Mini reviews: playing catch up.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan - When you haven't been watching any Hindi films for months and months on end, it feels rather lovely to be swept up in the melodrama again, and this Salman Khan starrer certainly fit the bill, what with Pakistan-India unity themes and the missing mute child of it all. I can't say I hated it, but towards the end it was just a tiny bit too much. Loved seeing Nawazuddin Siddiqui pick up that mainstream paycheck, even if I wasn't huge on his role in this.

Oh, and Kareena Kapoor Khan was in this film, too, a fact I barely remembered until just now. I don't want to say she should pick better films, since maybe none are coming her way any more (lamentable fact of life for married actresses) but I do miss her putting in better work than this.

Dil Dhadakne Do - Speaking of Kareena, would have loved to see the original cast for this, which was Ranbir-Kareena as the siblings who were eventually played by Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh, and Madhuri as the mother (a role that went to Shefali Shetty, who is great here). Still, had that happened, what would have ended up on the screen probably would have been the same, middle-of-the-road family drama with some emotional moments, comedy and dance numbers. I really enjoyed this one, but with the caveat that from the intermission I knew it would be a hopelessly forgettable film. The characters are just a little too bland and stereotypical, the drama predictable and even the twists rather unexciting. It's pretty and it's fun, and then you never think about it again as the credits roll. Indeed, my biggest take aways from the film were the following three things:

1. It is exciting to see Priyanka Chopra still in this familiar environment now that she's set to lead a major US network drama series. I've never been a huge fan, but I've also been the first to admit her talent. 7 Khoon Maaf is still her finest work, but if her mainstream US success leads to more people discovering that Bhardwaj gem, I am all for it. 
2. Farhan Akhtar looks really good in a t-shirt. 
3. ...but Farhan Akhtar annoyingly wrote the character he himself played the Righteous Male Feminist dialogue. Okay, buddy. Okay.

Any Body Can Dance 2 - This one blew my hair back. Is this a movie? Is this just things happening on celluloid in a somewhat sequential manner? Was ABCD the first this bad and I just didn't notice, too swept up in the glorious dance sequences? ABCD2 sure feels like a non-movie, with things happening to characters one barely knows, with every frequent conflict solved two lines of dialogue later by multiple deux ex machina, with cardboard cut-outs having emotions like stickers attached and removed easily for plot convenience. The dance sequences are okay, but with absolutely no emotional connection to anything else that is happening, they feel strangely hollow. I enjoyed seeing the familiar faces from the first film, including Lauren Gottlieb, but holy moly. Don't suffer through this one like I did, even for shirtless Varun Dhawan and some okay naach-gaana.

Badlapur - Am I going to hate Badlapur, I asked my Twitter timeline multiple times, seeing the review summaries pop up here and there, and for the most part people either let their silence on the matter speak for itself, or just told me a flat-out "most likely". But what with director favourite Sriram Raghavan (yes, I know Agent Vinod happened, but I blame that one on Saif), established favourite Nawazuddin and emerging favourite Varun Dhawan, how was I to ignore this film? It was the bane of my existence until I would finally see it. So I did. 

In another mood, another time, this might have become one of my flawed favourites, one that I could re-watch and re-examine for themes and nuances in performances, but at this time, during the mood I was in, I checked out about 40 minutes into the film and never quite checked back in.The tale of revenge turning one man (Dhawan) into a monster as the culprit (Siddiqui) withers in jail is certainly an intriguing one, especially held up against the empowerment through revenge narrative that was Raghavan's first film Ek Hasina Thi (11 years old this year, wow). And yet, when it was all said and done, I wondered if I should have just rewatched his debut.

Raghavan remains a capable director, allowing his leads to shine and for audiences to gain new appreciation for their range, but the "women problem" remains. Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Divya Dutta and Radhika Apte all feature and do great with what little they're given, but the way the other characters or the camera and narrative choices treat them doesn't sit right with me. Sexual coercion can be played up in a way that empathises with the victim and recognises the perpetrator as vile, but instead such scenes are merely used for titillation for the camera and as a demonstration of the male lead's sickening power over his victims. It is disturbing to me when the narrative doesn't condemn a morally ambiguous character's misogyny but instead throws it up on the screen unquestioningly as a fact of life. It's all about choices in portrayal, and Raghavan seems to make the least considered ones each and every time. 

Some years back I talked about how Kucche Dhaage, a 70's drama thriller, deconstructed the revenge tale so often found in Indian films. It portrays the horrible things people do for revenge, and also how this desire to avenge wrecks the people involved psychologically. In some ways, it lets these human monsters off the hook a little too much, giving them a redemption arc on the second half, whilst also showing that since they've devoted themselves to the violence of revenge, they can't ever lead normal lives after it. Badlapur, in many ways, is an even more brutal, and unrelenting deconstruction of revenge narratives, but as Indian films often are, it's still too concerned with its murky lead, not his victims.

As much as I hated this film, I'm not ready to give up on Raghavan yet, such is my deep affection for his first two films. But would I recommend this one? No chance in hell.

Agent Vinod - hollow spectacle.

Note: This review contains some minor spoilers (mostly in mentioning plot points or scenes).

Gah, is all I can say.

Sriram Raghavan, I know you can do better this. I know it. You got your big budget action masala, filled with international terrorist intrigue and Saif Ali Khan as the man who never gives out his real name. And yet .. 

I think the problem here is that Agent Vinod  has one foot in the sort of clever throwback Hindifilm referentialness that Johnny Gaddaar did quite well with, and another foot in slick post-millennium action thriller genre. So it never quite comes together, it's got these themes it throws at the viewer and subsequently seems to either abandon or not really follow all the way through. Like the idea about fake names, a clip also used in the trailer that amused me a ton - good, clever. I mean, one of the most ridiculous ideas in film history is that James Bond shares his name so much it becomes a catch phrase of the film. But instead of playing around with this idea of fake identities, the film just kind of leaves it there. In the end, Agent Vinod is just ..Agent Vinod, some guy who's good at kicking unmerciful ass when need be and who's addicted to the thrills provided by his job. Wow, colour me invested.

Which leads me to my next big gripe. Remember that pivotal scene in Omkara where Langda gets slighted and we see a couple of seconds of betrayal and hurt and anguish in his face, and then he blinks it away and is already plotting his revenge? I look at Saif Ali Khan in this film and wonder if that was the same guy in both performances, because it does not feel like it. Even as a fan, I would never try to talk up his acting abilities and compare them to those of the exceptionally talented Indian actors, but he has his moments, and he can achieve quite subtle, interesting things with his acting. In here, the character that is quite hollow in terms of characterisation remains hollow thanks to the acting. The cool-as-a-cucumber thing works well in action, but there are so many moments that are more quiet and that have potential for him to do something extra, add something to this character who is just kind of plain. And he doesn't.

And honestly, that does bother me.  He's got no excuses, he's the producer and with a good director, who he's worked with before. He could do so much more with this role. Instead he just does his usual. Whoopdedoo. Moving on.

Kareena gets the same complaint. I kept waiting for there to be more backstory, something more interesting added to her role, but since there wasn't anything, and it was good, but it wasn't anything beyond that. There's also no thought put into the romantic angle; the two fall in love somewhere along the way, I guess, and the film flirts with the idea that Vinod meets a lot of sexy dangerous women in his line of work (Bond style) but neither of these things are contrasted or expanded upon. What makes Kareena's character special? The script gives us very little to build off on.

The problem with the film isn't that it's horrible; it's extremely competently made, and has things in that are extremely commendable. The use of foreign locations is always great, and fits the story as it progresses. The camerawork, editing and action sequences are great, and there are some definite stand-out scenes, like the scene where the scene cuts back and forth between present and a flashback of Vinod's previous encounter with a certain individual, or the single-shot shoot out, accompanied by a song. There's plenty of stuff here where you're forced to just go, "wow, that's cool". The song sequences don't jar, either, and are very well used within the context of the plot. There are multiple good elements and that's partly why this film is so aggravating to me.

Sriram Raghavan had a million pieces moving in the way that the plot came together in Johnny Gaddaar, and delivered a more simple but good thriller in Ek Hasina Thi. He knows his film references, but he's usually not bogged down by them - the story moves forward and juggles different elements. In here, the plot is just not as interesting, and not as complex. Unlike EHT where you're simultaneously disturbed and cheering the main character on, in here I found myself with barely any lukewarm emotions towards any of the characters, good or bad. I've seen other reviews mention the absolute lack of humour, and concur - this film certainly needed it, especially when it could use Saif's in delivery.

Were my expectations just too high? I don't think so. I just know what everybody involved is capable of, and rather than giving their everything, it seemed they put together something that is competent and has thought put into it, but is lackluster as a whole. I keep wondering about scale; perhaps Agent Vinod would've been better with one or two less locations, one or two less bad guys or characters, maybe 30 or so minutes chopped off the running length. Maybe that squeezing down of the scale would've allowed for tighter plot, better characters, and less of this hollowness of the grand scale variety.

My favourite Indian directors.

In my last post I talked about being a newbie and not knowing certain things or what's what when it came to certain things. I think one of the questions I couldn't have in any way answered during my newbiedom was "Who's your favourite director in Indian cinema?". For one, I didn't pay attention to directors - only the stars of films. Second, even if I had, I hadn't seen enough films by any director to know whether I liked them or not.

But, I'm glad to say, now that I've seen enough films, when the question is put forth, a number of names instantly come to mind.

What makes a favourite director for me? Well, for one, I have to have seen a lot if not most, if not all of their films. I have to (obviously) enjoy the films I've seen by them. I have to get why they make the kind of films they make. And I also have to anticipate their up-coming films (assuming they're still directing).

Sriram Raghavan

So, dude's only made two films, Ek Hasina Thi and Johnny Gaddaar, and you know what? Friggin' adore both films. And now he's in the process of making another film starring my on/off favourite actor, Saif Ali Khan. I think Raghavan is the Tarantino of Hindi films, if we must make such comparisons - he is a huge film fanatic, who loves films of all sorts, and he mixes these influences into his films (you only have to read his piece on Rediff about his favourite thrillers to know this). However, unlike Tarantino with his self-indulgent dialogues, I think Raghavan keeps his films tightly plotted. They're not perfect films, don't get me wrong - there are things I'd change about both of them, there are things I'm sure he'd change himself, but they are good films, no two ways about it. I hope he makes plenty more.

Kunal Kohli

Yeah, I am an eternal Kunal Kohli apologist. He made Hum Tum, which I loved (despite its flaws), he made Fanaa, which I loved (despite its flaws), he made Thoda Pyaar.., which I loved (despite its flaws and the fact nobody else did). This critic-turned-director is not generally immensely appreciated. But I like him, and I get him - like Raghavan, he's a filmi fanboy. Sometimes, that can be a good thing - he constructs films that aren't the tightest or the best when it comes to plot, and that really require suspension of belief. Sometimes, it's not necessarily a good thing. For example, I get the sense he loved everything Aamir did in Fanaa so much he didn't necessarily direct the actor much. But I think Kohli makes films that feel right, and have those magical filmi moments that just click with me as a viewer so strongly I adore him for it. Like the antakshari scene on Fanaa, or the argument scene in Hum Tum, or the sindoor in Mujhse Dosti Karoge. To Thoda Pyaar's disadvantage I have to say, the film lacks those moments in large part. But it's fun fluff regardless.

Manmohan Desai (pictured with Rishi Kapoor)

King of Masala. King of Mass-entertainers. King of crazy, funky, fantastic entertainment. I wonder, how this man was talked about back in the day? Was he considered the David Dhawan of his time, sort of looked down on but very popular regardless? The Priyadarshan? I want to say no, because I think Desai really believed in the type of cinema he was making - he wasn't just making it to make money. There's wildness in his films that captured the imagination of the audiences. I mean, I can think of a story wilder than Dharam-Veer, for sure, but I could not imagine it into a blockbuster that would live on as a classic masala film to this day. The over-the-topness, the fantastical story tropes, but also the heart at the core of these films, all of these make Manmohan Desai a name I can trust.

Prabhudeva

He debuted with Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (a film that flows through choreography), continued with Pournami (amicable effort, though not a huge favourite) and began in Hindi industry by giving them Wanted (a show that Southie rules in action masalas, but the format can and does work for Hindi audiences, too). Plus he's an awesome dancer and choreographer. Again, he's not done a whole lot when it comes to directing but I love what he has given to the world and I anticipate his future efforts.

Bala

I've talked about his guy a lot but I can't get over how spell-binding his latest effort, Naan Kadavul (review here) was in all its grimness. Plus I adore Pithamagan, for not being so totally hopeless. And this guy, if there any directors who make films like his somewhere in India, I've not heard of them. I think he has a totally unique vision, the kind that looks that things that are grim and dark and awful, but also rooted in some sort of strange humanity. And all these characters that are outsiders, and characters who do bad things but who still feel relatable - in other words, complexity.

S. Shankar

Another Southie director! This guy is the real successor to Manmohan Desai, if anybody in Indian films is. He makes the most bombastic, insane, masala to the nth degree that has everything, visuals, comedy, music, CGI, star power. In true Thamizh style the heroes smash social problems with a simplistic philosophy - curing social ills one baddie at a time. I adore Anniyan but I also enjoyed Indian and his Hindi venture, Nayak: The Hero. And then there's Sivaji, and the up-coming Aishwarya-Rajni film Robot/Enthiraan. Shankar is something you have to experience to understand, and then experience it again, to truly understand.

Bubbling Under: Gulzar, Vishal Bhardwaj (lovelovelove this guy, also as a composer, but feel like I need to see more of his films), Shankar Ali (Bunty aur Babli & Jhoom Barabar Jhoom), Rajkumar Hirani (I love him but who doesn't?), Guru Dutt (again, feel like I need to see more)...

Gosh, there's actually quite a number of people whose films I love. Go figure.

What are your favourites? Feel free to make your own post, or just answer in the comments. I'm really curious!