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Sujata, an untouchable Nutan
In Sujata (The well-born, 1959), Bimal Roy has made the untouchable touching, adorable an object of disgust, and visible a pit of darkness. I’m not saying that he has made THE unique Dalit movie (I don’t know which one this would be… Ankur ?), but for...
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Pratidwandi (The Adversary) - an exploration of the self
There isn’t much of a story in Satyajit Ray's Pratidwandi (the Adversary, 1970): because of social and economic disruption in Bengal, young Siddharta (Dhritiman Chatterjee) and his family (mother, uncle, sister and younger brother) find it hard to cope...
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"An enemy of the people", can truth win against money?
After I saw Ganashatru, which Satyajit Ray shot in 1989 (see Ray’s website ), I noticed that it was based on Henrik Ibsen’s play An Enemy of the People , and some good soul has uploaded on YouTube Arthur Miller’s adaptation of Ibsen’s play , so I watched...
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What's the matter with Mani Ratnam?
It came to me as a big surprise to learn that a large fraction of the Indian cinema goers do not appreciate Mani Ratnam. I was reading this article by Anita Nair , which sums up the criticism: - All his movies have been hyped excessively - His movies...
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Shatranj ke Khilari, ode to a lost kingdom
("Make way for Queen Victoria!") Shatranj ke Khilari (1977, The chess players) shows how close Satyajit Ray has come to Shakespearian inspiration. In this story of two gentlemen of Lucknow we have the dilemma of the good king, made powerless by a power...
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Taare zameen par, Aamir's Khan view of childhood
Taare zameen par (2007) was Aamir Khan ’s début movie as director; and for a “beginner’s” movie, it’s a rather good one. Does this sound rather bland? Yes, I admit, from the point of view of universal cinema quality. It’s probably because the story is...
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Brick Lane
I happened to watch Brick Lane (2007, by Sarah Gavron) recently, a movie based on the acclaimed book by Monica Ali . It’s a well-made, well balanced film about emigration and multiculturalism, to put it positively, or – in a less positive light – about...
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Mr & Mrs 55, Guru Dutt's love-dallying
Reading about Mr. & Mrs 55, Guru Dutt’s 1955 sparkling romantic comedy on the net, in order to prepare this review, has been very pleasant; this devil of a director has produced some insightful commentaries from many of my blogging friends, along with...
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The city with a beating heart: Delhi 6
A soft breeze wafts the chimney tops on the morning terraces; night clouds trail away in the East. Bustle and rumours from the city all around; calls and shouts close and far, muffled car honks, and the familiar smell of the city. You’re in Delhi. Oh,...
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Arth: ideologically loaded weapon of feminine emancipation
When I first watched this 1982 movie by Mahesh Bhatt I knew it was a good one, so many people had written so already. I knew that the main roles were exceptional, Shabana Azmi (Pooja) and Smita Patil (Kavita) leading the team. But Kulbhushan Kharbanda...
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Charulata, Satyajit Ray's masterpiece
It’s become a recurrent syndrome: I need a second viewing or reading to appreciate some of India’s prominent masterpieces! (For it has been recognised as such, see this link , or this one for example). This has been very true for Charulata (charu = attractive,...
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Woman's hidden powers: Mahanagar
Satyajit Ray’s “Mahanagar” (The Metropolis, 1963, based on a short story by Narendranath Mitra) is a fascinating and thoroughly original work of art. It is at once a beautifully realistic love story, a profound sociological study into men and women’s...
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Devi: can religious belief be inhuman?
I think I can safely say that Satyajit Ray all his life tried to fight for individual rights and a critical outlook on traditions. If you have in mind the film Ganashatru (An enemy of the people) , where a Western-looking scientist struggles against the...
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Kaala Patthar, Yash Chopra's Heart of Darkness
Kaala Patthar (“Black stone”) is a grandiose epic movie by Yash Chopra which is at the same time a political and social weapon against reckless capitalism and the exploitation of workers, a story of redemption and sacrifice, and a suspense-full entertainer,...
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The inheritance of loss
It took me a long time to finish The Inheritance of Loss. Not only because there has been so many things to do in the past months, but also because somehow the novel didn’t correspond to what I am at ease with, a real storyline evolving around recognisable...
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Home and the world: what's in a woman's heart?
In Satyajit Ray’s Home and the world (1984), there is a mystery: why does Nikhil (whose name means “free”), the open-minded husband who wants his wife to espouse modern ideas and leave the traditional confinement of the home (the Purdah), let her see...
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Naseeruddin Shah: the fox is cleverer than the lion
I’ve been longing to write that LetsTalkAboutBollywood article about Naseeruddin Shah for a long time. He’s one of my favourite Indian actors, if not my favourite. Okay, let’s say he is my favourite actor (alive). I suppose it’s natural to take sides,...
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Mera Naam Joker: too big? Too much?
The cinematographic monument Mera naam Joker, which was directed, produced and starred by Raj Kapoor took 6 years to complete, cost millions and was a catastrophic flop when it came out in 1972 (see the wikipedia page ). No wonder: the first version was...
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Calcutta Mail, or why Sudhir Mishra's films have urban settings
I watched Calcutta Mail on Jaman (Jaman.com) because of Sudhir Mishra and the good memories I had of Dharavi , Main zinda hoon and Chameli . All three movies are urban movies, and deal with the impact that cities have on the individual, or perhaps rather...
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Guide (1965) Anand's romanticized version of Narayan's story
Some of you might remember that I had promised to watch Guide, by Vijay Anand, the movie based on R.K. Narayan’s novel which I had reviewed here . I had been encouraged by a number of blog reviews, but I must say that I have been rather disappointed....
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A suitable boy
Well! I’m pleased to announce that I too have escalated the Everest… Er, I mean I finally read Vikram Seth’s 1472 page novel “ A suitable boy ”, and that it has been a fascinating experience: thanks M. Seth! Such a length is said to be unparalleled in...
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Peepli live: long live the media!
I thought at first I wouldn’t have much to say about Peepli live (Anusha Rizvi, 2010), but as I started writing, the following article poured out very easily! I had told myself that the film wasn’t much more than a properly engineered denunciation of...
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Jaipur National University
Désolé du délai pour remplir ce blog avec les infos des derniers jours, mais pendant les 4 jours passés à JNU (Jaipur National University), nous ne disposions pas, bizarrement, de réseau internet ou téléphone ! Étrange pour une université ! Cela dit,...
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Pakeezah, Meena Kumari's romantic Swan Song
Of all the commentaries I have read about Kamal Amrohi’s 1972 movie Pakeezah, this one (Upperstall.com) corresponds most to what I thought of it : “Pakeezah is a stylized, larger than life mythicization of the familiar tale of the prostitute with the...
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Unaccustomed Earth
The 2008 collection of short stories entitled « Unaccustomed Earth » by author Jhumpa Lahiri, well-known for her novel The namesake, which Mira Nair shot in 2006, has the unusual quality of being (in fact) a collection of little novels, rather than actual...