Million Dollar Arm

Am I the only person who hadn’t heard about a reality show titled Million Dollar Arm that was held by Major League Baseball to find Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal) as the first Indians to pitch in the MLB??? Well I’ll be darned!!! Because apparently I am the only person who didn’t know about this!!!

Shanghai (Hindi 2012)

We are slowly but very surely making our way towards a style of directions which will very soon be classified under a different genre. A genre that will go with the initials of DB. He is just 4 movies old or should I say 4 movies young but Dibakar Banerjee has given us enough and more to feel really good about. Starting from Khosla Ka Ghosla, he has always entertained us with his signature style of directing. One that doesn’t push the movie to the limits of speed that the audience that can be pushed to but takes the absolute easy paced way of entertainment. One that ensures that each scene is shown for just the right amount of time – flirting with the arty farty long shots at times but never going overboard. A style that I am personally getting very addicted to and am enjoying every bit of.

If there is a fault I can find with Shanghai then it would be with its pace. DB tends to get a wee bit carried away in getting the intensity up. With the whirring of the fan in the background of a seriously intense scene or with the Clock ticking in the background of an intense hospital scene where Ahmedi (Prosenjit) is fighting to stay alive. The other aspect would have been that the performances from the extras looked forced in a couple of scenes. Barring this, Shanghai is near perfect.

Shanghai is a political drama if ever there was one. Ahmedi is a social activist who is campaigning for the fair treatment of people who are being relocated from Bharat Nagar for building a new SEZ. He realizes that the people are getting a raw deal from the ruling coalition. Of course the coalition is not planning on keeping mum and has him disposed off. And then puts up an enquiry commission to save face. But… the commission is led by a person with an elephantine memory called T A Krishnan (Abhay Deol).

Emraan Hashmi delivers on the confidence that DB put onto him in his picture perfect execution of Jogi Parmar, a sleazy photographer. Abhay Deol yet again convincingly executes the role of a South Indian IAS officer who is struggling to come to terms with being on the right side of the politicians but on the wrong side of his values. The rest of the cast has names which have always been dependable and continue to be so.

I had predicted a very good movie in Shanghai. But now I am rephrasing my judgement. Shanghai will finish in the top 5 movies of the year for sure. And it may be remembered for quite some time to come. And mind you that is primarily due to DB’s ice cold, fluent and effortless direction. Right now, I am only wondering how good Gangs of Wasseypur will turn out to be. At 7.5 on 10 Shanghai is going to be a tough act to beat.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3VRi50BLgc

I am Kalam

Missed out this one when it released a year and a half back. And that’s where in-flight helps significantly. Catching up with movies released a little while back and with those which have released internationally and not made it to the screen in little known and unimportant India. Therefore Flight MH134 (if I remember correctly) was inaugurated with a Hindi movie to keep my loyalty to my roots.

Chhotu (Harsh Mayar) is an extremely bright kid who is capable of picking up and understanding almost everything that he reads. He comes from a desolate part of Rajasthan to help his uncle Bhatti (Gulshan Grover) with his tea and small eats shop which supplies food to the palace of the local but erstwhile King or Raja (Suresh Acharya) who has converted the palace to a hotel so that he can continue to have his indulgences. His wife the Queen or Rani (Garima Bharadwaj) and son or Kunwar / Prince (Hussan Saad) make up the family. There are helpers all around like royalty should rightfully have. And like most royalty, there are rules to be followed. For e.g. Treat people lower than you in terms of status well but don’t get friendly with them. Make friends only with royalty. Etc. etc. etc.

But who is to prevent 2 kids of a similar age from getting to know each other and eventually become good friends. Chhotu, inspired by the President of the country rechristens himself as Kalam. Kalam and Kunwar Sa become great friends primarily because they have no one else to talk to or interact with. Kunwar helps Kalam with English and some good clothes and books to read. Kalam helps Kunwar with Hindi and through one of the guests of the hotel (Beatrice Ordeix) with French as well. A metaphorical representation of the India of new which is slowly but surely moving towards not caring much about the differences in class, caste or creed.

I am Kalam represents the aspiration of the average child in this country. The child’s desire to go to a school. To learn. To study. To have fun like any other of their own age. Of equality in treatment in terms of having access to the facilities that any rich kid would have. Of being given an equal opportunity as anyone else to make it big in the real world. To have a shot at stepping into the shoes of arguably the most loved President that India has ever had. To walk in his footsteps and make a difference like he did. In a sense it is a dedication to Hon. APJ Abdul Kalam and his vision for the children of India. Something which has left that office with him a couple of years back.

A good first attempt from Nila Madhab Panda. Average performances overall. Really bad finishing though.especially with the foreign support cast which was relaly bad. Several inconsistencies as well. However, solid message. One that should make you ponder. 5.5 on 10. Watch it if you stumble upon it by chance. Worth a dekko definitely.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hts1peF2gc