Wednesday 4 July 2012
‘Maximum’: Movie Review (2012)
Film: “Maximum”
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Sonu Sood, Neha Dhupia, Amit Sadh, and Vinay Pathak
Writer-Director: Kabeer Kaushik
Rating: 3/5
With a kind of brisk business-like immediacy and the least amount of fuss, “Maximum” takes us into the world of shoot-out killings and the internecine war in Mumbai’s police department which threatens to destroy the very institution built to mend the wounds and fissures in the social fabric.
Writer-director Kabeer Kaushik seems to be a born minimalist. His earlier film “Saher” was also steeped in the khaki colour.In “Maximum”, the world of legally-enforced corruption is created with such a lack of back-projection, history and vocalized subtexts that you often feel the director takes his audience for granted.
This is not the case. Kaushik presumes that we are intelligent enough to enter the murky morally ambivalent world of his characters without being led by the hand.
Naseeruddin Shah, who plays a ruthless encounter cop Arun Inamdar, is introduced to us when a victim lies bleeding in front of the cop. Characteristically the director plunges into the scene of crime when the dark deed is done. We see Inamdar watching the victim bleed to death and then pumping two bullets into the chap to ensure there’s no unfinished business here.
This is a world of unmitigated immorality. Bullets are fired not to stop but to merchanidise crime. And the lawmakers are shown to be as corrupt as the ones they set out to nab and mend.
Pratap Pandit, as played by Sonu Sood, is a man of a few words, much action. We are not given a chance to know him closely. He shifts gears so often we’re often left looking briefly at gaping wounds that can never heal in our socio-political system.
The narration assumes a peculiar pace. As guns roar and Daniel George plays out an elegiac evocative background score to underline the senselessness of the violence, we can see the characters’ self imposed emptiness in the face of the volatile noise that they’ve created around their lives. The hollowness hits you in the head more than the heart. And when the emotions seize the plot in a vice-like grip we feel terribly sorry for the characters for the death trap that they’ve built for one another and finally themselves.
The film opens in 2003 at the height of the encounter killings in Mumbai. Two encounter specialists played by Sonu and Naseer are at loggerheads.
Admirably the director doesn’t use the two principal characters to form a central conflict. Kaushik’s narration is as ruthless and stripped of humour and other sources of cinematic solace as the world his characters inhabit. A certain amount of familiarity with the world of encounter killings is assumed on the audiences’ part. We are expected to understand the subverted value-system of the encounter cops who do their social cleansing and in the process get so embroiled in blood, their hands are soaked in the very blood that they are meant to wash away.
Hence our ‘hero’ Pratap (based on a real-life encounter specialist) is shown to kill criminals, extort money from builders and businessman and hobnob with the powerful and profance. And yet he returns home to a loving wife (Neha Dhupia) and a daughter. The father-daughter scenes are done with a tremulous tenderness.
Sonu invests immense emotion in these scenes. His performance takes him through several moral dilemmas. Years pass. Sonu’s body language expresses the deplorable shift in power equations. Here’s a performance that again proves this underrated actor’s unimpeachable versatility.
“When you are slipping you either fight back or you keep quiet,” he tells his journalist-friend, played by Amit Sadh. They share keema-paoat an Irani restaurant. As the years pass, earlier the cop paid, later the scribe does. A subtle illustration of a power-shift that says so much about the socio-economic equations of Mumbai.
The journalist’s character remains a kind of sutradhar. By the end of the film we really don’t know who is in the crime folds for the money and who’s there for the power.
“Maximum” is a film that’s far more in-charge of its out-of-control sharp-shooting cops than it seems. Yes, there have been any number of films about encounter cops. But this one gets at the underbelly of desolation and isolation of such cops as effectively as Shimit Amin’s “Ab Tak Chappan”.
There are some brilliantly executed shootouts.
A layered sharp and sagacious look at the internecine world of encounter cops, “Maximum” is a minimum-fuss crime drama where the characters are so austere in their emotions they somehow seem to be constantly shadow-dancing with their conscience.
The performances by Sonu and Naseer Shah propel the plot to a gripping summit. But there isn’t enough of Naseer. Vinay Pathak as a Uttar Pradesh politician and Amit as a journalist, both trying to make sense of Mumbai’s confounding cosmopolitanism, add considerably to the film’s powerful personality.
For Sonu “Maximum” is a new beginning.
‘Supermen of Malegaon’: Movie Review (2012)
Film: “Supermen of Malegaon”
Cast: Sheikh Nasir, Akram Khan, Shafique and Farogh Jafri
Director: Faiza Ahmad Khan
Rating: 4.5/5
There is global cinema and national cinema. In a country like India, there’s also regional cinema. What many don’t know is that India is also home to what can be called – ‘local cinema’ where films are produced and consumed locally.
“Supermen of Malegaon” is a hilarious, poignant and well-researched take on one of the dozens of local film industries existing in the country.
It is a love poem to cinema, an ode to the spirit of human ingenuity, a passionate tale about making films and it’s hilarious to boot. For most of the audience, this might be the funniest documentary ever made.
A film crew follows Sheikh Nasir, a resident of Malegaon, as he tries to make a parody of Superman called “Malegaon Ka Superman” with actors, cast, technicians and props sourced from his town. We get a glimpse of the joys, the agony, the achievement and the epiphany of creating cinema.
That he is making a low budget, made for a local audience film without the aspiration of making money, lends it the poignancy and innocence missing from the biggest filmmaking centres of the world.
If Marin Scorsese’s “Hugo” was the feature film version of the depiction of one man’s passion for making special effects laden cinema, “Supermen of Malegaon” is the documentary version of the same passion.
Like Georges Melies, who desired to make a rocket fly and men disappear at a time when it was considered impossible, Sheikh Nasir tries to find cheap alternative to making superman fly, to find local solutions to complex cinematic problems at a budget where such special effects seem impossible.
“Supermen of Malegaon” is thus a study in ingenuity, of a die-hard but untrained film crew’s intense desire and ability to conjure up tricks to create magic on screen. Thus we see Sheikh locally making the green chrome background used for special effects.
We see our crew tear up our Superman’s external undergarment and another mans jeans to hoist them through an iron bar before the green chrome screen to show them flying. We see Sheikh using a cycle as a trolley and an empty bullock cart as a jimmy jib.
While it is a serious film about someone making a parody, it also becomes a metaphoric parody of commercial cinema, and all the cliches they belt out in a spirit of self-righteous megalomania.
For this is how filmmaking can and should be – a work of passion first and commercial considerations second, just like Georges Melies and Sheikh Nasir saw and like thousands of aspiring filmmakers globally dream of but are not allowed to make.
Ironically, this tale of Malegaon’s filmmaking ‘Supermen’ has been made by a motley group of talented super women. Director Faiza Ahmad Khan’s keen sense of satire and irony are amply visible.
Sneha Khanwalkar (“Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!” and “Gangs Of Wasseypur”) gives a rustic feel to the film with her earthen music while editor Shweta Venkat Matthew lends the film its poignancy with her observant edits.
Two superhero films release this week in India – “Supermen of Malegaon” and “The Amazing Spiderman – The Untold Story”. Ironically, it is “Supermen of Malegaon” that has an amazing story that has not yet been told. While the world has watched Spiderman on three previous occasions but this is perhaps the first time anyone is telling the funny, hugely inspiring and globally awarded story of a local film industry.
The choice of what to watch, dear viewer, is entirely yours.
‘Gattu’: First Look & Poster (2012 movie)
Movie: “Gattu”
Star Cast: Sarvasva, Naresh Kumar, Mohammad Samad
Genre: Children
Banner: Children’s Film Society India
Director: Rajan Khosa
Release Date: July 20, 2012
Synopsis: ‘Truth with triumph in the end’ is the motto of the local school in the part of town where Gattu lives. But Gattu is too poor to go to school and he’s not always that truthful either. Gattu lives and works very hard at a scrap yard belonging to a man he simply calls ‘uncle’. Uncle bought him years ago from his sick father. Gattu is particularly inventive when it comes to thinking up excuses so he can slip away and indulge his passion for kite-flying. Day after day the children love to compete against each other with their kites. They’ve given the name Kali to one mysterious black kite that dominates the sky; strangely, nobody seems to know who owns it. If Gattu wants to win the next competition he’ll have to climb to the highest place in town. This is the school roof, of all places. Gattu manages to creep inside where he assumes command of a small but determined group of pupils. A dramatic battle of the skies ensues during which Gattu uses every trick in the book to claim the lead. But his greatest achievement is when, encouraged by his friendship with his new-found comrades, he decides to tell the truth.
Sonali Bendre to comeback with ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai 2′
Actress Sonali Bendre is set for her comeback with Ekta Kapoor’s “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2″, and says she is so comfortable with the team that she feels as though she’s returning home.
“It’s a great role. With the film it feels like I’m coming home since Shobha Kapoor has been (my husband) Goldie’s very close family friend,” Sonali, married to filmmaker Goldie Behl, said in a press statement.
“Additionally, Ekta is a creative genius and has an amazing story sense, so I trust her judgment on this. I’ve also worked with Milan (Luthria) before. So it’s a very comfortable space,” she added.
“Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2″ is a sequel to the 2010 film “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai” (OUTIM).
Sonali was last seen in a guest appearance in 2003 film “Kal Ho Naa Ho”.
A special role has been chalked out for her comeback by Luthria.
“I’m thrilled to add another twist to the casting of ‘OUATIM 2′. Sonali is not only gorgeous to look at and a terrific actress, but suits the role to the””. My crew and I are super excited to offer her this platform,” said the director, who scored brownie points with “The Dirty Picture”.
ians
“It’s a great role. With the film it feels like I’m coming home since Shobha Kapoor has been (my husband) Goldie’s very close family friend,” Sonali, married to filmmaker Goldie Behl, said in a press statement.
“Additionally, Ekta is a creative genius and has an amazing story sense, so I trust her judgment on this. I’ve also worked with Milan (Luthria) before. So it’s a very comfortable space,” she added.
“Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2″ is a sequel to the 2010 film “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai” (OUTIM).
Sonali was last seen in a guest appearance in 2003 film “Kal Ho Naa Ho”.
A special role has been chalked out for her comeback by Luthria.
“I’m thrilled to add another twist to the casting of ‘OUATIM 2′. Sonali is not only gorgeous to look at and a terrific actress, but suits the role to the””. My crew and I are super excited to offer her this platform,” said the director, who scored brownie points with “The Dirty Picture”.
ians
Top 10 Saddest Break-ups in Bollywood: No. 2: Salman Khan & Aishwarya Rai
These Bollywood couple look all pretty when posing for shutterbugs, hand in hand with huge smiles. But sometimes the truth behind the facade is completely different. The glamour world takes its toll on the steadiest of relationships and they fall apart.
Cocktail (2012): MP3 Songs
Neeraj Shridhar & Kavita Seth
02 - Daaru Desi Download
Benny Dayal & Shalmali Kholgade
03 - Yaariyan Download
Mohan Kanan & Shilpa Rao
04 - Second Hand Jawaani Download
Miss Pooja, Neha Kakkar & Nakkash Aziz
05 - Tera Naam Japdi Phiran Download
Javed Bashir, Nikhil Dsouza & Shefali
06 - Luttna (Saif Ul Malook) Download
Masuma Anwar, Sahir Ali & Anupam Amod
07 - Jugni Download
Arif Lohar & Harshdeep Kaur
08 - Yaariyan (Reprise) Download
Sunidhi Chauhan & Arijit Singh
09 - Luttna (Version 2) Download
Masuma Anwar, Sahir Ali Bagga & Anupam Amod
10 - Tera Naam Japdi Phiran (Remix) Download
Javed Bashir, Nikhil & Shefali
Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum (2012): MP3 Songs
Vishal Dadlani
02 - Shirt Da Button Download
Sonu Nigam & Anjaan Meet Bros
03 - Hum Toh Hain Cappuccino (U.P. – Bihar Lootne) Download
Daler Mehndi, Sukhwinder Singh, Ritesh Deshmukh, Swaroop
04 - Volume High Karle Download
Neeraj Sridhar
05 - Shirt Da Button (Version 2) Download
Kailash Kher, Meet Bros. Anjaan
06 - Dil Garden Garden Ho Gaya (Remix) Download
Vishal Dadlani
07 - Volume High Karle (Remix) Download
Neeraj Sridhar
From Sydney With Love (2012): MP3 Songs
Sohail Sen
02 - Ho Jaayega Download
Mohit Chauhan
03 - Khatkaa Khatkaa Download
Mika Singh
04 - Naino Ne Download
Palak
05 - Item Ye Hi Fi Download
Neeraj Shridhar
06 - Pyaari Pyaari Download
Brooklyn Shanti
07 - Ho Jaayega (Remix) Download
Mohit Chauhan
08 - Feeling Love In Sydney (Remix) Download
Sohail Sen
Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai (2012): MP3 Songs
Shabaab Sabri
02 - Salaame-E-Ishq Download
Sunidhi Chauhan
03 - Chala Hai Joshi Download
Parvez Qadar
04 - Koi Na Samjha Download
Parvez Qadar
05 - Its Rain Rain Download
Sukhwinder Singh & Sunidhi Chauhan
06 - Sanam Sanam Download
Shaan & Shraddha Pandit
07 - Zindagi Mere Paas Download
Sukhwinder Singh
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