Of The Highest Quality...

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988), Italy

Rating: **** & half/5

By Rahul Ojha


This Italian masterpiece reminds us of the great heights that cinema is capable of achieving. It is story-telling at its sublime best. And when you cover this outer layer with magical inner layers of direction, sound mixing, cinematography and at its very core, well etched out characters brilliantly enacted, what you get is nothing short of outstanding perfection.

Portraying the journey of a man from his childhood - his innocence, his ambitions, his naughtiness, his youth, his first love, the heartbreaking heartbreak, maturity and his so called achievement of success and acclimatization to this ever progressing fake world packs in powerful and deep emotions in each and every frame. Heart warming and feel good cinema at its best, it is also perhaps the best tribute to the medium of cinema. People say - "Cinema is not life." Well, my answer to them would be "Cinema may not be life but it certainly emulates life in its most artistic and creative form." And this masterpiece is a testimony to that.

Just let the English subtitles role and enjoy!

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What could have been a Mega Extravaganza....

DOSTANA

Rating: *****

By Rahul Ojha

Welcome once again to the larger than life world of Hindi cinema. A song provides a scorcher of a start to the movie with this female celebrity who is highly popular in the UK (read Big Brother) dancing, ‘bouncing’ and lifting the curtains to this world called 'Dostana.' Here we have a smashing foreign locale in Miami where chicks roam around in bikinis as if it is their second skin and guys with chiselled bodies and offbeat professions get up in bed only to find themselves with some unknown damsel. It’s a world where a sizzling girl in her mid 20s who despite doing well in her career is looking for tenants to share her house and earn some extra income. (with the current economic recession its not a bad idea!). Enter the wannabe tenants - our two heroes who look like they have buried the ‘reel’ animosity of the past (read Dhoom)! What next? Yes here is the alleged twist as these guys fake their sexual orientation because the Indian values in our ‘Desi Girl’ will not allow two straight hunks in her Miami condo. Let us pretend at this point we don’t know who Chuck & Larry are/were! What works for this movie and what doesn’t?

Okay it is the first of its kind attempt by an Indian film-maker to touch upon and even base the main plot on this ‘homo-sexual’ angle, a subject hidden in the closet. The platform is well established with Abhishek and John being at an almost natural ease while playing their characters! These guys are the primary characters working for the movie as they infuse in every scene a sense of wackiness making you snort with laughter (or LOL). Their center of attraction Priyanka looks absolutely gorgeous in each and every frame of the movie. The treatment of the movie is just right and the sole objective is to provide the audience with insane entertainment. Enters Abhishek’s mom played by Kirron Kher, a mother horrified by the knowledge that her ‘puttar’ has become andha and cannot distinguish between a boy and a girl! Yes the laughs grow louder and louder. Insanity rules! Catchy and melodious music plays along keeping you grooved. Its all fun and games and then its interval!

Post interval time and like a ship caught in a storm this movie gets lost and takes the wrong direction. The script goes awry. Our heroes have grown weak in the knees for our heroine and the brewing love triangle turns into a triple threat match with the entry of this third gentlemen. Now, instead of letting the movie continue on the path of insane entertainment, it heads into the world of clichéd misunderstanding and sappiness. The plot becomes so contrived and the humour nearly dries out. The actors do their best to keep the fun alive but succeed only marginally. Besides the awry script, the character development also falters with a talented actor like Boman Irani ill-utilised. The zing is gone and the executioner is the story writer.

The two heroes Abhishek and John do a sparkling job with their hilariously unusual and offbeat role. Priyanka Chopra is meant to look pretty and she does a perfectly stunning job at that. It is no doubt that after ‘Dostana’ and ‘Fashion’ she is ready to conquer the queen’s crown in Hindi cinema. The costume and dresses are perfect and perfectly in sync with the theme of the movie. The music is groovy and one of the plus points of the movie. The cinematography though good is a little patchy owing to cost cutting measures by creating the Miami house in Bombay with skyscraper wallpapers on the windows!

Although only produced and not directed by Karan Johar, it bears in each frame the stamp of his brand of cinema with many references to his past works. And seeing his track record you expected something more. But yeh more nahi milega! Overall Dostana is not a bad effort, infact the movie is a fun, onetime watch but nothing beyond candy floss entertainment. The opportunity to turn it into a mega extravaganza has been lost.

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P.S. Well life has sucked big time over the past 6 months and blogging hasn't been my way of venting out the frustrations. Nevertheless the eternal optimist in me is still alive. I am back to this medium to post this movie review on 'Dostana' which I checked out earlier tonight! Anyways, Cinema is what I am passionate about and to unwind I just have to turn to my huge collection of World Cinema and write movie reviews regularly on IMDb.com. Will try to keep my blog updated.....
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Stuck in that maze --- Again...!!

The last time when I entered that forbidden maze, I struggled. But later as I made my way inside I started enjoying the darkness. A few moments of euphoria is all what I got. The exit of the maze i.e. my destination eluded me although I knew I had it within me to find my way. But then I realized - It ain't worth it! And so I retreated and struggled my way back to the point where it all began. Out of the maze I was back to square one. Several months passed, the wounds had healed. That forbidden maze did not lure anymore. Would I ever take another shot and enter that maze? NO -- came the answer from my head. As far as the heart goes, it had gone cold.

But then one day when I was asleep, the sun emerged out of nowhere! What followed was that gentle and gracious smile. That ray of sunlight fell straight on my heart and the ice crust covering it melted. Yes -- it started thumping again! I said to myself that this is just temporary, and that the dark clouds would cover the sun again. But no, the warmth of those sun rays kept following me wherever I went.

And so I was tempted again to enter that forbidden maze. This time around the maze was difficult, with more twists and turns, and more dead ends. But the destination was bliss as I had seen in my recurring dreams. Yes, my intuition which is seldom wrong told me -- This time you are going to reach paradise. Yes, once again, I forced open the gates to the maze. Very unlike me, this time I wanted to get through it quickly and reach the destination. I went where my heart guided me and did what it told me to do. But this game just got tougher. My intuition, my heart, and my optimism failed me. As I ran, I hit the dead end and have now fallen into this big hole. As I look up from here I still see that elusive sunlight everyday. The difference being that this time it sort of mocks me and the warmth doesn't reach me though the heart is still burning.

And so, here I am, stuck in this maze again, fallen into this deep hole, where I am accompanied by darkness, anguish, loneliness and despair! Perhaps I am not meant to cross this maze ever and reach the destination. Now as I fight for survival, I have to pull my self out of here and get back to where I began. So what if my heart will freeze again? Atleast it will be less dark, less lonely, lesser anguish and lesser despair.....

...Gasping for breath I definitely want to find my way out of here!

On cynicism.. And Infidelity....

Hmm... So I am not having the best of times these days. Life's pretty monotonous and boring. There is no adventure, something which I crave for. Just the same, day in and day out. Dont I need a week off to re energize my thoughts? Well I certainly do, but, thats beyond the realm of possibilities.

On that particular front, which has dominated my thoughts over the past few weeks, I did regain some positivity and optimism after last week which ended in quite a disaster. Dont know whether the action I took was right or wrong, But I had to let it out and followed my heart finally. I was down in the dumps but struggled and picked myself up. Back to the road again. Whether or not the wounds will heal is something time will tell. But yes, I do want to get rid of my cynical behavior of late. Its really getting a little too much. Infact this friend of mine told me - "Rahul, you are behaving totally like Dev Saran (SRK's character in KANK)." Hmm..I have seen that movie numerous!! I am not that cynical, Am I?
Anyways I decided to watch this movie again today. After watching it, I do have something to say about the great hypocrites we Indians are. I remember when KANK was released in 2006. It was widely criticised by the audience. Did K.Jo. go bonkers? What message he was trying to give? I for one didn't like it much when I saw it for the first time. I thought -- Hey whats the justification in the story line? Why would any woman not like the perfect man in Rishi? What was Dev's fuckin cynicism all about?
But then I realized not all break ups/failed relationships are justifiable. I just loved it in the subsequent viewings. We Indians should learn to accept reality and introspect on this infidelity issue. Most of the times there are no reasons, no justifications.. its just human nature (the individual psychological forces that make us), which make us sway from even the most ideal relationships. The men/women in our country would be living " a KANK stroyline" in their lives but when they see a movie like this they despise it! What an irony! Are we hypocrites? My observations about this movie are endless, but I don't have the strength to go ahead at this hour.


And yeah, about the comparison between me and Dev Saran. Yes cynical I have been of late, but the circumstances which have caused this are totally different. Aaah! Dont I need that one week break, away from the fuckin hustle and bustle?

The Quest For Illusion... Continues....

One Night At Midnight

When All was Dark And Nothing Bright

She walked into my heart

And Filled Darkness With Light

Now I Wow

That With All My Might -

I Will Keep This Flame Ablaze Forever

Extinguish It Will Never!

Cuz She’s Engraved There Forever!

The Heart Is Flaming With Passion.

Thump -- That Sudden Flash, As I Notice Again

Still Secluded Is This Mansion

Still Just A Mirage…

Will It Ever Get Over?