Boundary shot that never reaches the rope - Sachin the movie

An elderly couple ambled in and occupied the seats next to me a few minutes after the screen started flashing images of a young Sachin. The gentleman helpfully explained the context of the movie to the lady. The lady looked at the screen and fished out a large Note and decided that this was more interesting than what was happening on the screen.

I sighed, tried hard to ignore the bluish luminescence next to me and looked at the young cute Sachin giggling over a prank. I looked on with hope. I was expecting the unleashing of a dramatic real life gripping re-enactment of the most loved cricketer India has ever known. Once you see James Erskine’s name you know he has been there done that with his bio pic on Pantani the Tour De France hero who ends up a sad mess at 34. 

Unfortunately it is a huge case of a missed chance. The biopic looking severely under- budgeted serves more to be larger screen version of a news channel’s patchy job to put together a life story of the star on his retirement. The grandeur of storytelling usually associated with national heroes and more importantly the poor understanding of the game and its finer moments which can lend itself to some applause worthy cinematic moments, is sorely missing.

All James had to do was do a seamless watching of the 1984 mini-series Bodyline or the more recent Lagaan to understand how one can keep the attention of the audience mercilessly gripped with superior story telling.

If the film was supposed to serve as an inspiration to youngsters on how to achieve glory with humility riding on professional excellence and focused effort, then it ends up as a very insipid documentation that you sit through only for the man you love and for what he has done for the country.

The story of Sachin as a little boy prankster, his rigorous practices at Shivaji Park, his coach, his ideal family of a loving mother, a litterateur father, a brother who sculpts him in his earlier years, his strength his wife and his loving children all are already part of registered history. What was needed was to tease out the superman and embellish his story with realistic touches to make it more human and accessible to the common man to experience and aspire for greatness.

Instead it turns out to be lazy filmmaking with practically no effort to excavate any unknown stories, search for unseen clips,( sorry family clips easily accessible don’t account for that) and slyly move away from bumps in the story line which are uncomfortable like the fixing of matches, or the tension with other colleagues or Sachin’s own weaknesses which could made him look more human. There is no effort to even go closer to the characters surrounding him. The director seems at ease only when Sachin himself is in the studio talking peacefully, reminiscing with an angelic smile.

There are some cute moments from the family clips like the kids frolicking in bed with Sachin which looks very endearing or his wife silently admiring her husband and looking like the solid support she obviously is in real life. But these are borrowed pieces of artistry naturally .

There was a need for some dramatization, need to move away from a documentary feel of narration and make him larger than life and boldly explore his weaknesses rather than drown his failures with an apologetic loud chorus of “ Sachin Sachin” beating to A R Rahmans appropriate but frenzied drums just in case the audience thought he was being criticized.

One does feel a pang of sorrow when he retires and gives a simple speech from his heart but one has already sobbed on that one so nothing new here. But the lady next to me who had now looked up after 2.5 hours of alternating between her cellphone screen and husbands loud narration was sobbing away and I felt sad for her and for the billion Indian fans. Not for the movie or how it depicts Sachin but for realizing that we will never see our icon batting like that again. Maybe we just need to thank James for reminding us about that.

Move over Hollywood...Here we come!

One is always wary of over hyped products. Either the product is genuinely good and the surprise element is annihilated with the over sell or the makers are anxious with an inferior product created and are trying to generate noise to distract. It is with this trepidation that I approached viewing of BB2.

BB ( the first part ) was a decent experience with some rough edges in special effects but the story telling despite it’s over the top loudness was in a different stratosphere aided by some really good looking cast. BB2 in that sense does not disappoint you and actually surprises you with it’s deft & breathless storytelling and not pulling anything short on special effects. There is none of the overt focus and thrill on having cracked some delectable VFX and chest thumping to answer back to the tag of the Indian Film Industry an underdog in comparison with their smarter counterparts in the west. With this, that discussion can be laid to rest. We can make our Gladiators, Star Wars and Spiderman now and impressively. The Vfx is now only incidental to the storyline.

Fairy tales and mythical stories are always outlandish and that is why they lend themselves so well to visual artistry as the boundaries are only what the creators choose to stop at. Collaborated with intense story telling the end result can be startling. I remember Narnia as a classic and impressive example of that.

The story builds from the beginning of the first instalment tracing back the back story of Bahubali ( Prabhas) whose father also Bahubali ( Prabhas again) is one of the two children of a queen ( Ramya) and essentially battles his brother Bhalla ( Rana Dagubatti) with an evil scheming father. Bahubali with his immense strength , sense of fair justice and good looks is seen as a natural heir to the throne by his mother sidelining the natural protocol of choosing her elder son.

Bahubali is a blindly loyal son and on instructions from his queen mother sets on a journey of learning about his subjects with his loyal commander Katappa ( Sathyaraj) and comes across a beautiful princess who he wishes to marry but cannot because he is in disguise as a commoner.

What happens thereafter forms part of a breathtaking spectacle though at places tiresome storytelling relieved only when the special effects steps in and shakes you up. Note especially a thrilling encounter in a corridor with an army stylishly executed. Be it the encounters with the elephants, charging bulls, flaming livestock , the vfx has been executed with incredible hardwork and seeming perfection. At places you do feel the animation a bit out of place as some of the visuals of the palaces and kingdom, where hard structures are panned against a background of superimposed extensions of building graphics. The difference in shades perhaps look a bit awkward and distract from the otherwise massive scale of the art design.

The cast acts and over acts as is emphasized in all mythologies and stories of the evil and the good in the days of yore when all had to scream , grimace and shout to be heard and influence people around. You can barely take your eyes of Prabhas a brilliant mix of compassion, strength and grace bolstered with good looks. He even over shadows the heroine Anushka Shetty who holds her ground and an equally handsome Rana who seems let down by the story making him look like a very strong confused man.

The movie is overly long and at times feels like a never ending Chandamama story. Made me feel like the director was so much in love with what he had shot that he refused to give in to the editor. But this should not take away from a thoroughly entertaining film that is if you like mythologies and historicals with more than decent special effects. The scale is grandiose, the music very average especially in the Hindi version awkwardly retrofitted. The dubbing too tends to distract but guess they did not have much choice and re-shooting could have been too expensive. BB2 does seem tiresomely repetitive for the first 45 minutes before the director takes control and moves out from the loud palace to the more down to earth surrounding of the commoners.

Rajamouli has without doubt set a new benchmark on size and scale and buffeting it with strong special effects sheen like never before. And whether the question that was whatsApp rage joke for the last one year all one can say it is silly but smart marketing. Your jaws won’t drop for sure.

But the jaws will drop for sure with pride and surprise when cows with flaming horns charge or when Prabhas creates a lasting image as he strides lithe and agile over an elephant. Do watch it with the kids who have never read the Amar Chitra Katha or Chandamama and have been fed on a diet of superman and Spiderman movies. They will be enamoured.

And the birthday continues

Consequential to my birthday wishes write ups a friend probably wanting to sacrifice me at the altar of friendship messaged me to please give a hug to the better three fourths on her behalf and so ... ....

The thunder storms reflected the turmoil within . Tasked by a friend  with an unusual commitment to transfer a hug I had worked for 3 hours to draw up the blue print. How does one do it ?

Wracked my brain for another 2 hours to extract close encounters  of the hug kind almost two decades back and gameplan on how it could be done . More like war games actually .

Hug from the right shoulder to shoulder buddy style and a quick 'your friend gave a hug'.

Or

perhaps more like a religious hug with lots of smiles and kind words praising the lord .

This was tortuous but had to be done.

"Hello listen "The subject stopped in her tracks expecting some berating and readied self defense with a glare.

'Listen . No actually not listen . Here take this '

Arms spread out . But no reciprocation . She actually takes a martial arts defensive stance.

" What are you doing ? "

" Well ', edging more closer to envelop the being .

" WAIT ' a shocked troubled, perturbed and irked voice and irritated face in an unusual combination emerged

" Is this some trick - I am not in a mood for those lousy childlike antics . Even Virohan has give up those "

'Uh' I said , warily backing off

"What then ?"

" You know that Nandita   she wrote that a hug needs to be transferred to you ..so"

" WHAT?" I knew then when a what comes in bold and caps it is over

" Are you nuts?. You should tell her she can hug me when she meets me . Why all this electronic mail transfer "

"Yes I say meekly you are right " and back off actually relieved

"WAIT" again in bold and caps she screams

I stop in my tracks

'Why are you relieved?'

 The startling ringing  tone of a strident phone saves me and I escape .....!!!

FB saves me !

Facebook notification wakes me up. Let Sarita Navindutt Rao know what you are thinking of her !
I mean like has FB gone mad. I am supposed to tell her what I think of her? 'Pagal kutte ne kaata hain kya ?'

Incredibly disturbed that FB was now trying to rake up matrimonial disharmony I reread the notification and heaved a sigh of relief.

It read ' Let Sarita know you are thinking of her'
Clever. Aah ! They had read my mind and removed the 'What'

I went across to her this morning and told her I was thinking of her.  She looked at me like something the cat had brought in.

"What ?" She asked in a dramatic fashion followed by an emphatic Mumbaiyaa " Kuch Bhi "

I said " Look my social life governance manager directed me to say so"

"What ??? . And who is that? "  disbelieving  perhaps that someone actually wanted to manage her husbands social life.

" I mean like the social network site that I visit and obey daily"

" Hmmmm. Is that just what you read? or something else?"

I was now unsure. Was this a trap? Had she sent me a message that I had missed? But she is not on FB so was unsure what she was alluding to.

Her hands on her waist now . Oh oh .. Not a good sign..pursed lips...the situation was getting worse...nostrils flaring..this was real bad now....

" Perhaps you may want to consider getting your social life managed by your son? "

"Why?" I asked meekly

" Because he wished me a happy birthday this morning and that a part of the prelude to the notification was perhaps lost on you??? " She glared hands pressing hard into a poor lemon she was trying to squeeze the juice of. The lemon begged for forgiveness but then I am digressing.

I looked at my son. He looked calmly nonchalantly at his laptop screen pretending to be delving deep into quantum mechanics trying hard to ignore his betrayal of his father. They guy had sucked up serious brownie points by being the lone ranger to wish in the family. He tried hard not to meet my stare lest it lead to a financial grave for his next pocket money dole out.

I turned back to my wife " Look that is a different issue. I was meaning to surprise you "

" Surprise ??? . When?  After the day is over ? " She glared back shocked

" Errr , I was planning to join hands with Brutus err I mean Virohan and actually take you to Komala's for lunch'

" Komala's ...even today"   I knew now I had gone 9 feet deep digging.

" No look forget the lunch, let's go for a walk in the nature park"

" And do what ? Look at you staring into the lovely pixellated eyes of a dragon fly ? ....NO ! "

Ok Sarita .. I get the point....and went back to my laptop

The social governance manager had refreshed.

Today is Sarita's birthday. Hope you have wished her well

Ooooppss......I rushed back

" Happy Birthday Sarita. Have a great day "

The Pat

The PAT

Watched as a mother gently patted her baby on the back to help it burp. The baby duly executed it and then leaned back carefully to smile gratefully. I think these are the first of the touch gestures in a human life which can be interpreted.

Watched as a Principal patted all the children on the back during an award ceremony. In the course of the routine the principal forgot to pat one of the children and after having collected his reward the child stood there unsure if the ritual of appreciation had been fully completed.  The principal quickly recognized the need and extended the gesture which cost him nothing but a physical move and yet he had made one more little being happier for life.

Then that pat on the back of the head. These can groove in two categories. The happy and the Ouch! Remember dad lightly patting you on the head for a probable misdemeanor, the intention being to chide without really being mean. But the more serious pats on the head can draw the ire of the mother who rants loudly about how the brain can get damaged. “Please slap him if you want, not on the head” and you look for the fastest way out of the room not sure if your mom is really your best friend.

There are those guerilla type teachers who rush in on cheating students and execute the pat on the back or a pat on the head to indicate that indiscrete tactics will not go unnoticed.

A soft pat on the head is also welcome as symbolic of critical affection.

I have had celebs who patted me on the back when amused with something I said or wrote and then that stays with you for a longtime. The recognition stamped for posterity with a pat.

I am always wary of the types who launch into hard destabilizing pats to establish their boisterous nature and shout to the world of how popular and comical they are. Usually these pats are accompanied by a loud guffaw.

 Amusingly pats in official settings are used to establish dominance. It is understandable when a senior pats you affectionately on the back for a job well done. Motivates you for the next 3.5 weeks. But then you squirm when unusually a peer out of the blue pats you to establish a dominant position in the relationship. And you wonder if you are going to hear of the elevation soon. It is funny sometimes to see people trying to out pat each other. The guy who gets to pat first gets into Square A.

I vividly remember things not going too well when the President of a western country tried to vociferously pat an equally strong president of a rival nation. The intention was to create bonhomie but with a clear intent to set the ranking straight.

The most insightful pointer on pats came from a psychological study that said that people who patted each other while hugging wanted the hug to end soon and the pat was a hint.

And all these days I thought it meant I like this guy and you did a good job. Need to watch out for that one.

So the final questions is what does one do when one pats oneself on the back or someone tells you to pat yourself on the back. Need to ask them if they meant it in an affectionate way or critically or just a proxy appreciation.

It must really mean work for the brain as it decodes every pat depending

Viewer ka dimag aur critic ka writing :)

I have always disagreed with morals behind movies glorifying evil gangsters who have harmed societies in more ways than one can imagine. The clinical argument is that it is storytelling and that cannot be compartmentalized in a free society. Yes. So we get a version of SRK’s Agneepath. The little myopic boy who gets his dose of life’s philosophy from his mother – no business is small and there is no right way of living or religion bigger than business. Yes right but mother forgot to add that crime, bootlegging, murders do not constitute right conduct of society for a business.

But then that is swept under the carpet and little boy hurt by a society that calls him ‘battery’( a term that is used for belittling bespectacled youngsters) decides to hit back with his brains of a businessman collaboratively with his daring. Rising from a small gangster to a name to reckon with the story vaguely trails the shadows of a real life gangster.

There is no real flesh to the story other than staged action scenes and one liners intended to draw the whistles of the crowd a scene reminiscent of the movies in the 70s and 80s when heroes spouted more dialogues than bullets to fell gangsters. All smashups were accompanied by furious warnings in dialogues cloaked with the foreseeable danger for those challenging.

There is a surprising screen time carefully reserved for Nawazuddin Siddique a police inspector who seems to gun for the anti hero more out of personal spite than the need to do the society good. But he also gets impressive one liners. Actually the one liners are less smart than the spiffiness he delivers it with. We end up wishing he was around more often and with more to do than sip tea.

To be truthful the movie does begin interestingly with narration and direction that reminds you it is of Rahul Dholakia who has a realistic Parzania in his resume. But the script trails off mid way unsure of what it wants to achieve. Its protagonist who appears to be cocksure of himself in the beginning seems to be faltering at the altar of a more powerful mafia dom that seems to get the better of him. So are we supposed to feel sympathetic ? They add in a religious angle to convince the audience that the gangster was almost a social do gooder when he was not gunning people down.

Our heart goes out to Mahira Khan who is thoroughly wasted in the movie and have watched her emote much more effectively in soaps from her country, it appears that both the director and she were more than a tad bit careful of how to portray her. So she cautiously smiles, embraces and dances without full involvement.

And then there is that super talented Zeeshan who is reduced to mouthing dialogues and emoting very ordinarily. He could have been used more effectively.
The most annoying part of the movie are the songs which stick out like sore thumbs all through the screenplay derailing the story and any tightness the director managed to build in leading to a watchable climax.

Topping it all is SRK himself who holds back well in the first half and delivers a bravura performance though certainly not his best. Yet he has never looked this good before unless one counts the Swades look.

The art direction is uniform, detailed and good save for digital phones and duplex board Ship matches which one suspects did not exist in the 80s and early 90s

A healthy budgeted movie laboring under a unsure director, script that seems to have been delivered in mixed up packets, great artistes and music that one could do without , one cannot wait to choke on the climax and exit with a Viewer ka dimag aur critic ka writing

✯✯1/2

'Dangaling' a fine artistic carrot !

Drenched in unflinching commitment to realistic portrayal Dangal makes no effort to grab your eyeballs. Instead it just executes and waits for your silent jaw dropped applause.

In the spirit of other sports movies in India before it be it Chak de ( the story pulsates throughout the movie ) and the more commercial Sultan and I was told also Saala khaddoos , Dangal has to work hard to break the story stereo typing and emerge more impressive.

Riding high on the task of battling social restrictions and a bias that stares at women in some parts of the country it is more an important film making a statement for emancipation of women and release them into a highly competitive uncharacteristic vocation and driving the spike into the ground to establish the possibility and its resounding success.

I did feel a sense of already knowing what was in store by watching the teasers which gave more than a fair sneak into the storyline but the utterly realistic portrayal by the four girls and the man of the moment himself Aamir makes up for any dissatisfaction that may arise from lack of major wow moments

The relationships between the characters have been painfully etched and that makes up for most of the story making them compelling persona in the minds of the viewers. Turning his lack of joy over having no male kids the wrestler is obsessed with training his girls much to the consternation of the society in a field which is more difficult than shocking due to the physical nature of the sports. But the girls simply roll over all hinderances with born ease and sizzle their way to international fame.

The controversial elements of how the sports bodies actually work are glossed over with surprising lack of detail and a slip into melodramatic speech by the father and the authorities turning emotional which is a far cry from how it must have happened

But you desperately want to overlook and instead cheer the girls to international victory

The fights are simple outstanding and never have I seen more realistic action and one can only
imagine the extent of efforts that must have gone into the shoot. Be it Aamir's own efforts making his 50 year body look like a 25 year olds without any prosthetic help and then casually turn into an aging fathers pot bellied visage or the little girls who train and turn into the young adult stars in wrestling , applause is a must.

Specially look out for the duel between the father and the daughter at one point . The scene rates as one of the finest in recent times bringing out a heady mix of emotion , physical battle, making a statement and bonding.

It may not surprise you with any wow moments and only leave you impressed only with the expert cast but the films deserves the standing cheers that it gets at the end simply for its trail blazing contribution to give the girls and women of our country their rightful place in society

It will be surprising if the movie does not bring a change in society in a small way

The background score is expectedly suitable ( Pritam) and the dull sets irk you a bit as also the Rajnikant stunt like lapses of frozen and slow mo action which is absolutely unnecessary

Aamir and his cast deserve your attention if you have not already been to the box office

***1/2