The Lunchbox - A big slurp of a movie!

One of those films that just lets you sit on a rocking chair and feeds you dollops of food for thought: 

• "You are young, Ila; you can still dream." 
• "I do not have a mother; am an orphan, Sir. But still it feels good to say 'my mother used to say...'"

The latter line is a truth spoken, as a matter of fact, by Shaikh to Fernandes in a local train while coming back from work! Perhaps, the only scene where Nawazuddin surpasses Irrfan's acting prowess in the blink of an eye. For a moment, that line brought a lump to my throat and welled up my eyes... Shaikh just immortalized himself.

It is one of those rare films that eases into your life and walks away without you being hurt, depressed, or happy. It just leaves you gasping for freshness and innocence that it left behind. You want to have a cook and lover like Ila, a friend and co-worker like Shaikh, and most of all, a neighbour like the aunty who lives above Ila's flat... 

If ever there is a best supporting actor award for an actor who never appears on screen, it should be given to the aunty who stays above her... Like the invisible, but reliable and approachable God, she helps Ila in cooking and listening to music and also gives her free advice whenever she needs it. 

From having an open-ended ending (or rather, a new beginning) to indirectly showing the three stages of marriage, the movie very intelligently and touchingly covers all its characters' lives in transitions... Fernandes transitioning retirement, Shaikh transitioning marriage after elopement and love, Ila's mother transitioning her husband's inevitable death, Ila transitioning her own true calling, and the neighbourhood aunty transitioning her husband's coma state (poetically linked to an ever-rotating ceiling fan)...

No matter how 'error-proof' the dabbawalas' procedure and mechanism might be, a single .1 rate of error is enough to change somebody's destiny. 

Fernandes and Ila love and live happily ever after. And she still serves him lunch everyday. 

By the way, I too need such a lunchbox everyday!

The Sea Inside

There is a sea inside. The tide is swelling up. 

I just chatted with Sri. A twinkling star. A friend who defines the very essence of the word. She gave me honest insights about my life, my truths, and she called a spade a spade. 

This is all I ask for. Somebody who understands what spaces between togetherness means. Somebody who lets me be me and tells me what I am for what I am. Without fear and without any context and issues. Somebody who is a perfect signboard. 

It was just for a few minutes but my eyes welled up... Never have my eyes welled up so much on chat before. 

Now, am waiting for a call to turn the tide. 

Sri, hugs and kisses. 

LISFF: Lessons In Self-respect For Filmmakers (am sorry, LGP)

Indian Coffee House is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to: excellent food and great service. Folks, if you ever go to Bhopal, do not miss this place: it's bang in the middle of the city at TT Nagar, New Market. 

Alas, the waiters and the managers there too did not know that there was a film festival taking place next door at Samanway Bhavan! This is just one of the flaws of the 'baap' of all film fests in India: LISFF (advertised so on FB few days before the fest began)! 

Fortunately or unfortunately, I was the only person from the short film community to have landed there on the first day itself (August 29). I was present at the screening venue right from the start to its end on all three days except for a couple of hours on August 30 (2pm to 4pm) and August 31 (7pm onwards). 

Charlie Brown aka Nivedita Fadnis, a resident scholar at Bhopal, is a witness to all my observations here:

Day 1 (August 29): The screenings began around 4:30 pm. The tourism minister came and inaugurated the fest. There was a classical dance based on the LISFF theme song. Sunder Rajan, the veteran actor also graced the occasion. 

Curfew was the opening film and was a great one at that but we were not able to watch the film properly because some volunteers, their friends, and few dancers were clicking pics in the auditorium and talking loudly while the screening was on! The organizers, including the festival director, did not do anything to stop this. My friend Nivedita and I had to go to particular sections of the auditorium and warn them to either get out of the auditorium or watch the film. Finally, we did get to watch the films in peace and in quiet. 

My bro's second short film, 100 Degree C, was the second-last film to be screened on this day. By then, the audience count had dropped to just 5 or 6, including the organizers and volunteers.

Curfew, Scenes from Suburbia, Rha, The Cold Side of the Pillow, and Uh La La made the first day worth it. 

By the way, I do not remember watching the following movies scheduled for that day: Believe, Valentine, and C! These were not screened on the remaining two days as well.

Before leaving for the day, Nivedita and I provided our feedback to Mohandas (Eon Filmss) in person that he needs to do more local publicity. She even suggested places such as Bharat Bhavan and Rabindra Bhavan (cultural centers for those who do not know Bhopal), where LISFF posters should be put up. She said that these posters can be put up there for free because lot of event organizers in the city put up their posters there for free. She should know; she is a regularly hangs out at these two places. He agreed that that is what they were going to do first thing next morning. We suggested that these should have been put up there at least two/three days in advance. 

We also suggested that films that will be screened on all days should be listed with their tentative timings along with a short summary on each film so that audience members can make a note of the same. This was not done on any of the remaining days; only a one-page Word doc was put up wherein only names of the films to be screened for that particular day were listed.  

In between these talks, I asked him twice about the screening timings for the next day... Either he failed to hear me or chose not to respond, but he did not reply. 

Day 2 (August 30): I woke up and about 11ish in the morning and logged into Facebook. Mohan was online too; once again, I asked him about the screening schedule for the day! Again there was no response. I assumed the screening timing to be the same as yesterday and reached the auditorium at 4pm. I missed not only my bro's film Hu but also Lensmangops Pictures Aghavizhi! 

Nobody from the organizers even informed me that the screenings were scheduled from 2pm onwards! They all knew that I had come all the way from Bangalore for full four days and yet, they did not inform me! Plus, even though it was a Friday today, not many people turned up till 5pm! 

Later in the day, Nivedita met me and she informed that there were no posters at Bharat Bhavan or Rabindra Bhavan... :-(

To add to this, they had 7 music bands playing in between the screenings! Not before or after the screenings! And these folks, a talented bunch they were indeed, got lot more space and time on the dais than the film-makers that day... They had some competition between the bands and there were three judges assigned for the same. It was announced that the best band will get some award by the end of the day and that too did not materialize! 

So when the films were being screened, few of the band members displayed disrespectful and uncouth behavior just like Day 1. Loud talks, laughter, clicking pics, etc., all activities going on. 

I lost my temper and I had to shout across to the organizer/anchor when she had come on the dais to talk about the films and the bands. I just gave a very stern message that the way these folks are behaving during the screenings is unacceptable and also asked those band members directly as to how would they feel if we made similar ruckus while they were performing. I said I am sorry for losing my temper and said that this is something the organizer should look into. This is when Mohan also seconded my opinion and told the band members to be silent or walk out of the auditorium. 

Breaking Views, OP Stop Smelling Your Socks, Baucchar, and 13 hours are the films that I remember watching with enthusiasm. By the way, OP Stop Smelling Your Socks was the only film which had its screening time mentioned on the screening schedule put up at the venue: 6pm. And, it was played at 6pm to maximum crowd... 

Again, few films scheduled for screening on this day were not screened and no explanations were given whatsoever. 

Today, at the end of the screenings, the anchor announced that tomorrow the screenings will begin at 2pm in the afternoon.

Day 3 (August 31): I reached the venue at 2pm today without fail and watched Timbaktu. It was an engrossing documentary but there was a glitch. They had started playing part 3 of the movie file first, then part 2, and then part 1. So I just helped them in correcting the order. 

Some of the best movies were preserved for this day: June, Bheka, Control Alt Delete, Lula, Ria, and Lunch With My Friend's Wife. 

Vartul was scheduled to be screened the next day but was screened today. I was glad that that happened because it was a wonderful film. 

Bheka and June were very sensible and sensitive films and so was Control Alt Delete with a brilliant performance by Kitu Gidwani. 

The film that, however, stood out for me and even for Nivedita and Santosh Ram was: Lunch With My Friend's Wife. Excellent story, great performances, and an ending that just blows you away. Unfortunately, this film was not nominated in any category and therefore, did not win any awards! That was just unbelievable... unless there are some technical reasons behind it.

Day 4 (September 1): An hour before 5:30pm, I get an SMS from Mohan informing that there are no screenings today and the awards function will start at 5:30pm at Kalindi Hotel. 

The awards function was pretty well attended by many film-makers who did not attend the previous three days. Met with many film-makers here... including Aditya, Venugopal, and others...

At the end of the ceremony, Mohan asked us to provide feedback. We did. Santosh Ram and I did say quite a few things. Sometimes he took it personally. 

Anyways, as I had said then that I shall be posting my feedback even on my blog and on Facebook, here it is. 

Here is my humble assessment of the festival in one statement: Overall, great films were selected for screening and then it all went down the drain... 

No reasons, excuses, or technical disclaimers can save a badly organized job. I really felt bad when a film-maker came up and said that his film was slotted to be screened today and he was sad that there were no screenings today. He said that this should not happen again. 

In fact, today, one of the reasons Mohan gave the audience for canceling the screenings was that there were some police problems! But, on the first day, I had overheard Ankit telling Mohan that police has no issues whatsoever in them conducting the fest for all four days and they have received permission for the same! Plus, after the awards ceremony, when I came over to Indian Coffee House for dinner, I saw that Samanway Bhavan was all lit up and there was some other function going on! :-)

The Nominations: 

Here is the nomination list copied from LISFF (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=398952386871166&set=a.303558123077260.55003.303509573082115&type=1&theater):

Best of Fest

Illusions | Curfew | Women Prayed & Preyed Upon | Ria

Best Indian Film

Ria | June | Aghavizhi | The Dream

Best Foreign Film

Curfew | Lula | Titanic Love | The Hunter | Love At First Sight

Best Children Film

A Desire to Fly | Take Care | Bauchaar

Best Animation Film

RomeoSpikes

Best Experimental Film

Control Alt Delete | The Dream | R'ha | C | Deep End

Best Documentary Film

Believe | eyecan | Paansi Paraar Chupkotha | Ajana Tir

Best Environmental Film

Timbaktu | Kaleda Hani | Notun Graamer Upokotha

Best Film on Social Issues

Women Prayed & Preyed Upon | Shyamli Ek Pratha | Smile you're dead | Jhumki

Best Film (Local Talent)

One Way | Chappal Chor

Best Film (Under 21 Category)

Bheka | The Wound | Biyaa | Goonj - The Empty Call

Best Public Service Film

The Truth Behind | Broken Angel | A Blind Story | Isme Anna Kya Karenge | The Mind

Best Director

Ria | Illusions | The Cold side of the Pillow | The Lost Paradise

Best Debutante Director (Male)

The Truth Behind | The Last Day | Chitthi | Set you free

Best Debutante Director (Female)

A Desire to Fly | Fakebook | Nadaan Parindey

Best Actor

Rutajeet Mukherjee | Phone Box | February 15th | Illusions | Aghavizhi

Best Actress

Control Alt Delete | Valentine | Shyamli Ek Pratha | What the luck | Fifty Pence

Best Child Artiste

Vartul | Bheka | Lula | Sharing

Best Cinematography

I Don’t Know | Set You Free | Fifty Pence | Humsafar | Vartul

Best Music Director

Ria | Fakebook | The Truth Behind | Deep End | Within

Best Editor

Breaking the Silence | Timbaktu | Scenes From Suburbia | Aakhir - At Last

Critics Award

The Dream | Alatchiyam | Laughing Buddha | Inseperables

Special Mention JURY

Kanavugal | Chhaayaa | 100 Degrees Centigrade | Breaking Views 

— at Lakecity International Short Film Festival.

If you have seen all the films, you can surely say that they have got some of the genres as well as categories incorrect for a lot of films. For example, Rutajeet Mukherjee is the name of the actor nominated from the film Kranti! Is that not a dead giveaway?! 

Having a lot of categories makes everybody happy. But then this is not a school and nor are we children! Lensmangops Pictures' Aghavizhi did win the Runner-Up award in Best Indian Film category... So this post is not a grouse against anybody. Just an objective review and critique of LISFF. 

I hope that the film-makers, whose movies were not screened, do get their refund (Rs 2,000 contribution for each film). That would be ethical. All the best, you guys. Hope your films do get screened in other film fests and they do get what they deserve.  

To quote Santosh Ram, "Festival organizers and directors should realize that they exist because of us film-makers and not the other way around."

By the way, can we now know who were the jury members at LISFF who chose the nominations and the winners? We do have a right to know this, I think. Don't you?

Why does a Heart search for a Soul?

Kiska Rasta Dekhe
Ae Dil Ae Saudaai
Meelon Hai Khamoshi
Barson Hai Tanhaai
Bhuli Duniya Kabhi Ki Tujhe Bhi Mujhe Bhi
Phir Kyon Aankh Bhar Aai
O Kiska Rasta Dekhe...

Koi Bhi Saaya Nahin Raahon Mein
Koi Bhi Aayega Na Baahon Mein
Tere Liye Mere Liye Koi Nahin Rone Waala Ho
Jhuta Bhi Naata Nahin Chaahoon Mein
Tu Hi Kyon Dubaa Rahey Aahon Mein
Koi Kisi Sang Marey Aisa Nahin Hone Waala
Koi Nahin Jo Yunhi Jahaan Mein Baante Peer Paraee

Ho Kiska Rasta Dekhe...

Tujhe Kya Beeti Hui Raaton Se
Mujhe Kya Khoyi Hui Baaton Se
Sej Nahin Chita Sahi Jo Bhi Miley Sona Hoga Ho
Gai Jo Dori Chhuti Haathon Se O
Lena Kya Chhute Hue Saathon Se
Khushi Jahaan Maangi Tuney Wahin Mujhe Rona Hoga
Na Koi Tera Na Koi Mera Phir Kiski Yaad Aaee

O Kiska Rasta Dekhe...

Joshila 

Lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi ~ Sung by Kishore Kumar ~ Music by RD Burman ~ Picturized on Dev Anand ~ Direction by Yash Chopra

All geniuses. Those folks up there. 

Coming back to the song, I have loved this song for a long, long time now. Recently, heard this song again. And it certainly evokes feelings from a deep corner of my heart. 

Few songs manage that. Don’t know why… Because usually, I dislike self-pity songs. Maybe, here the singer is singing to his own heart, as if the heart is another person. It’s like he is trying to pacify his own heart… Helping it come to terms with reality. Maybe, because this song reminds me of my own poem Him, In My Sleep…

Sahir has written much better gems than this one but you can’t help feel for lines like “Meelon Hai Khamoshi… Barson Hai Tanhaai”. 

Just like Kaif, I too have tried my hand at providing the meaning of the song in my own words. Please pardon any errors. English is just the not right language for this... but still:

Whom are you waiting for, oh heart, oh crazy one?
(We've had) miles of silence and years of loneliness
The world has long since forgotten you and me 
Then why have the eyes welled up with tears?

There is no shadow on our path
No one to come into my/our arms
For you, for me, no one who'll weep over us
I don't have any hopes of even a phoney/namesake relationship
Why then are you immersed in sighs?
Nobody’s gonna die together with us (no one who'll die with us/spend a lifetime and die with us)
None in the world who’ll share others’ sorrows just like that

Why do you care about nights long gone?
Why should I care about long lost/forgotten talks?
If a cremation pyre is all we get instead of a bed of roses, then so be it
Once the thread (of love) has slipped from our hands
Why should we care about broken relationships?
Wherever you asked for happiness is where I'll cry
No one for you or for me… Then whose thoughts fill our mind?

Ship of Theseus

Three short stories interlinked. This has been done before multiple times in multiple ways and in multiple angles. But has it been done better? That is the question that this movie poses. It’s for you to answer; it’s tough you know to answer nowadays because quantum physics, science, and spirituality leave you with more and more questions without right answers. Maybe, variable answers.

Anand Gandhi, I assume, is a voracious reader and the film just goes on to showcase the books he has read, philosophies he has read, spiritual talks/discourses he has heard, and discussions he may have had with people. I am sure that he and I have read the same books, listened to the same discourses, and had same discussions though with different people. Because the movie’s method of tying up the three short stories and the content of the shorts are pretty similar to a feature film’s screenplay that I had conceptualized about six months ago: The Carpet. Ship of Theseus asks the very same questions that The Carpet would have asked and maybe, even answered. Maybe!

The movie, though brilliant in all respects, stops just short of being an experience for me. It remains a movie though it aimed for more. And yes, I did hold out my hand more than once; I could not relate with any of the three leads. They were characters living on this very earth but they were not convincing enough. They did not feel real.

They espoused a very non-native language (English) and had some gems of wisdom too but the conversations felt staged. But then, it could just be me and my realism.

Ship of Theseus stays a very honest film till the very end; it has genuinely good cinematography, screenplay, and well-etched characters.

One of the best shots of the film for me is where the camera lens cover falls into the rapid river below and the photographer has no choice but to capture a scene internally. Revealing without showing… at its best.

The basis of the title is provided right at the beginning of the film. I loved that.

“Where do I end and the other begin?” Is it like that? I mean, is the question valid? Ramana has asked and answered this umpteen times. Thanks, Anand Gandhi for framing the question in the form of a film.

I will await your next. And, thanks to Kiran Rao for bringing this gem out.

The 4As

Ahmedabad, a city that is just 400-odd kms from Mumbai. A city where you are welcomed by a hill made of landfill with scores of scavengers doing circumambulations over it. That scene, as I knocked on the city walls, kind of reminded me of Arunachala!

And I am in Ahmedabad only after 33 years of wandering and travelling. Finally when I made it to Ahmedabad after a grueling 31-hour bus journey from Bangalore, it really was worth it. 

Aghavizhi’s screening happened on Friday at the Alliance Francaise. We received good response and there was an engaging Q&A session after the film; here is what few members of the audience had to say:

Devam Shah, artist and student: “This was a unque film; I have never watched anything like this before in a short film! The film is written and conceived well. Really well.” 

Martin Phillipe, Director and French Language Teacher at Alliance Francaise: “It is a disturbing film; I need to watch it a second time.”

    

Maïté Courgeon, Senior French Language Teacher at Alliance Francaise: “I loved the film! Even, I feel that I should watch it again to interpret it better.”

On Saturday night, I was one among the many enthralled listeners to be privileged to listen to Tom Alter, one of our most respected actors. This man is a film institution by himself! He is an actor who is a big supporter of Indie and short films. And in supporting short films, he supports Shamiana in a big way. For more than an hour, Tom Alter enthralled all and sundry assembled for Shamiana’s screening of four shorts at Darpana Academy:

• The Echo

• The Tigers Are All Dead. Aren’t They?

• The Colors of Pride

• Bye Bye Bunny

Tom Alter had acted in the short titled The Colors of Pride. He talked at length about the film, film-making, passions, a major shortcoming of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and also demystified alcoholism, drugs, and six pack abs! He shared anecdotes about Sunil Dutt, Vyjayantimala, Amrapali, Dilip Kumar, Satyajit Ray, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Gandhi (the movie), Raj Kapoor et al. 

The one that gave me goose bumps was his take on Sunil Dutt’s march from Mumbai to Amritsar Golden Temple along with Priya Dutt during the Punjab riot days. 

The way he talked about how egos help you make films and how egos help you work together was enlightening.   

P.S.: The city is a great place for foodies: I munched on Jassuben’s Pizzas, sandwiches, Gujarati thalis, and kulfi! Yes, and it rained on Friday evening. It was the rainiest Friday in decades!

A Late Quartet

A Late Quartet is a 2012 American drama film co-written (with Seth Grossman), produced, and directed by Yaron Zilberman. 

The film uses chamber music played by the Brentano String Quartet and especially, Beethoven's Opus 131.

The star cast is to die for: 

• Philip Seymour Hoffman as Robert Gelbart (Second Violinist)

• Christopher Walken as Peter Mitchell (Cellist)

• Catherine Keener as Juliette Gelbart (The Violist)

• Mark Ivanir as Daniel Lerner (First Violinist)

• Imogen Poots as Alexandra Gelbart (daughter of Robert and Juliette)

As the quartet (The Fugue) approaches its 25th anniversary, diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease of its lynchpin member (Peter) unleashes drama in their relationships and lives. He is the wisest of all and the hub around which the quartet was formed and survived.

Long repressed emotions, simmering jealousies, egos, and sacrifices come slowly to the surface. Impartially, we understand that each member feels right from his or her point-of-view. From interview reels of each player, we learn how the quartet was formed, how each member has sacrificed ‘solo’ dreams or other dreams to form and keep the quartet together. 

To add to the team dynamics, Alexandra comes into the picture by falling in love with Daniel. He also falls in love with her; he professes that she is the first woman he loved. In a brilliant but casual scene, Alexandra rightly summarizes the secret of the quartet’s success in one of her conversations with Daniel. 

As the film unfolds, Alexandra matures more and shows her maturity to Daniel in a crucial scene.

This movie is about playing together, learning from that, and about the cause (the music and the quartet) being bigger than each individual member. It’s about beauty, about creation, and about being happy about one’s position in the scheme of things. 

It’s about the bigger picture; really, that scene in which Peter Mitchell tells his music class an anecdote about meeting Pablo Casals says it all.

It’s about having a graceful exit and passing the baton to the next generation. With hope. With passion. It’s about leaving a legacy. 

Bravo. 

Go ahead, close those notes, and play with your heart, with feelings, and with passion. 

Naboer (Next Door)

This is a 2005 Norwegian psychological thriller film written, directed, and produced by Pål Sletaune. In the movie, the protagonist John is apparently drawn into a sexual, violent game by his two beautiful neighbours.

Naboer received an over-18 rating in Norway, which had only happened to four Norwegian movies before.

The movie opens with the main character, John (Kristoffer Joner), being dumped by his girlfriend Ingrid (Bache-Wiig). He then becomes acquainted with his next-door neighbours, the beautiful sisters Anne (Mosli) and Kim (Schacht). We also get introduced to Ake, his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, who is waiting downstairs while she is collecting her things.

The two sisters appear to know a strange amount of details about him and Ingrid. It soon becomes clear that he is being entrapped in a twisted, psychological, sexual, and violent ‘mind game’.

How this mind game unfolds forms the rest of the movie.

Pål Sletaune deserves a bow; he valiantly goes inside that dream machine: the human mind. Along with him, he makes us too delve or rather peep inside the complex, self-serving, narcissistic, self-deceiving, and dark recesses of the mind.

This is one of those rare movies where a character (one of the two sisters) succeeds in seducing not just John but also most members of the audience (men and women alike), I assume. I was seduced.

This is one of those rare movies where the protagonist and the audience move together at the same pace. We know what he knows, what he remembers, what he sees…

This is one of those rare movies that I want to watch once again…

This is one of those rare movies that would have made even Freud and his patients, a few serial killers, and others proud…

Hell, it would surely make Pedro Almodovar proud.

The movie is a wonderful metaphor. It unfolds perhaps the best metaphor that I have seen in a movie: the two sisters live in a maze of an apartment; full of clutter, clatter, narrow and dark passages, packed boxes, locked doors (which need the right keys to be opened), et al.


Got it?

Aghavizhi (The Inside Eye)

This is Lensmangops Pictures fourth short film (20 min.); definitely their best if you go purely by execution.

What starts out as a simple run-of-the-mill love story/triangle soon twists and turns into ‘dark film’ territory. Its only short-coming is that it had the potential to be a ‘darker film’ but it refuses to take that plunge.

The film/concept blends dreaming state, waking state, parallel universes, and quantum physics into a heady mix. After the film is over, it resonates inside till you come to your own conclusion(s).

The concept is spectacular and the film is open-ended. This is the kind of film that I love to watch because it respects its audience. It manipulates them and even taunts its own concept once (when Anjan says to himself: “This has to be a dream! This better be a dream… Wake up! Just wake up!”) Now, that is a rare quality in films, especially, in short films.  

Excellent BGM, cinematography, and editing along with first rate performances by all the main leads make this one of the best short films to come out in 2013.

The direction and screenplay subtly take a backseat and let us be thrilled with all the other aspects of film-making.

Gopakumar is no Nolan because saying so will be an insult to both these wonderful storytellers and filmmakers. But yes, Gopakumar is a guy to watch out for.

Aghavizhi is that kind of film: you either love it or you hate it. But you certainly cannot ignore it; you will surely talk about it to fellow film lovers.

Yes, you will be tempted to watch this film once again; just to make sure that you are not dreaming!

Note: Yes, I have co-written the screenplay along with Gopakumar but this review is an objective and unbiased review written as a film lover.

Silver Linings Playbook

I looked forward to watching this movie. Especially, for its star cast. And because of its subject and theme: bipolar disorder and depression and life.

Let me say at the very outset that there was a Malayalam movie Vaddakunathan that dealt with the subject of bipolar disorder better than this one.

So I finally got down to watching this movie yesterday afternoon… Well, at the end, I feel that it is a Bollywood script filmed by a Hollywood director! It just contains a lot of hamming and unrestrained acting by Bradley Cooper and his parents.

Only Robert De Niro excels and Chris Tucker excel in parts. In fact, Chris Tucker's character could have been given some depth. 

It becomes a ‘trying-too-hard-to-be-a-feel-good’ film. About happy endings and how we all can live with bipolar disorders and sex addictions and manic depressions… But portrays everything in an unscientific and impractical way. Here, the lead character knows what he is suffering from, can’t let go of his wife, his past, frustrates everybody, yells in the middle of the night, etc., but wants everybody to understand him and love him.

Somehow a woman, who suffers her own tragic situation (accidental death of a husband leaving her high and dry), is plotted into his life and love blossoms between the two. In fact, love (lust?) is almost thrust upon the bipolar-disordered leading man without any idea about its consequences or humane thoughts. This very approach is clichéd and insults the intelligence of the average movie lover.

Jennifer Lawrence’s performance and the well-choreographed dance sequence are the only silver linings in this dark cloud! I shall let this one pass by and await good rain and sunshine from another one.

Promised Land

It’s just a job. Or is it just that?

Skewed development over farming? Environmental risks over cleaner energy resources? Oil and coal or natural gas?

The movie does not answer these questions because like us and them, it does not know the answers too well. At least as of now.

There are reasons to be worried about drilling natural gas and one of them is fracking! Well, there is a good line somewhere about fracking: “That Global has been fracking this nation for over 50 years!” Sounds intentionally funny, right?

But then, it is not an environmental film with solutions… or questions. It is a movie with its heart in its right place.

A complete feel-good film; it makes you feel good that you watched it.

You feel good that there are still such farm lands few and far in between where corporate greed and corruption is knocking. Where they have not yet settled down for good…

You kind of yearn to listen to somebody ask you: “Are you the owner of this land?”

Somewhere there are still folks who rear miniature horses and teach kids how to take care of something.

Germination?

That school textbook word!? Yes, but this time not for a seed but for an idea, a concept. A way of life? Or just a slice?

I am truly inspired by Into the Wild, On the Road, The Grizzly Man, and other road movies, stories, and novels… Can I be a good Samaritan on the road? A monk on a pilgrimage? A travel writer itching for unspoken and unseen places and stories and people?

Be on the road for a full year?

What would be the conditions? The consequences? The goal(s)?

Few conditions:

I shall carry no ‘emergency’ money throughout the journey.

I shall do odd jobs along the way during the short stays and use that money purely for travel, food, and other necessities.

I shall carry a cell phone only for emergency purposes.

I shall visit and meditate on all the sacred/holy places along the way…

I shall walk and hitchhike most of my journeys or travel in public transport only.

I shall be spontaneous along the way.

I shall be ready for anything, anyplace, and anyone.

Consequences:

I shall be travel-weary, lose lot of weight, and be more insightful.

I shall have stories to tell: real stories. More experiences. More introspection. More perspectives. Better understanding of people and places.

The goal(s):

A work of art? A song and a dance? Unending peace? A piece of prose? A script or more? A slice of life or slices, rather? A memory entirely mine where I am the lead?

Meet God within and without? Learn?

When do I start? From where?

TVMalai is a good place to start from and end too. Maybe, this May? June? Travel south, up north to the west, and keep moving…

What shall I pack other than a toothpaste, toothbrush, towel, soap, and pair of books and a pen?

Few clothes, inner wear  few ID Cards, loaded cellphone with currency to last a year. A camera, perhaps? An umbrella, my sunglasses, few books, a bottle to fill water… 

The 10th BYOFF, Puri, Odisha

I participated in the recently concluded BYOFF’s (Bring Your Own Film Fest) 10^th edition held at The Pink House, CT Road, Puri, Odisha from February 21 to February 25, 2013.

Sun, sand, and cinema. It proved to be a perfect setting to watch a lot of films by truly independent filmmakers.

Organized by Gurpal Singh and others, it is a fest not to be missed. Primarily, for the kind of films you get to watch, the people you meet there, the food (especially, seafood), and for the ambience all of this creates.

Every evening, the cool sea breeze wafted through while you were watching films and the moon made its daily sojourn through the shamiana sky.

Loved meeting fellow filmmakers and film lovers like Anamitra, Sriparna, Twish, Sayak Shome, Sounak, Joohi, Sourav, et al. We had amazing conversations and discussions over drinks and dinner.

The best films that were screened were:

• Parallels, Almost
• Paperbag
• Nothing Unusual
• This is not Funny – (and this is not in 3D)
• Jaadui Machchi

Also, loved the following documentaries:

• Char – No Man’s Island
• Quarter No. 4/11

There was an open stage every day and I was impressed by the talent that was on display. Vipin Heero (songwriter, singer, and composer) sang amazingly ‘native’ and original songs along with Kabir’s songs. This guy is a talent to watch out for.

Most of the film enthusiasts, including yours truly, pledged to pay whatever they can to tide over the current and last years’ fest expenses.

So I hope that I shall be there again next year too! Bhadaas dho!

On the Road

This is a movie (based on Jack Kerouac’s novel by the same name) that should be seen and enjoyed within its context and period. The Beat generation was defined by Salinger, Burroughs, Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac.

I admit that except for A Catcher in the Rye, I have not read any other Beat literature but the film On the Road directed by Walter Selles (The Motorcycle Diaries) compels me.

Angst, non-conformity, search for meaning, jazz, music, sex, drug use, communism et al defined the Beat generation of the 50s and so did the cold war. And its politics.

Jack Kerouac (the man who coined the term ‘Beat Generation’; doesn’t he deserve the Nobel Prize for that?) took multiple road trips with his free-spirited, hedonistic friend, Neal Cassady (played to perfection by Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund, respectively). The movie is autobiographical; he started writing and rewriting from 1948 through 1951/52, I guess. Finally, it was published in 1957.

The film was filmed in 2010 and released in 2012 but retains the period look. And what a period it was: Blissful, upbeat, beatific, and beaten up.

It makes you ponder how much of anything is enough… Everything comes at a price. And free will and choice(s)… Does that make your life richer?

Like the film shows: The best teacher is experience.

Ozhimuri (A Document of Separation)

An Excellent work. One of the best Malayalam movies to come out after the world said Y2K and forgot that more than a decade has passed by since.

Jeyamohan and Madhupal, take a bow. When is your next film releasing?

Ozhimuri is also about separation. Of matriarchal and patriarchal systems. Of transitions and transformations. Of systems, processes, procedures, and people. Of mundane and bitter-sweet lives lived among all these.

It also raises valid observations and questions on the age-old theory of Nature vs. Nurture. How your personality maybe defined by nurture but your behavior patterns maybe defined by nature…

Childhood, upbringing, selective memories all work together to create a child’s world and his memories of parents and parenting. Judgments are based on our biases and inclinations towards either one of our parents…

Why do certain people act cruelly with their loved ones? 

This movie does not give us definite answers but surely provides a lot of food for thought. The movie does not judge any of its characters and therein lies its greatest strength. It shows pretty artistically and realistically how most of us are formed by circumstances and other external factors. How we hardly choose who or what we become and how we behave. But in spite of all that, love can always find a way to our hearts though we may hardly know how to express it.

It poetically shows how empathy is of extreme importance when it comes to any relationship; how you may never be able to forgive and/or forget your parents, spouse, children and their deeds but you can surely empathize with them. And empathy comes only with understanding and openness. Comes with acceptance that your memory, vision, judgment, stereotyping, labeling et al are limited in scope. There is always some knowledge or some information that you may have missed… while you label a person ever so consciously/subconsciously.

It shows us how lifelong-held values and egos do not matter when death stares at us closely. How forgiveness and self-defense mechanisms find their way in our search for self-identity and that elusive treasure: peace of mind.

Watch it for its outstanding performances (Lal and Shweta Menon deserve special mentions) and its brilliant screenplay; also, watch yourself while you are at it.

Yeah, and do not judge the person, sitting at the aisle seat, dozing away to glory. Or, the person who proclaims that Ozhimuri was such a bore… Remember, they may have their reasons. Sometimes, reasons that they themselves are not aware of.

Ozhimuri makes you come out wiser and, more importantly, nicer by the end of the film. At least, it does try. 

It did. For me.

Baran

Baran (Persian for 'rain') is an amazing piece of film-making by the Iranian master, Majid Majidi. 

He takes realism to an altogether different level here: a construction site close to the Afghanistan border in Iran is the primary setting for one of the most silent and short love stories on film.

The 17-year-old male lead discovers love and himself in this poignant tale which is poetry on celluloid. The female lead never utters a single word throughout the movie and speaks volumes through her glances and her eyes. You can hear her humming some times; behind veiled and curtained doors.

This bitter-sweet, coming-of-age movie is also about separation of two lovers who could have led a life together if it weren't for politics, organized religion, and borders.

You must watch this movie, if you have ever loved. And lost. Or, if you are a romantic activist.

There are a couple of scenes that will surely take your breath away: one is a conversation with a shoemaker and another is a silent scene just before Baran leaves Iran for her home back in Afghanistan.

Baran’s fleeting and almost invisible smile says it all. It kind of sums up the whole film in one scene.

Anyways, at the end of it all, a footprint is all that is left behind of people, of dreams, and of loves. 

Such is life... Always.

The Sessions

This is the kind of movie experience that I live for. I die for.

The Sessions is an independent drama film written and directed by Ben Lewin. It is based on an essay by Mark O'Brien, a poet paralyzed from the neck down due to polio who hired a sex surrogate to lose his virginity. John Hawkes and Helen Hunt star as O'Brien and sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene, respectively.

Sex can heal. It can bond. It can bring two people closer than anybody's imagination. And, sharing sex secrets with a third person (who was a stranger, in the beginning, and also a priest) can make him your best friend.

Ok, agreed that there was ‘a special needs’ person involved in the above situations but still the above statements are true. 

As Mark says in the movie, sex is serious. Mark also says: “I believe in a God with a sense of humor. I would find it absolutely intolerable not to be to able blame someone for all this.”

The humor and wit in the movie may remind you of Inside I’m Dancing. I digress but, in case, you haven’t watched that movie yet, please do!

Helen Hunt just sweeps you off your feet as an actress; her range is incomparable. This movie makes me reconfirm my belief of her being the best actress ever... Over any other actress of any decade across world cinema; yes, that includes everybody’s favorite (including the Oscar’s), Meryl Streep. 

This is a bold and brave role to take on; she has delivered more than another established actress would. I am not saying bold and brave because it includes nudity or sex, but because this is the kind of role that required her to live under the skin of her character and she went more than skin deep.

John Hawkes just makes you believe that he’s Mark O’Brien himself; so flawless is his performance. The importance of sexual intimacy between two people and the importance of being kind in a relationship is highlighted so well that it welled up my eyes. 

Just like Tukaram, The Sessions was a healing experience for me.

Yes, this movie is based on a true story… Please do read:
An article on Cheryl Cohen-Greene

An article on Mark O'Brien


And yes, for a detailed movie review, please visit:
Roger Ebert's review

A Separation

What an experience.

Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian masterpiece, A Separation, is the kind of movie that makes you think long after the end credits roll up. No, not think but rather reflect upon yourselves and people close to you and those incidents and revelations when you see everybody’s true nature.

This film portrays righteousness as a value to fight for. But it begs us to ask whether the fight is worth it? Should compromise be a better solution for incidents where we don’t know the truth or only know partial/half truths?

The film starts with a simple scene that establishes the two main characters much better than other films have established in their entire lengths. They are both arrogant, stubborn, and have reached a place in life where compromise seems like a loss.

The son-father-husband and the mother-wife protagonists have to deal with an incident that happens just after they are separated. Also, there are three children who are immediately affected by the incident.

The film shows that goodness, kindness, honesty, selflessness, family, ego, and self-righteousness are different things and these values change with situations and circumstances. Sometimes these values change in front of a judge (whether human or God… because we are afraid and god-fearing). In face of a life-changing situation, some people compromise and control themselves while some people can’t. How all this further affects the future for all characters involved is captured brilliantly.

Causality... Can we really point out the cause of an effect? Do we really know the truth? Can we? Can we claim that we are right and others are wrong?

The movie really asks us for answers to these questions and more. And, just like the movie ends, I too am waiting for my answers to mull over and regurgitate again and again.

A Teaser

Zara: I love the colour red. One fine night, it was cold; the moon was glowing red. I am alone. Far, far away, a wolf howled. A blood curdling cry. I saw blood oozing out of my belly. 

Was it mine?

Anjan: I love my wife. One fine day, I came home from work early. I opened my house door. A familiar, masculine fragrance emanated from our bedroom. I followed it to its source. I saw her in bed with a stranger. 

Or, was he?

Siddarth: I love my car. One fine moment, I lost my control and swerved off the road to hit a truck... That moment killed my two friends who were in the back seat. My friends were just corpses. I was the lone survivor. 

Why me?

Reflections: An unwilled 'Thought Process' Experiment

• Why do I judge others when I myself am human?
• Have I not been mean before?
• Have I not been rude? Angry at others because they are what they are?
• Why do I put somebody on a pedestal without knowing them fully in the first place? And, when they kind of fall from those heights, why do I feel hurt?
• Is it necessary that all disciples be like their masters just because they have sat at his feet?
• Why did I confuse certain facts with knowledge and truth?
• Why do I get angry when people break into my false sense of belongingness?
• Why do I get angry at others for their bloated egos when I can’t kick out my ego that peeps through my bloated sense of self-righteousness?
• When will I accept people as they are without being angry and irritated? When will I know that the solution includes me and my acceptance and not my indifference?
• When do I fully become a witness?

The thoughts/reflections ended with that final question. There was a 15-minute blankness after this question. A void. I came out of the void and here is the post...

Well, today morning, there was a small discussion over an insignificant event at home. As a consequence, much later in the afternoon, these reflections/thoughts entered my mind. I just penned them down here as they came without giving each thought any tangent or refuge.

I guess, this ‘seamless thought process’ that occurred on it own (without my volition) was an experiment on my long way home to becoming a witness.

When you are truly realized, you realize how much of life was lost in finding faults of others. – SN Goenka