X:Past is Present: Too many cooks serve a wonderful broth

I was tempted to name this review as A Divine narrative of a flirtatious Soul.

The movie has its foundation in Hitchcock and has generous flavour of Woody Allen wafting all over. You could be reminded of Marnie and cannot miss the Manhattan in X. May they could have named this as From Marnie to Manhattan!!!!

While I was certainly pumped up after seeing the movie, I certainly do not subscribe to excessive female companionship to draw support or stay alive or get inspired.

Curiously there seems to be no other passing thought in minds of the protagonist except snooping, sniffing or sleeping with  a female companion.

Odd indeed is a protagonist who does not seem to be influenced by anybody except female.

Odd indeed is a biographical account which traces the past and retains a narrative which is soaked in guilt and guilt only.

Odd indeed is a life when one can let go  without evolution.

Odd indeed is a review where the reviewer can be exhilarated about a movie, despite complete disagreement with content.

That is precisely because, too many cooks serve a wonderful broth.

For me the collaborative effort of eleven directors coming together to make one seamless and coherent experience makes it a great case study. Experiencing the seamless narrative is exhilarating enough.

Eleven people willing to be flexible, willing to agree to give up their points of view  to direct one finished product is an extraordinary experience.

The film works up a restless pace and is as non-linear as it can get. The narrative is as dispersed as the thoughts of the protagonist.

And however dynamic the narrative is, in a way it is also static also, quite literally, the narrative unfolds as seen by the eye of the protagonist, with the protagonist almost interacting with the other actors from behind the camera.

The premise of the Kolkatta episode was beautiful .

And when you thought that you could just get drowned in the verbal chatter, Huma Querishi  sizzles, leading to a brilliant climax.

Thiagarajan Kumararaja and Nalan Kumaraswamy are certainly not a flash in the pan.

Special thanks to Raja Sen for the wonderful Huma Querishi segment. Well he has earned his right to be a critic!!!!

Thanks to Sudish Kamath for the idea and taking to a completion.

Most importantly I am sure the movie would have not been possible without Sreekar Prasad and his team of editors.!!!  Take a bow, guys!!!

Thanks to the entire team for making this experimental cinema. Great News for Indian Cinema!!!.

By the way after seeing the movie, Not really sure if you may want to eat Biriyani again!!!.

The Enigmatic Mr. Kamal Haasan:

I was eager to catch up with Thoongavanam. I therefore decided catch up with Sleepless Nights. Was curious to understand how Kamal would have adapted Sleepless Nights. I was just fresh from the memory of Papansam where by just incorporating one sequence from Pasamalar, he had tweaked and tuned George Kutty’s character in Drishyam, to the sensibilities of Tamil Film Cinema audience.

Alas!! Sleepless Nights while on the surface, racy and restless as it unfolded, was a rehash of innumerable tales that had been narrated in the past. Wondered why in the world would Kamal want to remake this mediocrity.

Given Kamal’s talent, accomplishment, love and unquestionable commitment to Cinema, I do get befuddled with choices that Kamal makes

He may be one of the few sons of Cinema who has been dear to all the muses.

Can we find anybody in the world cinema who at 58 can learn Kathak and execute it to perfection?

This kind of commitment is what earns him the recognition that he truly deserves.

Has Kamal really leveraged and realized his true potential?

Getting inspired and influenced by great artists and great works of art is but natural.

But has he spent his entire life celebrating the lives of other geniuses?

In the last eleven years, Kamal has done nearly ten films, out of which four of them have been remakes and only Uthama Villain, was out of the ordinary thinking. An experiment that could have had gone awry, but these are experiments that could trigger greater artistic pursuits.

In the must-watch ‘The Walk’, the protagonist, terms his, desire to wire walk across the twin towers, as the artistic coup of the century.

Kamal, Given the fact you have  undoubtedly all round world-class capabilities in all departments, This fan of yours, demands the supremely original artistic coup of cinema from you, 

And it shall be eternally and immortally enshrined in the annals of cinema!!!!

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

The Diwali Carol: Part Opium, Part Tedium, Part ‘HoodWinkium’

What do you a do when you get to see a film which is consciously constructed on lavish scale dripping in family sentiment punctuated constantly, with Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan like, background score, which strives sometimes to slip into a television serial?

Sallu Bhai Ka Charisma Payo Re!!!!!

Opium:

Indeed the greatest social invention, the family, has kept the social fabric intact.

Rajshri Pictures has continued to stay invested in matters related to the home and the family and consistently managed to produce clean films.

Their latest offering is a quite ambitious musical with rich production values toggles between Hum Apke Hain Kaun and rehashes of several love triangles and ends up being a Casablanca.

Every time the movie stutters, Sallu Bhai is always there to rescue. Sallu is such a great pleasure. With earnest eyes, a genial smile and limited range of emotions he carries himself with aplomb. Well at last, I seem to have discovered, that he has seamlessly integrated the Dharmendra brand of clowning (Sholay specifically and in some parts may be Chupke Chupke).  Sallu understand his limitations, ensures that his character is well written, taking into account his needs on and off the screen, and leverages the warmth that he is able to generate to the hilt.

Sonam looks ravishingly beautiful in some of the sequences, reminding sometimes of the most graceful Waheeda Rehman. 

The riot of colours combined with the cinematography of Manikandan V imbued a sense of pleasantness to the narrative.

Some of the songs were wonderful.

Tedium

The Editor seemed have forgotten his scissors in the editing table.

Generous editing upto 35-40 minutes could have made this rehash a magical experience.

You had a feeling of listening to all the old Rajshri film songs with background score reminding partly of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan and S.A. Rajkumar, wishing you were temporarily deaf.

Cricket transformed itself into football and  a Hum Apke Hain Kaun song descended on you(time and again in different forms!!) sending you into ‘Tedium Abyssium’.

‘Hoodwinkium’

One always thought Sallu was not the smartest of the three Khan’s.

Well that does not seem to be the case.

His needs off the screen seem to be dictating his scripts.

While he had Bhajrangi Bhaijaan helping build public opinion well up for him, Prem Dilwala is a Ram Bhakt again, and from Ayodhya!!!, is surely bound to help him bolster his image a wee bit once again.

Jai Ram Ji Ki!!!

Happy Diwali to all my friends