Friday 12 August 2016

Rustom review

Matlab baazi jeetne se hai, phir chahe Pyaada kurbaan ho yaa Rani, was the most powerful dialogue of Rustom's trailer but the game which was played to symbolise this dialogue was utter nonsense. Though the audience won't mind it(because they won't get it), an average chess player will laugh inside. The game showed that Inspector Vincent Lobo, just knew the rules of the game but not the tactics and strategy. Or maybe Rustom Pavri was over-confident to assume that the poor chap has never played chess before. But criticising director for this would be really harsh, as he has only two and a half hour to tell the story whereas Vishwanath Anand and Magnus Carlsen can keep on going for six hours and still come up with a draw. So I am actually not complaining but setting you up for right expectations from Rustom. Script definitely had promising elements but alas those were not developed to the potential.

Why this story has to be based on 1959 KM Nanavati murder case? The only reason can be to insist the audience on believing such a plan(well planned murder) can be successful. KM Nanavati case was famous for the role of media, that successfully swayed the sympathy of  commoner, jury alike in favour of the decorated Naval Officer. This could have been used to understand the people, society structure and institutions of India in post freedom period. How psychologically and institutionally India has changed since then. Indians who had Ram and Sita as their idols were shocked to hear about the affairs of such high profile people. Even in an era devoid of social media, this news became a part of household discussions. How such a big loophole in judiciary system was exposed? Well, some of them are addressed. Yes. Even in those times, news were not provided but sold. Newspaper was the only source of information and if you want a first hand account of a case then you line up on the premises of the courtrooms. People at high posts were corrupt. Scams took place. Use of the Uniform and the patriotic card to gain the sympathy was for everyone to see. Disgusting look on women's face for Cynthia without knowing the background of her story was evident. Wife felt guilty, confessed to her husband and the thing which we don't see today.. the Man pardoned her. 

Now coming to the film and the performances, Akshay Kumar is a complete actor. By now, one must not doubt the above statement, not even for a second. Two things make Rustom a good one time watch -  first, there is no melodrama(credit to Tinu Desai)  and second, the terrific Akshay Kumar. Body language(he has the personality of a man in uniform) and dialogue delivery aside, the emotions and sincerity towards his wife is remarkable. Even when you as an audience don't feel for Cynthia, you can see Rustom's love for his wife. Yes, you can see. He never speaks but his eyes convey it all the time. This is what screen presence is, you speak all the time. Sometimes lips and sometimes eyes. You always look at him, whenever he is in frame he holds your attention. And one more thing, Rustom is Akshay's preparation for Jolly LLB sequel(watch it to know why). Ileana is not a seasoned actor to handle such a role, flawed characters are not easy to play and she is a total miscast. Esha Gupta, plays sister of Vikram Makhija who is reduced to a caricature of sort. Kumud Mishra as a newspaper editor is fantastic, he provides comic relief along with Jamnabai. Pawan Malhotra as Vincent Lobo is good but his role could have been given more importance. Sachin Khedekar aptly presents an unintelligible lawyer or a besharam lawyer. Arjan Bajwa works well as a seducer and perfectly cast. 

Courtroom drama is good but lacks the punch of Jolly LLB kind. Jury discussion is so lame, actually it was not shown properly. 12 Angry Men, a 1957 film is a benchmark of how a jury discussion is done. No points were made and the matured members were fighting like emotional kids. The classified document thing does not integrate well with the main plot. Don't have high expectations and you can enjoy it. At least, an Akshay Kumar performance makes sure of that.

Thursday 4 August 2016

What Indian TV shows are scripting


Future of Indian television media is uncertain with our country sprinting towards Digital India goal. The online media provides the diversity in subjects not only to the viewers but also to the actors, who are more than eager to switch from never ending melodrama to more relatable stories. Just for watching few advertisements, the YouTube webisodes are absolutely free to the viewers. Yes, we have to pay the internet bills but then we don't use internet for just YouTube! From interacting with friends to paying all kinds of bills, we rest on internet. Few gaps left by YouTube are sealed by Netflix. And then we have the daddy of all things, that ever existed digitally, the Torrent. We are always going to have more Friends, Breaking Bad, The Game of Thrones than TVF Pitchers, Permanent roomates or Girls on Top. One thing is certain, that one won't eat the othet but will continue to co-exist and keep our minds always in two. It will be interesting to see how Indian television would transform in coming years, to accommodate the generational shift. 

From Kyunki...saas bhi kabhi bahu thi to present day shows, the only change is the addition of supernatural(read black magic) elements in the story. One hit show Naagin and suddenly we have dozens of channels coming up with snake sagas. We should not feel offended if someone still calls us, a country of snake charmers. When everyone followed the formula, there was one show which chattered into an altogether different territory. Inspired from a Telugu movie, Eega, Sasural Simar ka introduced us to the world of flys, yeah makkhi. In one of the episodes of Diya aur Baati, lead actress being an IPS officer was trying to quash the attempt of Nuclear attack on her home city by a local gang. Seriously! In times when very few countries have nuclear capabilities, the local gangs of a very small city in India are having their own Nuclear weapon. What if we don't have enough shows like 24, we always have shows like Sasural Simar ka and Diya aur Baati to boggle our mind. These shows makes you laugh and cringe, both at the same time. 

If you turn away from these escapist dramas, then also reality is not promising. The kind and quantity of reality shows on television today, makes you really wonder about the founding principle of these talent shows. Nobody can say with full conviction that these reality shows started with the aim of finding and promoting a talent. It was always for entertaining the audience with scripted emotions. Just give a thought to the business model of a reality show, the producers get real performers for a very small production cost(not talking about Big Boss kind of shows). They only have to pay for food and accommodation of contestants, a small daily allowance and in the end a winning package. They make crores through sponsorship deals, voting carrier charges and small earnings through auditioning fees. Contestants are more than happy to showcase their talent for once, for a non-existent fee. Instead of going to circus, the circus is coming to us, that is what reality is and that is what reality shows feed on.

Shows like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Office Office, F.I.R, TMKOC, Bhabhiji ghar par hain, 24 have provided some relief from time to time. One year old Epic channel is easily the best we have right now. The content this channel is bringing to Indian audience must he applauded, the variety of subjects and the simplistic presentation, works wonderfully. Stories by Rabindranath Tagore provided us with so many gems, there are so many good stories to be told but we are still stuck in saas-bahu sagas. With Dharmakshetra and Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik we got a new perspective towards Indian mythology, one look at these shows and you know the focus here is solely on content. No show off. Wish, Epic becomes a huge success and a benchmark for content on Indian television. Instead of delivering continuous long running shows, a fragmented-season format would keep the interests alive. TMKOC and Comedy nights with Kapil Sharma have lost their sheen tremendously in last few years due to their continuous exposure to the audience. And there is Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, a show that everyone wants back, somehow. 

Another area in which we can see huge change is animation. By now we all know about Chhota Bheem, but there are hosts of other Indian animated shows making impact on young minds of our country. Shiva, Motu-Patlu and Chor Police have also become favourite among children. Though these shows suffer from stereotyping of characters, the graphics and storytelling projects significant improvement over the animated shows of yesteryear. Earlier only Ramayana and Mahabharta were attempted for animation but now we see these toon characters solving day to day life problems and at the same time, also familiarising the children with global issues that the world is facing today. Indian animation industry has a long way to go but they are on the right track and eventually in future world standards will be achieved. 

We are already witnessing the kind of production scale being attempted, the narration style being used and the subjects taken in Bollywood in recent years. Our animation industry is also doing good. Why? The competition from other countries have brought these changes. Hollywood has forced Indian film industry to change its ways, Japanese anime and American superhero toons have nurtured our animation industry. Today on Internet, we know what we have on offer and we are not ready to settle for anything less, thus there is a need to match up with global standards and hence these improvements in our entertainment industry. To accommodate this new audience, the channels will have to revise their strategy and bring shows which can really hold our attention like those American shows does. Idiot box, please do this small favor to us.