Monthly Archives: July 2011

Ishqiya (2010)

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Ishqiya has a top cast and with the writing and directing team of Abhishek Chaubey and Vishal Bharadwaj, the story and script are top quality as well. This is Abhishek Chaubey’s first directorial venture although he worked with Vishal Bharadwaj on a number of his films as assistant, most recently Kaminey and Omkara. The screenplay here shows many of the same elegantly clever twists and turns, and there is plenty of snappy action. All of the actors make the most of their roles with some excellent performances, and it all adds up to a great film.

The film tells the story of two thieves, Khalujaan and Babban who are on the run after stealing from their boss Mushtaq. Khalujaan and Babban are uncle and nephew, and there is the added complication that Mushtaq is Khalujaan’s brother in law.  Khalujaan tries to rely on this connection to escape Mushtaq’s murderous plans for revenge but it seems that just being family isn’t enough – not when you’ve stolen from Mushtaq at any rate. After being caught by Mushtaq and his merry band of thugs near the start of the film, the pair manage to escape by means of some witty repartee and good team work. There is an interesting subtitle error here. I am quite sure that Mushtaq says kutta and really does mean ‘dog’, although possibly bog makes just as much sense.

Since they can’t find anyone willing to risk the wrath of Mushtaq and take them in, they end up planning an escape toNepal. When they end up at the border town of Gorakhpur, they decide to seek help from an old accomplice Vidyadhar Verma. However on arriving at Verma’s house, they find out that he has been killed in a tragic accident, and end up dealing with his widow Krishna instead. This creates an interesting dynamic as Krishna plays the two men against each other while she plots to use them for her own ends. Meanwhile Mushtaq turns up yet again, and in a final attempt to get enough money to pay for their freedom, Khalujaan and Babban join forces withKrishnato kidnap a local business tycoon. They plan to use the ransom money to pay off Mushtaq, but Krishna has other ideas and their kidnapping ends up with some unexpected results.

The film opens with Krishna and her husband at home and in bed as he teases and cajoles her while she tries to get him to surrender to the police. Although the couple have been kept apart by Verma’s kidnapping schemes they seem to be very much in love and Krishna obviously misses her husband while he is away on his various criminal activities. Abhishek Chaubey has cleverly drawn Krishna and Verma’s relationship in detail in just a few minutes in these opening scenes and this attention to detail in the characterisation is carried out throughout the film. For example, when we first meet Khalujaan and Babban they are celebrating their escape from Mushtaq with the loot, and just from the way they are dressed and the way they dance and celebrate, we have a lot of information about their respective characters.

The more sensible and level-headed of the two is Khalujaan, ably played by Naseeruddin Shah. He’s older, although not necessarily wiser, especially if he has had a bit too much to drink. Despite his criminal tendencies he is a romantic at heart and on meeting Krishna he praises her singing, helps her with the cooking and indulges in idealistic fantasies of the two of them together. After their first meeting he has a good look at himself in the mirror and realising that he looks his age, resorts to using some of Krishna’s kohl to darken his hair and beard to make himself look more attractive to her. It’s all so very human and natural and is just one of the ways that Abhishek Chaubey brings his characters to life. Khalujaan is also more focused on the goal of getting away with the loot, while Babban (Arshad Warsi) votes for killing Mushtaq and getting on with spending the money and enjoying life.

As Khalujaan romances Krishna from afar, Babban eyes her speculatively from almost their first meeting. He’s much more direct and it’s very telling that his first visit in Gorakhpur is the brothel. He is all male, hot-blooded and very ready and willing for action. Despite knowing that his uncle has fallen in love with Krishna, he makes a play for her too. However, even with his ‘love them and leave them’ attitude he ends up under her spell, and falls in love for probably the first time in his life. His betrayal by Krishna seems to cut much deeper than with his uncle, perhaps because this is his first love.

With his kohl rimmed eyes and knowing looks Arshad Warsi revels in the character of Babban. To some extent he revisits a little of his lovable rogue character of Circuit from the Munna Bhai series, but Babban is much more cynical and a harder persona. He has no qualms about accusing Krishna of stealing their money, or using violence to force her to reveal her plans later on. But at the same time his heartbreak when he realises he has been betrayed is very real and he genuinely seems to take an interest in Nandu (Alok Kumar), a local boy he meets at Krishna’s house.

The two men are very easily seduced and led by the enigmatic Krishna. Vidya Balan does an excellent job of portraying Krishna as a woman of many faces. She starts off as the woman in love but with her husband’s death she seems to change and becomes aloof and mysterious, at least until she meets up with Khalujaan and Babban and seems to come to life again. She knows exactly what she wants and how to achieve it, and will allow nothing to stop her reaching her goal.Krishna is a very strong female character, even if she does turn a little crazy and vengeful at the end, and it’s great to see Vidya Balan in a role which suits her skills as an actress. She doesn’t have too much dialogue and in many scenes conveys most of her emotions through her expressions alone, which she does very well.

The interactions between the three leads are the crux of the film, but the other characters all have their place. Salman Shahid is coldly efficient as the omnipresent Mushtaq who has the knack of turning up at the right place every time. Rajesh Sharma as businessman Kamalkant Kakkad and Gauri Malla as his mistress Mamta have some comedic scenes together, particularly when Babban and Krishna first see them indulging in a little role playing to the wonderful Aa Jaane Jaan from Intaquam. (Another film about a woman out for revenge and Mamta nods to the Helen connection with all those feathers.)

There are some beautifully shot scenes of village life in the film and the cinematography by Mohana Krishna Agapu makes the most of the local countryside. While there aren’t any big song and dance numbers, the songs by Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar are excellent and fit well into the film. As well as the film soundtrack, Babban has a tendency to burst into song when he’s happy, and there are some fun renditions of songs from Chak De India and Om Shanti Om. There are so many great moments in this film, both comedic and some very good drama as well. With all the twists and turns the film never drags and Abhishek Chaubey even manages to add in a couple of explosions to add to the mayhem. A very well made film with excellent performances from the three leads – I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel. 4 ½ stars.

Kshana Kshanam

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RGV’s Kshana Kshanam opens with an intense robbery and chase that takes place in the dark of night. There is no dialogue in this episode, the visuals and the very dramatic score tell the story. Finally one bad guy kills another bad guy and takes the money… So far so good as my DVD doesn’t have subtitles. From this point on, I am making things up.

Satya (Sri Devi) works in an office, struggles with over sleeping, has a nosy neighbour, and seems to have her life sorted. Satya unknowingly picks up the left-luggage receipt for the robbery loot. When things go wrong for her, Sri Devi is excellent at showing her fraying nerves and building fear as well as a gritty determination. There’s a bit of crying and whining, but Satya retains some dignity (despite the wardrobe in some songs) and is a likeable girl who is way out of her comfort zone and trying desperately to get back to her old life. Sri Devi’s expressions and timing are brilliant, often very funny, and she conveys so much with her simple gestures and reactions. I like her so much as a feisty heroine.

Paresh Rawal is the villain Nayar. It was his gang that did the break and enter, and his man who has double crossed them all and taken off with the loot. Nayar is on the traitor’s trail, and will stop at nothing even if he has to kill his entire gang one by one. He is a psychopath who can sweetly ask his victim to tell the truth even as he is snapping the guy’s fingers. It’s an over the top performance (he has a high pitched giggle, a love of filmi tunes and a mad eyed stare) but Nayar is genuinely scary when it counts.

Nayar and the gang pursue Satya, and RGV really does know how to ratchet up the tension in the pursuit. A rowdy follows Satya to her apartment and is injured when she defends herself. He is finished off by an unseen colleague and Satya believes she killed him. She decides to run.

And runs into Chandu (Venkatesh). He is a thief, an occasional police impersonator, but smart and fundamentally decent within his own moral code. Chandu uses Satya to escape the police he thinks have come for him, and they go on the lam. They team up since everyone else is chasing them, although it takes some time for them to work out why. I really loved the sight of Sri Devi in the midst of the motorcycle chase demurely sitting sidesaddle behind Venky as he sped through the traffic! Venkatesh is convincing as both the charming trickster and the gutsy hero. He has a boyish quality that suits the lighter scenes and he attacks the action scenes with conviction. His mullet seems to adopt more or less volume depending on his mood.

They escape into the jungle. Chandu shows his decency by not looking up Satya’s skirt and she shows her city girl ways by freaking out at absolutely everything. Chandu looks concerned then perplexed and finally amused as Satya calls on God, bemoans her fate and worries about being killed by tigers.

He doesn’t bully or belittle her, but he can laugh at the situation. Each allows the other actor to shine, and it makes the romance seem more natural as they have low key but convincing chemistry. I also liked seeing that as the film progressed Satya used her initiative in taking the next steps in the relationship. It’s a nice element to balance the darker suspense storyline.

Satya is overcome by the beauty of the landscape and trills a song, only to be asked to sing something more ‘mass’. Naturally this leads to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVxfklLI-rY

A fabulous way to maintain a covert presence, I’m sure. I like Venky’s lawn bowls hat. And I love the male backing dancers who really make it their own.

After running into Nayar in the jungle, they realise that Satya has something besides her good looks to make all these men pursue her. And I have to say, no one made any effort to be stealthy so I was not surprised Nayar found them, only at how long it took.  Chandu beats up the baddies, Inspector Yadav (Rami Reddy) and his police stumble onto the path and in the mayhem Chandu and Satya escape by stealing Nayar’s car.

Once back in the city they encounter Brahmi and do a spot of comedy shopping. Then the plan is to break into Satya’s apartment to retrieve the receipt. The break in was both suspenseful and slapstick, with cops and rowdies running up and down stairs, and Satya and Chandu narrowly evading all parties. The adversity really brings out their song and dance side, as there are several musical interludes which are mostly fun. I do have an issue with Chandu – THIS is how he dresses in his wealth fantasy song.

Sri Devi sang on the track but I don’t recommend you seek it out. It’s an aural and visual assault.

Satya wants to turn the receipt over to the police, Chandu wants to keep it, but once again Nayar’s gang are too close for comfort. Finally Chandu goes to collect the loot but nothing is that simple. The ending is impressively action packed and people get what they deserve.

Kshana Kshanam is visually compelling. The fast edits and angles in dramatic scenes created a sense of urgency and menace. There are cameras mounted in and under cars and on motorbikes which added a feeling of speed and the panic of the chase. The background score throughout is very dramatic and while it often helps set the mood, sometimes it was distracting. Think heavy percussion and strings, occasional 80s power guitar and a dash of jaunty brass. Some scenes relied on ambient sounds from the background action, others had just the score, some had a blend of both and the transitions could be abrupt. The sound was a bit off at times – one rowdy ran across a floor and sounded like 4 people tap dancing, and everyone seemed to have the same soles on their shoes. It was odd in a film that was so accomplished on a visual level and had such a well crafted story. The MM Keeravani songs are hit and miss, but generally fun to watch although the dancing is suspect at times. There is a definite sense of time inside the story, and I wondered how much of it was shot in sequence (songs aside) as it felt as though the scenes were really unfolding one after another.

I’m not a diehard RGV fan as I find when he is good he is very very good, but you know, then there’s RGV ki Aag. See this for a great cast in a well told story with a deft balance of action, humour and suspense. It certainly lived up to the title, as every second counted. 4 stars!

Heather says: I really love this film. It combines suspense and action with just enough romance and has the benefit of two very attractive leads. RGV keeps it simple and as a result the story moves along well and despite the lack of subtitles it’s compelling viewing. This is probably because the romance is left to take a back seat through most of the film, and the focus is firmly on the action. Both Sridevi and Venkatesh are equally important in these action scenes and Sridevi is no useless hand-wringing heroine but is quite capable of making her own decisions, disastrous at times though they may be.

There are some great lighting contrasts in the film which also frequently add to the atmosphere of menace. The opening scenes heighten the expectation of what is to follow as the lighting is dim and no-one’s face is totally clear. When RGV finally moves to introduce Satya, the change to bright light and the intimacy of her bedroom completely alters the mood. This introduction also serves to accentuate the difference in circumstance later on when Satya ends up sleeping rough in the jungle. It really doesn’t take long before Satya’s initial confusion and fear change to a determination to fight back and I think this is a very natural reaction for her character and also suits Sridevi very well.

Sridevi is absolutely gorgeous here and perfect in her characterisation. She is excellent as the scared girl on the run and even better as she sets out to solve the puzzle of why everyone is after her. The romance with Chandu also grows very naturally throughout the course of their adventure and there is good chemistry between Sridevi and Venkatesh. While I think Venkatesh is very good in his portrayal of the happy go lucky thief who gets pulled along for the ride, I do think he is somewhat overshadowed by Sridevi in their scenes together. However he is excellent during the fights and action sequences and looks good in the songs too, although his mullet is a little distracting at times. At least I can put this and his rather variable wardrobe down to the fact that this was filmed in the early 90’s which does explain a lot. Paresh Rawal is great as the villain and is totally over the top in his psychotic shifts from raving bad guy to being scared of heights and pushing his henchmen into danger first. Plus he has a great moustache. The only downside to this film is the lack of subtitles. I’ve been told that the dialogue is very good as well, so it’s a real shame that I haven’t been able to track down a subtitled copy, although I may have to eventually succumb to the Hindi dubbed version. Thanksto KB for the recommendation. 4 ½ stars from me.

Pranchiyettan and the Saint

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Pranchiyettan and the Saint was one of a number of Mammootty films recommended to me after I watched Kutty Srank. It sounded quite different and since the film won a number of awards it quickly moved to the top of the pile. It’s a quirky film about the attempts of successful rice merchant Chirammal Enashu Francis (Mammootty) to get rid of his nickname and command more respect within his community. The film opens with Pranchiyettan paying his respects to his ancestors who appear as ghosts in the churchyard. Leading on with the spiritual theme, the icon of St Francis comes to life when Pranchiyettan goes into the church to pray and the subsequent story is told as a series of flashbacks as Pranchiyettan explains the circumstances around his visit to the church that night.

The first half of the film deals with Pranchiyettan’s attempts to become more recognised. In this he is ably abetted by Vasu Menon (Innocent) whose schemes inadvertently fail when reality doesn’t quite manage to live up to his vision. First there is a local club election which Pranchiyettan loses to his childhood rival Dr Jose. Next there is a welcoming ceremony for a celebrity which Pranchiyettan has sponsored, but again he is pushed out of the limelight and forced to take a back seat – literally. Finally he decides to try and buy a Padma Sri award and bribes some local politicians. But as may be expected, they take his money and run, leaving him in exactly the same position as before.

The film takes a lighter turn in the second half when Pranchiyettan meets a real life Padmashree (Priyamani). Although her name is the same as the award, Pappy is a feisty interior decorator with problems of her own. She gives Pranchiyettan a painting and ends up decorating his house so that there is an appropriate place to hang it. Finally Pranchiyettan tries to help his old schoolmaster achieve his goal of a 100% pass rate for his students by helping a young boy Pauli to graduate. In the course of this endeavour he starts to realise what is really important and seems to be on track to find contentment at last.

The film focuses more on relationships and characters rather than following a plot driven narrative. In fact it is more of a collection of stories although there is a progression of sorts with each sequence of events.  Mammootty is excellent as the nice guy who just can’t get a break. From his school days onwards he never had the sneaky gene that would have allowed him to fight back against people like the wily Dr Jose. He has remained true to his schoolyard love and seems stuck in the same mindset that he had as a student. He feels inadequate which he puts down to never finishing his schooling and tries to compensate with other achievements and public recognition. It seems doomed to failure, since his lack of confidence means he relies on other people’s ideas which don’t really seem to reflect his personality.

Innocent does a good job with the character of the ever helpful friend who comes up with more and more schemes to try and get Pranchiyettan the recognition he craves. There is plenty comedy between the two in their expressions and mannerisms as much as in the dialogue, and Ranjith has made their relationship feel very natural just like an old and good friendship should be. During the course of the various schemes Ranjith pokes gentle fun at exclusive clubs, corrupt politicians and the self-grandiose behaviour of dignitaries at reception functions. It’s all very ordinary and down to earth which makes Pranchiyettan a very appealing character.

Priyamani is lovely as the interior decorator Pappy. Her character has drive and purpose which makes her much more than just a romance interest. The only song in the film is pictured on Pappy and her conversion of Pranchiyettan’s home and it’s a refreshing change of pace in the film. She also upgrades his wardrobe at the same time and even gets him a new pair of glasses. I love these little attentions to detail and the very natural way that Ranjith allows his characters to interact. The final story with Pauli is marred a little by the inclusion of some comedy with a hapless tutor played (Jagathy Sreekumar). This really isn’t needed as the story already has plenty of much more subtle humour, and the actual drama of Pauli’s story is much more engaging.

My favourite character though is Pranchiyettan’s cook Ayyappan, played by Sasi Kalinga. He has a wonderfully expressive face and the humour from his character is very droll. Again it is the everyday normality of the characters and their actions which appeals and both Ayyappan and Supran (Tini Tom) as Pranchiyettan’s driver are used to very good effect. They play well off each other and Pranchiyettan to give a really believable dynamic. The other support actors are all very good in their smaller roles. Siddique appears only briefly as Dr Jose where he takes every opportunity to have a dig at Pranchiyettan. But he has affection for his old friend which comes across in some of the later scenes. Khushboo is perfect as Dr Omana, the wife of Dr Jose, and Sivaji Guruvayoor has a small role as the headmaster of Pauli’s school. The idea of St Francis as the confessor figure to whom Pranchiyettan spills out his problems is a clever idea and helps to link the different stories together.

The film relies heavily on Mammootty’s performance and without his presence I don’t think this film would have worked quite as well as it does.  But an excellent performance from him and the rest of the cast do make this an film very worth watching.  3 ½ stars.

Temple says:

If you’re one of those who believe all South Indian films are noisy, gory and lacking subtlety, this might be the film to set you straight. It’s a gentle character study with parallels to the life of St Francis of Assisi, who also plays a supporting role. St Francis was the son of a wealthy man, and became drawn to God and the Church following an illness.  Several of his attempts to promote the Church went awry as he didn’t really think things through. St Francis failed when he tried to make things happen, but seemed to succeed when he simply lived his values of acceptance, charity and humility. Mammootty gives CE Francis aka Pranchiyettan aka Pranchi a sadness that helps make his needy attention seeking more sympathetic. Ari Pranchi is the son of a successful man, and he also fails when he tries to force things to happen. When he follows his true heart the results are different, and this opens his life up. Despite the apparent mismatch between Priyamani and Mammootty, their romance is appealing as it plays more as a trusting affection and partnership. I really like Priyamani and while not all of her films have been great, I have enjoyed every performance of hers I’ve seen. Pappy learns to trust the solid businessman who can see a solution to her unsolvable problem but who isn’t too proud to take her advice in the areas she knows best. Their scenes are fun and heartwarming as Mammootty shows the awkward stirrings of flirtatiousness contrasting with the confident sass of Priyamani. And you know she transforms his home from tasselled pink brothel curtains to sleek monochrome modern lines. I mourned the loss of colour for a moment, but only as a viewer – living in the icecream coloured house would have done my head in and may have contributed to Mammootty’s sour expression at times. I hope she left some of the statues and icons of St Francis though. The story with Pauli was designed to show Pranchi’s generosity, but I could have done without all the ‘comedy’. Those scenes actually had the effect of making Pauli seem like an incorrigible little git and not worth the effort. But saints have more patience for such things. And the message, which is not subtle, is a nice one. Don’t stress about rewards and titles – live with generosity of spirit and help out where you can.

It’s a slight story in many respects but the structure of the narrative, the iconography and saintly presence, and the character development  make it engaging and memorable. Add great performances by Mammootty, Priyamani and supporting artists like Sasi Kalinga and I think it’s a winner. 4 stars!