Cast: Linus Roache, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle
Set in pre-independent Kerala, Henry Moores (Linus Roache) a young British upstart keen on establishing a flourishing spice business, takes up an illicit relationship with his household help Sajani (Nandita Das), a married village girl, while his own wife and son are away in England. His handyman TK (Rahul Bose) also a local is his right-hand man for massing local labor and support. Moved by the camaraderie between them, Henry gifts an English pistol to TK. TK finds himself entrenched in two worlds, the world of his ancestral heritage and the world of opportunities and advancement brought about by the British raj. Soon Sajani's abusive husband gets wind of their relationship and Sajani faces the brutal brunt of his abuse. She turns to Henry but is turned away especially as Henry's unsuspecting wife and son are back. Sajani feeling dejected and betrayed in love, shoots herself with TK's pistol. The trail of the pistol leads the police and the village council to TK. Does TK forgo his fealty to Henry and confess the truth? Does Henry get away with abetting suicide? Directed and shot by Santosh Sivan, the movie takes you on a lush journey of Kerala's wilderness and breathtaking settings. Nandita Das and Rahul Bose perform flawlessly. There's an undercurrent to the story if one catches on. It's that being entrapped in both worlds but belonging fully to neither is a sign of times not exclusive to the British era.
Rating: Four out of 5.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Hindi Movie Review: Raavan (2010)
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Govinda
Mani Ratnam renowned for delivering golden hits like Roja, Bombay, Nayagan has attempted to tell a modern story through the lens of India's age-old epic, Ramayana. As in the epic, the filmmaker draws parallels in this story to Beera (Abhishek) as Raavan who abducts a police officer Dev's (Aka Ram from the epic played by Vikram) strong-willed wife Ragini (Aka Sita played by Aishwarya). Though intent on killing her within 14 hours of her kidnapping, her spirited attempts to live and evade capture captivates Beera. Instead he falls in love with her. Ragini lives in captivity for a fortnight with the tribals of whom Beera is the leader. Dev, his gang of police officers along with the aid of Sanjeevani (played by Govinda akin to Hanuman in the epic) a forest guard follow in hot pursuit of Beera. We learn that Beera is not quite the villain he's expected to be and neither is Dev the righteous man Ragini thinks him to be.
Govinda provides a much needed reprieve to the otherwise grave tone of the film. Aishwarya fits her part to the tee lending equal measures of strength, vulnerability, and innocence to her character. Rahman's soundtrack with Beera, Behne De, Thok De Killi are catchy and memorable. While the pace of the movie itself is never dull, Mani fails to engage the audience with the central characters. What makes Dev so righteous, what makes Beera so fearful? Then there's Beera's love for Raagini which strikes as farcical as do the antics of his own character.
Rating: Three out of 5.
Mani Ratnam renowned for delivering golden hits like Roja, Bombay, Nayagan has attempted to tell a modern story through the lens of India's age-old epic, Ramayana. As in the epic, the filmmaker draws parallels in this story to Beera (Abhishek) as Raavan who abducts a police officer Dev's (Aka Ram from the epic played by Vikram) strong-willed wife Ragini (Aka Sita played by Aishwarya). Though intent on killing her within 14 hours of her kidnapping, her spirited attempts to live and evade capture captivates Beera. Instead he falls in love with her. Ragini lives in captivity for a fortnight with the tribals of whom Beera is the leader. Dev, his gang of police officers along with the aid of Sanjeevani (played by Govinda akin to Hanuman in the epic) a forest guard follow in hot pursuit of Beera. We learn that Beera is not quite the villain he's expected to be and neither is Dev the righteous man Ragini thinks him to be.
Govinda provides a much needed reprieve to the otherwise grave tone of the film. Aishwarya fits her part to the tee lending equal measures of strength, vulnerability, and innocence to her character. Rahman's soundtrack with Beera, Behne De, Thok De Killi are catchy and memorable. While the pace of the movie itself is never dull, Mani fails to engage the audience with the central characters. What makes Dev so righteous, what makes Beera so fearful? Then there's Beera's love for Raagini which strikes as farcical as do the antics of his own character.
Rating: Three out of 5.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Bengali Movie Review: The Japanese Wife (2010)
Cast: Rahul Bose, Chigusa Takaku, Moushmi Chatterjee, Raima Sen
Snehamoy Chatterjee a young man in a West Bengal village forges a pen friendship with a small town girl in Japan. What's common between them is how simple and unaffected they both are. She a grocery store clerk and him a school master in his little village, they're of modest means and to both English is a second language, yet, the only language they can commmunicate in. Into their third year of pen-friendship, they profess love for each other and exchange marital vows over letters. In this one-of-a-kind tale, despite them never meeting the two remain loyal to one another. Simple they may be, but in contrast to the speeding modernity in their sorrounding cities and the values such a life espouses, this pair renders their love eternal as soaring as that of romeo and juliet only minus the hyperbole of emotions or drama.
Rating: Four out of 5.
Snehamoy Chatterjee a young man in a West Bengal village forges a pen friendship with a small town girl in Japan. What's common between them is how simple and unaffected they both are. She a grocery store clerk and him a school master in his little village, they're of modest means and to both English is a second language, yet, the only language they can commmunicate in. Into their third year of pen-friendship, they profess love for each other and exchange marital vows over letters. In this one-of-a-kind tale, despite them never meeting the two remain loyal to one another. Simple they may be, but in contrast to the speeding modernity in their sorrounding cities and the values such a life espouses, this pair renders their love eternal as soaring as that of romeo and juliet only minus the hyperbole of emotions or drama.
Rating: Four out of 5.
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