Monthly Archives: November 2010

Guzaarish : be your own Masand Chopra

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

be your own Masand Chopra

First let me clear the air that Guzaarish is not a bad movie at all , will throw light on the parts which were good and the pieces which could have been  better in next post.

This post is to vent out my anger at the reviews from the established movie critics who have labeled this movie as a piece of work from an aesthete and a melodrama based on  three masterpieces –  “The Prestige”, The Sea Inside” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” . I don’t remember a single review where critics missed mentioning these three names and going overboard on these flicks than reviewing Guzaarish. It was  as awkward as a bikini clad women would be in a Gutkha Ad.

The only  similarity Guzaarish has with “The Prestige” is the lead actor being a magician and having a rivalry which proved to be fatal.  The other similarity Guzaarish derives from other two movies is lead actor being in “locked-in Syndrome” or “being a quadriplegic”  and fighting to end his life. Are these justifying enough to call this piece of work as the derived one.  Off course  not ,  else why would we fall for war movies with same war most of the time , movies with same  plot of Nazis killing the Jews and movies capturing it from defferent angles (or perspectives).

If  audience writes off the movie which pre-exists in same or other form, then these three movies would also not have had the followings they demand today .  “The Prestige” is completely based on Christopher Priest’s novel of same name, “The sea inside” is based on real life story of a ship mechanic who fought for  euthanasia for 28 years and “The diving bell and the butterfly” is based on the memoir of the same name.

In my view, most of the reviews are done on the barometer of fun , masala and entertainment factor which  can help folks to quickly decide the combo  – movie A + Popcorn  + killing next 2.5 hours or movie B + popcorn + killing next 2.5 hours. To make the research look more authentic, the critics would drop 2-3 hollywood names to claim he knows what is he talking about ….

I would  have loved if a single review has captured the attempt of the director  to tread a new path which  most of the new age directors fear to walk on. The beauty was in the attempt .

You gotta read my second post on Guzaarish to know about my personal views .


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Lars and the Real Girl – a pure and gentle movie

Posted on November 14, 2010 | 2 Comments

Ryan with the Doll

I was checking Ryan Gosling’s history on IMDB  being impressed with his performance in “Half Nelson”  when the site showed up other movies  he is known for. As I was not in a mood  of heavy drama , I put my hands on “Lars and the Real Girl” , frankly it’s the name which got me excited and when i can risk putting my money on IPO on gut feeling, this habit is risk free.

That was the reason to pick the movie but certainly not for dedicating this piece of writing for writer Nancy, director Craig and actor Ryan.  The beauty of the movie is the story which can be just considered as thought for being so simple and so minimalist. Its about a delusional young person who develops an unconventional affinity for a doll and how everyone close to him get along with this false believe to help him come out of this believe.

As story is so subtle and pure, its very critical to maintain the same feeling among audience throughout the movie and this is where director Craig has done a brilliant job.  The movie has its bits of humor and pensiveness in between but handled carefully  to ensure they don’t adulterate the feeling which is instilled right from the beginning.

Ryan is awesome , again very unconventional role played beautifully and i guess our own Abhay Dheol is treading the same path.

Its difficult for me to give a Genre for this one, both Drama and Comedy don’t define it.  You might end up being confused reading this post, but I recommend this movie to those who want to see a movie which is so gentle and pure that you don’t like the movie but you love it. Probably “the painted veil”  comes close to it if it needs to be compared with one.

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