Floored by Bengaloored!

Rating: 3/5
Value for money: Rs.100/Rs.100
Note: This is an Indian English movie!
Available only in select cinemas and shows in Mumbai, Delhi, mainly in PVR. Thanks, PVR.
Check out http://www.bengaloored.com for promos, music clips, caller tunes and more info.

In a tweet:
One of the best low-budget films of recent times. Bengaloored is a film with a lot of substance. Though anchored in Bengalooru, it is a film about life and change.

I have already seen it twice! This is one of the films which you can see again and again and try to understand it and get richer nuances and ideas from the film. Undoubltedly, this is going to be one of the most memorable films of the year. In fact, but for a few of its flaws, I am tempted to put this film in my list of top 10 films. Believe me, it has got its foot in the door in my list of top 10 films.

Let me be honest. I may be biased. I am biased towards good cinema. I hate movies which are flimsy and have earned crores purely on marketing and hype. This film in contrast is a well-made film. The fact that it has got a release is in fact a wonder. PVR cinemas should be complimented for promoting good cinema. Imagine a terrible movie like Raavan (the most boring movie of the year definitely) hogs all the theatre spaces because of sheer star power! Enough rants, let me come to the film.

The film is a sort of coming of age movie. We have the hero returning to Bengalooru (interestingly the name is not mentioned in the movie at all!) where all his friends and family have disappeared. He is a novelist searching for an end for his novel. His quest for the answer provides us some answers to life. Or, even if there is no real answer to the question, the question itself leads to more questions, and maybe the question itself is the answer.

According to me this will be a cult classic. With a little bit of word of mouth publicity or some guerilla marketing, this movie is a sure fire sleeper hit! (On a side note -- imagine a crap movie like Paranormal Activity goes on to make millions thanks to some fantastic hype! I do not know why good films cannot create that buzz and hype.) Wish reviewers like Khalid Mohamed, Mayank Shekar, Rajeev Masand and Anupama Chopra created a positive buzz about the film to encourage a young, new film maker.

This film is a fresh look at life. What is life today? Has it changed? How has it changed? Is life really worth it? Are poetry, art, music worth it? What motivates a person to live and love? What is love? How can one be happy? Who is a happy person?

The music by Vasu Dixit of Swarathma (Indian fusion band) is absolutely delightful. I loved the Kannada song, Elli hogi Shivanayana. Well, here is a taste of it:

Ellhogali Shivanayana --Click to watch and enjoy!

Unfortunately, I do not follow Kannada too well, but still I enjoyed the song. All the other songs too are good -- I think some of them are in Hindi and some in English! Rangmahal is a nice Hindi folk song based on Sant Kabir Das's composition. (Ouch -- I am still to understand it!) After listening to just the promos on You Tube -- I wanted to rush and get the CD! Yes, the music is superb!

On the acting front, Swaroop Kanchi (the writer-director) is mind-blowing. All the others are quite adequate. Swaroop's direction is really interesting. He is the writer and editor of the film too, so he has really controlled the film too well.

On the negative side, the film is a bit slow in parts. I personally did not like the open ending of the film.

I think Swaroop Kanchi is a fantastic film maker. Sadly, I think he has not got his due. I am really looking forward to more wonderful films from this brilliant and sensitive director.

Will I watch it again? Honestly, I can watch this film, again and again and again! Loved the film! If you love life, you cannot but love this film!

Rajneeti -- Best Indian Political Thriller in Decades

Rating 3/5 (some reviewers have given it 3.5 (Minty Tejpal) and 4 (Nikhat Kazmi) -- I can understand why they did so.)
Value for money: 100/90 (I got Rs.100 value for a Rs.90 ticket. In other words, more than paisa vasool.)

My Facebook status:
RAJNEETI -- 3/5 -- One of the best movies I have seen in decades. Definitely, India's best political thriller to date! A bit too political, a bit long, a bit gory! This film goes directly into my Top 10 film list, and is No.2 after Sholay. If you are looking for laughs -- avoid! Want a behind the scenes account of politics -- go for it!

In a tweet:
Rajneeti is one of the best if not the best Indian political thriller in decades. Definitely, Prakash Jha's best movie till date.

There is much hullaballo about it being based on Gandhi parivar and also it being based on the Mahabharat. Preposterous to associate it with Sonia Gandhi -- except that both Sonia and Katrina speak very poor Hindi. Of course, Sonia has improved over the years. the Mahabharat connection too is very loose -- and one would realize it only because it has been touted so much. Else, it is infact difficult to see the connection.

Good Points
It takes a good 30-45 minutes to get started. Then another 45 minutes to understand the threads. Interval. After the interval -- it is a total political thriller. The machinations of politicians is clearly brought out like never before. Out of a total of 3 hours -- 2 hours is pure thriller entertainment. You never know what is coming next -- neither the characters nor you know where the film is heading.

Bad Points
At 3 hours, it is too long, the start is pretty slow. It is a rather ponderous story -- I think Prakash Jha put in too much of effort trying to base it on Mahabharat. There are far too many characters and it is really difficult to keep track of who is who's brother, father, uncle, etc. There is too much of violence and gore in some parts of the film. Actually, what stops me from calling this a great film is that it has copied many scenes and ideas from Godfather (so must compliment both Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha for hoodwinking us by adding touches of Mahabharat to fool us from understanding that it is essentially a Godfather Indian version, set in the political mileu instead of mafia.)

Acting
Ranbir's performance is not exactly award winning -- but very nearly there! In fact, I would not be surprised if he won a few awards. Nana Patekar could have done better. Katrina -- the lesser said the better. Arjun Ramphal -- ditto. Ajay Devgan is good. Naseeruddin Shah has only a cameo part -- and he is there only to add his name. Manoj Vajpai disappoints as many have high expectations of him.

Will I watch it again? Most probably, YES -- despite its length and its problems.

This will indeed be a super hit film! Prakash Jha at his best, entertainment at its best.