For a long time it was a given that Hindi cinema makes great movies and the most pathbreaking plays are performed on Marathi theatre. Over the years the lines of excellence have blurred. Hindi/ Udu andEnglish plays are not just pathbreaking but experimental and successful and Marathi cinema supported by government has started to make revolutionary films the best example of this is Sairrat. Last week I saw Ekk Albela based on the life of veteran Marathi and Hindi cinema actor Bhagwan Dada and loved the film.

Marathi play Kalat Nakalat is about twin brothers Vishwas and Sonu. Sonu is mentally challenged and it becomes Vishwas’ responsibility to take care of his younger brother in the absence of his parents. Vishwas’ life revolves around Sonu and he decides to rent out a room of his home in order to meet expenses for Sonu’s medical  treatment.
It is not an easy task but finally, a young girl Rasika agrees to rent the room and in time to come becomes an emotional suppot for Vishwas. But have the problems resolved for Vishwas or multiplied is the story of Kalat Nakalat.

                     @bhawanasomaaya

  Lightcube is an acclaimed collective of writers, designers, curators, filmmakers and storytellers all bound by a limitless curiosity for the cinema and its various, rich wonders. It exists as a means of discovery: of alternative cultures, stories, mythologies and ideas.If you become member of Lightcube, you gain subscription to film screenings, their magazine and more because at Lightcube cinema is a holistic enterprise.  A Lightcube Member not just watches films, but lives them.

@bhawanasomaaya

Film Review: Udta Punjab

Date: June 17 2016

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh

Rating: 4 stars

On a dark night you can hear the trees rustle, the streets are desolate but a lot is happening in the bushes, in the corridors, in the fields and in the alleys of a buzzing city. Punjab’s pop singer Tommy Singh/Shahid Kapoor is flying on the stage at his concert and his followers, singing his songs are flying with him.

On a sunny morning a young worker/Alia Bhatt spots something suspicious in the fields and later discovers a precious packet that transforms her life.

Sartaj Singh/Diljit Dosanjh belongs to a family of cops who have surrendered to the system while Doctor Preet Sahani fights the system from outside.

Udta Punjab is not just about them, it is about the entire state – those fighting the drug menace and the addicts fighting themselves!

As the mercurial, obsessive junky singer Shahid Kapoor is magical. Ali Bhatt is haunting in every frame and Kareena Kapoor the only soothing presence in the dark, disturbing film where brutality is upclose and pathos stomach churning.

I watched three-fourth of the film through the veil of my duppatta; you will have to be brave too for the sake of your country.

Our gratitude to writer Sudeep Sharma and director Abhishek Chaubey, for awakening us to the moment of truth…!!

@bhawanasomaaya

 After the last power-packed Oscar nominated movie,Bridge of Spies -the visionary and celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg is back with fa antasy adventure Big Friendly Giant set to release in India on 15 July.

Bollywood’s bad man Gulshan Grover has been selected to lend his voice in the Hindi dubbed version because Grover has a strong following in the West, was apparently an obvious choice to play the main baddie Fleshlumpeater (portrayed by Jemaine Clement) in the original.

Written by Oscar nominee Late Melissa Mathison (Ex-wife of Harrison Ford) and based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Dahl the film stars Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) in the title role, an elderly giant who kidnaps the orphan Sophie, played by Ruby Barnhill, to give him company and to asist him on a mission in Giant Country. Sophie initially reluctant befriends a giant as they set out on an adventure to capture the evil, man-eating giants who have been invading the human world.

The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and will release in India in four languages – English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

@bhawanasomaaya

Film: Pakeezah (1972)                                             
Producer/ Director: Kamal Amrohi

Cast: Meena Kumari ,Ashok Kumar ,Raaj Kumar

The story opens on the dance floor. In between a flickering orange flame and a red chandelier looming large into the frame, a dancer swirls in a flowing dress as the narrator in chaste Urdu recounts the story of courtesan Nargis/ Meena Kumari, who makes the tactical error of falling in love. Shahabudin/ Ashok Kumar rescues Nargis from the kotha but is unable to oppose his father who will not accept her as family. She flees to a graveyard in anguish and dies heartbroken after giving birth to a baby girl who is rescued by her aunt and groomed to become a bewitching courtesan, Sahibjaan.

It was a story of the kotha v/s kothi or rather the courtesan v/s the feudal lord. While both lived in sprawling mansions with large families, the home of the feudal lords in this case Ashok Kumar/ Raaj Kumar was a respectable kothi where as the dwelling place of the courtesan/ Meena Kumari was a kotha. The kotha women painted their faces, hands and feet, shampooed their hair in scented ponds, slept on large fragrant beds with frilled pillow covers often hiding secrets and guarded by transparent, musical curtains. In the evening, they dressed and danced on embroidered carpets, accompanied by musicians and surrounded by lanterns. The courtyard blossomed with colorful fountains every time a guest arrived inside the porch riding a horse carriage. The nautch girls had a life before dusk and Pakeezah gave us a glimpse into the bonhomie where they bonded over fun and mischief, borrowed jewels and shared dark secrets.

Unlike the kotha the women in kothis had no voice and moved freely only when the patriarch was away. The feudal lord/ Sapru and his large family spanning three generations ate together sitting in a large circle and slept in common space separated by beds and curtains. The only thing common between the two worlds is tehzeeb and director Kamal Amrohi portrays the diversity in the concluding scene where the two worlds come together in a wedding and a funeral and where Nawabjaan/ Veena breaks down in dignity Sapru full of remorse mourns in silence!

Pakeezah is associated with its poetry and melody. The haunting background score of maestro Naushad Ali and Ibrahim and poetry of Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi, Kaifi Bhopali and Kamal Amrohi composed in the music of Ghulam Mohmad are songs for a lifetime. A team of choreographers came together to ensure that every dance was distinctly different so while ‘Inhi logo ne…’ and ‘Thade rahiyyo…’ by Lachu Mahrajj concentrates on abhinaya, Gauri Shankar’s ‘Chalte chalte…’ emphasizes on footwork and ‘Aaj hum apni duaaon…’ onpherras essential part of Kathak dance form. Meena Kumari even though grossly overweight and untrained in classical dance through intricate mudras and mercurial expressions addednavrasas in her role as a seductress to a mehfil of admirers.

When Sahibjaan dressed in ornate costume walks with ringing anklets into Gulabi Mahal and settles majestically, your heart misses a beat.  The story travels two eras and both immortalized by love letters. The first, written by Nargis to Shahabuddin/ Ashok Kumar on her death bed and soaked in tears, reaches Ashok Kumar 17 years later. The second written by Salim/ Raj Kumar after he      invades a train compartment and is enamored by the sleeping Sahebjaan and her beautiful feet. The boat ride ferrying the two on a shimmering lake with ‘Chalo dil dar chalo…’ is the most romantic moment in the film.

The whistling, chugging train is a recurrent motif piercing through dramatic moments in the film. Director Kamal Amrohi transforms every frame into a painting. The film was shot in times when real animals/ birds were used and no activists raised objections. The story made references to cities and singers like Gauhar Jaan and no court cases were registered. The heroine wore real jewellery and no brands claimed credit.  Revisiting Pakeezah you realize where Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rekha find their muse as a filmmaker and as an actor.

Bhawana Somaaya/ Tweets @bhawanasomaaya  

Film Review: Sultan

Date: June 06 2016                    

Director: Ali Abbas Zafar

Cast: Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Amit Sadh

Rating: 3 stars

In a small town of Haryana Sultan, son of a farmer prefers to runs an independent business with a friend. His real passion however is to chase kites and one day while in the process, he bumps into a courageous girl and loses his heart to Aarfa, a city girl and a state level wrestler.

To become worthy of Aarfa /Anushka Sharma Sultan/Salman Khan has to become a champion, which he does and soon they are happily married and Sultan on his way to become a gold medalist.

The first half of the film concentrates on the love story, the second half on the Boxing Ring. The premise is not very different from other films made on the same subject and the narrative follows the rise and fall and rise of the hero. What makes Sultan different is that the heroine is a sportswoman too and understands the complexities of the game.

What works about the film is the refreshing milieu, the Haryanvi dialect and the emotional drama between the protagonists. What doesn’t is the length/ 2 hours and 50 minutes and the pace of the film. It is repetitive and predictible too.

Salman Khan has given extensive interviews on the physical exertion entailed during the shooting. He rolls in the mud, chases trains, leaps over walls, cycles, jogs, punches, gets punched, lifts weights, bricks and wrestlers.

The heartbeat of Sultan – literally and metaphorically is the tantalizing Anushka Sharma. Confident and restrained Anushka proves that less is more.

Bhawana Somaaya/ @bhawanasomaaya