ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2011, DAY 4: FILM OF THE YEAR

An Indo-Italian production, Gangor by Italo Spinnely, opened my day. Based on a short story by Mahashweta Devi, it traced the journey of a photographer who, in a bid to expose the atrocities against tribals, publishes a stark photo of a tribal woman feeding her child. He thinks its art. The locals call the woman a slut and want a piece of her. The photographer attempts to reconnect with the woman, leading to one fateful meeting. The first half held my interest but the second half just fell apart. Seems unlikely this one will wow the jury.

After lunch, Ahmad Abdalla’s Heliopolis from Egypt. I am getting a bit tired of hyperlinked films. As long as there is a central theme, a little bit of hyperlinking is fine. But when it’s the only USP, it’s boring. The gentleman next to me was snoring. Honest.

Was Seven Samurai based on a true story? Sarath Weerasekera’s Gaamini would have you believe so. The LTTE massacre 50 odd denizens of a small Sri Lankan village. In retaliation they set up their own defense with the help of the army. The story maybe true but the treatment was total Kurosawa. Only not as brilliant. The best scenes were the training scenes, Otherwise it was forgettable. The jury will be overlooking this one too.

Since day one, there has been a buzz about this movie. Not only has it won top honours at various festivals, Roger Ebert has listed it as his Best Film of the Year. Asghar Farhadi’s A Seperation is all that and more. I can’t find words to describe it. It’s a rare film that tests the audience’s intelligence, inviting him or her to take sides. I don’t think I blinked even once. If you still haven’t seen it, watch it at the first available instance.



Yasujiro Ozu once again to call curtains for the day. A calibrated Tokyo Story about an ageing couple and their chequered relationship with their children, Fortunately, unlike Day 2, the reel co-operated and we were able to enjoy the film in its entirety.

ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2011, DAY 3: BACK TO SCHOOL

What a start to the day it was! The Marathi film Shaala was screened to a rousing response from the crowd. Based on a popular novel by Milind Bokil, the film captured the essence of what it means to be a pre-pubescent in school. Though it was set against the backdrop of the Emergency, it never got heavy-handed or preachy. Instead, it had loads of humour and poignant moments. Director Sujay Dahake announced that it will be getting a public release on January 20th. Don’t miss it then!



The in-competition Cairo 678’s prints did not make it in time. So it was substituted by Adoor Gopalkrishnan’s Kathapurusham. Even better I thought. The print was clean, which enhanced the experience by several notches. A love story set amidst the Marxist revolution. I wish Adoor Gopalkrishnan’s films become as easily available on DVD as Ray’s.

Up next was another in-competition film, the Iranian Kiss of Rain. About a poor boy who steals to buy a mandatory gift for his fiancée nut later mends his ways. Politely put, don’t expect this one to win the grand prize.

This year, under a section called European Connection, the Asian Film Fest is featuring several films by the Polish director Jan Jakub Kolski. One of them is Venice, about a home that houses wives and children of men fighting in the World War II. They have turned their flooded basement into a mini-Venice where they live out their fantasies. Though the film had several memorable scenes, overall I felt it was too cluttered and unfocussed.

Many sagging days at film festivals are perked up for me by a Dan Wolman film. Today was no different. His Valley of Strength was about a lot of things – Jews migrating to Palestine, a hard life on arid land, conflict between the Arabs and the Jews and a hideous secret. Even though this was the last show of a tiring day, not once did I feel drowsy. The best part is that Wolman is always around after his film for a chat. As I left, I saw him engaged in conversation with someone else. I’ll wait for my turn next time.

ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2011, DAY 2: A DAY TRUCATED AT BOTH ENDS

The lucre of mainstream cinema can sometimes turn irresistible. Like a fool, I forsook, the first two films for today to attend a first day first show screening of Don 2 playing at a nearby cinema hall. To add insult to injury, when I landed up at the venue, I learnt that the opening film 11 Flowers that was screened on Day 1 was open to the public. It wasn’t just an invitee-only event like MAMI.

Plaza Cinema at Dadar which has been home to this festival for quite some time now has been given a miss this time and Ravindra Natya Mandir has doubled up as a cinema hall to provide two good screens for the films. The moment I landed there, I headed straight for Shaji Karun’s Piravi. It has an old man as the protagonist and the pace is befitting his age. He sets out in search of his missing son who may or may not have been captured by the police. I was immediately reminded of Adaminte Makan, Abu which is also a leisurely paced movie about an old man on a journey.



Each year, this festival pays homage to an Asian Master Director. This year its Yasujiro Ozu whose films I have never seen. Thanks to The Consulate General of Japan who has lent his films, we are able to see and acknowledge the auteur that he is. I saw Early Autumn, a seemingly simple tale about an ageing man who rekindles an old affair much to the chagrin of his children. The film seemed very fluid, almost rhythmic. Later, when I read an article on Ozu by Arun Khopkar in the festival booklet where he has explained Ozu’s technique, it because clear to me why the film seemed what it seemed. I recommend you read that piece before watching any of Ozu’s films if you really want to appreciate his cinema.

I have this formula I use at festivals that goes something like this: Chinese Film + Long Title = Good Film. This proved to be handy when I chose Woman From the Lake of Scented Souls over Gumrah. Director Xie Fei was present and felicitated. I would have congratulated him too because his film was just too good. A woman who runs a sesame oil mill has to put up with a good-for-nothing husband and an epileptic son. Business is good but her personal life is in shambles. The lead actress Gaowa Siqin is true to life in the challenging lead role.

The day was to end with another of Ozu’s films. But I mistakenly ventured into the screen that was to play Charulata. Under some guise or the other, every film festival in India sneaks in a Satyajit Ray film. As I had already seen it before I started to walk out when lead actress Madhabi Mukherjee walked on stage. Stayed back till she was done saying a few word and then made a dash for the other screen. The film was Early Spring but it was late in starting. Five minutes into the film and the reel went kaput. After 15 minutes of an agonizing wait, decided to join many others walking out. A few faithfuls were braving it out by staying back. Probably they stay close to the venue.

REVIEW: LADIES V/S RICKY BAHL

Director: Maneesh Sharma
Rating: **

A few things that we have learned about conmen from Bollywood films – One, the most effective weapon in their arsenal is their charm. It can take them through a con job like a hot knife through butter. Two, a corollary of the first rule; their victims are invariably gullible people who will quite easily fall prey to their charm. Three, a change in costume after every job is mandatory. Even if you still end up looking like your original self. And four, the conman walks away from the crime in slow motion, with a fast song / theme music playing in the background.

Our Ricky Bahl, played by Ranveer Singh, too falls into this stereotype. All his victims are young, impressionable girls (why only girls?) who along with their families are willing to invest lakhs into whatever scheme he cooks up. In fifteen years, he has duped thirty girls already. That’s when three of his former victims gang up and decide to out-dupe him by planting a decoy.



Three of his shenanigans are nicely told. One before the credits, one in the normal course and one in flashback. The first and the funniest features Parineeta Chopra as a spoilt Delhi PYT. Dipanita Sharma is good too as the high flying yuppie and the architect of the revenge plan. By comparison, Aditi Sharma as the
conservative Muslim is much more subdued. This film must have set the record for the maximum number of Sharma’s in the cast. Anushka Sharma as the decoy is the third out of the four lead actresses to share this common last name. There’s more. Parineeta Chopra’s father is played by Shireesh Sharma. And of course, the film’s director is Maneesh Sharma!!!

The first half of the film is breezy. And Ranveer is good as he dons various personae to trick his victims. His mannerisms in each role are visibly different, lending credibility to his con act. Indeed, the first half brings with it the promise that you are going to be taken for a roller coaster ride. For not only has Anushka Sharma been introduced just before the interval but the masterplan is about to unfold. So it’s highly disappointing when the second half fails to live up to expectations. Unimaginative and anti-climatic, there is no chemistry between Ranveer and Anushka, a factor that saw their earlier Band Baaja Baraat through. The end is a damp squib because writer Devika Bhagat seems to have run out of ideas. Interestingly, Habib Faisal, who wrote Band Baaja Baraat has been credited with ‘Additional Screenplay’. What’s that? Do we ascribe the better scenes to him?

The music does little to differentiate this film from many others that have come this year. It has been 12 hours since I have seen it and I am already forgetting parts of it. Catch it when it releases on DVD. It’s not worth the price you pay for your ticket.

REVIEW: THE DIRTY PICTURE

Director: Milan Luthria
Rating: *

The year 2006 saw the release of a film called Jigyasa. It was the story of a struggling actress who initially goes through the casting couch before achieving heady success. The film ends with her death under mysterious circumstances. It starred Hrishita Bhatt in the lead role. Briefly, the film created a sensation when the filmmakers claimed that it was based on Mallika Sherawat. But by all accounts it was bad film and it is unlikely that you have heard about it. Five years hence we are graced with The Dirty Picture which allegedly tells the tale of another actress, Silk Smitha, who was equally sensational in her time. The difference between the two films is that TDP has a bigger budget and a bigger cast. But it’s equally wretched.

Making a good film about bad films is a thin line to tread. At what point does the sleaze from the embedded films spill on the main feature. It is difficult to tell. But once it’s out it will be there in plain view. TDP is not so much of a vulgar film as it is a bad film. The maturity in handling a subject like an actress billed as a soft-porn star is completely missing. Instead we have a garbled narrative with the theme of exploitation being repeated ad nauseum.



The script is littered with half-baked characters written so badly, you have no idea what the intention behind their expression is. Take Tusshar Kapoor as the aspiring film writer for instance. Till the end I was not able to determine whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. Or Anju Mahendru as the film critic-cum-gossip columnist. Couldn’t judge whether she was a bitch or Barkha Dutt. But the worst was Emraan Hashmi as the idealistic filmmaker who successfully turns commercial. Just like that. Hashmi is even made to deliver a pointless voiceover which loses whatever little meaning it has thanks to an echo effect. Was the gimmick necessary because Hashmi does not have an arresting voice like Om Puri or Amitabh Bachchan?

Now onto the dialogues by writer Rajat Arora. We have heard about item songs. But TDP sets the standard for item dialogues. Each one has been crafted to induce at least a clap or a giggle from some corner of the auditorium. Unmindful of the fact that there are so many of them, they will ultimately begin to jar. While Naseeruddin Shah knows how to carry his share, the others look like infants who have been handed out toys meant for bigger kids.

Another complaint about the cinematography. I felt a few scenes were out of focus and in a few others, where conventionally the face fills up the screen from top to bottom, the shot extended right up to the chest level. In Vidya Balan’s case, for obvious reasons.

More than Vidya Balan’s acting, I was impressed by her physical transformation. Not only has she put on weight but she puts out the flab on display almost permanently. Can’t think of any other actress with this kind of commitment to the role. But the inherent problem in casting Balan as a struggler is that she never looks like one. Apart from the makeup, you can never see the transformation from a vulnerable entrant to a seasoned item girl. She is as much of a firebrand in her first scene as she is in her last. It’s Naseeruddin Shah who impresses the most. As the ageing superstar who continues to play young characters, he chews up everyone else whenever he is on screen. Their Ooh La La song is when the film hits the highpoint.

Milan Luthria has made some good films like Kachche Dhaage, Taxi No. 9211 and Hattrick. By comparison, this is one of his lesser efforts. He rushes through the screenplay, lining up one scene after another without breathing life into anyone of them. If anything, he has done a disservice to Silk Smitha who was stuck with the label of a sex symbol and never gained acceptance as an actress.