The story of farmers suicides can be the base for some really potent dark humor. That is what Peepli Live is. The film that has the audience across the theaters in splits with its brand of humor, shocked with the liberal use of expletives and thinking about how they need to start thinking about farmers suicides. Anusha Rizvi, a journalist with NDTV news channel has written a script that is endearing and thought provoking without being preachy.

Natha (played by Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) are two brothers who are impoverished farmers who cannot repay their loans. The Govt has announced a “relief” of about $2000 to the family of every farmer who commits suicide. Budhia comes up with this idea of encouraging his brother to commit suicide. In a weak moment Natha succumbs to that passing thought.

The reaction of the media, the politicians, the society all provide food for satire.  Will Natha commit suicide and will the government pay up if he does – that is a question you have to see the film to find the answer.  The stakes are high. Every media channel is camping in front of Natha’s house. The politician’s want to play every card there is to get the votes needed for the upcoming election. The media is running out of patience and sound bytes. Even Natha’s son nudges him up from sleep to check how much more they all have to wait before he dies. Natha as a mute spectator to the drama and hype surrounding his own death is brilliantly conveyed right through. I have to make a special mention of Farookh Zafar who is absolutely hilarious as “Amma” – the bedridden abuse-spewing mother of the brothers.

The film is clearly resonating with audience everywhere. In its opening weekend Peepli earned Rs 21 crore in the box office at home. With 109 overseas prints it grossed another $6,40,000 ( 2.88 crore) abroad, more than some bigger recent films like Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. Peepli received one of the highest openings for a non cast film in overseas markets. So the belief that the Non Resident Indians only go for the Karan Johar variety of films is also a myth. It only proves that there are stories that are engaging and those that are not. Peepli is certainly in the first category. The film’s promos caught my attention because of the Aamir Khan brand. Since he is the producer, the film is likely to be good. Having seen the film, all I can say is that it will do well because it is a fantastic satire. It is difficult to find witty films in Bollywood of the caliber of Pushpak, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron etc. This film will certainly feature in that category.

The story is compelling. Anusha Rizvi does a superb job as the director and it is hard to believe that it is her first film. The humor and satire are brilliant and insightful. I loved the use of folk songs – Mehengai Dayan performed as only Raghubir Yadav can. The film ends with the thought provoking statistic of 8 million farmers having moved to urban areas in search of employment. That shakes the frivolous mood back to the grim reality that the film seeks to get you to take back home. Very few films can do that. This is a film that is funny and yet grim. In some strange manner it reminded me of a movie I had watched years ago – Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. The humor of Peepli Live is of the same class. The subtext shines right through. Go see it.

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Check out the official website of the film here

Four school mates scale the walls of the Boys Hostel to watch a seedy B Grade film Kanti Singh Ke Angoor. To their horror they discover that the middle aged man getting cozy with a woman in the row behind them is the Hostel warden. This chance encounter turns a harmless teenage adventure into the beginning of a life changing experience. Forced to come back to Jamshedpur to live with his authoritarian father who Rohan – the protagonist (Rajat Barmecha) has not met for eight years. Udaan is the story that is beautifully layered. There is the relationship among four friends that is brief but endearing. Rohan is coming back home to a father (brilliant performance by Ronit Roy) who scoffs at his poems and does not hesitate to wallop him mercilessly when drunk. Rohan is forced to sign up to study Engineering and work in his father’s small run down foundry. It is grim existence for a dreamer. Rohan still manages to sit on the banks of Subarnarekha river and write some really sensitive poetry. The other layer in the story is the brilliantly handled relationship between the teenager and his 6 year old step brother (played by Aayan Boradia).

Udaan is an all boy’s world and coming of age in a small town. It is the first directorial venture for Vikramaditya Motwane who is no stranger to the complex art of film making. He did the screenplay for the cult film DevD and also for Udaan. Not too many people can claim to have their first film screened at Cannes 2010 fest! Rajat Barmecha who is 21 pulls off being a 16 year old. He was made to experience isolation by being in a room without a television and cell phone to get him to get into the skin of the character Rohan. The method acting approach clearly shows up in the brilliant performance by the actors. Udaan scores by creating characters who are real and believable. It would have been very easy for the director to create a precocious and annoying Bollywood version of a “cute” six year old step brother. That is where the director scores. Producer Anurag Kashyap and the director talk passionately about the film in this interview to a major TV Channel.

What did I not like about the film? The first half is perfect. The script is tight and the acting is flawless. The despotic father who does abuses his children. The indulgent uncle and aunt who are a safe haven for the unsure poet. The four gawky teenage kids who are curious to enter the forbidden world of adults. All make for a great story. The second half slackens a bit at the end. Trim off about 5-10 minutes of the second half and you would have a real tight rope of a film. Also the sequence of the old man at the hospital who encourages Rohit’s talent for storytelling was just out of tune and like a cheap imitation of the hospital scenes of Munnabhai. But everything else about the movie was superb – especially the poetry that somehow always gives you an insight into the mood of the character and ever so apt. I loved those. There is glimpse of the poetry in this trailer. But the movie has many more. Especially the one Rohan recites to his father in tentative halting words. That was lovely. The town of Jamshedpur, the Subarnarekha river, the essence of a small town are all captured with as much elan as the anguish of youth. Loved the movie and Amit Trivedi’s music. Like DevD, this will create many more clones and bolder film makers. More power to the thinking film makers. This poem by Amitabh Bhattacharya captures the essence of the movie.

Chhoti-chhoti chhitrayi yaadein

Bichhi hui hain lamhon ki lawn par

Nange pair unpar chalte-chalte

Itni door chale aaye

Ki ab bhool gaye hain ki

Joote kahan utaare the.

Aedi komal thi, jab aaye the.

Thodi si naazuk hai abhi bhi.

Aur nazuk hi rahegi

In khatti-meethi yaadon ki shararat

Jab tak inhe gudgudati rahe.

Sach, bhool gaye hain

Ki joote kahan utaare the.

Par lagta hai,

Ab unki zaroorat nahin.

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You may like to read my take on DevD, a must-watch film that show cases Vikram Motwane’s skill as a screenwriter.

Prakash Jha the director of Rajneeti, is a multi faceted person. From his first documentary made in 1974, his body of work spans more than 25 documentaries, nine feature films, two television features and three television series.  My favorite would have to be Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne, a popular Hindi TV comedy serial based on James Thurber’s novel The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In 1989, he took a sabbatical from films, and moved to Bihar for four years, during period he formed two organizations, Anubhooti, which trains young people from region, in film making, and Samvedan, in Champaran, to promote small and micro industries. The National Award winning film Gangaajal (trans: Water of the Ganges) made in 2003 based on the infamous incident in 1980 in Bhagalpur, Bihar when 31 undertrials were blinded by cops pouring acid in their eyes. Prakash Jha is no stranger to storytelling.  Rajneeti (Trans: Politics) is a blend of the great Indian epic Mahabharat, some elements of dynastic politics of India’s ruling party and generous “tributes” to The Godfather.

This is not the first time that someone has been inspired by the rich and complex plotline of Mahabharat. In 1981, Shyam Benegal made the film Kalyug. A beautifully crafted film that had Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Raj Babbar, Supriya Pathak, Anant Nag, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sushma Seth, Akash Khurana, Victor Bannerjee, Reema Lagoo, A.K.Hangal playing major roles. The later day glam gal Urmila Matondkar had appeared as a child artiste in the film. If you have not seen Kalyug, you must. The progeny of the Sun God and an unwed mother being named Karan has long since become a cliche in Bollywood. In Rajneeti too the illegitimate son is called ummm… Sooraj (meaning Sun). He has been fathered by Bhaskar (meaning Sun) Sanyal.  OOOH what a coincidence.  Let us watch the trailer…

The storyline of Rajneeti has its twists and turns and does avoid being predictable even while it keeps reminding you of the obvious lifts from The Godfather. For instance the car explosion scene or bleeding horse head scene of Godfather show up in Rajneeti either in toto or with an adaptation. So that hurt.

The actors’ performances are strong in the film. Well mostly. Ajay Devgan gives a lukewarm performance. Katrina Kaif and Manoj Bajpai get a B- while Naseeruddin Shah and Nana Patekar dazzle. Arjun Rampal once again stakes his claim as an actor and not just pretty boy. And … the surprise of the movie is Ranbir Kapoor. He rises beyond the capabilities that his gene pool have given him (Think Rishi Kapoor’s forever LOUD and cliched acting. Neetu Singh was never really India’s answer to Jodie Foster. See what I mean?). Ranbir evolves in Rajneeti from being a star to an actor in this film. Not sure who should get the credit for this transformation – Ranbir or Prakash Jha. Good news is that we have another actor from the new crop. There is the much talked about character of a political wannabe played by Shruti Seth which is a much viewed scene on youtube. The film ends on a note that clearly leaves the path wide open for a sequel. Quite like the way Sarkar was followed by Sarkar Raj

Take the rich complexity of the storyline from Mahabharat, blend in the heady mixture of violence, manipulation, death and erotica, get a strong set of actors to play the roles. Get Prakash Jha to be the bartender who will serve you this heady combo. That is Rajneeti for you.

Final verdict:  Go watch it. I will give it a 3.5 out of 5 or a B+ depending on which grading system you understand

Here is a plotline: Husband and wife are film directors and they both get nominated for Academy Awards. Husband’s film has already grossed up big bucks and big awards. The bets are on. No woman has become the President of US and no woman director has ever won the Oscar for direction. When the husband is James Cameron who has made movies like Titanic and the runaway success called Avatar it is crazy to even give her a chance.  She tends to make these action movies. A woman making a war flick in Hollywood may get appreciation but not the big award. The big night is here and the Oscar for the best director goes to …   Katherine Bigelow. In what can be a great plot for a movie by itself, Katherine creates history by being the first woman to get that honor. That gives us hope. Maybe one day a woman will yet become the President of US. 

How did The Hurt Locker story happen?

In 2004, journalist Mark Boal (who co-produced the film and wrote the screenplay) spent several weeks embedded with a US Army bomb squad in Baghdad, following its movements and getting inside the heads of the men whose skills rival those of surgeons — except in their case one false move means they lose their own lives rather than the life of a patient. Mark’s first-hand observations of their days and nights disarming bombs became the inspiration for The Hurt Locker. The story is brutally realistic. It engages and promises no mercy when you feel your nerves getting shredded in the heat of battle. You experience the tension and the relief each time the protagonists manage to defuse the bomb and the tension in your mind simultaneously. The film shows the gruesome impact of war on the minds of people. Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James, whose job it is to discover the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and  cut the wires does a realistic portrayal of what it takes to do that role. Made me wonder, how do they select people like that in real life? How do you choose people who really like doing such stuff and living on the edge. It makes bungee jumping look tame.

So what is a Hurt Locker. It is a little box of parts of the IEDs that the protagonist collects that could have potentially hurt him. It also includes his wedding ring. That was a bit over the top and perhaps the only moment when Kathy Big almost fumbled on the narrative. Yet she comes back quickly to take charge.

It is difficult to make a war film without taking sides. Wasn’t the war in Iraq initiated by US? The answer to that question depends on which side of the socio-political spectrum you look at the issue. Katherine B does not delve into that question at all. Instead uses a docu-drama feel to the narration to and focus on the psychology of these soldiers. A peep into the dark side of humans without use of Hollywood cliches and bravado. It is a rush of adrenaline that is matched only by a drug. “The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” – Chris Hedges.

As Katherine said recently in an interview, she wants to be remembered as a great director and not as a “woman director”. I agree.

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Check out the movies website.

Director Abhishek Choubey first assisted Vishal Bhardwaj when Vishal was shooting for the children’s film Makdee in 2002 and then was the Asstt Director for him in The Blue Umbrella, Maqbool and Omkara. Ishqiya is Abhishek Choubey’s debut film as Director. The much acclaimed Kaminey last film by Vishal Bhardwaj (Kaminey) also had Abhishek doing the screenplay. ISHQIYA sees Vishal and Abhishek teaming up with Sabrina Dhawan to write a crackling screenplay that makes for a film that is will remind you of Omkara and Maqbool in terms of its stylised story telling and powerful music. Great visuals and twists and turns that make for a brilliant film. The dialect is authentic and does not falter anywhere – not in the Bhopali Hindi nor in the Hindi that you hear in Gorakhpur where bulk of the story is set.  If you were offended by the unfiltered language of Omkara then beware there is a lot more of that in Ishqiya. Why? ‘coz that is the way the characters communicate in the film. It is way the two crooks Khalujaan (played by Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban Hussein (Arshad Warsi) communicate.  However, this is a film whose music will haunt you long after the film is over. The song Ab Mujhe Koi Intezaar KahaaN… (trans: What need do I have anymore to wait for someone) in the haunting voice of Vishal’s wife Rekha Bharadwaj is my favorite. Gulzar is a legendary lyricist. He surpasses himself in this song. Rahat Fateh Ali sings Ibn-E Batuta and Dil Toh Bachcha Hai and does it beautifully.You have to buy the music CD for Ishqiya. You will need to

Here is another song by Rekha Bhardwaj – Tere Ishq Mein

Then this is not the review of the music CD. I just got carried away. The film is much more than that. Two crooks are trying to run away from their benefactor and land up seeking shelter in the home of Krishna (Vidya Balan) – a young widow. Both men simultaneously fall in love with the sensuous Krishna. There is stuff about an arms dealer and his fondness for S&M and some sensuous moments between Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan that make the screen simmer for brief moments. After the memorable role of “Circuit” played by Warsi in the Munnabhai film, this is another great side-kick character that Warsi creates in Ishqiya. While Circuit was cute but obsequious, Babban has no problem speaking his mind and even cosying up to his senior’s flame.

So anyone who is looking for the coy girl-next-door in Vidya Balan will discover a different level of her histrionic talent. She wowed the audience with her performance in Paa. And now she has us wrapped around her little finger in Ishqiya. The film moves at the pace of a thriller and does not drop in pace anywhere. One suggestion to Abhishek Choubey. Stop doing the Tarantino like endings. Unless you did it at the insistence of Vishal B who has now adapted that style in three of his films – Omkara, Maqbool and Kaminey. The last few minutes of the film felt like old footage from Vishal’s films.

Overall rating would be a 4 out of 5. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns, the characters are distinct, the humor is great, the music is awesome, the language and narration is authentic but the ending is a tad stretched out and a bit weak. But … clearly a film that I recommend you watch.

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