what we are reading – EightandHalf
Those who watched Xavier Dolan’s Mommy at the recent concluded Mumbai Film Festival, most of them agree that one scene in the film is easily the show stealer – when the character opens his arms and stretches the 1:1 aspect ratio to wide screen.
Strangely, many don’t know that our Dharam Paaji did it ages ago, in a film called Sitamgar. Click the play button and enjoy (at 3.30).
Tip – @SachinChatte
Megha Ramaswamy’s documentary Newborns premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. And now it’s online for a limited time as part of Vimeo’s presentation of TIFF Short Cuts.
Watch it.
From fest site – A hauntingly beautiful documentary that follows female survivors of acid attacks, who bravely defy the trauma and fear that will always accompany them.
Cast, Crew and Other Details
Country: India
Year: 2014
Language: Hindi
Premiere Status: World Premiere
Runtime: 8 minutes
Rating: STC
Producer: Anand Gandhi, Sohum Shah, Ruchi Bhimani
Production Company: Recyclewala Labs
Principal Cast: Laxmi, Nasreen, Sapna, Daya Kishan, Usha, Rupesh Tillu, Heena Agrawal
Screenplay: Megha Ramaswamy
Cinematographer: Satya Rai Nagpaul
Editor: Anand Gandhi, Rohit Pandey
Sound: Ajit Rathore, Aditya Jadav
Production Designer: Megha Ramaswamy
Watch the entire Short Cuts Online Program at: vimeo.com/channels/tiffshortcuts
Tip – ShortFilmWindow
Today’s VOTD is a beautiful mashup video by Mihir Desai, and if are a film buff, it’s self-explanatory. Just click on the play button and watch. Though we will get to know the truth only on Friday – Villain. Devil. #sameguy or not. And if you haven’t seen I Saw The Devil yet, WATCH IT! It’s TERRIFIC!
In the last few years, Marathi cinema has really gone ahead of Bollywood and most other language films in India. The filmmakers are fearlessly experimenting with form and content, and are delivering some fine films. But most of them don’t travel beyond the state because of either distribution problem or lack of English subtitles. We try to put out recco post of such films whenever we can.
Here’s the VOTD – Nikhil Mahajan has put out his debut Marathi feature ‘Pune 52’ on youtube. And with proper English subtitles. Do watch.
About the film – Pune 52 is a neo-noir drama set in the city of Pune in the year 1992. Its a story of a private detective with a failing marriage. How his life takes a dramatic turn after he takes a case that is deeply personal and highly complex forms the plot of this intense Marathi language feature debut of Nikhil Mahajan. Starring National Award winning actor Girish Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni and Sai Tamhankar, and produced by IME Motion Pictures and Arbhaat Nirmitee.
Anurag Kashyap’s two-parter Gangs Of Wasseypur has been animated by Ashutosh and Aditya Yadav. And it’s just 3.35 minute long. Good to see some fan art here in India too. The end credit with rhymes of Giridih-Jharia-Dhanbad will remind you of a familiar sound in Dhanbad – the way sharing autorickshaws call for passengers.
As far as the reactions go, Imtiaz Ali’s new film ‘Highway’ is more or less on the same track like his last film Rockstar – completely divided between lovers and haters. And like last time, Ali was quite open and candid to discuss the strength and every weakness of the film, and took it all head on. We love and respect those filmmakers who are open to such dialogues. So thanks a lot, Imtiaz Ali. Whatever film you make, hope you remain like this.
We also hope more bollywood filmmakers will be open to such Q and As. Who really wants to read about the film pre-release, which is still quite the norm in the country. And post-release, they just vanish.
Also, it all happened because Navjot Gulati took the initiative, contacted Ali, sorted the logistics and made it possible. And thanks to Mihir Desai, Aniruddh Patankar and Sumit Purohit for the videos.
The film got over by 12:15 or so, and then the discussion went on till 2:30 am, and then it went on for some more time outside the theatre. It was great fun. Hope you guys enjoy the videos as much as we enjoyed the live session. Some questions might not be audible, so do use your headphones or speakers.
Thanks to PVR Andheri and Shiladitya Bora for helping us out with all the logistical support.
UPDATE (22-02-2014) : Highway has finally released. As Imtiaz mentioned earlier, it’s a retelling of one of his earlier telefilm which was also titled Highway. If you have seen the feature and not seen the telefilm, scroll down and do watch it now. And do participate in our poll.
Please do also rate the feature film on the scale of One to Five
If you HATE spoilers and have not seen the feature yet, DON’T watch the telefilm or read the synopsis. DON’T SCROLL DOWN ANY FURTHER.
EARLIER POST (18-12-2013)
Has Imtiaz Ali rehashed his own Highway? Watch it and decide for yourself. This ‘Highway’ was part of Rishtey series on small screen. It stars Aditya Srivastava, Kartika Rane and Manish Chaudhari.
And here’s the official synopsis of this highway –
(SPOILER ALERT)
Vinay and Veera are going to be married in a week. They meet stealthily as they are forbidden to meet before the wedding. They go for a drive on the highway, but unfortunately, some thugs kidnap Veera. Vijay, the head of the gang, regularly supplies girls to brothels and Veera is his latest catch. He plans to sell Veera but the plan is put on hold as he learns that her fiance’s father is a police commissioner. Veera tries her best to escape, but is unsuccessful. Somehow, Vijay and Veera begin to get emotionally involved with each other. Veera and Vijay spend time together escaping to another place. Veera confides to him that she was raped as a child. She tells him that she feels very safe when he is around because he would not let any harm befall her. Having a change of heart, Vijay asks her to escape and return to her home. Will Veera go back to Vinay or choose to stay with Vijay?
Imtiaz did mention about this Rishtey episode in few interviews. But after looking at the trailer and this episode, it looks more or less the same. Let’s wait till the film releases to see how much has been changed.
Bored and dead of watching all those mushy V-Day videos? Here we are, the cynical bunch, the anti-VD group.
And here’s the perfect VOTD for V-Day. Watch and have fun.
Tip – @kaurvaki
Still haven’t seen Om Dar-B-Dar? Want more reasons? Well, listen to Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Amole Gupte, Kiran Rao and Resul Pookutty to understand what the film means to them and why.
And here’s Rajat Dholakia on its music madness
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 