Dream: Get a Load Of This

Dream attempts to tell the story of a man suffering with delusional disorders while dreaming and with whatever means it has got, the film does an exceptional job at narrating the story. Here is one film that is not different just for the sake of it and does not resort to any unnecessary gimmicks to aid in the narrative. Bhavani Shanker hardly hits a wrong note during the film’s entire run time and this is no mean feat considering the offbeat subject he came up with. It is a pity that this film did not have a bigger release or a better PR campaign.

One of the major pitfalls that offbeat films in Tollywood never work after a point is that they run out of steam because they do not have a story to tell but Dream walks head held high among these because of the tight screenplay and hitherto unseen(in Tollywood again) treatment to the sequences. The shots are laboriously conceptualized and executed with finesse and an eye for detail while Rajendra Prasad owns the character and comes up with a winning performance. He may not always be comfortable in the attires the director chose for him but he brings forth all his experience and versatility in portraying a role that was totally unprecedented. This is not a tailor-made role for him but you can not imagine any other actor playing this role with such consummate ease

The idea probably could have been for a short film but it was commendably developed into a feature length without too many indulgences or unwanted songs. A bit of exposition is thrown every now and then into the narrative that might offend the purists but it would have been difficult to follow the story without it. The soundtrack has original records from a few Pop Singers and the background music is minimal but decent. Composition, framing and shot division by the director deserve a special mention for the efficient usage of film reel if not for anything else. In fact the success of this film might be a first step in making the directors moving away from the random, unnecessary cuts that are not at all pleasing on the eye but somehow have become a trend. The producers deserve a huge applause for their belief in a script that was not an instant money churner and their conviction in executing the film as per the director’s vision. Bravo!!!

Dream is a must watch for all the skeptics who never miss a chance to crib about the run of the mill stuff and lack of variety in Telugu Cinema. It is a story well researched and well told that deserves to be seen and seen quickly since it does not have much time at the theatres if the number of people who turned out today is anything to go by. This is totally worth your tickets, popcorn, parking fees and the additional service charge that the ticket vending websites might levied on you.

Dhenikina Ready: No DHEE. This

Dhenikina Ready is that sort of film that wonders what went wrong despite having all the ingredients in the earlier blockbuster in the same genre. True, the leads are not the most charming ones around but that cannot be the reason for a film to go wrong despite having almost the entire comedy clan in it.  A simple tale with easily resolvable complications and characters only too willing to change their hearts that have never budged for 22 years to accommodate love and relationships with generous amounts of comedy, the mandatory song, dance and fight sequence thrown in for good measure. That in a nutshell is Dhenikina Ready for you and as you have read this one is nothing new.

100% entertainment guaranteed is what the posters and the makers claim this film is going to give you but the entertainment unfortunately comes along with immaturely treated melodrama and badly placed songs. The director’s skill comes across as wanting in the way he treats the story as filler between humorous situations. Also, there are a good number of underwritten characters hogging ample screen time (Vennela Kishore, Subba Raju, Kota to name a few) adding little or no value to the overall experience of watching the film.

Vishnu is earnest in his performance and is confident throughout the film but unfortunately there were too many things that were out of his control. Hansika plays the arm candy with not much to do except, well nothing really. It is the acting in the film in general that acts as a saving grace, as everyone knows their act only too well. All the comedians are competent and seem to be having a gala time shooting the film and they even elicit a few laughs here and there. It would be anybody’s guess who walks away with honors at the end of the film. The screenplay credited to Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat was just like every other film they have dished out till date. Marudhuri Raja’s dialogues still reek of EVV left overs and they even have a medley to spoof hit songs in probably a tribute to the master of this genre.

Music, stunts and choreography are nothing to write home about. They are just there to make the film comply with the length of a regular commercial Telugu film. There isn’t any production design to talk about since the entire movie was shot in less than 5 locations including the songs.

You can watch Dhenikina Ready if you don’t complain that it didn’t tickle your ribs enough.

Chittagong: Wrapped Up in Haste

Chittagong is that rare film which makes you feel that it needed a longer duration than what it contents itself with. For uninformed people like me, this film is a lesson on history and an important one at that about the uprising in Chittagong in 1929-1931 mastered by Suraiya Sen. Everyone calls him Master-da but nothing was made known about what he did or does in the film except calling shots and making plans in the revolt. Which should suit the narrative fine but there always will be some questions that need answers and we just cannot digest someone revolting against the British with a group of underage youngsters with no strong motive. True, there doesn’t have to be a reason to fight for freedom but we could have used a back-story.

The cast consists mostly of GOW (it was an AKPFL film alright) ensemble with Dibyendu Bhattacharya joining them in a delightful comeback and none of them can be accused of putting in a wrong note anywhere. However dialogues credited to Piyush Mishra weren’t as sharp as they were with AK films. Nothing stings a viewer like the film that does not realize its true potential and Chittagong has immense potential and ample scope for drama to make it a longer film but one cannot understand the haste with which everything was wrapped up. It was as if Bedabrata Pain was instructed strictly to make a 90-minute film while the events that enfolded during the period demanded more screen time and a grander canvas.  Shankar Ehsaan Loy also make a comeback as music directors and it felt good to listen Shankar Mahadevan lending depth in his inimitable voice to the situations the lead characters have to go through in their journey.

Pain’s screenplay was so economic that there was no possibility for a non-event but ironically it was not racy either. Things happen and we shift between timelines so quickly that it makes it so difficult to empathize or relate to any particular character. Bajpayee gets more screen time than others but his role was not written to arouse and the subtlety he lends to the character does not help either. The Queen’s men were the regular stereotypes we usually find in patriotic films of yore and have nothing much to offer apart from menacing looks.  

Despite it’s obvious flaws Chittagong is worth a watch for its credible performance s and the story it has to tell about the first farmer uprising in Bengal in 1945, which it claims to be the final nail in the coffin for the British Rule in India. It is not the rousing patriotic film that you have expected especially after tagging it to Anurag Kashyap but it is still a story well told with whatever the director has got to deal with.

Barfi: Brilliant. In Parts

The problem with Barfi is that despite all its brilliant subtlety and poignant humor, this is a film that is too good and sweet to be true and can leave you with a feeling that this can only happen in a cinema. As a cinema, however this is a superior effort from everyone involved.  Anurag Basu shares some of the bitterness towards arranged marriage with Imtiaz Ali and drives home the point that husbands after all are poor suckers. We find the scenario where a daughter asks her mother whether she loved her husband at all on more than one occasion. Now that was a uncomfortable question for any mother to face that can only be answered by a tight slap and that again is only because it is neither a yes or a no.

Barfi boasts of superlative performances from its entire cast with Ranbir Kapoor walking away with huge accolades and Illeana following close by. The Chaplinesque humour works well with his infectious smile and his work was as earnest as it was confident. Priyanka’s act as an autistic girl can put you off if you do not have the kind of sensibility for it but to her credit she does not ham much. Illeana plays the normal girl in the triangle and her role was shot and etched so beautifully that no one can blame the poor guy falling for her, marriages and engagements be damned. She largely has to work with silences with big eyes and a bigger sticker on her forehead, and she puts in a confident debut. The romance between Illeana and Ranbir was dangerously close to what we saw earlier in Rock Star but Barfi was nowhere as passionate as Jordan was.  Saurabh Shulka gets a meaty role as the cat and mouse game between him and Barfi runs on for the entire length of the film and he is competent and good to have around.

For someone looking for quirks and nuances this is a brilliant film made with a lot of conviction and the scenic beauty of Darjeeling largely helps in garnering a laidback attitude. Basu’s script refrains from being highhanded despite dealing with specially abled protagonists and comes up with a winner till in the first half of the film, but could not continue the good work in the later half and the ending was predictable. The moment where Jhilmil calls after Ranbir who was a deaf-mute guy, after he choses to leave disappointed with not finding her and the dilemma in Shruthi whether she wants both of them to be together or if she wants Barfi for herself speaks a lot about the thought and skill that went into writing and making this film. 

Barfi is a film with a lot of heart and is easy on all your senses. It has enough endearing moments for two films and for a while it can even make you believe that love can be special and worth living for. At Times.

To Rome With Love: A Charming Tribute

Disclaimer: This write-up in no way can put into words the amount of pleasure the film has given me. It is my first Woody Allen film in a theatre and I’m glad I finally caught one.

Through the eyes and words of a Traffic Police in Roma Woody Allen choses to give us four stories that took place in the European city which becomes his latest muse. For all we know he might have had several others to tell us but for what he gave us we should be immensely thankful to the master.

To Rome With Love is a charming little film that talks about greater things like infidelity, lust, jealousy, fame and the ridiculousness of them all. These are the themes Allen has been talking about since ages but we still want to listen to him all the same courtesy his characteristic wit. Despite the darker themes and grey shades in the characters, they all are so endearing and believable. In a way he shows us how our behaviors are humanely vulnerable. The possibilities and the actions in correspondence can be frightening to a skeptic eye but thankfully he goes easy on his nihilism and does not cram the film with such lines. Cinematographer Darius Khondji uses this to his advantage and gives us some of the most spectacular and breathtaking shots of Rome.

Roberto Benigni’s act as the person troubled by the instant fame without a reason and his frustration at the equally unreasonable abandonment by the fame is the stuff of legends. The lesson that you learn out of this episode is so meaningful and fulfilling and this track alone is reason enough for watching this film. Alec Badwin as the architect who looks back at his youth through the life of another architect is so warm with a lot of interesting insights into other peoples’ lives. Penelope Cruz as ever is sexy while Judy Davis playing Woody Allen’s wife walks away with the best lines of them all. And I have not finished them all yet.

The risk with a film having four tracks is that you cannot connect to some and this has been the case with this film too. Personally, I did not like the story of Woody Allen, an irony considering the brilliant stories the man had for the others. But he makes it up with his death fearing act. His scene at the dining table with the Michelangelo family where he tries to coax a bathroom singer to something meaningful and great is hilarious and trademark Woody Allen.  

If at 76, the master can create this, I pray he lives for another 76. However knowing the man through his films, I’m not sure he would cherish the idea, but we might as well make hay when the sun is still shining.

Raaz 3: Back to the Ramsays

Raaz 3 could as well have been done by the Ramsays and bought for a meager amount by the Bhatts. The story for sure must be theirs, otherwise there isn’t a sane explanation to think of why it turned out to be the way it did. After RGV did some good work with the horror genre those people who were relieved that they no longer have to be subjected to plastic masks with skin dripping in gruesome drops are sure to make faces again since those horrible masks and awful CGI are back again big time.

What is the best way to pacify a woman who is shit scared watching all those zombies trying to frighten her. You should have sex with her. Don’t believe me? Well you only have to watch Raaz 3 and Emraan would tell you as much. If you have some other ideas, you can go ahead and use them but I’m sure they wont be much fun either. This is the kind of film that wants you to believe in Doctors relying on black magic to cure patients, film directors having beach houses serving continental breakfast to unsuspecting heroines, and people entering Aatmaon Ki Duniya with little or no efforts. They tie a thread to do the last act of course but that comes under little effort I guess.

The funny thing about the film is that all the actors chose the wrong film together to put in decent performances. You can’t find fault with them but the situations they find themselves in throughout are so farcical that even their best efforts could not save the film. They weren’t even helped by the lines, these in retrospect are the result of some of the flattest writing you would ever find in a film. The music, which comes to rescue most Bhatt films plays a different spoilsport altogether with insipid songs popping in with no reason at all.

A few red herrings might work if you are yawning and are unprepared but don’t worry, they are very few and far in between and do not disturb your slumber.