Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Sarkar Raj – Taut, but does not rise to be a great movie
On August 19, 2008 in Bollywood, Crime, Drama, Movie, Politics
Sarkar Raj was a move that was awaited for quite some time; it came after a few clunkers for The Factory of Ram Gopal Verma such as ‘Aag’, ‘Darling’, etc. Memories of his earlier movies such as Satya, Company, Rangeela, and Sarkar (for which Sarkar Raj is the sequel) were fading out due to these recent disastrous movies that he made. All his admissions that the movies were bad, mistakes were made, etc, don’t really help in lifting his reputation. So, this movie was awaited for multiple reasons:
- This movie showcased the Bachchan clan; Amitabh, Abhishek, and Aishwarya (not Jaya though)
- It was supposed to have the same kind of suspense, the taut and slick making that was there in the original movie Sarkar (made in 2005)
Omkara (2006) – A great interpretation of Othello
On March 04, 2008 in Action, Bollywood, Character, Crime, Culture, Mafia, Movie, Politics, Revenge, Romance, Song, Video
Omkara (release in 2006) was a much awaited movie. Director Vishal Bhardwaj had earlier made a name for himself with Makdee and Maqbool (starring an incredible performance by Irfan Khan), and his Hindi interpretation of Shakespeare’s Othello had already lead to much anticipation, with the prospect of Saif Ali Khan playing a baddie’s role being much awaited.
The movie delivered, but not too much as Vishal would have thought. It won a great amount of critical acclaim, and extreme kudos for the 2 best performances of Saif Ali Khan and Konkona Sen. Vivek Oberoi and Kareina Kapoor won praise, while the performance of Ajay Devgun could have been better – much more is expected out of an actor who has given a performance like Gangajal.
Krantiveer (1994) – Nana Patekar all the way
On March 04, 2008 in Action, Character, Crime, Mafia, Movie, Patriotic, Politics, Song
Krantiveer was a movie released in 1994; an all and out commercial movie released by the movie-maker who has made other patriotic movies (Mehul Kumar), it was also a movie that seeked to portray the transformation in one man when faced with evil. Even though the main character has been depicted as a person who is selfish, uncaring about others (other than his immediate family), a transformation is shown based on 2 major incidents that affect his life – the murder of his adopted father, and the riot in his locality that caused normal people to transform into murderers and brings out communal feelings.
Krantiveer was a role essayed brilliantly by Nana Patekar, turning the movie into a commercial as well as critical success. He puts forth some intense emotions into the movie, so you can believe him when he is essaying the role of a normal guy in the chawl who could not care less about the efforts of the journalist, or when he he suddenly becomes violent at the cremation ground of his adopted father. He is equally at ease taking out money from his father’s safe and not caring about the repercussions, or the reaction of his mother and grandfather when they find him being delinquent and turn him out. However, it is transformation that is riveting.
Song: Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi
On September 02, 2007 in Bollywood, Classic, Family, Melody, Movie, Politics, Song, Values
This is one of my all time favorites. Such a delightful melodious song, and featuring Sanjeev Kumar, who is also one of my all time favorite actors. The movie was Aandhi, starring primarily Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen and made in 1975 with direction by Gulzar and produced by Om Prakash J. The movie was very controversial, because the theme of the movie – an aspiring lady politician who sacrifices everything (including husband and child) for politics and fame, and even when she regains them and has genuine happiness, she still uses the occasion to make political points over her opponents seemed very close to Indira Gandhi’s life. If you have not seen the movie, you really should.
The song was sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar and is a must hear. If you are fond of melodious songs, you need to have this in your collection. The music was directed by RD Burman and lyrics were by Gulzaar.
