why the agenda is not just limited to bringing the estranged couple together but also to inculcate the essence of life into their tender premature minds. And who could be more qualified to do this job than a paradoxical pair of doting parents who believe in having a friendly chat with their kids? In that, it’s so heartwarming to see the absence of a typical “I told you so” and “you better listen to me” nature of domineering banter that generally outlines a father-son relationship, rather what you experience makes you wonder if this is indeed the real interpretation of ‘Parenting 101’! Enough said. If homey Marathi family dramas suit your taste then you must watch ‘Muramba’, and warm the cockles of your heart.

Pondering Over The Lyrics Of ‘Ghar’

December 21, 2017 Movies

Like most verses of my time, I pondered over the use of a ‘home’ (Ghar) in a romantic song like ‘Ghar’ because, in isolation, the lyrics seemed detached from a plain break-up scenario. This melancholic song penned in Hindi by Irshad Kamil is a melodious composition by Pritam from the movie  ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, and the lyrics go something like this:

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]खाली है जो तेरे बिना में वो घर हूँ तेरा,
घूमे फिरे तू चाहे सब शहर तू है मेरा |[/perfectpullquote]

I am that home you own which lies desolate without you,
You may roam cities far and wide, but you are only mine.

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

I had seen the movie and thought to connect with the lyrics of this particular (awesome) song, and I did. The protagonist “Harry” (Shah Rukh Khan) is a tour guide perpetually on the road, and (perhaps) yearning to return to his home. The pain of this separation and deep love is likened to the emotions felt by Sejal (Anushka Sharma) for Harry as they are breaking up, and Kamil symbolically combines their despair using the metaphor of ‘home’. It’s a wonderful instance of how lyrics could be subtlely & creatively intertwined with a movie script.

Link to the YouTube Video of ‘Ghar’

‘One Heart’ Is A Melodic Pilgrimage with AR Rahman

November 17, 2017 Movies

I have been an ardent fan of the Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman since the ‘Roja’ days and I feel particularly sorry for admitting that I haven’t been to any of his live concerts! But all is not lost and I still have my hopes high. Meanwhile, I was privileged to watch a movie on his life and times through a concert called ‘One Heart – The AR Rahman Concert Film’. It’s a film for anyone who has missed the chance to experience a live performance.

The 90-minute documentary consists of footage from AR Rahman’s ‘The Intimate Concert Tour’ in which his cherry-picked 10-member band performed in 14 cities across the US. Though I could not ignore the fact that this movie appears to be produced as an afterthought by including additional footage, in the end, it was the music and the live performances that mattered. It revealed the maestro’s melodious journey through a rare interview of the legendary composer himself, how he engineers those tunes, his inspirations, and associations, etc., also a never-before-seen Rahman opening up on his personal life. The live band consists of AR Rahman himself, with Ranjit Barot (percussion), Annette Philip (jazz/vocals), Marie Calhoun (violin), Jonita Gandhi (from Toronto! Yaay!!) and Haricharan (vocals), Mohini De (bass guitar/prodigy), Keba Jeremiah (guitar), Devi Rani Najev (dancer), along with Shiraz Uppal, Sanket Athale, Ashwin Srinivasan, and more, most of whom you might have caught jamming on the MTV Unplugged (India) season. I imagine I may have missed a few names, but then again, the concert was very engrossing.

Continue reading…