The cast: Buddy, the dog
The director: Charles Martin Smith
The storyline: A dog helps an underdog basketball school team win.
The bottomline: Dog-lovers delight!
Yes, Buddy the dog, not just fetches ball, he also puts it in the basket.
What’s new? We’re talking about basketball.
No one knows how though.
But, an introverted 12-year old Josh (Kevin Zeggers), who has just moved into town, discovers a golden retriever (who he names Buddy) in an abandoned basketball court. There begins a friendship which would make girls go ‘Awww’ and toddlers go ‘oooh.’
Yes, the movie hall is a haven for kids. Even those too young to understand or speak the language seemed to be enjoying Buddy’s antics thoroughly. You can’t miss the infectious energy in a hall reverberating with excited babblings.
Disney’s ‘Air Bud,’ made in 1997, tries to capitalise on America’s passion for the game but the film’s true strength comes from what Buddy and his talent. No special effects were used in filming the basketball scenes involving Buddy, the end-credits mention.
Director Charles Martin Smith manages to create a few moments in the film that strike a chord, especially towards the end when he cashes in on the dog-kid bond for sentiment.
The evil clown (Michael Jeter), who comes to claim his pet back, gets the same treatment as the thugs in ‘Home Alone’. That done, the dog helps the underdogs win!
If you could deal with the basketball scene in ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ where the alien Jadoo helped the underdogs win (with a generous dose of special effects), you sure will love what Buddy does with the ball — truly, the USP of this film.
Review: Bunty aur Babli!
Minty and Bubbly!
Yeh world hai na world… (This world)
Isme do tarah ke log hotey hai… (has two kinds of people)
Ek jo har fillum main logic-wogic doondthey rehtey hai… (a. Nitpicking Losers!)
Aur doosrey, jo har fillum ke magic ka maza lootthey hai… (b. Picnicking Revellers!)
Bunty aur Babli yeh doosre type ke logon liye bani hai.
Yes, this comic rollercoaster of a caper is wonly for those blessed with a generous sense of humour. You can’t help but like this film, simply because of the colourful characters and the casual air with which the charismatic actors carry off the roles.
Abhishek Bachchan rocks.
Rani rules.
And, Biggie B shows us yet again why he’s still the BAAP of Bollywood!
The film starts off on a realistic note with the central characters stuck in sticky sentimental family situations. Vimmi’s (Rani) Dad wants her married and Rakesh’s (Abhishek) Dad wants him to become a ticket collector, just like him. Thus, Shaad Ali Sahgal sets the perfect stage for the characters to escape the claustrophoby and the monotone of the routine, regular everyday life.
Escape is what the film provides from the minute the characters run away from home and decide to take the easy way out: Con the world to fame.
Soon, the emotional sentimentality paves way for comicbook stylisation as Vimmi and Rakesh become Bunty aur Babli, the consters who have fun-on-the-run, one adventure after another, and one laugh-riot after the other. The one where they sell the Taj Mahal to the seventh richest man in the world is their crowning glory!
“I can’t believe that someone is selling the Taj Mahal,” says the phirang excitedly. “I can’t believe that someone is actually buying,” laughs Bunty.
As they play ‘Catch Me if You Can’ with Deputy Commissioner Dashrath (Amitabh Bachchan), they find the chase getting too close for their own comfort.
The chemistry between the lead pair is a delight. The romance is very understated, but Shaad Ali has also picturised one of the most beautiful kisses in Hindi cinema! If you’re already familiar with the songs, you are simply gonna love them more once you watch them!
Oh, the tributes are there in plenty. Shaadi Ali pays tributes to his mentor Mani Ratnam (Bombay, Alai Payuthey) and even old Bachchan fillums (Sholay, Don). Watch out for these brief lines, situations and choregraphy that work as fine salutes.
On the flip side, Bunty aur Babli is not clever. It totally banks on charm!
And it ends before you want it to, so much that it is almost an anti-climax. After a series of adventures, you would expect the action to snowball and end with the biggest con-job. Instead, the plot just fizzles out and turns politically correct.
Bunty aur Babli might not be a great film but it’s fun. Minty and bubbly it is!
Total timepass! Have a blast!
Review: Nazar
The cast: Ashmit Patel, Meera, Koel Puri, Ali Khan
The director: Soni Razdan
The storyline: Divya begins to get premonitions of murders to be committed by a serial killer and decides to help the police, only to find herself in trouble.
The bottomline: Meera makes it bearable.
The tagline for the movie is nothing short of a prophecy.
“What you see… can kill you”!
For “Nazar” is just the movie for activists who wake up every morning and wonder: “What film should we ban next?”
The revelation of the serial killer’s motive in the end is ban-worthy.
The serial killer, who Divya (Meera) has visions of, just wants to eliminate the “bar girls who spread AIDS.”
The pace of the film redeems a monotone narrative punctuated by killings and interspersed by Divya’s visions of these murders before they take place.
Divya decides to use her gift to help the investigating officer Rohan, but finds herself falling in love with him.
Pakistani actress Meera’s screen presence makes up for Ashmit’s lack of it. The lady is charming, acts pretty well and does her bit of cavorting, under the waterfall, adequately. Don’t expect a “Jism” though.
Sujatha (Koel Puri ), Ashmit’s cynical partner who disapproves of his faith in extra-sensory perceptions especially when he uses it to solve crimes, forms the other end of the love triangle.
The credit goes to director Soni Razdan for sustaining the suspense till the end. Otherwise, the movie has little or no scares, except for the ones created by the jumps in the soundtrack.
Fu King Good Kung Fu movie!
The cast: Stephen Chow
The director: Stephen Chow
The storyline: Stephen Chow. Ask him, he wrote it.
The bottomline: Hilarious!
What can you expect from a Chinese film made in Hong Kong and dubbed with Indian artistes?
Not much.
Which is exactly why one would find Kung Fu Hustle to exceed your expectations. It is one madcap entertainer, completely irreverent with special effects to put ‘The Matrix’ to shame and kung fu action that might give Steve Oedekerk a complex. Oedekerk who? The genious behind the kung-fu spoof ‘Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.”
But then ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ is not entirely a spoof like ‘Kung Pow’ though it would fall in the same genre.
Actually, it is a difficult task to slot ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ into any specific genre. It is an action movie with stunts comparable with the best in the martial arts genre. It is a special effects movie with outstretches the best in imagination. It is a martial arts spoof that does not stop at anything. It is visual poetry in motion comparable to John Woo’s style of filmmaking. And at the same time, it is where MAD magazine comicbook humour meets MTV-spoof show and where Tom and Jerry meet Jackie Chan.
There is not too much of a storyline either. A thoroughly incompetent wannabe gangster (Chow) and his friend try to con a low-class neighbourhood with no luck, only to find themselves at the receiving end of some action from the unlikeliest of heroes – a fat landlady and her wastrel of a husband.
The dreaded Axe gang hires the best assassins in the business to fight the duo as Chow finds his way into the gang, only to be beaten to pulp by the demented Beast, the best kung-fu fighter ever, a geeky looking old man.
The duo soons finds out that Chow is the ‘Chosen one’ and the final confrontation fight between the Beast and Chow takes kung-fu farce to new heights, literally!
However silly in thought and idea, the spectacular and gutsy execution makes you forget the inanity instantly, such is the charm of this pot pourri of Asian pop culture. Evil stylised villains, the oppressed underdogs fighting back, innocent childhood sweetheart of the hero are all ingredients Asian cinema is so familiar with. Now watch these familiar characters do things you have never seen before.
The background score builds up the tempo to the action sequences and is bound to have your tapping your feet to the rhythm.
The most bizarre, whacky, unpredictable piece of madcap entertainment you will find in one screen and under one roof, only bettered by the Tamil version.
Yes, the Tamil dubbed version ‘Mirattal Adi’ seems to match the sensibility of the visuals more appropriately than the poorly dubbed English version. So for unlimited entertainment, catch the action in Tamil.
Review: Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith!
Journey to the dark side
The cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Samuel LJackson, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee and Frank Oz (voice of Yoda)
The director: George Lucas
The storyline: How Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader.
The bottomline: Watch you must, expect you must not.
This has to be the darkest of the lot.
Fine, if you consider that young fans of the originals have aged since the first Star Wars film released in 1977. And the present crop of young fans are anyway used to finding violence and killing in films.
‘Revenge of the Sith’ is very grown-up compared to the other films in the series. And the most serious one. There aren’t too many funny lines or feel good moments. But that again is understandable considering that George Lucas just wanted this episode to show how a good man becomes bad.
How the irresistibly cute child from ‘Episode 1:The Phantom Menace’ Anakin Skywalker becomes the black-metal masked evil Darth Vader, the villain in the original series (which have now become Episodes 4,5 and 6).
Given that the function of the middle of any story is to put the central characters into a crisis and push them to the lowest point of their graph, there was very little scope for comic interludes. Hence the beeping droid R2D2 is just at its efficient best, the gold-plated C3PO does not get too much screen time, the usually eccentric Yoda we see in the originals is all serious and the goofy Jar Jar Binks, introduced in Episode 1 to bring comic relief is done away with.
Drama dominates ‘Revenge of the Sith’ as Lucas fleshes out the politics that sets the stage for the transformation of Anakin (HaydenChristensen), who now finds his loyalties split between the Jedi Council and the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who he had befriended in the prequel.
After having set-up Anakin’s ability to foresee death (remember the premonition he had in Episode 2 about his established when little Anakin meets the Jedi council for the first time in Episode 1 when Yoda tells him: “Fear is the path to the darkside. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.”), the master story-teller skillfully ties it all up, with Anakin now getting a premonition of Padme’s (Natalie Portman) death.
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu has just about managed a slightly bigger role this time and Ewan McGregor gets the meaty chunk of the saberlight fights. It is to the director’s credit that the mind-blowing visual effects (the saberlight fight in the climax between Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin/Darth Vader is the highlight of the film and the battle scenes are out of this world), in spite of being the best in the series, in no way distract you from the story you already know.
And that, is the beauty of the third prequel. It meticulously fills in the blanks between the first two prequels and the three originals, unfolding an almost Shakespearean transformation of Anakin.
Star Wars fans will love it, for this has pretty much everything else you liked about the series. Lucas continues his “one cliffhanger after another” formula to have you at the edge of our seat, with the “I have a bad feeling about this” line (this time Obi Wan Kenobi says it) signaling off the start of yet another adventure, yet another saberlight fight, yet another losing the saberlight stunt, yet another narrow escape, and many ‘May the Force be with you’ greetings thrown in, at regular intervals.
As Yoda would say about ‘Revenge of the Sith’: “Expect too much, you must not. Enjoy, you will then.
* * *
That was the story that reached the desk. What appeared was this.
Anyway, there’s more I wanted to blog about Star Wars. So here I go:
I’m sure many would agree that the charm of the originals is missing in the prequels. There was a certain simplicity about the special effects, which seemed pretty adequate then! The onscreen charisma of Harrison Ford playing Han Solo salvaged even the cheesiest of lines and the chemistry and the and seemingly intriguing triangle between Luke, Han and Leiah kept you guessing and hooked to the series.
But having said that, there is a certain balance Lucas has managed to strike between the prequels and originals. If Episode 6: Return of the Jedi uses a silly kid-savvy ploy like those cute teddy-bear-like creatures helping to win the battle, Episode 1: Phantom Menace uses another silly kid-savvy ploy of lil Anakin almost single-handedly flying a spaceship he has never ever flown before and rescue the Jedis. Episodes 2 and 5 are about Luke and Anakin undergoing Jedi training. Episodes 3 and 4 have confrontations between Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi.
There is so much of symmetry and balance, that at least some of it probably is intentional. I remember Lucas used that word: ‘symmetry’ in the Director’s commentary of Episode 2, while explaining how he wanted to choreograph stunt sequences involving Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin with a certain sense of balance.
If you were to credit the prequels for something, it has to be for it’s strong political content. It’s not just makes the series contemporary but is also reflective of modern day society. You can see more signs of consumerism (neon signs, nightclubs and fastfood), the increasing nexus between of politicians, their armies and technology and the suggestion of media culture (when Obi Wan Kenobi tells Anakin that he must take credit for saving the day, you almost see Anakin addressing a press conference). So quite ironically, while the prequels are representative of contemporary society, the originals which had ingredients of the pop-culture of the seventies is actually shown as the future: The era of Next Generation Skywalker!
Which is why if you haven’t seen Star Wars yet, do NOT watch it from Episodes 1 to 6! It will be really unfair to the originals. This story is best told in the order it has been made: 4,5,6,1,2,3!
Going into hiding!
Tomorrow has to be THE most embarassing day of my career.
Ok, second most, the first was when I, quite dim-wittedly, called Shravanabelagola a Buddhist shrine in one of my travel features and my colleague feared that we would have an army of naked Jains outside the office protesting. By the mercy of Mahavira, that did not happen and I was glad I just escaped with a 150 postcards calling me names!
That day, I truly deserved to be kicked.
But not tomorrow, when I’m gonna be given the credit for a creative masterpiece of a blooper which could make Pakistani actress Meera give me the ‘Nazar’ that could kill, if she were in this part of the world reading the paper.
What I wrote:
… ‘Nazar’ is just the movie for activists who wake up every morning and wonder: ‘What film should we ban next?”
The revelation of the motive for the serial killer in the end is quite ban-worthy. The serial-killer Divya (Meera) has visions of throughout the film, just wants to eliminate “bar girls who spread AIDS.”
No, we won’t give away the killer.
Here’s what is appearing in Friday Review after the clever subeditor changed it to:
Divya (Meera) has visions and just wants to eliminate “bar girls who spread AIDS.”
I plead guilty of leaving a comma out. But THIS??
Well, I need to go into hiding. NOW!!
P.S: Tomorrow, I will post the unedited reviews of Star Wars, Nazar and Kung Fu Hustle. Just for you guys to compare with what comes out finally on print!
Work!
It’s almost like a new innings.
I’ve been away from office (well, not entirely) for about two months now on various grounds. First, it was my movie and I was off for a month. Then a week went by in trying to slip back to work mode. Soon I hear about the Korea trip and a week went by preparing for that, 10 days went by in Seoul and Delhi and I come back to office to find out Im on night shift for a week and then got a coupla days off.
Yesterday, was supposed to be the day of re-starting work yet again but then I was blessed with the task of reviewing Star Wars Episode 3 and I did that and watched all six parts in a span of 30 hours.
So today, was like the ‘back to business’ day.
And so far, its been quite productive.
Did/doing four movie reviews: Nazar, Jo Bole So Nihaal, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Kung Fu Hustle. So watch out this Friday for my reviews.
Also finished writing the first part of a new column with Shonali. We’re were supposed to start this column after Campus Jottings ended. The break of a fortnight extended to almost a year, thanks to sheer laziness! In any case, we’ve only done a coupla stories together in almost a year now, compared to the stories we used to sit and write together every other week. So its good to be back writing with my favourite co-writer. Again.
Anyway, it’s this column that’s gonna be called “He says, She says” and we ve conceived it as this light-hearted battle of the sexes. It should hit the paper mid of June every week. Every week Shonali and me will find something new to fight about, no holds barred. That should be fun, so watch out for that!
Awrite, I’m getting back to work on my reviews again.
And yeah, I love these breaks I take.
P.S: Doing really well on the 40 days vow so far… No problems there whatsoever! 🙂
Done: Watching a Star Wars Marathon!
Yoda: If once u start down the dark path, forever it will dominate ur destiny.
Luke Skywalker: Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No No. Quicker. Easier, more seductive.
Luke: How do I know the good from the bad?
Yoda: You will know when you are calm. At peace, passive. A jedi uses the force for knowledge and defence. Never for attack.
Luke: Tell me why…
Yoda: There is no why.
W-O-W!!
Watch your kids grow up to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings DVDs, rest assured they won’t need moral science lessons. Once they grow up just a little, put them on a diet of The Matrix.
🙂
I also love this conversation they have when young Anakin Skywalker meets Yoda and the other Jedis for a personal interview before admission into Jedi training:
Yoda: How feel you?
Anakin: Cold, Sir.
Yoda: Afraid are you?
Anakin: No, Sir.
Yoda: See through you we can.
Other Jedis: Be mindful of your feelings. Your thoughts dwell on your mother.
Anakin: I miss her.
Yoda: Afraid to lose her I think.
Anakin: What does that have to do…
Yoda: Everything. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
Wankers versus Prostitutes: Talk about our movies!
(With due thanks more than ever for this post is generating some kickass discussion. Think Mani Ratnam sucks or that DDLJ is unwatchable??? Join in the war in the Comments section!
Added after 50 comments: The title of the blog had to be changed cuz of the Wankers versus Prostitutes debate in the comments section! Who would you rather be? Join in the fun!
Added after 100 comments: Go home! The war is over.)
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i’ll write abt u and thrash u
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:after all u r hindu’s page 3 boy
Suderman says: hindu’s page 3 is a responsible civic section
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i am sure!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and all those things u said abt superstar in ur blog
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i’ll copy taht, give u credit
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and rip it apart
Suderman says:cool!!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:lol
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and now that i’ve told u that, i feel less guilty
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ok tell me sumthin
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:what tamil movies have been “responsible”?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:thevar magan was abt what?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i saw it long time back
Suderman says:thevar magan was condemning violence
Suderman says:it was a rural Godfather
Suderman says:”responsible” for what??
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:what was the theme?i’ve totally forgotten the story
Suderman says:but thevar magan was a violent film
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:responsible media
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:it was?
Suderman says:yes
Suderman says:of course
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ok swades for sure
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but what abt tamil movies?
Suderman says:swades was responsible
Suderman says:anjali was responsible
Suderman says:actually mani ratnam’s films are responsible
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:yes but its madras university tehy might give me lesser marks if i talk abt hindi movies!
Suderman says:kannathil muthamittal
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:hmmm….yes…bombay…
Suderman says:bombay
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:what was that abt?km?
Suderman says:abt a little girl’s prayer for peace in the war-ravaged island
Suderman says:sri lanka and terrorism
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and virumandii was too confusin
Suderman says:given the sad state of the business (films flopping, dwindling business attributed largely to video piracy), it is not the prerogative of the film industry to make “responsible films” cuz the educated “responsible” elite audiences had stopped visiting cinema halls, after having conveniently found the magic of DVDs and home theatre. Hence, the function of cinema changed over the last few years.
Suderman says:Filmmakers here began making films to cater to those who did not have the luxuries of home theatre
Suderman says:which meant that the sensibilities had to be different
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:r u giving me quotes for free?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:or r u taking that from somewhere?
Suderman says:which is why there is a lot of slumming, dumbing down of content in terms of script!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:nice!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:soooper suderman
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:actually to be fair i do understand ur point
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but then i understand the other view too…
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:now wheres the balance is the question
Suderman says:The plots were just a manifestation of popular sentiment, outrage against the rich, perceived as corrupt… the angry young man prototype, celebrated in the mid seventies, arrived here twenty years late!
Suderman says:The last decade hence, has seen the celebration of the anti-hero
Suderman says:the guy from the street had to be hero, cuz he was a representative of the audience
Suderman says:To understand Tamil cinema, you need to understand the psychographics of the audience watching these films!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:the death of ideals, u mean?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:as in ppl feel the champion of idealistic causes dont hold good in their lives?
Suderman says:For a man on the street, the best way to fight injustice is to beat the shit out of the bad guy!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but isnt it like a 2 way process
Suderman says:which is why there is a strong dose of violence!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:doesnt media influence behavious as much as it reflects behaviour?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so if they see a super star beating the shit out they will feel justified
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and then again, given the fact, taht they might not think much abt teh movie and accept content a lot more easily without asking questions
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:wont they internalise what tehy see on screen?
Suderman says:The function of cinema here is to entertain by telling a story in which the common man is the hero and since the common man from the street today has a certain sensibility towards women (voyeurism, leching and other forms of sexual harassment is not perceived as evil, but is legitimised as fun and normal, among the things young people usually do)
Suderman says:cinema is only reflective of the society
Suderman says:cuz if it isnt, the audience will not buy it
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so u mean to say it doesnt influence society?
Suderman says:the sentiment expressed in a film has to be among the collective conscious of a society for it to click, for it to be relatable!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so have ppl become more sexually liberated after globalised media entered
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:nope i think meida reinforces
Suderman says:unless they relate to it, they will not watch it. That’s how strong the audience taste is, down south!
Suderman says:The Tamil film audience is among the most headstrong audiences! They reject!
Suderman says:They reject mercilessly!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ok…once upon a time ppl said that abt the malayalam industry too
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but ever since hindi movies have become so popular
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:theres a lot of dumbing down happening there
Suderman says:Here, you just need to walk into the halls to know what kind of people watch films these day
Suderman says:these days
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so how does one account for that
Suderman says:A society only gets films that it deserves
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:it is media which has influenced them…
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:when tehy see so much meida talking abt a certain set of values
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:tehy buy it
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:if one movie talks abt one value system alien to them maybe they will reject
Suderman says:No, not really!! I can prove it with an example. Take a movie called Alli Arjuna
Suderman says:made by Saran, one of the most hotshot directors
Suderman says:he made a commerical film, with all popular ingredients on the evils of eve-teasing
Suderman says:it failed
Suderman says:and it bombed miserably
Suderman says:in spite of being what critics would label as a classic
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but if it is a concerted effort where all the movies seem to be sayingthe same thing…a certain kind of brainwashing does happen, doesnt it?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:to say it doesnt is to disprove what media analysts have been saying ever since miedia analysis began!
Suderman says:no, filmmakers here need to agree with the audience… else, the audience will reject the stories
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so dont u see that as a compromise?
Suderman says:it is an audience driven market!
Suderman says:filmmakers will only invest in what brings in profits
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:oh well…we come back to that
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:actually everybody from the media says that
Suderman says:because they have all lost crores making films which have tried to be “responsible”
Suderman says:Take any producer, any director and you can see a responsible film against his name which has failed
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and so do the alternative media people…they say they dont make money cos they dont cater to audience
Suderman says:and an irresponsible film working
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but then how does one explain swades?
Suderman says:Swades is a film which was not audience-driven! It was director driven!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but people loved it…?
Suderman says:Aayitha Ezhuthu is a film which was not audience driven! It was director driven!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:still did well…
Suderman says:Which is why both these films had critics lauding them
Suderman says:but in terms of business, were a failure
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:they were???
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i know ppl who watched AE 15 times!!
Suderman says:Swades made money because of the minimum guarantee a star like Shah Rukh Khan brings along!
Suderman says:An SRK film brings with it 50 crores of business, thanks to the overseas market
Suderman says:and Ashutosh after being an internationally acclaimed director didnt feel the need to make a film which was audience driven…he said what he wanted to say only cuz he was sure that between him and SRK, they cud easily recover costs and make money
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ok…so…how does one explain that after a long while of stooopid movies in kerala, one movie came along taht talked abt filmakers who make stoopid movies and it became a super hit
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:not just among the middle classes but all over
Suderman says:dont compare
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:shows that the audience is not so dumb
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but they buy into dmbness over time
Suderman says:Kerala has a different set of people, a different set of filmmakers who are unique
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:when its the only alternative
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:dumb=everything irresponsible, unthinking
Suderman says:you cannot compare it with Tamil or Hindi cinema cuz they are all very different mediums and made for different purposes!
Suderman says:Director Dharani once gave me a brilliant analogy of cinema and tastes
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but forget the region…the principle behind media wud be the same, no?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:what did he say?
Suderman says:No… which is what Dharani’s theory is all about
Suderman says:and its brilliant
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:what did he say?>
Suderman says:It compares audience tastes with their food tastes and the purpose of it!
Suderman says:Food in Kerala has a very basic purpose
Suderman says:it is simple…
Suderman says:presented very simplistically
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:go on….lol jus wondering what my mom wud say to that
Suderman says:the gratification it provides is very basic… it is to fill the stomach… that’s about it! It is minus all the frills and variety! Your Mom im afraid is NOT the lowest common denominator…
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:yes but u c i was thinking abt this movie by this bengali filmaker…as usual i forget who and what
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:he made a film for workers
Suderman says:The layman in Kerala eats his fish or bananas or those potatoes
Suderman says:and is content with what it provides him
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:one of the most resp films ever made
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:and farmers contributed money to help him make it
Suderman says:are u gonna let me complete what im saying??? there are always exceptions to a theory!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so responsibility “for layman” need not be mutually exclusive
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ook ok complete
Suderman says:the attitude here in Tamil Nadu towards food is “unlimited meals”
Suderman says:they want a little bit of everything, well presented, and unlimited
Suderman says:they want value for money
Suderman says:the gratification is not just basic as it is in Kerala… they want a little colour in the food
Suderman says:they want spice
Suderman says:they want sweets
Suderman says:they want their buttermilk
Suderman says:they want everything but they dont want to spend
Suderman says:In Andhra, spice and presentation is everything!!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ok i get it……so u r sayin there can be no general rule as far as movies go and that u have to be region/audience specific
Suderman says:The layman in Andhra eats cuz he loves the spice
Suderman says:not just to satisfy his hunger
Suderman says:In Hindi cinema, they want their rotis and paneer and punjabi food!
Suderman says:at Punjabi weddings
Suderman says:there is a lot of family attachments to food
Suderman says:and hence to cinema too
Suderman says:occassionally, a Dil Chahta Hai comes along
Suderman says:now that, is like the pizza they have begun to eat
Suderman says:and like
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so basically back to the argument that nobody can AFFORD to make conscientious films?
Suderman says:yes, cuz to make such films you need a market which is monopolised
Suderman says:by a few directors
Suderman says:and when the audience has no choice but to watch these films
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:so tell me…does mani ratnam do well @the box office?
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:did bombay do well?
Suderman says:that will not happen cuz there’s always a choice
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:in terms of revenue?
Suderman says:Bombay did well… but then, it was made by a Mani Ratnam
Suderman says:when he knew epeople were going to the theatres
Suderman says:it was made when teh market was conducive
Suderman says:plus Bombay in terms of content is one of those rare films which married two formats
Suderman says:not everyone can do that cuz it requires intelligence
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:ok can u jus for a moment think…without arguing and telll me, if everybody were to make conscientious movies, would it be the death of the movie culture?
Suderman says:which is why the likes of Mani Ratnam are rare and celebrated by critics!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:what if conscientious movies were all they got (like in bengal @one point)
Suderman says:why wud people start making wool jackets and thermal underwear in Madras
Suderman says:if all manufacturers decided that they wud make thermal underwear and woollen jackets, do u think people wud buy them???
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:did pithamaghan do well?
Suderman says:Pithamagan wasnt a responsible film!
Suderman says:it was a bad film
Suderman says:with some great performances, some of them over-rated
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i thot it spoke for the grave diggers??
Suderman says:it was loud and melodramatic
Suderman says:no… not really
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:but did it do well?
Suderman says:there was a certain cliche it represented grave diggers… it showed them like
animals!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:hmmmmm…..
Suderman says:vikram looks more mentally ill than someone who lives at the periphery…
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:lol
Suderman says:Tamil cinema is star driven!
Suderman says:and the function of the star is to showcase machismo
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:hmmmm…..
Suderman says:and at the same time, he has to be identifiable with the common man
Suderman says:he needs to have the same traits as them
Suderman says:he needs to have the same attitude towards women as them
Suderman says:he needs to be as crass and crude as them
Suderman says:he needs to speak out and do what they have always wanted to
Sexy Hawt Chick! says: i understand but dont agree
Suderman says:there are always two parts of a hero or any icon
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:i still think it will only reinforce
Suderman says:1. He needs to be someone you can relate to. 2. He needs to be someone who you aspire to be!
Suderman says:A Tamil film hero is a combination of the two
Suderman says:and when he has these two parts in the right proportion, he’s a winner at the box office
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:hmmm
Suderman says:Vijay is Vijay is every film
Suderman says:Rajni is Rajni
Suderman says:thats what Superstars are all about
Suderman says:thats what Icons are all about
Suderman says:A Superstar film is like a James Bond film
Suderman says:people have a set of expectations
Suderman says:if these expectations arent met, they reject it, even if it is Superstar
Suderman says:Baba is the biggest example
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:taht was the movie abt auto drivers?
Suderman says:Gawdd!!!! No! Baba was when the hero decides to take the spiritual path
Suderman says:Basha was the one with autodrivers and it clicked!! Big time! He played an underworld don in it!
Sexy Hawt Chick! says:oh!
(and the argument went on…)
Typical male fantasy!
*Long sigh*
I’m going crazy…
All I can think of is “If only I had” situations… makes perfect script for movie…
You come back from a trip and start dreaming. About the Russian babe of course.
What if I had asked her for coffee?
What if I had asked at least Udderwoman?
What if she did come out?
What if we did have dinner?
What if we did have dessert and more than that?
What if I lost my passport and something else that starts with v… (it’s called a visa people) 😀
P.S: Thoughts at 1.25 a.m. Come on, what else does a guy think of, at this hour?
Oh, btw… I’ve completely re-formatted the page layout and put some fresh blogs at earlier dates to correspond with the actual dates when things actually happened. So you can find new posts from May 6 onwards.
MADRAS INK. 