Right here, Right now...
Saw a movie at office today. A short 28 min movie… It’s really beautiful to watch such a movie which had a powerful message but was shown in the most creative and subtlest way.
The first shot shows a young man in his haste to go to some place and taking two actions - he screams at his mother for making him late, and he lovingly appreciates his brother's painting. By doing so, he strikes off two cycles - one of frustration and sorrow and the other of love and joy. His mother vents out her anger on her maidservant. His brother gifts the painting to his girl friend. Thus begins the cycles of sorrow and joy, forming a Domino stairway, leading to an unknown doorway. After shaking hands with 15 other characters and traveling through 17 locations, in just two shots, both the cycles meet at the end in an attempt to give a logical understanding to the seemingly absurd human life. It's a humorous look at the bizarreness of the cosmic accident, otherwise known as life.
After watching the movie, we sort of tried to reflect on the message that was being communicated through the movie. One team member said that the lives of all are interwoven while another said that if we have a positive mentality and do good things, they will come back to us. Perhaps what intrigued all of us were the 3 liner songs in this short movie that came at every alternate shot. The song would be in different languages depending on the actor who was in the shot but for line that was common for all….Red Blossom Cherry………
We tried to comprehend what it meant but in vain. One member stretched her imagination a bit and said that if we were to take the first 3 letters – R,B, and C it could mean that when we are happy, the RBC count in our body would be high. Well, that was something which none of us could digest, still we appreciated her imagination. Suddenly out of the blue, one member said that a flower in Japan blooms for only 10 days in a year and it is called cherry blossom. This flower is supposedly a metaphor for transient nature of life, rather ephemeral nature of life. The movie in fact celebrates the transience of life. It says that we shouldn’t wait for the next moment. The moment, right here, right now is your moment and one should be happy during this moment and spread a smile.
Spanning 17 locations, starring 18 characters and taken in mere 2 shots, Right here, Right now, the 28 min movie directed by Anand Gandhi is quite simplistically shot, highly innovative with a subtle, powerful message that has a tinge of philosophy.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Om Shanti Om – Mere noise.
This is not a film review but the manifestation of indignation of a hardcore disillusioned fan…
It was with much anxiety and bated breath that I waited for SRK’s latest release Om Shanti Om (OSO). Being a hard core Shahrukh fan (which I became especially after watching movies like Swades, Don and Chak De), I went and watched the movie on the first day itself even though I knew that the story revolved around the age old tried, tested and decayed concept of rebirth and that the movie was made by none other than the famous director, Farah Khan whose previous movie was Main Hoon naa. Yes, in spite of all this, I went and watched the movie still thinking that there would be some offering from the director’s end which would make the movie viewable.
But hey…hang on. OSO disappoints. The movie is nothing but a mix of all ingredients – few good songs with one song starring almost 31 stars of Bollywood, another one in which SRK matches rhythm with chics in an item no. Dard-e-Disco showing off his six pack, huge sets, which resemble the 70’s era as the first half of the movie is set in that period, and are pretty good (credit goes to Art director, Sabu Cyril) and efforts by the rest of the crew who have put in a lot of hard work to give the movie a look of the 70’s with the heroes sporting side burns and wearing bell bottom pants etc.
But that’s it….A movie can’t be appreciated just because of the sets and a couple of good songs. How different is it from an album then? A film’s usp can’t be a song with 31 stars or a song that features SRK showing off his recently worked out body. But unfortunately that’s what OSO is. There is absolutely no stuff in the movie. Not a single scene or dialogue in the movie is worth remembering. Oh yeah….i remember one dialogue which the thespians keep mouthing throughout the movie, ( If someone wishes something genuinely, the entire universe will conspire and help him/her get that even to the extend of being born again to fulfill certain dreams, :) ). I am sure that Paulo Coelho must be turning in his grave.
It somehow appears that Farah has made the movie for herself. If you have a friend, who is a popular actor and lots of money with you, then you can make a movie and be guaranteed of the fact that you can make money. That’s what has happened. The duo (Farah and Shahrukh) it seems, don’t give a damn to what the viewers think. There was a recent interview in which she said “I don’t want Shahrukh to sit and cry in the movie. He is my hero. I want him to save the heroine, fly like a superhero and smash the villains”. Everybody can have his/her own idea about a hero but is film making just about giving shape to one’s thought however bizarre it may be or is it much more than that?
Of late, Bollywood has witnessed what can be called “media corporitization”. These corporate offices have taken up film production and distribution and hence the dynamics of movie making have completely changed. Marketing holds the key to the success of a movie is the new age maxim. Big production houses like Yash Raj spent a lot of money marketing their movies. Eros International, another big name was perhaps playing big for the first time in India tying up with Red Chillies Entertainment (SRK’s own production banner) and didn’t leave any stone unturned as far as marketing of OSO was concerned. But if you observe, there is a trend that is emerging. Most of these movies which are marketed in a big way lack the spine – a good story and a script. So marketing in fact makes up for all such lapses and helps package the movie in way that enthuses the audience to go and watch. Lo, behold. These strategies aren’t going to work in the long run. The last few Yash Raj films bombed in the box office. OSO might become a hit but definitely it’s not something that is worth emulating. Soon, the time would come when no amount of marketing and commoditization of movies would come to the rescue of movies that don’t have the spine.
PS: My dear friend, Rahul, I am confident that you will make a better movie; hehe. If you lack the confidence, go watch OSO. After all film making isn’t rocket science dude (Courtesy: Farah)
This is not a film review but the manifestation of indignation of a hardcore disillusioned fan…
It was with much anxiety and bated breath that I waited for SRK’s latest release Om Shanti Om (OSO). Being a hard core Shahrukh fan (which I became especially after watching movies like Swades, Don and Chak De), I went and watched the movie on the first day itself even though I knew that the story revolved around the age old tried, tested and decayed concept of rebirth and that the movie was made by none other than the famous director, Farah Khan whose previous movie was Main Hoon naa. Yes, in spite of all this, I went and watched the movie still thinking that there would be some offering from the director’s end which would make the movie viewable.
But hey…hang on. OSO disappoints. The movie is nothing but a mix of all ingredients – few good songs with one song starring almost 31 stars of Bollywood, another one in which SRK matches rhythm with chics in an item no. Dard-e-Disco showing off his six pack, huge sets, which resemble the 70’s era as the first half of the movie is set in that period, and are pretty good (credit goes to Art director, Sabu Cyril) and efforts by the rest of the crew who have put in a lot of hard work to give the movie a look of the 70’s with the heroes sporting side burns and wearing bell bottom pants etc.
But that’s it….A movie can’t be appreciated just because of the sets and a couple of good songs. How different is it from an album then? A film’s usp can’t be a song with 31 stars or a song that features SRK showing off his recently worked out body. But unfortunately that’s what OSO is. There is absolutely no stuff in the movie. Not a single scene or dialogue in the movie is worth remembering. Oh yeah….i remember one dialogue which the thespians keep mouthing throughout the movie, ( If someone wishes something genuinely, the entire universe will conspire and help him/her get that even to the extend of being born again to fulfill certain dreams, :) ). I am sure that Paulo Coelho must be turning in his grave.
It somehow appears that Farah has made the movie for herself. If you have a friend, who is a popular actor and lots of money with you, then you can make a movie and be guaranteed of the fact that you can make money. That’s what has happened. The duo (Farah and Shahrukh) it seems, don’t give a damn to what the viewers think. There was a recent interview in which she said “I don’t want Shahrukh to sit and cry in the movie. He is my hero. I want him to save the heroine, fly like a superhero and smash the villains”. Everybody can have his/her own idea about a hero but is film making just about giving shape to one’s thought however bizarre it may be or is it much more than that?
Of late, Bollywood has witnessed what can be called “media corporitization”. These corporate offices have taken up film production and distribution and hence the dynamics of movie making have completely changed. Marketing holds the key to the success of a movie is the new age maxim. Big production houses like Yash Raj spent a lot of money marketing their movies. Eros International, another big name was perhaps playing big for the first time in India tying up with Red Chillies Entertainment (SRK’s own production banner) and didn’t leave any stone unturned as far as marketing of OSO was concerned. But if you observe, there is a trend that is emerging. Most of these movies which are marketed in a big way lack the spine – a good story and a script. So marketing in fact makes up for all such lapses and helps package the movie in way that enthuses the audience to go and watch. Lo, behold. These strategies aren’t going to work in the long run. The last few Yash Raj films bombed in the box office. OSO might become a hit but definitely it’s not something that is worth emulating. Soon, the time would come when no amount of marketing and commoditization of movies would come to the rescue of movies that don’t have the spine.
PS: My dear friend, Rahul, I am confident that you will make a better movie; hehe. If you lack the confidence, go watch OSO. After all film making isn’t rocket science dude (Courtesy: Farah)
Monday, November 05, 2007
Eccentric Musings of a Hippie…..
The train sluggishly moved out of Mumbai Central station thereby marking the beginning of a spiritual (not religious) journey in what was going to become a remarkable experience.
Hailing from a typical middle class family in the south, my idea about North India was formed mainly by the trips that we undertook to various places as a family during the summers. But then, there comes a stage in your life when you would want to revisit most of those places for which you have suddenly developed an appetite for seeing and appreciating. So that’s how it struck me to visit Delhi, Agra and the twin temple cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Bombay has always been my first love and though Paru often used to tell a lot about Delhi, I never used to agree with her on the fact that Delhi is better than Bombay. I didn’t have any expectations about Delhi but what welcomed me on my way to Kingshuk’s house in Sarojini Nagar was dark, tarred, well maintained roads with trees on both sides forming a canopy which completely captured my imagination and I fell in love with Delhi. A well planned city (credit goes to Edwin Lutyens), Delhi is far better than Bombay at least on a couple of parameters like good roads, lesser pollution and fewer traffic snarls primarily because, this is the place where the nation’s top executive and the judicial institutions are. At the same time, a lot of initiatives have also been taken in the capital to ensure a better environment – by enforcing a rule that made all the public transport run on gas. Credit also goes to the metro that was recently launched that takes away a lot of road traffic.
But Delhi was just a base camp. Calling ourselves hippies, Romit and I set out for the twin cities by road. We reached Rishikesh earlier than we had anticipated – 5 am in the morning. Draped in half sleeved t-shirts and jeans, we moved out of the bus towards the ghat braving the biting cold that was killing us. We spent almost 2 hours waiting for the sun to rise and relieve us from the cold and then slowly we proceeded to Lakshman Joola which is a huge bridge and is one of the major attractions in Rishikesh. The bold and beautiful Ganges flows under the Lakshman joola. Standing on the bridge and gazing at the Ganges with the wind kissing your face is an ethereal experience. A holy dip in the greenish blue waters of the Ganga that were shimmering in the sunlight was another exhilarating experience.
We rushed back to Haridwar in a bid to see the arti (evening prayers) only to find to our dismay that the waters of the river were blocked as some purification was underway and hence the arti wasn’t as beautiful as we had thought it would be.
To what extend a person would go as far his love is concerned? The answer would be Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz and what more, he even chopped off the hands of all the workers once it was completed, fearing that they might build another monument that would be more beautiful than Taj. Being a highly dreamy and romantic person (I really think so.J ) I was quite eager to see Taj but the kind of welcome we received at the Agra station was pathetic. We were tortured to hell by the ric drivers and guides who completely spoiled our mood. It seems like the “Athithi Devo Bhava” campaign by the Tourism Ministry hasn’t quite had its effect on any of these people.
Be it Agra or the beautiful Fatehpur Sikri or Haridwar, as Romit says “Divinity of all these places has gone” and it’s the guides, the people who manage and who work here are the ones to be blamed. In Fatehpur Sikri, a man came running towards us and told us in panting voice that the shrine of the Sufi saint would be closed soon and hence he requested us to go and visit it once before it got closed. The moment we went there, he asked for money. In Haridwar, if you go near any priest who calls you to give you the tirtha (or the holy water), you would need to pay him something because by the time you accept the tirtha and drink it, and he would have started chanting mantras for the welfare of your family that finally you would be forced to give. Such is the plight of the devotees and tourists who easily fall prey to these money sucking men.
The most exciting thing about this journey was that I believe that I have been able to touch the heart and soul of each and every place I went. Be it, taking a dip in the Ganga that flows through the rustic and exotic Rishikesh, or watching the evening Arti in Haridwar, or walking through the Parantha gali in Chandni Chowk (referred to as Old Delhi) and occasionally taking quick bites of the yummiest paranthas in India or taking a bumpy ride in a Mahindra jeep through dusty roads while returning from Fatehpur Sikri followed by an even more stupendous journey in a train that was packed with people…
Its been one enriching, spiritual experience.
The train sluggishly moved out of Mumbai Central station thereby marking the beginning of a spiritual (not religious) journey in what was going to become a remarkable experience.
Hailing from a typical middle class family in the south, my idea about North India was formed mainly by the trips that we undertook to various places as a family during the summers. But then, there comes a stage in your life when you would want to revisit most of those places for which you have suddenly developed an appetite for seeing and appreciating. So that’s how it struck me to visit Delhi, Agra and the twin temple cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Bombay has always been my first love and though Paru often used to tell a lot about Delhi, I never used to agree with her on the fact that Delhi is better than Bombay. I didn’t have any expectations about Delhi but what welcomed me on my way to Kingshuk’s house in Sarojini Nagar was dark, tarred, well maintained roads with trees on both sides forming a canopy which completely captured my imagination and I fell in love with Delhi. A well planned city (credit goes to Edwin Lutyens), Delhi is far better than Bombay at least on a couple of parameters like good roads, lesser pollution and fewer traffic snarls primarily because, this is the place where the nation’s top executive and the judicial institutions are. At the same time, a lot of initiatives have also been taken in the capital to ensure a better environment – by enforcing a rule that made all the public transport run on gas. Credit also goes to the metro that was recently launched that takes away a lot of road traffic.
But Delhi was just a base camp. Calling ourselves hippies, Romit and I set out for the twin cities by road. We reached Rishikesh earlier than we had anticipated – 5 am in the morning. Draped in half sleeved t-shirts and jeans, we moved out of the bus towards the ghat braving the biting cold that was killing us. We spent almost 2 hours waiting for the sun to rise and relieve us from the cold and then slowly we proceeded to Lakshman Joola which is a huge bridge and is one of the major attractions in Rishikesh. The bold and beautiful Ganges flows under the Lakshman joola. Standing on the bridge and gazing at the Ganges with the wind kissing your face is an ethereal experience. A holy dip in the greenish blue waters of the Ganga that were shimmering in the sunlight was another exhilarating experience.
We rushed back to Haridwar in a bid to see the arti (evening prayers) only to find to our dismay that the waters of the river were blocked as some purification was underway and hence the arti wasn’t as beautiful as we had thought it would be.
To what extend a person would go as far his love is concerned? The answer would be Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz and what more, he even chopped off the hands of all the workers once it was completed, fearing that they might build another monument that would be more beautiful than Taj. Being a highly dreamy and romantic person (I really think so.J ) I was quite eager to see Taj but the kind of welcome we received at the Agra station was pathetic. We were tortured to hell by the ric drivers and guides who completely spoiled our mood. It seems like the “Athithi Devo Bhava” campaign by the Tourism Ministry hasn’t quite had its effect on any of these people.
Be it Agra or the beautiful Fatehpur Sikri or Haridwar, as Romit says “Divinity of all these places has gone” and it’s the guides, the people who manage and who work here are the ones to be blamed. In Fatehpur Sikri, a man came running towards us and told us in panting voice that the shrine of the Sufi saint would be closed soon and hence he requested us to go and visit it once before it got closed. The moment we went there, he asked for money. In Haridwar, if you go near any priest who calls you to give you the tirtha (or the holy water), you would need to pay him something because by the time you accept the tirtha and drink it, and he would have started chanting mantras for the welfare of your family that finally you would be forced to give. Such is the plight of the devotees and tourists who easily fall prey to these money sucking men.
The most exciting thing about this journey was that I believe that I have been able to touch the heart and soul of each and every place I went. Be it, taking a dip in the Ganga that flows through the rustic and exotic Rishikesh, or watching the evening Arti in Haridwar, or walking through the Parantha gali in Chandni Chowk (referred to as Old Delhi) and occasionally taking quick bites of the yummiest paranthas in India or taking a bumpy ride in a Mahindra jeep through dusty roads while returning from Fatehpur Sikri followed by an even more stupendous journey in a train that was packed with people…
Its been one enriching, spiritual experience.
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