A Delightful Tale!

A Poster of the Film

Thank you Walt Disney and UTV Motion Pictures for "The Untold Story of India’s Greatest Warrior"!

“Where there is truth, there is victory”. Arjun: The Warrior Prince begins with the dictum. The fact is, director Arnab Chaudhuri’s animated venture on one of the most sought after handsome hunks of the Indian epic is a film made from the heart and there lies its victory. The film however is neither a B.R. Chopra like never ending tale nor a multicultural blend à la Peter Brook.

The film begins in medias-res. The Bildungsroman narrative has for its narrator, a beautiful woman, who indulges in telling the story of a brave warrior Arjun to a little boy. The film captures the lives of the megalomaniac Kauravas and the victims of Fate, the Pandavas, and their lust for power. It is circumscribed around the character of Arjun, the most eligible disciple of Acharya Drona and the lessons he learns during his journey from innocence to experience. From being a mere prince who is afraid of bloodshed, he emerges as a courageous warrior, a dedicated brother and an avenger of his wife’s humiliations. Rajesh Devraj’s editing suits the need of the film and the abridged story telling is done intelligently not to meander unnecessarily, giving the film the much required crispy and edgy structure.

This animated version of the epic dares not to compete with its Western counterparts. The technology is brilliant as fas as Indian standards of animation goes and if you looking for a Madagascar, or an Ice Age or a Toy Story, I’m afraid, beware! There are a few scenes which talk about the superb efforts in technical departments. Arjun’s archery while shooting the golden fish during  Panchali’s swayamvara is a spectacular watch and so is the climax. The rich use of colours and  shades of grey are cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi’s magic. Vishal Shekhar’s music is apt for a heroic tale and the melody of the voices of the characters adds to the flavour. Yuddvir Bokaliya’s Arjun, Sachin Khedekar’s Lord Krishna or Ila Arun’s Kunti are music to the ears.

Aimed primarily for the children, the film however shows gory violence and bloodshed on screen. The patriarchal world gains an upper hand in the narrative yet the director includes gender issues brilliantly. Look out for the intelligent mix of the ‘male’ bravery and the ‘female’ façade in the narrator. For an animated text that this film is, Arnab Chaudhuri merges several issues along with the stellar visuals to instruct as well as to delight his audience.

The narrative, both pre and post intermission is a mark of craftsmanship. However, behind the narrative and the treatment, the original essence of the epic gets somewhat blurred. For a tale of betrayal, revenge, deceit, love, passion and power that the multi layered epic provides, Arjun: The Warrior Prince fails to rise above the average. Apart from Arjun’s trajectory, nothing really evolves. Even the gallery of such brilliant characters of the epic remains somewhat stagnant. Except for a Gandhari who is taller than Dhritrashtra and a Machiavellian Shakuni mama, the other characters remain flat.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince is a refreshing change. Its faults and fissures can easily be overlooked considering the change it has brought to animation in the country. The film promises a visual treat and a thrilling dénouement, and focuses on newer dimensions in Arjuna’s portrayal, and these are reasons enough to see what it takes to be brave. Bravery is not embedded in the brawn but in the brain and this underrated animation brings this reality home.

Enjoy your stay!

Kolkata surely has lost her share of good English movies. With hardly a few movies running in the city theatres, we are not left with an option to hop theatres for a new English release. With occasional releases like The Avengers, Kolkata seems to say “That time of the year thou may’st in me behold” a good English film. Intermittently, of course, we come across such feel-good movies like John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: for the elderly and beautiful. A tapestry of human relations, an exploration of old age and a saga of loneliness, the film delves into the hearts of the audience; and although it relies heavily on the exoticism of India, yet the portrayal is unpretentious. With a simple story, episodic lives, riot of colours and sounds and an ensemble that shines throughout, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is basically a celebration of love.

A “group of self-deluding old fossils” who have “outsourced” their retirement decide to visit a less expensive country like India, to have a slice of the exotic Jaipur. The hotel promises a luxurious stay when searched on the internet. However, when they arrive in Jaipur at the hotel, they face the worst. The photo-shopped images never revealed a  dilapidated building where phones are out of order. Even the platters of otherwise exotic Rohan Gosht kind of Indian dishes do not provide  any solace to their gastronomical disasters. In their struggle to cope with the adverse circumstances, masks unveil and relationships mature. Evelyn (Judi Dench), Graham (Tom Wilkinson), Muriel (Maggie Smith), Douglas (Bill Nighy), Jean (Penelope Wilton), Madge (Cilia Imrie) and Norman (Ronald Pickup) live under one roof till their lives intersect and they are ready to fight their own battles with themselves.

Evelyn has lost her husband recently only to survive his debts. Graham, a retired court judge, disappears everyday in the morning  to visist a particular place. Muriel, a retired housekeeper flies to India to have her hip replaced at a lesser expense. Douglas and Jean have waged their money for their daughter. Madge needs another man in her life and Norman still struggles for a date and either sees a sexologist or reads Kama Sutra. The film depicts how each of these characters evolve amidst the barriers in a new country. Evelyn takes up a job as a cultural advisor at a call centre to teach its employees how to talk to elders. Douglas soaks in the flavours of the city visiting temples and forts. A racist Muriel finally comes closer to her maid, an Indian woman who is supposedly ‘untouchable’ . The scene where Muriel talks about her own trials to the maid who does not understand her language is a master stroke. Even the Indian doctor who is supposed to translate Muriel remains silent and the audience realizes the pathos of these two women who  share a simliar predicament, irrespective of their colour, language and a social upbringing. Madge presents herself at a hotel as Princess Margaret, unaware that the Princess had actually died nine years ago, until the manager mocks at her effort. Her desperate efforts to find a man lands her up with Norman. Things do not materialise between them and Norman falls in love with Carol, (“as in Christmas Carol”, he says to woo her), played by Diana Hardcastle. Graham is a homosexual, “a gay more in theory than in practice” and we come to know how he had been brought up in India and how he had disgraced his lover’s family in his youth, which he still repents. As he confronts Manoj’s wife, he is astounded to realise how Manoj had revealed the greatest truth of their lives to her. They reconcile but Graham dies of a heart attack and Jean’s momentary admiration for Graham reaches newer heights. Jean doesn’t change, the only character who remains constant in her angst, her dislike for  everything good until she asks Douglas to return to Evelyn, with whom he had fallen in love. Jean realises the futility of their marriage and only in her arrival at the truth does she shine.

Sunny (Dev Patel) is the manager of the hotel. In his garrulous self, we find a man of conviction. He tries to make a man of himself, staying rooted in the hotel which had been started by his father. Unlike his elder brothers, he stays in Jaipur and dreams to make it big. Inspite of the constant railings by her mother (Lilette Dubey), he stands for his dream and chases his love Sunaina (Tara Desae). Muriel goes through the accounts of the hotel and talks to a businessman. She comes across as a Messiah who saves Sunny’s dream and his hotel and offers herself as the Assistant Manager. The film ends with Sunny and Sunaina riding a bike when they cross Evelyn and Douglas on a moped. Such a brilliant frame capturing the two generations united in love is the triumph of the film. It ends on a note of love and it promises a dawn for the elderly people who, in their quest for the best and the exotic, confronts the worst and fights their occidental ghosts.

The film is a riot of sights and sounds. Ben Davis captures Jaipur with her gamut of  richness and colours. The din and the bustle of the city provides a stark contrast to the lives of the elders. A fusion of the indian and wetern music by Thomas Newman soothes your ears and the Classical instrumentals in the background complement the essence of the film. The performers add to the verve and the Evelyn’s blog in the narrative functions like a tale told by an elder to her grandchild before the afternoon nap.

The film might seem to tread a stereotypical path in the depiction of India as exotic, but it treats the subjects with an  astute Indian-ness. Formulaic and sometimes clichéd, the film blends humour with the tragic, wit and irony, love-lorns with love(s) in a comforting scale. The performances alone are worth the two hours.

If love is what you seek, if love is what redeems, if love is what resurrects, go by my “advertisement” and trust me, you will not be lured into a trap. Book a room and enjoy your stay!

RGV, DEPART-MAN!!

Big B in Department

Shiva ushered in a director in Bollywood who would go on to change the definition of film-making in the country. Satya made him the one of the  leading no-nonsense directors of Bollywood. Ram Gopal Verma. The master mind behind such cinematic delights as Raat, Satya, Rangeela and Company surely should think of retirement; it’s time he lets go of his schizoid techniques especially his cinematographic details and should defintely wash his hands off as a story-teller. Department, the latest RGV factory product is another washout. Even the innovative cinematographic approaches can not help the film from dwindling into oblivion.

Think of every possible frames and shots that can be taken. Long shots, close-ups, jump cuts and intercuts might seem interesting in the first few frames but become so repelling for the audience as the film proceeds that you fear treading inside the zip of a goon or peeping into the cleavage of a roadside woman. With RGV, every impossibilty can become possible. These trysts  with cinematic techniques are a new addition to his films, sound being his earlier forte. Initially they look new, but as the story (as in, the lack of it) proceeds, it takes a toll on the audience.

Every performer in the film disappoints. Amitabh Bachchan (Sirji Rao), Sanjay Dutt (Mahadev) and Rana Daggubati (Shiv). Even the slitherines, Abhimanyu Singh (DK) and Madhu Shalini (Naseer) do not help. Vijay Raaz (Sawatiya) tries to shine in the ensemble, but the screenplay has nothing much to add to his credentials. And the two lady-loves, Anjana Sukhani (Bharati) and Lakshmi Manchu (Satya) do eaxctly what they are best suited to do, provide support to their counterparts and shower love. The cop-and-underworld story blurs the distiction between good and evil. But the actors are so non chalant, that the audience fails to decipher the essence of RGV’s vision.

M. Ravichandran Thevar, Siddhartha More, Zaryan Patel, Sapan Narula and Harshraj Shroff are the cinemtographers. They rock and roll and have a gala time moving the cameras according to the whimsical wishes of their director. The music department provides no relief either; Bappi Lahiri, Vikram Magi and Dharam-Sandeep, even the worst item song ever done, Dan Dan on Nathalia Kaur, goes haywire. And Vinay Abhijit’s editing needs no mention at all. Well, when the captain of the ship is self-obsessed, his crew can harldy sail.

Department is a royal pain. And only if you have an eye for fashion, look at the bell tinkling on the wrist of Bachchan. His fashion faux-pas is RGV’s delight and so can be yours! As for the rest of the things, do not even dare to sit through the DVD of the film. You would surely not like to put your physiological departments at stake!

Ram Gopal Verma, it’s high time, Depart-Man!!