no gossip, no scandals.
movie reviews ... and more
movie reviews ... and more
Samir
Samir has rated 5 movies, and has posted 19 comments.
Also check out the list of wogma's top readers.
Samir has rated 5 movies, and has posted 19 comments.
Also check out the list of wogma's top readers.
The midwife was, in all likelihood, commenting on the external genitalia of the baby which are usually malformed in a congenital condition known as pseudohermaphroditism. The prevalent medical opinion is that such children ( in the absence of overwhelming evidence to the contrary ) should be reared as females.
Meetu, just about everything in your review was apt. I came back after watching the film, with a sense of having experienced a small gem and was completely overwhelmed by the combination of street smartness and innocence that Kalki could imbue Ruth with. Very good filmmaking.
Linear narration!!? All loose ends tied up!!Are we talking of the same film here?
Try watching the film a second time ( after the sheer dazzlement of the premise and its execution have faded )and you'll find inconsistencies and loopholes grabbing you by the throat. Do try! I'll be happy to point them out, if needed.
In Indian period films the dhoti and kurtas will invariably have an unworn look. The dialect of the protagonist will be very contemporary and may have no relation to the geographical area being covered. This takes away immensely from the verisimilitude of the period.
I saw nothing different in the promos of this film. Can anyone name a few Hindi films which have taken care of this aspect?
Meetu, for once, I feel, you have not been your usual incisive self. In other words I felt very let down by the review (I saw the film after reading it).
Except for the 'visual opulence' and 'lyrical treatment'(whatever that means!) the film had nothing to take back home. Perhaps the 'Udi' number was another exception.
From Hrithik hamming away to the prosecutor turning into a full blown villain and the sidekick trying to be the poor man's Farhan Akhtar(or should it be the rich man's----after all this is a Bhansali film) the film never even aimed for any kind of subtlety. All the tender moments were hammered in till you could almost yell for some relief.
And the sub-plots, thrown in as afterthoughts and not even contributing to the mood of the film.
Another addition to Bhansali's 'style without substance' repertoire. Very disappointing.
Saw it yesterday on the newly released DVD. While I felt that it was one of the better, and if I may use the word 'honest', films on the subject(s), I found the 'making of' film to be equally involving. The pains that the directors (and the other people involved) have taken are obvious in that in the entire film not a single actor rings a false note. This is quite rare in our films. Whether or not it fares well at the Oscars, it will remain one of the finest films on rural India in recent times.
Did Sonu Sood remind anyone of Mukesh Rishi? I thought he could convincingly pass of as his brother.
@lost in confusion: 'why so serious?' is just about right. The debate has gone a little pedantic. Time to chill out.
Surprising to see such heated debate (over the role of the reviewer) triggered off by a fairly ordinary film.
As I see it, one keeps coming back to a certain reviewer because one shares certain sensibilities with him (or her). And as Meetu pointed out, the same viewer may form two different opinions of the same film when viewed in a different set of circumstances, so total agreement on all films is completely out of the question. I feel the reviewer is well within his (or her) rights to rate the film as he (or she) chooses. 'Feeling the pulse' of the public is best done by the box office and people who feel that it's the critic's job should much rather wait for the business reports before watching the film. That way they would have a hundred per cent record of watching only the 'good' movies.
Watched the film yesterday. Funniest film since Khosla ka Ghosla. Jaane bhi do Yaaron was pretty ham-handed compared to this ( I know I am inviting a lot of flak, but I have never been able to understand the high praise that even seasoned critics have showered on it. Try sitting thru it now and you'll know what I mean.)
The use of the adjective 'cerebral' in the same context as Akshay-Priyadarshan starrer is a very good definition of the word 'Oxymoron'.
One suggestion: Instead of calling them 'grey' characters wouldn't 'true -to-life' be more appropriate, albeit , a little unwieldy.
Every time I see a Hindi film that has a halfway decent plot, it turns out to be a Hollywood 'inspiration'. This one was a complete lift of a Christopher Reeve film called Above Suspicion. Ironically, this was Reeves' last film before he had his fall and became quadriplegic.
Two other relatively recent films which flattered only to deceive were 24 Hours Deadline(copy of Trapped starring Kevin Bacon) and Naqaab which was, in the time honoured tradition of all Abbas Mastaan films lifted from a Spanish film, Dot the i.
Hi Meetu,
I would be interested in knowing your views about an old comedy which is widely believed to be one of the best comedies made in Bombay------
Jaane bhi do Yaaron. Whenever you have time.
@Shilpa: Yes, Dalapati was the name. Thanks.
Within the Mumbaiyya film genre,I found it to be just about watchable, though after Benegal's Kalyug, Verma's Sarkar and of course Coppolla's Godfather, no new ground broken here. At times it seemed like a pastiche of scenes from all these films. Another Mahabharat allegory that was made by Mani Ratnam in Tamil(and released dubbed in Hindi later)was probably a better film, though for the life of me I can't recall its name. Example of why it is nothing more than a masala film:
Nana comes to shoot Devgn, closes the door from inside, ranting about what a snake his parents have sired. Devgn's mother steps away for less than half a minute and is back with the red piece of cloth that the baby Devgn was wrapped in when they found him. Used to happen in Manmohan Desai films.
Agree with your review a hundred percent. If I were as analytical and articulate, it could have been written by me.
Hi Meetu,
Discovered your site yesterday, while searching for reviews on Lahore, which I felt was vastly overrated by a lot of renowned reviewers. So, I decided to take a look at all the ratings that you have given and was pleasantly surprised to find that you don't seem to be awed by the pedigree or the general acclaim that any particular film has (unlike, say, Nikhat Kazmi, who seems to like all big banner films). Mayank Shekhar is the other reviewer who appears to be objective,knowledgeable and sufficiently tough on the films that he reviews. Shall now read your reviews before I venture for Hindi films in the theatre. Regards.
Lured by the Star ratings at various (second rate) festivals, I watched the DVD yesterday. Wish I had read your review first. Thoroughly avoidable.
Browse
Reviews
Articles
Ads
Recent Comments
Home
Reviews
...and more
About
Subscribe
Contact
Credits: wogma logo by Ain Digytal Inc. wogma audio review signature tune by Shreyas Beltangdy. Icons taken from Silk icons and iconspedia.com.