Winds From The East

Every time I sit down to write a film review it molds into something else. After watching Sarkar Raj it seemed natural to write about the film keeping the original in mind, and several other key aspects which forms its existence; something which most people fail to do. I realize, I can never write a straightforward review and proclaim something about a film based on half-baked ideas and facts, which most film hosts and reviewers in India practice. Even their sense of history is based on superlative facts about cinema, and their critical understanding is based on the formula - 'touch the surface' facts (great cinematography, sleek editing, and shaky camera, weak script blah blah blah) without giving us what these things really stand for in the films, but that's another story... I'll save it for next time. Here is the excerpt from my article on Sarkar Raj for Cinema without Borders : Ram Gopal Verma had a fascination for the bullies of his class; their ideology to ter...

Satyajit Ray Date of Publication: 2004-06-03 Language: English Author: Amitav Ghosh In 1989, during my first extended stay in New York, I was suddenly struck by a wave of Ray nostalgia. It was no coincidence perhaps that I had recently finished writing The Shadow Lines, which is, of all my novels, the one that more clearly shows the influence of Satyajit Ray. It struck me that Ray too had once been a stranger in this overwhelming city; that he too had walked the streets on Manhattan in Kolkata-bought shoes. One day, plucking up my courage, I made an appointment with the director James Ivory, who I knew to be a friend of Ray's. Later that week I went to interview Ivory, cassette recorder in hand. This is how Ivory described his first meeting with Ray, in the winter of 1960: 'I looked him up in Calcutta,' Ivory said. 'I had never met him. I had seen at that point, Pather Panchali ('Song of the Road') and Aparajito ('Undefeated'). I knew that Apur Sansar (...

Time has always wiped away insipid, imitative images made for non-creative purposes. Such knowledge gives strength to those of us who decide to delve into the secret second world that exists deep in our dreams and to send signals to the world through images which very often are personal and pure. BUDDHADEB DASGUPTA writes. For a long time now, our collective consciousness has been increasingly surrounded by surrogate images of life as the politician or the ad-man would have us see it. They are intrinsically dull. They do not excite us, inspire us or communicate meaningful experiences of life to us. They are created and seen more from the point of view of consumerism than as an expression of ideas from one who has the vision of a poet. This trend is dangerous. Already, meaningful images are being shunted to the sidelines while transparent or imitative ones have been force-paced onto a fast-track. These are more acceptable now as they are instantly communicative and demand no extra atten...

The screening of Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s film Naalu Pennungal (Four Women) was an event to remember, especially because the master himself was their to introduce his film, and answers question (sadly, most people, left once the screening got over), but I managed to ask a question, to which the master obliged, and even Nandita Das - one of the chosen few outside of Kerala to work(act) in his film. Adoor Gopalakrishnan has remained a shy person ever since his college days. Perhaps, unlike most filmmakers he prefers his movies to do the talking, but I noticed few important things which has remained a strong presence in all his films; his films are deeply rooted in the tradition and history of Kerala also his movies are honest representation of the era, the people, and the characters he portrays on screen. THE REVIEW Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the veteran Malayalam director grew up reading the short stories of T. S. Pillai, one of the towering figures of Malayalam literature, his short stories...

Supriya Suri Directed by Shyam Prasad. Starring Mammotty, Narain, Meera Jasmine, Ramya Krishnan ShyamPrasad , having achieved kudos for his first film Agnisaakshi, for which he received the National Award, ventured into his third project with Ore Kadal, an adaption from a novel Heerak Deepti writen by Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhya . His films usually deal with themes, that of, love and redemption. The book might have been written way back, which Satyajit Ray once dreamt of making into a film, it was finally by Shyam Prasad that the novel was put on screen but with a modern touch. It was not something new for the director since all his past films were an adaptation from a novel or play. The film had wonderful performances by the very well known Mammootty and Meera Jasmine ; both of them have also been winners of the national award. It talks about the growing relationship between two people, Dr. Nathan , an economist, also an alcoholic and Deepti , a simple middle class house wife...

Directed by Radley Metzger (as Henry Paris) Produced by Radley Metzger Written by Jake Barns Starring Constance Money, Jamie Gillis Jacqueline Beaudant, Gloria Leonard Terri Hall Music by George Craig Gioacchino Rossini How do you categorize a film considered to be one of the greatest ‘hardcore’ adult film ever made? Since, Pornography is everywhere; today, and it’s available in all forms, and desires, at the click of a button. Somewhere down the line, the latitude of ‘making love’ has been bastardized into a single act of ‘excessive’ arousal through a medium of fake emotions, close cuts, and stimulating male gaze. And having seen the film in an era where ‘pornography’ and its inherent dimension are omnipresence, and somewhere down the line, we ourselves, have become an object of gaze. Since everyone is looking for the ‘real’; something which gives them the power to witness intimate encounter beyond their own capacity, but at the same, allows them to fulfill...

Satyam While watching Mani Kaul's Documentary – Dhrupad , where one of Dagar brothers is reciting a raga and is completely focused, but suddenly he [vocalist] becomes conscious of the camera and people around him. He looks directly at the camera - the gaze [not a deliberate one, but the director kept this as it is] transpose the master from a world outside our realm into a mere human being, as if, to show, that he is vulnerable as much like us. The Camera captures the ' Gaze', and disrupts the unison that the Master instills between him and heavenly blessing, here he becomes a mere subject being photographed and captured Realism - subjective or orchestrated? The Documentary starts with a Sutradhar [played by young Vinod Nagpal , a Talented Actor].the director’s intention are to describe/elaborate a classical form of music - Dhrupad.whenever you are making a documentary, usually the practice is to describe/lecture/demonstrate/educate the viewer. It is as if one is view...

Satyam (Realism- Subjected or Orchestrated?) While watching Mani Kaul's Documentary – Dhrupad , where one of Dagar brothers is reciting a raga and is completely focused, but suddenly he [vocalist] becomes conscious of the camera and people around him. He looks directly at the camera - the gaze [not a deliberate one, but the director kept this as it is] transposes the Master from a world outside our realm into a mere human being, as if, to show, that he is vulnerable as much like us. The Camera captures the ' Gaze', and disrupts the unison that the Master instills between him and heavenly blessing, and here he becomes a mere subject being photographed and captured. The Documentary starts with a Sutradhar [played by young Vinod Nagpal , a talented actor].The Director’s intention are to describe/elaborate a classical form of music - Dhrupad . Whenever you are making a documentary, usually the practice is to describe/lecture/de...