JODHAA AKBAR

The story couldn't have been expressed in a more grandiose way. A rare love story riddled by wars and invasions, and as the narrator(Amitabh) rightly says in the movie, a love story which changed the history of the country, ignored by the generations, lost somewhere in the pages of history.

The real hero of the film is its screenplay, full credits to Ashutosh Gowarikar. This, backed by the awesome richness portraying what is probably the a great mirror of the Mughal opulence. Nothing was skewed or deformed like what Bhansali did to Devdas.

Hrithik carried off his role of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar with style. many shortcomings of the young Akbar were portrayed, and maybe these were the ones he overcame and became the most famous ruler of Hindustan till date. The transition of a prince into a king and finally an emperor was shown well. The film briefly gave me a feeling that we need another Akbar to set India right.

Aishwarya Rai, portrayed her role of Jodhaa Bai with elegance. Somehow, her being a former miss World has ended up in people ignoring her acting prowess and over-rating her beauty - She was a good match of both in this film.

The other actors like Kulbhushan Karbhanda, Sonu Sood etc carried off their roles well,making sure none of them overdid their roles or jumped out of the script.

Graphics were used mildly to show the war scenes, but the restricted use brought out the originality of the film. No "Matrix" style rope stunts thankfully!!!!

The only disappointment was Rahman's music for the songs - his background score was splendid as usual.
Finally, a well made movie that deserves to be stored as a DVD classic, although not to the level of the 1955 classic Mughal-E-Azam.

THE PIANIST

As I come across more and more gory details of World War 2 and the atrocities (for a lack of a stronger word) of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, my temple starts throbbing with anger, a feeling which is probably useless, after around 60 years since the end of the war.

But the medium that portrayed them was quite strong, and has made its impact successfully. And thrice.

First was a rare pictorial of the infamous "Ghettos" that the Jews were banished to, and the concentration camps that they eventually ended up in. Shocking living conditions, hard labor and no light at the end of the tunnel - pretty much describes the condition. Shooting dead the "prisoners" and mass burning of bodies due to lack of space, half -burned bodies and brutal medical and surgical experiments on them was a common thing.

The second was a beautiful movie "Life is Beautiful", a love story which touches your heart. No spoilers here - I suggest you watch it.

The third was today - when I saw a movie called "The Pianist" made in 2002, which was an entry into the Cannes festival too. This is the story of a Polish Jew pianist, his passion to play the piano, and how it keeps him alive through the war, where he is sent along with his family to the ghetto. He is separated from his family when they are sent to concentration camps and he is saved by a Jewish policeman, and is engaged in hard labor in the ghetto.

Before you feel sorry for him and angry with the Germans, he escapes and is helped by a Polish and a German couple until they can. And then, he survives in the attic of an old German apartment, uninhabited. A Nazi officer, apparently a music lover, sees him and asks him his profession. Again, his passion for the piano helps him, and the officer shows an unexpected kindness, and he survives the war.

This movie, has been scripted by this very man, for it is not a story, but his real life. His name is Wladyslaw Szpilman, a great Polish pianist and composer. I suggest you watch this touching movie.

As the tagline truly depicts, "Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece."

SIVAJI -TOTAL LOSS!!!

First time in my life, and that too in the United States, I get a chance to watch superstar Rajnikanth's movie in a theater - the most hyped-up and the most expensive movie ever made in India - Sivaji. And the regret followed.......
Delving into the story needs guts, because the mere thoughts of the movie gives me a combination of frustration and jitters. I have never been a fan of director Shankar's style of extraordinary methods to kill corruption and crime and Sivaji takes it to new heights!!! And that, matched with Rajni's gravity defying stunts, makes this movie a very much formidable movie! Much evident all through the movie is Rajni's age and the efforts of the technicians to show him youthful - and a contrastingly beautiful and young Shreya -who looks gorgeous both in traditional and western outfits, and out-dances Rajni by all means!!! (You also get to see the slimmed-down and sexy Nayantara in the intro song!!)
This movie is a clear conflict between the Shankar and Rajni's styles - One who thinks he's dealing with corruption in a real and practical way and the other who thinks that the whole audience is ready to accept all his antics on screen. The verdict is clear - Rajni dominates the whole movie and we are force-fed to a million doses of his "Style" factor. Be it reflect-popping a chewing gum or horizontal-flip of a Rupee coin! Or Rajni throwing a pistol at a goon, which shoots him and returns to Rajni like a boomerang!! Or Rajni signing off appointment letters with both hands!!! Or when he keeps saying "Cool"!!!
Spending exuberant amounts of money on elaborate sets hardly enhances AR Rahman's mediocre music, which does not stand up to even his own standards -And this is true in the case of BGM as well!!!
What can be appreciated though, are Rajni's efforts towards an active role in the comedy scenes, setting aside his superstar image. The best scene of the movie is when he imitates ANR, NTR and Chiru - does justice there! And of course the digital color enhancement of the whole movie has given it a crisp look.
Overall, the movie and the method of handling the subject (which lacks strength) are a let-down, after all the hype and hungama!! This coupled with a mediocre theater (No AC) and substandard sound system made the whole experience crappy. No thanks Rajnikanth and No thanks Shankar!!!!!!!

ILAIYARAAJA: A FAN'S MUSE

I have always wanted to do a music review of the maestro's scores, but haven't done so, because I have no knowledge of the various raagas and their attributes. I consider myself the general commercial film-music lover, and liking a certain piece of music was independent of who had composed it. So, then, why do I mention Ilaiyaraaja (IR) specifically? It is a no-brainer for a music lover like me - he wins hand down by sheer numbers. Having had the opportunity to collect / listen to his music spanning the last two decades, the freshness factor perennially exists in his music. Please note, I say music and not songs. It is his music that has defined the word "composition" for me, in the world of music. There are hundreds of songs by an equal number of composers, which, have been hits or have had hummable music, but I personally have always felt a detachment between the instrumental and the vocal sections. A deeper analysis will expose a momentary split-second, uncomfortable gap between the the two in these songs, sometimes multiple in nature. It is in IR's music that I have seen (read that as listened) seamless compositions, with perfection. The vocals in his compositions are like a suspension bridge over a huge body of flowing water. The bridge stays aloof, and has its own identity, but without the water below, it is considered as just a structure, without life. Why suspension and not a normal bridge? Well, that's because of the delicate nature of a suspension bridge and the way it blends with water.....
Now, to express my feelings without a point of reference would be stupidity. I choose the song "Saara ye Aalam" from the movie "Shiva 2006". Although a re-done song, (from "Ananda raagam" from the movie "Panneer Pushpangal") , it is a perfect example of the difference between "directing" music and "composing" it. Starts with a full violin orchestra, ascends in pitch, where it can match that of the lead singer Shreya Ghoshal and just before she starts to sing, the relatively heavy orchestration is plateaued with subtler synthesizers, which run comfortably parallel to her voice. It continues, and just before the first stanza, the orchestration is re-introduced, with an internal jugalbandi with a solo-violin and a flute. The stanza continues as an interlude between the violins, Shreya's voice and the introduction of the male counterpart, Roop Kumar Rathod. The stanza ends heavier than it started, with both the voices, and the heavy orchestration functioning as a pseudo chorus.
The introduction of the second stanza was, is and will always be unique in an IR composition. The depth of the orchestration is retained along with that of the synthesizers, and it gradually becomes softer and subtler without slowing down for the introduction of the second stanza, which is introduced with a direct touch of classical music and just as you decide to settle for a more classical style stanza rendition, you are surprised by a domination of synthesizers.....
The song is ended with the male and female voices interluding with each other, along with the music....
Flexibility in the composition and the instruments used is IR's forte - And every composition of his has the inevitable element of surprise - which can be used and re-used with different instruments - and which makes his music timeless!