Shoojit Sircar's Piku

Ever since I saw the trailers of Piku, the characters that lingered in my mind were from the dysfunctional family created by Upamanyu Chatterjee in his two books The Last Burden and Way to Go. Shyamanand, the father, and head of that family, is a Bengali, often grumpy, and excessively obsessed about his bowel movements, when he is not shooing away his neighborhood builder Monga from trying to persuade him to sell his house off, much like Amitabh Bachchan in the film. 

Chatterjee’s books are comparatively dark, with ruminating monologues liberally spread across the pages, making the work seem long, monotonous, a bit vegetative, much like life itself when lead daily across pages. Shoojit Sircar’s film, on the other hand, is a consistently charming film, giving a progressive outlook to the Parent-Daughter dynamic. It breezes away with an enviable lightness, riding high on the winsome performances from its entire cast. For all I know, Shoojit and Juhi Chaturvedi might not even know about the books, but that does not take anything away from their lovely writing in making this road-movie a memorable, and often pleasurable, ride. 

At 30, Piku is also an important film at this point in my life, for it raises important questions about Sons’ and Daughters’ responsibility towards their parents. Though the film does not take the escapist route, it does well to masquerade the narrative with sweetness again once it ensures the questions have been raised and planted in the viewers’ minds. Other issues like the corporate greed versus the nostalgia and longing for the one’s roots, marriage being for people of lesser IQ, pre-marital sex, are all alluded to but never allowed to spoil the fun as the actors and writers play one-up against each other successfully in creating a humane comedy.

The film also has an outsider in Irfan Khan, who finds himself in the parent-daughter bickering over their journey from Delhi to Kolkata. In addition to providing an romantic sub-plot to the film, Irfan Khan’s character allows the audience to warm up to the leads, and vent out our own frustrations towards them when the going gets tough or uncomfortably familiar to him, who is fighting his own issues with his parents on similar lines. 

Amitabh Bachchan plays a grumpy old man who claims himself a “critical” person, but he is too much of a father figure in general to let his sarcasm or his grumpiness hurt, while it adds more weight to the concern he shows over his daughter. For that aura alone, we are infinitely lucky to have him play these sorts of roles. When his character Bhaskor Banerjee cycles his way through the streets of Kolkata, gleeful and oblivious of his constipation or other troubles, packs himself oily jalebis in a paper bag, I thought the film was drifting into Nebraska territory, but thankfully it ends fittingly, and almost perfectly. 

On a side note, Piku also made me a bit envious about how Bengalis are more creatively inclined, with their culture seeped in excellent literature, films and music. I wonder if we have suitable parallels or equals in my own language Telugu, and I also have to blame it on myself not able to, or willing to explore great works in my native language. This would also be one of my key take-aways from this film, to read and find more works in Telugu.  

Piku could have been a stronger film, or a darker one, or both, but for what it is, it is still a very very good one. Don't forget to take your parents along. The film will talk to them about a lot of things you could not bring yourself to.

Nag Ashwin's Yevade Subrahmanyam

I watched Yevade Subrahmanyam last night, and I can’t get it out of my head. 

On most days, I would have been a snob about the film and dismissed it straight away as being too predictable and clichéd, but I can’t seem to do that today. It has done something a lot of films that I liked immensely couldn’t do – to make me think, retrospect, ruminate, sulk, and become restless in general. Mind you, it has nothing to do with the film, or its acting, cinematography, editing, screenplay et al, in fact none of them impressed me, the film is not about any of them, nor is it about any life changing incidents or heart-tugging emotions, in fact the conscience, or the presence, of the film is felt much later. Long after I got away from the theater, I can’t shake off the discomfort clouding over me whenever I walk alone or have a moment with myself. I can’t seem to stop thinking about the movie, and the questions it raises. 

Subrahmanyam, the man reluctant to go on the journey of his life, is one of us who paid a lot of good money watching the film. He talks a lot of sense when he admonishes his friend about shedding responsibilities, choosing to be a nomad, helps a poor girl to his best of his abilities while ensuring that his new car doesn’t get spoiled, does not seem to do anything illegal or unethical in his plans to acquire the Ramayya company. Yet, he was constantly put in his place, talked down for being practical, calculating and ambitious, but when the big moment of his life kicks in, a chance conversation with a foreigner, everything changes for him. What exactly he has changed himself to is vague, something even the director seems to have no clue about, or left for our imagination. 

Frankly, it rings quite true, for anyone who is facing a midlife crisis will tell you that there are no easy answers for any of the questions your mind conjures up after watching Yevade Subrahmanyam. The film, as said earlier, takes a convenient route of a loveless marriage and a sparking love story, but the larger issues of existential dilemma are left for each of us to sort ourselves out. In that sense, the epilogue is more important than any of the incidents in the film, coz the real film starts the moment the actual one ends. Nag Ashwin can’t write it for us. We have to do it ourselves. 

I recommend Yevade Subramanyam to everyone for the sheer power of the film and the potential of what it may do to you, but be warned that once you watch it, you can’t unwatch it, how much ever you wish to do so.

Anurag Kashyap's Ugly

Anurag Kashyap’s masterstroke for his latest film is to title it Ugly, for no other word can describe the people in it, and the situations they get into, so aptly, making it possibly one of the most ingeniously titled film of the year. The beauty, well and truly, lies in its simplicity, and still this is only one among the many things that Kashyap gets right with Ugly.  

The plot of a kidnapped girl, with her father and cops searching for her has some similarities to Dennis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, and is evocative of the film in its atmospherics, style and the usage of background score as well, but Ugly also has a touch of Coen Brothers’ dark comedy. Yet, this is not homage to neither, for Anurag Kashyap, in fine form as a writer after a really long time, gives it a dynamic edge, and brings certain uniqueness like only he can, be it the characters he lovingly wrote for everyone, including the artists playing small parts, in the film, or the knack with which he finds humor in its darkest form in situations where we least expect them.

Two scenes stand out. The one where the father and his friend try to lodge a complaint about their missing daughter, while the Police just toy with the information they are provided, and the scene turns out quickly to be farcical, that we almost forget the bigger picture. Yet, in the very next scene, Kashyap shows the same Police men to be business like and supremely effective when they come to know that it was their boss’ daughter that they were trying to find. Another scene is when Shoumik tells Rahul that his friend Chaitanya was the real kidnapper and asks him to spy on him. Chaitanya goes full throttle in abusing Rahul and letting him know of his place, and that it was on his account that Rahul has been surviving all his days. All this while the audience knows that Chaitanya is secretly betraying Rahul. Another great example of stunning dark humor. My Hat is already off.

The acting in Ugly deserves separate mention in itself. Everyone gets author-backed roles, and they knock each line out of the park. Ronit Roy’s restraint is far more frightening than his rage, Tejaswini Kolhapuri’s helplessness can make us shift in our seats with guilt, Girish Kulkarni’s cop Jadhav elicits guffaws every time he’s on screen, and all others at their competitive best in their roles. This can serve as a great acting lesson.

No Anurag Kashyap film is complete without the man’s self indulgence. Ugly provides two instances of it. The first is when Shoumik asks Jadhav to sing an item song which goes with words like nichodna and jhinjhodna. This scene does not add anything to the narrative, makes the characters look inconsistent, does not go with the flow of the rest of the film. The only purpose it serves is to give a delightful pay-off, but can be avoided otherwise. Other instance is when a character dances in his underwear forever. These scenes hamper the pace of the film in the second half and when we are getting increasingly concerned about the fate of the girl.

Ugly is not a morality tale; it is a constant reminder of the futility of misplaced notions of revenge, infidelity, betrayal, and lies that pervade human nature. This is not a world any of us would want to be a part of, and yet it is all too real. If its’ character don’t meet violent ends, they were delivered violent kick in their guts, taking the wind and even personality out of them with its brutality. Had the film been cut by about 30 minutes, we could have a masterpiece in our hands. For what it is, however, it still is one of the most unique Indian films to come out in a very long time.  

Bravo Anurag Kashyap.

Morning Show: The Revival

I started this blog with an aim to write about every movie I watched in the theatre, and for a while it ran well; the numbers were good too, in fact better than my personal blog. When I felt reasonably satisfied with my work, I also intended to use this as a showcase to get a film reviewer job at fullhyd.com, a website based in Hyderabad, whose work I loved. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, probably I wasn’t good enough, anyway they had many people within their company vying for that coveted position, and they wanted to outsource it.

Down the line, I also realized that I was not really qualified enough to be critiquing movies, coz neither I had the understanding of the art of film criticism, nor I was really knowledgeable on Indian Cinema in general and Telugu Cinema in particular. Also, ennui and mediocrity of our cinema caught up with me and I lost interest in the whole process of writing about movies, just to add to the chaos already prevailing with the release of every film. Writing about movies should be fun, and when I’m not having it, I saw no point in continuing my efforts.

I wanted to revive this blog for a long time now, but didn’t find the energy or inspiration to do so. I’m not saying I’m inspired even now, but I wanted to give this blog another shot. This time, this is not going to be a review blog. I’m done with movie reviews, unless a really irresistible offer comes my way, which, frankly, I don’t think will ever come up. The second coming of this blog will be also about movies, but only those that I like and want the readers of my blog to watch. Also, I won’t be writing about the movies that everyone will watch, like an Aamir Khan film or a Christopher Nolan one. They don’t need my endorsement. Instead, I aim to write about the lesser known or lesser publicized movies, which I find good enough to my taste. 

I don’t know how periodical this will be, coz I have to factor in my laziness at some point. The film has to pester me so much that I have to write about it, and people who know me, know my taste too, so the film had to be special for me, for me to write about it. I think I offer myself some vanity in this regard, and also due to the simple fact that this is my blog. Also, at this point I’m not sure if I would be writing only about the latest releases which I catch up in theatres, or I would be writing about the ones I watch in my laptop. I’d like to keep that open, but I promise, I won’t write anymore about Taxi Driver. The point is that the movie has to impress me so much that I have to write about it just to get it out of my system.

So, here I am writing a post on this blog after more than a year, I don’t know about my readers, but I’m looking forward to the first movie I will write about in this second innings. Hope it comes my way soon. I can’t wait.

Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu: Preserve This

In many ways the Telugu Audiences deserved and earned Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu with their belief and allegiance to Telugu Cinema. It seems like they are rewarded with one, which is just that. A proper and true Telugu Cinema. Not just because it is a multi-starrer. Oh, it is just an icing on a delicious cake.

SVSC offers rich and detailed insights into a middle class joint family in a village headed by a compassionate father, a dutiful mother and two brothers who could not be more opposite to each other than the two poles. However, it is the love for each other that binds the family together though no one is very vocal or dramatic about it. It is with the simple moments of this family’s journey through their quirks and inflated egos, Srikanth Addala delivers his message that humanity thrives on its inherent benevolence and the differences we have with each other in our daily lives should not stop us from helping each other in need.

Its ensemble with their stellar performances and belief in the director’s vision help the film hugely. Venkatesh brings in a lot of credibility and respectability to his underwritten role, which requires him only to sit and grimace for extended periods of time but when it matters boy, does he deliver. The scenes of his bonding with Mahesh and the camaraderie they share are likely to be etched in our minds for a long time. Anjali gets a meaty role and to her credit does not ham despite her rough edges. Jayasudha is a natural and her performance is a given but it is Prakash Raj who sticks out as a sore thumb. He is just not Tu-Go-Ji’ish enough to pull off this one. Samantha plays the girl friend and she appears star struck in the role and befittingly wins her trophy man towards the end.

But, the film most certainly belongs to Mahesh Babu who puts in one of the best performances by a leading man in Telugu Cinema off late. He has mastered the dialect and understands the demands of his role while appearing to be supremely confident with the material he is given to work with. Words fail and awe does not suffice in praise of his portrayal of the younger brother who stares at, reasons with and goads Venky (elder brother), flirts with Samantha (girl friend), acts playful with Rohini Hattangadi (Grandmother) and completely honest with Jayasudha (Mother). He is totally effortless with his one-liners speaking of which, they seem to have written a 1000 of them and decided to use the top 999 in the film. They added the last one too as an afterthought.

Anyone versed with Srikanth’s characters would know that he deals with people whom we can easily identify or run into in our lives. Here we face them in form of relatives, who try to know what you are up to without any real interest in it, a devious uncle and his son to scorn at your lack of wealth, kids trying to act more than their age to garner and the regular good-man to complete the experience.  In short the village atmosphere is created most authentically with a loving eye towards the paraphernalia. 

All of this is not to say that it is a perfect film, but it certainly is one that gives you something to carry home with. The flaws are mainly with its duration and the second half in particular which seems to be a repetition of all we saw in the first half. In it’s attempts to be simple, it comes across as naïve case in point being the Google Interview faced by Mahesh Babu where the panel asks him to smile from his heart.  A couple of unfortunate songs pop up which may test the patience of the audience and the music is not particularly great either.  Another minor squabble I had with the film is that all the women in it are surprisingly willing to be taken for granted by the men and seem to be enjoying it, but it is all done in good spirit.

A great endorsement of family values for our future generations. A Must Watch.