One TV. One comfy couch. One washing-machine. One fridge. One sofa. One dining table. One king-sized bed.
One high-end computer. One big screen. One projector. One fast internet connection. One great camera.
One nice house. One luxurious car. One stunning bike.
One more update. One more like.
One phone. One number on speed-dial.
One hobby. One quirk. One sport to be good at. One instrument you can play. One act which no-one else can.
One girl who made you nervous. One teacher you admired.
One movie that makes you cry. One song that makes you smile. One book that you never forget.
One restaurant where everyone knows you. One bistro where you know what is available off the menu.
One crazy adventure. One unforgettable ride. One journey that changes you.
One trip around-the-world. One dive into the sea. One climb over the mountains. One jump from the sky.
One place to call home.
One big family. One group of amazing friends.
One companion. One lover. One confidant. One partner. One love.
One extra mile to walk, together. One kiss, again. One more look, into your eyes.
One walk along the moon-lit beach. One photo, to cherish.
One moment of grief. One moment of despair. One dead-end. One failure.
One moment of faith. One moment of strength. One moment of weakness.
One opportunity. One instance of pure luck. One moment of success.
One dream realized. One dream that never came true. One dream that you held on to.
One moment of real accomplishment.
One second of fear. One minute that just didn't seem to pass. One hour of patiently waiting. One day that felt like eternity. One month away from everything. One year that didn't matter.
One memory to hold on to, for happiness. One memory to hold on to, to always remember how it felt to be sad.
One moment of forgiveness. One fault, forgiven.
One moment of joy. One moment of desire. One moment of bliss.
One moment of anger. One moment of pain.
One moment of feeling really tiny. One moment of feeling insignificant.
One moment of mystery. One moment of magic. One moment that takes your breath away. One moment of surprise. One moment of delight. One moment of disbelief. One moment of beauty.
One miracle.
One moment you can never forget. One moment of awe. One moment of grandeur.
One moment of truth.
One last drink. One last smoke.
One last glimpse. One last sigh.
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Note 1: 'Barfi!' has been copied in the title of this post.
Note 2: Note 1: 'Barfi!' has been copied in the title of this post.
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I had a truly amazing cinematic experience when I watched 'Barfi!' last week. My facebook feed was filled with updates hailing the movie of the sheer brilliance and the joy this movie is. News came, 'Barfi!' is now officially this year's entry to the Oscars from India. Within a few days, the tides turned. People were now sharing clips of movies from which 'Barfi!' has been copied. Like this, this and this. People seem saddened and disappointed. Something they connected to, felt proud of, brought them joy, only to later discover that it is a copy! Oh, the blasphemy!
I understand.
Let's talk movies now, let's talk Oscars, let's talk about the disappointment, let's talk about our country now. Let's talk some sense.
First, 'Barfi!' is India's official entry to the Oscars this year (The complete year-wise list is available here). It has NOT already been nominated to the Oscars (and chances are, it won't be). There is going to be a ballot, first round of shortlisting, the list ultimately cut down to 5 movies, which will compete against one another for the Oscar for the 'Best Foreign Language Film 2012'.
Let's talk Oscars now. The Oscars are NOT an international awards. They are NOT the United Nations of movies. They are an American awards institution. To understand which movies will/will not win at the Oscars, we need to try to understand it from an American social-cultural point-of-view. It is difficult for us to understand that, because we are not Americans. It is for this reason that we find it so difficult to understand why 'Slumdog Millionaire' won 8 Oscars. Of course, Hollywood ships amongst the best movies in the world, so Oscars definitely is a good indicator of the quality of movies that win them. There is truly great cinema out there in the world which do not find any mention at the awards. Does that make those movies bad? All dogs are animals, but all animals are not dogs.
Do we need a stamp of approval from a body that is NOT Indian to make us appreciate what good cinema is, and what is not? We lack a good governing body for cinema awards in India. Of course there are the lack-luster National Awards, which is a pretty good indicator of good cinema in our country. Filmfare Awardscould have been the Oscars of our country, but that is a lost cause now. 'India's entry to the Oscars', irrespective of how the movie performs at the Oscars itself, is a good recognition for a movie, because it is picked by an Indian governing body.
Let's talk movies now, and the "originality" of the great movies. Directors refer to old classics all the time. They sometimes acknowledge it, they sometimes don't.
The iconic opening text crawl in 'Star Wars' (winning multiple Oscars across the 6 movies) was directly "inspired" from Flash Gordon TV Series.
The iconic scene in which Sonny Corleone is killed in a car in the classic 'The Godfather' (1972) (nominated for 11 Oscars, won 3.) is directly "inspired" from the final scene of 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967) (nominated for 10 Oscars, won 2.)
If movies weren't enough, let me also give you an example of actors being "inspired" for their characters. Heath Ledger's Joker is probably the most iconic super-villain ever played in a Batman movie. EVER. His brilliant performance in 'The Dark Knight' (2008) fetched him an Oscar. Check out this video of his fellow country-man Tom Waits from the 1970s:
I do not deny that 'Barfi!' has references to several great classics. Maybe even a scene-by-scene copy. But from classics! 'Singin' in the rain', 'City Lights', 'Life is beautiful' are AMAZING movies! Among the best I have ever watched! 'City Lights' is my most favorite movie in the romantic genre. That's the point! The director did not "copy" from the obscure movies, he did from the classics, which is why I am willing to give the film-makers the benefit of doubt. This would have been "caught". But does that make 'Barfi!' anything less than being good cinema? An emphatic NO. Few scenes are copied, yes, but the heart of the movie is true, original, and fresh.
I am a little disappointed, yes, but not to the extent of stupidity.
What is wrong with our country?! We went into the theater to watch good cinema. We experienced joy and happiness, we experienced good cinema. That feeling was real. Cherish it. The fact that we discovered a few scenes in a movie were "copied" from great cinema around the world, does that make anything we felt inside the theater any less real? Why is it suddenly a matter of national shame and disappointment? Cinema is a big deal for me. I like to talk about it. I love the experience it can offer. I speak to a lot of people around the world, and try to understand what their cinema is, and I tell them about the great cinema my country has to offer. 'Barfi!' is a movie about which I am going to tell people around the world. With pride, that my country produced this gem in film-making. I am going to share this with the world. And I know they would appreciate it. And so should you.
I love love-stories. Stories of love that are pure at heart, and charming, and innocent. Stories of love that fill your heart with such warmth, that you come out after watching a movie and start seeing the world in a slightly different light than before. There are very few such stories made for the screen. The kind of love I am talking about here is when two people are in love, and they can just be together. I am talking about effortless love. Putting that on screen is no mean feat. Such movies which really impacted me are few - 'Wall·E', 'Up', 'Once', 'Pan's Labyrinth'. 2 animated, 1 Spanish, 1 Irish. I loved 'Amélie', but I felt it fell a little short of something, I don't know what. Which also brings me to Hindi movies. I want to watch Hindi movies, because Hindi movies can affect me at a deeper level than a movie in any other language ever can. I long to watch Hindi movies because of where I come from, because it can be closer to who I am, because of the natural connect and the feeling of belonging it can offer.
I love it when love is expressed not in words. It's just expressed, with such truth and honesty that you begin to experience it yourself. 'Wall·E' had almost no dialogues for a good part of the movie, which made it so much more romantic. 'Barfi!' belongs to that rare class of movies that go there.
What a masterpiece Anurag Basu has delivered! Each frame is a painting on the celluloid canvas, crafted with such love, and passion for making good cinema. The colors are magnificent. The setting is apt. The iconography is spot-on. The detailing is extensive. The cinematography is beautiful. The scenes stick with you. They have put a lot of thought into little things. Little things, such that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The director has kept everything subtle. Nothing is in-your-face. It respects your intelligence. It assumes "We don't need to explicitly explain it to our audiences, they will get it." This is not something Indian film-makers are accustomed to. Considering the subject, not once does it get preachy, and still manages to get a very strong idea across.
I was concerned that Ranbir Kapoor's antics in the first half-n-hour of the movie would go stale as the movie progresses, and oh boy did they prove that wrong! The director manages to delight, amuse, and surprise in such clever ways, that you are left wanting for more. I long for movies made in our country that exploit the huge opportunity India's diversity presents (think 'Gangs of Wasseypur'). It felt like I was transported straight into a Ruskin Bond story. The fractured narrative is done masterfully, without it seeming forced or confusing at any point in time. It enhanced the story-telling so much more. The writing is intact in the second half. Such a satisfying watch! It's difficult not to get a lump in your throat as the movie ends. Such a teary-eyed happy feeling. Good times for Indian cinema.
The performances are rock-solid. I did not like Ranbir Kapoor earlier. Not that I have seen many of his movies, and I loved it when he was slapped so hard in 'Raajneeti'. I watched 'Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year' and kind-of liked his performance. But oh my 'Barfi!'. This is the movie he was waiting for, for people to take him a lot more seriously. And Priyanka Chopra just stuns! She has disappointed in so many duds that I had written her off. But this! The preparation and the effort she has made to get every expression right, such control over body language, to get every twitch perfectly, shows. Her screen-presence is poetry. She easily tops Rani Mukherjee in 'Black', and I am hopeful that she is picking up a National Award for this performance. And then there are other gems like Saurabh Shukla's performance. Such brilliance in an otherwise minor character.
I don't think any post on 'Barfi!' would be complete without mentioning the movie's music and the score. Swanand Kirkire has done a magnificent job penning the lyrics, and his poetry is reminiscent of the brilliance we have seen from Javed Akhtar. The score is a delight, the songs brilliant. It's been on my playlist for weeks now. In particular, 'Phir le aaya dil' (Rekha Bharadwaj's sheer awesomeness), and 'Saawali si raat' are going to be fresh for a lot of years to come. [Update: I was skeptical since the beginning about Pritam. This and this (Amélie) is just disappointing. :| ]
This movie is a triumph for Indian cinema. Such movies get made maybe once or twice in a decade (which is such a shame). My prediction is that this movie is getting a permanent spot on the imdb top 250 movies list, that is considering the current rating and the pace at which this is gaining in the ratings, and the number of votes. My hope is that this is getting an Indian ticket to the Oscars. With a little trimming, to get the running time under 120 minutes. Considering that the theme is universal, and language isn't a real impediment in getting the movie, it can gain some serious traction in the film-circuit and be a real contender at the Awards. I so want to see that! Damn!
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Note 1: As you become older, the things you like change and evolve as you do. But there would always be a few things from your childhood which stick with you. 'The Road to El Dorado' is one of those few things for me.
Note 2: I've been meaning to write this since quite some time now, among other things. Better now than never. Hopefully this will drive me to publish all those "drafts" in my head soon.
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The premise - two small-time con artists in 16th century Spain get hold of a map to the fabled city of El Dorado, the city of gold. The quest for the hidden treasure takes them on an epic journey of discovery. They reach El Dorado and are proclaimed Gods. Loosely inspired by Kipling's 'The Man who would be King', with real-life references to Cortés, the premise is beyond magical and fascinating for a 12-year old, already hooked to "treasure hunt" adventures of Uncle Scrooge and his three mischievous nephews.
I watched it for the first time as a kid, and then again several times in the next few years. Maybe this is why the movie stuck with me, because every time I watched it, it had something new to offer to me. And not in a 'V for Vendetta' kind of way, where when the first time I watched it (still in school) I went, "Why in God's name is this man wearing a mask? Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?", and then later having understood it I went, "Oooo, okay. Okay, I need a moment. Woah!". But in the kind of way 'Wall·E' is going to grow on today's kids 5/10 years from now.
At a very rudimentary level, 'The Road to El Dorado' is about an adventure, a quest for gold following the trail laid on a mysterious map. Then, it is a story of friendship, and the highs and lows in life. Then, it is about individuality, about how we want different things from life, about what we think would make us happy, and the eternal pursuit of happiness. It is about the experience of self-discovery, and recognizing that what we set out to achieve might not have been what we really wanted from life, and knowing that the original dream might be compromised along the way. El Dorado, the city of gold, is really a brilliant metaphor, for the bigger things in life. The essence of the movie is captured in these lines between the adventure-seeking Miguel, and the gold-seeking Tulio -
Tulio: If it's any consolation, Miguel, you made my life an adventure.
Miguel: And if it's any consolation, Tulio, you made my life rich.
The movie is seeped in sharp and witty lines, and the comic timing between Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) and Tulio (Kevin Kline) is top-notch. And of course, Kenneth Branagh gets to show off a little Shakesperean -
[as Miguel and Tulio fight with swords]
Tulio: Any last words?
Miguel: I will cut you to ribbons!
Tulio: Fool! Such mediocrity! Let your sword do the talking!
Miguel: I will, it will be loquacious to a fault!
The movie pays tribute to the 'Road to...' movies made in the 1940s and the 1950s, and just might be the greatest bro-mance ever featured in an animation film. And the innuendos and the references in the movie!
Tulio: [sighs] Well, it was nice working with you, partner.
Miguel: Tulio, I just want you to know... I'm sorry about that girl in Barcelona.
Chel, the leading lady in the mix, is a treat to watch. Beautiful, intelligent, sensual, dusky with long black hair, and knows how to get her way. She is a welcome break from the stereotypical Disney's girls that we have been fed as kids. You cannot help but smile when Miguel threatens her with "Beware the wrath of the Gods! Be gone!", and she replies, "Save it for the high priest, honey. You are gonna need it." [sigh]. This is Chel's introduction scene, also one of my favorite scenes from the movie. The best quality that I could find on youtube -
The animation quality is stunning. Pulling off a "city of gold" on animation is no mean feat, and they have done a spectacular job. The production design is beautifully done. The intro sequence sets the right tone for the movie -
Which brings me to the music. Written by Elton John, and composed by Hans Zimmer, the score and the songs are an absolute delight. The background score fits with the scenes seamlessly, and accentuates the movie's every aspect. And can I say enough about the songs. Brilliantly done, goes well with a sunny Sunday afternoon. There are two versions of the soundtrack, one performed by Elton John, and the other, used in the movie, by Hans Zimmer. It is difficult for me to pinpoint a favorite song from this album. There are hidden gems like The Panic In Me, My Heart Dances, and of course, Friends Never Say Goodbye. I think my favorite would Without Question be -
The more I want the more I steal
The more I hold the less is real
...
I come to you, I'm not afraid
Without question, I love you
It is really a shame that the movie did not "perform" at the box-office. Dreamworks had plans for sequels for this movie, and now we will never know. [sigh] If you haven't already watch this one, do, you will be pleasantly surprised. I found a bootlegged version of the movie here (if you don't mind the Arabic subtitles), but I sincerely urge you to watch the movie in it's high-resolution glory.
I didn't know if that had been a dream; or if this was a nightmare. Whether it was U who kept him living; or whether it was I who kept her living in him. I thought I gets it. But I didn't.
I was so far away from home, far away from everything familiar. Too caught up with things that did not matter. Too caught up to get a moment to even think about home. And yet, I missed U. Every second. This, could never feel like home. Maybe because it was U who made it feel like home. I saw the world, I went places. I wished U was there with him. To share. Why it mattered so much to him, I did not know.
"Get over it. Big world.", they said. "One life.", I replied. The bigger challenge is not to find your princess.
It's been some time now. It seems like it was only yesterday when I felt on top of the world. How did this happen? Or maybe the better question was, when did this happen? I used to think, trying to understand why it meant so much to him. We are flesh and bones after-all and we will all perish one day. It is the inevitable truth. Does it really matter who you die with? Maybe it's about living with. Yes, I knew who I wanted to live with. That dream, to live in a beautiful house, with a sedan parked in the driveway, a lush green lawn with flowers in front and a kitchen-garden at the back of the house, raise kids, have a family, that dream, was still living. I had seen the dream more clearly now. I had seen who else was in the dream with him.
It's been a long stay away from home. It was time to go back. Home? I wasn't so sure. I sat by the window on the plane, with his earphones plugged in. It was night and the moon was full as he flew across the seas. A song started playing. It was U's favorite song. The clouds below seemed like an endless ocean, calm and serene, happily flowing, oblivious to what went on below. None of that mattered, it seemed. And just like the explosion of colors when the sun sets in the ocean, I saw the full moon in the starry night, and I could see the reflection of the moon in the clouds, in so many shades as he had never imagined, dazzling streaks of silver dancing across the scintillating sky. I was stunned as I witnessed this magical choreography. It looked angelic. And as I beheld this spectacular sight, and as I was listening to U's favorite song, I drowned. Drowned in thoughts, of what was, what is, and what could be. The only imperfection in this moment was that U wasn't there beside I to hold his hands and to whisper those words into his ears, again.
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As U walked out of the airport, oblivious to the life that was waiting for him, I stood there, waiting for him. U saw her standing, and didn't know what to do. He was stunned. U walked up to her. "I thought it wasn't a movie. It might have been afterall, and I still don't know it ends.", U said.
I gently smiled, and had a tear in her eyes. Her lips trembled. "I love you", I said.
I is a normal guy. I likes to watch his movies, play his games, read his books, you know, the whole shebang. I has a lot of friends too. I never felt alone. I's friends though, happy as they were, used to talk about the girls they saw and met, about how beautiful they were, and how the girls giggled during the dinners they took them to, and how their giggles made their hearts skip a beat. I was always amused when I heard these stories. They were fun. Both when the stories progressed beyond the first dinner, and when they didn't. I enjoyed the stories, but never understood them. Post-pubescent babble, I used to call it. It wasn't that I didn't want to be with a girl some day. Oh no, no. I always intended to get married, to an intelligent and mature girl, live in a beautiful house, with a sedan parked in the driveway, a lush green lawn with flowers in front and a kitchen-garden at the back of the house, raise kids, have a family, you know, the whole shebang. But, I found the all girls to be, alike. They lacked, you know, a character, a personality. And I thought his friends were lame when it came to girls (or, had an ulterior motive). Good for them, I thought. Until one day, I met U.
The ground beneath I's feet trembled, or maybe it was just I's legs. I had always believed that to know someone, one needs to talk to the person, spend time with the person, and if one is lucky, one will get to know the person. But I was surprised when just one glance felt like I knew U. And a split second later, I thought how lame it sounded even inside I's head, so I better not say it aloud. To anyone.
I decided to talk to U, spend time with U, you know, get to know U. I did that. I had thought that it was only a matter of time until everything would become normal again. On the contrary, I found that his first instinct got reinforced, his feelings, stronger. Weird, I thought. This had never happened to I before. I was baffled. I decided to talk to his friends about it. Of course they had experience with such situations, they might be able to help him figure it out.
I told his friends about how beautiful U was, how U's one smile lights up his day, how I cannot stop thinking about U every breathing moment, and how every time his phone rings, he excitedly looks at his phone to check if U had called, about how he eagerly waits and plans for the few hours I sometimes gets to spend with U, about how I could do just about anything if it made U happy. And after I had finished the monologue on how U is the most extraordinary person I has ever met, I heard what he had just said, and realized, I was turning into them.
Now, I found himself in a situation he never thought he would be in. I was lost. I thought about it. Now I gets it. Maybe he was wrong before, and his friends weren't lame to talk about girls that way. Maybe they really felt when they talked about them. I wanted to express his feelings. "I love U", I said. U smiled. I didn't know what to do. Kiss? That's how it happened in movies, I thought. But this wasn't a movie, I was sure. And the more time he spent thinking about what he should do next, the more awkward he knew it would become. His friends had warned him. "Are you sure about the 'I love you'-return?", they had asked. And I had replied that it didn't matter. What mattered was for him to be honest with his feelings. "Dreamer!", they had said. I did not let it get uncomfortable. I had expressed his feelings, and that is what mattered. Anyway, they went for a movie afterwards, and later had dinner. The noisy world suddenly started feeling disturbingly silent to him. When he was at her doorstep, bidding good night, U asked, "Why?". And I told her everything he had told his friends before. U smiled, and went inside. I went home. I could not sleep that night. I's friends told I that I was only a normal guy, and U was an extraordinary girl (from how I had described U, they said). It did not make sense to them. Why would she be with him? Seconds ticked away slowly, and the night passed. The next morning I's phone rang. It was U. I nervously took the call. "Why didn't you kiss me?", U asked. "Because I thought it wasn't a movie!", I blurted. They both laughed. "We make us extraordinary", U said. "I love you.", she said.
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Note 1: I have been to several countries, but never have I driven a vehicle outside India until now.
Note 2: Caution - speed bump ahead. This is a rant by an average Indian lost in the roads of a foreign land.
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If you are a holder of an Indian driver's license (international or not), and are employed by an American company, you are allowed to drive on American roads. You shouldn't be. Here's why.
You have to drive on the right side of the road! Now, one might think it isn't that much of a big deal, right? Wrong! When you are driving on an expressway (more on that later), it is okay, you have to keep straight. The trouble begins when you are at a crossing, and you have to turn left.
Pardon me, I am bad at drawing. But you do get the idea, right? And ALL the driving instincts that you developed back at home will force you to turn the car into the wrong side of the road!
Inside American cars, everything is a mirror-image of how everything is placed inside Indian cars. The driving wheel is on the left instead of right, for example. I mean, of course this isn't as life threatening as turning into the wrong side of the road, but you do end up being taken aback when while trying to turn on the indicator, you end up switching on the wiper instead!
And if this wasn't enough, enter automatic-transmission. Yes, yes, there are those kinds in India too, but how many? Automatic-transmission cars have only two pedals that you need to operate, accelerator and brake. And you can get accelerator to work only by first hitting the brake! Aaaah, kill me!
In India, we have been brought up to think that we should be driving on the middle of the road. Like Kings. Well, that wouldn't go too well here. You don't have to drive over the dotted white line on the road, but between the lines! "Keep to your own lane", is the motto on the road. And, if you really must change lanes, you need to flash the indicator, look into the three rear-view mirrors, then actually look back to confirm that there is no-one just behind you because of the blind-spot in the rear-view mirrors, and then gradually change lanes! All this while keeping an eye on the speed so you don't cross the limit. Goodness! And even the gradual shifting is difficult because we are accustomed only to 90° turns, not changing lanes when we have to go straight! Who changes lanes going straight?!
And then there are expressways. High-speed roads which connect long distances. You can get on or get off an expressway by taking the ramp or the exit respectively. Speed limits. Speed limits on these expressways are typically in the range of 60 mph (96.5 kmph) to 75 mph (120 kmph). Funny thing about the speed-limit is that it isn't so much the limit on the speed, as it is the speed you are expected to drive! 50 mph, and you are going too slow (and have cars overtake you left and right!). Plus, you can push it to 65 mph on a 60 mph limit. So much that the cars on an expressway are more-or-less at a zero relative velocity to each other. (Yes, the concepts of uniform motion you learnt in school come-in handy.) Which also means that you can change lanes if there is no-one to your left or right, irrespective of someone being in front of you or behind you, a concept which takes a LOT of getting used to.
The savior, of course, is the GPS. Without it, you are lost in the concrete jungle. Except, when the GPS goes on harping, "Take EXIT! Take EXIT!", and you seeno exit! "Ah, there it was.", you would go, right after you've missed it. And do not worry if you miss an exit. Your loyal siri-like GPS would "recalculate" the route for you, and ask you to take the next exit, provided you see it of course. All this, is of course easier than following instructions such as - "Turn right, and then keep left on highway XYZ". Turn right and then keep left?! Yes, 'cause if you don't, the road branching on the right will take you some place else! Yes, and then there are "Right only", "Must exit", "Left only" lanes. And if by the grace of God you land up on a "Right only" lane by mistake, turn right, no matter what. No stop, reverse, get-on-the-right-track for this country.
And finally, the Stop Sign. A marvel of traffic engineering, something that is NEVER going to work in India. When you see a stop sign, you stop. Stop, stop, stop. And the one who arrived at the stop sign first, gets to go first! I arrive at a stop sign, and every time, every single time, I marvel at the civility with which people stop, and then wait for everyone who arrived before them to go, and then go their own way. I can NEVER imagine something like this working in India, because here, the one who can go first, goes first. Everywhere.
Right is right, left is wrong or: How I Learned to Stop...
