I had my fill of Indian Cinema at the New India film festival at Museum of Modern Art. Five movies (so far) with three of them introduced by actors/directors. The souvenirs include autographs of Nasserudin Shah and Nandita Das.
Nandita Das, an actress I greatly admire was here to talk about her debut as a director in Firaaq (Search/ Quest) which showcases the aftermath of riots in Gujarat. Here is the text of my interview with Nadita Das published at desiclub.com
Movie Update: Firaaq (Nandita Das), A Wednesday (Nasserudin Shah), Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (Abhay Deol), The Voyuers (Bengali, Buddadeb Dasgupta) and Quickgun Murugun (Tamil/Telugu).
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire: When the movie is better than the book
Last November (2008), I watched Slumdog Millionaire. I don’t think I can express how I felt. Maybe it was one of those bad days when things are not going too well in your world. The movie was heavy with the harsh realities of the life of more than a third of the Indian population. I left the theatre with a strong desire to do something to make a difference and a desire to read the book on which the movie is based. This post reviews the book and the movie (maybe I will post an update on what I have done since then if it does end up making a difference in some one's life).
Slumdog Millionaire is based on the novel, Q&A written by Vikad Swarup, an Indian diplomat. Vikas Swarup, in an interview, mentioned that when Danny Boyle, the director of Slumdog Millionaire, told him that he would preserve the body of his book, Swarup should have realized that Danny would kill the soul. This heightened my expectations of the book. Such a dramatic and powerful movie can only be based on really well written-book, or so I thought. Maybe I should mention that I belong to the old school where books are better than movies, even if the movie has won six Oscars.
Anyway I got a chance to lay my hand on Q&A, now republished as Slumdog Millionaire last week, and I have the following comparison to offer. The movie is indeed based on book’s content and follows the structure of the book, as a series of questions on the popular show -Who wants to be a billionaire? That’s where the similarity ends. The book is no more than a collection of loosely bound short stories while the movie is solid commentary on Indian society with a focus on urban Indian poor. Unfortunately the book does not develop its characters, focusing instead on a series of disparate events, some of them unbelievable. While the movie floors you not only with its characters, but also by vividly capturing the life of Dharavi, believed to be Asia’s biggest slum, in the heart in India's financial capital Mumbai. If the purpose of the author was to make a generic commentary on India, he needed even more meat on the bones, which the book does not have. The author’s way of capturing the role religion plays in Indian society, through a protagonist with the name ‘Ram Mohammed Thomas’ (RMT) is far more unrealistic & ineffective than the movie’s depiction of a mob.
There are lots of other changes that the movie’s screenplay makes, small big and other small. It omits stories of RMT aka Jamal Khan (the name of the movie’s protagonist) as a bartender and his adventures in Delhi at an Australian Diplomats house. It also twists the story line, introducing an under world don while omitting a contract killer. Overall, the screenplay effectively makes a collection of short stories into a coherent movie, one that rises above its individual characters while reflecting the reality of life of the urban Indian poor. It however does this while ensuring that the characters are well developed. In this case the movie is far better than the book.
Slumdog Millionaire is based on the novel, Q&A written by Vikad Swarup, an Indian diplomat. Vikas Swarup, in an interview, mentioned that when Danny Boyle, the director of Slumdog Millionaire, told him that he would preserve the body of his book, Swarup should have realized that Danny would kill the soul. This heightened my expectations of the book. Such a dramatic and powerful movie can only be based on really well written-book, or so I thought. Maybe I should mention that I belong to the old school where books are better than movies, even if the movie has won six Oscars.
Anyway I got a chance to lay my hand on Q&A, now republished as Slumdog Millionaire last week, and I have the following comparison to offer. The movie is indeed based on book’s content and follows the structure of the book, as a series of questions on the popular show -Who wants to be a billionaire? That’s where the similarity ends. The book is no more than a collection of loosely bound short stories while the movie is solid commentary on Indian society with a focus on urban Indian poor. Unfortunately the book does not develop its characters, focusing instead on a series of disparate events, some of them unbelievable. While the movie floors you not only with its characters, but also by vividly capturing the life of Dharavi, believed to be Asia’s biggest slum, in the heart in India's financial capital Mumbai. If the purpose of the author was to make a generic commentary on India, he needed even more meat on the bones, which the book does not have. The author’s way of capturing the role religion plays in Indian society, through a protagonist with the name ‘Ram Mohammed Thomas’ (RMT) is far more unrealistic & ineffective than the movie’s depiction of a mob.
There are lots of other changes that the movie’s screenplay makes, small big and other small. It omits stories of RMT aka Jamal Khan (the name of the movie’s protagonist) as a bartender and his adventures in Delhi at an Australian Diplomats house. It also twists the story line, introducing an under world don while omitting a contract killer. Overall, the screenplay effectively makes a collection of short stories into a coherent movie, one that rises above its individual characters while reflecting the reality of life of the urban Indian poor. It however does this while ensuring that the characters are well developed. In this case the movie is far better than the book.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Life Outside Office
I look at my social accomplishments chart for this month. Two movies & two books. Pretty decent. I have been making good use of my time outside office. Have met my old college friends too.
The two months that I saw this month have both been ok. In fact Iqbal was a really good one. A simple yet powerful tale. Highly recommended. Nasserudin Shah's performance is amazing
The other one Salaam Namaste was a typical Hindi movie. The fast half is good, fast and thrilling. The second half was a shouting competition between Saif and Preity. And lots of tear-shedding
Watched Skeleton too a few days later. I love scary movies but this one was ordinary. Yes, there is a suspense and a twist in the end which the director tried to do it the Shamalayan way but my rating - Ordinary stuff.
On October 2, I saw the - "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara". - Urmila and Anupam Kher. If one thing you can watch the movie for is Anupam's acting. Classic , simply amazing. Reminds me of Saaransh (tale of a old father and the anguish he goes through in getting his dead son's remains released from Customs). In MGKNM, Anupam's portrayal of man who is guilt ridden because he killed Gandhi is touching. Urmila too has really come of age since her Rangeela days.
In all I have done a lot of work, beyond office
==============================================
Books that I read last month - Tipping Point & The Alchemist.
I am far from competing with some fellows who claim to be reading two or three books in parallel but I try to console myself - after all I am working hard in office too :)
The two months that I saw this month have both been ok. In fact Iqbal was a really good one. A simple yet powerful tale. Highly recommended. Nasserudin Shah's performance is amazing
The other one Salaam Namaste was a typical Hindi movie. The fast half is good, fast and thrilling. The second half was a shouting competition between Saif and Preity. And lots of tear-shedding
Watched Skeleton too a few days later. I love scary movies but this one was ordinary. Yes, there is a suspense and a twist in the end which the director tried to do it the Shamalayan way but my rating - Ordinary stuff.
On October 2, I saw the - "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara". - Urmila and Anupam Kher. If one thing you can watch the movie for is Anupam's acting. Classic , simply amazing. Reminds me of Saaransh (tale of a old father and the anguish he goes through in getting his dead son's remains released from Customs). In MGKNM, Anupam's portrayal of man who is guilt ridden because he killed Gandhi is touching. Urmila too has really come of age since her Rangeela days.
In all I have done a lot of work, beyond office
==============================================
Books that I read last month - Tipping Point & The Alchemist.
I am far from competing with some fellows who claim to be reading two or three books in parallel but I try to console myself - after all I am working hard in office too :)
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