Category: Movies Page 4 of 7

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Released in 1957
10/10
Genre- Anthology, Drama
Main Cast- Ch 1: Suchitra Sen, Shekhar
Ch 2: Nirupa Roy, Kishore Kumar
Ch 3: Dilip Kumar, Usha Kiran
Supporting Cast: David, Bipin Gupta, Durga Khote, Nazir Hussain,
Paul Mahindra, Daisy Irani, Mohan Choti, and Keshto Mukherjee
Music- Salil Chowdhury
Story- Hrishida
Screenplay: Hrishida and Ritwik Ghatak
Dialogues- Rajinder Singh Bedi
Direction- Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

BRIEF INTRODUCTION The film is divided into three chapters…
Overall, the story tells about some specific events from different people’s lives that take place in a house rented by them at different times. Mr. Mahadev Chaudhury (played by David) is the original landlord of the house.

LONG INTRODUCTION
Ch 1: Marriage Chapter one of the story revolves around an almost married couple, Shakuntala & Ajay (played by Suchitra Sen, Shekhar) and Shakuntala is not yet approved by Ajay’s family. Ajay’s parents approve of the alliance or not concludes the first chapter.

Ch 2: Birth Chapter two is about old Mr. Madhav (played by Nazir Hussain), his recently widowed elder daughter-in-law (played by Nirupa Roy) who is also pregnant, and his younger son Bhanu (played by Kishore Kumar). With Madhav’s elder son gone, he takes care of the finances of the family but for how long after all he is a retired old man and this situation makes it very important for Bhanu to start earning as soon as possible. Whether Bhanu gets an earning job or not concludes the second chapter.

Ch 3: Death Chapter three starts with Advocate Mr. Suresh Chandra, his widowed sister Uma (played by Usha Kiran), and Uma’s small handicapped son Raja. Despite all the efforts the mother could afford with her brother’s help, doctors declare there is no hope for Raja to recover from his handicapped leg. Meanwhile, somehow Raja hears the sound of a violin from somewhere outside, and he enquires Mohan (the tea boy) (played by Mohan Choti) about the violin player. And this is how the audience is finally introduced to the much-in-question violin player, “Pagla Babu” (played by Dilip Kumar). It is revealed in the next scene that Uma and Pagla Babu know each other from before in fact, also had a relationship in the past. The two obvious questions, first, what is Uma & Pagla Babu’s past, and second, will Raja ever be able to walk or not conclude the third/final chapter.

Structure I feel very proud while writing this, and I want to appreciate that such an organized and precisely structured anthology belongs to the great Indian Cinema of the 50s. In a very understandable way, the narrative consisting of three different stories is woven around a common rented house. And every time, someone shifts in or out of the house, the landlord changes the “TO LET” signboard on the front.

The Dream Crew From the writing part to the direction, everything is special about Musafir. Ritwik Ghatak, Hrishida, and Rajinder Singh Bedi served as dialogue and screenplay writers. The camera work was done by the ace cinematographer Kamal Bose, the master of Black & White cinematography and a long-time collaborator of Bimalda (Bimal Roy) in some of his biggest classics. Shailendra penned the lyrics, and the music was composed by Salil Chowdhury. And this is how the first film to be directed by Hirshida was put together.

My Journey with Musafir Although I got introduced to the Anthology genre through 21 Grams belonging to the Trilogy of Death by Inarritu consisting of Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), and Babel (2006), I feel sad that I missed the first Anthology from Indian cinema, yes you heard it right, “Musafir (1957)” is probably the first anthology film of Indian Cinema and also the simplest, most understandable anthology that I have seen so far. Musafir is special for a lot of reasons, the primary reason being, Musafir was Hrishida’s directorial debut, secondly, it was way ahead of its time, an anthology that too released in the late 50s. The third reason is the casting, it’s almost an ensemble, a dream cast, the biggest stalwarts of Indian and Bengali Cinema featured in this film, including my favorite and one of the most beautiful actresses of all times, Suchitra Sen, the greatest Dilip sahab (Dilip Kumar) and Kishoreda (Kishore Kumar) in an important role. Other than Suchitra Sen, the actresses included Nirupa Roy and Usha Kiran in pivotal roles. The supporting cast had David, Bipin Gupta, Nazir Hussain, Mohan Chhoti, and Keshto Mukherjee.

P.S. “Musafir (1957)” won the 1957 National Award for the Third Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Released in 1986
8/10
Genre: Drama
Main Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Moon Sen,
Vijayendra Ghatge, Mallika Sarabhai
Screenplay/Story: Mani Shankar Mukherjee
Direction- Basu Chatterjee

BRIEF INTRODUCTION An intriguing office/courtroom drama about an alleged incident of harassment at the workplace.

Based on Shankar’s novel, “Man Samman“, probably the first film from Indian Cinema to talk about harassment of women in workplaces. Way ahead of its time, released at a time, when not even remotely, the mainstream was interested or ready for a thought-provoking film like this. As the name suggests, this story is a reflection of the kind of work culture and a lot of things associated with it that encourages such incidents and the position of women in a male-dominated society, especially, twenty-thirty years back.

The Movie Directed by Basuda (Basu Chatterjee), with a straightforward/clear narrative and a strong plot, the film managed to excel in its motive with brilliant performances from the leads.

P.S. “Sheesha 1986” also inspired a recent film on the same subject.

Released in 1982
10/10
Genre- Comedy, Dark Humour
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis
Screenplay- Paul Zimmerman
Direction- Martin Scorsese

BRIEF IINTRODUCTION Story about a highly ambitious standup comedian who struggles hard to find his breakthrough. The rest of the story deals with celebrity culture and ambition leading to an outrageous extremity.

The Movie Unlike various famous collaborations between De Niro and Scorsese, this was a completely different subject they worked together on. Even though some part of the film deals with celebrity culture, the screenplay was well executed and presented in a very natural way.

Out of all Scorsese films, “The King of Comedy” along with “After Hours 1985 (https://perfectmisenscene.com/?p=623)”, are two of the most unique projects directed by him. From the narrative, story, and art design to the style of direction and execution, everything is outstanding about these two films. And, I don’t think, any other artist, other than Robert De Niro could have done justice to the character of Rupert Pumpkin, and having said that his performance in this film is also one of my favorite performances on screen. Frequent collaborations of De Niro with Scorsese from the times of 70s to the release of “The Irishman 2019″ have resulted in some of the finest films ever made.

P.S. “The King of Comedy” won the BAFTA (1984) for Best Original Screenplay by Paul Zimmerman. This film inspired one recent classic as well.

Released in 1985
10/10
Genre- Thriller, Dark Humour
Main Cast: Griffin Dunne
Screenplay: Joseph Minion
Direction- Martin Scorsese

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Story of one hell of a night (midnight), about a loner exploring the madness of life in the quiet hustle-bustle of a dead night. Starting as a straightforward story, the film takes you on a roller-coaster ride through several events of a mad night.

The Movie After Hours is one of the best films directed by Martin Scorsese among others. Other than his popular work and expertise in making crime dramas, there are a few movies so different and experimental that you feel you have never met this side of him.
For all Scorsese fans, After Hours is a must-watch along with “The King of Comedy (1983), The Color of Money (1986), and Cape Fear (1991)”. The beauty of After Hours lies in the unpredictability of its story, every frame gives something new, something thrilling. If we talk about the setting of the film, along with the visual elements, the music also played a crucial role in creating an adventurous atmosphere for the film.

Paul Hackett A regular office guy with his usual boring life, accidentally gets involved in a series of unexpected events, all happening on the same night. After a while, he realizes that he needs to get home, and as much as he wants to get his home so very badly, the more he sinks into the night as if it is an inescapable trap of circumstances…Find out the rest of the development by watching the film…

P.S. After Hours won several awards and nominations including the Cannes Film Festival Award (1986) for Best Director for Scorsese, Independent Spirit Award (1986) for Best Film and Best Director.

Released in 1971
9/10
Genre- Comedy, Thriller, Romance, Drama
Main Cast: Om Prakash, Navin Nischol, Deven Varma
and Archana
Music- Panchamda (R.D. Burman)
Story- Shyam Ramsay
Screenplay: Bimal Dutt
Direction- Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee)

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Starting as a comedy, the film takes an interesting turn, when two unemployed youths come across an advertisement about a missing elderly fellow and the prize money associated with his hunt. The story further develops into a chilling thriller, after a never-ending murder spree starts with all the dead ones related to the elderly person in question.

The Movie “Buddha Mil Gaya” is not a simplistic thriller but a rather thoughtful and suspenseful film. The idea of putting a murder spree in a comic framework clicked well with the masses too. Om Prakash’s flawless performance and the perfect comic timing of Deven Varma and Navin Nischol were the major USPs of the film. The repeated picturization of the soulful classical “Aayo Kahan Se Ghanshyam” with Om Prakash’s character was something excitingly unique. Overall, it was a good watch with something new in it and also it was a completely different experience for a Hrishida film, a thriller by him.

P.S. The popular melody, “Raat Kali Ek Khwaab Mein Aayi” by Kishoreda belongs to this classic only…

Also, enjoy “Raat Kali Ek Khwab” from this classic in my voice, link below
“Raat Kali Ek Khwab (Short Version)”- https://youtu.be/Zi9NR-mrMsE
“Raat Kali Ek Khwab (Full Version)”- https://youtu.be/7lJTpa9jak0

Released in 2015
Genre- Drama, Romance
9/10
Main Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Michael Sheen,
Tom Sturridge
Screenplay: David Nicholls
Direction- Thomas Vinterberg
Based on “Far From The Madding Crowd (1874)” by Thomas Hardy

BRIEF INTRODUCTION A love story revolving around a woman, involving lots of interesting drama with the richness of classic literature. It tells the romantic account of one Ms. Bathsheba Everdene (wonderfully carried by Carey Mulligan) dealing with three different men in her life.
Based upon the universally acclaimed novel of the same name, as early as the 1870s, the kind of setting and theme the novel provides just amazes me to the point that I want to read it again from the beginning.

The Theme Set in rural England, the romantic theme of the film deals with the subject of love, trust, loyalty, and practicality, showcasing romance in rather tough situations, sometimes dwindling, sometimes settling but never boring…

Bathsheba Everdene Personally speaking, Bathsheba Everdene is the most fascinating reason for watching “Far From…Crowd (2015)”. I was completely taken away by the sight of this character so advanced in personality, bold in choice and almost invulnerable in reason, that was her charm. Talking about women-centric themes, in older or recent times, there are fewer books or films offering freedom of choice to women characters but this one this one excels in this area astonishingly. And it didn’t matter to the idea if it was the 1800s, and that’s the beauty of it. If possible, I would also recommend reading the original novel to gain more insights into the character.

My journey with the novel I got to know about “Far from…Crowd (1874)” from my mother. She told me about it and even gave me her hard copy of the book.

P.S. Several adaptations of this novel have been made before, this is the most recent one and according to me, a fine one…just one more thing, try not to miss the ending.

Released in 1993
Genre- Drama, Wrongful, Coming of Age,
10/10
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri
Screenplay: Chazz Palminteri
Direction- Robert De Niro
Based on “A Bronx Tale” the 1989 play by Chazz Palminteri

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Starting as a father-son story, very naturally the film develops into an interesting tale with values, ethics, and morals on one side and evil elements on the other.
“A Bronx Tale” is based on the 1989 play of the same name by Chazz Palminteri. De Niro, after watching the play, decided to make a film about it. He collaborated with Palminteri and directed the film himself, which also marked his directorial debut.

The Theme One of the most beautifully crafted Hollywood films of all time. Bringing out a thoughtful theme like “A Bronx Tale” and executing it beyond perfection is a rare combination of vision and artistic instinct resulting in a perfect mise-en-scene with some of the finest artists supporting its back. From an understandable narrative to a clear motive of the theme, the movie excels in every frame. I feel very proud writing about this film, it was a pleasure watching this film.

Performances Robert De Niro If I go on to make a list of actors who never disappoint in portraying any role, it would start with Mr. Robert De Niro. This one artist never fails to impress, he just gets under the sleeves of the character so well that you are completely convinced with what he is portraying. His performance as a protective father in the film is perhaps one of his most sensitive and warm performances. He carries the simplicity of Lorenzo’s character in his smile and expressions and he peaks in one of the confronting scenes with Sonny’s character.
Chazz Palminteri I got introduced to Chazz Palminteri through this classic, and I have to say, I became his huge fan after witnessing his performance as Sonny in the film. It felt as if he was born to play a tough guy. Not just the speech but even the tiny details and mannerisms Chazz was impressively convincing as the boss of the neighborhood in the film.

P.S. The only film to feature Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri together for the first and only time.

Released in 1988
Genre- Comedy, Action
10/10
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Gordin
Screenplay: George Gallo
Direction- Martin Brest

BRIEF NTRODUCTION A solid action comedy with interesting characters leading to a journey turning foes into friends.

The Movie The film was both a surprise and a treat for all the De Niro fans. Watching him in a comic film, especially at a time when his collaborations with Martin Scorsese were redefining the crime dramas with intense films. Midnight Run is special for several reasons, primarily for its pace, secondly the principal and supporting characters, thirdly, its nicely executed action sequences, and lastly, the amazing cast, its a powerhouse of entertainment