Koodevide (Where is your nest?)

After watching Padmarajan’s Kariyilakkattu Pole, I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on the rest of his movies. Then my friend reminded me that he had given me a whole lot of them (with subtitles) earlier. So, I am in movie heaven 😊

I love such real life paced movies. Koodevide is set in Ooty, where Alice (Suhasini) teaches in a boarding school. She lives with her brother who is in the army along with Captain Thomas (Mammootty). Alice and Captain Thomas like each other.

A local MP’s son gets transferred to the school where Alice teaches mid-term. He had been shunted across various schools and was taken in by the Principal only because of the MP’s pressure. Ravi (Rahman) is a troublemaker from the word go. He gets caught in Alice’s class and is sent to the Principal’s office for a warning. Principal instructs Alice to be strict with him and not give him any leeway. Infact he can’t wait to throw Ravi out of the school. Alice feels sorry for the boy. In a heartfelt moment, she notes – what is the hope for the boy when the entire world is waiting for him to become a criminal.

From then on, Alice starts paying special attention to him, giving him responsibility and encouraging him. She also learns that his mother died at a young age. In her own way, she tries to be the motherly figure for Ravi. Soon we see remarkable progress in Ravi.

Meanwhile, in an unfortunate training accident Alice’s brother dies. Bereft, she decides to focus more on her work. She and Capt. Thomas also come close and decide to tie the knot soon.

One of the evenings Ravi comes to Alice’s house to give her something when Captain is also there. He does not like Ravi at all and suspects his intentions. Alice ends up seeing a very angry and jealous Thomas. Till now, with her brother, he had always been jolly and easy-going, albeit prone to too much drinking. Alice is a little surprised to see this side of Thomas and tries to reason with him.

Soon after this, Thomas starts objecting to Alice meeting Ravi and throws violent fits of anger whenever he sees them together. He ends up drunk at her house at midnight and creates a storm.

Alice starts revisiting her decision to marry Thomas which further enrages him.

In an inebriated state, Thomas comes looking for Alice, and not finding her goes to various places she is likely to be found. He bumps into Ravi and starts abusing and hitting him. A fight ensues and Ravi is accidentally killed.

Repentant, Thomas surrenders to the army police.

This is one of those reviews where the summary will not do justice to the movie. It is next to impossible to capture various nuances in the movie.

The scenes from the boarding school and the teenage love of Ravi for a fellow student will instantly take you back to your school days. And we all have that one teacher who guided and mentored us.

For me the movie belonged to Mammootty. His transformation from a brother’s friend into a jealous and irrational lover and gradual and riveting. From periods of sanity and regret to violently laying his claim on “his woman” – Mammootty is par excellence.

This is the kind of movie I wish, the international film festivals for critically acclaimed cinema saw. At par with Fellini and Bergman. Human emotions in their most complex form shown ever so subtly.

Rahman has done a good job as a teenage boy embroiled in situations outside his comprehension.

Padmarajan is a director par excellence. His kind of movies is the reason I started this blog. In my own small way to make people aware of the great cinema that India has.

Must watch.

Antareen (The Confined)

Normally when I start writing a review, I already have an outline sketched out. I know how I will begin the sketch.

Unfortunately, today I have no idea.

Well then, let’s begin with the fact that Antareen is my first Mrinal Sen movie. I realized that it’s based on Manto’s short story. I thought I have read Manto quite extensively, but couldn’t for the life of me, recall this story. Trying to figure out the name of the story was quite a task.

It is “Badshahat Ka Khatma” by Manto.

The movie starts with “the writer” (Anjan Dutta) getting a letter from his friend Dilip, inviting him to stay at his once palatial haveli, now falling to ruins. The family is away and Dilip thinks the haveli will help inspire “the writer”. You will wonder, why I am not naming the writer. This is one of those movies where the viewer never gets to know the name of either of the protagonists.

The writer turns up at this almost dilapidated compound with most of the old building in disrepair. Searching for a muse, “the writer” wants to be left alone. Actually, we never really get to know, who he is and what he wants (except that he loves tea). There is in no elucidation of anything personal or professional about him – or what he writes or why is he searching for inspiration. He has just settled in when he receives an anonymous call by a woman – “the woman” (Dimple Kapadia). She strikes a conversation and very soon their conversation becomes a regular occurrence.

Through bits and pieces, we realize that “the woman” is a mistress of a wealthy man who now ignores her. She calls random numbers to talk to everyday, “the writer” being one of them. “The woman” lives alone with no company except for an old servant.

(I had written the above part a couple of days ago, when I saw the movie. For some reason, I just couldn’t figure out what to write after this. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t decide what I wanted to write about the movie. So, I figured I should read the story the movie is based on. Ordered the book on Amazon (turned out to be a blessing, it has quite a few Manto’s stories I haven’t read earlier), and here I am back to writing the review.)

After having read the book, I understood why I couldn’t go on with the review. For me the movie was, well, sort of meaningless.

If I have to talk about what got me interested in watching the movie was the summary - “A writer moves into the palatial house of a friend to find creative inspiration. A chance telephonic chat with a mysterious woman blossoms into love as he finally finds what he was looking for.” coupled with the name.

However, for the first part, it was never clear what is it that the writer is searching for.  And in the

end, it wasn’t clear if he found it or how he found it. The only thing that “the writer” did was read Tagore’s Khudito Pashan (The Hungry Stones).

In the actual story, the man is waiting for true love for his life to start. Until then he just exists. This gives the telephone calls some meaning.

In the movie, it’s just a woman flirting on the phone. I don’t really think Dimple Kapadia quite got the essence of the character. All she managed to sound was flirtatious rather than whimsical. Her portrayal of “the woman” was rather flat and one dimensional.

The only idea worth making a note of was perhaps how the two characters are confined in their spaces or circumstances. The other reference was the one to Khudito Pashan (The Hungry Stones) by Tagore. The minor reference was to the haveli where “the writer” lived as compared to the palace in the story. The main reference was the hint of comparison between the “the woman” and the Bedouin girl from the story.

Anjan Dutta also failed to bring forth the fervor which should have increased with every phone call.

I am not quite sure if the actors are to be blamed though. This looks like a directorial disaster where the director just couldn’t get it right. Mrinal Sen had two great stories from Manto and Tagore and the idea is inspired. Unfortunately, it is as if he picked the words but forgot the soul of the story, its essence.

Read the books, skip the movie.

Do skip. 

Agantuk (Stranger)

The thing about Bengali movies is that everyone has watched it, discussed and critiqued it. Bengali cinema is almost the stand in for intellectual cinema in the global world for India. Quiet unlike the Tamil or Malayalam cinema which are truly hidden gems which hardly anyone knows about even though they are as much (and sometimes even better) a critique on relationships and human nature as any of Satyajit Ray’s movies, albeit anyone outside the diaspora speaking the language hardly knows about them.

So, I accept the fact the reviewing a Bengali movie that too a Satyajit Ray is indeed bold on my part. Then also, if you google the film, you will find countless reviews and blogs about his movies.

In a way, my introduction to non-Bollywood movies was through the Bengali movies. Given the fact that my Alma-mater had the most prolific Bengali association who used to screen regular movies.

The fact that “Agantuk” is available on my newly acquired Amazon Prime subscription (and that too with subtitles), was just enough temptation for me to spend a hot Bangalore afternoon watching the movie. Who can say no to Satyajit Ray 😊

Agantuk or stranger is a movie which attempts to lay bare the innards of a human heart and mind. A couple living in Calcutta, receive a letter one day (yeah, remember the snail mail days, the movie was released in 1992) informing the woman that her uncle or mama (Mother’s brother) who had left home and disappeared 35 years ago, is in New Delhi, and wants to visit and stay with them for a week. The letter makes it abundantly clear that he knows it’s an imposition but given the tradition of “Athithi Devo Bhav” in India, would still be welcomed.

No one has seen or met Manmohan Mitra (Utpal Dutt) for past 35 years. Immediately you see the wife Anila Bose (Mamta Shankar), trying to recall every small detail about her long-lost uncle while the husband Sudhindra Bose (Deepankar Dey) is first suspicious of the stranger writing to them and then rues his lost weekend. While the kid Satyaki is excited that a great uncle is visiting.

Anila convinces Sudhindra to meet the uncle before deciding whether he is fake or real, even while she hides the valuable bronze figurines. Manmohan Mitra arrives at the designated hour. We see the obvious hesitation and unfamiliarity. While Satyaki immediately becomes friends with Manmohan Mitra, Nila isn’t quite sure. While she goes about the duties of a being a hostess, she doesn’t really address him as uncle.

The rest of the narrative is simple, where everyone tries to ascertain if the uncle is who he says he is.

And that’s where the simplicity ends. The various characters in the film come and go, and leave thread of human psyche behind. Nila’s actor friend, who is curious to know this stranger, almost like a specimen in a lab. Even though he tries to ascertain his superior knowledge initially, quickly drops the act when he realizes that not only Manmohan is a great intellectual but is also very perceptive. On the other hand, the lawyer (Sudhindra’s friend), who is supposed to be straight forward and knows about cases relating to impersonation, loses his cool when his world view doesn’t match that of Mitra’s. Unable to stand his ground, his only conclusion is that of mistrust and exploitation.

Sudhindra while he doesn’t fully trust Manmohan (he even checks his passport), does admit that he is very knowledgeable and well-traveled. Nila, on other hand is epitome of indecision. While she wants to trust, and find the warmth of familiarity in her only living relative, at the same time keeps on worrying about it not being so. Contradiction to this is Sital Sarkar, Manmohan’s old neighbour, who takes him at face value and finds it funny when Manmohan tries to show him his passport. You almost miss this narrative in the movie, it’s that subtle.

Satyaki, does what a child does best. Believes and bonds.

Agantuk or Manmohan Mitra, who is an exceptionally gifted mind, expert in anthropology, has travelled the world studying tribals, is a non-conformist in the truest sense. He disregards any conventional definition of civilization, religion, savagery, technological advancement and even God. The dichotomy of civilized and what gets termed as savage or barbaric in today’s world, what is considered important and what is truly important is the underlying theme of the narrative. Especially poignant in the way Manmohan leaves nothing important or his “entire inheritance” for Nila in the end. Also spelt out more fervently in his dialogue with Sen Gupta.

Especially hard hitting, for me was the story he told about the painting of a bison which in a way paved the path of his enlightenment.

Satyajit Ray is of course one of the best directors in the world and his grasp of his craft is unparalleled. The story does not drag anywhere and there are no loose ends (Nila, having established that Mitra is no crook, even replaces the bronze figurines). It’s refreshing because you hardly find this with directors these days.

Utpal Dutt is superb in his portrayal of an unconventional Mama. Familiar yet a stranger. Mamta Shankar's portrayal of indecisive niece, wanting to have faith but corrupted by her surrounding and her own thoughts, is par-excellence.

Where the movie fails for me though, is that it lacks depth. The characters and caricatures are all too obvious almost borderline clichéd. Of course, being a Ray has its own set of expectations.  Except for Manmohan Mitra and Nila, none of the characters leave an impact.

All said, the movie is riveting, and has a lightheartedness about it.

Do watch.

Sairat (Wild)

So, I am adding another language to my Woods 😊

Though I have seen some Marathi and a lot of Bengali movies, but never got down to writing their reviews. So here I am kicking off my Marathi cinema review with Sairat.

Essentially a love story, Sairat is an experience not easily defined within the confines of a traditional love story. Apart from the Shakespearean classics and our very own Laila Majnu and the likes, there are very few modern-day movies which are a love story end-to-end.

Set in a small Maharashtrian village, Sairat is a story of a Dalit boy and an upper caste girl. It begins with Parshya and his two friends – Pradeep and Sallya who are going on about their lives, playing cricket, helping their parents, swimming in the local bawdi and stealing stolen glances at their crushes. Sallya is the most practical of the three, Prdaeep who limps a bit has a crush on the local kirana store’s daughter and Parshya is besotted with Archana or Archi, the local upper caste politician’s daughter.

The innocence and headiness of a teenage romance, exchanging notes, shared jokes, dreams and longing. Now, most of the movies we see dealing with this border on inane or flippant. Even the good ones. While others which are set in the backdrop of caste struggle become gruesome or dark. Not Sairat though. Even while I say the movie is a love story through and through – it deals with subtle yet powerful undercurrents. First and most obvious of which is the class difference – in the hesitance with which Parshya’s mother gives Archi water to drink, or how the politician’s son “Prince” slaps the professor who dares question him. The second and less obvious is the gender stereotype – here we have a girl with the power and privilege normally accorded to men of her class. She drives around in a bullet, commands the boys around her, protests for the menace that her brother is, takes the lead in declaring her love for the Parshya. Even stands up for Pradeep, who is ridiculed by all his friends for limping.  

The third undercurrent was almost Nietzsche-esque acceptance of fate – in the way Parshya’s father disowns him in front of the village, or how Pradeep lets go of his love after a few days or how Sallya states the obvious when he warns Parshya of the class difference, even in the way Prince and his goons boss around and beat up Parshya and his friends. I firmly believe that the way director Nagraj Manjule has captured the inanity of day-today life is what gives this movie its mass appeal and makes it stay with you long after you have watched it.

The brilliance of Nagraj Manjule also shines in how he steals little moments from the movie and

gives them a life of their own. I especially liked the bit where Pradeep thinks his girl has passed him a love note and kicks the crumpled piece of paper out of view till he can open it in solitude. It’s like one of those one-minute movie. Complete on its own. Or how Parshya manages to get his first love letter to Archi after many rejections. It’s poetic.

The music is also noteworthy and the songs take the movie forward in a unique way. From giving both Parshya and Archi, their singles while they accept their love to giving them a duet once its acknowledged. I also liked how once the movie takes a dark turn, there’s no song and hardly any background music.

Once Parshya and Archi are caught by their parents, they have no alternative but to run away. They end up in Hyderabad (I think, or some city in AP or Telangana) completely lost and bereft. With the help of a woman, who came to the city in similar circumstances they find a place to live and jobs.

Here we see the various layers of the character of Archi played by the brilliant Rinku Rajguru (It’s hard to believe that this is her first movie). Unlike Parshya, she comes from a wealthy family and has never lived in such wanting circumstances. From the dust, the stench of sewage, dirty public bathrooms, to inability to cook or clean or to do anything that help you survive. From a boisterous, confident young woman we see her become a quite lonely girl in the slum. When striped of the power which comes with wealth and caste, she doesn’t quite know how to find her voice.

Then she gets a job in the bottling plant, learns Telgu, makes friends with the local girl, finds her feet and in the process, herself. Rinku Rajguru plays the character as if it was written for her, or better still as if it’s her own life. Even better than Highway’s Alia.

Akash Thosar as Parshya lacks depth but together they make it work. Tanaji Balgunde as Pradeep or langdya also deserves a special mention.

All this build up, the pace, the story leading to the eventual heart wrenching end. The second half is as realistic as it can get, almost like a documentary. You see why this movie had to be made.

While I will try to get my hands on a subtitled version of Fandry, I can’t wait to see Nagraj Manjule’s next.

Brilliant direction, script and performances.

Must Watch.

Kariyilakkattu Pole (Like a Zephyr of Dry Leaves)

Even before I start writing anything about the movie, I want to confess that I am in love with the name of the movie. It is like reading the first line of a Kamala Das or Amrita Pritam poem. And it becomes even more sublime when you consider the fact that the movie is not a sufiana ode of love and longing, it is a crime\mystery\thriller.

Mystery dramas are my guilty pleasure. I read and re-read Agatha Christie, Feluda, Sherlock Holmes etc. like a maniac. I watch all mystery shows on TV and movies of this genre. Lack of good mysteries (and not crime\thriller) in Bollywood movies is my constant source of consternation.

Thankfully Malayalam movies come in handy. The fabulous CBIseries, Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha (Amidnight murder story). Add to these Mammootty and Mohanlal starrer Kariyilakkattu Pole. I could not guess the killer till the very end :)

The movie starts with the dead body of a noted film writer and director Harikrishna (Mammootty) at his cottage where he retreats while writing. DSP Achuthankutty (Mohanlal) is assigned to investigate the murder. The investigation team finds various clues at the crime scene, all of which point to the fact that a woman had committed the crime.

The only problem is that it is soon revealed that there are at least three women who had a grudge against Harikrishna in addition to the fact that he was an incorrigible womanizer.

I always hesitate when I write about a murder mystery because, I don’t want to give away any indication about the killer. In this case, all the three women seem to have a strong motive for murder and each of them is hiding something during the investigation.

All the actors in the movie have given excellent performances. The ambiguity of Mammootty’s character where you never know his true intentions, the calm yet commanding demeanour of Mohanlal and the shroud of secrecy surrounding the characters of Karthika, Sripriya and Unni Mary will have you riveted to your seat.

P. Padmarajan who wrote and directed the film has kept the movie fast paced and editing crisp where every moment takes the story forward.

For those who love this genre, you will not be disappointed.

Do Watch.

Molly Aunty Rocks

I had seen this movie some years ago, but for some reason never wrote the review. Probably one of those days of slumber and inanity in Mumbai.

Anyways, I vaguely remembered enjoying the movie and decided to see it again. Prithviraj after all does add to the temptation.

Molly Aunty rocks! As is evident from the name is the story of Molly Aunty played by Revathi. She lives with her husband and two daughters in US but for past two years is in Kerala, working in the bank. All indications show that she has some financial trouble and is trying to raise money by breaking her FDs and selling ancestral property. The feisty, fearless and witty character of Molly is what lends colour to this movie. From insisting on doing everything herself, bargaining even for the smallest things and doing what she wants, Revathi gives a very entertaining performance.

One fine day, Molly gets a notice from the IT department for tax dues worth 30K. When she goes to the IT department to clarify, a corrupt officer asks her for a “gift” of 15K to make the matter go away. She rebukes the officer and later files a police complaint against him.

Within a few days, to her surprise, Molly gets another IT notice this time with due amount almost 10 Lacs. Enraged, she goes to meet the assistant commissioner Pranav Roy (Prithviraj). He comes across as an egotistical, powerful, abrasive officer and completely justifies the tax amount.

Over the course of time, Pranav and Molly have several altercations, involving even family and church to mediate. Finally, Molly’s husband comes back from US and hires a lawyer.

Amidst all this, while Molly and her husband keep on insisting that they do not have any money. The lawyer sets about to find what happened to the money that Molly got from sale of ancestral land, FDs etc.

The matter is finally resolved between Molly and Pranav in a surprising revelation.

There are few actors in today’s generation as versatile as Prithviraj and he does full justice to the part of a young officer slightly heady with power.

The movie is feel good, entertaining and fast paced. Having said that, this is not something that will remain with you after you finish watching. 

Direction and editing are crisp with enough comic relief and no melodrama.

Can Watch.

Vadakkumnadhan

It’s exciting to get back to a Mohanlal movie after such a long time. He is after all my all-time favourite actor.

Vadakkumnadhan is the story of Bharathan (Mohanlal), who is an acclaimed scholar of Sanskrit and Vedas. He is a professor and engaged to Meera (Padmapriya) who is also his student. Just before his wedding day, Bharathan starts behaving strangely. He walks out of an award function, resigns from university, burns his books and hits his fiancé. Ignoring it as an aberration from his otherwise calm demeanor, the family goes ahead with the wedding as planned.

On the wedding day, Bharathan disappears, presumably to witness Kumbh Mela. A year later, a sage comes back from Himalayas, carrying his ashes. The whole family, including Meera are heartbroken.

Five years later, when the family is visiting Haridwar on a pilgrimage, they are reunited with Bharathan. Then unravels the story of Bharathan's strange behavior and his disappearance.

There is an element of suspense in the movie and the build up to that is quite gripping. The director leaves you guessing as to why a learned, well-mannered and kindhearted man would disappear without any reason.

Unfortunately, for me unraveling of the mystery wasn’t quite as powerful as the built-up. For a moment, I almost thought that the director must be inspired by Tarkovsky’s Sacrifice.

It’s an interesting movie still, and Mohanlal has done justice to the role he plays which brings to light the duality of his character. Padmapriya while there doesn’t really add much to the story or to the movie.

First half is quite well directed and fast paced, though the movie does succumb to a little melodrama and introduction of an unnecessary villain. I also feel the director couldn't decide the genre of the movie - drama or romance or suspense.

Still worth a watch.

Can Watch.