Director's Desk

But in a more simplified way.  Here Manoj Bajpai urf Raghavan turns to Raman and Mr. Bachachan turns to Raghav, when I saw Aks, truly I didn’t understand it then but with the passing time I fomented my desire to explore the 4^th world and I bought the DVD of “Aks”, thoroughly traversed to the other perspective which changed me a lot but When it comes to Mr. Director #Anuragkashyap, he binds the lace of soul mates in just 8 chapters. In prima facie it looks like a perfect blend of psycho-thriller but if you already gone by the posters of #Ramanraghav2.0 then you realizes that the “AKS” is transferred.

#AnuragKashyap is known as a difficult filmmaker, his grainy approach towards characters, successfully following the dark shadows, his extreme obsession about fret mentality which some how automatically falls under his own shadow, where all his grimy abstract ideas exists in the form of ‘Scorsese’, if you remember Max Cady of ‘Cape fear’ or Jake of ‘Raging bull’ then only you will be able to cross the viaduct otherwise would meander into the lawful and lawlessness only to bring black & white rectangles of a chessboard where at the end Raman is brandishing his bent iron rod. Actually these darker shades were already told many times by #Anuragkashyap, so overall atmosphere, drugs; self-destructive pustule characterizations are all similar.

Here his definition is clearer to me, the one who killed naturally and the other who killed in hiding. One is free from any fear and the other is disturbed by the fear and at the end both become a necessity. In the world of #Anuragkashyap both the identities doesn't want any redemption or feeling any remorse, they are just indecent.

If I saw this film in holistic way then it started well with some catchy dialogues, exploration of a mindset with small disturbing thrills but slowly it was fading-out with some predictable moments. But the strongest things are performances that maul your imaginations very badly. Nawazuddin Siddqui was terrific, tragic and horrifying, he carries this film solely, his walk, his run, his dialogue delivery, his glaring eyes were just mesmerizing, although I have always been a great admirer of Irrfan Khan but now Nawaz stole that seed from me, Vicky Kaushal as Raghav is also brilliant in every form whether his addiction to drugs or his unknown guilt or even strange relationships, he excels. Other characters are also good. I love Ram Sampath’s music that lances my instincts.

So overall this film doesn’t have hardcore substance but it has height of performances. I am not going to write story of this film because that may haze your thrills. 

If nonsensical-sexiest films bores you then go for this hardcore greenish film. Which is not RED.

Poorly crafted, seems deliberately enacted with marketing strategies. It is too lighter than the gruesome truth that Punjab is facing. In this documentary cum episodic plot I kept my mobile on and scrolled it just to avoid being repetitive.  I am thinking if Mr. Nihlani has given this film a smooth go then what would have been the fate?  This movie is not worth of all the hype which was rigorously circulated by the media. Why Mr. Nihlani gave-away the much practisized tools to the makers, who already knew that #Udtapunjab will squat just after its release, but controversies draws attentions yet it’s still unable to create buzz in people’s mind. I was sitting in the vacant theatre, rolling my thoughts up and down, frequently pulling the bathroom door, spraying the commode, styled my moustache, refraining myself to enter the screening room but when I managed to set-in, the similar plots were showering…. What the “F” ?

The problem is not only to understand situation of Punjab but in a more vigorous way it lies being an aficionado of International Cinema, when it comes to characterization it becomes so unrealistic where you couldn’t possibly attach a bit with it… unwanted madness, lame graffiti of society, still fearful to reach in-depth. This is certainly not a Chaubey’s style of filmmaking he was surely under the influence of those cinemas like Requiem for a dream. This must have thrived his mind so badly that the result was pathetic, far away from the core facts.

For that matter just take a character of Tommy (Shahid) a singer, he is extremely volatile, boorish, turbulent, drawn by cocaine, suddenly gets enlightened in police cell and throw lectures during his show. When u keenly observes this entire episode, you got amazed that there is no SEX exists in the so-called drug ghettos. The minute your thought goes minus sex, you lost the way then and there. The wildness of drugs are very much proportionate to sex and women.

I have no intention to write its storyline, because it’s again a torture. Different-2 characters placed into circumstantial conditions, moving along with director’s demand not by their own merits. Exercising with ongoing situations and finally they all gathered like Priyadarshan’s climax. The End.

But there are some “Aha’ moments like Shahid’s performance was remarkable, I love the way Alia spoke in Bihari slangs, her efforts were visible. Kareena Kapoor looks old and pitty, Diljit was very natural and I must say he left his presence.

It’s a very melodramatic film, relying totally on editing but sometimes those cuts were so sharp that left you empty handed. After all very edgy cuts it’s a very lengthy film and if you want to know the Punjab’s problem in a superficial way then go and watch.          

When I saw Mr. Bachchan’s entry, I must tell you his still wary eyes, entangled wrinkles, jaw-dropping expression takes me away from theater to his own world. He was so high in his performance that stomps us into his long wait for justice. Almost eight years back his grand daughter was kidnapped and killed by a stranger, no leads were found by the police and it was shut case, but Mr. John Biswas still a seeker of truth and his firm belief pushes Father Martine played by solid Nawazuddin Siddique to look for truth, a one-time police officer who investigated the matter and to come out from the grieves of not performing, Nawazuddin’s performance as a strict denial character is rock solid and praiseworthy.

It looks like a very simple story and believe me it is, but the way it is executed is engrossing. A quiet milieu is very supportive to craft the thrill, just like Kahaani, it grabbles with local elements old fashioned houses, tortuous shabby aisles and very importantly slow moving life of Kolkata “ Yahaan Jaldi Kuch Nahi Hota”. Te3n is a remake of a Korean film ‘Montage’ but it gives almost justice to that. The first half was little slow, showing Mr. Bachchan’s daily struggle with decrepit scooter, continuously listening his granddaughter’s voice, fulfilling his daily needs, caring his crippled wife went unexpectedly slightly far which was not mending with the situations, Te3n even suffers with its lame climax. After finding the culprit, it goes unnecessarily into tying up the loose ends. A short of predictability surely weaken its intent but presentation was interesting.

The cinematography is very much close to life’s of Kolkata and even divulges the entire ambience the way it is. Vidya Balan (Sarita) is another character in the film which balances the proximity of lose but she is little heavy for the film, I am totally disappointed with her out of the sink performance. This work of art has mix flavor, at some instance it may give you a jerk or it slides away without catching the emotional transcendence.

I wish it could hold the mystery for some more time.