the ROAD, MOVIE movie!

@my conscience: stop raising that eyebrow, i know it's been a while, but today had to write here so, without further preamble...

kya movie tha yaaron!

tha nahin hain, road, movie hain uska naam and Abhay Deol has proved once again that he is certainly of a different mould, he makes movies that make an impact just by being made.
A Reality based fiction, fun movie.
Not a message oriented, hard hitting reality, but one that is woven with surreal experiences, surreal because they are so probable!
I know for a believer and one being carried away on a tide, sub kuch mumkin hain, but honestly, fact is often stranger than fiction and sometimes illogical only because we use logic to create limits and draw boundaries.

The script however improbable (or for folks like me, probable!), the characters played by the actors are real, very real.
Satish Kaushik reminds us why the audience fell in love with him be it in movies like MR.India or Gharwali Baharwali, and can acutally be forgiven for all those debacles that he made in the early 2000's( can I actually say that? 2000's??) including the recent "Karzzzz"....zzzzz.

Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee,(for those of who you are seeing her first time, an out and out offbeat films actress whose only film I have seen being Bas Yun Hi, where she plays a side role, and one of the reasons why I even saw the movie being Nandita Das, and you all know, how much I adorrrrrre her!) was perfect, emotive without being dramatic, intense without being scary and very very beautiful.
Before I eventually go on to attempt to write poetry or verse about Abhay Deol, I have to mention two things here.

One, the kid in the movie, Mohammed Faisal, was awesome, not just because he literally looked like a boy next door but because he had an alacrity and a presence that most child actors are devoid of..and I hope the pernicious film Industry impact doesn't ruin that, turning him into an Ad-boy.

One.Five- One and A Half, Virendra Saxena, the actor who played the policeman, a brief role, was as usual, great.
You might remember him from Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na or Dil Hain Ki Manta Nahin in the side roles or from a multitude of other movies where he plays similar, small roles or from Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, a popular SONY TV serial (an Indian version of Ugly Betty, the very popular series from ABC, US of A!).

Two, for more on Tannishtha Chatterjee, checkout Brick Lane(Based on Monica Ali's book of the same name).
Starring her, duh! and Satish Kaushik, (now you might get the thread on the other reason as to how and why she was here in this movie, and knit the yarn for the gossip train, whether that may be true or co-incidental), and the fact is that she is a very very talented actress, and is a powerful actor too (don't see the difference, think baba, think! accha, never mind! just quit reading me I'm sure it will be easier! but I'll make you pay for it).

BTW if you get a DVD on Brick Lane or The White Elephant or Barah Anna, do let me know!

NOW, rushing to Abhay Deol, last year, Dev-D, before that Manorama Six Feet under, and now this, Man, I know you must get this a lot, but you are just one heck of a guy.
Handsome, sexy, intelligent, silent( since I don't know him personally, as I'd really like to, in terms of the low profile publicity) and to top it all, a very subtle and strong actor.
Dhanya hain aap, and dhanya-er hain hum because I got to see this movie and all the others you made before that.
One man I am surely going to hound, if I ever get that degree in MASSCOM for a job, it will be a great learning experience I'm sure to work with a guy who makes such movies.
What perks me up about his movies are these roles, with all these shades of grey, green, indigo and cobalt blue ( you noticed that I'm avoiding red, orange, yellow and copper-sulphate?) that just get osmosis-ed into your head and you notice them only when you cite them as examples to describe something else.

Ok, have had my fill for now!
Moving on..

The movie as such had a bizzare script, but the rest of it, screenplay, direction and even technically more than made up for it.

Elements like tiffin dabbas and water bottles being carefully placed by the women of the house, rural women travelling distances for water, the tel maalish, the mela beginning with the movie screening, the chori of the police being matched by the protagonists, Charlie Chaplin, the dacoits driving in, the shyness of the old man and so many other scenes, tiny pieces of obviousness so missing from what we regularly see on the screen had me laughing with an obliviousness to the sparse audience around me, enveloping and involving me and others too in the movie, again, something so rare these days.

The visuals are a treat not in a mushy~Switzi or a hearty~Punjabi and not even an intense~Vishal Bharadwajish kind but a fullout arid, desi ghee ke bagair and even desi paani ke bagair, (literally!)in a sunny, sweaty, harsh, featureless landscape whose beauty lies in the fact that it is true and i don't know, just beautiful.

It somehow reiterates my belief, that if I ever have a honeymoon or so much money to spare that I can spend it travelling, I will first and foremost, travel my homeland.
Not out of a misplaced sense of patriotism, but because this country, this subcontinent has such a wide range of visuals, so eloquent in themselves that all speech falls short of doing it any justice.

The deserts of Rajasthan have always been shown as shifting sand dunes for sad, traumatic, lost, hero or heroine songs or as the colourful Banjarans or the simple beauty of the people in terms of Mirch Masala and Rudaali and Lamhen, but Road,Movie took it to another level.

The wide frames capturing the rough and ruthless landscape are also reminders of a lot of Hollywood movies, where the scale is so dominantly pointed out, making one feel small and yet powerful for being able to tame something so un-docile.

Watch the movie and also Capote to know exactly what I'm talking about.


And the music, was really music to my ears, since I have zero knowledge on the technology used and since I enjoy instrumental in periods of a maximum, twenty-thirty minutes before I space out.

All I can contribute here is that the background, with what I think was Sarodh had me glued, the voice of the singer who sang the song minus instruments caused goosebumps and the melody had me tapping.
Also, the end titles were another visual treat, the animation, the attention to detail like the oil bottles were so inviting and so full of masti, that I forgot to get up from my seat even after they got over!

And now digressing but on the same theme of good and right always being neglected and rarely appreciated, I am wondering why PVR doesn't get it's rightful shower of attention these days?

It doesn't boast of lounge recliniers or glitzy bathrooms or even of so much advertising like INOX and CINEMAX, but it is such a comfortable theatre.
The seats are cushy and I remember it being the first theatre where we could fold our legs and sit in, and also where we were served our drinks to the seat, they were also the first to have bucket popcorn( the value of which you'd know if you knew B!) in the city.
Of the 5 screens at least 3 are 70mm, the staff is courteous and try to help without being too obtrusive, and the pricing is still at the bargain price of Rs.100.
The bathrooms are a tad dirty by the evening show and you have to walk down after the movie, but all in all it is a good place to watch movies in or even spend a weekday evening(if like me you cannot tolerate crowds, especially during the weekends)shopping at Central and eating at Ohri's or the restaurants on the ground floor.

And this is why I declare here that if you catch me going to a movie in another theatre that is airing the same movie during the same timings that are convenient to me, please call me and give me a good hiding.
Make me go to it again in PVR and pay for your ticket too!
Ok, maybe not pay for your ticket, but the rest!

Okay, it's 3:09 Am, Women's Day,( Feminist or not, I really don't get the point of these days, but much to my chagrin, somehow end up remembering them, always!!)2010.
My mind is blank, sated and wants me to go fresh up, change and choose between sorting out the groceries and vegetables and stacking them in the cupboard and refrigerator respectively (you saying, really, duh?! me too!) or just hitting the bed, with the fan on 3( it's a part of my training my mind gradually to get used to the awaiting summer months without giving into the temptation of AC, more on this later, yes, there is and will be more!)and dozing off into strange dreams of grey, green and blue(sounds repetitive? you know its on purpose right? if you know whats good for you and me, please let the answer be a knowing smile and not a NO!)...

Why do I have to make all my work personal is beyond me, though venturing a guess, objective writing is just not my cup of coffee, I think!
Ok, before I write an equal or longer amount about me and make this not about the movie, am off!
Namaste!
Good Morning!
Happy Women's Day to all the men! Ok, women too! (Get the logic, urghhh, moron you, I don't really care anymore, yawwnnnnnnn!)