Chittagong – A saga of the ordinary

We sat still as the lights turned up and a man wearing a white cotton shirt stepped into the hall with a mike. He was the maker of the film. I glanced at my friend who was too stunned to speak. Out of 450 seats in the 9 rows of Screen 3 at Prasadz, there were hardly 50 people who had turned up to watch the film. I am not talking about some great intellectual piece of work, neither am I talking about a penniless appreciable work of an artist. I am talking about a full feature length of 105 minutes with a story, actors and music that will completely blow you off your mind. Yes. Believe me – it will.

Lets go back to the unheard part of the history which makes the story of the film – Chittagong.

Chittagong is a place in Bangladesh which was a part of Bengal during the Pre-Partition days of British Raj in India. Around the 1930’s a group of young students, all between 14 -23 years of age became revolutionaries under the inspiration and pedagogy of Masterda, Surya Sen – an important figure or in mass media language, the most prominent ‘opinion leader’ of the village. Even as a freedom fighter, the British representatives at Chittagong did not consider him as a potential threat because of the lack of a proper army or trained personnels.

Surya Sen, played by Manoj Bajpai is a strong, sensitive and inspiring character that will make you a patriot all over again. When you watching him being the Masterda with such ease you wonder how much more versatile an actor can be. He creates a magic, a sense of unimaginable realism and belief for his audience and that definitely has a lot to do with his choice of films. You will find most of the notable men-crew of Gangs of Wasseypur playing major roles in the film (Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Jaideep Ahlawat etc.)

A crude translation of my one of my favourite dialogues in the film –
“The body of a elephant in chains is much stronger than the iron strongholds in his feet. But still he can’t break it? Do you know why? Because he is used to being chained.“

The film is no hyperbole but an honest attempt to capture “the essence of Chittagong” during the period of freedom struggle when innocents where getting killed. Swadeshi activists were tortured to death or worse with life imprisonment. Farmers did not have control over their own yield and the blood of the youngsters stirred violently to revenge the perpetrators of dictatorship in their nation. More than revenge it was about freedom. And that essence has been captured on the screen in the most amazing way possible.

One of my favourite and spine chilling scenes – in the first half of the film, Masterji Surya Sen is taken in by the British officer, an egotistical prick in my words for divulging information out of him. When he doesn’t give him any, the Prick uses a sort of pliers to pluck his nails out. The expression on Manoj Bajpai‘s face reflected that of intense pain and I swear the scene will make you shudder and make you hate that Gora for those few seconds.

Another one of my favourite scenes is when Pritilata (a woman in Surya Sen’s Armed Resistance movt.) assassinates the Prick. What I loved about the scene was that fear on her face. The fear was not because she was afraid to be killed. This emotion that has been captured so raw blew off my senses! The Prick’s name was DIG Johnson by the way. And even better and symbolic was the scene after that – where they run out of the building, she and her ‘soldiers’ and the camera pans to the board outside the club which said: Dogs and Indians not allowed.

Pritilata Waddedar played by Vega Tamotia

One day out of fun few kids play a prank on this Prick and one of them gets murdered in open daylight. And suddenly many youngsters who were previously hesitant to join the movement come up to take fight the whites with Surya Sen’s guidance. One of his students, Jhunku who was reluctant in the beginning but later is not only convinced but committed to the cause – is the narrator of this film. Yes, you will watch the entire film from his point of view.

When the director Bedabrata Pain met Subodh Roy (alias Jhunku), he was breathing his last and was in his late 90’s. At the end of the film, he says a few words and they are perhaps the most priceless achievements of the film.

Honestly think about the best Hollywood historical movies you have liked. Trust me, Chittagong is easily a tough competition to all of them. Yes, it is. I am not even bothered to compare the eccentric nature of the film with the commercial Bollywood trying to depict history. No Lagaan and no Ashoka and definitely no Jodhaa Akbar can be as authentic and heart warming as Chittagong.

If I keep talking about how much I loved the film then the blog post will become a thesis. I wouldn’t mind, but for now I just want to tell each and everyone of you to WATCH the film. Its Indie (which means it has not been produced by a big banner – the director has also produced the film) and that is why the first week (in Hyderabad, it was released in 12th October) is very critical. We have to make the film work by watching it, by promoting it, so that country could see what good cinema can be!

P.S – The forte passages of the songs are so touching and under the loop of my playlist (composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy) since yesterday, specially Bolo na and Ishan. Ishan is a song sung by Bedabrata himself and was the name of his deceased son who he has dedicated this film to. May his soul rest in peace..

In Bengal, Ishan is the direction from where the first storm of the new year arises, blowing away all that is decayed, dead and rotten. It replaces it with everything that’s fresh, verdant, and pure. It infuses hope, courage and passion for giving birth to something new and beautiful,” says Bedabrata.

Ishan Lyrics

Khul gaya naya dwaar hai
Ishaan ki Jhankaar hai
De Salaami aasman
Hauslon me dhaar hai
Ishaaaaaaan –
Hai wo disha
Jahan roshni, Jahan zindagi geet hai
Ishaaaaaaan –
Hai wo subah
Jahan khwaab hai, umeed hai, jeet hai

[Amazing music]

naritya naya kadam kadam pe
bade jor si dhadkan thi
sans sans me shank samaya
yahi nayi ek sargum thi
waqt tarana bajta hai
sajda hai gunje har dum
hum milte hai ek lahar
jate hai uske dware

khul gaya naya dwar hai
naritya naya kadam kadam pe
bade jor se dhadkan thi
sans sans me shank samaya
yahi nayi ek sargum thi
waqt tarana bajta hai
sajda hai gunje har dum
hum milte hai ek lahar
jate hai uske dware

Khul gaya naya dwaar hai
Ishaan ki Jhankaar hai
De Salaami aasman
Hauslon me dhaar hai
Ishaaaaaaan –
Hai wo disha
Jahan zindagi, Jahan roshni geet hai
Ishaaaaaaan –
Hai wo subah
Jahan khwaab hai, umeed hai, jeet hai

[Again that amazing thing called Shankar’s music and the chorus]

Cocktail – Definitely not a review.

First of all, I need to justify why the post is not about The legendary-ness of The dark Knight rises but about the recent half cooked story with nothing but raw masala called Cocktail.

The film is doubtlessly a bad one. For one, the lack of the details irritated me throughout. Second, even the part were the acting could be appreciated is overshadowed by the confusion in the plot of the second half and THE Diana Penty’s ridiculous performance. Even after a point of time, you feel whatever is wrong with the director. The movie doesn’t need a known Hero. It needs a good actor who looks younger because that is how you can justify him to be that stupid.

So what am I here for?

I write when something affects me. I write when I am thinking and thinking so hard that till I pour it all down into words that I really mean, nothing can make me feel any better. Yes, that is how much the character of Veronica got into me. I don’t say I loved her; it is rather a contentious point to discuss about. In fact she intrigued me, both in a way I can relate like no one else and contradictorily in a way that I found so unrealistic.

When Imtiaz Ali wrote the film, he must have had the character of Veronica in his mind throughout. And whoever he related or based her on in the real life, he definitely didn’t know what to make her do in the end or else he had to alter the story for the sake of Bollywood commercial needs. I am not assuming. (Yes I am, because it’s a free country.)

The independent, living-for-the-moment girl, Veronica… She is hot, she is cool, she is caring and she is the best. Everyone loves her and they all want to be with her. She is the type who people adore with a lot of ‘but’s’. She is the type who is clear on the outside and insanely conflicted in the head. She expects from people, but she won’t let them know that. She has a beautiful heart but a confused mind which is impulsive, moody. She knows how awesome she is that when she fell in love with her boyfriend, she just could not think why he wouldn’t love her back.

It was disturbing. The movie talks about a girl who has never had a real family. That, I believe is incorporated in the script because of the typical Indian mentality. They didn’t want to show a girl from a nice, stable family who is so disoriented in life and seems to like it nevertheless. She respects her freedom and doesn’t like to get into named relationships because they bring more complications, demand total commitment with so much less fun to exploit life. She lives in the moment. True. But here’s a girl who is ok feeling girly sometimes. Accepting what she wants even if that is not what “defines” her. After she meets and comes uncannily close to her live-in-relationship partner, Gautam and his mother, she suddenly wants all that she never thought she would ever want. And that is when complications take shape.

But we are humans. We slip. Not every time we fall but most times we do. At the end it’s always the “good-girl” who wins. And why shouldn’t she? She is the good one. Why am I talking about all this?

I am just trying to figure out where I stand. I am just trying to be ready to face all that I know I will. The life I want to live in my terms will come with more confusion and may be misery, but I know it will be good, like it is now, with nothing to regret. I will always do what I want to, not what I need to, I know that. May be that is not a good thing, but do I care? I am trying to get used to the fact that the concept of ever-happy life is certainly not made for people like me and Veronica. We cannot hide our feelings. It is almost like a boon and a bane.

But I cannot talk about everything, things that I feel right now, at this moment-not here. I thought I will but I have reached the end of the post and I am afraid to talk, because if I do then most of the people reading this will end up judging me. And I have had enough for now. May be someday I will get used to it and stop caring the way I do for most things. But for now, I want to get out of this contemplation, leaving a clear example of all the confusion in my head.

Sometimes, it is just tiring. Today seems to be one of those days. But I will get over  it, like I always do…

Manorama Six feet under – A 2007 thriller I missed

Only View (No Review) of Manorama Six Feet Under

From the candid Abhay Deol to the perfectly named Brij Mohan, Vinay Pathak, the beautiful and soberly clad Sarika to the sarcastic, bitter and sweet Gul Panag – I am all swept over with the wonderful characterization. The film starts with an idea of the game of the Politics coming along, but who thought it would turn to be one of the masterpieces of Indian thriller!

A wanna be crime writer fed up with his life and final realization of his failure comes across the solemn wife of a politician who wants proof about her husband’s extra-marital affairs. In need of money and excitement, the suspended writer becomes a detective and this is the story of the many pits he came across, some he managed to miss and others where he fell six feet under. That was just a bad joke.

Anyways, the narrative unfolds the dirty corruption in politics, the pitiable promises, masked personas and follow ups as intriguing as betrayal and incest. Personally, I am glad I did not watch this film back in 2007. I don’t know if I could have loved it so much. After Shanghai, this is anytime my second favorite Bollywood political thriller. I mean how amazing is Abhay Deol, right? I hardly know a film in his filmography that are not choosy and undoubtedly off beat. Even Raima Sen was successful in fooling us and in fact, shocking us with her own unsaid truth. Now that I have watched this, I am more curious to see what Chinatown has in its store. Many critics have compared the Manorama with it. Moreover, I did love Roman Polanski’s The Pianist and The Ghost Writer, so I am sure I won’t regret watching this.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Do watch the film if you are fan of Good Indian cinema. The film is off stream and kinda for choosy film buffs.. So, Cheers! And Goodnight!

One of my favorite songs that is going to my playlist after so many years I last heard it!
Wo Bheege Pal By Zubeen Garg

The Bollywood Comedy

We should rename today’s Bollywood comedy to “Lame Droll” ! What has happened to our cinema! I try so hard to understand but I just don’t know what is wrong with David Dhawan. I can’t think there are audiences who love his latest work Rascals because I could not stand it for a minute more than the ridiculous half an hour I spent only for the sake of my Mom.

In movies like Do aur do Paanch and Chupke Chupke there were was something called comedy. There were great dialogues, funny expressions that made sense in real life and bless me, less dance numbers! In the year 2000 released Hera Pheri. There was undoubtedly a lot of over acting, but instead of being the usual skeptic self, I would say that movie was great and so were the dialogues. After the first Golmal in 1979, Rohit Shetty’s Golmal in 2006 wasn’t bad either… I remember how less expectations I had of the movie but had staggeringly enjoyed it! And then came the sequences (Return.. and 3 – check the imdb ratings)… Disappointment! The last time I was ‘laughing in a comedy (bollywood)’ was the movie of the year, Delhi Belly. I was yelling at the top of my voice, ‘My belly aches!’. Some of my facebook friends did not find the movie so funny and that was because they could relate it with their daily life. In my case, I say that out of self contempt for being such a stereotype – but I would have expected such comedy, only from a Hollywood comedy. I don’t mind drama, in fact I think that is the specialty of Bollywood Cinema, but who can stand lameness! Film is supposed to make sense with our daily lives and even if not, somehow in our imaginary world, and the real meaning of comedy has surpassed Shakespearean opposite of tragedy with a happy ending. Today, comedy is much more than that and it is supposed to relate the lighter side of our life. They are not supposed to make us think that we are not only wasting our time, but ruining it!

Why do I bother? Because I am so pissed off with David Dhawan. I first thought, what makes him think he can sell a comedy like that. But I don’t want to judge, there are a lot of things I don’t understand, so I will spare you guys with my expert comments. I know what it takes to make a film, and may be I have no right to condemn anyone’s hard-work. But is it just me? I might not stand the ‘nuisance’ because I haven’t watched bollywood chick flicks for a long time. Also it might be a light comedy for many people, I remember enjoying Munnabhai and Mujhse Shaadi karogi even a few years back. I am not convinced by critical views also… But hey, why do I always justify myself?

Anyways!

These days they make movies with unnecessary expressions, unnatural happenings, illogical sense and lame dialogues and call that a comedy! Seriously? And that’s it!