Month: July 2023

27 Down : सत्ताईस डाउन

Released in 1974
9/10
Genre- Drama, Arthouse
Main Cast: Raakhee, M.K. Raina
Music- Hariprasad Chaurasia & Bhubaneshwar Mishra
Story- Based on “Athara Sooraj Ke Paudhe” by Ramesh Bakshi
Screenplay: Awtar Krishna Kaul
Direction- Awtar Krishna Kaul

Raakhee and M.K. Raina in a scene from “27 Down (1974)”

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Based on Ramesh Bakshi’s novel, the story revolves around Sanjay (played by M.K. Raina), a Railway employee. The film describes events from his life, his inevitable connection to the Railways, his growing-up years, and how his father (played by Om Shivpuri) dominantly affected his life choices from childhood to adulthood. Sanjay accepts all his father’s wishes without saying a word, even gives up his dream of becoming an artist, and agrees to join the Railways, he somehow adjusts himself between his father and the railway tracks. But this changes when he meets Shalini (played by Raakhee) and falls in love with her. And the major conflict starts when Sanjay’s father gets him married to another girl (played by Rekha Sabnis) against his wish. How does Sanjay pacify himself? What happens to Shalini? And more importantly, what happens to Sanjay & Shalini’s short-lived relationship concludes the film.

M.K. Raina and Raakhee in a scene from “27 Down (1974)”

The Movie 27 Down feels like an unexplored dimension of story-telling in Indian Cinema (the 70s) breaking so many stereotypes. For a 1974 film, when the mainstream was in a completely different zone of filmmaking,
27 Down delivered a true masterpiece of cinema, a cluttered-free straightforward narrative in a unique non-linear form (huge for the 70s), the Black & White Cinematography, the use of real locations, honest and natural performances by the cast and an extraordinary vision for the film by Awtar Krishna Kaul. Additionally, the train art design of the film was by Bansi Chandragupta, who also designed the amazing train set for Manikda’s (Satyajit Ray) Black & White classic “Nayak (1966)”.

a scene from “27 Down (1974)”

Note 27 Down deals with an important issue of a typical middle-class family. Because our parents want the best of everything for us, many a time, they act very overprotectively in a lot of matters. But sometimes, this overprotectiveness can simply transform into a never-ending suffocation, like in the case of Sanjay in 27 Down. To ensure security (be of any kind) in someone’s life, our loved ones, we cannot control every aspect of their lives.

P.S. “27 Down” won two National Awards in 1974, for Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Cinematography (Apurba Kishore Bir).

In case you missed the previous post, here’s the link: https://perfectmisenscene.com/?p=787

SIMONE (2002)

Released in 2002
7/10
Genre- Science fiction (Sci-fi), Comedy
Main Cast: Al Pacino, Rachel Robert, Catherine Keener
and Winona Ryder
Screenplay: Andrew Niccol
Direction- Andrew Niccol

Al Pacino and Rachel Roberts in “Simone 2002”

BRIEF INTRODUCTION The story revolves around a struggling filmmaker Viktor (played by Al Pacino) who casts a computer program “Simulation One” as the leading actress, “Simone” (played by Rachel Roberts) for his film. After the film’s release, Simone becomes a huge sensation and starts attracting more and more attention due to her unavailability in any and all public appearances. This generates a lot of mystery around Simone and Viktor because Viktor is the only person knowing about Simone’s whereabouts. How long will Viktor be able to hold the truth and what is the future of Simone in the industry, forms the second half of the film.

LONG INTRODUCTION The story starts with a talented but rather unaccepted filmmaker, Viktor struggling with the leading lady Nicola (played by Winona Ryder) of his next project over some unnecessary tantrums of the actress. And as much as he tries to please her with the best resources on the sets, the more she insults him and finally refuses to do Viktor’s film, leaving it in between.
To get the production going, Victor needs another actress but fails in doing so. In the meantime, a computer geek, Hank (played by Eleas Koteas) shows up to Viktor and recommends him an undoable and strange idea of casting an artificially intelligent computer program as the leading actress in his film. On hearing it first, Viktor dismisses it completely but desperate times, desperate measures so, he starts working with the computer program. And, in a series of experiments with “Simulation One”, Viktor modifies it several times and develops it into a very talented actress (a virtual actress) “Simone” (Sim. One) with all the nuances, expressions, and acting skills of the best actresses in the industry.
Now, with all the modeling and remodeling done, Viktor includes Simone in the film and makes her do all the acting with the help of a built-in simulator in the program. The film gets released, becomes a huge hit at the box office with Simone becoming the newest sensation in the industry and not just for the looks but for her performance, she even wins two Academy Awards in the film. Now starts the real drama, with Simone being a virtual actress and not an actual human being generates a lot of curiosity in the industry and the audiences because of her unavailability at any public appearances. Simone, more than a convenience, now becomes a pile of problems for Viktor and he obviously can’t answer much. So what will happen next, will Simone sustain in the industry, and will Viktor be able to hide the truth for long, all these questions form the second half of the film.

Winona Ryder and Al Pacino in “Simone 2002”

The Movie Being a huge fan of Andrew Niccol’s work, starting right from his directorial debut “GATTACA 1997” or his story work in “The Truman Show 1998″, his films always deliver something unique, something extraordinary, ahead of time. Although I have some disappointments regarding “Simone”, but I want to appreciate Niccol’s vision for the film. The story feels promising and futuristic, especially now, that we are living in the times of technologies like AI, VR, and AR, for a 2002 film, I regard “Simone”, as an ahead-of-its-time film. Story-wise, incorporating the idea of virtual characters/artists in the film’s casting in the early 2000s was something out of the box, just the presentation could have been better.

P.S. The concept of “Simone 2002” has served as an inspiration for different films and series based on a similar idea.

Journey Part 3

With time, I started to realize that my appetite for films, particularly honest and realistic films, good cinema is only increasing and not decreasing. And this led me to start exploring Western cinema too. I still remember watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) and how it left me flabbergastered. Thriller in a true sense, one of the finest, “Psycho” was followed by reading about Hitchcock’s other prominent films such as Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955) and The Birds (1963). While reading and studying more about Western cinema I also came across Orson Welles and his trend-setting film “Citizen Kane (1941)”. I read about the film, and watched it but didn’t get much from it back then but there is more to know about my journey with this film (will talk about it in subsequent parts).
I have a habit of discussing films and literature with my parents, so one day when I was discussing different writers with my father, he told me about a book he had read a long time ago, during his college days, and that too both in Hindi and English language. This book was Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather“, and I already knew about Coppola’s “The Godfather (1972)” (but I didn’t know a book of the same name existed until he told me) so then I asked him to watch “The Godfather (1972)” and the way I intended this go he became a huge fan of the film and rewatched it several times. After “The Godfather and its sequels”, he asked me to recommend to him other films with the same or similar cast or story which continues to this day and I recommend films to him regularly…

Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)

Released in 1990
10/10
Genre- Drama
Main Cast: Pankaj Kapur, Shabana Azmi
Music- Vanraj Bhatia
Story- Ramapada Chowdhury
Screenplay: Tapan Sinha
Direction- Tapan Sinha

Pankaj Kapur in a scene from “Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)”

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Based on Ramapada Chowdhury’s acclaimed story, “Abhimanyu”, the plot revolves around a doctor/researcher, Dr. Dipankar Roy (played by Pankaj Kapur) who discovers a vaccine for an infectious disease (Leprosy) with a lot of effort and personal sacrifices. But instead of getting widespread appreciation for his work, he is even denied proper recognition by the system. How he deals with it and what happens next forms the rest of the story.

The Movie Based on a story inspired by the life and times of Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay (the pioneer of IVF in India), Ek Doctor Ki Maut is one of the best films I have seen so far domestically or globally (I saw the film back in 2017). This film has the highest standards in all aspects, story, screenplay, direction or performances, etc. With a seriously straightforward narrative and no unnecessary clutters, Ek Doctor Ki Maut delivers sincerely.

a scene from “Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)”

Performances “Ek Doctor Ki Maut” is undoubtedly Pankaj Kapur’s film, it is one of his best performances, a performance worth a standing ovation. And not just Pankaj Kapur but also the performance by the rest of the cast is very compelling. Shabana Azmi played the supporting wife Seema, Anil Chatterjee played Dr. Dipankar’s mentor and Irrfan Khan played a science journalist, Amulya (one of his earliest roles). The supporting cast also included Vijayendra Ghatge and Deepa Sahi. Vijayendra Ghatge played Dipankar’s best friend Dr. Sen and Deepa Sahi played Dr. Sen’s wife.

P.S. “Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990)” won three National Awards in 1990, for Best Direction (Tapan Sinha), Second Best Feature Film, and Special Jury Award (Pankaj Kapur). Additionally, the film won multiple awards at other important award ceremonies.

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986)

Released in 1986
10/10
Genre- Drama, Thriller
The Cast: Deepak Qazir, Amitabh Srivastav, Pankaj Kapur, S. M. Zaheer, Subhash Udgata, Hemant Mishra, M. K. Raina, K. K. Raina, Annu Kapoor, Subbiraj, Shailendra Goel, Aziz Qureshi, C.D. Sindhu
Story- “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose
Screenplay: Ranjit Kapur, Basu Chatterjee
Direction- Basu Chatterjee

a scene from “Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986)”

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Based on Reginald Rose’s acclaimed teleplay, “Twelve Angry Men” and Sidney Lumet’s 1957 film of the same name, the story revolves around a nineteen-year-old who is put on trial for allegedly killing his father. To close the final argument and reach an unbiased verdict, the judge directs a jury of twelve members to discuss the boy’s matter among themselves (with all the facts and evidence) and give a final verdict of guilty (with a compulsory death sentence) or not guilty. Now, it’s up to these twelve jurors to decide the fate of the teenager.

The Movie Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is one of the most thoughtful thrillers from Indian Cinema and I want to acknowledge that I saw Ek Ruka Hua Faisla first and then got to know about 12 Angry Men through it. The whole film is shot in one room only with 12 different jurors arguing with each other. I consider this well-executed film a filmmaking master class, how one could deliver a meaningful cinema with the minimum amount of resources.

an important scene from “Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986)”

Performances This film is a powerhouse of performances, with almost all the actors belonging to “NSD (National School of Drama), Delhi”. Every single actor from the twelve of them delivered a natural and confident performance. Pankaj Kapur and Annu Kapoor unarguably delivered unforgettable performances, they played the most challenging characters (Juror No. 3 and Juror No. 9) from the twelve of them.

P.S. Annu Kapoor at the age of 30 played the character of a 70-year-old (Juror No. 9) in the film.

Gaban (ग़बन)

Released in 1966
9/10
Genre- Drama, Romance, Crime
Main Cast: Sunil Dutt, Sadhna
Music- Shankar-Jaikishan
Screenplay: Based on Munshi Premchand’s much-acclaimed 1931
classic, “Gaban (ग़बन)”.
Direction- Krishan Chopra, Hirshikesh Mukherjee

Sunil Dutt and Sadhna in “Gaban (1966)”

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Based upon Munshi Premchand’s gripping classic, the story revolves around Ramanath (played by Sunil Dutt), a not-too-useful guy who uses his habit of lying to get his way in life. This habit of Ramanath is not just restricted to his friends but he also lies to his wife to make her happy. He promises her an expensive piece of jewelry that he can’t afford, and in the process of buying it becomes debt-laden. To pay the debt, he takes a terribly wrong and hasty decision and gets himself involved in nothing short of embezzlement (“ग़बन”) in his workplace. This whole incident of embezzlement then starts a series of unfortunate events and he is on the run now. What happens next forms the second half of the film.

Sunil Dutt in an important scene from “Gaban (1966)”

Twists and Turns The first half of the film mostly involves the elements of romance and drama which form the basis of the so-called embezzlement but the second half is very unexpected and exciting. The embezzlement thing was just the beginning, Ramanath gets entangled in far more complicated matters which makes the second half more interesting than the first.

Sunil Dutt in an important scene from “Gaban (1966)”

Performances Worth-watching performances from the leads. Sunil Dutt delivered a memorable performance as Ramanath, he peaked in his performance in all the court scenes. Sadhna delivered a confident performance as Jalpa (Ramanath’s wife). Natural performances by the rest of the cast also supported the film.

P.S. I also recommend reading the original novel “ग़बन” by Munshi Premchand along with the film.

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