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Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (1992)
one of the greatest movies ever made in Indian cinema
Suraj Ka Saatvaan Ghoda was directed by Shyam Benegal and it's based on the novel of same name written by Dharmveer Bharati. Main roles have been played by Rajit Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Neena Gupta, and Raghuveer Yadav. This is a unique story. If a great story becomes a foundation for a great movie, this is a most significant example of the same. This movie has many outlier features as an Indian movie. Before Memento (2001) I had not seen technique of showing a single scene from many perspectives, but this movie had many such scenes as early as in 1992 when it was made. The narration is multi-layered. The raconteur and prime-protagonist of movie is played by Rajit Kapoor and he has done this with a great degree of refinement. You cannot overlook the fact that theater experience of most of the actors of this movie made it possible to create such fine performances. Shyam Benegal's cast is perfect and I did not find any weaklings in the movie. The usage of regional-dialects in speech along with standard Hindi makes pinch of humor perfectly set in otherwise tragic socio-romantic melodrama. As said earlier, there are many layers to this drama. When one of the characters visits an art gallery, he recalls ( because of one of the paintings in the gallery
) the pastime discussions he used to have along with his other friends, in company of Manik Mulla; where Mulla used to tell them many stories and since Mulla was a literati, his views were considered eminent. In one such discussion, Mulla narrates a few most moving stories which are based primarily on his own romantic affairs and these stories are so interconnected and interwoven that he has to continue telling these until the second day. Inside his stories there are other narrations, making this story a multi-layered complex-threaded story. Mulla tells his listeners many stories which seem different but are interconnected because the same set of characters are present in each of the stories and apart from the social conditions affecting the characters of these stories there are love affairs which permeate from one story to other in an endless-shocking-melodramatic fashion. Mulla is not only the raconteur but also the hero of all of the stories and the witness perspective of all of the stories. There is at least one scene in each of the stories which connects to another scene in the previous story and in the last story the dark side of Mulla is revealed. In the end of the movie Mulla has to cope with what he had done. In spite of characterization of the father of the lover boy in first story as a womanizer, it's Mulla himself who is the most flirtatious character of all. In every story he is playing an escapist coward who flirts until in trouble.
This movie is a masterpiece by Shyam Benegal because of his sensible direction and unique style of storytelling. The movie underscores the importance of great literature. The original story written by Dharmveer Bharati was a meta-fiction experiment in 1952.The movie is about Indian social structure and love-affairs getting affected because of lovers like Devdas (You cannot fail to observe mention of Devdas in more than one stories). It was an audacious story by the standards of Indian society of the decade in which it was created. I feel that nobody could have done justice with the role of Mulla more than Rajit Kapur and I think this movie is one of the greatest movies ever made in Indian cinema despite not being one of the most popular.
Malgudi Days (1986)
The stories are simple yet moving
The stories are simple yet moving. Some of these stories do have elements of suspense thrillers and almost all of them have healthy humor and existential question marks do come out dancing at the doors of your understanding in some of the stories. These stories as a whole look like celebration of life in all its forms.There is a common theme in all these stories: A person in a unique crisis. This might be crisis of faith or existential nightmare or a peculiar event. What really makes these short stories leave an indelible mark on your memory is: Coherent and very identifiable characters who are struggling for better living or for more happiness. You find that you are in these stories, your neighbor and your friends are also there and that sexagenarian old man who used to tell you great stories of his youth but rarely used to find any audience except you is there in these stories. It seems that these are stories of the village where you used to stay in your childhood. Malgudi Days has become part of memories of great old days which make many of us nostalgic. As I watch these episodes again after a long time, I find that the characters are so intriguing and so perfectly played by some very good artists. The credit indeed goes to great stories written by R K Narayan. Without these stories it would have been impossible to create such profound impact by these episodes.
Late Kannada actor and director Shankar Nag directed this television series. Anant Nag has enacted a lot of characters in many episodes. My verdict on his performances is—he is a great method actor and he has accomplished his job with utmost of sincerity. Almost all other actors have done their due with convincing art. As for the masterly direction— it just amazes you every time you watch these episodes. There are a few goofs but they were almost inevitable and if you accept them with entirety of the comely stories, you are left with something very significant to appreciate. Carnatic Musician L. Vidyanathan composed the score for this series and this is one of those musical pieces which stay with you. The sketches shown at the beginning of each episode were done by cartoonist R. K. Laxman.
Nothing better than Malgudi Days has ever happened to Indian TV in my opinion. Anything which came close to it was Byomkesh Bakshi. In both of the cases, stories were profound and well appreciated and artists, who chose to work on them for TV avatar, took the project with a great degree of earnestness.
You want to visit Malgudi after watching any story and want to become part of those interesting conversations. You want to hear a lot more of those gossips and rumors. You want to sit with villagers near wells and talk about everyday life. You want to witness that most uproarious but yet most linguistically and existentially significant conversation between Muni and USA tourist. You want to be amongst those villagers when that cat inside a vessel is jumping from place to place inside the store and they are scared that a ghost is making those noises.
The Bucket List (2007)
The things you want to do before you die
'The Bucket List' is a great movie with great performances. I liked so many things about this movie. It has a philosophical tone because it questions you about your last moments; about death and separation from your relatives and friends. The name of the movie comes from the phrase "Kicked the Bucket"; which stands for 'Death'. If you say, "He kicked the bucket at an age of 58." You are suggesting that he died at an age of 58. The term 'The Bucket List', therefore refers to a list of things you want to do before you die.
This movie has two of the most accomplished actors of all time: Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. They do justice with their reputations and with their roles in the film. This movie tunes you in because of its profound connection with the existential questions about 'death' and 'what is it that you want to do before death?' There are breath taking scenes in which two characters move through various landscapes around the globe and you are compelled to say 'Aha!' many times because of amazing cinematography.
I never get tired of watching any movie with Jack Nicholson in it. Morgan Freeman always convinces with his 'know-all' attitude in most of the movies. Jack Nicholson has this extra madman-genius-quirky element in him which is not conferred by any training or practices and this is what made 'The Shining' look so great a movie. Two characters in the movie have a great chemistry between them and it's this freshness of the script that makes this movie unique. This is not a movie just about the death, but also about old age, friendship and relations.
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
This is a sentimental movie imbued with colors of mystery.
Hearts in Atlantis is a movie which has many appreciable sides to it. On one hand it's a great mystery movie and on the other it's a great tale of one innocent child who happens to meet a psychic. Two scenes stand out 'perfectly' in my memory and they seem to be some of the best scenes I have ever witnessed on screen: In first one three kids are playing and walking on a railway track which has a shape like a snake and at the end of this railway track there seems to be a horizon with a Neptunian yellow glow of setting sun. This scene is very sensitive and beautiful scene. The scene at the climax where kid drives his bike and disappears is also a very affecting one.
This is a mystery movie because many a things are not known. Who the psychic was and why he was being searched by some mysterious bogey-man type agents, where did the father of the kid go and some other things remain unclear. The movie however has a very touching tale of the relation between the kid and the psychic. The kid has a difficult childhood because his mother is not only poor but also mean. The character of the kid has been played very efficiently by Yelchin. As for the psychic, one of the greatest and most charismatic actors of all time, Anthony Hopkins was playing it and he does not let you blink with his majestic style. This is a sentimental movie imbued with colors of mystery.
And yes, Stephen King did this one with a bit less of horror and paranormal and he did it brilliantly!
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
It's Really A Most Wonderful Film!
"It's A Wonderful Life" is the most wonderful film I have ever seen. It's most inspirational movie I have ever watched and it's very perfectly made movie in my opinion. Performances, script and dialogs are so perfectly done that you don't have enough words to appreciate them. This film by Frank Capra is a gift to the world. Strange enough it was a box office flop when it was released and it failed to win an academy award.
The performance by James Stewart who plays George Bailey is one of the greatest on big screen by anyone anytime in the history. George Bailey makes you so engrossed with his emotions that it naturally calls for your empathy and you start living moments with him and start thinking for him. Even if you don't believe in the angels and God, the part where that comely angel starts alleviating suffering of George Bailey makes a profound impression on you and instills feelings of goodness in you. The second half just emphasizes the importance of life whereas the first one underscores the great character of George Bailey right from his childhood.
You witness some instant karmic clean up in the second half and you see how the good deeds George Bailey had done come back to him saving him and making him realize the importance of life he had. Prior to that he lives with the impression of having sacrificed a lot for everyone else and that had some inner lack of satisfaction in his life and the accident which renders bankruptcy to him and his organization just evokes this karmic burden to the fore and then it seems that all the wrong things start happening with him, but then his good deeds come to his rescue. There are so many well-wishers who pray for him and then he realizes importance of life and accepts it the way it's and with this acceptance miracles start happening and money for which was about to end his life; comes rolling on its own and his brother says "To George, the richest man in the town". The colored restored version made it look even more exquisite than it would have been when it was made. It's indeed a most wonderful film with a most inspiring climax.
Into the Wild (2007)
Alexander-The-Super-Tramp
This movie is an experience worth having. The protagonist is one of the most adventurous of all on screen characters I have ever witnessed and his adventure is not in search of pleasure or treasure or love but rather, is a quest for freedom from the known, a journey undertaken to get rid of society and its rotten traditions and oppressions.
The movie is based on a true story of a man named Christopher McCandless. It's a story of a man who was sensitive and loved freedom. He has seen enough of society and wants to run away into the wild to live freely and he chooses it over anything else which his career might have offered him after getting graduated from college. His two years of hitchhiking-roaming makes him have experiences more profound than most of us have in our entire life.
The protagonist has many notable traits. He is sensitive, adventurous, courageous, gentle, and generous and loves truth. He changes his name to 'Alexander-The-Super-Tramp'. His changing of name, giving up of possessions, getting rid of savings and even last bits of cash so dramatically reminds of Indian Sanyasins and Sufi Faquirs. I realized that he is very much 'Living dangerously' in a Nitzschean way. I also recalled Herman Hesse's Siddhartha while watching this movie because in many ways Alex lives like a Shaman and undergoes many experiences similar to Siddhartha before getting wise. The movie is not about profound spiritual wisdom but it has elements of it, still you enjoy the adventures of Alex. You cannot fail to observe many things in this movie which look similar to Cast Away; but in this movie the protagonist chooses to live in the wild and it's never too much of an isolation except for last bit when he really feels trapped in the wild; whereas in the former film the protagonist feels trapped from very beginning and desperately tries to get out of the situation.
The natural scenery consisting of rivers, snow-beds, trees, fields, animals, mountains and azure skies is just wonderful. The direction is just astounding and so is the screenplay and it looks more so once you learn that Sean Penn had not directed many movies prior to this one, nor he had done many screenplays before doing this one. Kudos to him! The credit for this comely biography goes to Jon Krakauer.
The expressions on the face of the Christopher McCandless have an uncanny resemblance to those on the face of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Yes, I am deliberately trying to mention this because of my assumption that Chris had attained profound spiritual wisdom prior to his death. I do not feel fully aligned to the philosophy of this movie (which seems equivocal at times
) but it does not hinder me from enjoying it to the full and narration is very engrossing in my opinion. I highly recommend watching this movie to those who love freedom from the known. I highly recommend this movie to explorers; to the lovers of truth.