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Friday, September 20, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD BOMBAY TALKIES
EDITOR'S PICK
`Bombay
Talkies` - beguiling, befitting homage to Indian cinema (IANS Movie Review)
Rating: *****
A girl on a railway station who croons Lata Mangeshkar songs with aching
luminosity, a stoic gluttonous ostrich, a flirty cocky gay entertainment
journalist, a closet actor, a little boy who likes to dance like Katrina Kaif
and a man from Allahabad who just wants to meet Amitabh Bachchan for a few
seconds ... Such are the engrossing characters that populate the unforgettable
world of Bombay Talkies.
Bombay Talkies is that rarity, which makes us thankful for the gift
of the movies.
Four stories directed by four contemporary Bollywood directors emerge and merge
with seamless splendour into a pastiche of pain and pleasure. Like four scoops
of ice cream, one yummier than the other, Bombay Talkies serves up a
flavourful quartet of delights that leave us craving for more. It`s like that
song written by the immortal Sahir Ludhianvi - Abhi na jao chhod kar ke
dil abhi bhara nahin.
No, that song isn`t part of the film. But there are songs of the melody queen
Lataji which haunt your senses as the restless edgy protagonists, each in search
of an emotional liberation that strikes them in unexpected ways at the end of
every story, seek a slice of cloudburst to nourish their parched spirits.
So on to the first and my favourite story directed by Karan Johar where a
sterile marriage between an urban working-couple played by Rani Mukerji and
Randeep Hooda is shaken by the arrival of young ebullient homosexual who enters
their frozen marriage in a most unexpected way.
This story more than any other, pushes Indian cinema to the edge to explore a
theme and emotions that have so far been swept under the carpet. Karan, whose
most brilliant film My Name Is Khan, was also about a marginalised
community, strips the urban relationship of all its shock value. He looks at the
three characters` frightening spiritual emptiness with a dispassion that was
denied to the characters in his earlier exploration of crumbling marital values
in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.
Thanks to the unsparing editing by Deepa Bhatia, a gently arousing background
score by Hitesh Sonik, deft but credible dialogues penned by Niranjan Iyenger
and camerawork by Anil Mehta that sweeps gently across three wounded lives,
Karan is able to nail the poignancy and the irony of his urban fable in just
four-five key scenes. This is his best work to date. Rani delivers another
power-packed performance. It`s Saqib Saleem who steals this segment with his
unmitigated spontaneity and reined-in ebullience.
The second story by Dibakar Bannerjee features that wonderful chameleon actor
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a man who would have been an actor if only life`s
drudgeries had not overtaken his life. Dibakar is a master-creator of vignettes
from everyday life. Here his detailing of chawl life is unerring.
Nikos Andritsakis`s cinematography doesn`t miss a single nuance in Nawaz`s sad
yet hopeful, bleak yet bright existence. The sequence where Siddiqui washes
clothes with the chawl`s women is savagely funny and poignant, as is his
life-changing moment when Nawaz gets to perform one shot with Ranbir Kapoor. No
we don`t see Ranbir, we just feel his presence, and we also hear filmmaker Reema
Kagti giving orders from the directorial chair, but we don`t see her either.
Nawaz in Dibakar`s deft hands, takes his character through a journey of
profoundly saddening self-discovery without any hint of self-pity. This segment
is quirky funny and tragic. No one is allowed to feel sorry for Nawaz`s
character. Not even Nawaz.
Ebullient and enchanting are the descriptions that come to mind while watching
Zoya Akhtar`s film about a little boy (Naman Jain, brilliant) who would rather
dance to Katrina Kaif`s song than become a cricketer or a pilot, as per the
wishes of his tyrant papa (Ranveer Shorey).
The household brims over with song, dance and giggles between the Katrina-enamoured
boy and his sibling and confidante (a very confident Khushi Dubey). Charming
warm humorous and vivacious Zoya`s film serves up a very gentle moral lesson.
Let a child grow the way it wants to. Zoya`s film makes our hearts acquire
wings. And yes, it immortalises Katrina Kaif.
Finally, Anurag Kashyap`s homage to the unmatchable stardom of Amitabh Bachchan.
A simple fable of a man journeying from Allahabad to meet Bachchan, this segment
is more baggy and loose-limbed than the other three tightly-edited stories. This
is not to take away from its power. As played by Vineet Kumar Singh, the Common
Man`s devotion to the Bachchan aura is manifested in the tongue-in-cheek spoken
lines and the casual energy of Mumbai`s street life.
Anurag captures the sometimes-funny often-sad bustle around the Bachchan
bungalow with warmth and affection. The segment certainly doesn`t lack in
warmth. But it could have done with a tighter grip over the narrative.
Bombay Talkies is segmented and layered, yet cohesive and compelling
from the first frame to the last. While unravelling the magic of cinema and its
impact on the minds of audiences, Bombay Talkies also displays how
much cinema has evolved over the generations.
This is a beguiling, beautiful and befitting homage to 100 years of Indian
cinema. It`s also proof that different stories in an episodic film could
comfortably have directors with different sensitivities staring in the same line
of vision.
If you watch only one film a year make sure it`s this one.
Yup, thank god for the motion picture.
Actor Saqib Saleem, who was last seen on screen in the actioner "Dishoom", says he is not in a rush to take up movies.Read More
KJo opens up about his spat with BeboKaran Johar has never been hesitant about sharing his fall-out with Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan or disclosing his sexuality and in tune with the same the ace director has in his recent biography disclosed his 2002 spat with now best friend Kareena Kapoor KhanRead More
Karan Johar Film: An urban couple is happily married or at least it seems so until the wife meets a new colleague at work which changes her life forever.
Dibakar Banerjee Film: A failed actor is struggling to make a living after his father’s death. In a turn of events he stumbles upon his last chance to prove himself to the world and more importantly, to his daughter.
Anurag Kashyap Film (Murabba): A man from a small town in UP comes to Mumbai to fulfil his ailing father’s last wish which may also save his life.
Zoya Akhtar film: A 12 year old boy from a middle class family is inspired by a film star to break the conventions of the society and follow his dreams come what may. The film marks the completion of 100 years of Indian cinema and the beginning of a new era of modern cinema.
Screening of movie Bombay Talkies Stills