B.A PASS - Movie Review

2013 has been a good year for the indie films that have released. Most of them have got the recognition that they desired, some are up for release and some of them were even considered for the official Oscar Nominations (Ship of Theseus). 

B.A Pass is a film that brings up a topic which is known to everyone; yet never spoken of in the society. Based on a short story, The Railway Aunty, B.A Pass is taut, gripping and uninhabited portrayal of the truth that the society tries to hide and be silent about. In the miniscule universe of the amoral world, where the narrative unfolds, deceit and deception lies at every corner.

We meet Mukesh (Shadab Kamal), at his parents funeral. Burdened with the responsibility of two younger sisters and his own future, he is sent to his relative's place in New Delhi where he gets himself enrolled for the B.A Pass course. Life isn't sweet anymore. He has no friends. His aunt treats him like a servant. In this sheer melancholic life, he finds solace in reading Kasparov Chess moves and enjoying a game of chess with the keeper of the graveyard.

His life, being humdrum and humiliating takes a sharp turn as he meets Sarika (Shilpa Shukla), the seductive cougar who later admits that all Mukesh could learn from her was sex. 

The screenplay lets the story stretch to its maximum level and and what transpires on screen is an unapologetic showcase of a guy who by his own admission is lured into or rather is seduced to render his services to the unsatisfied aunties in the neighbourhood. He earns. And earns well. But hardly does he realise that he has entered a place from which lets getting out extremely difficult. 

Ajay Bahl's screenplay is super tight, the characters are believable, the setting is natural and the execution is almost flawless. The Cinematography is brilliant. Pahadganj looks exactly what it should look like; hiding dark secrets in its neon glow. 

This is one film that will genuinely make you read through the sub-text and understand the plot on a level which questions morality but also throws another question at the same time, is it really important? 

Shilpa Shukla is brilliant in the role of the seductress aunty. Totally unabashed portrayal of a woman so strongly driven by her desires. She gets the nuances right and boss the rest is just fantastic!

Shadab Kamal manages to get through his role. Dibyendu Bhattacharya is excellent as Mukesh's friend. In what has been my favourite dialogue from the film (muh haath dho le, Banda ban ja), Mukesh's buaji plays her role with great honesty.

B.A Pass is a dark film. It is dark even by the noir standards. There is no scope for the slightest amount of positivity that you, as an audience would want to take out from this film. 

The film lives in negativity and basks in that glory. For once has Bollywood so grippingly created an aura about negativity!

It is not a regular film. It disturbs you as a viewer, throws everything in the manner they are and in what is a rarity in Bollywood, the sex scenes aren't cringe worthy. 

Yes it is an impressive film despite being dark and yes it is out rightly BOLD in what it showcases, B.A Pass does not leave you with anything to ponder upon. And that, according to me, is its only shortcoming.

**3STARS**

Shuddh Desi Romance - Movie Review

Alright, the film about the youth's perception about romance and its add ons has finally arrived. The makers claimed that SDR is a contemporary take on the prevailing conceptions about love, lust, relationships and marriage. Interesting. 

Written by one of the finest contemporary writers, Jaideep Sahni. Very Interesting. 

One of the finest print media marketing campaign that I have seen for a Bollywood film since a long time. 3 relatively new faces and YRF backing. Can a director ask for more? 

Despite all the factors mentioned above, SDR is nothing but a SAD, DEGRADED and a RUBBISH portrayal of SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE. We have heard of Love at FIRST SIGHT; SDR basically tries to show MAKE OUT AT FIRST SIGHT! 

The story-line is wafer thin. the performances are cringe worthy and the dialogues induce sleep. Nothing works for this film because it is nowhere near reality. Its is a film that shouts out loud about being modern but ends up being extremely regressive! 

So we have a love triangle ( almost every YRF film has it ever since the legendary Chopra Sahab directed Daag), and even before the interval (they call it bathroom break) it is pretty obvious what is going to happen as we head towards the last reel. All the characters in the film are confused about life, love, sex, commitment and marriage and it is bizarre to know their fundas behind it. 

Sushant Singh Rajput plays the role of a tourist guide (Raghuram Sitaram) and also the role of a man whose character sketch is the most unbelievable you will come across for a long time. (He tries too hard to act like Ranveer Singh. But the natural SADAK CHAAP GIRI looked cool on Ranveer in BBB. Not this time Sushant!)

Low life and sleazy to the core, it is extremely tough to digest the fact that he gets two of the hot leading ladies with his charm! like seriously?? 

Our hero is confused about everything but takes himself very seriously! Give him a girl with hot looks and he will forget that he his on his way to his wedding and will make out with the girl in a bus full of NAKLI BARAATIS! What the hell. 

There is particular pattern in which he behaves-

LOOK CONFIDENT BUT CONFUSED AND PERPLEXED- WAGGLE EYEBROW-SMOOCH THE GIRL- SAY DIALOGUES WHICH MAKE NO SENSE- PROPOSE FOR MARRIAGE- RUN TOWARDS THE TOILET- RUN AWAY FROM THE WEDDING! 

He is supposed to marry Vaani, then goes on to romance Parineeti, goes back to Vaani and takes a U-Turn and comes back to Parineeti. Insaan hai ya Jaanwar.
He runs away from his wedding thrice. Why is he so commitment phobic is revealed only in the concluding dialogue of the film and trust me you would feel like slapping the writer for giving out such a retarded reason! 
His is a character which is zero on emotions and moral values. Cheap is the word. 

 And to all you tourists out there, do visit Jaipur, it is a beautiful city. Guides like Sushant don't exist anymore.

Smoking, swearing and making out at first sight on screen does not make you modern and brave! Someone please convey this to the writer and the director. If you want to see a heroine playing a brave and modern role, look at Waheeda Rehman in Guide. I can bet on it that it would take some balls to play a character like her even today! 

Parineeti smokes, swears, is not worried about her past and gets to get into bed with Sushant on their second encounter on screen. Woah! I never knew getting a girl was so damn easy! Her character is horny throughout the film! 

You have to believe that there is a TEZ WALA ATTRACTION between Sushant and Parineeti because if you dont, there will be no point in sitting through the track between the lead pair.. I kept searching for a scene which could establish this TEZ WALA ATTRACTION. Sadly I found none.

Vaani Kapoor plays her shabbily written character even more shabbily. The concept of WHAT- WHERE- WHEN-WHY-HOW is almost irrelevant to the makers for they can cover it up with some passionate make out scenes. Let us not get into the details of her character for there is none. 

Rishi Kapoor is brilliant and provides the necessary comic relief at regular intervals.

In an attempt to keep the dialogues as real as possible, the writer ends up serving a platter of gibberish, meaningless and disgraceful lines. There are a variety of YRF tracks that play in the background serving as the BACK-GROUND Score for the film. The music is extremely regular. Other technicals aspects match the YRF standards.

Manish Sharma who almost blew my mind away with an extremely entertaining and breezy Band Baaja Baraat dishes out a movie which does not posses a heart. I totally disagree with his portrayal of today's youth in the tier 2 cities. Yes people are commitment phobic and yes there is nothing wrong with live-in relationships but there is a certain way to show it! And please do some research before showcasing a Marwadi wedding scene. This is not how marriages take place, more so in Rajasthan.

Coming from a writer who has given gems like Chak de India, Company and Khosla ka Ghosla, Shuddh Desi Romance is neither SHUDDH, nor DESI and is far from being anywhere near ROMANCE. 

Making the characters smoke, make out, run away from weddings is not going to make the film brave or modern. 

Watch B.A Pass and you will know what bravery is. Watch Vicky Donor, Inkaar, Life in a Metro to understand what being modern and mature is.

Shuddh Desi Romance is utter nonsense. Call me a guy with the 1950's mindset but whatever I have seen in SDR is no where near my definition of being Modern and progressive. 

** -3 STARS**

SATYAGRAHA - MOVIE REVIEW

Despite giving a string of few uninspiring films, the fan inside me wanted to watch Satyagraha for a simple reason, Prakash Jha. I walked out of the theater, disappointed, the fan inside me, hurt.

As has been the case with all the films directed by Mr.Jha, Satyagraha too raises a social issue  and showcases a common man's fight against the system. What started off as a genuinely raw and intense and most importantly, real and factual based approach to film making has slowly started taking the turn towards a more predictable, convenient and a commercial approach. 

Satyagraha too goes down a predictable lane, diverts from the main "mudda" and focuses so much on giving out a message that tackles the issue of corruption at a holistic level; it forgets everything about the minute yet indispensable details and hence what comes on screen is a product which is packaged very well but lacks the generic features.

Satyagraha is a story about Dwarkanath Anand (Amitabh Bachchan) who is a staunch follower and believer of socialism and his struggles to deal with a system which is corrupt and defunct to the core. It is a story about a man who is willing to let go various opportunities for his son for he wants his son to use his talent for the growth of the country. It is a story through which Mr. Jha makes us understand that the Ministers are PUBLIC SERVANTS. 

Satyagraha is also a story about an over ambitious businessman Manav Raghvendra, who is a pure capitalist at heart and how he realizes his mistakes and joins the path of non cooperation adopted by Dwarkanath Anand. 

With the support of a journalist and a local leader and a legal advisor, this team is able to create a revolution of sorts in Ambikapur where the film is set. There are internal conflicts among the team members as well. Looks alot like Team Anna. But the makers deny that fact. 

This must, on paper, look like a script tailor made for some hard hitting and gritty cinema but it turns out to be a very shallow, over the top and unbelievable drama that carries on for more than 2.5 hours.

The film is flawed at almost every level. The film looks more of an advertisement of around 18 to 20 different brands that appear in the film through the concept of IN-FILM advertising. Any scene and every scene will make your attention shift towards strategically placed banners of various brands that have tied up with this film. So much so that it feels as if the Cinematographer shot a scene keeping the brand in mind and not  what the script demanded. I counted about 14 brands myself. This took so much away from the impact of the film.

The characterization is flawed. All the characters are uni-dimensional. No scope for any complexity or personal conflict. Though A.B Sr, Devgn and Bajpai make their characters worthwhile thanks to some superb acting, Kareena, Arjun and Amrita portray characters that are written weakly. 

Despite the entire nation being informed about the Ambikapur revolution and the incident having its impact on the State Cabinet, Kareena is the only journalist from a media house covering the entire report on the Satyagraha. She becomes a part of the movement as well. What about journalism? God knows. The other journalists only appear when the focus shifts from the Satyagraha to other episodes. 

Arjun Rampal's character has no other job but to gather crowds and shout slogans. There is no value addition that he does to the script.

There lies a problem in the way relationships and bonds get established. Though the bond between Amitabh and Devgn is pretty emotional, it is hard to understand Devgn signing off a 6000+cr company and distributing everything to the shareholders and becoming a part of the revolution. The way he dissolves the company will make the Finance enthusiasts scratch their head off.

Kareena and Ajay fall in love. When and How? I don't know. 

Like his previous film AARAKSHAN, the major problem here is that the film diverts from the topic way too often. The audience at times gets confused as to what is the issue Mr.Jha is trying to address. Too much emotional scenes thrown in the 1st half dampen the pace of the film. Then again an unnecessary romantic song, featuring Kareena and devgn springs up from practically nowhere. What makes it worse is there is no chemistry between the couple. 

There is an item number as well. God knows how did that make any sense to Jha. There are 5 to 6 incidents through which Jha tries to portray the sad state of our democracy and as soon as you feel that the movie is finally coming to some conclusive point, an unnecessary track jumps up and puts you off!

Amitabh Bachchan is in fine form yet again. His walk, his dialogue delivery, his stance, everything commands respect. His character has shades of Gandhi. In a particular scene he is seen supported by two females (kareena and amrita) as he approaches to address a section of kids. So much similar to Bapu. Watch out for his scene with the district collector or the scene where he breaks down and loses his composure on the highway and you will know why is he called the Superstar of the Millennium.

Ajay Devgn delivers yet another good performance. Though his expressions are repetitive but he does justice to his role. He also has a wonderful scene where he cries at the terrace mourning the death of his friend. Brilliantly enacted. Though it looked to me that he sleepwalked through his role because that is a character that he has been playing in almost all the films he has done with Prakash Jha.

Kareena Kapoor Khan gets the most flawed character to perform and she is strictly average at her performance. She is never able to justify her connection with the cause or with Manav.

Arjun Rampal looks like he went into slumber after Raajneeti and got up and started shooting for Satyagraha. Trust me there is no difference in the way he has played the 2 characters. Probably because he did not have anything substantial or concrete in connection to the essence of the film.

Amrita Rao deserves more roles for sure. She looks comfortable throughout and stands her ground despite having a substantial amount of scenes with A.B.Sr as well as Ajay Devgn.

And make no mistake. Manoj Bajpai steals the show yet again. Though he has been playing the similar role in Jha's films since Raajneeti, it is he who infuses some life into the film. Scheming and shrewd and totally under the skin of his character. Watch out for his dialogue delivery. His confrontation scene with Mr. Bachchan is a highlight of the film where the audience gets to witness acting of a different level altogether.

Indraneil Sengupta and others lend ample support.

Prakash Jha has made better films before. Damul, Apharan and Gangajal were eye openers. But with this film, he loses the grit and the boldness which was a USP of his films. The issues that he tackles are current and relevant but the execution is flawed. People expected some ground breaking stuff from Mr. Jha but he chose to be reluctant and focused more on being politically correct. The climax scene was eagerly awaited but turned out to be over the top and over dramatised.

This does not mean there are no positives. 

There are scenes which will surprise you. The way various issues have been selected is praise worthy. The inclusion of social media is another good concept. His ability to handle the extras in the scenes is worth an applaud. There are thousands of extras present in almost every frame and they are handled well. There is an excellent message that he tries to give, "Government officers are PUBLIC SERVANTS and since they are servants they are supposed to take orders from the public and execute them." 

The impact of the film, the core message, comes out in the Raghupati Raghav Raja Raam song, composed brilliantly and written amazingly by Prasoon Joshi. This 4 minute track was a hair raising experience but the rest of the film was a dampener to the spirits.

Satyagraha probably tries to do too many things at one time. It tries to be a social satire, tries to make a political comment, tries to showcase human relationships, tries to address the demons of the democracy but ends up as a film whose motives were uncertain. In the film, at times, it looks like as if the shots were taken from the stock shots of Raajneeti or Aarakshan.

Satyagraha is intention-ed well, but is caught up in the web of cliches and predictability. 

What could have been a nail biting yet informative and factual cinematic experience turns out to be really superfluous. The audience doesn't connect with the film and the game is lost there and then. 

The fan inside me is hurt but wounds can always heal. Time to get back to the Damul, Mrityudand, Gangajal and Apharan days. 

**2 STARS**