A year of Science Fiction

I have been intending to write this post for a while.

For the past year, I am getting fascinated by the world of science fiction.

As with many of our generation, TV was the first channel that introduced science fiction to me. I remember seeing Star Trek TV series and Johnny Sokko and Giant Robot in late 80s.

But books, they open new wonderful worlds for the readers. In the past year or so, I have read some phenomenal science fiction books.

Some of these being:
1. Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
2. Micro by Michael Crichton
3. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

I also saw the movies Andromeda Strain, Jurassic World, Jurassic Park (second viewing) and Interstellar in the last year or so.

Science fiction is a mesmerizing genre. The imagination of the author or the movie-maker astonishes me as much as the story fascinates me.

Michael Crichton stands out with his out of the world thinking and imagination. Andromeda Strain is a novel written in 1969. The story is as thrilling today as it would have been four and a half decades ago. For me, alien would be like the one in the movie Alien or Independence Day. But Crichton delves into physics to give you a micro-alien which is like grass. Immune to the most powerful of storms or man made weapons.

My latest reading - Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem was a totally different experience. A story spanning over 4 decades, the protagonist mixing real life with that of a virtual reality base game. And the universe sending threatening messages through cosmic microwave background. The story is fantastic. The philosophy of planet that an extra-terrestrial race progressing rapidly due to the fragility of its planets existence is amazing.

The book is being adapted into a Chinese movie as well. I await the movie eagerly!

I am also looking forward to complete the trilogy - Dark Forest and Death's End.
I hope they stand up to the expectations set by the first book.

I leave you with the trailer of the movie Andromeda Strain. Remember it was early 70s when the movie was made.

Katyar Kaljat Ghusli - Music & Magic Interwoven

Katyar Kaljat Ghusli is the movie you need to watch to get a taste, a flavour, an initiation into the richness of Marathi Theater. This movie, rich in music, that it inherited from the 40 year old play, complimented by some brilliant acting, dialogues and direction is an absolute treat to watch.

Back in early 90s, my father had bought a cassette which had compilation of Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande's songs who had played Khan Saaheb's role in the original play. I loved the songs but then I had only heard Khan Saaheb's versions but that ensured I headed to the cinema hall to see this movie.

It ensures the dagger of music is drawn deep into your mind. What a terrific movie this is that I am fumbling for words in this post. The music is still playing in my head.

It starts with this brilliant Ganpati bhakti geet, "Sur Niragas Ho" by Shankar Mahadevan.

The movie tells a tale of 2 maestros competing for the position of the Kingdom's top singer and the King's Dagger. Both are almost equal but there is only one winner. The competition turns sour with rising ambition of one of them and then the drama unfolds.

The story is set in the 19th century in the pre-Independence era. The King, Queen and the Darbaar are excellent with the debates, the discussions and a prevalent sense of upholding justice. The acting is of the highest caliber here. 

In this star-studded affair, Sachin Pilgaonkar stands out as Khan Saaheb - a fantastic singer who deserves accolades for his singing but a vain and arrogant man. His performance is something I have never seen before from any actor. He deserves every award that can be given for acting. And don't dilute it by categorizing acting - hero, support, villain... - his performance is the best performance that can be!

Shankar Mahadevan as Panditji is stellar and so is the director-actor Subodh Bhave as Sadashiv. 

I have special praise for the supporting cast - Amruta Khanvilkar as Zareena, Mrunmayi Deshpande as Uma, Pushkar Shrotri as Kaviraj, Sakshi Tanwar as Khansaaheb's wife and the King and the Queen.

Subodh Bhave, the director-actor of this movie, makes me immensely proud. He has been a key contributor to the decade old rise of the Marathi art - cinema, theater or TV. I look up to him for more such artistic creations. I am sure he and his team will not disappoint us.

Before you leave this page.... don't miss to hear these 2 versions of the immortal song "Ghei Chhand Makarand." As a child I had only heard Khan Saaheb's version. For the first time in the movie did I hear Panditji's version (which is the first in this youtube video). As the song completes, I had goosebumps, a tear in my eye and my throat choked. Such is the power of great singing. And great singing is all that this movie is about.

I urge you to go to the nearest cinema hall to enjoy the movie in its fullest. 

Le Carre's Smiley and the other trilogy.

The reading this year comprised mainly of fiction books. Couple of trilogies and a few other novels.

This year I completed the Karla Trilogy from John Le Carre after reading the Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. While Honourable Schoolboy was a good book, I thought Smiley's People was fantastic.
As fantastic as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Indeed the best book I have read in years.

I loved the insanity in the cunning that Smiley and Karla create against each other. I loved the fact that Smiley acknowledges that he and Karla are no more than each other's alter ago. Most of it, I loved the climax. Never expected it to be so stunning. Never was it so predictable either.

John Le Carre sits in an overlap of fiction thriller writer who imagines a lot about the espionage world and a literary master who knows the people about whom he writes. What a treat!

The other trilogy was the very readable Shiva Trilogy. I enjoyed Immortals of Meluha, the first part very much. The other two were alright. What impressed me was the amazing imagination shown by the debutante author Amish.Writing sure is a difficult art, writing with so much imagination on a topic which is so well known to Indians, is much more difficult. Amish stands out. And I hope we get to see movies made from his books. And I hope that the movie has good production values....

Tom Clancy - Books and Movies

Tom Clancy, the blockbuster novelist, died a couple of days ago.

I have read quite a few of his books, enjoyed some, but got bored by most. However, when the same book is recreated on the big cinema screen, the results were thoroughly enjoyable.

I have loved every movie that was based on Clancy's book. Patriot Games, The Hunt for Red October, Sum of All Fears.... all of them.

I often thought that Clancy wrote with a focus on cinematic adaptation. There are also several PC games based on his books, I am sure they are a big hit in the world of gaming.

I think what is special about Clancy's books are the immense technical detailing in the plot. Unlike say Forsyth or Le Carre, Clancy gave details about the machines, guns, computer networks, algorithms and everything around that. This possibly was a great script for any movie.

I think we will all miss Clancy either for his books or for the movies or for the games. Rest in Peace.

English Vinglish & My love for Food!

We saw the delightful English Vinglish yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sridevi's Shashi Godbole and her English class is a fantastic tale with the moral that no odd is bigger than your will! The movie was worth every penny and the best part is that it is 100% family viewing affair.

That said, I loved the supporting star cast of the movie - most of them, Mehdi Nebbou, the silent Frenchman whose yearning for Shashi starts growing on you, the viewer.

Now there is a fine discussion between Shashi and Laurent where they say something of this sort:

Laurent: Food is art.
Shashi: When a man cooks, it is art. When a woman cooks, it is her work / duty.
Laurent: No no no... you cook, you make other people happy. This is worship. This is art. Prayer.

It is better viewed on the screen than me describing it here. It is a fine discussion on how we all should view the person cooking for us - your mother, your wife, the cook, the vada pav waala....whoever. I have never heard a more intelligent discussion on food in Hindi cinema.

I am absolutely loving the way Indian cinema is moving. English Vinglish is another example of this sophistication that is coming our way.

Barfi!++ : Loving where Indian cinema is going!

Having seen Barfi! and being completely charmed by the lovely fairy tale of Barfi, Jhilmil and Shruti, I refuse to fall into the debate whether this should have gone to Oscars or not.

For me and for us Indians, I do not think it should matter. What should matter is where our cinema is going! After the rubbish we saw coming in the 1980s, some limited risk taking in the 1990s, some more boldness is portraying stories in the 2000s, we have now reached a wonderful point where some excellent movies are being produced.

I have written this earlier too, Hindi cinema is undergoing a wonderful transformation that needs to be appreciated, applauded and encouraged.

Now Barfi! may have picked up some scenes, but the way the story is told, the cinematography, the music and the actors, they all show what can be achieved. The audience is entranced by this team. And this has been happening at a very good frequency. In fact that is what is making us spend reasonable sums at the movie halls.

In general, this bodes well for Hindi cinema viewers.

Now the point of Oscars, sure they should award an original movie over one which may have redone some scenes. But the way movies are made today, we need not worry too much.

Before you go, here enjoy this lovely lovely song from Barfi!

Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol Review

Ethan Hunt is moving towards pre-Daniel Craig era James Bond while Bond, these days, is getting more and more intense, much like Hunt of the first MI.

This fourth episode of MI is a perfect Hollywood masala movie that has some spectacular action scenes, unbelievably cheesy lines, humour sprinkled in generous amounts throughout the movie and great effects. Story line, script...well these have been adapted well with above objectives perfectly aligned! Honestly, when you see the movie you don't care!

The movie begins with a typical mission going wrong. Hunt is then summoned from a Russian jail to find what was lost in the mission. To put it lightly and concisely, Hunt and his team does that with panache.

The hunt for the lost package takes them from Russia to Dubai to India. They enter break a jail, get into Kremlin, their car drowns in a river, Hunt climbs the highest building in the world and so on. Each of the sequences is a classy piece of adrenaline pumping action. Do not miss the Burj-Khalifah stunt - it is spectacular. I have heard that Cruise has executed it himself. If true, congratulations to him for a super stunt!

Tom Cruise is excellent in this edition. So is his team. Especially Simon Pegg with his wonderful one-liners. As an Indian viewer, I wanted to see Anil Kapoor's contribution to MI. He is alright as a lecherous billionaire but there is nothing more to his role.

This part is fantastic. Don't miss it and during the movie or after it refrain from asking too many how and why kind of questions!

3.5 *s out of 4!

Trailer of MI4:

Deool - Marathi Movie Review

The brilliance of Deool lies in the direction,brilliant dialogues delivered with panache and superlative acting. Actually nothing is amiss in this movie. No weak links at all.

Marathi cinema is moving ahead and brilliantly. There is a line in Deool where Dilip Prabhavalkar speaks out his dilemma about faith and modern belief. That is the gist of this movie. Where do we draw the line?

The first half is brilliant background building of the small village or खेडं  and its people. There is a leader, a wise man, a simpleton, their wives, their mothers, mother in laws and so many others who create a beautiful village.

A simpleton Keshav's viewing of incarnation (or is it a dream or an illusion) turns the village upside down.
While Keshav is steadfast in his faith, the rest of the village loses it for this sole chance of turning their village into a rich religious place! It is easy for me to state in a single line what the story is about, but it is the cast that creates the magic on the screen.

Nana Patekar and Sonali Kulkarni are brilliant as the chief couple of the village. Dilip Prabhavalkar as Anna is subtle and gentle in speaking the truth. But the movie belongs to Girish Kulkarni as Keshav. The subtle message is unmistakable.

The technicals of the movie are also amazing, the photography is magical. A small serene village where the moonlight is bright, the scene is magnificent.

Go see the movie right away. If possible go to the closest cinema. Do not miss this movie.

Trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfzctPCpb2A

Tangled - Walt Disney's Magic Continues

The magic that Walt Disney created many decades ago still continues to mesmerize millions like us. 

Rapunzel is an ageless fairy tale that is itself fantastic. Add to that some fine creativity, brilliant direction and amazing dialogues - we have a brilliant movie called Tangled.

Tangled does not play with the main story. It sticks to the original one mostly. It is lovely and unique by the way it presents itself. As I said, the dialogues are cool. The 3D effects are fantastic.

The one scene that I absolutely loved was where Rapunzel and Flynn escape from a dam. Its action is truly great. 

This was the first 3D movie where I did not feel weary wearing those glasses. The length of the movie is just perfect. It runs at a rapid pace and comes to closure quickly too.

I think the best compliment came from my kid with this line, " I feel like seeing Tangled again!". I think that sums it up for me too - I want to see it again!

My rating - **** out of 5*

Luv Kusa - Movie Review

Indian film industry is moving up the technical ladder and nothing makes it more evident than the animation movies. What started with Hanuman is now been taken up by other movies and Luv-Kusa is a welcome addition.

The movie about Lord Rama's son is impressive in using animation, music, creativity and yet sticking to the Grand Epic of Ramayana. With the focus on Luv Kusa, the movie also continues the original question that Ramayana asks about Rama - Was he right in asking Sita to leave?

The movie begins with Lakshman leaving Sita in the forest. Luv Kusa are born to her and they grow up as talented children. Especially mentionable is the Ramayana recited by the young princes to their father (they still don't know Rama is their father).

The final confrontation between the sons and father is also good though it could have been better. All in all, the movie is excellent and, we as the audience should encourage these movies by seeing more of them. And that was the sad thing today as there were only a few occupied seats in the theater today.

3.5 out of 5 stars for Luv Kusa.

Harishchandrachi Factory - Movie Review

My blog has been on a breather for a month almost. I have moved to Mumbai and hence the break. 


Well, I saw Harishchandrachi Factory in the intervening period and I must say it is one of the best movies ever made. Why I say so?


Look at the topic - How was the first movie in India made? 100% documentary material. And what do the movie makers do? They do magic!


They make a 100% entertaining package that has loads of 24-carat comedy and information. It does not dilute the challenge that Phalke had to overcome in his endeavour to bring "Drama on the screen".


So it begins with Phalke and his son going to a movie screening in British Mumbai. And they are mesmerised. Then begins the story of Phalke's restless mind in getting cinema to India. His family stands by him and he is shown as a loving husband and father. But he is a crazy innovator.


In that he almost loses his eyesight, people call him a lunatic, he sells of most of his property, he moves to a remote suburb (if you know Mumbai well, listen to the behind the back comment about Dadar made by Phalke's neighbour and you will know what I am saying :) ) and other such incidents.


Then there are the challenges of convincing people about lending money for his creative work, travelling to London (and finding vegetarian food there), bringing back the equipment, finding actresses for the lead role and so on.


It is all magical. You are transported back by a 100 years. The production is fantastic - Mumbai has never been shot so beautifully. The lines are very very witty. The actors, especially Phalke's family, have done a fabulous job. 


And interestingly, as you laugh at the comic lines or things happening on screen, you start realising how difficult it must have been for Phalke to make a movie at a time when it was not even a concept. So what could easily have been a serious documentary or a movie that is more on the offbeat track, the movie makers have produced a fine entertaining comedy that makes sure you are engrossed in making of the first movie of Raja Harishchandra!


This line of Ashok Kumar from Mr. India is somewhat similar, "Imagine telling Emperor Akbar that you can talk to anyone in the world on telephone!"


And I recommend this movie to even those who do not speak/understand Marathi. The whole movie is self-explanatory.


Rating - 4*.
Link to IMDB site

Sunday - Avatar Review, Sufi Music, Good Marathi Food!

So this post is not much of anything specific. We 3 friends started by catching the morning show of Avatar.

I found it awesome. James Cameron has finally made a movie that has a storyline. And the effects are stunning. The movie is set in 2154 where the humans are trying to seize control of a planet from its inhabitants. The natives are shown as more "humane" towards nature of their planet. The corporate honcho and the army guy plant a ex-Marine, Jake Sully, in the locals in his Avatar form. He goes and becomes a part of them and eventually leads them to fight back.

Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang are all great. In fact I found the hero a bit flat. But the effects are amazing. I did feel the movie to be a bit long but was a great watch. That 3D is an irritating thing simply because it darkens the entire thing. The next innovation may be when it does not get that dark.

My rating - 3.5* out of 4*. Enjoy it in a theater near you!

---------

In the evening, we went to a Sufi Music program which was awesome. I had earlier written about Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia playing at IIMA campus. This was similarly amazing. The charm of such music is that the folks singing are perfectionists who have perfected the art over many many years. The music takes you to a different world, different universe. Amazing!

-------

We closed the day with Marathi food at Yashasvi, the restaurant in Maharashtra Sadan. Perfect, simple, Marathi food that gives a lovely conclusion to a nice weekend. Just one small thing, its puran poli can be better. Zunka and thecha are great.

Sherlock Holmes - Movie Review - Excellent movie!

Rating ***1/2 out of 5*. 

Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant movie! It is fast paced, witty, sometimes comic, action packed and ends with a bang.

What is done in this movie is that it has made Holmes a sort of James Bond of the 19th Century. It has been many years that I have read Sherlock Holmes stories. But from whatever I remember, this movie presents to us quite a different man. In fact, this Holmes is an explosive mix of supreme deductive powers and equally supreme physical powers!

Robert Downey Jr. as the legendary detective and Jude Law as his trusted Dr. Watson shine in this movie. In fact everything shines....including the plot.

The movie begins with Holmes and Watson stopping a crime from being committed. They apprehend Lord Blackwood in an act of Black Magic. Blackwood is hanged to death. Blackwood resurrects himself and then begins the game of smoke and mirrors. He challenges and lures Holmes into traps and Holmes continues to investigate for a larger plan. A group of people from a secret society also ask Holmes to stop Blackwood at any cost. They fear Blackwood is upto something immensely sinister and his abuse of magical powers needs to be stopped.

Irene Adler, shown as Holmes' love interest is also a very intriguing character. She has been hired by a mysterious rich man to lead or mislead Holmes to something.

Holmes, Watson and Irene investigate. The investigation is a mind-blowing roller-coaster of action and suspense. Viewers are almost breathless when the movie ends. And it ends well. Ties up all the knots and gives a nice closing to it all.

London of late 19th Century is brilliantly depicted. Hans Zimmer's music is terrific. And the action is fantastic. Guy Ritchie shows how Holmes first plans his action and its effects and then actually executes it. This is done in several scenes and sometimes the effect is humorous. The dialogues are witty. And the suspense opens up slowly and carefully.

Excellent movie. Watch it in a cinema hall!