There are two kinds of films. Some begin with a disclaimer that says “All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.” Is it better to say that the film was inspired by real events?
There are two parallel stories that run through the film Masaan (the colloquial term for Shamshaan or a burning ghat). They are studies in contrast. The first protagonist Devi (played by Richa Chadha) is a girl who is seeking a release from the clutches of a greedy cop and from being judged because of a personal choice she made.The other story belongs to Deepak Choudhary (played brilliantly by Vicky Kaushal) is set on the famous Harishchandra Ghat of Banaras. The son of the dom (the people who cremate the dead) wants to escape the chains that his being born in that family limits him to. He dreams of being an engineer and stumbles upon love.
Riley is eleven. She is moving from Minnesota to San Francisco with her parents. Inside Out is her story and the emotions that the eleven year old experiences as she leaves behind her friends and familiar world.
Is Apple an example of an American brand or is it a Chinese brand? Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn, which makes the iPhone, iPad and several other Apple products in factories in China, is in talks to open factories in India to make iPhones. Does it matter to the consumer where the iPhone is made? In a blind test would a consumer be willing to pay the same price for an iPhone that was made in India as compared to some other country?
RD Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) is an influencer in Bollywood even today. Reality shows dedicate episodes to him, channels organize special RD Music shows, his songs are part of recent movies like Aisha, Tamanchey, Race, etc, TV serials are using cover versions of his songs, not to mention the remixes of his songs. Yet the same RD had long spells towards the end when he was without work. Success and failure perhaps have to be measured beyond the life span of an artiste.
When a crisis of trust hits the organization, the public relations machinery swings into top gear and tries to tame the media before they go on a rampage. In this mayhem, it is easy to forget that the bruises and dents also affect the employer brand. The most valuable employees of the organization may worry about future prospects and jump ship. Potential candidates may think harder before joining the firm. I was with a food and beverage company during such a controversy. That crisis taught me powerful lessons on how to protect the employer brand during a crisis. Leaders need to address this from two perspectives – the head and the heart.
Tanu Weds Manu 2 scores not for the storyline which is fairly over the top but the dialog really connects with the audience. Four years of marital life has done what marriage often does to couples. Manu (played by Madhavan) has fattened up like a sacrificial lamb and the four years of marriage have left no zing in the relationship. That seemed so realistic especially because Madhavan's emotions remained visible under his adipose tissues. That verbal sparring session resonates with the audience and the film goes off to a rocking start.
Talented people are like magnets. They attract other talented people. These talented people have their own hangouts. The Coffee House in Kolkata was a hangout for the poets, artistes, literati and people from the world of art and culture. Film makers like Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Aparna Sen used to hang out there. The writers and poets like Sunil Gangopadhyay and Shakti Chattopadhyay used the coffee and cigarette smoke filled atmosphere to fire up their imagination through debates. The cafes of Paris have served to inspire many philosopher and intellectuals from Sartre to Simone de Beauvoire. The Coffee House is still not a talent community.
Piku is an endearing tale of a young lady in her thirties who looks after her seventy year old father who is a hypochondriac. Very specifically he is obsessed with his "morning ablutions"... What makes it so watchable is the ordinariness of the story.
