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  • About GNGM

    Reviews

    “A cerebral joyride”
    Karan Johar, filmmaker on REDIFF

    “Among the most charming and creative Indian independent films”
    J Hurtado, TWITCH

    ★★★★✩
    “You don’t really need a big star cast… you don’t even need a big budget to get the techniques of filmmaking bang on…”
    Allen O Brien, TIMES OF INDIA

    ★★★★✩
    “An outstanding experience that doesn’t come by too often out of Indian cinema!”
    Shakti Salgaokar, DNA

    ★★★
    “This film can reach out the young, urban, upwardly mobile, but lonely, disconnected souls living anywhere in the world, not just India.”
    Namrata Joshi, OUTLOOK

    “I was blown away!”
    Aseem Chhabra, MUMBAI MIRROR

    “Good Night Good Morning is brilliant!”
    Rohit Vats, IBN-LIVE

    ★★★✩✩
    “Watch it because it’s a smart film.”
    Shubha Shetty Saha, MIDDAY

    ★★★✩✩
    “A small gem of a movie.”
    Sonia Chopra, SIFY

    ★★★✩✩
    “A charming flirtation to watch.”
    Shalini Langer, INDIAN EXPRESS

    “Interesting, intelligent & innovative”
    Pragya Tiwari, TEHELKA

    “Beyond good. Original, engrossing and entertaining”
    Roshni Mulchandani, BOLLYSPICE

    * * * * *
    Synopsis

    ‘Good Night Good Morning’ is a black and white, split-screen, conversation film about two strangers sharing an all-night phone call on New Year's night.

    Writer-Director Sudhish Kamath attempts to discover good old-fashioned romance in a technology-driven mobile world as the boy Turiya, driving from New York to Philadelphia with buddies, calls the enigmatic girl staying alone in her hotel room, after a brief encounter at the bar earlier in the night.

    The boy has his baggage of an eight-year-old failed relationship and the girl has her own demons to fight. Scarred by unpleasant memories, she prefers to travel on New Year's Eve.

    Anonymity could be comforting and such a situation could lead to an almost romance as two strangers go through the eight stages of a relationship – The Icebreaker, The Honeymoon, The Reality Check, The Break-up, The Patch-up, The Confiding, The Great Friendship, The Killing Confusion - all over one phone conversation.

    As they get closer to each other over the phone, they find themselves miles apart geographically when the film ends and it is time for her to board her flight. Will they just let it be a night they would cherish for the rest of their lives or do they want more?

    Good Night | Good Morning, starring Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams, The Love Guru, Quarter Life Crisis) and Seema Rahmani (Loins of Punjab, Sins and Missed Call) also features New York based theatre actor Vasanth Santosham (Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain), screenwriter and film critic Raja Sen and adman Abhishek D Shah.

    Shot in black and white as a tribute to the era of talkies of the fifties, the film set to a jazzy score by musicians from UK (Jazz composer Ray Guntrip and singer Tina May collaborated for the song ‘Out of the Blue), the US (Manu Narayan and his creative partner Radovan scored two songs for the film – All That’s Beautiful Must Die and Fire while Gregory Generet provided his versions of two popular jazz standards – Once You’ve Been In Love and Moon Dance) and India (Sudeep and Jerry came up with a new live version of Strangers in the Night) was met with rave reviews from leading film critics.

    The film was released under the PVR Director’s Rare banner on January 20, 2012.

    Festivals & Screenings

    Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI), Mumbai 2010 World Premiere
    South Asian Intl Film Festival, New York, 2010 Intl Premiere
    Goa Film Alliance-IFFI, Goa, 2010 Spl Screening
    Chennai Intl Film Festival, Chennai, 2010 Official Selection
    Habitat Film Festival, New Delhi, 2011 Official Selection
    Transilvania Intl Film Festival, Cluj, 2011 Official Selection, 3.97/5 Audience Barometer
    International Film Festival, Delhi, 2011 Official Selection
    Noordelijk Film Festival, Netherlands, 2011 Official Selection, 7.11/10 Audience Barometer
    Mumbai Film Mart, Mumbai 2011, Market Screening
    Film Bazaar, IFFI-Goa, 2011, Market Screening
    Saarang Film Festival, IIT-Madras, 2012, Official Selection, 7.7/10 Audience Barometer

    Theatrical Release, January 20, 2012 through PVR

    Mumbai
    Delhi
    Gurgaon
    Ahmedabad
    Bangalore
    Chennai
    Hyderabad (January 27)

    * * * * *

    More information: IMDB | Facebook | Youtube | Wikipedia | Website

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Archive For October, 2004

Spidey, Jerry and Me!

October 8, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

Wow!

What a great day it has been!

As always.

Thanks to Dicky Fox (he’s Jerry Maguire’s idol, remember) who said:

“Clap your hands every morning you as you wake up and say,
This-is-going-to-be-a-GREAT-day!”
My day started with Spidey.

I just couldn’t sleep on returning home this morning after the night shift. And so, in loving memory of Spiderman 2 which I missed, I dug out the first part from the DVD rack. Now, the more I see it, the more I love it.

Spiderman would definitely be a part of my all time Top 10 favourites. Never has any comic book movie been more ‘real’. When I say real, I mean the characters – they are so human. The scene when Pete has that last conversation with his uncle … Man, that is the kind of stuff which makes the movie what it is!

Pete is so real when he snubs his uncle after he’s given him the line of the movie, the line which soon found its way into Main Hoon Na posters: With great power comes great responsibility.

Oh, before I forget, that was one hell of a kiss. As MJ, dripping wet in rain to the delight of the boys in the audience, removes a part of Spiderman’s mask and goes on to deliver the kiss of the year! *Suderman makes a mental note: Must start practicing hanging upside down*

Yes, I slept like a baby after watching the movie.

Got up to hear from Abbas and rushed to his place for a script meeting and who do I find there?

Jerry Maguire. My man!

I don’t like remakes that much but I’m more than convinced that this is one movie which needs one or maybe two. I want to make both of them — Tamil and Hindi. I would probably shoot it with Abbas for the Tamil version. Only that, my Jerry won’t be a sports agent. My Jerry will be a PRO… a public relations officer, that is … in the film industry. He should be tired and pissed off with industry conventions, ageing superstars with readymade star heirs to be launched as heroes, the image trap and formula films, casting couches and indecent proposals made by horny producers and desperate starlets.

Like in the original, my Jerry too will be a popular PRO until his birthday when he sees his drunk starlet girlfriend flirting with every possible guy at the party who could give her a role. Jerry is drunk, he’s 33, he gets this headache, heartache rather and goes into his room, his shell and as he sees through the half open door of his room, he can see it all — as it is. The dirt in the business… where the bold and the beautiful flirt with the ugly, rich and the horny.

Just a few moments before that, an aspiring actor who had gatecrashed the party to meet Jerry, was ridiculed, made fun of and thrown out by his ilk. He remembers the other small things that had probably led him to where he was. Angry with himself, he walks out of his own party. Outside he finds the aspiring actor entertain urchins on the road with music from his car stereo.

He goes back to his room, inspired. He’s all sober and he’s realised what is missing in the business. Soul. Honesty. Integrity. Reward for talent. Creativity. He pulls out his handycam and makes his birthday speech — the equivalent of the Mission Statement Jerry came up with. And he shoots clips from the party to illustrate his point and sends it to the press… He makes sure that every newspaper, every TV channel, every website gets a copy.

Our Jerry is now an outcaste. Nobody in the industry wants to touch him after the incident. And that day, Jerry has a visitor… the same aspiring actor he had thrown out during the party. The eccentric goofball entertainer. How Jerry takes this one guy and puts together a team of talented, committed and sincere technicians and makes a movie with all he has believed in is the rest of the film.

I’m calling the film ‘No Problem’… Abbas will play Jerry, Kulashekar… who, for industry requirements, had changed his name to Cool Shaker! How Cool Shaker becomes Kulashekar once again is what this movie will be about. No Problem because that’s what Cool Shaker says all the time before he gets the most unethical things done in the name of showbiz.

This will probably also be the only Hindi film I would make and only, I repeat, only if I get Shah Rukh Khan to play Tom and Saif to play the actor. A friend suggested this combo to me. And yes, Juhi to play Renee… Hmmm… now, all I need is someone to SHOW-ME-THE-MONEY!!

He he!

As I type this, I’m also watching The Hero… the most expensive comedy ever made in Bollywood. If you guys haven’t seen it, do that… like, now! I can guarantee you at least 50 laughs in the 150 minutes of the movie!

Suderman goes nuts!

October 7, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

*Yaaawn*

I can feel it. (not the nuts, you dirty dirty dirty!)

Or rather I can’t feel it. Life.

That’s the thing about night shifts.

You get caught with yourself and that’s when you realise the complications that makes you.

But for the time we spend with ourselves, we are pretty simple people. All of us. Chilling. Hanging out. Laughing. Living. And feeling good! (No, good is NOT a woman, you dirty dirty dirty!)

But the moment you step out of the circle and confine to yourself, that’s when all the people inside you come out. One wants to watch Spiderman 2 and is cribbing that it has now gone out of the halls. The other wants to go to Pondicherry, like now … and spend time at the Park Guest House, sitting by the sea on that park bench with the wave spraying its love on your face or on second thoughts, maybe it is just lust. It just wants to touch the body! (Oh, what are you typing, you dirty dirty dirty!)

Another me realises I’m going nuts. Maybe cuz I get paid peanuts. So much that, that every time I sleep I see nuts. Everytime I dream, I see nuts. Everytime I look into the computer, I see nuts. Everytime I think, I see nuts. Everytime I pee, I see… well, nuts! (What are you typing, you dirty dirty dirty!)

And yet another person inside you is still wondering what went wrong in the last relationship. Another wants to give it another chance. And yet another smart cookie is reminding the other that the past is best left for the autobiography. Another one is listening to ‘Yeh Fizayen’ from Main Hoon Na on the discman and another is occasionally turning towards the TV to ensure he does not miss out on the Swades promos! And another is typing a blog while yet another wants to get into a nostalgic mood and start writing the next chapter of The Making of That Four Letter Word. And another wants to write a story for the paper because at least people are gonna read that at the end of the day. How many read a blog? Pick a number from one to ten.

So who’s my favourite me?

I guess its been Suderman, off late.

At least, he’s definitely better than the previous Evil Devil who just had one mission: To make sure God’s ass turns blue (And no, it’s not what you are thinking, you dirty dirty dirty!).

Well, the difference I think is that Evil Devil wanted to kick God’s ass for coming up with a flop script for life but Suderman is someone who made an entry to this planet because the world needed more heroes. There is so much depression setting into this world. The sentinels of evil are slipping in (that sure sounds like The Matrix, I agree) and people are getting too serious about themselves. They sit depressed, like the fate of the whole world depends on what they are gonna do next and brooding over what’s happened to them, much like how Evil Devil, my ex-personality used to. Now imagine what happens to the world when more and more people start going into their shell. Who’s gonna take care of the rest of the world? Who’s gonna bring happiness into the lives of people around? In their search for love, people are losing the lust for life. Yes, lust is the word.

Thus was born Suderman and his enterprise Just Lust Private Entertainment Unlimited, with the sole aim of bringing happiness into the lives of people.



Suderman realised that though God is the scriptwriter, it is you who is the director of your own life. It is upto you to decide how long you want your sad scene to last. Repetitive soppy scenes are for soap operas. If you want your life to be rocking motion picture, rock n roll, like now.

Lights. Camera. Action. (And no, rock is not just about that four letter word you are thinking of, you dirty dirty dirty!)

Post Script:

What have I written? What did I smoke? What did I drink? What did I eat?

Oh, yes, I remember. My box full of protien supplement: Peanuts, of course!

Flashback: Year 1999

October 6, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

Funny how embarassing it is to read the first ever version of your first ever feature length script. I will take that version to my grave. Happened to read it as I dug out my diary of year 1999.

As I flip through the pages of my diary of year 1999, I really regret quitting the practice. The only written record I have till now is of what led to us writing the script for this movie.

But that’s great, at least I know when it all started.

August 5, 1999

I woke up at 4 in the evening, as usual.

I say as usual because this was the period between when I passed out of communication school (left Manipal on July 12) and joined The Hindu on September 1.

Fifty days of bliss. No responsibilities, no deadlines. Lazed around, woke up late, met up with Murugan, who was in India, like he always is around August every year.

August was like the month all of us guys in the gang met up and caught up with where life had taken us. Ro was Murugan’s girl then. She used to tell her Mum she was going to NIIT class and land up at his place in the afternoons.

So that fine day, I landed up at Murugan’s house, interrupting their conversation. Ro left soon and another friend showed up. Having nothing else to do, we called Ro again and told her we would drop in at her place. We turned up at eight at her place, made polite conversation, what with her Mum around. And we left in forty minutes, after meeting her aunt who was a classical singer, who for some reason, seemed to be very impressed with Murugan’s good boy behaviour. Poor woman didn’t seem to have the slightest clue what this good boy was capable of.

We then left for dinner. Raghu. Murugan’s best buddy Prashant and Mani joined us at this quaint place called Opal Inn for food, after which, we chilled out the usual joint ‘The Potshot,’ (this was the time when pool was cool) till about 12.30 in the night. We bid Raghu farewell. He was joining the Colorado State University and leaving the next day.

It was a practice for Murugan to drop me home, used to call him ‘driver’ and it was only during these ‘drops’ back home when we actually talked serious stuff. I clearly remember how Raghu’s impending departure set the tone for the conversation. We were a close knit gang and life was taking us different places. Raghu was leaving the next day. Murugan would leave by the end of the month too to Pittsburgh. He was applying to medical school the next year. And that would change his life altogether. He probably might not be able to take the 45 day vacation to India that he had been taking in the last five years. Five years before that was when we passed out of high school. And we had managed to be in touch, catch up with each other and in a way involved in shaping up each others lives. I was all set to start job-hunting if I wasn’t going to get a call from The Hindu, the only place I had applied to, out of sheer arrogance. I had the experience, I had a really offbeat resume and I was sure they would hire me.

So life was all set to take us different places. We were all very different people. Some of us were changing. And some of us weren’t. An otherwise cool and casual Murugan, who lived one day at a time, now was talking about the need for commitment in his life. A smart, clever, planner Prashant was now feeling a little down about missing out on a few things during the pursuit of his goals. And there I was, as confused as ever.

Murugan listened to his heart, every moment. Lived every moment, loved every moment.

Prashant listened to his mind, every time. He followed this five year plan he had for life.

And I just could not figure out if I should listen to my heart or my mind.

We were all different guys in a gang in a phase of life where we had to decide what we were going to do with the rest of our lives. This, we realised, was a universal issue.

It would make great material for a movie, we agreed. We instantly decided we would call it Made In Madras. Hyderabad Blues was a hit, Bombay Boys had done pretty well, earlier that year. And we thought it would be a great tribute to the city we loved. A city we grew up in.

But that was not to be.

Before we could discuss more, we reached my place. I got out of the car and wished him bye.

August 11, 1999

It was a bright day. I woke up earlier than usual. 11 a.m.

Reached Murugan’s place by 3.30, checked email on his computer and what did I see?
An email from Deputy Editor, The Hindu, asking me to appear for an interview at the office on the 14th of the month.

A cyclone of some sort lashed the city that day. We were watching the last solar eclipse of the millenium on TV, when a power cut interrupted the relay. Who says this stuff happens only in the movies?

So we happened to discuss Made in Madras yet again.

My life was all set to change. There was a good reason I came back to Madras leaving an advertising job offer I had with FCB-ULKA in Bombay.

I had always wanted to do advertising, so much that my only email account then, had adwala for an ID… In memory of that dream, I have still retained my adwala@hotmail.com address.

Advertising, in Madras, was dead around that time, a profession with not much scope because all the best brands and most of advertising happened in Bombay. So there was no way I could pursue advertising in Madras.

And I had decided I wanted to be in Madras because after two years of living by myself in Manipal, I wanted to be closer home. Closer to people I loved. Closer to friends. Closer to Di.

Yes, Di.
The girl for whom I came back to Madras.
The girl for whom I had given up advertising.
The girl I had last spoken to in February that year.
The girl for whom I was now all set to make a movie.

‘Mast’ about Rashmi: The next Pop iCon?

October 6, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

Rashmi Nigam is my latest crush.

Well, she’s the babe from that music video who went on to become the star of Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jao. Yeah, the one in the satin saree who makes that biting gesture in that ‘Ja Re Ja’-‘Stayin Alive’ mix.

Sigh!

Every passing day, I am more than convinced that life can really be larger than a movie. Less than 16 hours after I saw the movie, I met her. Rashmi Nigam. In flesh and blood.

🙂

Well, as a journalist I’ve come across plenty of stars and starlets in the last five years. But only a few of them really had ‘it’. “It,” if you’ve seen Bowfinger, you will know is that quality a person should possess to be a star… you shouldn’t be able to take your eyes of that person, every single thing she does should keep your eyes glued to them and your body tuned to her existence.

Amisha Patel, when I met her about four and a half years, had it. I didn’t want to wash my hand after shaking hands with her. But my Mom wouldn’t serve me dinner! 😦 So I finally gave in and washed my hands.

Then Trisha. Even when she became Miss Chennai, I knew that this babe had “it”. In fact, I think I must have been the first person to have taken her autograph (much before she became popular as an actress). Yeah, it sure was embarassing for a journalist of some repute to ask for an autograph from a star (I’ve never ever done it with anybody else but her) but I was completely in awe of this wonderful girl. I clearly remember, we were at Hell Freezes Over, the disco which has now been shut down. It was Valentine’s Day eve. There she was looking absolutely gorgeous as I walked up, scribbled a note and passed it on.

The note said: Hi, I’m Sudhish. From The Hindu. Two things. 1. An Autograph 2. An Interview.

This babe was not even a star. She was just Miss Chennai when I did that ridiculous thing. And No, I wasn’t drunk or anything. It was a very impulsive thing to do and I was just four months into the job then.

She smiled. She was floored, I think (Or maybe behind that smile, she thought: “What a lech!”). She said “Forget the autograph. This is my number and we can meet up anytime.”

So, that was that.

Then, Priyanka Chopra. I always thought she was dumb until I finally met her. We would have chatted for a couple of hours. She surely had “it.” She was in a bright red tight top and she told me I looked like Manish Malhotra! 😛

And now… Rashmi Nigam. It happened two days ago.

Here’s what I wrote out of that for the paper. It’s yet to be published.

‘Mast’ about Rashmi – The next Pop icon?

It was certainly love at first bite. Yes, she stole my heart (and of many others like Pritish Nandy) the minute she made that ‘biting’ gesture in that music video of the ‘Ja Re Ja O Harjai’ remix.

Pritish Nandy said, “If a girl can wear a saree like that, dance likethat and bite like that!” before running out of words to describe his discovery.

He signed her on for Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jao, a movie whose otherwise painfully long length I did not mind at all, because of the presence of this absolutely gorgeous young woman. Yes, Kajol’s sisterTanishaa also happens to star in the movie, but this one is Rashmi’s film. Her portfolio.

If Kabir Sadanand, the director, got anything right in the movie, it was casting Rashmi as Sonia. Don’t get me wrong, the movie isn’tentirely bad. It’s great in parts, it has some wonderful moments (yes, excluding the parts where Rashmi lights up the screen with her presence), it has about 15 genuinely funny jokes, a brilliantly funnyYash Tonk as Goldie and a charming, talented, grey-eyed bloke in Akshay Kapoor to keep the women in the audience happy. With a little editing … like, you know, with an hour less (the movie is over two and a half hours long), it would be a decent movie.

In its current form however, ‘Popcorn’ is just any other half-fresh yet not-that-corny film you can expect out of a promising debutant director, a flick which falls short of a ‘Mast’ watch tag.

Before we start the interview, Rashmi pops the question that any journalist would want to avoid after watching a movie like ‘Popcorn’: So, how did you like the movie?

“Well, I think you are one of the reason why anyone should watch this film,” I tell her quickly before giving her my opinion on the length.

How did it all begin?

(Seriously, how many questions can you ask a starlet who is one film old?)

Rashmi was at a restaurant with her friends when a gentleman from Sony auditioning for the role. Hmmm, he must have noticed her biting. “I almost forgot about it,” Rashmi recalls. A week later, she landed up at the audition, danced for a Beyonce number, and she was in.

“I was trained in Manipuri and Kuchipudi,” the starlet explains, before going into her Flashback. Approximately 18 years, 95 days, 13 minutes and 5 seconds before (that’s how the movie’s narrator takes the audience back and forth in time), Rashmi Nigam was born in Goa. Rashmi was then raised in Delhi, studied abroad for a bit and approximately one year, 79 days, 58 minutes and 13 seconds ago, worked as a graduate trainee in the petroleum division of a multi-national company. Her photographer friend persuaded her to get her portfolio done.

Her school experience in dance theatre gave her enough confidence to do ads, then the ‘Ja Re Ja’ music video happened. Before she knew it, Daler Mehndi signed her on for his latest video ‘Bolo Sha Ra Ra Ra.’

And now, one-film-old Rashmi is already familiar with the standard cliches that well established stars belt out confidently. “I’m here for good,” “I’ve found my calling,” “I want to do different roles. I don’t want to be slotted.” “I’m doing a totally different role in my next film.” Of course. Only that the script isn’t ready. Yes, Rashmi will start shooting for another film with her producer Pritish Nandy Communications, by the end of the year.

Meanwhile? “I’m taking a nice Popcorn break,” she smiles. “In this industry, there are either lulls or so much happening that you can’t even breathe … so much excitement. So, now I get back to spend time with my friends. I’m starting to watch movies in DVDs to update myself.”

About 10 minutes, 5 seconds and .36 nanoseconds after she said that, I shook hands with my latest crush.

Blessed are those, who become journalists.

He he!

Ooops!

October 6, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

I mean how can I forget Andaz Apna Apna.

But maybe I’ll rank it right on top of best comedies. So here goes.

Top Five — Hindi Comedies

1. Andaz Apna Apna

Rajkumar Santoshi is a great filmmaker, the most consistent, the most varied and also the most under-rated director. Andaz Apna Apna is really a tribute to Bollywood.

2. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron

I remember how I rolled on the floor laughing watching it when we just had good old DD for entertainment. The problem with growing up is that I don’t find it as funny now but yes, considering I still remember how entertaining a movie it was, I must put it here.

3. The Hero

Sunny Paaji, I owe this one to you. And Anil Sharmaji, I know you laughed all the way to the bank with a bakwaas movie like Gadar, and I’m glad you gave us a chance to with this hilarious piece of cinema. It didn’t run well because you didn’t promote it as a spoof. What next? Amitabh Bachchan ko Sardar bana diya? Hope you don’t replace this slot with Ab Hamara Watan Tumhare Hawale Saathiyon.

3. Awrite, seriously, Munna Bhai MBBS

That’s the last best genuine comedy Bollywood has produced. A brilliant script. Super funny characters. Circuit is my favourite too. And the lingo, bole toh ek dum solid, kya!

It wasn’t just a comedy, beneath all the humour, Rajkumar Hirani did have something to say. It spurned sequels in every South Indian language, including Tamil. Imagine, it was one of the rare films to be reviewed by the British Medical Journal!

4. Deewana Mastana

This certainly has to be David Dhawan’s best. It’s classy, spoofy and the comic timing of Govinda and Anil Kapoor in roles reversed (for once, it is Govinda who dresses sober and it is Anil Kapoor wearing colourful jhatak clothes). Total timepass.

5. Jodi No.1 and Bade Miyaan Chotte Miyaan (Joint winners)

Again, Govinda and Sanjay Dutt’s comic timing save the spoof on Sholay from mediocrity. It is outrageously funny.

And Bade Miyaan Chotte Miyaan because I love the climax. Hilarious. It’s Bad Boys 1 and 2 rolled into one, David Dhawan style!

Post Script:

I hate to admit it, but I also liked Daud, in parts… Really silly movie but I simply loved Paresh Rawal as the villain Pinky, one of his best roles!

Suderman ki Pasand!

October 4, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

This one is about my all-time favourite Hindi fillums. I’m leaving the old classics out, as always.

1. Sholay

Gaonwaalon, if you have not seen this yet, die.

I wouldn’t put it among old classics because it is one of the rare few movies that is still popular among people.

In fact, it is one of those rare films, never really to have gone out of theatres since it was first released in 1975. I could go on about this movie but the link above already has some stuff I’ve written. Dummies, click here.

2. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

Ask Shah Rukh about his best role till date and he’ll tell you. Sunil is surely the one. Five years in the making, this movie is the only thing that clicked for Kundan Shah after he made Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron.

It’s one of the few films where Shah Rukh Khan is not Shah Rukh Khan but is actually Sunil. You feel for him, you laugh with him, cry with him and you are reminded of what it is/was to be in love, what it is to get a Yes or No. Second only to Sholay.

3. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander

I was very tempted to put Lagaan ahead of this because I’ve read The Spirit of Lagaan by Satyajit Bhatkal. I know the trials and tribulations of the entire unit that made that epic contemporary classic of a movie.

But yet, I would rate Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander a little higher than Lagaan because this is the first movie which used a sport for a climax successfully. The cycle chase at the end of the movie is sure to have inspired or given Ashutosh the courage to have a match for a climax.

Plus, Jo Jeeta is your wholesome coming-of-age film about discovering love, lust, friendship, family. Pehla Nasha and the birth of Farah Khan as a choreographer, Pooja Bedi’s rise as a sex symbol … this movie still gives me goose bumps. Manzoor Khan is yet to repeat the magic.

4. Lagaan

Even if I was the guy delivering tea to the unit at the sets, I would have been mighty proud of this spirited production whose making is certainly larger than the movie itself. Read The Spirit of Lagaan, people. Must-read for movie buffs.

The movie watching experience in itself was magic. From a tight intro where Ashutosh introduces over a dozen characters in less than eight minutes to gripping build-up which reaches a crescendo when Bhuvan accepts the bet, to the getting together of the team and the explosive finale — the longest climax in the history of Indian cinema, the movie was greeted with cheers. The crowd was on its feet when Bhuvan hits the last ball six and women hugged each other. It’s easier to cheer a real match. To see a fixed one is difficult, but who complained about this one. Now, that’s what you call a movie.

5. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge

This is probably the best movie to have been made by a debutant director. Aditya Chopra, not Karan Johar, was the original creator of the formula of the nineties: International locations, designer clothes and the quintessential ‘hindustani Dil’ and of course, no villain.

The love story of Raj and Simran is one of the most celebrated in Indian cinema because it bridged that gap between modernity and tradition. Fall in love with the girl, but marry only after you’ve won the entire family. It was a formula bound to gain acceptance from the youth and their parents alike.

Post Script

I’m afraid I haven’t mentioned any of Ram Gopal Varma‘s films in these but if I could take the liberty of adding a sixth, it would be Rangeela, Ramu’s only effort in coming up with wholesome entertainment. His rest are all niche movies and of different genres, and they would be in my list of Top Five — in the Mafia genre (Satya and Company, for sure).

Watch out for more on genre-wise ratings.

Suderman’s Favourites!

October 3, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

Yellow Pee-pull!

It’s kinda difficult to rate my top five films for every genre cuz for every good movie I’ve seen there would be five other equally great movies I wouldn’t have seen. So it would be great to find out what I missed and update my ‘Movies to see before I die’ list.

English (Contemporary — Wholesome Entertainment)

Movies with a bit of everything you want from the movies.

1. Vanilla Sky

Yeah, its a remake of the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos. And everyone who seems to have seen the original do say it is much better than this Tom Cruise version.

I am sure it must have been better too. But that does not take away from this brilliant piece of multi-layered storytelling. I’ve heard Mullholland Drive is even better but since I haven’t seen that one yet, this has to be right on top.

It’s a movie I watch to remind me the lessons for life. Sample the lines:

The sweet is never as sweet without the sour.

Every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around.

Great lines, kickass music, super performances, the charisma and chemistry of Cruise, Cruz and Diaz, the whole take on LoveHateDreamsLifeWorkPlayFriendshipSex… that’s what I call wholesome entertainment. My all time favourite.

2. Jerry Maguire

Well, it certainly might not be as good a movie as Forrest Gump, but I would rate this ahead because we are rating my favourites here. I love this movie because at some level I could see myself in Jerry. And I know many who see themselves in Jerry.

Jerry is what every man wants to be.

Jerry is what every man almost is. Great at friendship, bad at intimacy.

Jerry is what every man could be. You just need to hang your balls out there.

Jerry is about chasing what you’ve always believed in, it is about maintaining what you have, it is about giving, caring, truth, integrity and personal relationships.

Look at the characters Cameron Crowe (Yeah, he’s my all time favourite director, my idol, my hero) has created. Jerry Maguire. Dorothy Boyd. Rod Tidwell. They are sooo real. I can’t trace the actual quote but Cameron came up with it. He said something about what a movie must really be like. You go to a this place, (movie hall) meet a few people, spend a 100 minutes in their world, get a peek into their lives and then come back affected, with memories for life. So much that you want to go back and meet these people again. How I wish I had the actual quote.

But hey, I found another thing he said:

“In the future, everybody is going to be a director. Somebody’s got to live a real life so we have something to make a movie about.”

I guess that’s the essence of a moviemaking. Making it real and yet as vibrant as life can be. So much that you know everything about every character, everything in their world, every little detail.

Jerry’s Mission Statement costs him his job. We know only about 4 lines of the many pages from the movie. But Cameron wanted to make sure he knew what exactly Jerry wrote that night. And he put it all down. The Mission Statement. Read it here.

And sample the lines:

Show-Me-The-Money!

Shut up, you had me at hello!

3. Forrest Gump



Momma always used to say, Life is like a box of chocolates.

I’m sure every movie buff has heard that before from Forrest himself.

What-a-movie!

Robert Zameckis is another favourite of mine. While Cameron’s strength lies in simplicity of what he says to expressing the most complex of things, Robert’s strength lies in his expressions with what he does not say and yet communicates. Robert makes the simplest statements through the most complex stories while Cameron makes complex statements through simple stories. Cameron uses lines, Robert revels in silence. Take Forrest Gump or Castaway for that matter.

4. Shrek

No explanations needed.

Who does not like Shrek?

5. Life is Beautiful

Again, no explanations needed.

One of the greatest films ever made and the film that made Roberto Benigni a household name.

Post Script

And hey, I’m not going to be rating classics. I haven’t seen too many of them to start rating. What I will rate next is the same category in Hindi and Tamil.

Asta La Vista, Baby!

The Baasha hangover continues…

October 2, 2004 · by sudhishkamath

After all that serious talk about movies, thought I’ll take a breather.

I saw ‘Madurae’ last night and that makes it two of a kind in a week. What else did I see?

I also saw Gaja… Captain’s ‘Gajendra’. Ahem Ahem!

Who says bad movies are an occupational hazard? They’re good. For the simple reason that these are the kind of movies which make me appreciate the good movies.

I liked ‘Baasha.’ Thalaivar movie. So obviously loved it. But I never thought it would be a great movie, a classic. But last night, ‘Madurae’ made me change my mind.

‘Baasha’ is a classic. Yeah, despite its letdown of a climax, it is a great film. Just look at the number of imitations it has spurned. The ‘Baasha’ format has proven to provide the fodder for the film industry over the last decade. In the last six months alone, we’ve seen three. Ajit remade it as ‘Jana,’ Vijay, of course, as ‘Madurae,’ and Captain got together with ‘Baasha’ director Suresh Krissna just to make him repeat the film with ‘Gajendra’.

Now, ‘Baasha,’ certainly among Rajni’s best, wasn’t an original itself. It was inspired by Mukul Anand’s ‘Hum,’ the multi-starrer with Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant and Govinda.

As ‘Baasha,’ Superstar was an all-powerful don, the protector of the masses, the hero of Mumbai, who gave it all up to fulfil his family responsibilities. He took to violence only when it was truly warranted, only when it was for the greater good of the society. And as Manickam, he changed himself so dramatically, that you could see the difference.

Manickam was a peace loving autodriver, one-among-the-masses, who in spite of the nastiest of provocation, does not hit back. And mind you, it was Thalaivar doing that role… every time Thalaivar as Manickam, does not hit back, the more expectant it made you for the moment when he actually would and curious about what held him back. So finally when he did hit back, you felt gratified. When you finally knew about his history, you felt satisfied.

That gratification and satisfication made the film the super duper hit it was. The imitations, however, lack that punch for one basic reason — both ‘Madurae’ and ‘Gajendra,’ even in their undercover avatars are superheroes, who can beat the shit outta the bad guys. So there wasn’t too much difference in the two shades of the same character. Which is why I think that these remakes will never create that euphoria which ‘Baasha’ created.

But yeah, seeing Vijay do that role does remind you of Superstar. The ‘Ilaya Thalapathy’ sure seems set to get into Thalaivar’s shoes. (To digress a little, The villain KTR, for his ingenious, should have been director of IIT or something. Or at least the IIM. Consider that he sells 5.4 lakh mobile phones for Rs.20 OVER NIGHT, all with a chip-bomb, which will get activated when his automated system calls the subscribers at eleven the next morning. And Madurae should of course, be made director of RAW for cracking it and preventing that many bombs from going off. What does he do? Watch the movie, dodo! I don’t want to be the only one laughing my ass off!)

As for ‘Gajendra’, er… no comments. He he!

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