Right Yaa Wrong Review

The second half is when Right Yaa Wrong makes the viewer feel like they’re watching a film; the twist hits right after the interval and things start moving faster. Sunny Deol is in control of his comeback vehicle but ends up driving Irrfan Khan to a much higher place. Wheelchair-bound and emotionally battered with full credit to a shoddily-shot blast-and-bullets sequence in the first half hour, Sunny Deol is looked after by his cheating wife Isha Khoppikar and his cousin brother (I don’t know his name, and it’s not worth knowing), while Irrfan Khan plays true friend and good cop. Somebody tell these guys it takes a few pegs to act drunk unless your name is Johnnie Walker, because the dialogues get especially hammy in scenes like that drinking session one. The second half is racy, no credit to Konkona Sen even though she’s more at ease than she was in last week’s ATKJ?. Always a pleasure to have Govind Namdeo (Bhau Thakurdas Jhavle in Satya) around, and the fast-track court sequences show mercy to the audience.

The first half of Right Yaa Wrong is too contrived to be anything else, with everyone but Irrfan Khan hamming. Frustrated at his hopes of recovering from semi-paralysis having died a slow death and wanting to do something for his wife and kid, SD gets himself insured for 5 crore and pleads with Isha Koppikar and his cousin to kill him. Isha and cousin are having an affair before everyone’s eyes and only Sunny Deol doesn’t know because he can’t move around without his wheelchair. SD convinces them, and hatches a foolproof plan…

There’s not much Sunny Deol can do with a role like this and he’s definitely not getting any nominations for it. Irrfan Khan makes this movie very watchable and is its strongest point. Isha Koppikar sounds like she’s acting only when she’s talking to Sunny Deol, because that’s when she’s supposed to be faking it. Parikshit Sahni is too unassertive for a senior doctor what’s he doing here anyway?), Govind Namdeo is convincing in any role, Sunny Deol’s cousin is weird in a lame way and Sunny Deol’s son is a kid you won’t grow to like. Director Neeraj Pathak knows what he’s trying to do but the script lets him down and only Irrfan Khan establishes his character comfortably. Wish they hadn’t included those  corny motivational dialogues and the sad background score, neither evoke any kind of feeling in the audience. Thanks for not having songs in the movie.

Right Yaa Wrong is partially incorrect.

By Aditya Mehta
 

Alice in Wonderland: Almost Wonderful

As I settled in to watch Tim Burton’s adaptation of one of my favourite childhood fairy tales I was looking forward to the smoothest roller coaster ride of my life. Alas! The film reel got stuck, re-started after skipping a bit ahead and the 3D came into effect nearly halfway through! Nonetheless even the glitches couldn’t ruin the visual treat presented.

19 year old Alice (Mia Wasikowska)has had one recurring nightmare all her life and hopes she hasn’t gone round the bend. An active imagination and a thirst to discover the extra-ordinary make her a misfit in the pro-pah Victorian society which labels her as distracted. However her father believed in the impossible and Alice is Daddy’s Girl.

Turning down a proposal in order to follow a rabbit Alice falls down a hole into underland and the dream begins all over again. Only this time, as Alice is subjected to shrinking, expanding, accusations of identity theft and attacks by surreal creatures she realises no amount of pinching can wake her up.

While the sardonic caterpillar turns out to be a well wisher in disguise, the Cheshire cat with his hypnotic smile is a mysterious guide. Each character is so beautifully crafted down to the eccentricities and quirkiness it’s like they truly do exist. Animals that can talk, potions that can transform, fearsome beasts and completely demented and deformed humans seem possible.

Despite his misleading appearance of flaming red hair, mismatches eyes, a gap-toothed grin and the obvious fact that he’s a bit off, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) turns out to be Alice’s most reliable friend. He helps her through her adventure as she gets caught between the battle for power between two sisters, the Red Queen and The White Queen. Helena Bonham Carter steals the show with her portrayal of the large headed Red Queen and appropriately gets on your nerves as she mistreats animals, and yells “Off with the head” every time someone dares to misbehave. On the other hand Anne Hathaway is pristine in her white surroundings and ever so polite as her vows do not permit her to commit a wrong.

Wonderland is truly dazzling on screen. The battle fields are dark and murky while the palace grounds look like a beautifully decorated wedding cake, good enough to eat. While the dialogue can be incoherent and not exactly a bag of surprises it’s Alice for grown ups with the goth undertones.

Burton has made his characters exaggerated versions of actual people and done so in an amusing manner. There are hints of OCD, an inferiority complex, the lasting effect of a tragic past. As Alice regains her lost ‘muchness’ she comes into her own by outgrowing the little lost Alice and metamorphosing into a level-headed adult. When the Hatter doubts his sanity and asks if he’s gone mad she echoes her father’s words “the best people in the world are”.

One of the rare movies which captures the the whimsical imagination of a child and successfully translates it on screen.

Contributed by Raashi Malhotra

Easy Virtue: A Family Affair

This is one movie where the start and the end are diametrically opposite: the start has people coming home and the end has people leaving home, though not necessarily the same people.

We have Jessica Biel playing the role of Larita Whittaker, a race-car driver who has been headline news for being the first woman to cross the finish line. However, she was disqualified for a minor technicality, though she maintained that she was disqualified because the men couldn’t swallow the fact that they were beaten by a woman. John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) falls hopelessly in love with Larita, marries her and brings here home to the amazement of his entire family.

Mrs. Whittaker is an old-fashioned lady who could be considered the force of the family. The father is a happy-go-lucky war veteran who has not much concerns for the growing bankruptcy of the family or its status. He is probably the only one in the family who considers them as things that were and now will not be there anymore.

This factual way of thinking is not shared by the mother and she is floored by the arrival of the all-American Larita. Her love for John keeps her trying very hard to fit in with the family, which seems very dysfunctional at times, and gives you a feeling of “The Addams Family”. The mother is trying to keep her spirits up, thinking that her son will now manage the manor and restore its original splendour and is hit with another surprise when she finds that he has decided to stay away from them in a city, and is at home only for a few days.

The story takes you through the various manipulations of Mrs. Whittaker to keep her son from going away while making living miserable for Larita at the same time. It has some really good sequences which keep you smiling and give you a good laugh and others which explore the lush greenery of the manor. The musical score is good and keeps with the setting. The story though a bit predictable has been depicted well.

A good watch over the weekend.

Contributed by Rakesh Nair

Easy Virtue is part of the ongoing From Blighty with Love festival, showcasing hand-picked British films from March 5-18 in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. The movie will be screened again March 12. Festival schedule also available at PVR, Fame and BIG Cinemas.

Man on Wire: Keeps You on the Edge

A documentary on possibly one of the greatest heists carried out, this one has not one scene which seems out of place. It has been so well made and one of the best features is hearing it straight from the very people who had been involved at that time.

The story is about Philippe Petit, a Frenchman who had taught himself to be a tightrope-walker amongst other things. He has the ability to perform even more feats and could even run a one-man circus if he ever desired to. Among a few that could be mentioned are age-old circus acts of balancing on a unicycle, juggling on a tightrope and various other feats on a tightrope.

On improving his talents and considering himself to be quite an expert in the feat of tightrope walking, he now began to eye world-famous structures as a way to test and stage his “performances.” His first such walk was a balancing act on the roofs of the Notre Dame de Paris in the early 1970s. He relates that it was an exhilarating experience to watch himself on the rope with everyone waking up to see a man walking on a tightrope on the Notre Dame when they woke up in the morning. With that feat, he was already considered in awe by the Parisians.

In 1973, he decided to go a step forward and have a “foreign stage” for his next performance. With this in mind, he chose the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia as his next venue. This performance was also performed during mid-morning times and was in a way a traffic-stopper. People were amazed to see such talent in their midst, though he was later arrested on charges of disruption of traffic.

Inspiration for climbing the WTC came to Philippe at a time when the building had been just proposed. When Philippe saw the two towers rising high above the ground in a newspaper at the dentist, he took a pen and drew a line joining the roofs of the two towers and decided that this was what he would consider as his lifetime achievement.

The documentary while giving bits and pieces of his life, interacts with the people responsible for the WTC heist, as well as the others who had helped him in his attempt at Notre Dame and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It features actual videos and photographs which makes it really easy for you to relate to the entire scene in general. However, I wish they had shown subtitles for the French dialogue scenes which were missed out because of lack of knowledge of the language. A must watch documentary.

Contributed by Rakesh Nair

Man on Wire is part of the ongoing From Blighty with Love festival, showcasing hand-picked British films from March 5-18 in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. The movie will be screened again March 11. Festival schedule also available at PVR, Fame and BIG Cinemas. 

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? Review

Let’s get one thing out of the way: if you’re going to compare this to a Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Basu Chatterjee film make sure you’ve seen a Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Basu Chatterjee film. Next thing I know you’ll be saying Sanjay Gupta is in the league of Satyajit Ray. 

From writer/director Ashvini Dhir comes Athithi Tum Kab Jaoge, a film pretentious for most part. In exaggerated versions of characters they’re supposed to be playing, Paresh Rawal, Ajay Devgn and Konkona Sen somehow manage to keep the film lightly engaging. Perhaps only because they’re all established actors. Paresh Rawal is Ajay Devgn’s relative who shows up one fine day and makes a mess of things, much to Ajay and Konkona’s chagrin. Slaps the watchman, makes Konkona cook, harasses the maid and is an overbearing lout in general.

Trying too hard and falling flat in the first half, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge doesn’t evoke much laughter except during the first song, which is a religious tune sung in the manner of Beedi from Omkara. And the not-that-funny scene in which Paresh Rawal (Lambodhar Chacha) accompanies Devgn (Puneet, a writer) to the muhurat of a film where he meets Sholay’s Kalia (Viju Khote) and wrecks Satish Kaushik’s 50 lakh film set. That is the last scene before the interval, and that is when Ashvini Dhir’s Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge attempts to redeem itself.

While the script doesn’t improve too much throughout the course of the movie, the actors start getting into their respective characters from the second half onwards. And the story takes it predictable turns. Chachaji winning everyone over, warming hearts all around, but the damage has been done. Paresh Rawal’s nonstop farting gets to you after a point, as does his burping, but I’ve never found such gags funny anyway. The religious angle is the worst, as is the half-baked stampede scare. Most of the dialogues are stale, but it hardly matters when you’ve lost interest in the film. 

Chachaji is a nice guy but he could’ve been shown better. Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a wrong move for Konkona Sen, and Ajay Devgn, though earnest, doesn’t seem too bothered by the way the movie shapes up. Neither the presence of good actors nor the two references to Amitabh Bachchan’s greatness save Ashvini Dhir’s film. Movies get boring when they start getting preachy.

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a complete letdown despite having three bankable actors on board. Turn this guest away.

By Aditya Mehta

Road, Movie, Interesting

Road, Movie is like one of those indie movies that don’t really say anything but still convey a lot. Geared more for an international audience, Dev Benegal’s (Split Wide Open, English August) cinematic story has color, drama, and intrigue, and at a comfortable pace may get a tad boring.

Tearing a chapter out of the protagonist’s life, the movie begins with Vishnu (Deol) who takes the chance of driving an old, battered truck to its destination, to escape his father’s oil business, if only for a while. Along the way, he meets a sharp-tongued lad (Faizal), a stocky mechanic (Kaushik) and a gypsy woman (Chatterjee), who tag along in search of their respective destinies- a job in town, a mela, and water. But aboard the 1942 Chevrolet are spools of film, a projector, and an opportunity to screen yesteryear hits to simple village folk.

As if on cue, the reluctant bunch screen their first show to a corrupt cop to escape harrasment and then to various people for money, amusement, to show gratitude, and to celebrate life as it comes. The four also stick by each other through rough times, changing their demeanour as they trudge along the mostly arid landscape.

Road, Movie doesn’t have much of a story and would have appeared like an amateur attempt at documentary had it not been for Michel Amathieu’s slick cinematography. But then, Benegal’s original screenplay was hardly intended for the Filmfare audience, so if you’re looking for the usual Indian cinema staple, the movie can get annoying with only 1 truly filmy moment- the scene where the water dacoits let Vishnu sell them his mardangi denewala tel byte.

Benegal couldn’t have picked his cast better. Tannishtha Chatterjee and Mohammed Faizal are actors to look out for, Satish Kaushik endears and Abhay Deol makes being boring, cool.

Nominated for the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix Award, and screened at the Berlinale,  Cannes, Doha Tribeca, and Toronto film festivals, it’s time more of such movies hit the road.

Glorious 39 Review

This movie felt so good, that I did manage to clap at the end of it and perhaps I was the only one, and it wasn’t for the want of it but possibly it felt a bit too stretched out.

This one had me captivated right from the beginning. The story revolves around one family and the way things happened for them during the time when the Second World War was announced. We have Walter, played by Christopher Lee, narrating the story of Anne to a cousin of theirs, who has not been heard of in the family for a pretty long time. The story is through the eyes of a young Walter and how he’d seen Anne live.

The story has a romantic angle, a few humourous comments, and a good suspense thrown in for good measure. Albeit a bit predictable, the movie was very well directed by Stephen Poliakoff, a well known entity in the English plays circuit. He managed to put the sequence of events in a very well mannered way which had me, at the very least, wanting to know how would stuff progress next.

Though it could be considered a really slow movie, the story of one family’s life at the time of war was so well done, it does seem to be a really ‘glorious’ beginning to this film festival. I do think the 39 stands for the year 1939, though I wish that could have been made clear within the movie itself.
All in all, an amazing movie, and as a friend of mine put it, “Blink an eye, and you may miss out on some link that may keep you wondering at the end.”

Contributed by Rakesh Nair

Glorious 39 is part of the ongoing From Blighty with Love festival, showcasing hand-picked British films from March 5-18 in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. The movie will be screened again March 10. Festival schedule also available at PVR, Fame and BIG Cinemas.