Dev D.

After a small hiatus, I am back. And what else to start writing about but the last movie that I saw and that was Dev D. It was one of those films that left a lasting impression in my head for a couple of days. The last film that had given me a hangover like this was Maachis. There were many other good films that were released between these two films but the depth and clarity of the film maker comes out so rarely.

I could never accept Devdas as a glorified character the past films tried to perceive him as. I couldnot sit through 10 minutes of Sanjay Bhansali’s Devdas, and could never digest the Bimal Roy’s version with Dilip kumar as Devdas. Sharat Chandra Chattopadyay must finally be smiling at this new age version of the de-glorified Loser.

It is always difficult to make a film version of a book. The reader, as he/she reads the book creates his/her own visual imagery and characterizations in his or her mind, and when a director interprets it through his/her eyes, the film looks flawed and it lands into the critics domain. Devdas was an interesting character, though not heroic. He was flawed in every sense. He was a character who dumped his childhood sweetheart and then found solace in a tawaif and then destroyed himself to death. The problem with the earlier versions were that the director wanted the audience to be sympathetic to him, feel his pain, cry with him and die with him. I feel, that is where the entire problem with the earlier films lie.

Dev D takes on a very different route and sticks to the essence of the story and a positive deviation towards the end. The characterization is so well etched that the film takes you away from the character of Dev and makes you hate for what he is. And when you see the film, each scene, you know that there is a lot of thought put into each scenes, right from its characters, to the locales, to the emotional conflicts and the metaphorical understanding of the subject right to the editing, background score, lighting. The film comes out trumps. There are only two kinds of reactions you can expect to the film. Either you love it or you hate it. There is nothing in between.

The incidents that take the film forward are inspired by real life incidents, be it the MMS scandal and drunken driving. The existence of drug dealers in the underbelly of a metropolitan set up, rich spoilt kids, the characteristic pimp, Chunni, all seamlessly makes the traditional Devdas novella into an extravaganza.

There are some scenes, which are out of the world. The scene where the married Paro comes to his shabby hotel room, washes his clothes, changes the curtains and finally snubs his proclamation of love and gets even with Dev is brilliant. And so is the scene earlier in the film when Dev snubs Paro and she goes ballistic with the hand pump. These are scenes that cannot be written by the Karan Johars and Farah Khans of Bollywood. These are closer to real life and miles away from the world of rich industrialist families shown in the scours of Bollywood films that hit the screen every Friday opening show (Note that Dev’s family is one of the rich industrialist families in Punjab, yet the potrayal of wealth is so much understated and real)
The camera work is excellent. The beauty of the rural Punjab and the congestion of Delhi, the psychedelic world of Drugs and alcohol, Chanda’s haven where she stocks disguises are all fantastically shot.

The editing is top notch. Note the change in pace of editing as it shifts from the village to the city. The edit during the village phase is much slower and as it reaches the city, the pace quickens giving you a feel of hastiness and restlessness. The use of water, where Dev occasionally dumps himself after a drug inhaling session acts as a metaphor of cutting himself from the rest of the world into his own and drowning himself even more into his own self destruction. Every shot has a reason to be there. Every character is needed. Every character has its positive and negative traits. Nothing is black and white, only different shades of grey.

The film would be incomplete without its songs and the background score. Emosional attyachar is one song where I saw people literally clap as it started and you would feel to clap too. The juxtaposition of comedy with the tragedy is perfect. The background score and the songs truly makes this film a musical.

I would highly recommend this emosional attyachar. And would also tell you that if you are a filmmaker, you should grab a copy of it. Hopefully, if it comes out with a directors commentary, it would be a school of learning on the thought process that went through each scene.

The silverlining

This post is dedicated to a friend.

Once there was a little flower. A little flower that lived amongst the million strands of grass. She would bloom in the morning looking at the sun. They were the best of friends. When the sun went behind the clouds she would wait for the clouds to pass. She would smile, and glow a radiance that would bring a smile to the eyes of the beholder.

But one day, the sky was full of clouds. It rained and rained. Deafening thunder and blinding lightning filled the skies. It seemed the sun had gone for ever. The ravaging wind tested the flower. The flower shivered in fear, scared that the wind would uproot her from her roots. She tried hard to fight the wind, but eventually, she was separated from the ground. She was taken by the gushing wind into the horizon. Soon, the storm had passed. She found herself dry, lying on unknown soil. She looked around. She had dried up. Her seeds had fallen to the ground. The sun smiled at her. She tried to smile back. She was weak, she was old. She went to sleep. She slept for many days.

One day the wind whistled into her ears. She opened up her eyes. She looked around. There were little buds surrounding her. They were dancing in the wind eager to grow up and bloom. As she closed her eyes, she understood, that she has attained her destiny. She closed her eyes one last time.

Culture Vultures

In line of the pub-culture that is ‘eroding’ Indian culture, a moral police force is being set up to save Indian culture. Political parties who have not been voted into power are asserting that the current and the past Governments have not upheld the Indian culture at its highest decree. These political parties are asserting that Indian culture must be saved at any cost and it is this culture that makes us better than the rest of the world.

Did I hear a chuckle, or was it a sigh, or is it a seething anger raging from within?

Firstly, one of the prime important aspect of this moral policing is the kind of people who are trying to guard Indian culture. I mean, how educated are they? How much do they know about Indian culture? If they know about Indian culture, they should understand that the entire epic of Mahabharat is full of Sex and Violence. How was Karna, Yudishtir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev born?

If people still believe the Mahabharat that was shown on television where Kunti and Madri were impregnated by a ray emenating from the palms of Gods, they must be really out of their minds. And why did the Gods have to impregnate King Pandu’s wives?

For a brief introduction to people who are unaware of this, here is a snippet. Once King Pandu had gone hunting and saw two deers making love. It was actually Shiva and Parvathi (both Gods eventually) making love in the form of deers. Pandu shot the deer. Lord Shiva (Alternatively, the Sage) gave a curse on him that the next time he touches a woman, he will die. (Poor chap) That is when Kunti used a boon given to her by Sage Durvasa where she could call upon the Gods to bear a child. So, the first time she experimented before her marriage and Karna was born from Surya (Sun) and later after her wedding with Pandu, she followed it up with five other Gods. Every pandav and kaurav had affairs and flings, and childbirth out of wedlocks. Would these culture police deny its existence? The society then had accepted the sexual freedom then, so why this taboo today?

So, the concept of Indian culture being so conservative as a theory can be thrown out of the window. What the self-appointed culture police is talking about is baseless and hollow. Also, India is one of the few places in epics, where women had very powerful stance in the society and were treated equal to men. Those who have read Indian epics would vouch for it. I don’t know when the imposition of rules and discrimination against women started in our culture. Just when things have begun to change, a demented sect of the society wants to take up the act of culture vultures and bring back the discrimination. My question is, these politicians, or party workers, how many of them are teetotalers? How many of them can are actually honest to their women? If women consuming alcohol is wrong, why does it not hold true to men as well? Knowing their societal disposition, I guess everyone in their minds know the answers.

The Rajasthan CM said he has a problem with couple holding hands. So, does he mean, he has the right to oppose it by raising a hand?

Indian democracy is today in the hands of hypocrites. Do yourself a favor. VOTE!!!