eclectic reviews

BlackBird - Hard hitting, haunting, outstanding.

2009-05-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

It's in the story really. Blackbird, written by American playwright David Harrower is a haunting tale of a misunderstood, misplaced, love story between a thirteen year old girl and a forty year old man. While some are bound to grimace and say that it seems like a sickening tale of pedophilia, the script suddenly opens your eyes to a fact that you are perhaps sidestepping - what if they were in love?

Akvarious, a Mumbai based theatre troupe presented "Black Bird" at the Rangashankara, Bangalore with veterans Akarsh Khurana and Shernaz Patel playing the leads. The play is set in an office space. The sets and lighting, it has to be said, were quite brilliant and the idea of getting people to walk around outside the office gave a complete feel of the location.

Black Bird is a story that initially gets you thinking that its just a confrontation between a twenty five year old woman and an almost sixty year old man over a sexual relationship that transpired between the two when she was thirteen. The woman has returned to seek some answers,and to possibly remind the man, who is now leading a respectable life, about his past. And just when you have dismissed the play saying that you know too well what will happen next, the script hits you with a rock that shatters all your preconceptions about the subject. Nobody thinks that it is possible for a thirteen year old to be in love and more so, for a forty year old man to be in love with her. Turns out, it is possible.

There are some outstanding moments in the play that make you stand up and take notice. The girl's monologue about the evening when the man had taken her to a hotel room, made love and then disappeared, and how he did not return and she had to go looking for him all around the town makes for a hair raising experience that melts you in an instant. It takes a solid actor to be able to pull it off, and Shernaz did complete justice to it. As her character ends the monologue with - "you left me hurting, bleeding. You left me in love", the ensuing silence is a deafening applause to the brilliance of the script.

but as is true of any star crossed couple, this one too has a misunderstanding. The man did come back, much later, but she wasn't there and he panicked. and he called the police and turned himself in, and begged for them to find her, to make sure that she was okay. And she told everyone that it was her decision to go with him, that it was her idea, he was just being a good friend. The love story comes to an end, they are separated.

Twelve years later, and there they are, in his office, discussing what had happened. The woman is bold, in your face and a little too much for him to handle. But there are unresolved issues between them and another sexual meeting would have occured if not for the man's presence of mind.

The play ends with him storming out of the office, locking her in, saying that she was crazy. She screams and shouts and yells for him to come back. suddenly you are reminded of that fateful day. you feel for her loneliness, her desperation, her sorry state of affairs.

And then he returns.

Akvarious did an outstanding job with the script and the performances were one to remember. shernaz patel in particular for me was in another league. Her portrayal of the new age woman, with an attitude as sharp as a knife and yet just as vulnerable was spot on. Akarsh Khurana's performance seemed to have been inspired a little from woody allen, especially the constant touching of the face, as he matched shernaz for each step.

I guess its quite clear to you. Its a double thumbs up from me for AKVarious's production of "Black Bird". Do not miss it for the world.

Bedtime stories - sleep through it, and you won't miss a thing.

2009-04-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

Too much inexperience, and it showed. A little too evidently.

Pause and lights off, two theatre troupes came together to give life to playwright Priyanka Das Gupta's "Bedtime stories", a tale of two lovers who met during college, fell in love, married,and then seperated. While the premise sounded interesting with the catch phrase being a sexual encounter between the two characters that gets them to come to terms with their unextinguished attracting towards each other, the play's treatement fails at multiple levels. But thats not to say that the script wasn't without its share of glitches.

It sounded like hard core drama, where one would be left weeping for a couple that was so wrong for each other , yet couldn't stay without the other one; after all, havent we all been there. Instead, what was laid out was a buffet of quite mundane, energy less sequences that got one rolling on the seat waiting for it to get over. The actors were way too raw, and I have to put it down as the director's failure.

Siddhanth K.S, the director of the play, who also essayed one of the roles was quite below par on both accounts. His performance,like most of his other actors , lacked energy. The basics of theatre were not in place - no one projected their voice, no one was enunciating, no one had that drive, that energy that makes theatre what it is.

The actors who stood out were Kshema and Ananth. While Kshema had tremendous energy and bouyancy about her, Ananth showed potential to be a good actor.

The production value however was good, with good brochures and quite decent background score.

A last word for the playwright. While the language in the play was seemingly to give it a natural touch, the playwright forgot that she had to still respect the stage. The repeated use of everyday jargon like "you know" punctuated at every sentence was annoying and gave a bland taste to the play.

But it has to be understood that they are first timer. however,that excuse will work only once. I do hope that when this group comes out with their next production they would have come some way to become better than what they are right now.

Bedtime stories is a must skip, but here's wishing them luck with their future endeavors.

Dev D: The new Indian Protagonist.

2009-02-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Sex,drugs and some Bhangra Remixes - welcome to Punjab, welcome to the new Indian Cinema, welcome... to the new Indian Hero.

Whether Dev D will crash at the box office or not is for time to tell, and quite frankly, irrelevant, but Mr Kashyap has heralded a new era of Indian films. Say good bye to your Mr. nice guy protagonist who saves women from a herd of desperate men, or jumps into that ball of fire to rescue a hapless baby. Our new hero is a lover, sunk in an ocean of freudian complexities and a male ego that eventually ruins his life. Say hello to a jealous, impetuous, reckless man, who is ever ready to bed a woman he is not even interested in.

Devdas is a boring idiot. Really. you do not need to go deep into his psychology to figure that one. and so is his twenty first century avatar- Dev D aka Devendra singh Dhillon. He is not ashamed of asking his childhood friend for her naked photograph, or whether she touches herself after any of their amorous sessions over the telephone. But at the core of this character lies the lethal propensity to self destruct. Nothing new, nothing great.

But what works for the film is the beautiful narrative, supported quite well by a plethora of songs written well for the situation.However, one does feel that the songs were a tad too many. You HAVE to watch the way a song, I can't remember which, is picturized on three break dancers on a fantastic black and white canvas. Mr.Anurag Kashyap has an eye for breathtaking frames, anyone who watched "No Smoking" would tell you that.

What also worked for the film, was the beautiful realationship between chanda (Kalki) and Dev (Abhay Deol). A lovely, symbiotic romance between two people so frustated with their unfortunate lives, brings freshness into the film. I must mention here the poignant moment when the relationship comes to a standstill when a "client" arrives at chanda's door, asking for her. Dev asks him to wait, and chanda subsequently returns from college, enthused at the thought of meeting her lover, only to find him in company of her client. A surreal moment is shared between Chanda and Dev, where they are hit with the harsh reality of chanda's line of work. Not a word is spoken, just blank stares are exchanged.The flowery relationship takes a fatal blow. Once again, Dev is shattered.

The film succeeds in telling each character's story quite well. yes, Dev is at the centre of it, but Chanda and Paro have their own tales to tell, and they are told quite well. Chanda's sad MMS scandal racket is picturised well and one feels for the girl who is left with no option but to get into the flesh trade after everyone she knows has abandoned her. Mr. Kashyap does a good job of completing this character; there are no loopholes.

Where the film is a let down in its length. Too long Mr. Kahsyap. I am convinced that Dev is a self destructing, reckless, moron. You don't have to send him to Himachal pradesh and waste a good 5- 10 minutes of my time on a series of futile shots. The editing could have been tighter.

Now for the performances.

New girl Mahie Gill who plays Paro is good. She looks comfortable in front of the camera and has delivered an above par performance.

Kalki Koechin is good as well. For me, she was able to capture the essence of Chanda's character- her desperateness, her loneliness, her want of love. Well done i thought.

Abhay Deol is alright. He has given an average performance. I am tempted to say that an actor of Aamir's calibre would have probably done better, but then Aamir's been around for a while. It would be unfair to compare the two of them. Even so, Abhay deol's Dev is quite bland and way more boring than the character demanded.

So what's the verdict then? Kashyap roles out another cult movie. I say another because I placing "No Smoking" there. I am not sure if the Indian audiences are ready for Dev D yet, but Kashyap is sure not wasting time waiting for them.

Watch it for its grit, its originality and its style.

Luck by chance - Good, not by chance.

2009-02-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

I remember sitting through the opening credits of the movie, accompanied by the track "yeh Zindagi Bhi" and a montage of images of the people we do not otherwise think about.At the end of it, I remember thinking to myself, wow, I would have paid 150 bucks to just watch that, forget the rest of the movie. I remember saying to a friend, that the opening song, to me, was the real film- those five minutes where Zoya Akhtar has so heartwarmingly captured compelling images of people who make movies happen- the spot boy, the technicians, those extras. I remember turning my head and smiling at my friend , and he smiled back, because we knew that Zoya Akhtar had got it spot on.

In essence, Luck by chance talks about a superstar, a struggling actor who eventually does become a superstar and a struggling artist, but the movie succeeds in giving you more than just the story. To be honest, the story is nothing eye popping, but the execution and style is brilliant. It reminds you of the freshness of Dil chahta hai in its execution, but before you try to connect the dots and raise your hand with the common Farhan Akhtar link, let me tell you that zoya Akhtar has stayed distantly clear from her brother's style.Its her own style and one can see it.

Have I made it abundantly clear that Zoya Akhtar gets a double thumbs up from me? :)

Lets get to the acting. Star of the show - Rishi Kappoor. Without doubt. He gives a warm, genuine, and a polished performance.

Hrithik Roshan dances like he is missing a dozen bones. But that we already knew. He does a decent job in his cameo.

Dimple kapadia is good again. Again, like Rishi, she gives a polished performance.

Juhi Chawla is the surprise package, as she delivers a charming and an extremely lovable performance. and she is looking pretty darn hot as well. :)

Isha Sherwani. I am terribly confused here. Here's my dillema - Her character is that of a spoilt daughter of a yester year star (Dimple) who is outrageously pathetic at acting, but is cast as the leading lady in the film anyway. Isha performance was spot on, but i am not sure if she is actually a bad actor to give such a performance. So i really can't judge. Its a tricky one.:)

Farhan Akhtar - Not an actor yet. While he is certainly not disappointing, it is however quite clear that he struggles a little. There were some scenes which he just couldn't handle. But he is watchable.

Konkona Sen Sharma - What do you expect of her? a good performance? yep, and you get it. She does a good job of being the struggling artiste who gets betrayed all the time. Konkona is a reliable actor, and this role was right down her alley. No hassles here.

Shankar Ehsaan and loy, I believe are born in the wrong era. If they were a generation this way or that from Rehman, they would have been number one. With LBC, they scoop up another delicious platter of quite catchy music. I suggest you buy the album, its totally worth it.

So if you are planning to watch LBC, you are on the right track. Go ahead and enjoy the film- its classy, stylish and relevant, not one for those who want the back row corner to fool around.

Burn After Reading - Smart, funny and a must watch

2009-01-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

Its short, its simple, its hilarious. The Coen brothers have pulled off an absolute gem (another one) after scaling cinematic heights with the oscar winning "No Country For Old Men". This time, they indulge in the funnies.

Its a marvellous satire, the kind you'd want to watch on a nice holiday afternoon, or even evening after a good meal. The Coen brothers take a dig at the CIA and how they are beleagured by a case they can not get their heads around. Its just about a cuckoo ex-CIA agent, given life by an unforgettable performance by John Malkovich, who has a short fuse. Then there is the philadering treasurer of state, essayed by George clooney. A daft gym instructor, Brad Pitt and his colleague Linda, played by Frances McDormand who is suffering from a mid life crisis and wants a plethora of surgeries done on her body.

The plot thickens when John Malcovich's character's rather worthless account of memoirs is found by Brad pitt and Frances and they understand that to be an invaluable piece of material for the Intelligence bureau. They plan to blackmail John Malcovich's character and extort money for Frances's character's surgeries. Madness ensues as the CIA tries to track the characters trying to figure out what exactly is going on. The film ends with the CIA closing the case without knowing what the hell was the material involved and why everyone did what they did.

Some good performances, along with good pace of the narrative makes the film extremely likable. But one can see why the film wasn't taken seriously. It seems too short to be a film. At a running time of just a little over ninety minutes, it breezes past you. But then there in lies the charm. It was nominated for two gloden globes and hopefully should get some nominations at the Oscars as well.

I would highly recommended it. Catch it if it's still running in theatres around you.

The office - A wonderful generic theme.

2009-01-04T21:23:00.000-08:00

Quite some years ago, when "Frasier" ruled the roost on television, I thought that there could not be a comedy show more brilliant than that. Whether "The Office" is better is something I still can't get an answer for. But I'll tell you this - while "Frasier" is wonderfully charming and witty, "The Office" is quirky and elegant. You take your pic.

Or perhaps we don't even have to compare. In an ideal world I would have them running all day long. Perhaps throw in "The Simpsons" as well. :)

But what I would rather tell you about is just how outstanding a show "The office" is, and if you are not watching it, to tell you just what you are missing.

The show was originally on British television.It was adapted for the American audience and stars the quite brilliant Steve Carrell, along with an ensemble of some lesser known , but evidently highly skilled, actors.

Be it the blatantly stupid (I read somewhere that this was a case of peter principle) Michael Scott played by Carrell, with his idiosyncratic behavior and his obsessive will to play the joker around the office, quite often ensuing in embarrassing and offensive situations or the lovably quirky Dwight Shrute, played by Riamm Nelson, with his over competitive streak that almost always designates him as the butt of practical jokes, the office promises to have you in splits. Add to that fantastically written sketches with each character so astonishingly different from each other that it doesn't take you more than a moment to start identifying with them. It is a warm welcoming space and you want to be in it.

Yes, in truth, every Office is in many ways like "The Office".

What amazed me most is how well these characters had been developed and how well they had been acted out. I have not seen these actors (other than Carrell) in other roles, so its hard to comment on whether this is an outstanding performance and if they are doing anything different. But this certainly is good and worth your time.

You will fall in love with the show, purely on the quality of the script and actors. Also consider the unorthodox method of filming - shot like a documentary. "The Office" is a laugh riot, and you don't want to miss the fun.

Ghajini - Overhyped, but not disappointing.

2008-12-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

It is a simple story. Guy meets girl, falls in love, girl gets murdered, guy avenges the murder. There. Done. Finito. Dust your hands, pick up your umbrella and go home.

Yet Ghajini works. I am a big fan of simple stories told well. Ghajini could have been better, but it wasn't bad. Aamir made it worth it.

You could see Aamir's obsessive pursuit of vivid characterization in things such as writing with the left hand. While it is obvious that he actually can't write with his left (smart camera work making sure you never see it) but it gets you to think about the level of detail. The other thing that was definitely the high point of the film was his animal like movement and demeanor as the desperate revenge seeker. In one shot, he jumps from the floor onto a table and in one giant leap attacks a man's face like a ferocious dog. The sight was breath taking. Excellent energy. Well done!

Then there was Asin, making her debut in bollywood. Her Karina Kapoor in Jab we met type of portrayal was likable. she did a good job. Her character was warm, caring and extremely lovable.

Jiah Khan... Nevermind.

It is a very well made film, but it does get a tad boring in between. Some of the songs are unnecessary, and this sound track is definitely not up to Rehman's standards, with the exception of "kaise tum mujhe .."; a lovely track replete with haunting pain and passion.

Aamir could have done more as the business man though. Also, as the angry revenge seeking man he seemed to have an almost robotic touch, which could easily be interpreted as retarded as well. There are scenes where he stays stone faced and turns his head in calculated measures. Didn't work for me. The character has a short term memory loss, he isn't demented. He still has emotions. but then maybe thats how he was directed. i am willing to let that go.

Watch Ghajini for good performances, excellent camera work and some quite brilliant fight sequences.

The Importance of being earnest - Earnestly shabby!

2008-12-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

When I was done watching Evam attempt Oscar Wilde's Importance of being earnest, I was infuriated. yes, that is the word and no, I am not exaggerating. There was an evident paucity of quality, be it in the acting department, the set changes or even the dance choreography. The only thing that one could take away from the evening was the script.

And this, when Evam is trying to win people over to vote for them as the hottest start up. Sigh.

I won't bother telling you about the story line- its hilarious- google it. What i do want to tell you of course, is about how pathetically the play was executed. It was miserable my friends. Avoid it if its coming to your city. shut yourself in your house and stay indoors lest a friend tempts you to go for it.

Jack/Earnest was played by Karthik, not Kumar, the other not so flamboyant guy. I remember watching him in the Odd Couple as Felix, where i thought he was pretty good. But they guy can not handle a script like this one. He was struggling, so badly that i felt sorry for him. It was a bad start.

Karthik Kumar I hear is a good film actor, but he needs to start being his characters more than himself on stage. Its about time.

I was disappointed to not see Sunil on stage. I think he is the "earnest" of them all.I think he would have taken the script more seriously.

But the crown for the worst performance of the evening has to go to the lady who played cicily (if thats how its spelt). Oh Boy! I don't want to be too hard on her, because this may be her first play, but man was she bad.

But behold! here's is what got to me the most.

Evam has a million volunteers, yet their set change was so incredibly badly planned that I was pulling my hair out by the end of it. Clearly there was no production manager, or if there was one, he was taking a stroll somewhere (probably avoiding the play). These guys took close to five minutes to get two tables on stage. And then spent another five just adjusting it. shameful ! Once again Evam, pull up your socks.

and so the first act came to a close. the other women actors were decent. There was a british lady who was obviously not troubled by the style of the narrative. She did fine.

i tell you what. there was a butler who kept coming in and out. he was probably the best male actor on stage. he was probably the only one in character (or some form of it). The Doctor was bearable although his movement on stage (especially the shuffling) seemed amateurish.

But I must save the last for the director. Manasi, it was a bad bad evening. I am sorry. You seem very young and can also be passed of as cute, but what was on stage was sad. But i wish you well, i really do.

There you have it. If you are an ardent Evam fan you are probably not going to like it, but i have tried to stay as un-biased as possible. Go for it at your own peril.