Kapoor and Sons - REVIEW

A life saving story, film and experience for anyone, especially me, who was brave enough to watch a Dharma Productions / Karan Johar film. They have risen to the challenge of the new era in our film industry, and how ! No romancing of foreign locations, no much romance actually, no sucking up to western lingo or lifestyles, no baby pink characters and no prince charming on white horses. A family drama yes, but a very modern and resonating one, Kapoor and Sons is everything about the new age and the present times. There are so many unusual things in this film but very real and provoking at the same time.  Shakun Batra weaves a wonderful story about a family with each member’s life intertwining with the other’s through relationships, bonding, and anger in the past, present and future. Parents who favor one child over the other, for living upto their imagined expectations, expectations that are impressionist, if not real. A bickering couple who have lost the love for each other, suffering every day. Human beings who do everything to showcase their perfection by deliberately pouncing on the vulnerable and the unusual. Though in reality their bigotry lurks in the shadows stinking through their actions and words. An old, almost dying man who knows the invaluable value of time, emotions, love and relationships. Indian born young people escaping to the modernized west and an individualistic life, to be who they really are, free from Indian prejudices and contradicting “morals” and “values”. Yet they cannot let go the strong bonding with their family and relationships. I am impressed by Fawad Khans performance. Having watched him in Who Humsafar series on ZIndagi, I had thought of him as an expressionless and passionless actor. However, he has proved me wrong with a brilliant and poignant performance through a very silent and impactful presence. It’s like how you are shaken up when people who never cry, suddenly start crying. Ratna Pathak’s performance matches Fawad Khan’s in the close mother-son relationship. Rishi Kapoor exhilarates with his larger than life exuberance and joi de vivre. Siddharth Malhotra can do better, however the confrontation scene with his mother gives us something to look forward to in his future performances. Alia, you need a bigger canvas. The first half of the film was a bit of a drag but the second half bounced back making it the best story of 2016 so far. 

Neerja

Neerja 

I couldn’t stop crying almost the entire second half. A film that will take you so close to Neerja, the braveheart flight purser  who died saving lives of 350 passengers in a hijacked plane, that you feel you know her well enough to mourn her death. It is one of the most incredible films of this year about Neerja Bhanot who was a very compassionate and loving person deep down. It’s what gave her the strength and bravado to be unfazed in front of terrorists with machine guns and animal menace. The most incredible part of this film is the real life feel about it. You will feel as if it is happening to your relative or your neighbor, someone you are close to and someone you know very well. The relationships have been woven beautifully into the story of this film. Though the bravery and strength of Neerja is the highlight of this film, her relationship with her family and her boyfriend is where she draws her strength from. The words of wisdom that her father tells her over a phone call save her from an abusive marriage and also save 350 passengers in the hijacked plane, but cannot save her. We often feel emotional in films because we draw similar situations in our lives. The relationships, bonding and connections of Neerja are the ones of any Indian family and that’s why this film is so gripping. The brilliance of the great veteran Shabana Azmi ,as Neerja’s mother, are the center piece of this film. The emotions and love she expresses for her daughter could be acted out only by her. Shekhar should take up acting seriously, for he is far better than so many “leads”. Excellent performances by the cabin crew and passengers.  Its as if I was in the plane. Of course this is Sonam Kapoor’s best performance in her career and am happy to see what she is capable of. Her silent, emotive yet strong and concentrated performance are completely different from the roles she has done so far. 

ALIGARH - review

Aligarh – Review

Whenever the term homosexuality or gay comes up in our interactions and discussions there is a prejudiced attitude, thought stuck in our minds. I guess the immediate picture that many human beings see is the one of two men engaging in fellatio or sodomy. And because of this skewed picture and notion, the term gay and/or homosexuality has become a bad word, a taboo, a shameful abhorrent act. How come the term heterosexuality does not inspire the same thought? Why is it that the terms heterosexuality or straight does not immediately realize a graphic illustration of a man and a woman engaging in intimate sexual act ? I will not get into the descriptions because maybe I too am biased, not to spell out in words what exactly a man and a woman really do during the sexual intercourse, thanx to the preconditioning of our mindset by the society. When a child confesses to the parent about her/his same sex preferences, why does it draw disgust, angst and at the heart of it fear and worry from the parent? The answers to these questions have beautifully, yet poignantly been answered in Hansal Mehta’s ALIGARH, a film about a Marathi language professor being criminalized and demonized for having same sex preferences. The protagonist Professor Siras has, throughout the film, beautifully expressed his pain and anguish for describing his emotions of love in a three letter word. He asks in the film “ Why is the emotion of love that I feel been ridiculed and reduced to just the act of sex between two men?”  At the heart of it is indeed love between two human beings and since when did loving another person become criminal ?

The whole issue of same sex preferences has been abused, butchered and turned into garbage due to the obsession of the sexual act. Why are we so obsessed with the sexual act that two individuals engage in, in utmost privacy? Sex is the ultimate form of expression of love between two human beings who love each other. It is obvious that it is a very private affair and restricted between those two individuals only. Just as in the film, why is this privacy stamped over and splashed over the streets for everyone to examine and comment? IT IS NOBODY’S BUSINESS, what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their homes. The adults may or may not be of same sex, religion, caste, creed or any other form of diversity. Manoj Bajpai has done complete justice to the late professor Siras by expressing the emotions that professor must have experienced. The pain agony and gross exploitation of his privacy have been perfectly acted in the subtle expressions, quiet demeanor and shy personality. Reporter Deepu Sebastian’s jumpy and brave character has been done justice by Raj Kumar Yadav. The intimate scenes between a man and a woman and that between two men drawing parallels are the highlight of the film. The entire film has a slow, passive and subtle character to it, reflecting upon the protagonist. There is no drama, violence or loudness to the film. A brilliant effort to bring not just the issue into mainstream media but present it in a pure form of love between two individuals. I hope we don’t see gay mocking and jokes on alternate sexuality in cinema, just to please the audience and add a few more crores into the kitty.

ROCKSTAR

Rockstar

Rockstar is a fine example of the changing scene of movie making in Bollywood. A refreshing and captivating movie, some people would term it as abrupt and meaningless! Maybe the movie is abrupt in the second half and does not quite conform to a typical Bollywood film. But then that is what the story is all about. That is how the life of a Rockstar is seen to be – abrupt, impulsive passionate ….The Rockstar is about a talented Jat boy wanting to make it big as a musician. The transition of the boy to a man and musician is depicted through the experiences Jordan goes through.  Like all great artists he has a very naïve and crazy, yet, an innocent and gullible personality. He is a square peg in a round hole as Steve Jobs would say. The movie has depicted the life of a gifted musician through the immense popularity and fame that Jordan enjoys. The movie has an artistic and hence erratic and abrupt feel to it. Though the Indian audience is acknowledging this genre of movies I guess it is still getting used to it, thanx to a few of the kind before Rockstar. Being  a hardcore rock music fan I was expecting a lot about rock music from the move , but in retrospect , the movie maker has done justice to rock music through the gifted voice and divine ethereal music by A R Rehman. The tempo , lyrics and sounds of the songs are addictive and trippy. Ranbir is a gifted actor and he has done complete justice to the character and I feel has a great future as an actor. He has been able to portray the intensity, mania and astonishing talent of a great musician superbly. The Pakistani actress though shockingly beautiful has a few more lessons to learn as an actor. Overall I would say this is a movie worth watching at least once , for the music if not anything else .