Movies and Books

[admin]

Movie 4 d week : Saat Hindustani

Language : Hindi

Director : Khwaja Ahmad Abbas



Aptly called 'the love story of a nation' this film tells the story of Maria and her six comrades who work towards freeing Goa from Portuguese occupation. Maria is unwell and all the six comrades, from various corners of the country, are trying to get in touch with her. In the course of the journey the story of how they came together as a group and worked towards freeing Goa is revealed. The seven of them hoisting flags atop Portuguese buildings and how the group generates patriotic fervour among the people of Goa forms the rest of the story. Shehnaz plays Maria. Utpal dutt, Madhu (of Malayalam film fame), Irshad Ali, Anwar Ali, Jalal Agha, Dina Pathak and A K Hangal form rest of the casting. The movie is definitely worth a watch inspite of the clichéd representation for every religion among the seven-member group.





Trivia : 'Saat Hindustani' is credited as Amitabh Bachan's debut film. Although I would think his Voice in 'Bhuvan Shome' was as good as a role. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas also wrote the story for 'Henna', 'Dr.Khotnis ki amar kahani' and also dialogues for 'Jagte raho'. 'Awaara', Shri 420' etc.



Useless Trivia : Amitabh's parents supposedly wanted to name him 'Inquilab'. Big 'I'. Hic hic!. 

'Deewar' was made n English as 'I'll die for Mama'. I sure would like to check out the dialogues. "What do you have / What have you got?". "I have Mama". ;-)

[admin]

Don't remember if i recommended this earlier. but here goes.

Movie 4 d week : The Dinner game
Language : French

Director : Francis Veber



'The Dinner game' is among one of my all-time favourite comedies. Week after week Pierre and his friends organize a dinner game. The idea is to bring an idiot along. The one who brings along the best idiot is the winner. Pierre thinks he has found in Pignon (played absolutely brilliantly by Jacques Villeret) a sure winner. Unfortunately for Pierre all his plans go haywire. How he ends up playing the fool forms rest of the story. "Think twice before you call anyone an idiot" aptly sums up the moral of the story. 'A feast for the senseless' says the DVD sleeve. I am sure that is a bad translation from the French.



Other must watch movies from the same director include 'Tais toi' aka 'Shut-up', 'The Three fugitives', 'La Chevre' aka 'The Goat' etc. Each one of them brilliant.



Useless Trivia : Jacques Villeret played Pignon 600 times on stage before playing the same role in the stage adaptation, 'The Dinner game'.





NB : A lil bard tells me 'Bheja Fry' is a scene by scene lift from 'The Dinner game'. Will confirm if and when I watch it. I at least hope due credit has been given like 'Sarkar' did ;-). Whether 'tribute' means 'copy' is left entirely to your judgment.





Book 4 d week : Strange Pilgrims

Author : Gabriel Garcia Marquez





A collection of short stories this one is fabulous. My personal favourite is 'Bon voyage, Mr.President' which is about an overthrown President. Quoting from it. 'Then there's nothing we can do!' exclaimed Lazara when Homero told her about it. 'He's a damn miser who'll give himself a charity funeral and be buried in a pauper's grave. We'll never get anything out of him.'

'Maybe he's really poor,' said Homero, 'after so many years out of work.'. Fabulous read indeed. Also check out some of the other shorts 'I only came to use the phone', 'The saint', 'I sell my dreams' etc.



Other Marquez must reads - In Evil Hour, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Love in the Time of Cholera, , Of Love and Other Demons, Clandestine in Chile, No one writes to the Colonel etc etc.

[admin]

Movie 4 d week : Shoot the Piano player

Language : French

Director : Francois Truffaut



'Shoot the Piano player' is Truffaut's tribute to the Hollywood gangster flicks of the 40s and 50s. Charlie Kohler / Eduoard, played brilliantly by Charles Aznavour, is a piano player at a bar. His brother Chico is on the run from gangsters Momo and Ernest. Charlie helps his brother escape and in turn becomes the gangsters target. Lena, the waitress played by Marie Dubois, is in love with Charlie. His younger kid brother, Fido, stays with him. The gangsters trace Charlie to Lena and subsequently end up kidnapping Fido so as to make Charlie pay. It is revealed that Charlie is actually a famous piano player married to the waitress Theresa (Nicole Berger) before she ended up committing suicide. The film uses comedy and shades of tragedy brilliantly to create and keep suspense right until the very end. Brilliant right through the 85 minutes you will not find a moment of boredom creep in. The narrative holds you all the way through. Brilliant performances by Charles Aznavour and his two beautiful love interests. The film has one real comic moment where one of the characters swears to tell the truth and if he doesn't his mother shall die immediately. Truffaut cuts to a old woman falling down in her room and back. Brilliant. Also like one of them dialogues. Don't ask me why though. "Remember, when I hate you I will wear a hat so you know". I could go on and on. Just watch this one.



Other classics by the master director include 'The story of Adele H', 'The last metro', 'Day for night', Les Mistons (my favourite), 'The 400 blows', 'Jules et Jim'  (not among my favourites).



Trivia : Jean Luc Godard's 'Breathless' is based on a Francois Truffaut story. Truffaut plays Claude Lacombe in 'Close encounters of the third kind' and also plays a minor role in his own 'The 400 Blows'.


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[Paramvir Singh]

Movie 4 d week : Ondanondu Kaaladalli

Language : Kannada

Director : Girish Karnad



Brilliantly shot by the great A K Bir and brilliant music by Bhaskar Chandavarkar. Brilliantly directed by Girish Karnad, the costumes, dialogues and the casting is superb. 'Ondanondu Kaaladalli' (Once upon a time) is the story of two brothers who end up being rivals and will do anything to get the better of the other. Gandugali, a mercenary (Ronin rather) played brilliantly by Shankar Nag, arrives at and trains the men belonging to the younger brother. He takes on the elder brother and his men led by their powerful commander Peramaadi, again played brilliantly by Sundarkrishna Urs. Once the threat from Peramaadi is decimated the younger brother insults Gandugali and shows him the way out. Meanwhile Peramaadi is on the lookout for Gandugali to avenge his son's death, which was a result of not being able to bear the humiliation of his father Peramaadi's defeat and then the insult showered on him thereafter. How Gandugali and Peramaadi become unusual allies with the purpose of decimating both the brothers and how Gandugali at the cost of his life makes sure the rightful heir gets his due rather than the warring brothers forms the rest of the film.


Watch out for the scene in which Gandugali lets go of Peramaadi, the commander of the opposite faction, after capturing him. Peramaadi requests him not to let him go. He pleads with Gandugali to at least cut off his tongue and feed it to the dogs. This scene is absolutely fantastic. Also both Peramaadi and Gandugali are equal foes (unlike the clichéd dumb opponent) and share a healthy respect for each other's prowess. Don't miss this one. Liked it even better than Yojimbo actually ;-)
Akshata Rao and Sushilendra Joshi are brilliant too.





Useless trivia : Shankar Nagarkatte alias Shankar Nag made his debut in 'Ondanondu Kaaladalli' and also won the best actor national award for his role in the film. I would think SundarKrishna Urs deserved a best actor (supporting) award too. Shankar Nag has also directed 'Malgudi Days', 'Ondu Muthina Kathe', 'Accident', 'Swami', 'Lalach' etc etc besides starring in many brilliant films. By far among the best actors in the country. So also his brother, Anant Nag. Look out for Shankar Nag in 'Utsav'. Also gather 'Minchina Ota' is brilliant. Looking for a copy.

[Paramvir Singh]

Movie 4 d week : F for fake

Language : English

Director : Orson Welles



'F for fake' is a semi-documentary with direction and narration by Orson Welles. It stars Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, Joseph Cotten, Francois Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irwing among others. The film questions our believed views on forgery and faking. Welles uses the examples of Elmyr de Hory, the Hungarian painter, the most famous 'art faker' of all times, Clifford Irwing who faked the Howard Hughes biography and Orson Welles himself who faked his past to make a career as an actor and of course the War of the Worlds radio broadcast about the attack by Martians, meant as a Halloween prank, that had America running for cover. So well edited you don't realize how it makes a point and leaves you questioning the set notions. What exactly is a fake? "The real question is not whether it is genuine or a fake. The question is whether it is a good fake or a bad fake".

Watch out for the scene where Francois Reichenbach has been buying Modigliani's from Elmyr until one day Francois said I do not want any more Modigliani's unless you have a Soutine by Modigliani. Elmyr then called on Francois and said "Francois you are a genius. You guessed I had one. How could you know I found one in my drawer? A beautiful portrait of Soutine by Modigliani" J. Elmyr was such a genius he could paint a Modigliani, a Picasso, a Van Dongen, a Matisse with such ease. In fact Van Dongen once swore he had painted an Elmyr fake Van Dongen himself. Experts and museums cannot recognize fakes from genuine. In fact it is wrong to have experts says Elmyr. The museums needed fakers because they didn't have enough originals to cater to buyers.



Other Orson Welles must watch movies include 'Citizen Kane' of course, 'Touch of evil' and 'The magnificent Ambersons' (still looking for the original Orson Welles version. I could only manage the later Alfonso Arau version L). Welles is the narrator in 'Riki Tikki Tawi', 'The man who saw tomorrow', 'History of the world – Part I' and provided voice for some songs of heavy metal band Manowar: Dark Avenger and Defender. Also don't miss Welles playing Harry Lime in Carol Reed's 'The Third man'.





Useless trivia : His first film to be seen by the public was Citizen Kane (1941), a commercial failure losing RKO $150,000, but regarded by many as the best film ever made. Welles had his share of lovely women and he was married to Rita Hayworth (wow!) and also Oja Kodar (the most beautiful Olga Palinkas who Welles met during the shooting of 'The Trial' and gave the name Oja Kodar) .

Book 4 d week : The Sunday gentleman

Author : Irwing Wallace



When I watched this movie 'F for fake' I couldn't help recalling the story of Van Meegeren, an art faker who swindled Goering himself with his Jan Vermeer's. One of the many stories in 'The Sunday gentleman'. The story of the book's title is interesting in itself. In ancient England you could arrest anybody who owed money. The famous Daniel Defoe was one of the famous defaulters. However one day in the week, that is Sunday or the Lord's day, the rule was relaxed. No one could be arrested on a Sunday. Anyone and everyone who owed someone money would go into hiding and then resurface on Sunday. They were referred to as 'The Sunday gentleman'. And these were stories Irwing Wallace did because he wanted to do them, and not because he wanted to make money. So different from any of the work you attribute to Irwing Wallace. A superb read. Out of print but available on www.firstandsecond.com methinx.

[Paramvir Singh]

'Neend' is a Pakistani film made in 1959. It stars the most beautiful Noor Jehan as Sanwali. And this has the unforgettable number 'tere dar par sanam chale aaye, tu na aaya to hum chale aaye' (a rehash was done in 'Phir teri kahani yaad aayi') sung so well by Noor Jehan. Also look out for 'O dil diya'. The movie has nothing great in terms of the story. A rich man fancies a poor woman, a collier? to be precise, which she mistakes for love. And what follows is the trauma she goes through and what fate awaits her son born out of wedlock. The all too familiar story and so very similar to our own Hindi movies. Watch it for Noor Jehan and that famous voice.

'

Neend' and 'Quail' courtesy a good friend from Pakistan. I just love the packaging ;-). Attaching couple of pics.

Useless trivia : Noor Jehan, the Mallika-e-tarannum, was the ruling queen in India before she opted to move to Pakistan during partition. She has sung over 10,000 songs including gems like 'Awaaz de kahan hai', 'Chandni Raatein, sab jag soye hum jaagein taaron se kare baatein' (my favourite, of course not the remix version), 'Jawan hai muhabbat', ' kisi tarah muhabbat mein chain paa na sake', 'Abhi to main jawan hoon', and many more. She is fabulous in 'Anmol Ghadi' which is another must watch and available off the shelf.

[Paramvir Singh]

ovie 4 d week : Buena Vista Social Club

Language : English / Spanish

Director : Wim Wenders



What Ry Cooder put together as a music album went on to become the movie 'Buena Vista Social Club'. Ry Cooder put together the album to bring back the lost glory of the forgotten Cuban musicians after Castro's post-revolutionary period. The movie has Luiz Barzaga, Joachim Cooder, Ruben Gonzalez, Carlos Gonzalez, Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa (all musicians I gather but don't ask me specifics about them) and of course Ry Cooder and Donata Wenders playing themselves in this movie. It was almost a solo effort by Ry Cooder to bring out of retirement, and together, forgotten Cuban artist's to perform together again. A fab offering of Cuban music put together by Wim Wenders and Ry Cooder. A must have for any music fan.



Other must watch Wim Wender's movies 'Wings of desire' (remade as 'City of Angels'), 'The American friend' and 'Beyond the clouds'. Hope to access and watch 'Paris, Texas' soon.

Useless trivia : Wim Wenders worked with all his wives in at least one movie (5 wives in all on last count J ). Wim Wenders has also directed many music videos for U2, such as " Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". He also directed 'Soul of a man' about American Blues. Considers Yasujiro Ozu (of 'The end of Summer', 'An Autumn afternoon', 'Tokyo story', 'Floating weeds', 'Good morning' fame) the grandmaster of them all.

[Paramvir Singh]

Movie 4 d week : High and Low (Heaven and Hell)

Language : Japanese

Director : Akira Kurosawa



Not much has been written about what I would think is one of Kurosawa's best films. Based on Ed Mcbain's 'King's Ransom' it tells the story of an industrialist, Gondo (Toshiro Mifune in one of his best roles). His son is kidnapped, presumably by his rivals, and the ransom they demand is what he has set aside for a business deal. Gondo will be ruined if he pays the ransom but he has no choice but to agree for the sake of his son. The kidnappers have kidnapped his chauffer's (of 20 years) son by mistake. Will Gondo continue with his negotiations? Is his chauffer's son any less worthy of saving? The trauma Gondo goes through and how brilliantly the cop network goes about their job forms the rest of the story.



Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Red Beard, The Idiot, Stray Dog, The Quiet duel, Drunken angel, No regrets for my youth, They who step on the Tiger's tail, The hidden fortress, Ran, Throne of blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Rashomon, High and Low, Dreams, The bad sleep well, Madadayo, Kagemusha, Rhapsody in August, One wonderful Sunday, Dersu Uzala all worth watching. Yet to watch 'I live in fear', 'The lower depths', 'Scandal' and 'Sanshiro Sugata'.

Anyone can give me access to or can help with 'The most beautiful', 'Those who make tomorrow' and 'Uma' will be thanked ;-)

Useless trivia : After going through a lean patch Kurosawa attempted suicide and survived. Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas helped Kurosawa make Dersu Uzala (in Russian) which he followed up with many more movies. Kurosawa was also a self-professed fan of John Ford and the films of Satyajit Ray.

[admin]

Movie 4 d week : Ashes and Snow

Language : English

Director : Gregory Colbert

"Feather to Fire, Fire to Blood, Blood to Bone, Bone to Marrow, Marrow to Ashes, Ashes to Snow..." or so goes the voice-over. Watch this movie just for the stunning visuals. Entirely shot in sepia tone. Almost impossible to believe that it has been entirely shot exactly in the form you see it.  The movie depicts the interaction between humans and animals and various art forms and their juxtaposition. Some of the shots like the canoe going past elephants in the water, elephants lying down with one eye open (which is how they supposedly sleep so they can keep a watch on the world), the under-water shots, the whales, leopards and the shot where a woman imitates flight of a kite before a kite flies right from behind and across is simply brilliant. Words can't do justice to this one-hour documentary. Simply superb. A treat to the senses. Mostly visual.


Useless trivia : 'Ashes and Snow' has narration by Laurence Fishburne aka Morpheus of 'Matrix' fame. Interesting actor but I wonder why he would want to produce a movie based on 'The Alchemist'.

Book 4 d week : Asterix and Obelix all at sea

Author : Uderzo and Goscinny

The entire Asterix series is a treat except of course the last in the series 'Asterix and the falling sky' which is nothing short of a disaster. 'Asterix and Oblelix all at sea' answers that question lurking in all our heads: What would happen if Obelix gets his share of the magic potion? Would he turn to stone? A good read in-spite of the fact that it is both written and illustrated by Uderzo.

[admin]

Movie 4 d week : The eight column affair (Master Strokes FTII films)

Language : English

Director : Sriram Raghavan



As the title indicates it is to do with a newspaper. Robi (Shivkumar Subramanyan), the Pune marathon winner, on the front page wants to meet with Shireen (the wow Rachel Reuben), the winner of Western India Open tennis, on the last page. And to reach her he has to go through the crime beat, the crossword, the appointment section, cinema (with Nana Patekar putting in a brief appearance) the classifieds and even the matrimonial section before he finally reaches the sports page. His journey from the first page to the last page to finally meet with Shireen, and before the newspaper deadline, forms the rest of the movie. A short film that is interesting viewing. Don't miss this one.

Sriram Raghavan has also made 'Aahat' and 'Ek hasina thi'. 'Master Strokes' a two DVD set is a must have collection for those who would like to own the first films of a whole lot of masters. Includes Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Murder at Monkey Hill' (for collector value. Still looking for 'An encounter with faces'), Girish Kasaravalli's 'Awashesha', Madan Bavaria's 'Suman' starring Jaya Bhaduri, Arun Khopkar's 'Teevra Madhyam' starring the most beautiful Smita Patil, Kundan Shah's 'Bonga', Nishta Jain's brilliant 'Jam Invalid' and many more.

Useless trivia : 'The eight column affair' has Raju Hirani (of Munnabhai fame) for associate director. His original choice for the Munnabhai role was Shah Rukh Khan who had to turn down the offer due to a bad back. Apun bolta hai iska bad luck hi kharaab tha ;-)

[admin]

Movie 4 d week : Yatra

Language : Hindi

Director : Goutam Ghose

Dasarath Joglekar (Nana Patekar) is a writer who is on way to Delhi to receive an award reserved for the best in literature for his book 'Janaza'. The book is based on the life of Lajvanti (played by the most beautiful Rekha) who is forced to become a prostitute by situation (as always). As Dasarath is making his trip to Delhi he meets with an young director (Nakul Vaid) and his question transports Dasarath back to his past. And there begins the journey into Dasarath's past and Lajvanti's role in his life, real and fiction. Lajvanti is now running a 'Khota' in Mehndi Gali, Hyderabad. Dasarath's wife, Smita (Deepti Naval) and children are meanwhile on the lookout for him. Dasarath's meeting with Lajvanti and the journey through time forms the rest of the film. While the film attempts at touching on the plight of prostitutes and also briefly, in precisely one scene that is, tries to highlight the plight of farmers in Andhra Pradesh it fails on both counts. A good watch though. And some fabulous Shayri. And as always I am a little biased when it is Rekha J. " Jaam-e-muhabbat aankhon se hi pee lete hai dilwale, ek nazar mein mujhko padhkar jee lete hai dilwale". You cannot miss the fabulous poetry. " Aap to aap hai, aap sab kuch hai, aur to aur hai, aur kuch bhi nahin".

I haven't watched too many Goutam Ghose films but I remember watching 'Sang-e-meel se mulaaqat' (Meeting a milestone) a docu on the life of Ustad Bismillah Khan. Among one of the better films I have watched. So much so I visited Ustad's home in Benia Bagh, Banaras.

Useless trivia : 'Yatra' is dedicated to focus puller Mr. A B Kamlakar. Khaiyyam is supposed to have scored the music and then disowned it over differences with the director Goutam Ghose but the movie gives music credits to both of them. The film has some lovely numbers, particularly so the ones sung by Talat Aziz and Asha Bhosle. It's difficult to miss the Khaiyyam touch of his old days. Bazaar, Umrao Jaan, Razia Sultan, Gaman and Thodisi Bewafai come to mind.

[admin]

ovie 4 d week : The eight column affair (Master Strokes FTII films)

Language : Hindi

Director : Sriram Raghavan

As the title indicates it is to do with a newspaper. Robi (Shivkumar Subramanyan), the Pune marathon winner, on the front page wants to meet with Shireen (the wow Rachel Reuben), the winner of Western India Open tennis, on the last page. And to reach her he has to go through the crime beat, the crossword, the appointment section, cinema (with Nana Patekar putting in a brief appearance) the classifieds and even the matrimonial section before he finally reaches the sports page. His journey from the first page to the last page to finally meet with Shireen, and before the newspaper deadline, forms the rest of the movie. A short film that is interesting viewing. Don't miss this one.

Sriram Raghavan has also made 'Aahat' and 'Ek hasina thi'. 'Master Strokes' a two DVD set is a must have collection for those who would like to own the first films of a whole lot of masters. Includes Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Murder at Monkey Hill' (for collector value. Still looking for 'An encounter with faces'), Girish Kasaravalli's 'Awashesha', Madan Bavaria's 'Suman' starring Jaya Bhaduri, Arun Khopkar's 'Teevra Madhyam' starring the most beautiful Smita Patil, Kundan Shah's 'Bonga', Nishta Jain's brilliant 'Jam Invalid' and many more.

Useless trivia : 'The eight column affair' has Raju Hirani (of Munnabhai fame) for associate director. His original choice for the Munnabhai role was Shah Rukh Khan who had to turn down the offer due to a bad back. Apun bolta hai iska bad luck hi kharaab tha ;-)

nb: language HIndi. please note correction.

[Paramvir Singh]

Movie 4 d week : Ivan's Childhood (1962)

Language : Russian

Director : Andrei Tarkovsky

The best anti-war film, ever. I would rate 'Night and Fog' right alongside it though. 'Ivan's childhood' is visually stunning and tells the story of 12-year old Ivan. The war and one incident, the murder of his mother and sister in war, changes Ivan forever. His childhood is lost, and all that he has in mind is revenge. Nikolai Burlyayev as Ivan is simply stunning. One single incident has changed the young boy into a man forever, and irreversibly. He works for the Russian army on the eastern front as a reconnaissance agent. Nothing, not even threats, can make him change his mind and go back to school. He serves the army daringly until it is revealed, after the war, that he was one among those hanged to death. Never before, or after, has there been such a horrifying portrayal of lost childhood. And never before, or after, has there been such a strong statement against war. The stark images (particularly some of the shots in the birch forests and the wetlands across the German front) and Ivan's eyes, that express the trauma and hatred, haunt you much after you have watched this movie.



Other must watch Tarkovsky movies : 'Andrey Rublyov' (my personal favourite), 'Solaris', 'Stalker', 'Mirror', 'Nostalgia', 'The Killers' (his first), 'The Sacrifice' and 'The skating rink and the Violin' (hope to watch this one soon).

Useless trivia : 'Ivan's Childhood' is based on Vladimir Bogomolov's 'Ivan' which was based on the author's own experiences as a 15-year old when he dropped out of school and joined the army during World war II. Nikolai Burlyayev who played Ivan also played Boriska in Tarkovsky's 'Andrey Rublyov'.


Also happened to watch 'Sivaji', sadly at Inox where you don't get the effects of watching Rajni with the masses. All Rajni movies are interactive and this one more so without which you lose out on half the content. The whistle, the claps, the throwing of coins and of course the incense and the milk routine are nothing short of magic which no one else can command. If 'Indian' was Kamal's take against bribery watch 'Sivaji' to find out how different Rajni's take is J on the same subject. And of course there are dialogues which are loaded : "I am Sivaji. And I am MGR". Rajni is both of them put together and more or so it seems to suggest. Hats off to the star who appears in public bald, ordinarily attired, no make-up, leucoderma et al. And then for his fans to accept him on screen as 'Rajni'. Well… that is something. Say what you want about his movies but then he sure is one 'Superstar'.

[Paramvir Singh]

Movie 4 d week : Jam Invalid (Master Strokes FTII films)

Language : Hindi / English

Director : Nishta Jain

'Jam Invalid' is the story of Ambika (played by Ambika Sanjana). Ambika is a very smart girl but then her grades don't seem to reflect it. She can't seem to subscribe to our system of education, which involves memorizing useless information. She just can't be a slave to routine. And she ends out dropping out of school, not once, not twice but a third time. She seems to find pleasure in the little things in life. "Can I really help it if distractions are more interesting?". She enjoys the little things in life: observing people, listening to girlie gossip, observing kids playing… "Can one really learn from others lives?" she seems to ask and sets out to figure out for herself. Also loved one scene where the waiter asks for a tip and she leaves behind a platform ticket (actually her weight card from the railway con machine or whatever you call it J).



Other movies by Nishta Jain include 'City of Photos', 'Six yards to democracy' and the yet to be released 'Lakshmi and me'. Sure would like to get my hand on these.



'Master Strokes' a two DVD set is a must have collection for those who would like to own the first films of a whole lot of masters. Includes Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Murder at Monkey Hill' (for collector value. Still looking for 'An encounter with faces'), Girish Kasaravalli's 'Awashesha', Madan Bavaria's 'Suman' starring Jaya Bhaduri, Arun Khopkar's 'Teevra Madhyam' starring the most beautiful Smita Patil, Kundan Shah's 'Bonga', Sriram Raghavan's 'Eight column affair', ' A Day With The Builders' by C.J. Paulose, 'Vilaap' by Surendra Chawdhary 'Man vs Man' by Shashi Anand, 'Bodhvriksha' by Rajan Khosa, 'Joyce' by Jill Misquitta, 'Hypnothesis' by Rajat Kapoor, 'Yeh Woh Shehar to Nahin' by Vajjha Sudhakar Rao, ' Let's Talk a While' by Ruchika Oberoi, 'Jee Karta Hai' by Hansa Thapliyal, 'Chaitra' by Kranti Kanade, 'Do Hafte Guzarte Do Hafte Nahin Lagte' by Rajula Shah, 'Saanjh' by Jasmine Kaur, 'Dwijaa' by Pankaj Purandare. All worth a watch.

Useless trivia : Rehana Sultana was an FTII graduate who stripped for B R Ishara's 'Chetna'. Her subsequent two films 'Dastak' and 'Man tera, tan mera' also got 'A' certificates. After this Rehana Sultana took the name Rehana Sultan saying she had donated the 'A' from her name to the censor board. I love this woman ;-).

[Paramvir Singh]

Movie 4 d week : Inner Space (1987)

Language : English

Director : Joe Dante

The first scene as the titles roll on is simply superb. 'Inner space is worth watching for just this I would think. How well the director plays on your senses. 'Inner Space' is about a science project gone horribly wrong. Tuck (Dennis Quaid) has been miniaturized and is to be injected into a laboratory rabbit so tests can go on. Instead he is injected into Jack Putter (Martin Short), a superstore clerk, who must now help Tuck ensure the secret doesn't get into the wrong hands. Tuck is going through the inner spaces of Jack's body. You get a nice guided trip through the human body. The special effects are quite good and the humour keeps good pace. Meg Ryan plays Lydia, Tuck's girlfriend, and is as loveable as ever. How Lydia and Jack with inner guidance from Tuck overcome all odds forms the rest of the story. You can't miss the end track 'Twistin the night away' by Rod Stewart. I latched onto that one.


Book 4 d week : Memories of my melancholy whores

Author : Gabriel Garcia Marquez



"The first signs of old age is when you begin to resemble your father. I must be condemned to eternal youth" J. This book is about a bachelor, a ninety-year old at that, who wants to gift himself, on his ninetieth birthday, a night of love with a virgin. And for this he approaches Rosa Cabarcas from who he has purchased many a women. How the young virgin awakens in this old man a romance he has never known forms the rest of the story. Eminently readable and I quote "Sex is the consolation you have when you can't have love". Erotic in parts and comic, in a subtle way, right through. "I hope you reach a hunnert". I sure do.

Other must reads by the author include 'One hundred years of solitude' (among the all time greats. I sure owe it another read), 'Strange Pilgrims' of which 'Bon voyage, Mr.president' is my favourite, 'Love in the time of Cholera', 'No one writes to the Colonel' (nice, small book J), 'Of love and other demons' (fab title indeed), Chronicles of a death foretold', 'Clandestine in Chile', 'In evil hour' which I am currently reading, etc etc

Useless trivia : Marquez' 'Clandestine in Chile', about Miguel Littin's secret entry into Chile which is under dictatorship, has been translated into the Bengali by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya I gather. A very good read this non-fiction.

Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez is the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1982 and the video for R.E.M 'Losing my Religion' is based on his short story 'A very old man with enormous wings'.