(Life in a) Metro – Excellent

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By Vidya Pradhan
Multiplexes in India are performing a role today that NFDC used to a generation ago – providing young aspiring filmmakers with the means to make experimental, offbeat movies. Unlike the art house fare of Shyam Benegal or Mrinal Sen, these movies are made in the commercial realm – the experiment is just with subjects that would once have been rejected out of hand by the big studios as being too risky. Where once a movie needed to succeed in the ‘Bimaru’ hinterland to get a decent return for its distributors, the finances of multiplexes have made it possible for filmmakers to take chances with urban dramas that don’t necessarily have a universal appeal. I don’t pretend to understand it all, but the multiplex phenomenon seems to be a good explanation for the increasing number of serious non-traditional films that are now coming out of Bollywood.

In this genre falls “(Life in a) Metro”, a story of the intersecting lives of 4 couples in a cosmopolitan city. Though the setting is Mumbai, the city does not intrude. It could be virtually any metro and just serves as a backdrop for the extramarital adventures of the upwardly mobile and educated middle class.

The case for vegetarianism

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By Rohini Mohan

I am vegetarian and it’s not easy in this world of carnivores. Especially since I was bitten by the travel bug early on in life and spent many days starving in many countries. In the greater interest of not passing out everyday from sheer hunger while backpacking in France, I did that one time succumb to eating meat. I tasted everything from black pudding to pheasant to oyster; to be perfectly honest, there were some creations that I enjoyed. Not so much, however that I could not switch back. I did, and I have been off meat for the last couple of decades.

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The Three-in-one Grand Canyon Tour

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By Rohini Mohan

The Grand Canyon, painstakingly chiseled out over millions of years is testimony to the relentless power of nature. When you stand atop its great rim and peer down at the Colorado River, centuries of natural, geological and human history silently stare back at you. It humbles, you, yes, but it also provides you with a feeling of intense gratification, that you are part of its sheer magnificence, that it is a part of you. Continue reading →

Nishabdh

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By Rohini Mohan

Are Mr. & Mrs. Average ready for Nishabdh?

Alfie Doolittle’s theory on middle class morality is what India, with arguably the world’s largest middle class, lives and breathes. To expect this audience to digest and then appreciate a film like Nishabdh would be a real stretch. Probably why there were a total of 9 people in the theatre on a Saturday afternoon, the day after its release.

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Eklavya-the Royal Guard

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By Vidya Pradhan

Why oh why does Vinod Chopra end his movies the way he does? Mission Kashmir lost a whole lot of its impact when the Hrithik Roshan character survived. Parineeta( which was from his production house)  was a lovely period movie that, to my mind, was almost ruined by the contrived ending where Saif breaks down the dividing wall using a concrete planter( have you ever tried lifting one of those things?). My biggest, and probably only, criticism of this movie is the way it ends.

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Baabul – Sasur Ka Saga

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By Rohini Mohan
I was really expecting very little when I rented the Baabul DVD.  I knew I was setting myself up for 3 hours of tearful farewells, long winded songs, far fetched scenes, complicated emotions and an anachronistic storyline. Every now and then when scripts are wanting, Hindi movies stray into the area of some neglected social melodrama. Film makers know fully well that we hopelessly forgiving Bollywood audiences will gratefully gobble it all up. Not to mention the whole astrology angle which Bollywood financiers seem to happily substitute for old fashioned mathematics. I can just imagine Ravi Chopra’s thought process; Baghbaan starts with a B, has the big B in it; and Salman and Hema to boot. Same deal with Babul. Throw in a few Saigal style songs and some masala tear jerking, and Voila! Baghbaan super hit, hence Babul super hit….unfailing Bollywood logic. (Case in point, all the K movies made by Karan Johar – talk about preying on the subliminal!)

Howzzat!

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By Vidya Pradhan

Sunny skies, green manicured grounds and a group of sportsmen dressed in white. No, this is not a preview of the World Cup Cricket matches soon to be played in Barbados. This committed bunch is made up of kids under the age of 11, as focused and disciplined as their senior peers and as serious about winning their 3 game tournament on a school ground in Cupertino.

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Vibha – volunteering for hope

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By Rohini Mohan
There is an image from back home that is really hard to get rid of. A little girl, scraggly, matted hair, bloated but empty belly, tear stained dirty face, knocking doggedly on my car window, begging for a few paisa to buy her next meal. I sit in air conditioned comfort, my thoughts miles away, while my driver shoos her off with a few harsh words. For me, she exists in a parallel universe, this little creature. I see her, but not really- having chosen subliminally to blot out the acute discomfort caused by her presence.