October: A meditative piece about love, loss & changing of seasons

'October'

Directed by Shoojit Sircar 

Written by Juhi Chaturvedi 

Few things that I completely loved & adored about Shoojit Sircar's extremely real and relatable saga about love & loss.

1. Juhi Chaturvedi's evocative writing of these believable & affable characters that make you feel as if you have met them somewhere in your past. With October, she successfully writes a meditative piece that manages to linger on with the audience even after one leaves the theatre.

2. Beautiful use of the city (Delhi) & its people, that end up becoming supporting players to this soulful story.

3. The writing isn't rushed, which makes one feel more connected with Dan (Varun) and everybody else that orbits around Shiuli (Banita Sandhu).

4. None of your usual tropes of a love story are added or even remotely grazed.

5. Avik Mukhopadhyay's steady no-gimmicky, almost transdental camerawork that superbly captures the intensity of a hospital and the changing of seasons.

6. And of course, VARUN DHAWAN. All these years after Badlapur, he once again shows us that if it's needed he sure can risk it & act his heart out, and give a soulful performance. 

Slow & steady storytelling, indeed at times can win the race.

P.S: October may be not everyone's cup of tea, but I feel people should give this fragile & tender love story a chance. It is bound to pull on your heartstrings.

How Warner Bros. Ruined What Could Have Been an Amazing Experience at the Cinemas for the Whole of India

Ever since I read the book back in 2011, I have been waiting for its visual adaptation. 'Ready Player One' written by Ernest Cline had transported me to an amazingly fresh and imaginative world that took me on a ridiculously fun & quest-filled ride. I remember reading it and thinking to myself that this is like a treasure-trove of 80's nostalgia, covering everything from 'Back to the Future' to Roald Dahl.

My headlong love affair with movies started ever since I saw the Hindi dubbed version of Jurassic Park way back in 1994, when I was 5. I didn't understand much of what was happening on screen, but I sure was really fascinated by it. That was the first non-Indian movie I ever saw in a theater, and I was completely blown away!

So imagine my happiness when couple of years ago it was announced that none other than Steven Spielberg was going to adapt this into a movie! He may not be a so-called "auteur filmmaker", but there's no denying that he knows how to pull the heart strings and take the audience on a magical journey, and that's exactly the kind of filmmaker this movie needed. Whether it's E.T - The Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones or Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg has always managed to take the audience on an adventurous ride, filled with emotional scenes, artistic long takes, haunting music, masterful scene transitions and beautifully choreographed camera movements, in short he has given us many of the most iconic moments in cinema history.

So now you know how badly I was waiting for 'Ready Player One' to release here in India. Had booked my tickets in IMAX and was eagerly counting down the seconds, when suddenly rumours started coming in that the movie for some 'unknown reasons' is getting delayed/postponed!

That sure felt like a gut-punch by Warner Bros. For no rhyme or reason, WB had all of a sudden decided to cancel all shows all over India a day before the official release (except for a handful of theatres where the movie was distributed by SPI Cinemas).

No official statements were issued by WB or WB India (It's been 5 days and they still haven't), and for some weird reason, none of the major news outlets in India are covering this. All of them are/were busy covering Christopher Nolan's arrival in India, and I don't blame them. But now that he's gone, I guess you guys can help us out a bit, and get some response out of the studio if possible.

There have been lots of rumours floating around, from distribution disputes to censor issues to delay/errors in KDM ('Key Delivery Message' is a special electronic key that contains a code which unlocks an encrypted film), but a source has said that this might all be happening because of infighting within WB. And that there is also a very strong possibility the movie won't get a WIDE release now in India, as WB has already started their marketing & PR campaign for their next major release that's happening on 13th April (Rampage).

I sincerely hope someone from WB takes notice and decides to do something about this and gets the movie released here.

"Every time I go to a movie, it's magic, no matter what the movie's about." 

- Steven  Spielberg

Oscars 2018 - Predictions

2017 saw some really meaningful and socially relevant movies. Some had enormous social and emotional impact, some subtly talked about immigration and oppression, some are now even being taught in courses in colleges & universities, whereas some did not even have "leading characters" so to speak and did not follow the general rules & structures of film-making, but still ended up being true cinematic marvels, and like any other year, we had some really crappy ones too.

So in short, it has been a great year!

So let's get on with it. 

The 4 acting categories in my honest opinion are locked, even though I don't totally agree with them.

Best Actor - Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Actress - Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actor - Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

Best Supporting Actress - Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

I'm fine with the last 3, but it's the Best Actor category where I defer. If it was up to me (which obviously it is not), I would have given it to TWO guys, Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) & Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name). Gary Oldman was great no doubt, but the 2 young guns I mentioned, left a huge impact on me with their performances. Timothee made me cry and feel heartbroken, whereas Daniel successfully managed to make me feel extremely paranoid and claustrophobic. 

Now on to Best Director & Best Film.
I love and admire the brilliance of Christopher Nolan, and won't shy away from accepting the fact that I am a complete fanboy of his work, but Mr. Nolan, let this year belong to the genius of Guillermo Del Toro. I have no doubt that you will go onto make many more wonders like Dunkirk, you will most likely be the first person who actually goes and shoots on Mars with an IMAX camera, but let 2017 belong to another visionary. The 'Third Amigo' of the Inarritu-Cuaron-Del Toro Triumvirate, and the only remaining Mexican 'Amigo' who's yet to get a Best Director Oscar (Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for 'Gravity', and Alejandro Inarritu won Best Director for Birdman & The Revenant).

From Left: Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo Del Toro & Alejandro Inarritu

Del Toro's 'The Shape of Water' is perfect & well timed, it may seem like a weird love story between a 'Fish man' & a mute woman, but in reality it's much more than that. At a time when most of us feel like we don't have a voice and feel as if we are surrounded by so much hate and anger, 'The Shape of Water' talks about the oppressed, gives them a "voice", subtly refers to immigration, and the importance of love & acceptance.   

 

So, Best Director - Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water).

And, Best Film: The Shape of Water

Warren Beatty: "And the Oscar goes to ... "

(Silence)

Faye Dunaway: "The Shape of Water!"

Warren Beatty: "Get Out!"

 

I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm secretly hoping something like this happens!

On to the writing categories. 

Best Original Screenplay: Get Out (Jordan Peele)

If you know me personally, then you very well know how much I love this movie, and I'm sure at some point in the past one year, I must have bored you by talking non-stop about it. For me nothing screams original and unique more than Jordan Peele's horrific, intensely thrilling (and even hilarious at times!) look at "post-racial America". Get Out was hands down one of my Top 3 movies of 2017. Although with some touches of predictability, it still brilliantly manages to question the white liberal hypocrisy. 

Best Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name (James Ivory)

A poignant coming of age story of the disappointment and exhilaration springing from the uncertainty of young love. To be honest, this movie deserves much more love. 

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049)

The time has finally come. After 13 previous nominations, it's finally going to be the year of the genius British lenser, Roger Deakins. All the nominees this year, did one of their best works, but Blade Runner 2049 was something else! Every single frame of BR2049 stood out and felt like it was meticulously crafted & drawn on a canvas. 

Best Editing: Dunkirk 

Okay, so once again if it was up to me, I would tie this one between Dunkirk & Baby Driver.

Best Original Score : Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water)

Best Song:  "Remember Me" - Coco

Best Animation: Coco

Coco wasn't just a movie, it was more like a cultural celebration of great perspectives, flavours, sound & music all thrown in, to make a fun concoction.

Best Visual Effects & Best Production Design: Blade Runner 2049 

Over the past decade, as Visual Effects have gotten better than ever, I feel the Academy voters have a harder time determining the difference between cinematography and VFX, and have awarded those prizes to the same film as often as not. And for some reason, the Academy seems to have some sort of aversion to the Apes franchise (The final part of the trilogy was in my opinion one of the best films of 2017). 

So based on the past decade or so, the winner of these categories corresponds with the winner of best cinematography — which this year I believe will be Blade Runner 2049.

Best Sound Editing & Best Sound Mixing: Dunkirk 

The Academy members desperately want to shower some love for this masterpiece, sadly Dunkirk will have to make do with the technical awards (But one still shouldn't totally write off Baby Driver, as "That shit was B-A-N-A-N-A-S!).

And as they say in the business, "That's a wrap", Mr Kimmel, take it away.

#Oscar2018: 5th March,2018

Red Carpet : 5:00AM IST (Star Movies)

Main Event: 6:30AM IST (Star Movies)