SUPERMEN OF MALEGAON (HINDI DOCUMENTARY) (2012)

Documentaries, as a genre, are popular among audience in many countries across the world and even find theatrical releases just as regular feature films. However, in India, most cinephiles would remember documentaries as those dull productions from the Films Division of India that preceded their much awaited movies at the theaters. Many others may also recognise them as part of staple programming during an ancient era when that solitary state channel - Doordarshan - ruled the roost in Indian Television. Quite often, these documentaries were used by the ruling dispensation as effective Weapons of Mass Diversion (WMD) to influence a captive audience who were bereft of choice. Consequently, the genre of documentaries never found much favour with the general public and have withered away with the onset of satellite television which subjected them to a deluge of 24*7 news and entertainment channels.

Supermen of Malegaon is a novel enterprise that successfully weds the supposedly drab genre of documentary to that great opiate of Indian masses, viz. cinema. It is, indeed, a travesty that most mainstream media references to Indian cinema in this centenary year are restricted to that singular monolith called Bollywood, save for a few exceptions who may make (at best) a passing reference to the many strands of regional cinema that are churned out from the several & lesser cousin "woods" (Tollywood(s), Kollywood, Sandalwood, Mollywood, et al.). 

Few of us would be aware that there exist an even more micro strand in the realms of Indian cinema called local cinema. I, for one, was totally ignorant of such a species of movies prior to watching this documentary. Local cinema emerges from the numerous small towns across India and is fuelled by little else other than the indomitable spirit of cinephiles who have this ardent passion to make movies which are predominantly consumed locally. 

This brilliant hour long documentary, directed by Faiza Ahmed Khan, chronicles the travails of one such strand local cinema of Malegaon, a small town in Maharashtra which is about 300 km from Mumbai. It tells story of Sheikh Nasir and his rag-tag band of enthusiastic friends who assist him by associating themselves with various aspects of film-making. Armed with a single video camera, a computer and talents that are sourced locally, they make parodies of mainstream hits on what is essentially a shoe-string budget of upto Rs. 50,000/- per movie. These movies are screened in the ramshackle video parlours of Malegaon and are well received by an audience which find movies as their primary and perhaps, predominant source of entertainment after several hours of hard labour in the several power looms units which provide livelihood to most of the residents of this small town.

After finding an encouraging reception for their earlier movies such as Malegaon Ka Sholay, Malegaon Ka Shaan, etc., Nasir and his associates dare to parody a popular Hollywood superhero movie, viz. Superman. The documentary captures the making of this ambitious project which despite being constrained by limited resources, is however, realised through their boundless imagination, toil and also some essential desi jugaad. The project is beset with several setbacks and challenges and how Nasir and his team overcome them is presented with a light humour throughout. Simultaneously, we are also presented with a close look at the harsh realities of their existence clouded by privations and penury. 

Faiza and her crew remain keen observers of the unfolding events in all their details without in any way disturbing the milieu or the flow and consequently, neither the humour nor the sombre moments appear forced and they essentially flow from the reality of the situation itself. Faiza shuns that familiar urge of her counterparts in Bollywood and desists from reducing Nasir or his team as mere caricatures. Rather, she opts to present an authentic and very real account of their lives hard labour, limited means, their ambitious dreams, unflinching spirit and inventiveness with which they pursue those dreams which adds gravitas to the proceedings and engages the viewers. 

Supermen of Malegaon is an endearing watch that could effortlessly charm the viewer with its fine balance of dry humour and poignancy. It is also an ode to the passion and enthusiasm of independent film makers like Nasir and his team whose efforts who spare no effort to realise their dreams and to that extent are no less than the superhero they parody. 

The director Faiza Ahmed Khan and her team have won several accolades globally and one feels that they are so well deserved as the viewer is successfully transported to this small town for an entertaining and realistic rendezvous with Nasir and his motley band as they go about making their dream project. One only hopes that they present us with more such gems in the future and many more makers find inspiration from their success to venture on this road less travelled called documentaries. I, for one, hope that Faiza's (and even Nasir's) much more pampered and privileged peers from mainstream cinema watch Supermen of Malegaon and learn a thing or two about creativity and craft that sparkles in this accomplished work of art. Alas, it may be too much of a hope ......


A MUST WATCH FOR EVERY CINEPHILE !!

UPSIDE DOWN (2012)

In Upside Down, director Juan Diego Solanas presents us a romance set in sci-fi fantasy with Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst playing the leads. The film begins with a young Adam (Jim Sturgess) explaining the extra-ordinary setting of a dual planetary system he belongs to with two planets stacked one on top of the other. If you could remember that extra-ordinary scene in Inception where Ariadne (Ellen Page) tests her powers on a city road, it would be easy to visualise this setting where both these planets are literally a stone's throw from each other. The planet below is Down There which is a dump wears the look of a war ravaged zone and is populated by poor have-nots who can barely eke out a living. In contrast, the planet above, Up Top, bears an ultra swanky look with affluence all around. He also explains a set of principles which govern the physics of these two planets, viz. - 

• Both the planets have their own opposing gravity and matter from each planet is pulled by the respective gravity
• An object's weight can be offset by matter from the other world (inverse matter)
• Matter in contact with inverse matter starts burning after some time
• Any unauthorised contact with the residents of the other planet is strictly prohibited and is punishable

Despite their close proximity, they are connected by a singular high rise structure which connects both these worlds which is owned by a mega corporation from Up Top called Transworld which controls the affairs of both the planets. Transworld mines the resources of Down There and also allows the poor workers from the other planet to toil for the corporation for earning a livelihood. We also see that the tallest peaks of both the planets come very close to each other and this is where we see a young Adam, who is a resident of Down There chances upon Eden (Kristen Dunst) from the other planet. Their contacts grow in length and frequency and when one such extended contact is detected by security guards, it results in an accident in which Eden loses her memory of Adam. Ten years pass by without an event and Adam carries on with life under the presumption that Eden is lost/dead and is now working as a scientist in a workshop in Down There. One day, when he sees Eden in a TV show and finds out that she is now an employee at Transworld, his feelings for her are rekindled and he too joins as an employee of Transworld to meet her and to rediscover their lost love. The rest of the movie narrates the events unfolding in the lives of the protagonists following Adam's risky venture.   

This movie, in itself, has much in common with the dual contrasted planetary system it portrays. Despite the seemingly unlimited potential inherent in such an interesting premise, the movie never rises to reach its potential (a la Up Top) except in the case of visual splendour and plummets into an insipid romance (a la Down There) that redefines the term cheesy. The movie is further weighed down by an uninspired and apparently sleepwalking cast with the notable exception of the vivacious Timothy Spall who plays a lively cameo as Adam's co-worker. There is enough material in the premise to weave an engaging plot for some great romance between the leads from opposing worlds or even some well written drama or action thriller on class struggles. Alas, all Solanas and his co-writers could manage here is to barely scratch the surface, rather than to dig in deeper to come up with a more polished work. It is sadly ironic that a film which has gravity as its central premise is bogged down by a story and characters lacking the necessary gravitas !

The result is sadly apparent in a superficial, barely there plot, underwritten one-note characters and a grand opportunity that is squandered royally. Nevertheless, the movie does excel in presenting arresting visuals that are simply awesome in their imagination and execution which redeems it, if not wholly. Every frame of this movie is rich in beautifully crafted detail and presents picture postcard imagery which is simply dazzling. There are several stand-out scenes like the shot of an apparently endless office floor (and ceiling) full of cubicles   or the one in which Adam, to escape chasing cops, falls, nay, leaps up into a river as well as the one of a grand ballroom with dancers from either world swaying on their respective ends with a giant chandelier in the middle. 

 
Overall, this movie presents one of the most artistically sculpted exquisite and imaginative CGI visual splendours seen in recent times and would be a delight to watch on the big screen. If only the writers had put in even half the efforts of creating such visuals, we could have had a much better movie than what remains here as pure eye-candy that merely provides spectacular visual delights, but little else. If only ....

HOLLOW EYE (SIGH...) CANDY !!

DIVIDED WE FALL (MUSIME SI POMAHAT) (CZECH) (2000)

What is the nature power ? How normal people transform when they find themselves at either end of power ? 

This period drama from Czechoslovakia presents an enlightening  study on the dynamics of power and its startling effects on the human psyche and behaviour. The movie covers a time span that commences prior to the onset of Second World War (1937) till the events that immediately follow the war.

The movie tells the story of an apparently lower middle class Slav couple, Josef Cizek (an enderaring Boleslav Polivka) and his wife Marie (a spirited Anna Siskova), who appear to resign themselves to a state of indolence and remaining indoors during the Nazi occupation. Although Marie is keen to raise kids, Josef appears reluctant and consequently, they remain childless. Josef has had a recent accident resulting in a limp and he prefers to laze around the house shunning all activity. Horst Prohaska (Jaroslav Dušek), a friend of Josef, is a Nazi symapthiser and visits them occasionally. He works for the local Nazi official Kepke (Martin Huba) and is involved in confiscating property from local Jews. Horst  repeatedly badgers the lazy Josef to take up job similar to his with the Nazis which Josef declines. Horst is an opportunist with an eye on the beautiful Marie and is keen to exploit, what he sees as, her disgruntlement at her inability to raise any kids despite yearning for them, owing to the steadfast reluctance of Josef.

The peaceful existence Josef and Marie goes for a toss when Josef meets David (Csonger Kassai), the only surviving member of a Jewish family which had employed Josef, and now, a fugitive on the run from a German concentration camp. While Josef abhors Nazis and the occupation and cannot turn over David to them which would result in a certain death to David, he is also reluctant to provide shelter and risk his and Marie's lives. Yet, the better nature of the couple prevails over their fears of self-preservation and they end up providing shelter to David, even if it results in them going to great lengths to rearrange their own affairs to avoid any suspicion. A reluctant Josef is forced to take up the job offer of Horst and joins him in confiscating properties of Jews. This turns the neighbourhood against Josef and Marie who are seen as turncoats and evil opportunists. Yet, they remain quiet owing to the fear of the Nazi occupiers and restrict their reactions to an occasional barb across the window or plain glaring.

The rest of the movie narrates the consequences of the decision of the couple to shelter the Jew in a narrative that is suspenseful and peppered with mildly comical elements even as it shuns melodrama. Much of the movie happens within the confines of the couple's apartment and the neighbourhood. 

Despite the well-known fact that it is rare to find humans as entirely good or evil, most movies on war and the holocaust tend to adopt a simplistic approach and paint the characters as plain blacks and whites. It is heartening that the director, Jan Hrebejk, steers clear of this simplistic approach and presents us with characters which are well fleshed out and realistic. None of the main characters can be confined to any straightjacketed slots as entirely good or evil and by the end of the movie, we see them straddle  a wide spectrum of emotions and reactions depending the circumstances, they find themselves in. These characters are brought to life by a set of aptly cast artists who breathe life into their complex roles and make them utterly believable and relatable.  As a result, the viewer is able to forge an effortless connect with the characters and is kept deeply interested in the unfolding events.  

At an early juncture in the movie, Josef wonders as under -

 ''You wouldn't believe what abnormal times do to normal people,'' 

This profound observation underlines the essence of this brilliant movie that is a tour de force on transformations of (in)human nature under the influence of war. The movie chronicles the triumph of human spirit in a chaotic world where good and evil are not the opposites which are miles apart, rather, they merely represent the two sides of the same coin.

This movie was a final nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and despite losing to the eventual winner "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", it is, indeed, a worthy contestant.

A MUST WATCH !!

P.S. - You can catch this movie on UTV WORLD MOVIES channels which airs it frequently.

THE BERLIN FILE (KOREAN) (2013)

The protagonist, a North Korean agent (Pyo) stationed in Berlin is involved in an illegal arms with a Russian arms broker and an Arab buyer. Thanks to a double-crossing within the North Korean embassy & the government, their meeting is compromised and he is forced to go on the run. He is hounded by several predators who are baying for his head on the chopping block.  He is considered a traitor by his own Government which despatches a lethal operative (Dong) to capture or liquidate him. He is also chased by his South Korean counterpart (Jung) who is hot on his heels after he misses capturing Pyo at the initial deal. Added to this, he is faced with grounds to suspect that his wife (Ryun) who is working as a translator in the embassy is also part of the larger conspiracy involving illegal arms trade, secret bank accounts as well as requests for asylum by defectors in high offices. This brings an emotional angle to the narrative as although Pyo & Ryun share a cold relationship, he is still protective of her and finds it hard to belive that she is part of the conspiracy. 

This latest thriller from South Korea is a nostalgic throwback to the yesteryear espionage thrillers of cold war era and transports the familiar North-South Korean espionage conflicts to international terrain. The movie sets a brisk pace right from the first frame, thanks to a tense score, grey/blue tones and some electric editing. 

On the downside, this movie suffers a tad from its convoluted plot which is populated by too many characters to keep track off and also that the less-than-convincing emotional connect between the leads. 

Nevertheless, the movie excels in its exciting action set pieces which have been captured in an engrossing manner which do make up for it's flaws.

Technically brilliant, taut and energetic, this movie is already a blockbuster in Korea and is, indeed, an enjoyable action thriller !

THE KING AND THE CLOWN (WANG-UI NAMJA) (KOREAN) (2005)

"All the world is a stage."

This famous line of Shakespeare comes alive through this beautiful period movie from Korea which is a moving drama in the garb of a comedy.

The movie is set in the early 1500s when the Chosun dynasty ruled Korea. Two tight rope walking male clowns - the senior and confident Jangsaeng and much younger, stunning, yet effeminate Gong-gil - earn their living by performing in public with a troupe of performers. Jangsaeng and Gong-gil are the leading stars of the troupe and share a special relationship where Jangsaeng is very protective of Gong-gil. When the manager of the troupe tries to offer the attractive Gong-gil to wealthy clients to fulfill their carnal pleasures, Jangsaeng resists and is forced to flee with Gong-gil to Seoul. On reaching Seoul, they join a group of the performers and conduct successful performances which are crowd pleasers. In one such performance, they mock the king and his favourite concubine in full public glare and are duly apprehended by the palace guards. 

Facing certain death for their blasphemous satire, they are however provided a glimmer of hope in the form of a challenge, wherein their lives could be spared if they can make the king himself laugh, by performing their doomed satire in open court. However, when they arrive at the open court to perform their satire, they almost freeze to stone out of their heightened fear of the consequences. Yet, they somehow manage to surmount this arduous ordeal despite a clunky performance, thanks largely to some last minute theatrics of the resourceful Gong-gil. In what comes as a further surprise, the king, Yeonsan is so amused by them, that he orders them to be part of the court by decreeing them to court jesters. 

Yeonsan is a tyrannical king who reigns over Korea with utter ruthlessness and is considered an insensitive and cruel ruler. The people as well as his ministers bear the brunt of his unpredictable behaviour mainly because of the ancient faith of the king being revered as anointed by heaven. Yet, several of the ministers in his court are corrupt and continue to remain loyal to the former king . They try to wield an undue influence on the decisions of the king whom they consider incompetent and unstable.

Yeonsan takes a special liking to Gong-gil and spends more and more time with Gong-gil in the private confines of his room where he makes Gong-gil conduct puppet plays and skits for him. Soon, Gong-gil begins to sympathise with the king when he finds that the outwardly cruel emperor has a soft core and his cruelty stems from the trauma of seeing his mother die as a kid when she was forced to drink a cup of poison, thanks to the conspiracy of some jealous concubines of his father, the former king. Meanwhile, the hitherto protective Jangsaeng appears possessive too and is becoming very uneasy at the long hours spent by Gong-gil with king. He suspects that the king is bored of his concubines and has taken to abusing Gong-gil. He makes several futile efforts to leave the palace with Gong-gil at the earliest, but Gong-gil refuses. At the other end, the royal concubine too feels ignored and is envious of Gong-gil whom she feels receives excessive attention of the king. The ministers too are miffed at the importance given by their king to the troupe of jesters and are further irked whe


n the king arranges for the jesters to stage a performance mocking them in an open court for their incompetence and corruption. What follows is an intriguing set of dynamics between the king, the two clowns, the ministers and the favorite concubine of the king.

This movie is far removed from the long line of  bold, gripping and  bloody action thrillers which are seen as regular fare churned out of Korea. It attempts a fine blend of comedy and drama and succeeds to a great extent. The acting of the leads, especially Kam Wu-seong who plays Jangseang and Jung Jin-young who plays king Yeonsan, are exceptional.

Director Lee Jun-ik presents narrates a fine story of love and power in a beautiful period setting which is accentuated by a fine score and resplendent cinematography. Lee has sketched fine characters and has captured the intense relationships between the three leads with just the right amount of grey shades and tension. He has also ensured that this drama is also finely paced and taut. The film  showcases the ancient culture of Korea through excellent art direction and also the several performances of the troupes. While the performances of the clowns may appear irreverent and crass, i guess the director has made a deliberate choice here, keeping in view the requirements of the .

Is it a triangular love story with a twist..? Or, is it just a drama based on court conspiracies..? The movie leaves it for the audience to arrive at this conclusion. As for me, I found it to be a story of great love, beautifully told, sans the melodrama.

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!

LITTLE RED FLOWERS (KAN SHANG QU HEN MEI) (CHINESE) (2006)

The movie begins with a cute four year old boy - Fan Qiang Qiang - being admitted by his father in a boarding kindergarten since both the parents are working at different places and are not in a position to care for him. 

The kindergaten is strict in enforcing discipline and expects all students to comply with a set of regulations which extend to an extensive gamut of activities from dressing/undressing by oneself, cleanliness, cordial communciaton to others, respect to elders, maintaining order and even to timely pooping (not to forget the washing of hands thereafter). Every successful compliance by the students is rewarded  with the titular little red flower which are diplayed on a scoreboard against their names and any subversion results in forfeit of a flower earned earlier.

Qiang is a free spirit by nature and finds it difficult to comply with the strict routines of the school. He is unable to dress/undress himself and does not play with other children. He is also unable to get over the habit of wetting his bed which results in him being ridiculed as "the king of bedwetting" by other students. Consequently, he is unable to earn any little red flower which is so coveted. When his repeated attempts to conform and fit into his desginated role & behaviour fail, Qiang feels enormous frustration which pushes him down the road of being an aggressive rebel. The rest of the movie narrates how this conflict between a rebellious Qiang and the disciplinarian kindergarten unfolds.

This is a simple movie which, on the face of it, successfully captures the lives of the tiny tots in a rich canvas sparkling with laughter, fun, frolic, tensions, frustrations, helplesness, sadness as experienced by these cute little toddlers.  At a deeper and not-so-subtle level, this movie represents a metaphor for the state of Chinese society under the Communist regime. It portrays the simmering conflict in the society between the innate tendency of every citizen to seek to establish their individuality and the efforts of a seemingly kind, yet oppressive state, which tries to micro-monitor as well as manage the affairs of individuals, through a defined regimen, for what it feels is for a loftier goal of collective order and resultant peace. In the process, any expressions of individuality are construed as a subversion of the carefully engineered public order and is brutally subjugated & crushed.

Through the struggles of his charming little protaganist, Qiang, the director, Zhang Yuan, has successfully captured this continuing conflict between conformity and individuality which permeats the Chinese society. He must also be commended for eliciting such authentic and believable performances (if one can call them so, for they appear so natural) from his cute little cast, especially the adorable and expressive Dong Bowen who plays the young Qiang.

The open-ended finale of the movie is apt for it throws several unanswered questions at the protaganist as well as the viewer and initaites a train of thought on the central conflict portrayed in the movie.

Clocking just about ninety minutes, this movie is short, subtle, highly engaging and raises several questions for the viewer on the merits of conformity, group mentality, need for individuality, the conflict between a society steeped on confirmity & group mentality when faced with expressions of individual freedom as well as the effects of such conflicts on individual members of such society.

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!

P.S. - You can catch this gem on UTV WORLD MOVIES channel which airs it frequently !

BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG (HINDI) (2013)

It is an undeniable truth that every life is an unfolding story with a fair share of twists and turns, highs and lows, delights & disappointments. Yet, not every life becomes a story that is told & more importantly listened to & passed on, for most are mired in the miasma of banality of daily living. It is in this key denominator, that the life stories of heroes and superheroes differ significantly.For these are the people who have confronted their crippling challenges and have managed to overcome them. In doing so, they remain a beacon of hope and inspiration to the millions of others who are confronted with challenges of their own.

In Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, noted filmmaker Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra (Aks, Rang De Basanti & Delhi - 6) brings to the silver screen, the life of  independent India's earliest sporting hero, Milkha Singh aka the Flying Sikh.

Bio-pics are an uncommon genre among typical Bollywood fare, more so, when they involve sporting heroes. Bio-pics aren't easy to make either. It is one thing to identify the story to be told and quite another to bring a real life story to screen. Added to this, is the herculean challenge of presenting it in an entertaining package which would draw in the audience and keep them engrossed in these times of fleeting attention spans.

Perhaps, it was only fitting that the story of one of India's greatest sporting talents was to be helmed by a maker of the calibre of Mehra, who had earlier successfully brought to screen, the life of Bhagath Singh & his comrades, in a very contemporary take that had struck a chord among viewers across the country in his RDB.

Milkha Singh is that rare Indian sporting legend who rose to fame despite not being associated with cricket - the great opiate of the teeming masses of this least sporting of populace. Now, when Bollywood - the other  & perhaps, greater opiate of the teeming masses - chronicles his lifestory, it is, in a way, a form of poetic justice. 

For a nation of a billion plus individuals, it remains a travesty that we rarely ever produce athletes who shine in individual events internationally. Milkha Singh was one such rare talent who proved his mettle in the international arena and rose to great heights in an era when media coverage merely meant an occasional live relay over All India Radio or BBC and sports column of various dailies unlike these days of 24*7 media and instant stardom. It is, but a sad truth that, if not for this movie, his name would've remained unfamiliar with most citizenry of this nation. 

Born in pre-independent India, in what is now Pakisthan, Milkha Singh is forced to witness the slaughter of almost his entire family in a carnage that followed the Partition and is forced to escape to Delhi as a refugee. He is deeply scarred and suffers the pain from these wounds which fester long after he becomes an international athlete of repute. He is supported by his doting elder sister and her abusive husband. After an initial fling as a petty thief to scrounge for a living, he enlists in the army where he is identified as a born athlete by his first coach who trains him and nurtures his ambition of representing India. The rest of the story narrates the several challenges, faced by him, enroute to acheiving sporting glory and how he overcomes them by his sheer hardwork and determination.

Farhan Akthar plays Milkha Singh with a rare dedication seen on Indian screen and appears to have undertaken this assignment with all the seriousness of a saintly penance seeking salvation. He is utterly convincing in every frame and brings in an effortless charm to the part. His well toned muscular physique and the manner in which he sprints like a man possessed, speak volumes on the meticulousness of his preparation for the part which one normally associates with a Daniel Day Lewis or to some extent, with Kamal Hassan. I sincerely hope such hard work receives all the credit/laurels/awards, it so richly deserves.

There is also an able supporting cast in the form of ever-dependable Divya Dutta, Pawan Malhotra and Prakash Raj. It is a sad travesty of our Indian cinema that such rich talents like Divya Dutta and Pawan Malhotra get a meaty role so rarely that one feels that such occasions need to be celebrated like some festival. The three leading ladies, if you can call them that, Sonam Kapoor, Rebecca Breeds and Meesha Shafi do not have much to do except adorn the screen for a few fleeting moments. Dalip Tahil plays, nay, hams the part of Nehru with a clunky accent.

The music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is pretty good, especially the energetic 'Zinda' and the romantic 'Mere Yaar'. Yet, being an ardent Rahman fan, I wonder why Mehra had to settle for someone other than Rahman for this film, especially given the fact that Rahman has given some of his best albums for Mehra's earlier movies (RDB & Delhi-6) which added a nuanced dimension to them and lifted them to another level.

Despite being earnest to a good measure, the film suffers in moments when it tries too hard to manipulate as in the sequence where a badly injured Milkha runs in a race with heavily bandaged barefeet with the bandages coming undone before the finish line. I felt such scenes belonged more in a eighties tear-jerker. The film could also have benifitted from some crisper editing which could've whittled the length by a good 15-20 minutes.   

Overall, despite its flaws, this movie remains a good attempt and worth watching, principally for the outstanding performance by Farhan Akthar who has poured his heart and soul into his part, in bringing to life the inspiring story of one of India's greatest sporting legends - an unsung hero.

A MUST WATCH !