Saturday 15 June, 2013

Gandhi..

2 comments:


Gandhi.. - I feel ashamed for not seeing this movie for this long. Although, I did read about Mahatma and his great 'Satyagraha', it's a pleasure watching Ben Kingsley as 'Mahatma'! The man lived as Gandhi, not because of the make-up but with his understanding about the great soul.

Is it good to be adamant? If it's going to bring independence to a country, without shedding a single drop of blood, without losing a single life (including the ones whom we are fighting against), then yes, it is. That's what  Mahatma has practiced and achieved. The movie starts in South Africa with Gandhi being thrown out of the train at Pietermaritzburg at the age of 24. It sows seeds in the young Gandhi's heart that it is to be fought against but in a manner that insults the South African Whites about their behaviour. After a long struggle he succeeds and with the triumph, he travels back to India but without the intention of fighting the British.

He starts travelling across India to realize that the current process in place is not correct to achieve Indian Independence. It's not the British government that is keeping Indians slaves. It's the Indians who wants to be slaves. No point in shouting slogans against British but to realize that the mistake is ours. He struggles to make people realize that the Government is not formed on its own but by the people. Without People, there can be no Government. Whether he succeeded! Well, That's history. 

The movie doesn't praise Gandhi but shows how he was different among all the others that time. How he was able to achieve Independence with People's support. How he was able to shatter a Government without any weapon. The movie depicts why 'Satyagraha' is the powerful process. Why Gandhi is Mahatma!

It's a sin not to watch this movie. Not just because we are Indians. Because we are all human beings!

Saturday 4 May, 2013

சூது கவ்வும்..

No comments:
இதுவரை உலகத்திலேயே வராத கதை இல்லை. அனால் இது போன்ற கதைகளின் அட்சரப்பிரதியும் இல்லை. இயக்குனர் நலன், தனக்கே உரித்தான, எளிதில் கையாளக்கூடிய நகைச்சுவையை ஆதாரமாகக்கொண்டு ஒரு சாகசக்கதையை சுவாரஸ்யக்கதை ஆக்கி இருக்கிறார்.

மூன்று வேலை இழந்த/இல்லாத இளைஞர்கள், ஒரு கோடு போட்டு கடத்தல் செய்யும் மத்திம வயதுக்காரர். இவர்கள் நால்வரும் சந்தர்ப்பவசமாக இணைவதும், வசமாக பிரச்னையில் மாட்டிக்கொள்வதும் படத்தின் ஒன் லைன். விஜய் சேதுபதிக்கு, 40 வயது கதாப்பாத்திரம் நன்றாகவே பொருந்துகிறது. படத்தில் தோன்றும் அனைவரும் அவரவர் வேலைகளை செவ்வனே செய்வதால், எந்த மிகையும் இல்லாமல் கதை தர்க்க ரீதியாக தன்னைத்தானே சரி செய்து கொள்கிறது. அருமை நாயகமாக வரும், பல குறும்படங்களின் கதாநாயகனின், முகமும், உடல் மொழியும், கல்லூளிமங்கன் என்ற வார்த்தைக்கு கச்சிதமாக பொருந்துவதால் அந்த கதாப்பாத்திரமும் சுலபமாக கதியில் தன்னை இணைத்துக்கொள்கிறது. 

எதைச்சொன்னால் ரசிப்பார்கள், எதைச்சொன்னால் 'மொக்கை' என்பார்கள் என்பதை தெளிவாக தெரிந்து வைத்திருப்பதே இயக்குனரின் பலம். தமிழ் சினிமாவின் வழக்கமான காட்சிகள் எதையும் வைக்காமல், அப்படியே வைத்தாலும் அதன் இறுதியில் ஒரு திருப்பத்தை வைத்து கைதட்டல்களை அள்ளுகிறார்.

திரைக்கதை என்பதன் சூட்சுமத்தை புரிந்து கொண்டிருந்தால் இரண்டாம் பாதி அலுப்பாக இருந்திருக்காது. நகைச்சுவை என்ற கேடயத்தை பயன்படுத்தினாலும், இரண்டாம் பாதி கொஞ்சம் இளிக்கவே செய்கிறது.

வித்தியாசமான பாத்திரப்படைப்பும், காட்சியமைப்பும், அதை ரசிகர்கள் தர்க்கரீதியாக யோசிக்க இடமும், நேரமும் தராமல் எடுத்தல் வெற்றி நிச்சயம் என நிரூபித்திருக்கிறார், நலன்.வாழ்த்துகள்..

Sunday 28 April, 2013

Paan Singh Tomar..

1 comment:
Paan Singh Tomar.. - After a long time, I happen to see a movie in the night time and surprisingly, I wasn't forced to sleep by the movie's pace and making. The movie is 'Paan Singh Tomar'. The movie portrays about the real life story of Dacoit turned Subedar 'Paan Singh Tomar'. But the subtle message underlying the movie is more troubling than Tomar's struggles.

Paan Singh Tomar is an Indian Army soldier who "outruns" (literally) other soldiers. He's one gifted runner and excels in the toughest form of athletics 'Steeple race' with ease. At one point he needs to return to his village to safeguard his cultivating land from one of his cousins. This marks the start of the movie and the rest of the story forms situations that made Paan Singh to transform from a Subedar to a local rebel (as he calls himself).

Though Paan Singh belonged to a family that had a history of dacoit, he wanted to be true to his country and walk through justice. It's the Indian judiciary and corrupted administration that made him walk through the rebellious path even though he did not want to. All the administration officials he comes through (even IAS officials) moves him inch by inch towards dacoit, at last, which he was forced to accept as his life style.

The unquestionable fact that the director puts towards the audience is the failure to recognize real sportsmen and talents in India. How bad our constitution is designed is revealed by the fact that Paan Singh becomes famous when he turns notorious! All his medals are not worth to his single gun shot. That's not the fate of just one Paan Tomar Singh but many other athletes who ache real recognition!

Sunday 10 February, 2013

Kadal..

3 comments:
Kadal.. - In general, I don't write out the plot as part of review and leave it for the audience to enjoy it. Here, the story is different. Everyone has reviewed the movie (thanks to Social network) saying that 'There is  no plot' and  'Couldn't understand where he is getting at'. So it becomes mandatory to explain the plot if there is one. Is there one? Yes it is. Very complicated. Very much interconnected like a spider web.

Film begins with a prelude showing the cold war between Bergmans (Arjun), who is in seek of a living as a priest and Sam Fernando (Arvindswamy), a rich heir, but attracted towards the principles of christainity in their Bible class to get qualified by the church. Bergmans is studious but cunning and opportunist. When Sam finds out a mis-behaviour of Bergmans, as a true christian and priest he makes the church send him out of the holy place. There starts the combat between Bergmans and Sam with Bergmans challenging to pull Sam down.

Then the story moves on to a coastal village where a son of a whore,Thomas (Goutham) becomes unattended when his other dies. A very usual unattended boy's growing ages with hatred and anger combined with atrocities and obscenities spans out which stops when Sam reaches the village as the priest. He puts him in the right track and the boy becomes a fisherman by profession. When he desires to get registered to the Church and gets baptized, he is insulted by the man who is responsible for him as a whore's son and his dream clashes. At this juncture comes back Bergmans, but as a partly dead man with a gun shot near his intestine. Sam happens to be at the place and saves Bergmans. Bergmans promises he will turn good if he can get his lady love. Sam buys it in and brings the girl where to get himself accused by the girl as a cheater and a dirt on the church. That ends up Sam in jail. When Thomas learns this he loses hope and loses his track of goodness. When Bergmans is summoned by him for why he is supporting Sam, Thomas surrenders himself in hands of Bergmans. He doesn't want to be another 'Sam'. He wants to conquer the land that accused him as a whore's son. There starts the combat again with a different plot, the life of Thomas. What happens to Thomas and principles of Sam forms the rest of the story.

I accept, it's a huge setup. For some it's difficult to digest. But it's the need of the story. You cannot shrink and trim it more than this. Every scene looks like it's loosely hanging but it's not. Why is there a need of Thomas to be insulted in front of everyone when he wants to get baptized? That sows the seed for the resurfacing of the evil which shows it's cruel face when Father Sam is put into jail. I had an annoying feeling when I saw the first few scenes of Beatrice (Thulasi). I consoled myself this is another one of these overacting Jyothika types which we need to accept as cute and childish and mad. But to my surprise, the character really is a mentally challenged one. The subconscious mind has failed or favored  (decide yourself by seeing) not to grow after a certain age. The purity of her heart makes a magic and that's why there is a special mention in this post. The climax as commented by many, is not a confusing or not an unsatisfying one. The priest loses his temper or his will and gives in to kill the devil thereby declaring the win of devil. But the so called, made by the society, turned a devil but struggles in the midway, whore's son preserves the justice by rescuing the devil and leaves him on his own to decide his destiny. But there the devil reveals that the angel who has rejunevated the whore's on has made him to fail himself in carrying out his task. What could be a better solution than this!

There are lots of surprises in Maniratnam's movie this time. No short, whispered dialogues. No improper usage of dialects. Adding to it, not a lead actress just as a kiddish mischevious one without purpose. Mani is moving forward in the right direction friends, are we?