Mumbai Meri Jaan - Nishikanth Kamath

I cried. I admit it. Nishikant Kamath has done a brilliant job in wetting my eyes. His debut in Hindi cinema, after his first film Dombivali Fast (Marathi) is beyond commendable. It’s similar to the storytelling format of Crash, wherein one strand of 7/11 serial train bomb blasts incident joins many stories and people. It is a film that I would suggest everyone to watch in the theatres.

Firstly hats off to the casting director, an admirable move in taking Paresh Rawal, Soha Ali khan, R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon and last but not the least Irrfan Khan!!! They have done one of the most inspiring acts of the year 2008. They portray the emotional journey of five different people from different walks of life – a retiring police constable who has achieved nothing in 35 years, ace reporter who loses her fiancé in the blasts, a patriotic IT guy who witnesses the bomb blasts, unemployed guy who is cynical towards the minority and lastly a poor coffee vendor who doesn't have acceptance in class driven society. The film is not about terrorism per se nor is it didactic. The film is about how these individual characters fight their inner fears and go through a transformation.

Technically the film seemed almost flawless to me. The script has unadultered mix of emotions; it makes u feel pain without stretching it. And even the humour is in the right amount satirical. Paresh Rawal has one the best lines and he mouths the Bambaiya hindi with panache. Liners like Roopali bani Rudali and Runa aaye toh pesab kar leney ka make you want to whistle in your seats. The script seems a little loose in the beginning, but it slowly catches grip. The editing is crisp. The photography captures the city and emotions with apt use of wide angles and close ups. The DOP has fully given justice to the varying moods of the city with the use of colours, lights, silhouettes and reflections. The sound of the film is mixed to make you feel the right emotion at the right moment. The jarring sound of the bomb blast, background score and use of silence all are in balanced and creative amount.

Scenes that had me jump of my seat were:
1. The blast scene executed superbly by the SFX team.
2. Soha Ali aka Roopali Joshi having go through the insensitive face of media where she has to give a byte to her channel about her situation. And also her emotional breakdown at the morgue.
3. Most of Paresh RawaL scenes, especially the chain reaction explanation of Hindu Muslim rift to Kay Kay menon aka Suresh and his retirement speech.
4. And Irrfan Khan in the mall scene, where his family and he try perfume much to the dislike of the staff and Bomb Hoax scene. He is awe-inspiring even with minimalistic dialogues.
5. The trauma that Madhavan goes through in his real and virtual world is impactful with scenes like Gas blast and hesitation in travelling by train.
6. The scene that will really make you stand along with the reel protagnists is the two minute silence scene, which makes it a perfectly sketched end.

This is to the spirit of my Maximum city – Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan...

International film fest - VI

Film: Ossidiana
(2007, Italian, Italy, 97 mins)
Director: Selvana Maja

Complex, art house cinema. Life of artist Maria Passidiana depicted on screen. One of the complex artist like Frida Kahlo. Except this film wasn’t a typical biography. Infact it didn’t seem to give her life all that importance, yet coming out very strongly about an individual. Very well shot, especially the out of focus technique, it was excellent. Also the close-up shots of things making you wonder what it is until the camera zooms out. Awesome acting by the lead actress. You just cant define her age. Her portrayal of Maria’s anguish, her insecurities, her insanity, her guilt over not being a good mother. All this was splendid.

International film fest - V

Film: My life in the air [ma vie en l’air]
(2005, French, France, 103 mins)
Director: Remi Bezancon

I don’t’ know the reason behind it being in the filmfest. The story was very M&B kinds. The kinds you see in bollywood, not exactly lame but say a ‘dil chahta hai’. Now I’m not saying it’s a bad movie(both) but I wouldn’t be wanting to see it in a film festival. I’m sure the French have a lot of other films to offer.
It’s a light hearted romantic comedy. I have nothing against them, but they have to have something unique that I don’t see in every third film of the same genre. Like for example ‘amelie’ again a romantic film. It had a certain style..aura about it (the presentation) and I love it to the core. This one didn’t have anything special about it. It seemed a bit promising in the beginning but fizzled out. Was humorous and kept me entertained till the end. But again…it was just about a boy who falls in love once and loses and falls in love twice and finds love1 and gets confused between the two..n (blah)…and finally realizes true love (blah) and gets on the damn plane (finally!!...please take a look at the title..our man supposedly has fear of flying) for the love of his life. I’m telling you again..it was that simple(like we didn’t know). I’ts about life..friends and lovers.
The end.

International film fest - IV

Film: Twilight
(2007, Iranian, Iran, 80 mins)
Director: Qasem Jafari

This one had the house full. Maybe not because of the content but due to the lineage(Iranian after all). They are up there when it comes to movies in the international circuit.
Twilight is a modern day story with an all-round theme. The story revoles around an independent woman called Sadeh who ventures out to avenge her sister’s rape. On her journey she meets a hooker named Masumeh. They both end up together in this journey due to circumstances. Along her way Sadeh encounters some other characters who seem to be guiding her to the right path. Each speaking the words of god and faith. At the end Sadeh regains her faith and belief in God and trusts him to do the right thing.

International film festival - III

Film: Shevri [wisp of cotton]
(2006, Marathi, India, 104 mins)
Director: Gajendra Ahire

The story begins with the protagonist Vidya who has to spend the night out as her roommate wants to share the room with her boyfriend. As she roams around the roads of Bombay not knowing what to do and where to go, a series of flashbacks are shown to acquaint you with her life after her husband leaves her. while she walks around the city looking for ways to spend her time, the flashbacks are shown in between to throw light on her turmoil, her life going wrong with her husband, her efforts to keep her son happy with her, her relationship with her mother, her issues with her letching boss, her budding friendship with her co-worker, snippets of her conversations with her roommate, her struggle to find solutions to her issues.
And how at the end she realizes that she got to live for herself as its a long way to the end of the story. A nice movie supported by a very good cast.

International film festival - II

Film: Naalu Pennungal [four women]
(2007, Malayalam, India, 105 mins)
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Are art movies getting simpler, less intellectual and more appealing to the simple man. Or is it my misconception. Or its just that I am more mature now to understand it all.
Anyways. Adoor weaved four stories into a film without them interconnecting but yet showing the signs of being from the same father.
The stories are based in the 40’s to the 60’s Kerala. As the title suggests its about four women from different walks of life facing different dilemmas.
The first story is about a prostitute, who is unable to provide evidence of her marriage with her lover and hence is not considered married in society’s eye.
Second story is about a woman who gets married to a man who avoids intimacy with her, hence not giving her status of a wife.
The third story is about a married woman who feels incomplete as she is childless. She is tempted by her old classmate into an illicit relationship but doesn’t relent.
The fourth story is about a woman who remains a spinster not by choice but due to circumstances. And how that status causes discomfort because of society’s outlook.
All the stories were very well portrayed without losing the theme. The only thing I personally felt was the wrong positioning(literally) of the fourth story. It should have been the third and vise-versa. It would have been more balanced according to my thought process.

International film festival - I

Film: On the wings of dreams[Swapnodanay]
(2007, Bangla, Bangladesh, 88 mins)
Director: Golam Biplab Rabbany

A very simplistic tale on the complexities of life. I am glad I went without any expectations, I could appreciate it to the fullest. I think it’s a good way of viewing art films, not doing any research about the story or the director. Makes you more open and broadens your perspective.
A very well directed and acted film. It was my first ..’a Bangladeshi film’..hopefully not the last. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. It didn’t feel very alien as the language was bangla with a slight difference in pronounciation (that’s what I assumed).
when the movie began, somehow with its look, I was skeptical but the story slowly grows on you. The characters seem more personal. It’s like meeting someone for the first time to that someone becoming your friend.
The story revolves around a man and his wife in a small village, where most people’s lives are inter-connected. And how they(husband and wife) build dreams on the prospects of attaining money. And the dream of that money complicates their simple life and creates issues. As the story progressed, I kept having my own ideas on the climax. I think the director expected the viewer to form ideas because of the pace of his film. I was worried that he’ll make the ending very dramatic or extremely distressing (as it is usual with art films). But he surprised me by keeping it simplistic to the end. At the same time it made me ponder. Filled my mind with some questions. Does money, progress complicates life? At the end of the day, isn’t life simply about three meals a day..or helping you to survive? Or is it really complicated than that? Or do we make it complex?