Aloo Chat – Movie Review

There are some movies we watch because the directors are big or because our favorite actors start in them. But they turn out to be big disappointment. And then, there are movies we watch just because, we find their titles peculiar or promos inviting. Their directors are either debutants or virtually unknown but the films are pleasing and paisa vasool. Aloo Chat falls in the later category.

Robby’s Aloo Chat is as palatable as its title. The story is simple. One guy trying to convince his parents to accept a girl he loves and wants to marry. Now what’s so different about that? This is a plot that has been beaten to death in countless Hindi films across all the genres. What makes Aloo Chat different is not the story but the execution.

Robby scores a home run with the perfectly timed humor. The humor in this film fits within the scene, flows within the content and never comes across as forced. It’s just perfect. While, Nikhil (Aftab Shivdasani) and Aamna (Aamna Shariff) execute Hakeem Tarachand’s (Manoj Pahwa) plan to get them together, Kulbhusan Kharbanda (Nikhil’s father) and Sanjay Mishra (Nikhil’s neglected uncle) keep the movie going with their light- hearted humor.

Forget those big titles, big directors and big cast, this is a movie that tickles your funny bone, doesn’t disappoint you and leaves you with a feeling- that was a good one, I am glad it was not such a waste of time.

Watch it.  Don’t miss it.

Robby Gerwal has previously directed MP3: Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar, and Samary; When Time Strikes.

Pussycat Doll adds her voice to Jai Ho..

The international awards season has been terrfic was Indian music maestro, A R Rahman. The first Indian musician to win both Golden Globe and Oscars, it is a moment that has been etched in the history of India. As theIndian  cliche goes,

‘yeah din Bharat ke ithihaas mein suvarna akshar mein likha jayega’ (this day will be written in golden letters in India’s history)

Ellen Degeneres danced to the tune and so did the rest of the world but that was not enough. Pussycat Dolls lead vocalist Nicole Scherzinger has lend her voice for Jai  Ho remix (‘You Are My Destiny’). It’s an honor to be able to collaborate with A.R. Rahman and be a part of the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ project in any way,” Scherzinger said in a statement. “The movie, the story and the music [were] a gift and very spiritually uplifting for me. … I can only hope and pray ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ and my version of ‘Jai Ho’ (‘You Are My Destiny’) touches and connects people all around the world.”

Sita Sings The Blues

courtesy: www.sitasingstheblues.com

Director: Nina Paley

www.sitasingstheblues.com

Few months back a professor of mine emailed me and asked me to attend a screening of an animation movie based on Ramayana- Sita SingsThe Blues. I missed the screening but was eager to watch it as soon as possible. Finally I had an opportunity to this wonderful movie.

Sita Sings The Blues is produced, directed, scripted, animated and as the credits state –‘everything else, unless otherwise specified by Nina Paley.’ Nina draws parallel between her marriage and that of Rama and Sita as she provides a personal interpretation of the epic. She introduces personal story on occasions where there is similarity between Ramayana and her life.

The story is narrated by three silhouettes, traditional shadow puppets brought to life by Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally and Manish Acharya. None of them seem to have foolproof knowledge of all the facts of Ramayana so they correct each other when either of them is wrong or doubtful. Their regional variations of the story and the comments are at times humorous. On one occasion one of the puppet opines how easy it could have all been had Sita decided to fly back with Hanuman, a question that could occur to a modern day person. Eventually, you get used to these puppets and you want to hear them more.

Created mostly in flash, the director has used traditional animation technique such as Squigglevision to tell her personal story while on the other occasions she uses vector graphics.

courtesy: www.sitasingstheblues.com

Songs are sung by jazz singer Annette Hanshaw and are beautifully visualized with modern looking sita performing them. For me, they acted as a medium to transcend the two cultures to which Nina was narrating her story. There is piece with Reena Shah performing a vibrant traditional dance form. Nina uses the technique of rotoscoping to brilliantly portray emotional Sita expressing her chastity with the ‘Agni Pariksha’ – test of fire.

In the end, the film engages you aesthetically and visually and is a delight to watch. This is one movie, you should not miss.

Dilli 6

I watched Dilli 6 and was really disappointed with the more. There were parts which I really liked, especially the way he juxtaposed Ramleela scenes with the realities of the characters. But most of the movie is predictable.

Dilli 6 has all the ingredients for a perfect Hindi film. It has an NRI landing in the country for the very first time with a sense of overwhelming curiosity about his roots. It has extremely courteous and supporting neighbors who are plagued with their own disputes but are happy to help each other. Not to forget, there are Hindus and there are Muslims who great each other with love and affection that changes overnight into hatred over the issue of “mandir ya masgid.” Let’s not forget the budding love between our NRI and a beautiful Indian girl (from his neighborhood, of course.) In spite all the ingredients the final outcome is  unpleasing to the palette.

Abhishek Bachchan (Roshan) half-Hindu, half-Muslim from New York agrees to drop his dadi (Waheeda Rehman) to Delhi after she insists that she wants to spend last days of her life at her home an old haveli in Chandni Chowk . In between playing pool with Uncle Beg (Rishi Kapoor) and eating jalebiis at the local sweet shop owned by a Muslim, Roshan gets sucked into the chaos around him. He fails to understand why rag-picker Imrati (Divya Dutta) is untouchable, why the cop (Vijay Raaz) is so violent and why two brothers (Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra) have built a wall in their house while their wives gossip through one loose brick. He falls in love with Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) whose dream is to become Indian Idol. Bittu has her own troubles – a strict father (Om Puri) who wants her to get married.

If this wasn’t enough, there is a notorious Kala Bandar (Black Monkey) whose constant attacks have spread a sense of terror in Dillwalon ki Dilli. Mehra successfully symbolizes the monkey as a metaphor of the evil that resides within us and which when let to grow unnoticed can disrupt our peaceful jindagi (life). It is this infamous monkey that stretches the movie to its unbearable limits and draws a shoddy climax all with unique Mehra style a scene from heaven. What happens next is no guess.

Every time the story starts to pull you into it, Mehra introduces a new plot that pushes you back. It almost like he does not want it to engulf you. After Rang De Basanti, once again Mehra holds the flag for good-hearted-Indians but fails to strike the chord. In the end the film leaves you disappointed.