Velvet, but Far from Soft

Spoiler-free Content

Here's a film that is as refreshingly different from its contemporaries as Bollywood allows one to be. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, Bombay Velvet is the crowning of his artistic vision, his magnum opus, a film that's been in the works for close to a decade and also the one on which he's bet the biggest in terms of scale and budget.

The film's first quarter is probably its worst, but also its most necessary. The plot is driven forward a little too hurriedly and the film falls prey to a couple of Bollywood's favorite tropes -- the immigrant mother who solicits herself to feed her son, and the prodigy who was sexually abused as a child and escapes to the city after ridding herself of her captor only to be taken advantage of again. But these developments, one quickly following another, set the canvas for the rest of the film to then fill out. Rosie's arc in particular informs us on why her character later seems to find little joy in singing. And while many have been quick to blame Anushka Sharma for Rosie's lack of pizzazz on stage, I thought this was deliberate on Anushka's part and definitely not something she failed to pull off. The fact that Rosie is easily and often distracted during her performances reiterates this.

Many have noted Scorsese's seminal works as the film's inspirations, but perhaps a better comparison would be Baz Luhrrman's Gatsby. Both are a commentary on the social classes that money or lack thereof creates, and depict the familiar struggle between old money and new. And both will probably be remembered more for their rich visuals than for their story.

Ranbir Kapoor effectively captures the angst and hunger of a street rat, constantly struggling to rise above what society deems him worthy of. There are decent performances from the rest of the supporting cast as well, but nothing that they're likely to showcase as the highlight of their career. With one exception.

The absolute revelation of Bombay Velvet is Karan Johar. In him, Kashyap finds someone who is not only perfect for the part of the genteel Kaizad Khambatta but is also a blue-blooded Bombay thorough-bred, who understands the city's elite like few others. Be it while commenting on the sartorial choices of Johnny and Rosie or while sneaking out of the room only to let himself giggle freely at Johnny's interpretation of tender, Johar plays his character with glitzy aplomb.

Amit Trivedi's score feels completely right for the film, and sets the tone beautifully throughout. Fifi, another wonderful remix by Mikey McCleary, certainly warrants a few more listens after you've seen the movie. The film's most euphoric moment for me was when Johnny comes out all Tommy guns blazing, with Trivedi's rendition of Whiplash blaring in the background.

All in all, Bombay Velvet is a momentous film for Bollywood. While not as visceral as some of Kashyap's earlier work, Velvet sets a benchmark for period dramas and neat, understated acting. This is definitely not a film that I would ever regret watching in the theater, and one that you should at least watch for yourself before deciding whether you like it or not.

A word of caution

In the off-chance that you're pumped about watching the movie after reading my review, here's a disclaimer -- going into a movie like this expecting to have your mind blown is probably the quickest way to ruin it for yourself.

Even as I write this, Bombay Velvet has been labeled disappointing by fans and critics alike for a reason best explained here - On Bombay Velvet: How internet is killing the movie and the curse of being Anurag Kashyap. I can understand that the film isn't for everyone but an audience that doesn't let cinema like this breathe and reap at least some of what it has sown in terms of expenditures, later has little right to complain about the ennui brought about by Bollywood's usual trite fare.

So, go in with qualified expectations, sit tight as the plot unfurls and then let yourself be wooed by the cinematic experience that the film is. This is certainly not a film to be missed altogether or seen through torrents.

Spoiler-filled observations

• I loved how real Johnny's reaction to Rosie's photo was. The photo was far from scandalous, and I was glad that Johnny too saw it as such. It would have been a letdown if the film's climax hinged on him being outraged by something so clearly vanilla.
• Once it was established that Johnny's skirmishes in the steel cage are to satisfy his masochistic tendencies, Kashyap could have skipped one bout or two, especially since they're all between the same two fighters.
• Why Rosie comes back to attend her pseudo-funeral is beyond me.
• The scene where Khambatta shoots Rosie was gold.
• The intended meta scene was where Glitz refers to Khambatta as a fruitcake. But KJo's presence has a slightly detrimental effect on the denouement of the film as him gasping while Johnny "stabs" him makes it look as though the two are engaging in some coitus, albeit it from the front.
• While the commissioner shooting Johnny in the end and saving Mayor Quizmaster's reputation in the process was probably a natural culmination for the film, I couldn't help but wish for a happier ending. But meh, this is a minor gripe courtesy the romantic in me.

Of Space, Time and Pizza

[Spoilers ahead]
Interstellar is certainly brave if nothing else. Spanning multiple galaxies and time zones (I know this term is probably incorrect, you geeks), the movie is a beautiful experience for at least the first 2 hours of its run-time.

The Good

• TARS – This robot, thanks to his dry humor, was at once amiable and certainly held his own in a film with a solid cast all around. Special mention to TARS' form which was functional and unlike anything I have seen before, yet aesthetically pleasing.
• Time Dilation – If there was one scientific concept whose use the movie absolutely nailed, it was this! Key to the the plot, time dilation served to heighten the drama and elicit gut-wrenching emotion on several occasions. We feel Cooper's joy turn to pain as he watches how his son has been sending out hopeful messages out into space all these years.
• Matt Damon's entry – I and, judging by the collective gasps in the theater, most people watching had no idea that Damon was in the film. There was good drama on both the planets that Cooper and Brand visit, but Mann's world really took the cake. The half an hour or so that he was in the film were edge-of-the-seat stuff, and Damon was the perfect choice to play the Mannipulative pioneer. BTW, when Damon comes out of cryosleep, did anyone else mistake him for Philip Seymour Hoffman?
• Despite the terrible pacing that leads up to this scene, I loved Cooper's reunion with Murph. Her line about knowing Cooper would be back because of his promise as a father is a genuinely sweet moment and reassurance that Interstellar is a film with its heart in the right place.
• Visuals and acting, obviously. The film was also peppered with some nice dialogue and crisp, funny one-liners throughout.

The Bad

• For weeks, we heard about how the visuals in the movie aren't typical artistic fare but rather the results of complex, scientific calculations that took hours of computing time to render; we read The Physics Refresher You Need To Read To Understand 'Interstellar', and saw Kip Thorne tell us about research papers that will be written based on everything that was learnt in the development of this magnum opus. And while that is commendable in terms of breaking new ground, for an average moviegoer like me, it really does not matter. Gargantua, for all of its scientific accuracy, is at the end of the day, just a black hole that is supposed to suck everything in its vicinity into its unforgiving, gluttonous self. Why this is bad is at several times, it felt as though the film wanted me to care about its amazing complexity rather than its story, but I didn't.
• The first couple of minutes that Cooper, after passing through Gargantua's wormhole, spends in the limbo(?) overlooking his daughter's bookshelf were amazing! But that feeling of "OMG! It was him all along" was quickly replaced by wariness as Cooper passes on complex, esoteric information in Morse before the film fast forwards to Murph's Eureka moment. For a film that had real potential to generate an emotional reaction, Interstellar let its magic be diluted by its half-baked scientific expositions and hurried pace in the last quarter.
• For all its technological brilliance, Cooperspace (or whatever that futuristic NASA colony orbiting Saturn was called) seems to have an improbably lax security system, judging by how easily Cooper sauntered into wherever the spaceships are kept and escaped in one of them. I mean c'mon man! Even stealing a car from a parking lot has to be more difficult than that. Just because my brain was a little tired by then doesn't mean you try to slip that past me.
• The all conquering power of love – This theory, that love guides us in a manner that transcends space and time, could have been beautiful had it been made more tacit, but in the way it was oft-repeated by its characters, the message seemed rather forced and unintuitive.

The Incomprehensible

• A lot of the dialogue in the beginning was difficult to understand. McConaughey's slick, Texan drawl is easy on the ears but more than a little tedious to process at times. Kudos to Jessica Chastain for deciphering not just Cooper's codes but also what Michael Caine was saying on his deathbed.

In conclusion, I would like to say that for me, the film was like having a large Pizza all by myself, all at once – there is enough good in there while I'm eating it, but when I'm done, I feel more stuffed and tired than happy and content. Metaphors aside, Interstellar is a movie that you may or may not love but definitely one that you should watch.

Haider: A second opinion

I shared popcorn with a friend during the second half. I finished it very quickly so I didn't have to hear myself chewing.

Spoiler alert!

Cold and brutally unforgiving, Haider was a very welcome interpretation of Shakespeare's powerful tragedy, Hamlet. The third of his Shakespeare influenced epics; Vishal Bharadwaj once again plunges into deep character play and wonderful storytelling, although the editing and continuity of the movie were surprisingly wanting. Let's break it down, shall we?

The movie was, of course, set in a beautiful scenic place blanketed by crispy white snow and yet, the air was choked with blood and pain. There were a couple of interesting Birdseye shots, rolling over lush green hills and sparkling waters. I really liked the house. Not many houses can seem so charming after they've been blown up. Every scene had a very befitting landscape to support it. 

STORY

Here's why I really loved it. I read condensed version of Hamlet a week or two before the movie, and the thing about Shakespeare is that he makes everything VERY dramatic. Every dialogue is heavy with emotion, every scene ripe with melodrama. Normally, Bollywood would be all over that shit. Heck, if Karan Johar remade a Shakespeare classic, it would be a 6 hour boo-hoo fest. But not this time. VB trimmed the fat. He made the adaptation SO brutally straightforward, so relentlessly brash and tight, that I felt a hot slap to my face. The story is different. The people who I thought would die, did not. The people I hoped would die, did. 

"Feel my rapier scoundrel! Wait, actually, this big rock will do"

The first half was slow, yes, but the second was at cutthroat pace in comparison and we were teetering off the edge of our seats in no time. Based on the length of the film I have a feeling it was meant to be a sort of commentary on Haider’s life after the tragedy. The first half did its best to elucidate Haider’s search for his father and the several places that it carried him to, but there was too much other stuff going on. In this respect, the story wasn’t all too strong, especially since he comes straight home to get his mother to eat.

Another welcome interpretation of the story was Irfan Khan’s character. While the original Hamlet involved the ghost of his late father whispering vengeance into his ear, VB made a supercool cellmate for Haider’s father who becomes the film’s game changer. The only hint of the supernatural is in a short and beautifully rendered dream sequence which was more than sufficient.

 VB:2

 Shakespeare: 0

Bismil was amazing. I’m not a fan of mid-movie Bollywood numbers but this song really tied things together. Very interesting camera angles and the slowly changing expressions on the actors faces were perfect. Kudos to Kaykay Menon in the ending of this scene.

And of course I was pleasantly surprised that “To be or not to be” was successfully converted into a kickass Hindi monologue. Although the “Salman, to go or not to go” line almost made me throw my shoe at the screen. I had a hard time keeping up with the beautifully scripted Hindi, but I definitely noted some very hard hitting dialogues. And of course I was very happy with the graveyard scene. But Shraddha Kapoor's English was NOT funny. It was much better to see Tabu teaching it at her school rather than a really bad post-love-scene monologue. 

"I louu you 4eva"

Hamlet does have some smart political commentary which was missing in Haider, but perhaps I was too distracted by all the blood.

And the ending, oh god, the ending. I was on my feet before the movie was over. So the uncle was supposed to die. NO. Haider decided to go Arya Stark on his ass and leave him bleeding. I applaud VB for this unforgiving tactic that really sealed the deal for me, although I really wish the movie had culminated in an epic dialogue. The movie was full of them! Instead he chose to settle with a cheap and weak fade to black. Speaking of which…

EDITING. Awful. The primary reason why this movie was slow was because there was NO continuity. Scenes started and ended with dialogues that were awkwardly out of place and everything was fading to black! Shoddy work I must say. There was also this tiny shot of the house as it took the first bomb where a really bad CGI corpse was dangling from the roof for just a second. My guess is that it was cut short and retained because it was probably expensive. Either way, it was rather off-putting. The movie deserved much better.

CHARACTERS

Shahid Kapoor wins. His eyes will haunt my dreams for the weeks to come. He’s done an incredible job and his facial hair-madness-face was vital to the character. I would’ve preferred a slow descent into madness rather than an abrupt visit to the barber but the movie was long enough as it is. I especially liked how he continued to polish his dead father’s shoes in the ruins of his home. Very classy.  His dialogues were full of venom and icy hatred. He delivered his lines with perfection and really struck a chord with his brilliant acting.

"How I felt after R...Rajkumar"

Tabu was as elegant and beautiful as always. Her relationship with Haider (creepy) was a looming thought through the length of the movie. She played the perfect doting, motherly infidel and was exceptionally convincing during the Bismil sequence. Although at the end, her suicide, while seemingly abrupt, was sort of welcome. It almost felt like it was just meant to happen. On a side note, the explosion wasn’t nearly as big as it should’ve been.

Kaykay Menon did a great job in making people hate him while still putting in his best sympathy face. I must admit I expected much more from him during the prayer scene when he’s supposed to be repenting for his sins. But his reaction to Bismil was all I needed. The movie may have ended rather badly for him but his final cry of anguish was echoing in my ears for a while. He really went out on a limb. Or two. <pat self on back>

Shraddha Kapoor has a really sexy back. Yeah that’s about it.

The Salman’s, ugh. But there was very little of them so it didn’t entirely throw me off. They actually turned out to be very interesting characters, and to be fair, they died in a very brutal way. I’m sold.

Haider’s dad was pretty good. The man had an air of righteousness about him, and he made a very convincing jailbird poet. There was something about his quest for vengeance that was so noble and true that it almost made his thirst for blood seem permissible.  

Irfan Khan’s cameo was very cool, and as I said before, much more welcome than some ethereal ghost of Haider’s father. Not like he had much to do, but his pronounced limp really added to the charm. Also, what a cool name! “Roohdaar”

I really couldn’t care less about Shraddha Kapoor’s brother. I just waited for him to die. It was like he was never there to begin with.

Small shout out to the supercool graveyard guys and the way they recite that poem before planting a slug in that guy’s head. Damn it VB, you really get me.

So the characters were all great, but I felt they could’ve really used a little more depth. Haider was fine and all but the story would’ve really benefited from a little more on Tabu’s fight with her own guilt and Kaykay Menon’s need for redemption.

All in all, it was a very uplifting movie with beautiful dialogue, exceptional acting and a very good perspective on Shakespearean drama. Welcome back VB; I shall be downloading Kaminey very soon.

4.5/5 for being so awesome  

This Will Make Your Blood Freeze

Disclaimer: I practically know nothing about Hamlet or the actual situation in Kashmir circa 1995. This review contains spoilers.

Seductively dark and refreshingly edgy, Haider will definitely evoke sharp reactions from whoever watches it. The film itself is nuanced in its portrayal of sensitive topics; taking sides and drawing conclusions, it seems, is left to the viewers.

To watch or not to watch? That is the question

The movie opens in 1995 Kashmir with a militant being brought to Dr. Hilal Meer's home for a surgery. Alarmed by who her husband is treating, Ghazala (Tabu) questions his loyalty and in doing so, asks the audience to ponder over whether people should just go about doing their duty without worrying about its consequences. The ingenuous doctor makes his allegiance clear as he responds to her accusation by saying that the only side he is on is that of life. The army/police however believe otherwise, and on being tipped off about the location of the militant, smoke the doctor's home with a bazooka and make the doctor "disappear" for being an accomplice to militants.

Enter Haider (Shahid Kapoor). Distraught at seeing his dilapidated home, Haider goes to seek comfort in his mother (Ghazala) but is shocked to see her in what he deems to be a compromising state with her brother-in-law Khurram (Kay Kay Menon). Haider struggles desperately to find his father but without any reward. In the meantime, both Ghazala and Khurram explain themselves to Haider and assuage him for the moment. Flashbacks offer us insights into Haider's relationship with his parents and raise a few eyebrows vis-a-vis his relationship with his mother. Back in 1995, Haider chastises Ghazala for regularly using emotional blackmail to get him to do what she wanted, pointing back to how she sent him away from Kashmir and consequently from his father. Ghazala's angst, as she is unfairly blamed by her son, is palpable and reminiscent of another famous fictional mother - Carmela Soprano, reflecting on her travails with Meadow.

Hope for Haider arrives in the form of the sibylline Roohdaar (Irrfan Khan) who reaches out with a message from the doctor. Subsequently, two contrasting versions of what happened to Haider's father are laid out. Here, the film is at its strongest, as both Haider and the audience are apprehensive about who to believe - Roohdaar's separatist agenda, and Khurram's love for Ghazala provide sufficient reason to doubt both tales. All doubts are vanquished for Haider however, when Khurram decides to marry Ghazala. For me, the film's quintessential moment of chutzpah was when Khurram, after having slept with Ghazala the previous night, addresses her in the morning as Bhabhijaan.

Elsewhere, "Pruncess" Arshi is almost a seraphic presence in Haider's life as she first saves, then helps and later, calms him.

"You remind me of my mother"

Shraddha Kapoor's beautiful bare back and goofy yet cute dance moves notwithstanding, the song could have easily been replaced with a shorter love scene that conveyed the same message. The film faltered in pace a little here but it promptly got back on track with "Bismil".

Subsequently the film marches along confidently as each character does what they believe they must to protect or avenge their loved ones. The deaths of Arshi and her brother drive home the point that in every conflict, it is invariably innocents who get caught in the crossfire.

• Characters - Everyone in the film is right according to their personal code of ethics, and their enmity arises and is aggravated by the situation that they find themselves in. Haider's mania even raises doubts about whether his hate for Khurram is driven solely by the need to avenge his father, or also by jealousy at seeing him with Ghazala, as the film hints at the Oedipus Complex. Khurram, for all his shortcomings, redeemed himself in my book when he ran towards and not away from Ghazala on realizing she was going to blow herself up. A proverbial doff-of-the-hat or rather, jiggle-of-the-belt is due for the three Salmans for providing some welcome comic relief.
• Acting - Top notch! Tabu probably plays the movie's most nuanced character as she constantly tries to keep her world from falling apart, and she is brilliant in all her scenes. Shahid is outright scary post-interval. His deranged soliloquies make for some of the film's most edgy scenes. Irrfan Khan once again excels in his eccentricities and keeps you wanting more. Kay Kay Menon and Shraddha Kapoor too slipped into their characters with ease. Kudos to Tabu and Shraddha Kapoor for nailing that funny English accent if at all that is how it is (or used to be) spoken in Kashmir.
• Cinematography and Direction - Kashmir provides a hauntingly beautiful backdrop to all the drama and bloodshed that unfolds and stains its pure white snow. A blood-covered boy waking up in the middle of a truck full of corpses and revelling in his freedom after escaping was a surprisingly good scene. The "Bismil" martial arts routine is extremely well-choreographed and steadily builds up the tension with Gulzar's lyrics eloquently dramatizing Haider's account of events. The scenes with the Graveyard Guys give you goosebumps and their version of "Aao na" in the film is every bit as awesome as Vishal Dadlani's version in the trailer.

Haider deserves accolades for steering clear of the temptation to be preachy despite the material providing ample opportunity to do so. Its strongest rhetoric perhaps comes against revenge as the film released on Gandhi Jayanti aptly echoes the aphorism that "an eye for an eye will only make the world go blind."

So just watch it, there is no question.