Tag: amitabh bachchan

Piku (2015)

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The high strung story of a hypochondriac father and frustrated daughter leaves us agitated, entertained, in splits and in reflection.

Amitabh plays the constipated feminist with élan, while Deepika aces the angry, caring, unapologetic daughter. Their interaction leaves you exasperated. Enter Irfaan, who is the catalyst of balance in their chaotic lives.

Though the film seems to be about bowel movements, it’s a clever metaphor for bottling issues, anxieties, suppressed  relationships and the delicate stage of life parents reach. It passes messages strong and clear, without pretence or censorship.

A fun film, it takes getting used to. Once you have caught the pulse of the characters you settle in. Sensitively made by director Shoojit Sircar, with an able supporting cast.

A difficult topic to bring to the table, handled in a matter of fact manner.

3/5

Mahabharat (2013)

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Director Aman Khan who also made the animated film ‘Krishna’ in 2006 brings us this tale in 2013. The interesting approach was to have the character’s facial features match the actors who were doing their voiceovers. The tale is known to all, but it was compressed well to fit the 2 hour film format, covering all the highlights.

It is very expensive to make good quality animation films, and takes a lot of time. When Hollywood releases such movies, their estimated production budget can be anywhere between $100 – $150 million dollars. The aspect which suffers here is the very unfinished and amateur animation which we are forced to consume. This could very well be a rough draft brief to an animator, but alas, it is the finished product.

There will not be a market big enough for such a film, though ‘Bal Ganesh’ and ‘Ganesha’ were a rage with children. I understand why much money couldn’t be pumped into the film to give it the look it deserved. Close up shots show us major faults and lack of expressions, such important details for an epic like this.

It can be educational for children, but even the stellar voices cannot save the film for adults.

2/5

The Great Gatsby

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The excess, success and progress of America come alive on screen in a vivid, almost poetic form by director Baz Luhrmann.

Its in the many details of the film that you will find the various forms of love. The love that can endure, wait and persevere is present alongside love that can sway, be short lived and is perhaps fickle.

The irony here is not love itself, but the grand stage one sets for something which is always intended to be a personal moment. Its the balance that the film strikes between the noise and the silence, the grandeur and the pain, the selfishness and the selflessness that you step back and question your own belief of love.

Leonardo has once again walked the tight rope and shown the complexity of an ambitious man in love. Carey Mulligan is a victim of her own choices, showing wondrous fleeting moments of love, amongst her spoils. Tobey Maguire plays the fine narrator of a quixotic tale he didn’t want to be a part off, but was swept away by it like the rest of us.

Its artistic treatment and sparks of brilliance indeed make it ‘Great’.

Indulge yourself, old sport!

4/5

Bombay Talkies

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Celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema, this film is a talented tribute by 4 directors; Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. Four stories that cover totally different genres, social spaces, dreams, aspirations and goals. What ties them together is the string known as ‘our world of films’.

The story by each director is short, yet complete. The well written characters are played by a confident cast. Urban, rural, modern, conservative, everything is weaved in effectively with a message. As each story begins and ends, you feel you have had a balanced Indian meal, a little bit of every spice and food group, giving you complete nutrition and satisfying your palette.

There is a well shot and fitting song at the end, featuring many of our favourite actors and actresses, either through a montage of their previous work or live in the song. That was the best dessert for such a meal. A proud moment indeed for our cinema and the ones that enjoy it.

It is a time capsule worth watching.

4/5