My Oscar Picks - 2012

With the Oscar clock ticking away to its last few hours, we have speculations galore running everywhere. These are my personal choices among the nominees(not my  predictions). I am choosing for everything other than for a few technical awards(for I frankly cannot tell the difference between sound mixing and Editing and I cannot tell who did the make up better among other things) and the awards for documentaries and short films  :

Best Picture : Zero Dark Thirty

Dude, come on! Try making a film about a manhunt for America’s most wanted man without caring for how politically correct you are and you won’t get a film like this. 2 Hours and 36 minutes goes the movie and I could not feel my eyes blinking. And there is none of that typical action film tomfoolery here.Even the intense 45 minute climax manages to pump up your adrenaline without any loud bombastic ammo or gore. You get the feel of a lady’s might both in the leading lady (Jessica Chastain) and the director(Kathryn Bigelow). Sorry Bigelow, your stellar effort won’t get the Academy vote, but my vote goes to it hands down.

Best Director : Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

I pick this one because the Academy so cruelly snubbed my personal favourites, Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow (What the?). Spielberg pulled off a good historical,which he could have pulled off in his leisure time (this guy made Schindler’s List man). Everything about this movie had Spielberg stamped and sealed with wax across it. Yet, one must credit him with showing the cunning vote winning games played by the two political parties with such quirky realism, though his portrayal of the central character tends to be no more than an on screen eulogy.

Best Actor : Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)

Yeah yeah!! I hear the boos coming already. Many would say – “Daniel Day Lewis. Duh!”. And though Daniel Day Lewis is destined to win it and become the record holder for Best Actor Oscars, I choose Hugh Jackman. It was a close call though. What with Denzel Washington giving that intense character study in Flight, Joaquin Phoenix rocking it as a sex addict in The Master and Bradley Cooper doing something he has never done before in Silver Linings Playbook, my mind was going berserk. But hold on. Les Miserables is probably the worst of all best picture nominees. Yet, it got there because of the sheer brawn of the performances in that film. I mean, who can sing, dance and be dramatic at the same time with such grace as jackman did in that film? Musicals are long gone from mainstram Hollywood trend. Yet, Jackman does a prisoner Jean Valjean with near Gene Kelly grace added with a dash of intense Marlon Brando. He’s going to lose it to Daniel Day Lewis (who is equally deserving). But I go with this guy for being the only thing I loved in a movie so inconsistent.

Best Actress : Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Here we have a movie about 2 psychologically disturbed people finding love in their own madness, with the guy beating the crap out of the guy his wife has an affair with and the girl being a widow who has attempted suicide. But wait, this widow is none other than a 23 year old Jennifer Lawrence. She does a crazed woman with such ease that I felt my eyes widening and my jaw dropping in awe of her performance which transcends her youth and goes well into the fully matured cadre. This lady has done the most stunning act of the year and deserves the Oscar hands down.

 

Best Supporting Actor : Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Sure, there isn’t that Tarantino meat in this movie, but it was the most stylish one this year. And Waltz does a diametrically opposite role to what he did in his previous outing with Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds – which won him how many awards?). And boy does he do it with panache. His role is the most meaty among all the supporting roles nominated here(not counting Philip Seymour Hoffman). He has all the clever wisecracks and the whiplash tongue play in the film with Jamie Foxx getting his share only after Waltz’s character is killed. Nope, there isn’t one supporting act so flamboyant as Dr King Schultz the Dentist bounty hunter and I choose this no good do gooder.

Best Supporting Actress : Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

Refer to what I said about Hugh Jackman’s performance and paste the description over here. This lady is absolutely intense in the 20 odd minute role she gets. And add to this, the fact that the other nominees seem to have been chosen merely for the purpose of giving the nomination (Seriously man, what did jacki Weaver do in Silver Linings Playbook that any other old lady like Angelica Huston could not have done? And Sally Field has done something that a veteran like her could pull off with ease, Helen Hunt bared it all in The Sessions, but so did Anne Hathaway in Love and other Drugs and Amy Adams who gets a role shorter than Hathaway’s afore said role in The Master). She’s gonna get the Oscar alright, and deservingly so.

Best Original Screenplay : Wes Anderson and  Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom)

I chose them over Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty) only because I felt that they have written a screenplay so bordering on the ridiculous and yet, is so alluring and heartwarming. I mean, 2 kids do a jump and indulge in some pretty adult talk here, but the innocence of their thoughts of building their own Utopia is depicted in such an original way that it does justice to the title of this award. And add to this, the fact that I love Wes Anderson’s style of narrative.

Best Adapted Screenplay : Chris Terrio (Argo)

This movie has been severely snubbed by the Academy this year. It has swept so many other best picture awards and is touted to be the first one to win the Best Picture oscar without a Best Director nomination since Driving Miss Daisy won in 1989. The narrative is so tightly packed that I was hooked to the screen throughout the 2 hour length of the movie. The movie runs with a load of characters who have very high tension meters. In the process, the viewer gets an up shoot in his tension reading too. It is a politically correct and taut adaptation of a real life happening and deserves this award for Ben Affleck’s cruel snubbing by the Academy (yet again).

 

Best Animated Feature : The Pirates! Band of Misfits

I choose this because – One, I simply love Aardman’s stop motion animation, two, I loved Hugh Grant’s baritone in this film and three, I fall for the British charm in movies like the tree trunk that falls on Tom’s head after Jerry saws it). No other reasons guys. I liked all the movies in this category.

Best Forieign Language Film – Amour

Because, I haven’t watched any other movie nominated in this category. But this one will win it alright. It’s the only one that’s got a Best Picture nomination with it. So Duh!!!!

Best Original Score : Thomas Newman (Skyfall)

Because he has given the best score for a Bond movie after John Barry (who is the creator of all the classic Bond musical pieces). Plus, he has lost the award 7 times already, so I am keen on seeing this guy win it.

Best Original Song : Adele (Skyfall)

Because there is nothing about Adele’s rendition of this song that did not mesmerise me. And it is the best Bond theme song in a long time too. So Duh!!! (yet again)

Best Cinematography : Roger Deakins (Skyfall)

Now I hear a crowd go – “Dude!! Didn’t you watch Life ofPi?”. But I say, “Dude! That was 75% CGI. Hardly worth a win”. Roger Deakins canned the exotic locations shown in Skyfall in his typical style. The initial sequence of Skyfall wouldn’t have been half as effective had it not been for Deakins’ clever cinematography. I choose you Deakins. Just Like I chose Barry Ackroyd(who cinematogaphed Hurt Locker) over Maurio Fiore(who cinematographed 30% of Avatar which was mostly visual effects again).

Best Film Editing : William Goldenberg (Argo)

The editing job is so sharp in this film that it cuts through all inhibitions that come with watching a dialogue driven thriller. The high pressure atmosphere maintained throughout the movie is the result of an expert editing job. This one takes it from me hands down.

Best Visual Effects : Life of Pi

This one is the most grossly overrated movie of  the year and was watchable only because of the glossy visual effects. Plus, the Richard Parker factor prevails too. That tiger was CGI throughout. So I give it to Life of Pi. Because the movie ran and gained most of its acclaim only from the pure visual power of the effects in that filmi.

 

And the countdown to Kodak Theatre continues with the clock ticking away faster…………!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Classics : Missamma

Vijaya Productions, helmed by the great producer duo Nagireddy and Chakrapani, was a powerhouse rather than a production house, for Telugu films of the finest evergreen quality. Beginning with the 1950 social drama Shavukaru, Vijaya productions belted out a slew of great movies through the 50s and the 60s. The credit for this is shared by the producer duo themselves, Writer Pingali Nagendra Rao, Directors L.V.Prasad, B.N.Reddy and Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao, Musicians Ghantasala, Pendyala and S.Rajeshwara Rao and the great actors of that time. But, the most striking piece of film making coming from this studio is the 1955 evergreen cross culture romantic comedy - Missamma. This film had an enviable crew. Director L.V.Prasad, a frequent associate of Vijaya, who was already well known as a director of high calibre owing to his previous directorial ventures like Vijaya’s Maiden venture Shavukaru and the silver jubilee hit Pelli Chesi Choodu(also from Vijaya), was roped in as the director. Pingali Nagendra Rao, known for his exceptional wit, satire and inimitable coinage of words (Dimpaka, Dingari etc being some of them) was roped in to pen the dialogue and write the lyrics for the screenplay written by Chakrapani himself. Saluri Rajeshwara Rao set the music for this film with a line up of sterling singers like A.M.Raja, P.Leela and P.Susheela. Cinematography was by the camera magician Marcus Bartley (yet another Vijaya Regular).  While the movie was a huge financial success and spurned remakes in various other Indian languages, its success endures till date because of all the subtle elements that are deftly weaved together to form a clean and wholesome family film. Starring Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao, Savitri, Relangi Venkataramaiah, S.V.Ranga Rao, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, Jamuna Rani, Ramana Reddy, Allu Ramalingaiah, Rushyendramani and a host of other popular supporting characters actors of that time, Missamma is a film that is as enduring, as evergreen and as great as its huge star billing.

The Plot:

The film follows two simple story lines that are intricately connected to each other in a complex manner :

One story line follows an affluent family of a village called Appapuram consisting of a very respected man in the village(S.V.Ranga Rao), his wife, Daughter(Jamuna Rani) and Brother in law(ANR). The elderly man’s wife is passionate about a school run by the family as it is named after their long lost daughter Mahalakshmi. But bad times plague the school as the teachers of the school, one being the village physician(Allu Ramalingaiah) and the other being the Brother in law, a wannabe detective, are more interested in their alternate professions rather than teaching. Thus, a search for a new teacher couple is launched alongside a search of the long lost daughter.

The second Story line is that of Miss Mary(Savitri), a staunch Christian graduate and M.T.Rao(NTR) a graduate of secular thought. Both of them lose their jobs as tutors and are in dire straits when they come across the advertisement in the wanted columns given for a married couple as teachers. Cowed down by their despicable financial position, they engage reluctantly, in a charade by becoming the couple, with Devayya (Relangi), a clever and care free beggar,  as their servant. But Miss Mary is pursued relentlessly by a suitor and Creditor David(Ramana Reddy) who also happens to be a petty thief.

As the game of charade proceeds, the detective Brother in Law looks for the long lost daughter. All these threads run parallel to each other only to be intersected at one person, Miss Mary herself.

The Performances:

The movie is full of solid acting talent :-

NTR delivers a charmingly understated performance as a meek bachelor who is on the downside of life. It is possibly the most mature role played by NTR who was already known for his performances in social films. His dialogue delivery changes in tone to suit a bevy of different on screen situations from comedic to serious. He never lets his lead actor status to act as an obstacle for the movie (which is titularly and content wise oriented on a woman).

Savitri, as the titular Missamma, is fabulous. She gets to act as a fierce and independent woman which she does with her signature panache. Her character, being the main one, carries a lot of meat and plenty of scope for her to display histronics galore and she does justice to it. Her character’s quick temper outbursts and jealous  reactions are a treat to watch.

Relangi gives one of his best comedic performances. He is effervescent through out. His two man conversations with NTR and ANR leave one in splits.

Character Actor Ramana Reddy gets to play the comedic villain. His comedy sequences with Relangi are side splitting too.

S.V.Ranga Rao delivers a respectable yet spunky performance.

Jamuna Rani is effective as the young daughter of the house.

Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, the tragic hero then, shows his lighter side in this movie. He is the third pure comedian in this movie and is as good as any comedian in his role. A bevy of sequences featuring him leave smiles galore in one’s face.

The rest of the supporting cast like Allu Ramalingaiah and Rushyendramani is perfect.

To put it very briefly, Missamma features one of the most perfect ensemble performances in the history of Telugu films, period.

The Screenplay and the Direction:

The Screenplay is an adaptation of a Bengali Short story “Manmoyee Girls School”. It was adapted by Chakrapani himself. His adaptation is deft and crisp. The story is a very simple one and Chakrapani lets it remain that way. The strength of his screenplay lies in the situations that have been created by him. The movie is filled with diverse characters, each of which have been etched sharply into the screenplay. Right from a meek male graduate to a fierce female graduate, a bumbling wannabe detective to a despicable petty thief, a carefree beggar to a kindly rich landlord and a funnily robotic assistant to the detective, the movie contains every such character. Yet, this acts as the mainstay of the film. The ultimate success of Chakrapani is that he was able to craft a cross culture romance by limiting references to any particular culture and focusing more on the people. While the story is essentially that of a romantic comedy, the larger social message and social satire are beautifully embroidered into it. The story also unfolds beautifully with the various characters following their own track till finally, the conclusion brings them to one common point. All through, the screenplay is one of optimum quality. Pingali Nagendra Rao wrote the dialogues and the lyrics. The effervescence of Pingali’s dialogue is evident throughout the film. One can find every bit of his dialogue laced with a generous dose of humour, especially the sequences featuring Relangi along with other actors. The dialogue not only helps the narrative, but also sets the delightful setting to the narrative. There is no inadvertent use of heavy language of any kind, making this movie, a masterpiece of simplism. Definitely one of Pingali Nagendra Rao’s best works.

The Music and Lyrics:

The music of Missamma is as evergreen as the movie itself. Saluri Rajeshwara Rao set some very mellifluous tunes which have stood every test of time without withering in the slightest. The music is very typical of the 50s era. From traditional, festive, devotional, romantic and satirical, the music covers ample ground. The songs have aptly been woven into the screenplay to provide emphasis to the situations in which they have been placed. Simple instrumentation, which was a characteristic of the songs that Rajeshwara Rao used to tune, is apparent throughout. Pingali Nagendra Rao, a master of the telugu word, has written lyrics that range from the spiritual to the quirky. Be it the romantic duets by A.M.Rajah and P.Leela (Who hasn't heard the classic – Raavoyi Chandamama?), the sparkling dance duets between A.M Rajah and P.Suseela(Brundavanamadi Andaridi), the sarcasm laden songs performed by Relangi(Dharmam Cheyyi and Seetharaam) and the quirky philosophical ones(Aunante Kaadhanile and Thelusukonave Chelli). In fact, Pingali’s lyrics are so popular that one liners from them have become the titles of many subsequent Telugu films(Aaduvari maatalaku ardhale verule, Brundaavanam, Andarivaadu, Raavoyi Chandamama to name a few). The score only elevates the narrative of the film rather than being a hamper to its smooth flow. Marcus Bartley, a magician of the camera, provides some picture perfect visuals to the songs and the movie as a whole. His use of bright lighting on Savitri's face in the various song sequences makes one feel her character's expressions and emotions with mere sight(Special note for Emito ee maya, the effect of moonlight on Savitri's face is superb).

Thanks to its honest devotion to the very grassroot of Indian cinema, Missamma is an unqualified classic which transcended the cultural barriers of its era and set an example for cross cultural movies. While the movie in itself is L.V.Prasad’s piece-de-resistance, one cannot deny that romantic comedies have never been as clean and as true as this movie. Missamma has every element of good cinema and they are pieced together ever so subtly. The commendable ensemble performance, the melodies and the very quirkiness all around are some things that one will never see outside of this movie.

 

!!! An unqualified classic !!!

Special 26 - Taut, Witty and Enduring

The director who made the taut and snappy thriller “A Wednesday”, Neeraj Pandey, comes back after 4 years with a heist drama set in 1987. The movie has a fictional narrative set around true incidents that occurred in the 80s when a group of people posing as Government officials, conducted fake raids and stole huge sums. For this perilous venture, he ropes in his ‘A Wednesday’ cast members Anupam Kher and Jimmy Shergill along with Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee and Kajal Agarwal with a host of other popular supporting actors like Divya Dutta and Tiku Talsania. This venture can be termed perilous because there is high scope for goof ups in the writing and the presence of Akshay Kumar makes one ponder if Neeraj Pandey is also being sucked into the Bollywood masala black hole. One view of the movie and all these apprehensions are shattered. Special 26 has got all the brain that Neeraj Pandey invested in his first outing with sharp technical values.

PLOT:

The movie begins with a daring heist on a minister’s house by a group of people. A policeman who is misled by these con men into aiding them in the heist is determined to catch them red handed and takes the help of a real CBI officer. What follows is a game of wits and outwits that lead to quite an interesting conclusion.

PERFORMANCES:

Akshay Kumar has exercised an act of restraint and has given a very respectable performance as the lead con man, which acts as . But the real stars are Anupam Kher who gets into the skin of his character with the ease of a veteran, Manoj Bajpai who delivers a whiplash performance and Jimmy Shergill who plays a pivotal role with ease. Divya Dutta gets zilch scope and Kajal Agarwal is in a role that has been jammed into the screenplay just for the sake of a few unnecessary song sequences. The rest of the ensemble is perfectly cast and fit hand in glove with the characters given to them. Apart from the so called leading lady role given to Kajal Agarwal, the rest of the cast is impeccable and is among the many strong points of the movie.

SCREENPLAY AND DIRECTION:

Neeraj Pandey displays the same writing prowess as he did in his previous outing. The story is a simple one and warranted a narrative structure that could tread the thin tightrope between the viewer and his intelligence. The screenplay is so seamless that most of the sequences require the actors to give physical performances and the viewer is still gripped by the proceedings. He also does not throw flashy action sequences at the viewer and lets the tone and pace of the narrative to grip the viewer instead. The chain of events unfold at a decent pace marred only by the mundane romance track and songs that act more like potholes on a neat road. The direction is also quite slick. The attention to the details of 80s India are recreated with commendable accuracy by the director. The occasional acidic humour adds to the sheer fun of the film. Overall, a taut and tight screenplay which unfolds in a real crafty manner on the viewer, gripping him/her instantly from the start and sticks on like a limpet till the end.

TECHNICALITIES:

The film has outstanding technical values. The Art Direction is tasteful and accurate as required by the era. One gets the real feel of the 80s watching the screen. The visual effects, though quite obvious are quite effective.The background score by Surinder Sodhi gels well with the on screen proceedings and helps the film capture the viewers’ attention. Late Bobby Singh, the cinematographer of the film, leaves one of his best works behind him. The light sepia toned filters give the viewer a consistent sense of the 80s era. The camera angles and movements utilised by him act as narrative supports in sequences where the actors on screen have no more than physical performances (and these scenes are in abundance). The editing is as watertight as was needed for a character driven thriller like this one. What is the most commendable technical aspect of this film is the costume designing, which is very naturalistic and sealed to the roots of the real 80s. The costume designer goes kurtas and cotton pants at us instead of going the stereotypical bell bottoms and flower prints. The make up and hair styling is also very sober and easy on the eyes (thank god for no thick frame glass, buffs and huge sideburns). The abundance of naturalism is the mainstay of this film and it is helped to a large extent by the excellent technicalities.

Special 26 is a crafty, intelligent and sharply scripted heist thriller that grips you from L'Ouverture to exeunt. Had it not been for the flow marring romance track that slackens the consistent fast pace of the film, this would have equaled the likes of Kahaani. Yet, this is but a mere commercial indulgence in an abundance of fodder for the intelligent moviegoer. For the average Bollywood audience, this will prove to be the most wholesome entertainment fare of the last 5 years. A must watch for every one, this film will not leave anyone disappointed. Taut, witty, enduring and intelligent stuff from Neeraj Pandey.

4.5 on 5 (As a critic only 3.5 on 5 but as a viewer, who can expect such intelligent stuff in an Akshay Kumar movie???)