Let’s be honest here, as a desi audience that’s grown up on Bollywood Masala, we are definitely no strangers to the musical. But in Jagga Jasoos, director Anurag Basu tries to push the envelope by presenting most of the movie in tune and verse, an attempt to bring Broadway to Bollywood, something we probably last saw in Shirish Kunder’s equally befuddling debut effort, Jaan-E-Mann. But with an experienced hand such as Basu at the realm, some stunning cinematography by Ravi Varman, as promised in the promos, a promising soundtrack by Pritam, and an extremely good-looking starcast, does this audacious experiment work?Continue reading “Jagga Jasoos Movie Review: Arrested Development”
Tag Archives: Barfi
Top 10 Romantic Characters: Male
In Hindi films, we have epitomised romance and romantic heroes. I wonder if any other film industry in the world has made so many love stories or romantic dramas as we have. There are production houses that have taken pride in churning out one love saga after the next. And indeed, actors have become heartthrobs among the opposite sex only through love stories. In a part of the twin post, we look at the top 10 male romantic character portrayals in Hindi cinema.Continue reading “Top 10 Romantic Characters: Male”
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Bollywood: Where Has All The Quality Gone?
Recently, the big news in Bollywood was about a certain film starring one of the Khans that broke box office records. Yet, all over the internet, people were abusing the film left, right, and centre. Even film critic and TV host Anupama Chopra, who confessed to be a huge fan of the star, found the film boring.Continue reading “Bollywood: Where Has All The Quality Gone?”
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In Conversation with Sohum Shah: On Ship of Theseus and More
One of the most talked about Indian indie films in the recent past is Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus which is finally seeing it’s Indian theatrical release on 19th July. MAM got an opportunity recently to have a chat with Sohum Shah, the producer and one of the main actors in the film, here’s an excerpt from the conversation.Continue reading “In Conversation with Sohum Shah: On Ship of Theseus and More”
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What is Non Linear Cinema?
I heard a lot of people complain that they did not understand the plot; found it too complex. Well, to them I recommend Nolan’s debut feature The Following which had as many as three timelines running parallel. And in this movie he did not keep them distinct through choice of colors. The entire movie was black & white. In fact, I believe that he intentionally “dumbed” down the screenplay of Memento as people might have found his debut feature’s structure plot.. errr.. a bit beyond their range of comprehension. 
Wikipedia defines it as “a narrative technique, where events don’t follow the direct causality pattern of the events featured.” Parallel distinctive plot lines, dream immersions or narrating another story inside the main plot-line; non-linearity is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory. I grew up on a diet of Hindi cinema where the yaddasht-bhool-jaanaused to be a common formula.
Continue reading “What is Non Linear Cinema?”
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Average Bollywood Films: 2012
This year has seen a lot of A-List films that could have been relegated to the ‘Worst of the Year’ lists had they not been redeemed due to one or maybe two factors. Sometimes it’s the lead actors, sometimes it’s a few sparkling moments. These factors ensure that the movie is not a complete washout for you. For some, they may be good enough to elevate the film to a ‘Best’ status.Continue reading “Average Bollywood Films: 2012”
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Thank you 2012: You changed our lives !
While we lost many icons in 2012, there were many who got a new lease of life. Character actors making breakthroughs, directors finding appreciation after a spate of flops, veterans making comebacks; 2012 saw it all.
I have tried to put together few of those names here. Not an exhaustive list. Just a few I personally felt were significant.Continue reading “Thank you 2012: You changed our lives !”
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The Top 10 Trailers of 2012: The Promos That Showed Most Promise
As our Marketing professor used to say, “Advertisement is all about creating awareness and curiosity”. And in the world of cinema, the first level of excitement that the film garners among its audience is through its trailer. No wonder, most producers and directors these days are extremely cautious about how they make their official trailer look. Some even release a teaser first and follow it up with the trailer a few weeks later. The most current trend among these is the idea of digital poster.Continue reading “The Top 10 Trailers of 2012: The Promos That Showed Most Promise”
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Tete-a-tete with Anurag Basu
Noted film maker Anurag Basu, whose latest film Barfi is India’s official entry to the Oscars 2013 was on a visit to XIM, Bubaneswar for a Conclave Summit. I took this opportunity to discuss with him about the issue of plagiarism in ‘Barfi’, the bold scenes of ‘Murder’ becoming a trend-setter and also his forthcoming movie on the life of Kishore Kumar.Continue reading “Tete-a-tete with Anurag Basu”
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