Tag: film

Dorothy

Doroty

There are very few films that I go to without looking at any reviews. Karthik Subbaraj’s (KS) films are one of them. With Dorothy, he has proved again that I can continue to have that faith in him.

Some spoilers ahead definitely!

KS deals with a very complex subject of gender identity in Dorothy and what I loved a lot about this film is how true KS has stuck to what he wanted to make without any compromises.

This is one of the recent bold attempts in Tamil cinema. And kudos to KS for exploring gender identity in such a depth.

KS goes deep into the male ego just like how he did in Iraivi. And he delivers it in raw, on your face fashion.

A french kiss comes a full circle.

A person who runs a small “Military Hotel” and probably hasn’t even killed an animal okays killing of a person. While a person who does his living for killing questions who is he to take a life of another person. This also shows how society has conditioned us that it’s ok to take someone’s life in the name of “honor”.

There is a close up shot towards the climax where the facial expression reveals why the movie is about “Dorothy” – its just beautifully done. Hats off to Sanath for pulling it off.

KS also uses lot of visual elements to convey his thoughts in the movie – something I haven’t seen in his earlier movies.

There is a beautiful shot at the top of the mountain where one person is shown purposefully taller than the other – I won’t reveal much about this shot. It has to be seen to feel why KS is an important, intelligent director in the current times.

Similarly there is a landscape shot where two characters are shown against a backdrop of huge mountainous rocks – showing how small we humans are when compared to nature.

The male ego

I loved how KS went into the depths of male ego in Iraivi. Unlike K.Balachandar (full respect for him as I say this) who typically stages from the women point of view (by having women protagonist like Sujatha and Revathy and Saritha), KS shows how bad the male ego is in our society through the male characters itself. As a man, when I see those characters, it fundamentally raises an internal question like “How bad we have been!”.

In Dorothy, there are many such examples very strongly established in the first half of the movie (more about the two halves of a KS movie in a bit).

The movie starts with a old man who heads a family whistling to “Manidhan enbavan dheivam aagalam” song. Only to be shown very quickly that he is the very definition of an animal within a man.

The “Karthi” character who is shown to be “soft” during the childhood days, when becomes a man, doesn’t even give a damn when his girl gets married to another person – he simply calls her a “Pottachi”, drinks and dances in the wedding. A strong depiction of what a male dominated society can do to men.

The “Karthi” character itself is not able to accept his very own close friend (who’s life he saves multiple times) as a trans.

The male dominated society shown through the lens of the three men in the family even decides to take down lives of their very own – in the name of honor. All the honor killings that we read in the news.

Take a simple act of eating a “Parota”. KS brilliantly shows a scene right in the childhood days of the two friends. A “man” is not supposed to eat a “Parota” by taking a piece of it and dipping it in the “Kurma”. But rather by tearing up all of the “Parota” and mixing the “Kurma”. That’s how a strong “man” eats it.

Speaking of Parota, there is a brilliant shot in the second half where the “Kurma” (salna) mixing with Parota is used to representing blood draining out. Just sheer KS brilliance.

While showing these side of the male ego, KS very intelligently brings the female perspective. Through a mother.

A mother calls out that it’s OK for men to cry.

And she is the one accepts “Subbu” when he becomes a woman.

A woman friend accepts “Subbu” for what he/she is.

Men don’t cry

Our society has always shaped men with this – “Aaambala nna azha koodadhu”.

KS deals with this brilliantly in this movie.

The “Subbu” character in the childhood keeps reminding his friend “Karthi” that men don’t cry. And when the movie transitions to their adult lives – it’s “Subbu” who sheds tears.

“Karthi”, like most men, begins to learn that to be man – you should not cry, bury those emotions and take actions (to the extent of deciding to killing his friend) because that’s what defines a man.

The “Karthi” character is not even able to cry out in the later part of the movie as he goes through an internal turmoil – torn between what he feels for his friend and what he is expected to do.

KS brilliantly brings out how men are brought up in our society. Though an average man today doesn’t go to the extent of killing people, they simply cry within. They cry within themselves, when everyone has slept and no one is around, within the walls of a bathroom, shed a tear when driving alone in a car. They are not allowed to cry out even when their loved ones leave the world – they are supposed to be strong. Crying is a sign of weakness.

The Two Halves of a KS movie

I have always viewed KS movies having two distinct halves. And the second half being completely different from the first half.

When you come back from the interval of any KS movie, the rest of the movie is something you don’t expect at all. And sometimes it doesn’t work – case in point is Retro.

But I felt, this is one of the movies where the shift isn’t such drastic when compared to his previous work.

The movie definitely shifts tracks but I felt it still stuck to the overall premise much better than his earlier movies.

Based on the events of the first half, one typically expects a violent revenge drama set in rural TamilNadu. But it completely takes off in a different way in the second half.

KS could have simply taken that revenge drama. It would have suited very well with the current trend in Tamil movies of taking bloody violent movies. The movie would have made a lot of money.

But that’s were KS has stood his ground and has made what we truly wanted to make. And that’s the reason why I always consider him one of the best.

Ilayaraja

There was a lot of hype for Ilayaraja. In fact it’s one of the other main reasons for me to have gone to the theatre without reading any reviews – how would KS and IR be on screen?

It’s hard for me to say this as an IR fan – but his presence in the movie wasn’t felt that much. Except when Do Anything from How to Name It was beautifully used.

It appears that KS wanted to use a few IR past background scores and songs and instead of getting into copyright challenges with him, he just got him as the music director in the movie and still used his old compositions. There is a song in the second half which even sounded like “Maanin Iru Kangal Konda Maanae Maanae” song.

Myshkin was able to get some of the best scores out of IR. But KS probably just settled for what we all grew up with.

There are just so many small small things about the movie that I loved. Some of them are typical KS things that he does in every movie.

A cleverly placed advertisement of Nayagan that also reinforces the timeline of the movie.

A shot that shows a poster of the movie “A view to Kill” where the man is viewing the actress’ thighs 🙂

The transition at the beginning of the movie from a scar in the head of Karthi to how he actually got the scar.

And of course, playing “Malarndhum Malaradha” song from “Paasa Malar” – I invariably expect this in every KS movie since he used it as his signature in Jigarthanda.

Overall it’s one of the finest work of KS – only next to Jigarthanda. That’s still his best work for me.

One last example: The character “Karthi” is shown as a scared boy in his childhood – he is being grown up by his mother and without a father. But he later ends up as a violent man. The character “Subbu” is shown as a strong boy unfraid of anything in his childhood – he grows up in a family without women amongst violent men. But he later ends up discovering himself as a woman. This just sums up KS for me.

I tell my movie buddy that KS is 2000’s Mani Ratnam. Of course, no one should be compared with others. But when it comes to writing, taking unconventional subjects, casting lesser known heroes and sticking to the subject – I always felt MR as the gold standard in Tamil cinema. I still get goosebumps just thinking about Mouna Ragam (there is a reference to the Kambili Poochi in Dorothy as well), Anjali – how could MR delve into those worlds?

KS is our current day version of MR.

KS: You are an important movie maker for Tamil cinema. An intelligent one. As they say “moola kaaran”. I will continue to watch your movies. For you.

Dhurandhar

I rarely watch Hindi movies in theatre. I guess the last one I saw in theatre was Barfi.

But for Dhurandhar, almost everyone that I knew in my friends circle gave a thumbs up. So, after more than a decade, I saw a Hindi movie. And it was a mixed bag for me.

The opening scene in itself clearly conveyed that the movie is well made. After all these years of watching movies, I have developed a good sense of telling how the movie is going to be based on how it starts.

The good parts

The first half of the movie was just simply good. Such an amazing production quality. Some great performances. Even though the first half itself was pretty long (close to 2 hours), I totally enjoyed it. It was more of a 2-hour “drama” that takes us into the world of how terror is linked and unleashed.

Let’s talk about the production quality. Almost 95% of the movie happens in Pakistan. And wow, the way they recreated Pakistan (though we will never know if Pakistan actually exists the way they show) is simply amazing.

What was even more amazing for me was the way the movie elaborately went to the depths of showing the politics, underworld, intelligence and business communities operate. And how they are interlinked – like any other country in the world! There was some solid research, writing and production. The world building was top notch – showing rival gangs, politicians and businessmen having their agenda, how power is captured from ruling an important town and so on. It was an absolute delight to watch the first half spending so much time into this world.

With respect to the performances themselves, Akshay Khanna stands first. He simply pulled off a great performance with very little to say and so much expressed through eyes and facial expressions.

The same goes with Ranveer Singh too. There is little talking. And more through eyes and subtle smiles. Even when he talks, the words are measured. There is no over the top introduction scene for the hero – he just gets introduced just like that. He is also shown vulnerable in the movie. A hero getting molested? About to get raped? When have seen something like this in a mainstream cinema?

The way the real terror incidents were linked to the movie was also too good. The scene where the real audio between the 26/11 terrorists and their handlers was being played with a red background in the screen had a huge impact in terms of reminding everyone what was unleashed on that day. This is some superb film making where the lines between fiction and reality was blurred.

The parts that didn’t work for me

Let’s talk about the interval break first.

The entire stretch towards the interval was very well made. Ranveer is being shown the results of the work that he carried out. And through that lens, we also get to see the terror that gets unleashed during 26/11. There is a stunning performance from Ranveer and what must have been a very difficult performance for Akshay Khanna and Arjun Rampal to perform a scene where they need to enjoy the terror.

Right after this Arjun Rampal directly tells that they know there is a Spy. And we know that’s the interval moment.

I was totally hooked till this and came out telling my friends with whom I watched along that what a movie it is.

But then, what followed in the second half was a total let down for me.

What would have ideally worked is something like Arjun Rampal character finding out the handler (the owner of the tea shop where Ranveer works) and how Ranveer navigates the whole situation and so on. Instead the movie is fully dragged upon for next 1.5 hours or so.

The entire Sara Arjun character related scenes are such a drag in the whole movie. It looked as if that whole character had to be created for the video evidence of Sara Arjun father and Sanjay Dutt interaction.

The climax action sequence was also a super drag that goes for close to 10 minutes. By the end of it, I was kinda pleading for the Akshay Khanna character to even commit suicide. Add to that, the entire background score was so loud and sounded completely chaotic.

One of my other major challenge is apart from the impact the terror incidents create, there is very little emotional attachment to the movie. We hardly connect with the Ranveer character and root for his success as a spy.

The violence in the action scenes also looked like they were forced upon. I will definitely sound old when I say this, but I will still risk it – it appears that today you cannot have a blockbuster movie that doesn’t have scenes where brain comes out, hands chopped, bodies smashed, etc. I feel that violence is being normalized by all these filmmakers and it’s definitely not healthy.

Final Thoughts

While definitely not a bad movie, I felt Dhurandhar had so much potential that was not utilized well. The movie is easily 30 minutes longer and can have some better writing for the second half. May be the part 2 will have some answers for me.

What I got reminded as I walked out of the theatre was what a genius writer Kamal Hassan was.

Viswaroopam? Kuruthi Punal? Similar genre. I was way better satisfied with them than Dhurandhar.

Greed comes true

When I wrote the last post a month ago, I finished it saying I was greedy that I wanted to watch The Godfather Part II also in the theatre.

And this time around, the universe was kind enough.

Yes, The Godfather Part II got re-released last week and I grabbed the opportunity to see it on the big screen.

Even though many regard the first part very highly, it’s the part II that actually works more for me.

Because of one reason.

Rather one man – Al Pacino

It was so awesome to see his performance on the big screen. Especially the eyes – the way those magical eyes emote and can convey what’s going on in Michael’s mind without uttering a word. The mannerisms that he very consistently portrays at multiple times in the movie living Michael in and out. For example:

The way he uses two fingers and rubs both his eyes whenever he comes to a place after dealing with lot of “stuff”

Or the way he moves his left hand fingers when he is making important decisions (such as the below one when he is meeting Hyman Roth at his home in Miami)

Al Pacino also lived the character of Michael with so much consistency in terms how he reacts when people betray him. He is genuinely trying to make the family business legitimate, but when people within his family betray him or do not understand him, he simply shuts the door for them.

A great example is, how he literally shuts the door for Kate when she visits the kids without his knowledge. No words are uttered. Just a strong hatred in his eyes. Walks straight to the door and shuts it.

It’s the same with Fredo. When he discovers that Fredo plotted against him and his family, he simply shuts him off from his life – so much that he decides to kill his own brother. And that too, a brilliant scene where he gives a go ahead to his assistant to kill Fredo after their mother dies – again with just his eyes.

The Nayagan Connect

Of course, it’s inevitable that one cannot find how much inspiration that Kamal had taken from Al Pacino for Nayagan. If Al Pacino moves his left fingers, Kamal moves his right hand over his bald head. All those close up shots where the scenes were focused on Al Pacino’s reaction in his eyes – one could see how much Kamal and Maniratnam embodied it in Nayagan.

If there was a baptism scene in this movie where Michael kills his enemies, there is an equivalent scene in Nayagan where the Reddy family gets killed while Nayakkar performs the last rites for his wife.

Overall, I am super glad that my greed got answered.

And of course, there is no end to one’s greed. I am seeing news that Nayagan is likely to get released in theatres. And that will just complete it for me 🙂

Watching The Godfather in the big screen

Never, ever, in my wildest dreams, I ever imagined that I would see this movie in the big screen.

I was casually checking last Wednesday if there are any good English movies to watch during the weekend and saw this being listed as a “Re-release”.

I saw it was running only in a few theatres across Chennai and just one show in a multiplex that I and my friend regularly watch any movie.

I didn’t bother to check with my friend and I just booked two tickets for the following Saturday. I knew very strongly that my friend would simply drop everything else for this lifetime opportunity.

And, it was a lifetime opportunity for us.

Watching one of the finest craft ever made. On the big screen. The way the director intended it to be seen.

Obviously I had seen this movie a number of times. This friend of mine recommended it back in 2007-2008 times.

In the 90s when I got exposed to Hollywood movies, I was just watching the regular sci-fi, action movies. The Speed, Independence Day, Cliff Hanger type of movies. Crime-Drama as a genre was something that obviously a school/college going kid doesn’t like to see. Especially the ones that goes in a slow pace.

So was my friend until he went to the US and accidentally stumbled upon this genre. He came back and highly recommended to see this.

I tried initially and couldn’t sit through the first 30 minutes – this was sometime in 2007/2008. I normally watch during the night and I dozed off in the first 30 minutes.

A couple of years passed and my friend pushed me to watch it again during the day – like an afternoon.

Sometime in 2010/2011 I saw the first part of “The Godfather” series and was completely blown away.

Ever since, I have come back to this movie at least once every 2 years to notice something new.

Though we now remember every single scene in the movie and of course most of the dialogues, it was still a different experience seeing it in the theatre.

The beauty of watching it in theatre (any good movie) is that you are locked in that dark room for 2-3 hours. And you are completely taken into the world the director has created.

It was the same in this case too. For 3 hours, I was totally in the world of the Corleone family. How the power was being transitioned and all the dynamics within the family and with the outsiders.

And I noticed another brilliant performance

Above is the scene where Al Pacino has come out of the bathroom having taken the gun that was hidden in the bathroom.

He is going to take out Solozzo in the next few minutes.

He comes back to the table and sits in the table. The camera zooms to Al Pacino’s face.

Solozzo continues to chat with Al Pacino.

Al Pacino is listening to what Solozzo is saying.

But he is also listening to something else.

The sound of an approaching train.

He waits for the train to make the crossing near the restaurant where they are dining.

And when the sound of the the crossing train is at the max, he shoots Solozzo.

A brilliant piece of scene staging by the director.

And an amazing performance by Al Pacino. He simply keeps his head titled (to show that he is forcing his ear to listen to the train sound) and he moves his eyes to express what’s going on in his mind.

You need to watch this scene to fully appreciate this.

The train sound is also played out to us in the background when Al Pacino comes out of the bathroom – thats when the character “Michael Corleone” had listen to the approaching train sound. And decided that another train must pass soon and will use that opportunity to make the kill.

I noticed this during the movie (thanks to my friend who pointed it out). Something that I had never noticed in so many times I had watched before.

I am truly grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity of watching this masterpiece in theatre.

And now I am greedy – I want the part 2 to be re-release again. For me, personally, part 2 is still the best in the trilogy.

ps: Of course, I and my friend were discussing and comparing how Kamal and Mani had got inspired and used many techniques in Nayagan. Kamal’s hairstyle, the expression in the eyes, the calmness are all direct lift-off from Al Pacino.

And of course, the opening scene where “Bonasera” describes about the cruelty his daughter faced is a direct life-off and played by A.R.S (the DGP) in Nayagan 🙂