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The demons are here: the face of new age cinema….

FROM EAST TO WEST:While Kalki Koechlin and the gang look devious in ‘Shaitan', Om Puri returns as the beloved George Khan in ‘West is West' and Michael Fassbender is mind-bending as the young Erik Lehnsherr in ‘X-Men: First Class'.

SHAITAN

Every other day we have a newspaper headline screaming how a youngster driving a big car crushed a pedestrian or a motorcyclist. Every now and then we have a news story about friends kidnapping a friend. We seldom hear the stories behind them, the personalities of these first-time offenders. What kind of life do they lead? What possesses them when they run amok? Is it money, unattainable ambition, drugs, a dysfunctional family or a cocktail of all of these which sends them on a high that ironically also brings about their downfall?

Debutant director Bejoy Nambiar uncorks all of it as he tackles the inner demons of this fast track generation. It is the kind of film that sounds formulaic on paper, ordinary when narrated. It is the execution, however, that has turned the tide in its favour.

Check out the chilling action sequence where bullets fly with a remixed version of “ Khoya Khoya Chand Khula Aasman...” playing in the background. A delectable mix of the old and the new, this could well be the face of new age cinema.

The narrative is imbued with cleverly-placed flashbacks and the visual and sound design create a surreal effect even for the most mundane locations. Most importantly, it is editor Sreekar Prasad's cuts and trims that have turned this otherwise ordinary tale into a taut thriller.

Not far from co-producer Anurag Kashyap's Paanch in its intent, Shaitan is the story of five friends, played with rare earnestness by Kalki Koechlin, Shiv Pandit, Gulshan Devaiya, Kirti Kulhari and Neil Boopalan. Drunk on life, they are awoken from their stupor when one night their Hummer truck rams into a scooter killing two persons on the spot. Instead of serving as some sort of reality check, it propels them to move from one crime to another, in an attempt to keep a corrupt policeman (Raj Kumar Yadav impressing once again) at bay. They orchestrate the kidnap of one among them, the daughter of an NRI (played by Kalki), who has recently shifted back home. The plan backfires when the Police Commissioner (Pawan Malhotra) unleashes Rajeev Khandelwal's character upon them. An honest cop on suspension, he has his demons. As the pursuit hots up, disquieting facts about our fugitives begin to emerge.

The film loses plot in the second half as we fail to engage emotionally with these bizarrely amoral characters. They are cool, they are edgy, but we want something more tangible to invest two hours in. Bejoy fails to provide that extra something to his enfant terribles. The detailing suddenly seems rehearsed. As a result, it ends up nothing more than a sleekly shot melodrama.

Among the cast, Kalki replays her edgy, offbeat image but there are moments of normalcy when she shows there is more to her. Gulshan as the high-strung Chaudhary boy is a surprise package. While the young guns fail to rise above the script, Rajeev Khandelwal proves to be a solid exception. As the daredevil cop struggling with suspension and family problems, he is the one who lends legitimacy when Shaitan reduces itself to a charade.

A wicked entertainer, nonetheless!

WEST IS WEST

Remember George Khan and his dysfunctional family? Masterfully written by Ayub Khan Din, East is East had a rollicking mix of tear-inducing melodrama and humour. Now the long anticipated sequel is here and Din along with director Andy DeEmmomy has regenerated the unusual blend as focus shifts from England to Pakistan.

Set in 1975 when racism was rampant in England, the film follows George's youngest son, Sajid, who is having trouble coming to terms with racist bullies at school. Add to that, a nagging father at home who constantly teases him for not being Pakistani enough. When the angst-ridden teenager takes to stealing, father George decides it is time to crack the whip. He takes his son to Pakistan for some culture therapy, who until now knew only of the Rudyard Kipling version of his homeland!

From then on it is an engaging, coming of age story as both father and son have some serious growing up to do. If young Sajid has to come to terms with odd outfits, buffaloes and open air toilets, George, or Jahangir as he is better known in this part of the world, has to face the silent ire of his first wife (Ila Arun gracefully brings out the pain of a beautiful woman who was dumped by her husband), whom he abandoned some three decades back, as she continues to hold him responsible for her wretched condition. As George gradually loses his rigid patriarchal demeanour and realises how sending money and writing letters was never enough, we witness some stirring moments of soul-searching. Nobody is painted a villain here.

Not as razor sharp as the first part, this mellower version gets predictable after a point but Din's perceptive writing prevents it from becoming dreary. The humour is largely broad but the timing is spot on and the one-liners are deftly juxtaposed with the subtle emotional unravelling of the characters. Every upheaval is followed by moments of comic relief.

When Ella (Linda Bassett), the second Mrs. Khan, lands in Pakistan with her kebab-loving friend, the situation seems set for some cheesy lines. But after some moments of situational banter, what stands out is the poignant interaction between George's two wives. They don't understand each other's language but they understand very well the man they have lived with. As the conversation transcends words, you feel the ache of a woman's heart, which is the same across cultures. It is this appealing narrative pattern, what they call serio-comedy, that makes this family's tribulations your business.

George is flawed and Om Puri brings out his inner turmoil with a measured performance. Here is a man who left his home and family for a better life. He makes it, but this upgradation comes with its own trappings and they seize you even before you notice them. In a sense, Jahangir's flawed language represents his personality… which is neither here nor there.

Linda is endearing as ever but it is Aqib Khan as young Sajid who captures our imagination and his conversations with his friend Zaid (Raj Bhansali impresses in a small role) provide some moments of pure, unadulterated humour. The best part is that the film doesn't overstay its welcome. Andy oversimplifies things at times but overall it is a small treat worth savouring as there is plenty of heart beneath the Din!

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

You always want to know the story behind your favourite super hero or super villain, the human side beneath the fantastic facade and the emotional turmoil behind their cool demeanour. But more often than not, directors do away with the past within the first few minutes since their massive budgets are intended to quell the action-craving fanboys. The balance is mostly missing.

Director Matthew Vaughn shows how it could be attained as he creates a first class prequel that traces the origins of the best known mutants in the business. The film is an example of a smart, credible script propelling an action-fantasy.

The franchise is sinking and what better place to find inspiration than in the past, when super hero movies didn't take themselves as seriously as the cold-blooded monsters of recent times. This doesn't mean that Vaughn is not concerned about the plausibility of the plot. In fact, he has effectively played with suspension of disbelief, the primary criterion for a superhero film. Bringing the good old bad guy USSR back in business, Vaughn seamlessly merges his super imagination with actual events in history. So much so that there are times when one begins to feel, well, it could be true. Mutants could be the reason behind the Cuban missile crisis!

The film opens in a Nazi concentration camp where a young Erik Lehnsherr attracts the attention of a sadist called Dr. Schmidt. He evokes Erik's latent powers through a gruesome act which earns him Erik's wrath. Years later, Schimdt returns as Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon plays the evil mutant with relish). The geopolitics has changed. We are in the middle of the Cold War. Shaw is on the side of Russians and the CIA has reluctantly found an ally in Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy does a fine job as the moral centre), who has the power to read minds. Xavier raises an army of mutants, youngsters with special abilities considered abnormal by society. If one can fly, another is master shape-shifter. Somewhere between the quirky inside jokes and high-octane action, the mutants become a metaphor for identity politics and how society ignores the marginalised.

On the surface, Erik (he has yet to become Magneto) joins Xavier, who goes on to become Professor X, but only for his personal agenda. The rest of the story is about how the good take on the evil mutants and prevent another World War. In the process, Erik and Xavier become foes. Michael Fassbender makes Erik immensely relatable and Jennifer Lawrence is top class as the blue-skinned shape-shifter.

A fantasy which provides food for thought, it might be worth the watch.

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