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Echoes from Kashmir, Amreeka and beyond….

ANUJ KUMAR

Valley on the boil: Bipasha Basu as a wailing Kashmiri girl and (right) Sanjay Dutt who comes to the Valley as an intelligence officer to squash the separatists' plan of a deadly operation.

Valley on the boil: Bipasha Basu as a wailing Kashmiri girl and (right) Sanjay Dutt who comes to the Valley as an intelligence officer to squash the separatists' plan of a deadly operation.

LAMHAA

(Golcha and other theatres in Delhi and elsewhere)

In the summer of Raajneeti comes yet another scorching political movie. As far as celluloid is concerned, Kashmir over the years has mostly bounced between romantic escapades and jingoistic jaunts. Director Rahul Dholakia, who touched quite a few raw nerves in Parzania not long ago, is at it again here now as he unravels the issue that has been boiling for decades for the common man. His research shows in the honesty of his analysis of the problem. He doesn't take sides and is in no mood to take the easy way out. If the hopeless situation merits a hopeless climax, Rahul has not ducked the reality. Even the names of some of the characters ring a bell, loud and clear.

Riding on the tangible images of James Fowlds, he is not only equally scathing on the politicians, the military and the militants but also shows how the State and non-State actors are cashing in on the problem. The idea is to keep the Valley on the boil, so that their modular kitchens keep running.

However, the research and the look don't translate into writing. It seems the director is sitting with a checklist ticking off what has been incorporated. Rahul valiantly opens all the possible folders – power brokers and their dirty games, militancy-training camps where little children are fed on anti-India diet, a village of half-widows seeking their missing husbands, an underpaid soldier at the border, the turncoats in the army, locals harbouring anti-Indian sentiment, separatist leaders' vicious agendas, games played by parties for votes and alliances, sex scandals, suicide squads – clogging the desktop in the process.

At the writing level, it appears as a script written for a TV news channel where facts matter, balanced approach is applauded and imagery of words could wait. At the level of execution it is clear that Rahul harbours commercial aspirations this time. So he has cast actors from the so-called mainstream. Unfortunately the alliance doesn't work as the actors don't seem to have spent as much time on research as Rahul has.

Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor are earnest in their approach but it is not enough to make a complex subject with a number of layers come alive. There is not even a hint of Kashmiri accent in Bipasha and Kunal's voices. It hurts the most in the case of Kunal for whom half the battle is won because he looks the part as a young Kashmiri politician who shuns bullet for ballot. But when he addresses the rallies the image falls apart. It is also difficult to accept Bipasha as a Kashmiri girl. She is too chic to get down to the basics of a firebrand activist. Lack of depth in dialogue adds to their woes. There is repetition of lines. Kashmir is repeatedly called a company indicating the lazy writers have run out of expressions.

As the man who has come to the Valley to squash the separatists' plan of a deadly operation, Sanjay Dutt saunters with the swagger of a don that he has mastered playing. Intelligence officers are known to be masters at disguise but Dutt takes no pains in changing his get-up when he dons the garb of a journalist or assumes a new religious identity. Spies try to merge with the locals but in his dark shades and whacky hairdo Dutt looks the odd man out in every frame of what he describes the most dangerous place in the world. Rahul tries making him a messiah in a script which shuns larger-than-life tones.

It is this confusion that mars this well laid-out film. What could have been a defining film on the subject falls ultimately between the stools of aspiring for commercial success and critical acclaim.

UDAAN

(PVR Saket and other theatres)

Vikramaditya Motwane makes an excellent debut as he takes the “filmy” layer off the father-son conflict. Cinema reflects reality is a cliché but when it comes to practice our films mostly escape it. We are fed on the flights of fantasy in the name of “coming of age”. But the phrase rarely reflects in the maturity of our cinema.

Only once in a while there is a Motwane who shakes us out of pretensions and easy solutions. Shot in a minimalist style that reminds of the new wave that hit us decades back, Udaan is an example of superlative writing. Motwane and Anurag Kashyap make good use of metaphors and literary inspirations as they open many closed windows, many clammed up thoughts about youth angst and the aspirations of middle class parents in small towns. The two have collided many times on screen but usually one of them is made to blink and the status quo is maintained. Motwane brings the father down from demi-god status and unshackles the youngster from the suicidal tendencies in more ways than one. His characters might be having fun at the roundabouts of the city but Mowane is quite straight rather penetrative in approach. His reality is disturbing and he manages to stir your conscience. And the underlining message that freedom comes with responsibility lends a credible balance between generations.

The moving story is about a 17-year-old Rohan (newcomer Rajat Barmecha) who's expelled from a boarding school and packed off home to Jamshedpur. He has more than one bitter surprises waiting for him. Confronting his domineering rather despotic father (Ronit Roy) is only the first of many challenges for this motherless teenager. Soon he discovers he also has a six-year-old half-brother he didn't know of. Forced to pursue a degree in engineering instead of being allowed to blossom into the writer he wishes to become, Rohan's pain is palpable.

The film is full of moments that will echo with growing up experiences. The best part is the performances are not exaggerated and dialogue sets new benchmarks in keeping things natural.

The parts written for Manjot Singh and Anand Tiwari reflect what's really cool in most parts of this country. Ram Kapoor's character underlines how middle class kids are shown false freedom within the system. At 2 hours 20 minutes the film seems way too long but the slow stirring of teenager against his father demands time and it never plunges into boredom.

In a role tailor-made to suit his personality, Rajat Bhamecha has given an endearing performance as he lives the claustrophobic silence of Rohan. You can relate with his angst and his dreams.

His moments with Ayan Boradia, who plays his step-brother, constitute some of the enduring images of the film. However it is Ronit Roy's performance as Bhairon that will be talked about for days. He has given the overbearing father's character a new dimension. It could have easily gone caricaturish or taken an eccentric tinge but Ronit has given a distinct individuality to the damaged personality of Bhairon. It is a complex role and Ronit explores most of its dimensions.

A refreshing flight back to the real world!

INCEPTION

(BIG Odeon, Delhi, and other theatres)

This one is an original teaser that not only engages but challenges you. Leonardo DeCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a skilled thief who has mastered the art of extracting secrets from the subconscious mind during the dream state. The rare talent makes him a popular player in corporate spy-games. But it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him dear ones. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption but this time he is expected to do the reverse. Instead of stealing a thought he has to plant one – inception.

Director Christopher Nolan has a crafted a maze where you have to grapple with different states and facets of dreams. You sort out one, only to find yourself trapped at a new level. The film is not about beginning or end, it is about the process, the unravelling of the maze. Nolan has ingeniously put blocks of love and longing, espionage and thrills to keep you interested.

Don't miss this overwhelming experience.

TERE BIN LADEN

(DT Vasant Kunj and other theatres)

Debutant Abhishek Sharma's humorous take on America's paranoia after 9/11 is high on slapstick but low on wit. Pakistani singer Ali Zafar plays Ali, a television reporter Ali who is desperate to migrate to “Amreeka” despite several rejections. While covering one of the “offbeat” stories for his hype-ridden channel, imaginatively named Danka, Ali comes across a naïve chicken farmer Noora (Pradhuman Singh), who has an uncanny resemblance to Osama Bin Laden. In Noora, Zafar sees his American dream.

He assembles a team of accomplices and tricks the unsuspecting farmer into shooting an anti-America message in the guise of Osama. Channels rush for the footage and the telecast sends panic waves across American administration.

The idea is smart but the treatment is not. Abhishek relies on silly gags and contrived situations stretching the premise beyond its potential. The lines keep losing their zest as we move into the second half. The tone reminds of the Omar Sharif's videos which became popular in the VCR era. Sarcasm also demands a degree of conflict but Abhishek's representation of the American crack team led by Barry John is too simplistic to keep us interested.

The saving grace is the film is swift on its feet and some inspired acting by Zafar, Pradhuman and Piyush Mishra keeps us away from the potholes in the script.

If low brow comedy is your cup of tea, this one is brewed for you.

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE

(Spice Noida and other theatres)

This one works around the tested formula to hook the tweens with an appealing premise riding on computer-generated imagery. Nicolas Cage plays Balthazar, a magician who has held captive the forces of evil led by witch Morgana Le (Alice Krige) and crafty magician Horvath (Alfred Molina) for centuries in a jar. If the two escape, the earth will be ruined.

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