New Delhi   

A treat of drama, horror, thrill and suspense....

SOME THRILLS: “The Last Lear”, “1920” and “Righteous Kill” provide a decent show at the theatres this week.

There is nothing like Bachchan fatigue. Every time you feel you have seen every facet of his acting, he astonishes you with one more. Here Rituparno Ghosh has crafted him as Harish Mishra or simply Harry, an aging thespian, who knows the stage like the back of his hand and chants Shakespeare like a divine discourse. He is passionate, pompous, a bit whimsical and unpredictable. Traits that give a licence for overacting, to exaggerate, something like “Black”, but here Ghosh keeps the actor in check. That the film is in English stands him in good stead, but the bottomline is, he doesn’t allow Bachchan to be bigger than the film. He may lose out on the box office, but cinema wins.

Ghosh’s canvas is never big. He excels in unravelling the layers of human emotions through candid conversations between his lead protagonists. Here he takes us back and forth in time with consummate ease to tell us what conviction is all about, what commitment demands – all in his trademark subtle ways. Inspired by the late Utpal Dutt’s play “Aajker Shahjehan”, the film has Arjun Rampal as the young off-beat director trying to convince an aging Harry to do his film. Now Harry considers the medium an apology for art. This leads to the age-old debate on stagecraft versus cinema. What’s new here is how Ghosh captures the developing camaraderie between the two.

In a parallel track he effortlessly captures how frictions give way to bonhomie between three women — Harry’s wife (Shefali Shah in fine form), his fumbling co-star (Preity Zinta sheds her bubbly image) and a nurse (the dependable Divya Dutta). Finally, Harry relents and the real story begins. All is well until the film within the film reaches its climax. Harry hasn’t faked on stage but now he is being asked to do so. As Harry pleads with the director in a drunken stupor, Bachchan matches that timeless scene in “Amar Akbar Anthony”.

However, Ghosh could not establish the relationship between Harry and his wife well, particularly how she is connected to his leaving the stage.

Also, the problem with Bachchan is, he makes his co-actors – hard as they may try – redundant. Subtlety notwithstanding, the director has not developed the requisite tension in the climax to match the aura created around Harry. In fact, the last few minutes of the film don’t say much. Watch it for Bachchan.

Did God create man or did man create Him to create the fear of the unknown? Vikram Bhatt’s supernatural thriller hangs on this timeless debate. The director who once gave us Raaz has returned to his forte and does not disappoint. It is the story of an architect in love with a Christian girl. His father becomes an obstacle in the name of religion, so he leaves his religion and becomes an atheist. Normalcy returns till he gets an offer to renovate a palace into a hotel . The palace is possessed by an evil spirit, who is related to his wife!

The film has all the staple ingredients of a horror film. An old mansion, an ice maiden, which you fear will be possessed by the devil, flying objects, creaky doors, a gramophone that plays on its own and above all a lingering musical score. What’s interesting here is we come to know quite early that the devil is not much affected by the Cross, promising a healthy fight in the second half. Then, Vikram has created Palampur in picturesque Yorkshire. You know he is faking it but then the castle, the scenery and the horses take you over, creating a concoction of scary and delightful sights. That the film is set in 1920, the Victorian flavour, renders some semblance of believability, much needed for such a story. Adnan Sami’s piano and Pandit Jasraj’s voice add the haunting effect.

The scene stealer is debutante Adah Sharma as Lisa, the ice maiden. Her eyes reflect vibrancy and inertia as per the twists in the plot. Model Rajneesh Duggal has made an average start as Arjun, the architect. As with most films of this genre, the devil becomes so big that any end would have seemed contrived. The crucial flashback where the identity of the devil is established takes too long in coming and when it comes it refuses to go. Vikram’s premise that where God failed, Bhagwan will come to the rescue doesn’t appeal to the mind. But you don’t go to watch a horror film with the mind. Do you?

Every now and then when you begin to feel that Bollywood is changing, you get a “Ru-Ba-Ru”. A film that pretends to be different. A script meant for a half-an-hour television series is turned into a feature film. A straight lift from “If Only”, it tells us: live life now, you might not get a second chance. Debutant director Arjun Bali who earned his spurs in advertising should know catchy taglines are not enough to sell a product. The content should match the premise. Talking of live-in relationships is no longer enough to attract eyeballs. You have to weave it into a compelling storyline. Here he does manage a few moments, courtesy picturesque Bangkok and a nuanced performance by Shahana Goswami, who recently impressed in “Rock On!” But between these moments there are yawning gaps in a film which thankfully lasts just 120 minutes. Randeep Hooda tries to change his action image. He fits the part of the dashing head of an advertising company but is short-changed by the script and some inane dialogues.

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together. The names are enough to conjure a queue at the box office. After all it is only the third time they are cast in the same film. Perhaps the enviable casting coup made director John Avnet complacent. He has come up with a predictable crime thriller, which doesn’t challenge the two icons much. Yes, they showcase excellent camaraderie, crack jokes that are meant to tickle more than just the funny bone but all through you keep wonder ing what the novelty is. On the face of it, it is about two ageing detectives out to prove their mettle all over again by catching an elusive serial killer they believe they have already nailed. The killer is unusual as he leaves a four-line poem with each of his victims, most of whom have a shady past. It seems he is out to clean up society. All clues indicate it is the job of a cop.

Ultimately the film is reduced to a showcase for the two legends, who haven’t set the box office on fire for some time. As for their fans, the high octane climax is enough.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A treat of drama, horror, thrill and suspense....
Spotlight on gastrointestinal diseases
“Delhi Assembly should have had more sittings”
Delhi Government, Armenia sign MoU
High Court to hear appeal daily in Uphaar case
Chair of satellite education in IGNOU
Two get two-year RI in cheating case
Donation for Bihar flood victims
“Delhi degradable plastic bag Bill does not adhere to court order”
Public life is not a smooth sail: YSR to Chiru
One of the two victims in BMW case dies of injuries
15 fresh cases of dengue in Delhi
Jailor fired at
Himachal signs MoUs worth 800 MWs
New plan to raise milk productivity: Pawar
Jammed lines create chaos
Security at metro stations beefed up
And now serial blasts hit Capital….
U.S. humiliating ‘Cuban Five’: envoy
Two blasts within a gap of 10 minutes at G.K.

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu