Yeh Saali Zindagi | Review

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Chitrangda Singh,Arunoday Singh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh

Director: Sudhir Mishra

Set in the underbelly of Old Delhi writer-director Sudhir Mishra has doled out one of the most convoluted plots in recent times. Under the convolutions and schemes that the characters are part of, two love stories unravel gradually in a frenetically paced plot. There are flashbacks, voice overs, sub plots all that keeps the viewer on knife’s edge throughout. If one has a stomach for slang and can keep pace with the plot, this movie is a treat.

Mishra has made an attempt to give every character its own identity in the plot. Irrfan Khan as Arun runs an investment company in partnership with Mehta played Saurabh Shukla that launders money for the rich and famous. Both characters of Arun and Mehta share an equally dark satirical shade, which is manifested in the deep but humorous verbal duels between the two. Arun falls madly in love with Priti played by Chitrangda Singh but fails to express his feelings to her. Chitrangda Singh needs to be given a special mention, for her smoldering looks. Meanwhile, parallely Kuldeep, played by Arunoday Singh is a criminal released from prison trying to get his life together. His relationship with his wife played by lovely Aditi Rao Hyadri is a troubled one, which he tries to patch time and again by showing his unconditional love. The movie surprises with several lip-locks between the two while breaking boundaries of traditional Hindi cinema. The entire plot winds down with an abduction of a politician’s son while showcasing the corrupt political system, the gory gang wars and a shady police force.

Few things that stood out were, the frenetic pace and myriad characters. If one does not pay close attention to the dialogues and go along with the characters, there is a good chance of getting lost in the plot. Also, Arunoday Singh’s part does not fit the bill for me, his city boy looks doesn’t make him look like a shady thug whose done time in prison. The denouement too, has a twist in the tale but keeping the strength of the plot in mind it could have been a bit sharper than it was.

All in all, it’s a movie that you should not miss. An edge-of-the-seat suspense that has a surprise in store at every turn.

Rating: 3/5

German Grand Prix, Hockenheim | Race review

The German grand prix at Hockenheim ended in a Ferrari 1-2, with Fernando Alonso taking the cake from Felipe Massa at second and Sebastian Vettel at third. The race got mired in controversy when Fernando Alonso was allowed to pass, by Felipe Massa for first place. On lap 48, Massa was told on the radio “Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?” which was a conspicuous cryptic message to let Alonso pass him in the next lap. The passing of orders to let team members pass was banned by the FIA after the farcical Schumacher-Barrichello episode in 2002. The memories of that distasteful race were rekindled in Hockenheim by this limpid breach of racing conduct. Post the race, when Massa was asked about the same, he looked edgy and was quite clearly unhappy. His unwillingness to comment on the issue added further fuel to the ravaging fire. For now, the FIA has taken swift action by handing down a fine of $100,000, but the race result still stands indefinitely.

Overall, it turned out to be bit of a drab. Vettel, who was at the helm of the grid, failed to capitalize once again and was overtaken aggressively by Massa. Hamilton, who leads the standings, was unable trouble Vettel much but was successful in keeping Button at bay. Webber was forced to constrict himself, due to an oil consumption problem behind Button. There was a squabble for the lower points with Kubica in his Renault lapping in at seventh place ahead of Rosberg and Schumacher in Mercedes GP. Petrov put in a tidy performance to take the last point, bringing it home at 10^th place.

Without doubt, the German Grand Prix 2010 is going to go down the annals of history for the ‘team order’ controversy that came back to haunt Ferrari like an apparition.

Race Quality: 5/10

Sunday Morning Paper Review| Hindustan Times

Best picks:

Vir Sanghvi : Counterpoint (Page 13)

He writes about the most recent imbroglio BJP finds itself in. Amit Shah’s resignation which seems to be another telling blow to the beleaguered opposition party, has left the party big-wigs with eggs on their faces.With the prominent faces of the party like Narendra Modi being denigrated time and again, Vir says that BJP can kiss their hopes for garnering the middle class voters good bye.

Titled- BJP goes for it’s own jugular.

Manas Chakravarthy- Loose Canon (Page 13)-

Manas, in his own style, describes the recent flower pot fling-athon at the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He calls the flower pot flinger ‘the super MLA’ and he also says that she seems to be the best bet for the hammer throw at Common wealth games this year. He is of the belief that these acts of causing ruckuses are nothing but gimmicks to garner votes. Manas as usual, will leave you in splits with his make believe scenarios and his funny one liners.

Titled- A real class act

Vaibhav Purandare – Mumbai Matters (Page 12)

Vaibhav writes about, infrastructure of the city still being in shambles post 26/7 and the projects promulgated for the resurrection being entangled in red tape. He rekindles the memories of that day with some accounts and remembers the outpouring of generosity of the city during the difficult time. But according to him, the spirit of unity in the city is dying with the passage of time and needs a catastrophe of the magnitude of 26/7 to bring it back. The questions he asks are imposing. Riveting read.

Titled- The big lesson of 26/7: We’re all in it together

Ashish Shakya – The Blunder years (Page 12)

Ashish describes his comical experiences on his vacation to ‘the Down Under’. With the media sensation of Australians racially abusing Indians, he says he was expecting to be stabbed as soon as he entered the country. He wonders with amazement where were the violent racists that he was promised back home or were they hiding because TV anchor man Arnab Goswami would break out of their TV sets and eat their children. Another rib tickler.

Titled: The Indian who survived Australia (Part 1)

Udaan| Review

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Cast: Rajat Barmecha,Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Aayan Boradia, Anand Tiwari

In my opinion, Udaan marks the ‘coming-of-age’ of Indian cinema.The movie being the lone selection for the Cannes Film Festival had built a decent reputation for itself even before its release. Eventually, it did manage to live up to the heightened expectations and did not disappoint like many this year.

Vikramaditya Motwane provides a heart wrenching tale revolving around the relationship of a troubled teenage boy Rohan with his flagrant, demonic father Bhairav Singh. The movie opens comically with Rohan ( Rajat Barmecha) and his infamous gang getting expelled from school due to their escapades at a B-grade movie theater.

The story gradually takes shape when he returns home to meet his father who he has not met for 8 years.The movie teems with poignant scenes that will remain etched in memory for eons of time. One of them is when; Rohan gets off the train only to find his father Bhairav (Ronit Roy) that he barely recognized, waiting for him with folded hands giving him a scalding look through his ray-bans. This tenuous relationship is given another dimension by Arjun (Aayan Boradia) who plays the younger step brother and is an integral part in the plot of the movie.

The casting couldn’t have been more apt with Ronit Roy giving the performance of his life. His brash, overbearing presence almost resembling a fairy-tale-villain draws sheer contempt from the viewer. Being perennially inebriated and even resorting to physical abuse to his children, Bhairav Singh is portrayed as a lonesome sadist. Rajat Barmecha plays the rebellious teenage boy who aspires to be a writer but is unwillingly made to work at his father’s factory. His character gradually grows on the viewer as he goes from strength to strength with myriad happenings in his life. The relationship between Rohan and his younger step brother Arjun is also fascinating where Rohan manifests a more mature shade to his character.

Another striking aspect was that the plot was very simple, the simplicity must have been the most difficult part to tackle while making the film. It does demand patience from the viewer as it gradually unfolds at it’s own pace displaying the nuances of each character. It would have done itself just a tad better, if the length was truncated by atleast 15-20 minutes. The Bollywood aficionados will be disappointed with very little use of background scores and renditions. But, Amit Trivedi does provide brilliant soundtracks like Azaadiyan which inspire the viewer at the right moments.

The denouement is not unexpected but it holds its own amongst other imposing scenes. A lot has been left for the viewer's interpretation.

One of the many unforgettable scenes is one in which Rohan tells his father he’s leaving home and runs into the streets. His father chases him like a bull dog but eventually fails. That scene defines the entire movie. Rohan breaks his shackles and takes flight.

Conclusion: Hopefully, Udaan is a sign of things to come. Two thumbs up to first time director Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan. It’s a movie buff’s delight.

To watch it or not?: Watch it. If you don’t, people will point and laugh at you for missing out on something so epic.

Rating: 3.5/5