My thoughts on Zinadgi Na Milegi Dobarra (ZNMD)

I saw this movie last night. And as it was pointed out by a friend, more than dissecting the movie, I would like to present some thoughts on the movie.

Firstly, the movie has a very high production value. As pointed out in an article, almost like a chic flick, but with men. There is no intricate story to it other than three friends rediscovering themselves and each other in a trip to Spain. The cinematography is serene and breath taking. You almost feel like you are there in many of the shots and hence you tend to really feel certain emotions they go through.

Well with this said and done, I would like to present an alternate perspective. We talk of movies like Delhi Belly, Shaitan or its predecessor Paanch, which unfortunately never saw the light of day, as movies which are a bad influence on society and tend to glamorize all the wrong things. What with Delhi Belly with the innumerable profanities, Shaitan with its show of an urban reckless lifestyle and Paanch depicting a group of youth who have to turn to desperate measures to secure a future.

Sure this can influence the wrong way. But history is proof that a majority positive influence can also be negative for a few people. This is evident by a renegade youth who ended up assassinating the father of our nation. But with all due respect, these movies, even though fictional, are depicting a certain truth about our society. Delhi Belly is what I would like to call a tad over the top representation of young urban India, of a particular kind, which are put into extraordinary situations. A large section of our masses may maintain a similar, if not exact, lifestyle. Shaitan also shows a reckless lifestyle enjoyed by a lot of our youths which is evident by the drunk driving mishaps that occur. Also the kidnapping bit is taken from a real case that happened in suburban Mumbai a few years ago. You can look that up. Paanch was a movie which was extremely ahead of its time considering it was ready for release in the early part of the last decade. I wouldn't like to go much into it but lets just say that the censor board and the audience has probably matured a lot since then to get impacted by it in a way that it was supposed to back then.

So you ask why am I comparing these movies to ZNMD? I would like you guys to pay attention to some negatives, which I observed. I am not demanding a ban on it, but hear me out and give me your thoughts. Firstly, only may be five percent of this country tends to enjoy the lifestyle that is portrayed by the three lead characters. Not quite the majority. But then again, movies not necessarily need to represent a majority. And after all movie making is termed as the business of selling dreams. This dream in particular can have drastic consequences if not tracked right.

I remember watching Dil Chahta Hai (DCH) back in college. At the time, the idea of going off to Goa one night in a Mercedes open top convertible looked so cool. We also made pacts within our friends that we will do this some time. But over time there was a realization that we might not have 'thee' car or the time to do such impulsive trips. We all have accepted it and moved on to face reality. But could it be possible that some youngsters at the time were also influenced the same but did not grow out of it?

This movie can have a similar impact. Farhan Akhtar had justified at the time of DCH that he can relate to only that class of society because he has grown up with it. I have nothing against you. But you have to realize Mr. Akhtar, that some of the youngsters might be taking home the wrong message. As I mentioned, the remaining ninety five percent does not live such life styles. Almost one third of that population may have never been outside this country and the other one third barely manages to squeeze some vacations into their lives. The last one third might be frequently going abroad but can no way afford the vacation these guys had.

Remember back in school we were made to wear uniforms? No fancy hair dos or what ever. Do you remember why this was enforced? One of the reasons was for the affluent to not influence the other children around. This is what could be possibly happening with such brand of movies as well. Barring the emotional moments, the affluence and the carelessness towards money is clearly a bad influence on our majority population. Especially the youth. Not to mention the picture perfect actors playing the parts. That adds to the self consciousness of the masses.

In a country where a significant number of people are just able to make ends meet, such show of grandeur can lead to grave consequences. An impressionable youth can take home all the wrong messages and keep unrealistic goals for himself or herself. This can make them aggressive professionals, perpetually depressed for not reaching that goal or may be worse. One possible reason for the spread of organized crime could have possibly been the show of affluence around with a major population still reeling in poverty. Such disparity can cause people to revolt.

I might sound too pessimistic in my perspective about a beautiful work of art. But to me, an influence of unreasonable opulence can equally lead to far reaching impacts as much as few profanities, smoking a cigarette on screen, or the portrayal of violence can.

Review of 'The Figther'

Having being in contention for the Oscars and having won a couple, was a good enough reason to see this movie. It did not win the best picture award but Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Oscars for their supporting parts. I will be coming to Christian Bale's performance in detail.

As the name suggests it is a story about boxing. It is the tale of Dickie Ecklund, a New England welterweight champion and brother of WBU World Champion Micky Ward. Well half brother. The movie isn't named 'The Fighter, just because of the boxing aspect, but there are a lot of psychological turmoils the main protagonist, that is Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, has to go through. Not just him, but many other supporting characters as well. It is the story of how Micky, through the inspiration, support and training of his brother Dickie, played by Christian Bale, become a champion boxer.

This movie is made in a very natural and real style with very natural acting. It almost feels like you are watching a documentary of sorts at times. Quite unconventional for the kind of movie it is. Generally you would see boxing movies associated with a lot of drama and style. But the lack of it both, for me, was the USP of the film. In fact even the emotional scenes in the movie are done very natural without it being too dramatic. The family set up the way it has been shown naturally provides a lot drama. The end is dramatic yes. But well a feature film wouldn't be one, if there isn't even a hint of drama. The emotional quotient did hit me. But its very subtle and natural. I wasn't crying my eyes out but I was definitely left with a smile by the end of it.

Mark Wahlberg does a fine job of an upcoming boxer coming to terms with his family, mainly his brother and mother, and then winning a title. Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming who is Micky's girl friend,and now wife, also does a fine job. She plays the role of a woman who can speak her mind and stand up for what she believes in and does it pretty efficiently. Special mention for Melissa Leo who plays Alice Ward, Micky's mother. She has done a fine job of a mother who also acts as his manager. A strong, protective mother who is in denial and who learns the error of her ways.

Last but not least, Christian Bale. I mean what can I say. I just reviewed another movie of his last week. I am amazed and in awe of this actor. I mean the conviction with which he prepares and enacts a role is just magnificent. He had again lost weight for this movie to look like a pot head. The look and then the body language and the entire performance makes you believe he is a pot head. Your heart goes out to him when he learns the error of his ways. He has given a power packed performance and the emotional range and skill he has shown is brilliant. Watch out for the end just before the credits. His last few lines got tears to my eyes. Imdb.com apparently mentions that he actually had gotten emotional in that scene. That shows true conviction and preparation for a performance. This actor is seeming to grow on me.

A movie which talks about achieving your goals, realizing mistakes, mending your ways and standing up for what you believe in. Apart from Bale's performance, the main attraction is the story telling and direction. The director David O Russell has tried to keep it as real as possible. Please, if you like good cinema, watch 'The Fighter'.

My Review of 'The Machinist'

I had been told and also heard a lot about the movie 'The Machinist'. First off I had heard about Christian Bale's performance and the preparation he went through for this movie by loosing almost 60 pounds and looking anorexic through out the movie. The conviction is commendable. Then I also came across the name of this movie through a lot of web sites recommending mind bending movies with a lot of food for thought. I looked up the movie on imdb.com, and that was enough persuasion for me to watch the movie.

The movie starts off on a high note. Like a lot of such kind of movies, it starts off with the climax. It leaves you definitely glued to know what that was all about. But as the movie progresses you start to get a feeling where this is going. I guess the director wanted to tell the story by giving the viewer an idea about the twist way early. But you definitely aren't aware why this is happening. That is what keeps you sticking around for more. There are lot of twists which are brought in to keep you guessing as to exactly what is going on and why. But as I mentioned, you do have an idea as to what it can be.

To a certain extent this movie was confusing to me because as a storyline there was an element of mystery but it wasn't told in a highly gripping fashion. Some times you just get restless wondering what is the reason why this is happening cause you have kind of guessed it. So I was expecting a message, a comment on the society at large. The movie does talk about a machinist in the contemporary time, who is suffering from something. The constant washes with the bleach, the insomnia, the loner attitude. It gave me a feeling that it was the directors take on modern urban living where in people are surrounded but are still lonely, especially in America. Gave me a feeling of how I might turn out if I were to end up alone in life.

But I beg to differ as to how an incident can have such an impact on a persons brain for so long without going noticed. I guess what the director, Brad Anderson, was going for was a dramatic portrayal of sorts. Of how incidents in life can have an impact on your brain. That is the reason why this movie wasn't convincing enough. I guess this judgment could be also marred cause of the expectation I was having out of this movie. Or if may be the suspense would have been much tighter, it might have been a good thriller with a decent message too towards the end.

The high point of this movie is definitely Christian Bale. This guy shows true conviction to the part by loosing 60 pounds for this role. I cant even begin to imagine what he might have had to do to get that size and then post the shooting, to regain his shape. He has always been a good actor but this movie sold me on his conviction. I am definitely looking forward to seeing his other movies and also his upcoming movies.

I would definitely recommend you watch this movie. The high ratings are justified based on performances, direction and also the level of suspense that is there. But the story telling could have been different which could have made it more gripping. As I mentioned, may be I am not seeing it the way it is meant to be. Nonetheless, definitely a must see.

Bokya saat bande... not just a movie...

I just finished watching a marathi movie by the name of 'Bokya Saat Bande'. This movie marks the debut of Sanjay Narvekar's son. He plays the title role of 'Bokya'. A nickname he aquires within his colony where he lives. This movie is based on a story by the great Dilip Prabhavalkar. He also has one principal role in the movie of an aged man living in the colony. For people who don't know, he is a well known artist in the marathi film, theatre and television scene. And also, he played Mahatma Gandhi in the movie 'lage raho munnabhai'. Well what can I say about this movie. Its one of those movies that makes you wonder what have you achieved in your time? How do you react when a kid who barely is learning to understand the world around him, can put himself in other peoples shoes and try and understand them better. More than the ability to understand, it was the ability to act on that understanding and work towards trying to make a change. We as adults claiming to be more mature and understanding some times fail to go that extra mile to actually get that change. I personally am one of those who constantly gets bothered by the evils in society and keeps arguing over it with family and friends. But what am I actually doing to get that change? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This school going kid on the other hand understands the plight of an old couple who don't interact much with people in the colony. A chance meeting sparks this kids thoughts and he enquires to find out that the son of that old couple resides in the states and sends them money on and off. He finds out they don't have a hearty dinner cause they are too bored to cook just for themselves. He gathers food from a party at his own house very meticulously and delivers it personally to them and you can see the content in his face when he sees the old couple enjoying the meal like children. Such noble thoughts. Even we as adults don't end up acting like that. We put too much pressure on ourselves by doubting our moves and thinking what will the person think or whether we will be taken advantage of and so on and so forth. even the movie talks about this aspect. A kid who doesn't understand relationships as well, understands that when his mother shouts at her maid, she will end up taking that anger out on her children. And seeing the basic sensitivity in a 10 12 year old boy, that children belonging to the under privileged class also deserve the same happiness and things in life that we as the privileged enjoy, is amazing and humbling. He starts off a school for such children with the help of some people and some of his friends in the colony. They decide do this as their pet project in the summer holidays. I was teary eyed because I always thought the same myself. But I do not have the ability to do something so radical about it. I guess with age, when we loose our innocence, we also loose the ability to look at the obvious and then over complicate and over think a situation. Growing up you learn a lot. But sometimes may be a little too much than needed. Never the less, please catch this movie if you can.

what is going on?

We as humans are awarded as the most intelligent and hence the dominant species on the planet. Some people would go on to believe that is true all over the universe. That too, without considering the fact that we don't understand this universe completely as yet and also totally disregarding the laws of statistics. But that is an all together different debate.

From what I have just mentioned, one thing seems certain. Our kind is not definitely a commonly occurring one. As of now, the only known species in the universe that has such an evolved brain. A brain that has seen the human race exponentially grow. That too according to some experts, twice. Once also before the last ice age. No other animal has been able to compete with the human mental ability . Law of nature. Forced mutation by aliens. We being an alien race altogether? The theories are endless. Not just the brain. We had been strategically given opposable thumbs. This gives us the ability to hold and maneuver things the way we like it. We are bipeds compared to most species who are quadrupeds. But the most distinctive feature must definitely have to be the brain. I mean by the looks of it, these physical features might have held us back by a couple of hundred years may be to soem extent. But eventually the brain would have been able to figure out.

So the question that arises to me is, why this extra powerful brain? We as individuals, constantly try to look for purpose. But the purpose for most us stops at the usual. Educate. Work. Marry. Procreate. Grow old. May be live a little. Die. I do not know about you but reading it like this doesn't make it sound any different from an animal's life. I mean yes, animals don't take formal education and work in corporate. Man made systems to pursue the basic need of survival. Other animals though do learn hunting when growing up, keeping away from predators, and well any thing else that is needed to survive. So in a sense, our live's don't seem to be all that different.

So why have we been given this mega super brain. And if it had a limited scope, it would have been fine. But just look at us today. What all have we achieved. In the name of making things easier, business and just plain curiosity, what all we have created and understood around us.

But has anybody stopped to ask one question, WHY? If any body is to say that like everything in nature and the world we are here to play our part and go. Would any body care to explain what that part is? And after that, play our part for WHAT? I am not being proud of the human race, but based on what I have already discussed about the differences between the human race and everything else, why have we been blessed? Or may be cursed? Why this curiosity? Why this need to learn about our origins? Why the need to learn about the origins of the universe? Why the need to learn about all the possible details that can be there? Why doesn't anybody find out what is the purpose of all this discovery, innovation and progress?

It perplexes me sometimes as to what I am doing? And why am I doing it? If we are meant to play our part in this ever expansive universe, I wonder what is the reason for pursuit of this knowledge and the curiosity to know why, what and when? Leave it be and consider it a 'natural phenomenon' and move on with life. This human life which gives us with a highly developed brain, also brings us the evil of asking questions for which probably no one has answers. Or if any one does, it is difficult for mere mortals like myself to understand.