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.