Movies

‘The Kite Runner’ Is An Adventure of Emotions!

October 28, 2017 Movies
“The Kite Runner’ portrays a present-day saga of friendship, redemption, and sacrifice against the backdrop of strife-torn Afghanistan.

I had come across some rave online reviews about the movie ‘The Kite Runner’ based on the namesake book authored by Khaled Hosseini, and when it finally released on Netflix I watched it this weekend. To put it mildly, I was blown away by the casting and characterization of the script! ‘The Kite Runner’ is a saga of brotherly relationship between juvenile buddies Hassan and Amir set in the glorious backdrop of the city of Kabul in the 70s, mired in catastrophic events that unravel the true characters of the young boys as they grapple with forces of time. It’s a beautifully crafted screenplay directed by Marc Foster which released in 2007 and nominated in several categories at the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

‘The Kite Runner’ paints a poignant portrait of Afghanistan in its esteemed history, characterizing the capital Kabul as I have never seen before on screen, and will probably won’t for a long time. It left me gasping in surprise and wishing to visit Kabul. In the midst of a nation moving towards destruction lies the innocence of 2 young boys, Amir, and Hassan the son of a servant, who would selflessly scale any height to fulfill the ambitions of his affluent bosom buddy. Until political disturbance ravages their beautiful hopes and separates them for eternity. The gruesome ‘Talibanisation’ of Afghanistan and its fall from grace is metaphorically visualized through Amir’s innate emotional battles which result in his quest to take up a perilous journey to his native land to redeem his past.

The movie is a bestowal of faith in human ethos and celebrates the virtues of emotional bonds that are unfortunately shattered in the suppression of freedom, in that, I found ‘The Kite Runner’ as a perfect narrative for today’s microcosm of human suffering through its message of faithfulness, love, and the price that we must pay to keep our dignity in strife. Also, against the grim betrayal of human values, ‘The Kite Runner’ succeeds in delivering the message of redemption in a heartless time that we find ourselves entangled today. It’s a must see!

Daddy Movie Poster

1 Reason You Should Watch ‘Daddy’

October 11, 2017 Movies

There were many reasons for watching this movie on the underworld gang lord-turned-politician Arun Gawli one of which being my roots in Mumbai city and Gawli’s charisma as a gangster-turned-politician. I was tempted to call Daddy a ‘biopic’ but it takes a rather beaten path than following facts, a lot of creative freedom has been taken to weave a dramatic story. But it’s based on the characters around Gawli and I’m a huge fan of movies that bring the retro look alive on the big screen, in particular my favourite decade, the 80s. The other reason for my anticipation of Daddy was the director Ashim Ahluwalia. I was very impressed with his previous classic ‘Miss Lovely’ which catapulted a lesser known Nawazuddin Siddiqui onto the international stage. It was a brilliant movie set in the 80s Bombay just like Daddy.

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Drishyam

November 10, 2015 Movies

I hadn’t seen a taut thriller movie in a while and Drishyam fit that definition perfectly. Originally made in Malayalam by Jeethu Joseph and released in 2013, Drishyam (Visual) has now been remade in 4 other Indian languages, very recently in Tamil as Papanasam with Kamal Haasan and Gautami. The Hindi version which I thoroughly enjoyed has been directed by Nishikant Kamat whose earlier works I have enjoyed watching include his Marathi ventures the critically acclaimed Dombivli Fast (2005), and action drama Lai Bhari (2014), his Hindi action thriller Force (2011) with John Abraham, and Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008), a story about 5 characters in Mumbai and how their lives are affected by the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, which also won multiple Filmfare Awards.

A happy family in a serene Goan village, which includes the father (Vijay Salgaonkar/Ajay Devgn) running a small cable TV business called Mirage Cable Network, his simple, homely wife (Nandini/Shriya Saran) fondly looking after their two daughters, the older Anju, and the younger Annu. Apart from his lovely family Vijay has friends who vouch for his unblemished character, and he loves to watch all kinds of movies — you could see him glued to the TV set in his office all day and night, while his dedicated associate (José/Prathamesh Parab) goes around the small hamlet settling business. Then quite suddenly an incident occurs one stormy night and knocks the family into gloom and doom. It surrounds the bunch of happy campers into an unrealistic scenario with no sign of an escape from the inevitable. What happens next can only be described as an odyssey of plots and sub-plots and mysteries as Vijay goes from pillar to post to conceive a maze of mysteries throwing the police detectives, even the agile Inspector General Meera Deshmukh (another great portrayal by Tabu) in a tizzy, despite having an undoubted notion about the family’s undeniable involvement in the gory incident the police are sadly reduced to a gaping spectators! Under Vijay’s astute stewardship and shrewdness the family teams up to support the cause and overcome, what seems like an insurmountable challenge. But hang-on! It’s just when you think the movie is done and the cast has met its desired outcome, that the spine chilling climactic end is waiting to shock and raise your eyebrows even further. I can’t stop applauding the producers who have ensured the movie’s plot isn’t lost to the audience as it meanders from one sequence to the other ever so tightly, the sequences make you perch at the edge of your chairs, and if there was one movie where good music is used sparingly to provide relief from the ongoing tense drama, it’s Drishyam. It’s a brilliant plot, a brilliantly shot movie, and a must-see for movie lovers.

My African Movie Trilogy

July 15, 2007 Movies

From pre-historic times to now, Africa has always remained a mysterious continent. The weather, the regime and the social customs have intrigued generations and helped shape the myriad realities of life in this vast expanse of land; besides crafting stories of survival and fight in the face of oppression and tyranny. Such factual accounts of the African life have been presented marvelously in 3 good movies which I would like to write about today. I prefer to call them my African Movie Trilogy. These movies were abundantly successful in capturing the essence of the African way of life both technically and in story-telling, the strife that plagues the region and the ideology behind the true struggle. The best part is that these movies educate the people in the facts behind the dissent in the corners of the dark continent. These are award winning and critically acclaimed movies which I hope you will see in the future.

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Life in a…Metro (2007)

May 13, 2007 Movies

Click to Enlarge There were a few reasons for watching this movie. Actors that I have revered all my life including Konkona Sen, Irrfan Khan, KayKay and Shiney Ahuja have played a part in this flick. Anurag Basu has helmed the role of a director, whose Gangster (2006) was critically acclaimed and loved by the masses. The music by Pritam and the songs (lyricists Sayeed Quadri, Amitabh Varma, and Sandeep Shrivastava) are so contemporary and funky, I listened to it almost everyday in Europe, visualizing the tale against the urban backdrop of Mumbai. The question I begged to ask now was – when is Life in a…Metro releasing?

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