6.Gandhigiri and 7.31st October

Yesterday I saw two films.One was Gandhigiri and the other was Mr.Smith Goes to Washington.I saw the former at Roxy and the other at the American Center.There was a full turnout for Mr.Smith in the sense that all the chairs there were filled.Free popcorn was meted out.That was a gesture highly appreciated,considering the hard time that I have had with the establishment regarding lost items.
The film is one of those classics that I have never gotten around to seeing.It released in 1939-probably Hollywood's famous year(Gone with the Wind,The Wizard of Oz and Stagecoach also came out that year). The message of perseverance is what I chose to take from the Frank Capra film.That and a possible quiz team name.There is a certain conservatism at its core with people of colour and women being excluded from the senate floor.Perhaps that was the reality then or what is more likely is that was the film making practice then(Hattie McDaniel was seated separately from the cast and crew of Gone with The Wind at the Academy Awards ceremony).At least Jean Arthur's character is shown to be assertive for most of the film till the point that she crumbles.But fortunately for the film her hero hangs on for a bit before the conflicted villain breaks down into confessing his misdeeds.
Later on after a bit of walking to and fro I saw Gandhigiri.It is a film which lives upto its name.It chooses to deliver a conventional message and does so in a roundabout low budget fashion.It includes a romantic sub plot to insert as many inane songs as it could.They provide no relief and add irritation.It was good to see Om Puri not caricature himself comically  but on the other hand he takes on the garb of an earnest human parrot.This film wouldn't know a moral quandary even if it stripped naked in front of it.
There is more interplay between darkness and light in 31st October. I saw it at Inox Hind today morning.For an unknown reason the Hind authorities called the film 31st October Revisited.The horror of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is fleshed out as is the helplessness of the many affected who chose to keep silent.In times of trauma the practical bent kicks in hard.You have to move on even if it is in a haze that will cover your mind and not fade away.Some dialogues are muted in the film supposedly to rein in communal influences.What can't be pushed down is the feeling of wretchedness as to what happened in Delhi then and what has happened since in many other Indian places.The film thankfully restricts its explicit messages to title cards about the numbers who got killed and worse;I recalled during my Film Studies days  hearing about the dilemma of filmmakers criticizing others who use a real life tragedy for entertainment purposes.31st October issues a disclaimer saying that though it is based on a real life story it uses the tool of dramatization for entertainment purposes.I don't think I was entertained here.The film stretches out a hand and asks for mine.I felt obliged to take it.

5.Saat Uchhakkey

Last night I went to Lake Mall for the first time,to see Saat Uchhakey.I returned home around 10.45 pm which was unsettling primarily because of me worrying about what my parents might think.A late return to one's house somehow signifies a lack of rooting-being at home implies that you are working on something proper,at least that's how it is in one's student life.But after a certain time period in one's adulthood being at work is equated with being out of one's home.Strange are the ways of shifting perceptions.
There are deviations encountered by the characters in the above mentioned film too.The ostensible cause of such changes is the pull of a shaman like figure.He will not be shackled by social forces but he will manage to impose his feeling of propriety on the people around him.What we see for the majority of the film is these naughty characters at play in the gallis of an Old Delhi that is starting to become a popular form of representation of urban life in Hindi films(I am thinking of Delhi 6,Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Do Dooni Chaar in particular although the last mentioned film isn't as seamy as the rest).One other common element between two of these films is Manu Rishi who acts in Saat Uchhakey and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye.Seeing him yesterday reminded me of the Dibakar Banerjee film.I think a sign of a good film is that it reminds you of other good films.So I was inclined to look at this film in a favourable manner.
What is truly enjoyable for most of the film is the sound recording.Throwaway lines are recorded in clarity.It's not often that you get to hear so many characters on screen-the filmmakers want us to listen,to know that they took on a certain amount of effort to create the lingo of the underbelly where curses fly freely regardless of your current predicament.Even the foul mouthed incorruptible policeman gets down and dirty to rattle and snap at those troublemakers who get him travelling day and night via his choppy scooter in the crooked bylanes.
Kay Kay Menon's character reminds me of the Frances Mcdormand cop figure from Fargo.Both are seemingly above the fold although Kay Kay is shown to be more human here and more vulnerable to the forces around him.As in Fargo we go along with the deeds of both the perpetrators and their victims.None of them are shown to be right or wrong.It's a question of who wants to have the upper hand at the particular moment.
The most deluded of the lot turns out to be the cat among the poopy pigeons.The pigeons acquiesce to him in the end ,to their benefit mostly, except for the poor policeman who is reduced to a hypnotic state and forgoes what he and we have encountered througout the film.
It's hokum but delightfully acceptable.The characters grit it out vivaciously including one female protagonist who wilfully exudes her allure on the males around her.I think the film succeeded in toying similarly with me.

4.The Girl on the Train

I saw "The Girl on The Train" last evening at Forum(I have seen as many films there as at PVR Diamond Plaza in recent times).I watched it primarily for the one week only criteria.It's being shown at three Inox theatres,Forum,Quest and South City in after 5pm slots primarily.That feels like a sign that the exhibitors do not see it lasting beyond a week.At the time of writing the film is doing well at the American box office however.The hall was fairly full on Monday.So I could well be proved wrong.
Emily Blunt's eyes are radiant and the filmmakers use it well.Somehow the colour of her eyes seemed to go well with the colour of the alcohol that she is often seen to be imbibing. Women suffer,men are the tormentors-that is the crux of the film. This is a universal truth but there is a sense of overkill even with worthy adages.One can make an efficient,or importantly, a plausible, film by sticking to conventions but when you're sailing with them,in not a particularly well covered state,then there will be rough tidings.
A person who was among the audience members said afterwards that the film was psychotic.I decidedly disagree with his conception.This was a formula served with gloss in the form of attractive white skinned people.A foreign element is paid lip service to in the form of a line or two about  a couple of accents that two characters possess.No explanation,just a mention.The film is set in a parochial landscape in the city suburbs.Everyone is there on cue(no one has to go too far) to accuse one another of rotten deeds.It is somewhat apt that the most decent seeming person turns out to be the worst of the lot.The film's threshold and level of expectations is low,it believes in moving little and when it does it goes in extremes .Alcoholism,a recurrent theme of the film, is treated superficially.Once the murder mystery is solved Blunt becomes sober even though her condition is a long persisting one.It doesn't make emotional sense and when a film fails to do that I feel underwhelmed and cheated.
Hopefully the other films that I see this week will be compensatory.

3.Queen of Katwe

I saw Mira Nair's latest film,"Queen of Katwe" at Inox Forum.This was a week ago.I went for the 11.40 am show.So I entered the hall at 11.50 am.No no luck on my end.The advertisements were still showing.Some moments of gritted teeth followed.
Anything you see in the film afterwards gets a higher rating because it is not a badly made IIMC production.I don't feel too bad about not being a part of that hallowed institute.
After seeing the film I went home and packed for a week longtrip to several places where outside influences weren't readily felt.
Seeing that the film isn't present anymore is disappointing.On the plus side I did see a film based on a true story about Ugandan chess players-that's something you don't expect to see in a film hall at Calcutta in the first place.It reflects the mixed background of Mira Nair herself and the extent of her name value.Real life sporting underdog stories rarely go wrong for me("Chariots of Fire" is a particular favourite) and this didn't fail to rouse me either.I applauded at the end and looked around hoping others would follow the same.Some obliged.It was a half filled theatre.I couldn't ask for more.

2.Janaan

 Some ten days ago I went to see the Urdu film "Janaan" at PVR Diamond Plaza.
A film watching experience cannot be regarded as a boxed in experience no matter how much we get irritated at others talking besides us in the hall.The conversations around us affect us even if we don't always talk about it.We also carry with us remnants of our previous experiences,namely the commuting, before we sit down to watch(I have never watched a film standing although I tried doing that at KIFF some years ago).
 I was flustered when I got to Diamond Plaza.I was twenty minutes late.I had taken an Uber to go there. The driver was inexperienced and did not know his way around Cal.Coupled with my horrible sense of direction I was glad to haave finally reached although my heart was pounding at the prospect of being late.
I was worried that the film had been well on its way.I had booked an e ticket for the film.I fumbled and required help in getting the printout of the ticket.I sense that I can very well start a blog about my travails with technology at this point in time.
Anyhoo I did get to the hall where I found that the film had started and there was no one else in the hall.This wasn't that much of a surprise.One reason for my booking an e ticket was that I couldn't be refused a ticket at the physical ticket counter in case of a low turnout.I was a bit stunned nonetheless at nobody else showing up.I had always fantasized about seeing a film alone in a hall.Looks like that was about to come true.
I got down to see Janaan. I had missed the opening credits.But the story so to speak seemed clear enough.Thematically speaking it was about the clash of old and new sensibilities in today's Pakistan.Modern day catchwords were liberally sprinkled throughout the film.It seemed superficial after a certain point despite the glossy look of it all.Characters representing the lower class were made to undergo abuse and death while the rich argued over them.There is a perpetual market for seeing financially well off people have moral crises.The film when it is not being humbug like kept a consistently light air.Talking of catchwords the scene where one character quotes popular Hollywood film sayings such as "You had me at hello", "Love means never having to say you're sorry","You make me want to be a better man" was funny if only because it laid bare my surprise at people in the Swat Valley talking about such stuff.It made me realise for a second that there are yuppies like me across the border.
What decidedly got my goat though was the female protagonist, who is based in Canada, deciding to give up her prospective job there to be in Pakistan to be with her newly found lover.Apparently that is reason enough for her to stay back.It isn't as if  the West is above this.I still can't believe that in Friends Rachel quit a job at Paris to be with Ross. Handling one's affairs in all fronts is a fine balance.Films and television shows are about unleashing the sentimental side inside us.But the popular choice ,seemingly, to show continuous preponderance of love at the behest of everything else is irksome.
Truth be told it wasn't a completely solitary watching experience.There were a couple of hall officials coming in and out.A friend of mine said it might have been so to ensure that there was no piracy.But the look of the man who was sitting across from me made me feel the spectre of the dark for the lack of a better expression. Certain early film audiences were said to have felt scared at the prospect of seeing the screen alight in a dark room.I knew what they were about at that moment.

1. Island City

 I  find myself confusing "Island City" with "City Island",a 2009 film set in a small island and neighbourhood in New York.The former film is set in Bombay.Despite the difference in miles between them,there is a spirit of chaos that binds both of them.

The purpose of this blog isn't to write a comparison between these two films, at least not for now. Try watching "City Island" if you can though.

What's important for me is to talk about my experience of films that are unlikely to last beyond one week in the halls of Calcutta.It is annoying if films that you  wish to see aren't there. I find myself being lazy with regard to catching a film later on my laptop or computer.These days I am trying not to be so passive.

I had been getting notifications about "Island City" courtesy their Facebook promotions. What proved key was seeing a typically cryptic Kamal Swaroop status about how he helped Ruchika Oberoi, the screenwriter and director of this film, in the making of the film.I had never seen a Vinay Pathak film in full.I have become a fan of Tannishtha Chatterjee's works.So it was all set.

The show timings were nice in the sense that there were numerous multiplexes showing it and one of them even had a morning show.I knew I couldn't wait too long. A lot(relatively speaking) of show timings doesn't ensure a film a two week stint.I had been hoping to see "Budhia Singh-Born to Run".That did not pan out.I am determined not to miss out heneforth.

The film's structure is reassuringly connected. Vinay Pathak pulled off what he was asked to do-something you sense most actors don't do. Tannishtha Chatterjee's lugubrious character is in the same spirit as that of Pathak's.There is a consistency and cynicism  in "Island City" that is appealing.The portrayal of a family and  how it gets rid of its patriarch is something that will stay with me for a while.

I don't regret getting out of my house on a weekend to see the film(and that too at PVR Diamond Plaza).There are two more days to see the film if you are interested by what you've read.I would love to be proved wrong if the film can stay beyond that. I sound like I am talking about the fate of reality show participants but ephemerality is a topic that you can talk about openly in the context of various media.

There are some other films that got released along with "City Island"  that probably won't stay beyond Thursday in Calcutta.It would be surprising if the stays of "Sunshine Music Tours and Travels","Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gayaa" and "Umformung-The Transformation" were extended.It's not about their cinematic matter as it is about the low key nature of the promotion and release that seals their fate.

At any rate I hope to continue watching as many such films as I can.The lure of taking in a good film, or a bad one,that others might miss, is too hard to resist.