Court

Sorry, mala itka usheer zhala!*

This is my first post on a Marathi movie. Watching an Indian film which is NOT a product of Bollywood for the first time was a surreal experience. Surely, we are neglecting our regional cinema and this film takes a major step to set the record straight!

Customary Googled Synopsis: A social activist who uses folk music to spread his message is arrested, accused of inciting a sewage worker's suicide. Lawyers from both sides of the aisle and the rote ideologies they represent are scrutinized as the trial plays out.

The first thing that struck me about this movie was that though it is a Marathi movie per se, a non-Marathi speaker who watches Bollywood movies can fairly understand the movie without much help from the subtitles. The language of the movie was more of the conflux of Engish, Hindustani, Gujarati and Marathi than just Marathi. Well, in one of the scenes shot in the setting of a posh club, the live performer sings a Portuguese song! 

Another characteristic of this film, pertinent to its story and direction is its realism. This film is not your usual Hindi courtroom-drama and doesn't share the explicit expression of anguish like that seen in Sunny Deol's 'Damini' (the hit dialogue 'taareekh-pe-taareekh' is from this movie)  or Anil Kapoor's 'Meri Jung'. Even Jolly LLB creates improbable scenarios in the courtroom to add the comic element but Court proves that the current state of the justice system in this country need not be played with for it to appear comic. The movie's relative realistic portrayal of the workings of an Indian courtroom is its biggest strength.

This movie has got content and has not been made just for the sake of making one. The lead actor Vira Sathidar is an activist based in Nagpur who has his own history of battling the system. The cast largely included non-professional actors, including bank employees, government employees, and teachers (#Wikipedia_ki_vani). The actors, be it the judges with their verbatim interpretation of laws or the public prosecutar who is juggling her career and home,  everyone has done their job with sincerity and lent support the already strong story. 

The movie earned international acclaim and as the poster above states, it won 17 international awards! Kudos to the makers of the Court! This blog finds the movie guilty of being entertaining  and rules in the favour of watching it. The blog is adjourned :P

        Director: Chaitanya Tamane

Producer: Vivek Gomber 

Starring: Vira Sathidar

                 Vivek Gomber

                         Geetanjali Kulkarni

                Pradeep Joshi

           Usha Bane

               Shirish Pawar

    Music by: Sambhaji Bhagat

Cinematographer: Mrinal Desai

*Sorry for the delay

THIS MOVIE IS UDAY-CERTIFIED!

DISCAIMER

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site or it's FB page unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog or its FB page that belongs to you and do not wish for it to appear on this site or its FB page, please E-mail me at udaybansal1@gmail.com with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

SE7EN

Religion's power lies in the conviction of its believer. If the believer thinks he is on the right path, then any opposition he/she may face will only add to his/her resolution.  Being a powerful factor, its involvement with anything leads to extreme results, both positive or negative. This movie is about that extreme result which one wants to avoid.

An ardent believer is tired of the never-mending ways of humans and their constant indulgence in the seven deadly sins (i.e. Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Sloth and Envy). He wants to set an example for once and for all and his new style of preaching couldn't emphasize more on the 'deadly' part of the seven sins. John Doe (Kevin Spacey) starts killing 'sinners' and makes sure their sin is highlighted to leave an ever-lasting impression on the masses who will make these bizarre murders the buzz of the town (and trust me guys, bizarre is an understatement). Detective Lieutenant William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), who is on the verge of retirement, and Detective David Mills (Bradd Pitt) team up and what follows is their pursuit to get hold of this serial killer.

 Apart from the brilliant screen presence of the three actors have,  there are two factors which set this movie apart.

1. The Five Crime Scenes
-->The grotesque  way in which the 'sinners' were 'punished'.  The only one you folks could guess is that of the guy who committed gluttony (you force feed the person to death and leave his face in the plate).While watching the movie, you are always guessing which sin will be highlighted and how it will be done.

2. Why Only Five Crime Scenes?
--> There are supposed to be seven sins ,hence, seven crime scenes. Did the detective duo succeed in stopping the preacher? Has he planned something even more sinister than before? Watch the movie to find out!

Directed by	David Fincher
Produced by	Arnold Kopelson Phyllis Carlyle
Written by	Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring	Brad Pitt Morgan Freeman Gwyneth Paltrow John C. McGinley
Music by	Howard Shore
Cinematography	Darius Khondj

THIS MOVIE IS UDAY-CERTIFIED!

Seven Pounds

One golden rule of life is: shit happens. It may or may not be you but at times shit is bound to happen. It's a bummer when you are responsible for shit and you know it. Now it's up to you: whether you wanna slide shit under the carpet or clean shit with your hands. A lot of movies have been made on how you deal with shit (i.e. redemption and penance) and even though this movie has been lambasted by the critics, I say this with conviction that it's a fine movie.

Tim Thomas (Will Smith) holds himself responsible for the death of seven people, including his fiancée due to a stupid and against-all-logic mistake of his, at least by the intelligence standards of an aeronautical engineer. The movie is about the path he chooses in search of solace and freedom from his conscience. The movie has some intriguing points like the line on the poster above (btw the poster is a piece of fan art I found on google and not the theatrical release poster), the role of jellyfish or the title itself. Will Smith is reported to have confirmed that the title refers to Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice', in which a debtor must pay a pound of flesh. In this case, it amounts to 'seven gifts' to seven individuals deemed worthy by Smith's character, to atone for seven deaths he caused. (Source: Wikipedia)

Will is known to handle drama exceptionally well, as seen in movies like 'After Earth' and 'Pursuit of Happyness'. Rosario Dawson plays the role of Emily Posa, a wedding announcement/greeting card printer who has a congenital heart condition and rare blood type that has left her with only weeks to live. Her portrayal of the character has embellished (#vocab) the film. We also get to see Woody Harrelson who played the role of Charlie Frost, the super freak radio guy in the movie '2012', in a completely different avatar. The movie is a delight for people and especially those who appreciate the genre and don't mind battling a few stubborn tears.

                                             
                                                                           

Directed by	Gabriele Muccino
Produced by	Todd Black Jason Blumenthal James Lassiter Will Smith Steve Tisch
Written by	Grant Nieporte
Starring	Will Smith Rosario Dawson Michael Ealy Barry Pepper Octavia Spencer Woody Harrelson
Music by	Angelo Milli
Cinematography	Philippe Le Sourd

This movie is UDAY-CERTIFIED !!

Unthinkable

Here comes the first post of the year!

Some movies are made for just that one scene or that one twist which makes the movie worth watching even if the rest of it has been not so intriguing. 'Unthinkable' is one of those movies. It's based on a question, a moral dilemma. It's theatrical poster reads: This man has planted three nuclear bombs in your country. They will go off in three days.How far would you go?

The military is secretly holding Yusuf (Michael Sheen), an extremist and former Delta Force operator on the basis of a videotape he made in which he claims to have planted three nuclear bombs in three different US cities. He neither makes his demands clear nor he discloses the location of the bombs. The responsibility to break this man lies in the hands of Henry Harold Humphries aka 'H', (Samuel L. Jackson), a "special" interrogator. FBI Special Agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss) is not a big fan of H's methods but has to give in due to her superiors.

There is not much to share about this movie which can't be termed a spoiler. If you are a sadist then watch the movie. If you like suspense thrillers then watch the movie. If you want food for thought....you get it by now :P The movie relies mostly on Samuel Jackson and his power-packed portrayal of a merciless interrogator who has managed to keep his personal life mostly unaffected from the dark side of his professional life. I suggest you watch this movie in a group so that you can later have a debate on the choices made in the film.

Directed by	Gregor Jordan
Produced by	Marco Weber Caldecot Chubb Vanessa Coifman Bill Perkins
Written by	Oren Moverman Peter Woodward
Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Michael Sheen Carrie-Anne Moss Brandon Routh Gil Bellows Martin Donovan Stephen Root
Music by	Graeme Revell

This movie is UDAY-CERTIFIED !!

Swades

Jambo folks! I am writing after three months. In the meantime, I had my half yearly exams and a memorable holiday in Kenya! Now let's get back to our mission i.e. looking for must-watch movies.

Mohan Bhargava (played by SRK) is a big shot at NASA who takes a couple of weeks off to go to India and bring Kaveri Amma (Kishori Ballal), his motherly nanny, with him to the USA. When he reaches the old age home where Kaveri Amma had been living, he gets to know that she left that place a few years ago and went to live in some small village named Charanpur. Here he finds his childhood friend Gita (Gayatri Joshi), who brought Kaveri Amma with her and works hard to spread education in the village. Then the story revolves around the social problems Mohan witnesses in the village and the kindling of his love story with Gita ( because you gotta lighten the mood in a commercial film :P )

Many of my readers would wonder why I am blogging about this well-known film starring none other than the Baadshah of Bollywood himself. The reasons are :-

1. Many people I have met haven't seen this film or have forgotten it.
2. Many people appreciated his recent movies including 'Chennai Express' and 'Happy New Year'

 I believe in the ideology of 'to each his own' but at the same time, I want to give words to my views. This man has worked for decades as an actor which is easily visible in the quality of his acting but the issue is with the quality of scripts he has agreed to work on. Lately, he has also exploited the fame of his superhit film 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge' in at least three films including the two listed above and the third being 'Dilwale'.  Well, you can't blame him too. He has tasted all: Name, Fame, Critical Acclaim and Money. It's the last thing which one just can't have enough. He's got nothing to prove and a fanbase which's gonna consume anything with his name on it but we can't let him waste his talent on movies like Chennai Express. Even SRK has the right to complain because when he works in a masterpiece like Swades he gets a low response at the box office but if he acts in a crappy movie like Chennai Express, the box office gets hundreds of crores. A shopkeeper can't sell products which are not popular among the masses irrespective of their quality.

Swades covers social problems like the ill fate of senior citizens, woes of farmers, the evil caste system and low levels of development in the rural areas of the country and at the same time it never loses it's entertainment factor. Its well-accepted songs have been penned by the legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar and have been set to music by AR Rahman. It's always a treat to have them work together. The movie is certainly a delight. Let's hope there is a change in the taste of the masses and such movies get their due at the box office as well.

                                                                    

Directed by	Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced by	Ashutosh Gowariker Ronnie Screwvala
Screenplay by	Ashutosh Gowariker Sameer Sharma
Story by	Ashutosh Gowariker M. G. Sathya
Starring	Shah Rukh Khan Gayatri Joshi Kishori Balal
Music by	A.R.Rahman

This movie is UDAY-CERTIFIED !!

Shaurya

Howdy folks ! This is the second courtroom drama I am writing about.
The first one was FRACTURE :( http://uday-certified.blogspot.com/2016/06/gregory-hoblits-fracture.html ).

The movie begins with a military operation taking place on a rainy night in some small village in Kashmir. A bullet kills a major. A captain fired the gun and it's no accident.

Captain Javed Khan (Deepak Dobriyal) is accused of killing his superior officer Major Virendra Rathore ( Pankaj Tripathi) and he faces court martial. Even though it appears to be an open and shut case due to Captain Javed's silence, it's a sensitive one since the incident took place under the command of Brigadier Rudra Pratap Singh (Kay Kay Menon), a highly decorated and influential officer. Major Akash Kapoor (Javed Jaffery), a sincere person who is serious about his career is assigned as the prosecutor of the case. His friend, Major Siddhant Chaudhary (Rahul Bose), a not-so-serious guy who really doesn't aspire to achieve heights in his career (which he chose due to parental pressure) insists on getting posted with with him so Major Akash gets him appointed as Captain Javed's defense lawyer. Initially he doesn't take his case seriously but after getting himself in a mess by giving an interview to Journalist Kavya Shastri (Minissha Lamba), he starts taking this case seriously. From here the movie picks up pace. Would he be able to defend Captain Javed against all odds? Is captain Javed guilty as accused? Would Brigadier Pratap's power influence the case and vice versa ?



This movie is inspired from 'A Few Good Men', an American legal drama made in 1992. I have seen that movie too but I chose to write about this film because of three main reasons:-

• I am a fan of Kay Kay Menon's dialogue delivery 
• The movie has a backdrop of Kashmir
• Having seen Bollywood all my life, I am used to happy endings :P

 As I have said before, Kay Kay Menon 's dialogue delivery is the soul of the film and as far as I can recollect, he has only four scenes in the film. Rahul Bose's character was a bit irritating in the beginning but he did a good job in showing the conversion from a careless guy too a guy with an aim in mind. Minissha Lamba's character was irritating to me throughout the film but that's no fault of her. Maybe the writers added such characters to balance the serious theme of the movie (and that's where Bollywood needs to work on). Javed Jaffrey did a great job too. Only while writing this post I realised that Captain Javed is none other than Deepak Dobrial, the guy from Tanu Weds Manu. An actor has done a commendable job if he is able to absorb his character completely and being a theatre personality, Deepak Dobrial didn't have a tough time doing so. There is also a poem by Javed Akhtar (my idol) which tells what true shaurya, true valor is all about and it is recited by Shahrukh Khan, who in his own mesmerizing style adds life to the poem. In short, the movie is gonna be a different experience.

Directed by	Samar Khan
Produced by	Haresh Dayani
Written by	Samar Khan Jaydeep Sarkar Aparna Malhotra
Starring	Kay Kay Menon Rahul Bose Minissha Lamba Javed Jaffrey Deepak Dobriyal PankajTripathi

This movie is UDAY-CERTIFIED !!