GREAT MOVIE EXPERIENCE .. 26/ 11

           RGV IS BACK.... HE WILL SAY ITS MY PERCEPTION

There is one theory about watching movie and that is, the mood, time and company matters in liking or disliking the movie and my daughter Grusha also believes this. It may be true for most movies but not for 26/11, a film by RGV. Basically i have an honest bias against RGV and hated him for his arrogance, attitude and several idiotic movies that he made.( personal opinion backed by  flops history) . Hence i virtually stopped watching his movies, though i respect him for making classics like satya, company and sarkar. But i was motivated to watch this movie because of 1) My dearest friend SVS who loves RGV and he was keen about this movie 2) I got affected by all recent incidents of Kaseb, Afzal guru and Hyderabad bomb blasts 3) I hadn’t followed 26/11 event as it was too much to take those days and hence i do not know the gory details at all except the broad picture of unforgettable tragedy.

Friday evening, and by then i had heard some good talk about the movie which is uncommon about RGV movies, since several years. It was difficult to adjust the time but motivation was highest. Hence rushed to the cinema hall with a colleague of mine and was feeling bad to miss the first 8 minutes, but realized later that i had not missed much as i made for it by standing in theatre till the last line of end titles got over and everyone had left the hall by then. Yes, its a great piece of work and a good movie to watch. Wish IT WAS ALL A STORY WHICH WAS NOT TRUE AND WAS JUST A MOVIE ... Like most in the theatre, i too stood and gave a standing applause as it deserved.

What can we say about the film maker who knows the art of movie making to the core except being suicidal on several occasions. This movie has the finest elements of his movie “company” and “sarkar,” in narration and style. The way he researched, and scripted the story so tight without missing many details is amazing. And restricting to the point that he wanted to convey is to be admired for ever. How does one tell such a story in a cinema and without a bias or exaggeration? It is an incident that has just happened less than 5 years ago and has caught attention of all worlds over and shattered all Indians forever. Choosing to narrate through Joint commissioner of police seems the only choice after we watch the movie and it must been a difficult choice for RGV to make and also make it look like obvious

. Are we qualified to talk  about Nana Patekar’s essaying of that role? It’s like the perfect fit and no casting was ever so perfect. Especially, the dialogue he says to Kaseb in the mortuary has to be understood to get and understand the core of the movie. RGV succeeded in what he wanted to say by this movie. It is said in chaste urdu and probably RGV should have thought of English subtitles. But never mind as the emotion in the scene makes people to make intended sense. Some slang was allowed and for the first time, it all seemed necessary. 

The movie will not make an average person angry; it will instead make him think and also leave him helpless. The violence in the movie is inevitable as the entire movie is on terrorism but we have to give it to RGV for taking those scenes sensibly. There was no need for him to dare to make this movie. With these efforts, he could have made at least 6 of his usual movies. Hence i salute him for taking so much of risk and efforts.

I really do not know how much pains and efforts he took for casting and who all helped him in this process. A highest mark on that for the entire team of casting is to be given. The police men, the terrorists, foreigners, patients, hotel staff, hospital staff, men in launcher all looked very real. That is the strength of the movie. I did not blink my eye though my emotions were high.

For the students of movies, and film making, there is lottttttttt to learn , especially voluminous detailing in every aspect. Nana Patekar’s one dialogue is enough to get the tears.  “ All those innocent killed are not the enemies of any religion and they are simple common people” This trivializes the motive of such terrorists attack. Do not miss to get engrossed when Nana patekar is quietly listening to Kaseb in the jail. The lighting, the frames, the camera work, the cuts, the editing was just outstanding and one cannot stop eulogizing nana  patekar in that scene. There are several such movements in the movie.

I will agree to the argument of some people, if they say why I should watch such gory movie which will bring back the bad memories. Yes, without a doubt you need not watch. But better than watching lots of other Indian movies which are so pretentious and have too much of violence which is meaningless. I will not name but, very recently i saw 2 movies which have more meaningless and avoidable violence than RGV film and both the movies are supposedly big hits. 

I loved the honesty in film making; i appreciate the guts in choosing this theme, and this is made by the person who knows the “craft of film making” absolutely well. Then why doesn’t he make all good movies. We do not even need to take pains of asking him. According to him, he will make movies that he thinks are good and most of us think he is eccentric and unpredictable. Perceptions and interpretations are the hall mark of the life itself and why do we glorify in some individuals and movies? Lets leave RGV from his past and appreciate him for this brilliant work.

Please avoid taking children and older people to this movie as some good like bad, should be selectively kept away from some people. My review is incomplete if i do not salute Amar Mohile for his most outstanding back ground score. Wow, i enjoyed this as a movie and will not go back to bad memories.  I Will feel that, i have seen one good movie which scores good marks in all 24 crafts.  And the man who made it possible has to be appreciated unconditionally.