KADALI..... .......... GOOD OR BAD

With or without reverence, very few of most Indians have eligibility and right to comment on Mani Ratnam’s movies.  I would have preferred if people did not ask me how the movie Kadali was. I would never like to tell someone, if on some day my mom’s cooking was not up to the mark. Just like Mani sir’s movies are metaphor based, analogy related, rich in deep philosophies and understanding of life, i will narrate a small incident / story to say how i felt about the movie.

One Mr X is deeply in love with a beautiful talented lady who one day goes off to USA for 6 to 9 months and comes back, having achieved something big and is a celebrity now. Our Mr X was waiting to meet her, see her, hug her and talk to her. His situation was worse than the dead man in her absence. She had no time to postpone the press meet after she came back. Hence she calls everyone the same evening. The friends, the relatives, press, media and everyone known and unknown to her turn up for the celebration. Our X who waited for so long also goes there. He gets to meet her, talk to her, even manage a hug, shook hands with her, held her hand for a significant time and spent more than 4 hours. He then comes out and meets his best friend Y. When Y asks him, how he felt, meeting her after such a long vulnerable and desperate meet, X has no answer. Was he sad? Was he unhappy? Did she not treat him special? Did they not spend time together? Did she not acknowledge his love? Didn’t she reciprocate? The answer was no to all and it was all positive. There was nothing wrong about the meeting and he could not point any flaw in her or the evening. Yet he did not have the fulfilment, his thirst was not quenched and he did not soulfully feel good.

The same thing happened to me after watching Kadali. Was it bad technically? No. Did not the actors perform well? They did. Was there a flaw in characterization or story or logic? No, not at all. Cinematography, editing, BG score, new pair, just about everything was class, beyond most Indian movies. There were many spell bound visuals, tear jerking scenes and very sensitive dialogues. But as a whole, the weaving to give that cinematic experience was grossly missing. People talked about pace being slow. But did we not appreciate several movies of Mani ratnam that lacked pace and yet we appreciated and accepted. We cannot exactly say what, but the missing factor for commercial cinema space was too conspicuous. 

Mani ratnam’s fascination, obsession for depicting the dynamics between good and bad, the discovery of life’s truth thru  his stories in movies, constant high references to illegitimate child as hero, love emanating out of self insufficiencies is again dealt in this movie and probably more deeply than necessary for a medium like cinema. We cannot take away the impression that arjun’s character creates and his dialogues like , “bad comes to humans as easy as walking to them , but good is like flying and needs wings and hence great efforts” are good and hitting. 

He makes a strong statement yet again that, the quality of good is to suffer in this world and bad dominates to suppress good. But good has to triumph finally, even if people lose hope. Such strong philosophical treaties in a cinema and that for this generation in 2013, is not probably ok. This age cinema is like Pokiri dialogue, “ ee tokkalo meeting yentannayya.. Neekentha, nakentha? “ .. The movies also are done, and accepted the same way. Message has to be inherent in the movie and not as dominant method in the narration. People like light hearted themes or styles, with exceptions of course, albeit at the cost of being silly and thrash also. 

Is this piece a criticism or post mortem of the movie? It is neither. But, this movie is not fit for the commercial space and not in the trend for the current movie patrons. But is it a bad cinema? Is it an art movie? No it is not? Does it have an entertainment? Is it vulgar or violent? None of these apply to the movie. But then should you watch? Please do not watch if you are a patron of regular entertaining movies. Watch without fail if you are a devotee of Mani sir and if you are a student of film, or a budding, aspiring film maker or want to have some lonely time for yourself. Yes, cannot go with the company who are not intellectually in sync with you.

But this movie is like a literary classic book and also in that format. Except being visually extra ordinary, it cannot qualify as a regular movie and is more a poetry, read and enjoyed by people who love classic tastes like Scotch whisky, cold coffee, Ayn Rand books, theatre, western classical music etc. Is any of these things bad? Certainly not, but these are not for everyone like KADALI too.

Audiences and their tastes have changed and Kamal hasan, Mani ratnam need to know the audiences and make their movies if they want to get their money back or make classics for fewer people without compromising on their style, form and passion but in a low budget. We salute them and also pity them for they fail to know their audiences well.  But seriously, Kadali has to be seen by people who are ardent film buffs and not in a hurry to judge. It is must for people who involve in deep thinking about life and are eternally striving to find meanings. This is one such way and that too in a poetically enriching manner.

There is an urge to quickly see his Geetanjali, Sakhi, yuva, Bombay, Dilse to reassure for ourselves that, indeed this great man knows the audience pulse and that too the deep sensitive audience pulse and make them think and stir emotions. How could he have super imposed such a great song like Gungukunna when hero and heroine are getting to know each other and actually talking sense? The dialogues are missed and so is the song. This is a blunder? Mani ratnam is known to present songs well. This is third major disappointment. Jaage in guru, Bahenedo in Raavan , and now this song is not pictured  well. Surely one best thing that can happen is the arrival of the new hero for Tamil industry. Kartik son has made an impact on his debut. Even the heroine is good but Seemed like mani ratnam made her act well. Second movie of her will decide how good she is.

SEPERATE THE ART FROM THE ARTISTS

There is a beautiful understanding that i struck with, which gave me a comfort in the mind and will try to consolidate it and assimilate for final realization. Though nothing new and not a revelation or discovery, this is about artists and the people’s relation to artists. The people who enjoy any work of the art, the best and more are the ones who have no connection with the artist who created it or with the artist who is responsible for the art in way or the other. This joy is absolutely detached from the creator and only a pure connection between the product and the consumer.

I have often experienced that, people sitting in the gallery, at a long distance from the stage during any performance are the ones who enjoy the most and better than people sitting in the front rows. The front row guys have 2 basic problems. 1) Either they know the performers decently well and they keep thinking about them at a personal level or they make some kind of judgements 2) They are keener to establish better rapport or connect with the artists, for several reasons and hence miss out enjoying the content. 

For the people sitting in the gallery, his or interest is just focusing on the content and expecting the best from the performer.  In both the situations, there is a critical difference. Knowing and not knowing the artist at some personal level. This is very crucial in appreciating in any art form.

Before getting into that, let me express what i analyzed for myself who an artist is. An artist is not a normal person with regular sensibilities of an average human. He or she has an inexplicable urge to extract something deep side them to give self and society an above normal experience. In other words, they realize consciously or subconsciously that, they are bestowed with some talent which needs to be exploited for the expression. There is this inner positive restlessness that they live with and deal with most of their life. There is this deep need to express themselves with their talent to the world. They seek recognition for their work more than their personal attributes. 

An artist can never be happy if he or she is praised for their qualities as a human or for their beauty if the artist is a woman. Take the best of the singer or the actress and just heap praises on their womanhood and yes they will feel good but they will feel more deprived and insufficient if their talent is not acknowledged or appreciated. 

Brahmanandam will never be contented if suddenly people say you are as great as Swamy Vivekananda or if Amitabh is called the best monk ever. Even Aishwarya Rai bacchan’s happiness will be restricted if people heap praises on her, calling a great mom. And not make a relation to her as a fabulous actress, which she is. They are all justified and these are the facts of life. 

An artist needs to be understood from the perspective of that particular art only to know the person well. But most of us do not have time or even the attitude to know the person well enough as we do not want to, at the very basic level. Hence, we should just leave them to their personal lives and we should just focus on their art form. They are eternally struggling anyway to balance several aspects in their lives.

So why do people who interact with celebrities get disappointed or make judgements about their personal character?. Some where the fault lies with us( the consumers of art)  as we ought not to know them personally and we have to have connection only with the artist in them, with exceptions being silent admirers and family members. 

Being a A.R Rehman fan, i can’t expect him to be a messiah outside and keep doing several good things. May be he does also and that’s all private . He has to worry about privacy; his has right to lead life and have opinions or not have opinions about anything. Why should that alter my respect for him? A.R. Rehaman, Shreya ghosal, Amitabh,  Aamir khan are all greatest artists for me and i better restrict myself knowing their works and everything related to their works. 

Media blitz Krieg on their personal lives and giving details, away from their core talent, have to avoid at the consumption level as we have no choice to condemn, when they are being pumped by all media platforms. And for all those who have to interact with them, they need to consciously keep away from their personal lives and details. If by default, such experiences are inevitable, and then they ought to be treated as basic humans who are liable to make mistakes, behave normally and react normally. 

Why artists are expected to be above normal? In fact the insecurities that they are subjected to , by the parameters of success and failure, richness and erosion of affluence , which is so susceptible  by one movie, one song, one week etc that, we need to sympathize with them. Allow them to handle their lives and let be them what they are...

One thumb rule is, if we want to enjoy the art forms, better not to take them seriously at the personal level and if possible not meet them also. I have given up my idea of meeting Lata ji, Amitabhji, Saurav Ganguly as i will only force all my expectations on them and then get disappointed. Not that they will be bad, but i will be caught in my expectations tangle, and i do not want to stop appreciating artists as what is life without an art? 

Expectations in general with people brings disappointment and hurt as we stop appreciating people as to what they are, we want them to be like we want.. With artists our treatment subconsciously is very intense and hence we all make mistakes. Just know them as artists, period.

JUST FOLLOW THE NATURE AND SIT BACK

                  BEING INDIAN IS BEING CONTENDED AND TRADITIONAL


Come sankranthi and apart from all the rituals, traditions that we need to follow , let us look at the food that is there for us to consume . Most special items in Sankranthi are done with TIL ( nuvvulu) as the base . Be it Chakkanalu of telengana region, Arisalu of Andhra , Nuvvula laddu of rayalaseema( none of it is region specific though)   This stuff is not only heat generating that is required in winter  but has several qualities that will take care of our health in its own way. ( search google for more accurate information or talk to someone who is well versed n Ayurveda) .

Like wise the consumption of new rice on sankranthi by making  pongal has tremendous nutritional value and use of jaggery is  what is required for human body now , in this season. In summer, though it is hot, heat generating mangoes, Water melon is given by nature. Custard apple in winter , which is supposed to be generating coolness, antithetical to winter..  So on and  so forth . We are born into this world with a design and we are given everything to consume according to seasons.Everything good only is given by nature, including spices. But one should have knowledge on the consumption methods.

This kind of methods and approach to eating is abundant in our native wisdom and listening to grand parents at home is useful. On sankranthi day it is important that we talk to our grand parents and spend time. People without them, can go to old age homes and interact. 

In simple terms, nature has given us birth and it is not our choice and nature has also provided us with everything good. Then why bother? just sit back and be in touch with nature and get rooted in our traditional knowledge and wisdom to be happy. One such value is the value of the family.  Joint family, ayurveda, yoga,  seasonal foods, contentment , sharing, sacrificing are the indian ways of stating fit and peaceful.. Sankranthi is a better day to start or consolidate if we are already practising. 

But do not forget eat stuff with good amount of Til ( nuvvulu) with jaggery... Happy sankranthi .

SEETHAMMA VAKITLO.. WHAT A MOVIE..

                           POSITIVES IN HIGH BUT REQUIRED DOSES

Most people including me talk nonsense most of the time and are at a quick phase and in a hurry try to conclude or judge..  Along with several good things, lot of nonsense came along with this movie. Few such notions which needs to be dispelled and here are my impressions 1) Venkatesh character, acting is as important as Mahesh and he has done a simply marvellous job. What a fabulous acting he has done, and he actually elevated Mahesh character, and acting. What can anyone still talk about Mahesh babu acting and as Grusha said, he can act without fights too.  2) IT is not just one of those   general feel good movie.. It is an absolutely brilliantly thought movie with fine characterization and not a single character, role, frame, dialogue looks unwanted.  3) Length is pretty decent and after a very long time, actually felt that length could be longer.

Two people need special mention. Producer Dilraju and Director Srikanth addala... How could Dilraju have understood and accepted this story and had guts to produce this movie? It is very difficult to put this as a story and explain. Then how did the producer have the conviction to make such a movie and that too with Mahesh and Venkatesh ? This movie is not just a family story but a penance, a YAGNA with ingredients picked up from all that is best about India.... Family values, scriptures, traditions and concepts like happiness, living, peace, goodness etc. Not a mean task to put all these together in any form .

Is it possible to have all the elements mentioned above and still venture to make a presentation in a popular medium called Cinema with Such big stars ?  I would not have believed before watching this movie.. Every single message is there to be taken and understood without any preaching or boredom. There is entertainment in every frame without missing the poignancy. I have not seen such a clean telugu movie in last several years. The tears in most scenes in the second half does not roll down the cheeks as the tears stop to think , as to why is it coming out and tells itself  should stay there with a purpose to digest all that is delicate .

Walking out of theatre after the movie only brought positive thoughts and a very good feeling. Life is so beautiful with simple, minute things and understanding is what one carries as we walk out of theatre. No obscenity of any kind or measure, no exaggerations, no unreal situations, no larger than life for Mahesh babu sequences and just a normal simple life story told very realistically.  I would not mind another 30 minutes of the movie and children at home did not like the idea that movie length was chopped. Many honest reactions came about like my 21 year old nephew who was asking me, will the movie inspire 5 % audience at least to change  and his question was more on what he wanted to happen. 

India signifies family relationships and values. Family as a unit alone can make or break a society. Coming this from a tollywood is most welcome as people stop believing that tollywood can make meaningful movies. This movie helps people sensitize, think and pauses them from IPad’s, mobiles, you tubes, and all that is taking away the human connections. 

Anjali, the actress makes you feel very subtle, Venkatesh makes you introspect , Mahesh gives you pride , jaya sudha gives you power of tolerance and Prakash raj allows you to just get in touch with the  self that most  normally avoid. Mani Sharma deserves a special mention and Mickey songs sound better on screen. Srikanth Addala must have just translated only 5 % of the stuff he had in my mind and understandably took so long to make this movie  and what will happen if he had done it 100%....  Good he did not as he left us think, ponder and yes wonder about basic human life and values that go with it.

 This is a Very meaningful movie, sensibly made without missing entertainment and a must watch for all with bigger groups and joint families. Please watch as this kind of movie has really done a good service to human minds and emotions. This has done what a mass media like movie ought to be doing for good and yet be commercially viable. Special hats off to DIlraju garu.

EXPERIENCE .. LIFE OF PI..

 IS Cinema meant for entertainment or message? If it’s both or either of them, then how many movies are produced to give either or both in good terms and fashion? For me, cinema is a story telling and in the format of entertainment. There could inherently be a message or an incident or autobiography or  an imaginative story. Well, there are indeed several genres of movies, call it comedy, action, romance, classic, “mass”, “class” etc. All of them loosely coined and there is always a never ending discussion on what is art movie and what is commercial movie. Few film makers like Aamir khan, Ashutosh, Sanjay leela bhansali have already blurred the distinction between them by making good cinema, which appeals to all sections, ages and groups.

Essentially the strength of the medium is seldom exploited and in Indian context it is one more business model, with huge amount of glamour, mafia, and paparazzi associated. The success rate of Indian movies in general and telugu in particular speaks volumes about this fact. Who cares? No , we have to bother,  as we all discuss, breathe, live, sit , talk, walk, movies all the time in some form or the other. But unfortunately we can’t demand good movies as we are always at the receiving end. Few good creative people do not succeed in the business, as movies is now a primarily business venture and most good creative people fail there. 

The above 2 paragraphs is important to understand the life of pi, as much as first 30 minutes of the movie is very important to get the sketch of the character, the sweety pi. The cuteness of the movie is there to see in the very first frame. Hence this movie is not just an entertaining piece with abundant subtle messages of life, but an experience by itself. We can’t give any other name to the movie except calling it an EXPERIENCE.. Such feelings are hardly got in any movie. This movie doesn’t make u cry or laugh or doesn’t equally match any known human emotion but surely makes you introspect, think and look inwards. And all this without one bit boring, no clichés, or gyan of any kind and absolutely no cheapish humour, no melodrama also. 

What can we say about the movie? Everyone has to experience, right from the conception in the novel, to the adaptation, to the casting, treatment, screenplay, use of technology, cinematography, life drama, ooops, just about everything is perfect. This is a bible, gita, kuran, and all scriptures for film making. It keeps everyone engrossed for 135 minutes without a blink, albeit for different reasons to each one.

Among everything, i even loved the dialogues and my favourite is pi saying that, fear of the tiger kept him alive. Obviously can’t recollect exact lines but there are several of them and one should not miss them. IT brings the smile and laughter in the soul. The boy who played the protagonist deserves an Oscar. The background music should get the highest award of the land and so should be to the director, screenplay writer and everyone associated with the movie. 

There can be no better end to the movie than what is shown and no one can be displeased about this. What normally seems like an exaggeration in the adjectives used for any praise will seem under statement for this movie. Like for all movies, please do not get into minute details of logic, as movies are never meant to be logical. What’s in logic anyways? 

For people who haven’t seen, it’s the story of an Indian boy (who gets his name very humorously and finds it hard to get everyone convinced) who is in search of meaning of religion and god and several tough situations in life takes him into a journey to discover and experience all that. This is what the movie is all about. See i failed miserably in narrating the story and so will  everyone be, who attempts to tell the story or scenes or dialogues or anything about the movie. Got to see it and EXPERIENCE IT.. Yes, once in a life time, we get to watch such GOOD movie....