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Reviews
Being Cyrus (2005)
great cinema !!
Being Cyrus is a film that nudges you gently into the world of a dysfunctional Parsi family, exposes the cracks in it through the eyes of a character who has his own idiosyncrasies.
Much unlike the Bollywood films where everything is open and in your face, 'Being Cyrus' speaks in subtle metaphors. Several threads in the story are interconnected at various points of unraveling and the denouement is sure to take you by surprise.
'Being Cyrus' hardly looks like a debut attempt at direction. Homi Adajania has made a very slick movie that has elements of Film Noir. Added to that, the movie deftly balances its grave and pessimistic shades with quaint humour, courtesy Boman Irani and Manoj Pahwa.
Irani needs a special mention for his performance in the film. He is thees interwoven at crucial moments in the screenplay. The background musi contemptible, loathsome, uncaring man who also displays moments of satirical, derisive humour. Particularly worth noting is the sequence in which he picks up fight with his neighbor.
Equally impressive is Manoj Pahwa in his marginal role as the police inspector. Pahwa chips in some good comic moments in this otherwise serious fare.
Saif Ali Khan fits extremely well into his complex character of Cyrus Mistry. Naseeruddin Shah, as usual, excels in the role he portrays. Playing Parsi characters is particularly Shah's forte. Dimple Kapadia is adequate, but there are certain scenes in which hamming is quite apparent.
'Being Cyrus' is certainly a piece of good quality cinema. The movie's story unspools at a rhythmic pace with dream sequencc and the story's ambient setting have a haunting feel.
Dil Dosti Etc (2007)
Dil Dosti Etc
"Relax. It's nothing" That's the line you take home after the curtains have come down on DIL DOSTI ETC. Prakash Jha, noted for his hard-hitting films, manages to send home the message loud and clear. That it's for the viewer to make his choices. Whether casual sex is nothing or whether betraying a friend means nothing, or whether adding conquests (read scoring in bed with girls) to your already swollen list means anything to you. Or finally, whether sticking by values instilled in you and standing by principles means anything? The choice is yours. This movie does not preach, it just bares the fact which, sadly cannot be ignored.
In that sense this is a good movie. I mean you can only explain the consequences of bad actions to a teenager; at the end you have to respect him/her to make his/her choices.
How many films do we see targeted explicitly at the youth/students/college kids? Prakash Jha has found his audience and in director Manish Tiwary manages to tell a decent tale. It's shocking at times yes; but so is reality.
Manorama: Six Feet Under (2007)
Manorama Six Feet Under : Movie Review
Manorama Six Feet Under is an intriguing, complex and offbeat thriller set in a sleepy small town of Rajasthan.
The movie is a promising debut by director Navdeep Singh. People who are used to the escapist Bollywood fare may find the movie too slow or confusing. The fact is that 'Manorama' leaves many threads of the story open-ended. Even as it pays homage to noir genre, the movie stays close to reality. And there is a strong sense of impending doom throughout the film's narrative.
The plot of 'Manorama Six Feet Under' takes a winding path instead of going linear. Beginning on a cogent note, the movie veers onto a somewhat tangled route, as the focus flits from one subplot to another.
Verbally sparse, intelligent, and visually striking, the movie holds your interest despite its languid pace.
And complementing the director's and cinematographer's commendable job are performances by the actors.
Abhay Deol's natural and underplayed portrayal of SV lends a lot of credibility to the character. More than acting, Abhay believes in spontaneous performance. And it comes through on the screen.
Gul Panag stands in equal stead, playing his bickering, nagging wife. Raima Sen , as the other woman in SV's life, is good. Vinay Pathak , playing a cop, doesn't have ample footage but he gets to mouth some well-written lines. Sarika has a very small role. Kulbhushan Kharbanda is impressive.
Inspired from Roman Polanski's movie 'Chinatown', 'Manorama Six Feet Under' is a film for those who like unconventional cinema. At times bizarre, at times fascinating, the movie is arguably the first of its kind in offbeat Hindi cinema.
Recommended for those who like offbeat films.