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Reviews
Sunday (1993)
A colourful trip !
A trip could easily be laced with LSD and if you were to throw a glance at the credits here you'd be suspicious of Sunday. Afterall, it was the directorial debut of the underground Indian filmmaker Pankaj Advani. His films have always been bold, to the point that Sankat City (2009) was his first theatrical release in a career spanning three decades. It made me curious about this little children film which he made.
The film surprises you with its unconventional approach to the story. It is avant-garde cinema that carries the baton from Om dar-b-dar (1988) ahead. If it's not evident enough, the second scene at home in Sunday has 'Babloo Babylon se' playing on the Radio in the background. In children's films dealing with fantasy, usually a suitable explanation to the events is given with a proper world with self-aware familiarity. Sunday takes the liberty to develop an almost real family dynamic at the start, luring you into a trap about a conventional home and then throws you off with it's quirks. If you don't have an appetite for bizarre and like everything neatly tied up then it might not be for you. It leaves you with many questions and doesn't answer many of them but that's not its purpose. It promised you a fun ride and it gives you that.
With time, some of its humour was dated but given the avant-garde nature of dialogues, it still keeps you engaged. Shrivallabh Vyas and Kurush Deboo make their first association with Advani that goes on in his later films. Ratna Pathak Shah is wonderful as Junior's mom. While Junior looks assured for the most part. Dina Pathak and Deven Bhojani fit their characters well. The plot could've been fleshed out more given the story was still pretty coherent.
It is worth a watch. :)
Tamasha (2015)
Be your own storyteller - Tamasha : an avant-garde romance
SPOILER FREE
After watching Tamasha the first time, I didn't like it and passed it off as a pretentious exercise by the niche audience who imo reeked superiority complex. Some years later, I saw it again and as much wrong as I was, the movie took me by surprise. It is a beautiful amalgamation of stories that we grew up on, the dualities that we live in. It is a very personal experience and extremely divisive in nature. Imtiaz Ali continued the tradition of creating polarizing cinema but here it was a completely sincere take which should not be deemed over-indulgent. The avant-garde nature of it is very unlikely in the Indian cinema and the strong performances by its leads is its USP. The screentime for Deepika could've been more. The non-sequitr narrative is not that difficult to follow. Some brave choices by Ali..The cinematography was amazing. The foreshadowing and post-modernist touch is noteworthy. Our life on stage is indeed like of Ved's, just that it hasn't been presented like that. A touch more open-ended side would've made it a bit more better but it is still worth a watch. A modern classic in every sense.
Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989)
A strong human document.
This 1989 flick was one of the few films in the otherwise dismal 80s era of Hindi films. It was way ahead of its time. A human thinking about the other, a religion in question the existentialism of Salim superbly portrayed by Pavan and aptly supported by talented artists like Makrand Deshpande,Ashutosh Gowarikar, Surekha etc. It makes for a compelling watch. The character of Salim and his mind is cut open to the audiences. We go through the same journey.The social humour of arresting tension in a minority is captured in a contemporary lens. It fits for the modern Indian political scenario. The pace is bit slow in places. The movie grows on you so it can be overlooked.
8/10 👍
Om Dar-B-Dar (1988)
An unexplored gem
This postmodernist delight of Kamal Swaroop lingers with the subconscious when seen through the lens of imagination and not just the images.It is a rich 'INDIAN'movie. It mixes mythology,surrealism,realism,Philo sophy,fantasy,humour and science into one bracket. It is a subtle satire on society,norms,ideas and sexuality and of course filmmaking. I rate it above the lynchian masterpieces because it has more depth and layers and it is indeed a carefully crafted nonsense.