Another Excellent Review from our Young Writer – Chaitanya…

 

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“The much-awaited movie, Jodhaa Akbar, to me, was all right. As I anticipated, the movie brought in huge amounts of moola. Heck, even my teacher’s assistant had watched it.

The film was elegantly crafted, with plenty of detail. The sets, backdrops, and environments made the film rather realistic looking. Because of the rather immense budget, it seems as if every darned jewel must have been worth thousands of rupees. They haven’t even shown a trace of frugality.

Even if it was great, it wasn’t perfect. In some parts, the dialog was weak and didn’t provide the significance it intended. For example, Akbar commands his soldiers to throw a traitor of the building. But, after throwing him off once and realizing, he says,”Tho phir uppar uthaou oar phir phirsay phaeko!” I wasn’t sure if Mr.Gowariker was intending for it to be funny but in the theater I could hear a few whistles.

The costumes were mind-blowing. It seems, in those times people used to wear more cosmetics and jewelry instead of clothing. Costume design was perhaps one of the strongest points of the film

Hritik Roshan as Emperor Muhammad Akbar did his bit. The large muscles and strong dialogue made him fit for the role. He much resembled the King, who cares for his kingdom, always goes out of the way for their development.

Ash was glorious as always, well, Aishwarya Rai-ish. She did her job very well playing Jodhabai, the brave Mallika-a-Hindustan. In my opinion, no other fragile Bollywood actor could have handled the role as well as her.

The music is very addicting, and some songs you feel like playing over and over again. The lyrics are interesting enough and music is awesome. All dance sequences are very unique.

Finally, If you are bored and have nothing to do for 4 hours, then you should watch this movie.”

 

Tribute to a True Cinephile

The fact that ‘SALIM BABA‘ did not win the OSCARS for ‘Best Documentary Short’ on Sunday does not diminish the importance of this masterfully crafted documentary on Salim Muhammad, the 55 year old cinephile from Kolkatta, India who makes a living by screening discarded film scraps on his projector. In this day and age of multiplexes and Youtubes, it is amazing to see Salim Baba’s dedication to keep an age-old tradition of cinema viewing alive in face of dire poverty and gloom all around.

Hats of to filmmaker Tim Sternberg and to Salim Baba, the subject and hero of this short for being nominated for the OSCARS!

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Docu Filmmaker Sanjay Kak’s Controversial Film on Kashmir Out on DVD

“Good documentaries don’t necessarily change your mind; they do, however, prompt you to take your opinions out of mothballs and give them an airing. Jashn-e-Azadi is that sort of a film.”- Mukul Kesavan, The Telegraph
Indie-India is pleased to announce the DVD release of Jashn-e-Azadi – How We Celebrate Freedom, a new documentary by Sanjay Kak, an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in New-Delhi. The film is a sensitive portrayal of a fractured land, exploring the Indian Army’s presence in Kashmir and examining the meaning of freedom for the people who live there. Noted as “the boldest political statement in the contemporary Kashmiri discourse” (Showkat A Motta,Greater Kashmir“), Jashn-e-Azadi is exceptional in its ability to shed light on the current state of affairs in Kashmir, a natural catalyst to spur needed further discussion within the community.” The film has already generated strong reactions the world over, with praise for its courageous honesty, to outrage from some quarters in India: last year police stopped several screenings in Mumbai. The film itself is however a beautifully told story of the lives of ordinary people in an extreme situation that resonates with the pictures of conflict we see on our screens from many other zones of conflict the world over. As a consequence of the troubles the film ran into with the Police in Mumbai, all kinds of audiences came to the support of the film. In the months since then there have been more than 140 small, medium, whatever of the film in India and a successful screening tour in the US. Sanjay says, “this is a growing tendency in India, the ability of audiences to take on our antiquated censorship rules by simply screening films. The availability of the film for an online download will be an integral part of such audience strategies in the future.” The film played to a packed house at the world’s largest international documentary festival in Amsterdam in Nov. 2007. Born in 1958, Sanjay read Economics and Sociology at Delhi University, and is a self-taught film-maker who first discovered the documentary while working in television (1984-1990). Based in New Delhi, he is actively involved in the Indian documentary film movement, as part of the Films for Freedom platform, the Delhi Film Archive, and in the Campaign against Censorship. Click here to see the filmmaker interview.Visit Film Blog here

A Young Man’s Perspective on ‘TAARE ZAMEEN PAR’

Taare Zameen Par has been reviewed and has been reviewed a lot. ‘So why carry this blog post?’ you may ask. The following review of Taare Zameen Par is special because it is written by 12 year old Chaitanya, from Cupertino, California. This review is a mere sample of the unique perspective on Hindi movies and the evolved writing style this budding film critic displays at a young age –

‘Tare Zameen Par’ is one of the most captivating films ever made.

Aside from the argument between Amole Gupte and Amir Khan, this movie has no flaws. Darsheel Shafary who plays Ishaan Awasti captures the audience with his facial expressions: way to go kid. In your life you really need one good teacher is what tare zameen par is trying to say. Amir Khan plays the role of Ishaan’s “teacher”, Ram Nikhumb. Tare zameen par means stars on earth and is referring to children.

“Every child is special” is the movie’s title phrase. This is a very inspiring film that is great for everyone. I guarantee you will cry if you watch this movie. This is a crowd pleaser and I’m happy that someone has put a film like this into the mainstream. Amir Khan has done a great job. Tare zameen par isn’t like your typical Hindi movie with a heroine, bad guy, and some weird plot twist. I think this movie deserves an Oscar. Ok I’ve said too much, you should be heading over to the movies right now………”

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