What's on Film Reviews
Fact, fiction and high drama Bravura performance: Kay Kay Menon steals the thunder in Anurag Kashyap's Gulaal
Film: Gulaal (Hindi)
StarRING: Kay Kay Menon, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Ayesha Mohan, Deepak Dobriyal
DirectION: Anurag Kashyap
Theatres: PVR, Fame, Fun, Inox
Rating: ***
What's it about: Quite aptly timed (preceding the elections and post Holi), Gulaal is another gem from Anurag Kashyap. Intense, even violent, the film has a raw appeal as it alternates between fact and fiction with dexterity. The steadfast refusal of some Rajputana chieftains to merge with a democratic government is dramatically portrayed.
Dilip Singh (Raj Singh Chaudhary) comes to Rajpur for a degree in law. He is beaten up, stripped and locked in a dark room with Jesse Randhawa, a college professor. Kashyap, we learn, was deeplyu00a0 pained by incidents of brutal ragging that made newspaper headlines when he was working on the script of Gulaal.
Dilip's foray into campus politics is initiated by his roommate Rananjay Singh aka Ransa (Abhimanyu Singh).
Ransa contests the college elections, but is murdered by his step brother.
The fearless don, Dukey Bana (Kay Kay Menon), compels Dilip to contest in place of Ransa on behalf of the Rajputana party and makes him win. Kiran (Ayesha Mohan), who is Dilip's rival, lures him, sleeps with him and betrays him.
What's hot: Mahie Gill's mujra and Kay Kay Menon's intense acting.
What's not: Raw and relentless in the way it portrays fact and fiction, Gulaal can be a strain on your nerves.
Brave attempt
Film: Anajadiru (Kannada)
Cast: Prashanth, Muralidhar, Shubha Poonja, Dwarakeesh, Adi Lokesh, Raviu00a0 Kale
Director: R Janardhan
Theatres: Adarsha, Navrang, PVR Cinemas.
Rating: ** 1/2
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Anjadiru is a frame-to-frame remake of the Tamil blockbuster Anjaathe. Director Janardhan, who has remained loyal to the original flick, excels in his job. The story, at the outset, is pretty interesting with enough events to keep you hooked for three hours. Sathyamurthy (Prashanth) and Krupakar (Muralidhar) are sons of two police constables living in the same colony. They are the best of friends but are as different as chalk and cheese.
In an interesting turn of events, a bit of luck leads Sathya, rather than Krupa, to bag the post of sub inspector. A disappointed Krupa slips into the dark world of crime.
Sathya and his force are kept on their toes by an elusive gang of kidnappers. How they track down the culprits forms an interesting part of the narrative. All this builds up to the climatic sequences where the two old friends have to face each other once again.
What's hot: The supporting cast, with actors like Dwarakeesh, Adi Lokesh and Ravi Kale, put up a great show.
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The story and the unique narration are the real heroes. The tempo rarely falters, remaining consistently interesting. Excellent camerawork and good background score makes Anjadiru a watchable film.
What's not: Prashanth and Muralidhar are miscast. They fail to add depth to the characters they portray on screen.
Why Little Zizou scoresFilm: Little Zizou (English)
StarRING: Boman Irani, Zenobia Shroff, Sohrab Ardeshir, Jahan Batlivala, Shernaz Patel, Imaad Shah
DirectION: Sooni Taraporevala
Theatres: PVR, Fame, Fun, Inox.
Rating: ***
What it's about: Little Zizou is a tapestry of stories from a small and significant community.u00a0
The film strings together incidents told through a range of characters, but it really revolves around Xerxes (Jahan Batlivala), a 10-year-old fan of footballer Zizou. He is the son of Cyrus II Khodaiyji, a self proclaimed healer and a priest who preaches conservatism. Xerxes finds a friend in Boman Pressvala's (Boman Irani) daughter. Pressvala runs a community newspaper. Xerxes's elder brother Art (Imaad Shah) has perfected the art of ignoring his dad and pursuing his interest in cartooning. He has a crush on Pressvala's older daughter Zenobia (Dilshad Patel). The stories of these families form the thread for the film.
What's hot: It takes years of keen observation to make a film like this quirks and all. Kudos to the director for handling a subject like fundamentalism and making it so very engrossing. Every character is well fleshed out.
What's not: Don't go looking for a potboiler or an intense film. This one is light-hearted and thought-provoking without weighing you down.
Betcha don't want to watch this
Film: Baaji (Kannada)
Cast: Alok, Rani, Rangayana Raghu, Anath Nag.
Director: Shidlaghatta Srinivas
Rating: **
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Gold and glitter: Rani and Alok strike a pose in Baaji |
Krishnappa (Rangayana Raghu) loses a bet during an India-Pakistan cricket match against underworld don Abdul Khan (Kishore) and agrees to get his daughter Priya (Rani) married to the latter.
The twist in the tale arrives in the form of Baaji (Alok), who kidnaps Priya. Priya begs him to save her from Khan, and he is more than willing to play knight in shining armour (see pic!). To his horror, he discovers that Priya is in love with someone else.u00a0
What's hot: Alok (veteran actor-director Kashinath's son) and Rani show a lot of promise. Ananth Nag and Rangayana Raghu are superb.
What's not: The plot bores you with its predictability. The second half of the movie is particularly trite and tedious.
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