Passion

Some days back I was just discussing with friend about liking something and being passionate about something. People always get confused with this. Or some people never know what they exactly like so that they can pursue that thing as a passion. Reading, music, movies are the most common things people like. But there is much more beyond this 'liking'. And i.e. called 'Passion'. Doing a daily job for the sake of money is duty. But one can find a meaning to life only if he pursues the passion. If one can't be passionate about something then I will say he is wasting his life. Also I know some people who just to show people pursue something or just like to talk on that subject. Which is also wrong? If you are passionate about something to the full extent you should go behind it. The result of it can not be explained. But I guarantee it will be just pure satisfaction. Last week only somewhere I read writing by famous Marathi author P. L. Deshpande. Exactly I don't remember the whole text but the basic thought was something like "Kala mhanje kay tar.... Ziddine pota-panyacha udyog karne garjechech aahe. Pan tyach barobar natya, sahitya, kala, chitra hyapaiki ekacha chand manapasun jopasne mhanjech kala".

Ab Tak 56

"When we have information, we kill criminals. When we don't have information, we kill time. Don't be restless. Be patient."

This is the dialogue from the RGV production and Shimit Amin directed "Ab Tak 56". This is the only movie which takes a realistic look at the life of an encounter cop. Shimit Amin's direction comes straight out of life. Violence is not at all more than required. After all this is a film on life of a policeman. Underworld, police nexus have been shown brilliantly. The rivalry in the police department, the functioning of the department has been shown appropriately. Thanks to Shimit for keeping Nana Patekar under control. Nana Patekar bounces back with this movie. This is one of his finest performances. Another actor who delivers flawless performance is Prasad Purandare as Zameer. Prasad is the actor proves if given a chance what magic he can do. There are no long speeches on the corruption and other things. Ab Tak 56 shows a policeman's life as he lives. Director not all focuses on what is wrong and what is not wrong in the system. It shows how it works. All supporting characters played by Yashpal Sharma, Kunal Vijaykar and Nakul Vaid do their job with conviction. Another most important and brilliant factor of this enterprise is background score by Salim-Suleiman. I haven't heard till date such a beautiful background score. SS may have bagged more projects from Yashraj and Dharma productions after this movie but this is the finest of all movies they have done. One more dialogue which explains the philosophy of the movie is "Kam ganda hai lekin karna padta hai!"

Paheli

When I came out of theater after watching Paheli, just one thought came to
my mind that what I have jut experienced can not be ahindi film. Its just brilliant. It was like I have just seen a 'A Wizard of Oz’ (One of my favourite fairy tale movie) in Hindi. Kudos to Amol Palekar. Amol Palekar has done a brilliant job. Paheli is a classic example of how a love story can be presented in a different style than those typical Chopra-Johar styles. Amol Palekar creates his own world and he has 100% succeeded in it.
Paheli is not just about pleasant colours, sets and all other technical brilliance. Paheli proves again that with all these technical wizardry a good story and great performances are very much required. SRK once again proves that he is the king khan. 2005 is the Rani Mukharjee year. After Black she delivers yet another knockout performance. Cinematography is
excellent. Palekar doesn't include any cheap characters or jokes for any commercial reasons. And that’s why Paheli stands out from all other films. It’s not possible to compare this film with any other film. Because nobody have made such a beautiful film before Paheli. I will say everyone should watch Paheli in theater only then one could understand what Amol Palekar
has created. It’s just awesome and mind-blowing. Finally, thanks to SRK for producing such a great movie. It shows that after Swades SRK has understood that there is life beyond Veer-Zaara and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

SATYA

RGV's Satya is the movie to watch. One of my favourites. I have watched Satya for number of times. And every time I thank RGV for making such realistic, earthy and hard-hitting film. Here is review of Satya by Khalid Mohammed published in Times of India. Found this review on another blog as mycinema.blogspot.com
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SatyaReviewed by – Khalid Mohamed
Cast: Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Vajpayee, ChakravarthyDirector: Ram Gopal VarmaRating: ****
REJOICE. India's answer to Quentin Tarantino is here. Indeed, someone has finally had the guts to go ahead and make a movie about and for our times. No diabetic sweetness, no pretentious pontificating, no foolish fantasy out here. Believe it or not, Ramgopal Varma belts it out straight, like a prize-boxer delivering a knockout punch. Clearly, the dumb-cluck Daud can be forgotten and forgiven. A fact-based report of a city under siege, Satya is alive and kicking. It broils, snaps and explodes with energy. The events (obviously condensed from the recent gang wars and bestial carnage on the streets of Mumbai) whizz past at a murderous clip, hurtling the viewer along almost demonically.
The back alleys, sleazy dens, pubs and chawls of the metropolis seethe with conflict. Killers crawl through the urbanscape like scorpions on a stove. When a gun battle erupts, it seems a logical climax for the crazy, tense, superheated atmosphere: desperate characters floating along on a sea of booze, sex and paranoia, watching a city collapse around them. The shocking daylight slaying of Gulshan Kumar, incessant gang reprisals, double-edged police 'encounters' and extortion threats have been deftly adapted into a searing, slice-of-life script by Saurabh Shukla and Anurag Kashyap. Throughout the lingo is correctly coarse and colloquial.
Mercifully, as in the case of Bandit Queen, the censors haven't tinkered with the authentic dialogue. From the minute Satya (Chakravarthy), a man with no surname, arrives at VT railway station, we know he's no pancake hero. An agnostic with no roots and family ties, he drifts into a hell of no return. Aligning himself with a caboodle of snarling, smiling, sweaty hoods, led by the cocky Bhiku Mhatre (Manoj Bajpai), the stranger finds a matchbox-sized room to live and brood in. That Satya is still capable of human emotion is underscored by his shy romance with Vidya (Urmila Matondkar), the innocent girl-next-door.
"Jo bhi item hai, bahut bhaari hai baap," his cohorts cackle. But can love thrive in the time of relentless violence? The story moves between incidents which are simultaneously sordid and serene, this contradiction in terms building up to a finale that's as volatile as it is heart-tugging. Without revealing the end, suffice it to say, it's a zinger. The dramaturgy goes rancid briefly when Varma lets clouds of sentimentality deodorise the bracing cynicism and viciousness. It's as if the director felt he had to pay for his audacity: sing a few hymns about family values (Vidya's wheelchair-bound father is a cliched caricature) and hover needlessly over the breakfast table of the yoghurt-serving police commissioner. Also that first meeting between Satya and Vidya, in darkness because of a light-fuse, is a brazen lift from Satyajit Ray's Pratidwandi. Such grouses aside, there's plenty of food for thought.
Scenes like Bhiku Mhatre babbling after the extermination of one his gangboys, digs at American blockbusters a la Jurassic Park, Bhiku's near-soliloquy at the beachside and Vidya's police inquisition are just some of the passages that stay in the memory. Also of note is the police side of the story, with the commissioner (a fine cameo by Paresh Rawal) asserting loud and clear that the lawkeepers are caught in a Catch-22 situation: they're damned if they clean up the city, and they're damned if they don't. However, the film's trump card is its compassionate treatment of every character, great or small. The red-eyed, unkempt henchguys with their whiplash irreverence are exactly like the lumpen louts loitering around lethal lanes. Excellently photographed by Gerard Hooper and Mazhar Kamran, the Ganpati immersion shots and the overall lighting schemes are visually imaginative.
Lyrics by Gulzar (Baadalon se kaat kaat ke) and the evocative background score by Sandeep Chowtha are the other assets. Of the cast, co-writer Saurabh Shukla doubling up as the gang's anchorperson is marvellously subtle, sportingly allowing others to steal the show. Ditto Chakravarthy, who's gentleness personified, his anger simmering under the surface. Urmila Matondkar is first-rate, essaying even the most complex scenes with effortless grace and intelligence. And Manoj Bajpai, as the mercurial Mhatre, is brilliant. If we thought he was good in a minor role in Tamanna, here he attacks his meaty part in the manner of a hungry tiger. All said and savoured, Satya is a gritty, hellishly exciting film which stings and screams. No one will go away from it unprovoked or unmoved.

The Rising

So finally it begins. The much awaited 'Rising' promos are on air now. And promos are looking very promising. The promo is hardly of 1 minute duration. Promo opens with the titles and then Aamir Khan climbing the stairs and in the background song 'Mangal Mangal' by Kailash Kher is played. The film was in news since it was announced. There were a lot of reasons. A hefty amount paid to Aamir, Aishwarya Rai walked out of the project and all. But Rising will be a great relief for Aamir Khan fans as he returns to the big screen after a four-year sabbatical. Many big names besides Aamir Khan have been associated with this project. A. R. Rahman, Javed Akhtar and all. With 'Mangal Mangal' A. R. Rahman again proves that he is the one in giving music to period films. After 'Bose - The Forgotten Hero' Rising will be another feather in cap. But still we all have to wait till 12th august when 'The Rising' releases all over the world.

SARKAR

First of all I will like to state that SARKAR is not at all copy of the classic 'Godfather'. Sarkar does have some common sequences but similarity ends there. And obviously credit goes to RGV for giving SARKAR very earthy and Indian treatment. Basically, SARKAR is a story of Subhash Nagare aka SARKAR (Amitabh Bachchan) who is law himself. It’s a story of SARKAR and his two sons and the power game revolving these characters. Big B plays SARKAR and I can not imagine any other actor playing this role after watching a movie. For Big B SARKAR is another feather in the cap. Once again he shows that he is the real badshah of bollywood. In fact all the actors have played their role with conviction. With SARKAR Abhishesk Bachchan once again shows that he is still in the race. Kay Kay is one another actor to watch out for. The movie is fast paced and thanks god that there are no songs in the movie. The plot has been built very brilliantly. The connections between underworld and politicians and all other aspects of this nexus shown are excellent. You come out of theater with few sequences. When Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) kills Vishnu (Kay Kay) and the meeting between Rashid and SARKAR. Background score is another most important character in the film. Amar Mohile and his team have done a great job. The only drawback of the film I feel is its Mumbai-Maharashtra centric storyline, which will not appeal at all India level from business point of view. Finally, SARKAR is the movie to watch. After NAACH RGV strikes back again with SARKAR.