It hasn’t been the best year for Indian cinema. The expected highs sank to lows and the perceived lows lived up to expectation. I’ve mostly felt unchallenged as a filmmaker and deeply disappointed as a cine-goer. There have been few (but far between) silver linings on the bollywood clouds and I feel compelled to list a few.
The Jodhaa-Akbar chemistry was pleasantly surprising. Ashutosh had displayed a tremendous flair of narrative and conviction in his earlier works. His foray into “old world” romance had all die-hard romantics begging for more and Hrithik and Aishwarya gave historic performances (pun totally intended.) The pace was not really the virtue of this film but there were various other cinematic elements that more than made up for it.
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. I felt young and depressed when I watched this film. Young because it took me back to the backbench days of my college life and depressed because those days are now a distant memory that high doses of Aspartame are erasing by the hour. I remember seeing the film and then confronting my mirror. I’m worth it so thank god for L'Oréal, now the grays can be covered. Botox is now the next stop. Anyway, back to Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and the wonderful Imran and Genelia. Imran displayed a casual confidence that made him endearing and eminently watchable. He has great lineage but still stands apart and has an individualistic charm about him. More power to him…. Genelia was fresh, earthy, and rightfully energetic. Here’s an actress waiting to exhale. I hope she makes the right career choices and carves the correct niche for herself. This is almost like a re-launch for her in Indian cinema and I’m sure she will more than live up to all the expectation.
My favorite actor in the whole world is Rishi Kapoor. He was natural at a time when overt, theatric performances were the order of the day. He combated over-the-top and made nuance his strength. Ranbir is a brilliant follow up to a legend. He’s a star and displays all the elements and prerequisites for mainstream lead roles. Hidden beneath the controlled body language and nimble dance abilities definitely lies an actor. I’m dead sure in years to come that Ranbir will emerge as an “actor/superstar”, a very rare combination.
Rock On is by far the best looking film of this year. Jason West captures the mood of a rock concert with unbelievable expertise. This brave endeavor is a huge technical victory and a lesson to learn for all of us filmmakers. The production design, ambience, and styling are pitch perfect. Farhan and Arjun were born to be rock stars and it almost seemed like their childhood dreams came true on celluloid. Special mention must go to Shahana Goswami who displayed the best piece of acting I think I’ve seen in years. Excel Entertainment (headed by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar) definitely needs a pat on their backs for continuing to consistently be cinematically progressive.
So that’s all I liked this year. There’s a lot I didn’t care for but I’m just somebody who likes to focus on the good, and hope the bad gets better. I’m now waiting for the crème of the fraternity to shine on Eid, Diwali and Christmas. Fingers crossed.
Love and koffee,
Karan.
p.s. Heartiest congratulations to Ram Gopal Varma and his sleeper hit “Phoonk” I haven’t seen it (and don’t plan to) but still feel congratulations are in order. Also, I get a lot of enquiries and comments about “My Name is Khan.” I’m afraid to talk about it and divulge too much as the film is still very nascent in its stage but please stay connected and thanks for all the interest. Comments [212]
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