Uttama Villain - Bittersweet but Slapstick..... Blemished but Exquisite.....!!!!

Whenever it is Kamal Hassan at the helm of affairs one can be sure of a display of histrionics that would make one reconsider the definition of acting. Yet, his career as a screenwriter has been quite chequered in the last decade and a half. Moving on from the generally simplistic plots that he used to pen ineffably, he chose subjects that were quite complex in narrative structure and content that had the affinity to become cult classics many years after they hit the screen (Aalavandhan and Hey Ram for instance). Yet, the

Baby - Don't go by the name!!

Neeraj Pandey is back with his latest outing and going by his record, this one has to be one hell of a movie to outshine his previous outings (A Wednesday and Special 26). Known for his tense treatment of his subjects and his crack of the whip dialogues, it remains to be seen whether he repeats the same. At the outset,

Haider - Shakespeared!!!!

And so comes the third adaptation by the Shakespeare movie specialist of India. Creates quite an expectation for a movie or a Shakespeare connoisseur. For the general moviegoer, the trailer was intriguing enough. Constant praise has been showered on Vishal Bharadwaj both for his meticulous adaptation and for his ability to slip just about any mammoth piece of literature  into an Indian veneer. His previous adaptations of Shakespeare's tragedies have been lauded by one and all no bounds. In general too, Shakespeare's works seem to have striking relevance in about any scenario in the world after so many centuries of his passing on. It remains to be seen if his third posthumous partnership with Bharadwaj with Hamlet is as pertinent as his Macbeth or Othello (Maqbool and Omkara). Any guesses what the answer could be?

Meticulous Adaptation

It is Kashmir in place of Denmark and set in the 90s when AFSPA and insurgency in Kashmir began to bare their fangs at each other leaving utter chaos, destruction and discontent in their wake. The discerning viewer would view this with some uncertainty. The impact of the tragedy in Shakespeare's original stands a chance of being blunted by the real life tragic setting that it is in. This is where the screenwriters have to be lauded no bounds. Vishal Bharadwaj and Basharat Peer retain the same narrative mastery that Shakespeare had whilst effortlessly meshing the narrative into one of the most tragic ongoing happenings in India. This time however, Bharadwaj seems to have decided to remain slightly unfaithful to Shakespeare, as a few changes are apparent per se. But this is no cause of complaint. That is in fact where the screenwriter duo set the message they want to convey. As the movie ends, one realises that Shakespeare's play has in fact been used as a leitmotif for the Kashmir situation rather than the other way round. While not compromising on the theatrical necessities of the master playwright (the graveyard sequence being the best example) and even squeezing in some dark humour which actually raises quite a few laughs (the twist to the "to be or not to be" monologue being one). It must have been no mean job adapting Shakespeare's longest play (which took Kenneth Branagh 4 Hours to faithfully adapt) into a paltry 2 Hours and 45 Minutes (Yes that's paltry!!). To top it all is the fact that the first half is essentially only the first 20 minutes (approximately) of the original play and the rest has been packed into the second half where almost 90% of the original plot line unfolds. It could be said that Vishal Bharadwaj has given his best adaptation yet (although not the most faithful one, a post rightfully held by Omkara). His music too is haunting with some of Gulzar Saab's cleverest usage of Urdu adding to it. He has put the Kashmiri Rubab to best use in the score. Camerawork by Pankaj Kumar is perfect. The general dark blue tint adding the perfect visual to the narration. Aarif Sheikh does his slicing and splicing job with the mastery of a darner.

Tour de force ensemble :
Casting has always been 100% apt in all of Vishal Bharadwaj films and he seems to be capable of extracting the best out of just about any actor that comes his way. He continues this streak with Haider. Shahid Kapoor comes out with his best performance yet. His crazed histrionics remain as close to the original Hamlet as possible. He has proved that given a chance, he can shred his chocolate boy wrapping with ease. Would be shocking if he doesn't win big awards for his class act. Shraddha Kapoor is perhaps the perfect Ophelia given the general nature of her previous two roles. Exuding innocence as always, she does her bit well. Tabu is brilliant as ever. Her Gertrude is given a positive twist by Bharadwaj and Peer which she does justice to with her typical exercise of restraint. Kay Kay Menon as the equivalent of Claudius is at his usual antagonistic best. Irrfan Khan whose role is essentially the pivot of the plot line has an effective cameo. Special mention goes to the two actors who did the role of "Salman and Salman". Their comic interludes provide a few dark laughs.

And Finally the point is :
Haider offers a gripping drama experience  and satiates even the most ardent Shakespeare fans complete with its sometimes unabashed theatrics. It is Vishal Bharadwaj and Basharat Peer's wonderful writing that makes it one of the best Shakespeare adaptations ever. Hamlet has had numerous adaptations. This one however is the best modern day adaptation of the play. Even as a viewer who has never seen the play before, one can easily be gripped by the powerful narration, dialogue and highly electric performances by the cast. As for those who have read the play or seen its adaptations, they will agree that the twist that the writer duo give to the play as a show of absolute brilliance. Take a bow Bharadwaj. You have hit the bulls eye yet again with the Spear called Shakespeare.

Rating : 5 on 5

Nenokkadine - One of its kind!!!

Sukumar, as a director is widely known for his screwball romantic comedy approach. His one previous attempt at an action film (Jagadam) was a mega failure. This time around, he teams up with the hot and happening Mahesh Babu to make what looks like a regular action movie, if the trailer is the mirror of the film. But rest assured, the only worry that will linger on after watching the movie is whether it will be accepted by the mass masala potpourri hungry Telugu audience. Otherwise, this movie turns out to be the most "un-massy" psychological - action thriller ever to have kissed the Telugu silver screen.

The Wolf of Wall Street - Wolf on this one!!!!!

Three hours long and about a crazed up stock broker. Now don't get ticked off reading that description because that will lead you to miss this aggressively profane and absolutely filthy black comedy. With Martin Scorsese at the helm of affairs one can expect his trademark stamps viz. profanity, pitch black characters to name a few. This film also marks his fifth collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. So the expectations are definitely as high as the calibre of the director and the actor. The film turns out to be the most irreverent and entertaining of the year.

The film is a dramatisation of Jordan Belfort who made a killing at the stock market defrauding people by selling them penny stocks in the guise of blue chip investments and was later jailed for the same and has since become a motivational speaker

For starters, the plot of this movie is nothing extraordinary. It is a very simple story. Thus, it comes down to the screenplay to do justice to the story. As a Scorsese movie, it may not be among his best works. Scorsese returns to direct a comedy after 31 years (The king of comedy) and does a decent job of it. His stamp is apparent through the film. But he also chose to incorporate the style of "breaking the fourth wall" this time(a style most often employed by Woody Allen, his contemporary) to very good effect. The film manages to do ample justice to its 180 minute length. Scorsese also manages to make some very outlandish and seemingly unrealistic situations seem so believable that the Time magazine has also acknowledged their possibility. Taking ample licence but also maintaining a tight narrative has worked well for this film. In short, not among Scorsese's best but that is not reason to complain.

Among the technical aspects, the most notable one is the brisk editing by Thelma Schoonmaker with the rest being just about adequate.

The main draw of this film(apart from its record breaking usage of the "F" word - 506 f*****g times) is the crazed no holds barred performance by Leonardo DiCaprio. He plays his part to the hilt. You see the soul of a very screwed up character in every second of his performance. Note the plethora of scenes where he plays an addict. He had to be his most profane and in a mad mad way. As a money crazed jerk off, he is an absolute asshole. As an irresponsible family man, he is an absolute c**t. As a motivator, he is an advertisement for his own foibles. Such is the impact of his performance that it gives as much of a high as the weed or quaalude must have given the character that he plays. It may not be exaggeration to say that the real life Belfort must have shouted some choice cusses at himself watching this whiplash performance. No amount of length seems to be relevant before the gargantuan impact of DiCaprio's best yet performance. It would be absolute f*****g outrageous to give the Oscar to anyone else now because he has given a very healthy high to the viewer by his powerhouse. A proud milestone in his career indeed.

In the supporting cast, Jonah Hill gets the meatiest role and carries it out with the same crazed enthusiasm as DiCaprio and Rob Reiner does a great extended cameo. Matthew McConaughey does a mini version of what DiCaprio does throughout in a cameo at the beginning of the film (in a very likable southern accent). Other members of the cast form a perfect ensemble.


To sum it all up, The Wolf of Wall Street is pure on screen heroin. It forcibly infuses into your system, the crazed enthusiasm of Leonardo DiCaprio's f****d up character and the unabashed filthy treatment in general. Do not watch this film with your family as you will end up hating yourself for two reasons - being labelled an asshole by your family and spoiling all the fun that this film offers by worrying about the cross stares from your family. Your relationship might also crumble if your other half minds crass stuff. If you are with buddies and can shout out cuss words, you will have a whale of a time. Pitch black comedy extreme.

Rating - 4 on 5 

Rewind - Best of Kollywood 2013

The year 2013 comes to a close. This year has given us a very mixed bag with big star masala entertainers raking in the moolah as usual. But we have also received some very prescient dramas, smiley face comedies, black comedies and the usual Tamil award circuit fare. Some major disappointments came in the form of big starrers turning damp squibs. In all this hullabaloo, it was however easy picking choices for the best in Kollywood this year. I hope it isn't as easy the next year.

The Lunchbox - 'Epic'stolary if you please!!!!

The Lunchbox, produced jointly by Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and UTV Motion Picture, brings to us the rare epistolary. If the acclaim it has garnered before release is anything to go by, The Lunchbox promises a naturalist fare. Two fine performers called Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui have been cast in 2 of the 3 lead characters with Nimrat Kaur (the Cadbury Silk lady) being the third. As one watches the film, realisation dawns that the acclaim so garnered is ever so slightly misleading. The Lunchbox ever so subtly cuts out a shapely slice of life fare.

The plot traces the exchange of letters that happens between a lonely middle age insurance company employee and an unhappy housewife when (shockingly) the dabbawala delivers lunch meant for the latter's hubby to the former and how this transforms their lives.

To come to the performances, it is a feast of underplaying on display here. Irrfan Khan displays his easy natural flair by doing exactly what is expected of him. Be it the subtle show of frustration at constant nagging, the quick display of cunning for slight issues or the display of constant sadness, he has got it all ready with him. Nimrat Kaur packs in an equally good performance with the added advantage of her natural yet pretty looks. Nawazuddin Siddiqui keeps the humour element going throughout the film and gives a solid supporting act. Also worth mention is a small yet effective cameo by Lillete Dubey and the unseen 'Aunty' character. On the whole, the perfect elegant ensemble.

The director and writer Ritesh Batra remains as realist and as abstract as possible in his execution of his own strong subject matter. The screenplay is the definite hero of this film. The film utilizes minimal live dialogue and focuses on the facial expressions of it's characters through 70% of the run time. The story unfolds at a smooth pace for most part of the film with it getting a bit annoyingly glacial at the last 15 or so minutes of the film. Yet, what is most impressive is that the writer/director gives an apt abstract touch to conclude the film. A few plot threads are left open for the spectator to decide on. The transformation shown in the lead characters' lives is a perfect demonstration of delectable subtlety. The naturalism in the director's execution is deliciously consistent throughout.

Able technical work can be seen in almost all departments. The editing is smooth as silk and the Cinematography, as natural as the film itself. However, the most impressive work is done by the sound mixing and sound editing department. In a film where the music score is so slight, the spectator's involvement is kept alive by the apt mixing of natural urban hustle bustle and the set of daily noises. The most impressive touch was however when the sounds kept going on in the succeeding frame and stop abruptly when a character speaks out. The sound technicians are in for many awards this year.

To quote in short, The Lunchbox is an uncut gem. Natural with its own dirt and grit, yet as precious as its polished counterpart. Such unabashed display of subtle naturalism is very rarely seen on Indian screens. Had the film been a little less glacial in pacing, it would have been brilliant. However, it keeps itself to being good, salt of the earth stuff. It goes on to prove that every moment in mundane human life can give an engaging story to the spectator if narrated in the right manner.

3.5 on 5