Saturday, 7 August 2010

Recent films and me

Some of my friends think that I have an amazing patience that I allow to get tested by films. I think making a good film is like social service because they have the potential to make people happy. While we pay for all of them the satisfaction level differs every single time. Some of the films recently caught my attention even when they were not huge hits while others were a disappointment. Here is the list :

Loved :

  • Raavan: Critics washed it off for being predictable but my argument is that the audience knew what to expect and therefore the element of shock only came in when Sita ( Ash admits to have started liking AB junior) in reel life of the film. The story was beautifully carved to match the standards of this age. The only regret was AB junior. I wish he had acted better to leave a greater impact or Mani Ratnam had taken another actor in his place, may be Ajay Devgan.

  • Shutter Island: exceptional film shot on a stunning canvas. It is absorbing to an extent that one forgets about daily life. Must watch on a big screen, if not then at least switch off the mobile phones.


Liked:

  • Inception: Leaves you with a numbness that what if someone gets into our dreams and direct them. My goodness....admirable concept but can't relax watching a film like this. It constantly keeps your mind ticking with multiple story telling going back and forth. Not recommended on a weekday after a days work.
  • Kites: I enjoyed the film, it does leave you with an empty feeling unlike most Bollywood films but why release it as a Hindi film. The producers should have declared it as an English film that had an Indian English speaking man trying to communicate with a Spanish woman who can barely speak English. I would have felt extremely cheated as an audience if I dint understand English. They should perhaps take a lesson from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. However, one scene towards the end where the central characters almost had an eye conversation is unforgettable. Would like Hrithik Roshan to get out of his Dhoom 2 mode of a cool dude and do some serious cinema.


Did not enjoy:

  • Rajneeti: It was all fine when they introduced the characters in an impressive way. But I did not expect the film by this title to be made on a classic i.e. Mahabharta. How did the director expect people to digest the second half with silly dialogues, lots of love between strange couples, and characters turned into our very own Bhisham Pitahmah, Duryodhan, Karan, Kunti, Arjun and Krishna. What a disappointment.
  • Rann: Such films are generally intriguing as they claim to show you the inside world eg. Corporate, Fashion, Traffic Signal. Ram Gopal Verma is superb with his camera angles and editting but what about the script. This was the most obvious film I have seen in the recent times. News channels spying on competitors for TRP, influence of politicians and industrialists on news and creation of news. It remains acceptable though till Mr. AB tries to prove that he is the Big Daddy and has the opportunity to say what he likes on air on his own channel. Good for TRP...MAYBE...


Hope to see some more good films :)