Lyrical Pathos of Aligarh

 

Aligarh the movie, is about rebellion of lyricism.  It emphasizes poetry in the face of harshness.  Siras aspires for that sweet spot of tender sensibilities where he is in the realm of letters and music.   He is committed to stay a rasik. His mannerism,  his thoughts and his traction with the world aims for a depth that is erotic,  sensual and above all poetic.. He is grateful for the support that he gets from the world but finds solace in his book and music. His relationship with Lata Mangeshkar songs is true manifestation of his determination to stay in his preferred zone of high culture. In one scene,  after eviction from his official residence,  his first unpacking is the tape recorder and the bottle of whiskey. He valiantly tries to escape to his mood in spite of his situation and mosquitoes.  His aesthetic is his defence. 

His sexuality is more of an aesthetic mood. Hansel Mehta is sensitive in portraying homo sexuality and places it in more 'normal' scene and doesn't dwell on the 'exotic' aspects of the orientation.  He has very successfully captured the fear,  suffocation and stress of such a person. However, his emphasis of inviolable nature of private space is perhaps an even bigger theme of the film.  Sanctuary of home and bedroom comes out perhaps more clearly.

Mehta has very deftly created a sense of private space in a sparse official quarter and Siras's attempts to carve out such spaces in his temporary dwellings. Dipu too felt violated when his room was overtaken by his landlady (remarkable characters created in very few strokes- mark of a great director.)

Both the key characters have given solid performances. Bajpayee is superb in conveying all the vulnerability and hopes of his character,  he is equally successful in depicting deep rooted determination to stay cultured and in tune with the rhythm of his poetic nature. His frailties give an unexpected dignity to Siras. He is confused even harassed but has managed to avoid bitterness. Here lies the beauty of his lyricism which he portrays without making it pretentious.

I will rank Raj Kumar Yadav at the same pedestal in his performance,  as Bajpayee.  His sympathy can easily appear to be a put on. Bajpayee's Siras is a canvas where only deeply genuine connection will hold.  Perceptive professor has no time for false emotions. Yadav does not betray even a remotely false note. Siras's struggle and dignity gets accentuated by the deeply sympathetic filters of pure heartedness of Dipu. He tells Dipu that poetry resides in the gaps and silences between the words. Dipu who is not into poetry,  is perfect explorerer of those silences. His sensitivity is deeply humane and he delivers a first class performance in which fondness of the two develops in a memorable fashion. These two unlikely friends needed strong actors and Yadav and Bajpayee delivered.

GoT S6 Finale

'Winds of Winter' has  a great  experience as in its topsy-turvy ride it clarified so many things for the plot line. It was a plot pusher episode. Bumped off many characters and gave some final touches to many others.  Arya stark is finally a killer she wanted to be.  Interesting but distracting story arch of the High Sapt met its fiery end.  John Snow's lineage was clarified to a great extent.  Red priestess rode into the wilderness.  Three eyed Raven finally accepted his destiny.  Final alliances (for now)  have taken shape. 
I am sure next season will move with engaging speed with stage set so comprehensively.

Revival by Stephen King

Had this been only a story of the main protagonist and his relationship with the eccentric pastor, King's Revival would have been a great book. Late entry of horror is good and is in the caliber of his earlier books but it does take away a lot from a promising novel. King is at the top of his game when he is creating family scenes, a child's world view, a teenagers romp and a drug addicts travails be is chilling when creating the horror scenes but in this novel structural issues are there. Despite lurking horror late horror feels contrived and labored.
All said, this is good writing and enjoyable read though climactic pay-off is not adequate.

Review of Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible the Rogue Nation hits the ground running. Which is a supreme achievement. The franchise is so well established that a build up can be dispensed with, simultaneously every movie, specifically this movie of the series is admirably self contained so that new audience doesn't feel obligated to brush up on the previous installments. 
Tom Cruise is still more than a nostalgia number. He is valid superstar to helm a viable movie.  This action persona has helped him to stay in the game and the persona itself got enriched by his years in front of the camera. He comes off as seasoned agent,  wise and weary for his experience. Charisma and stamina both look intact. Stories about him doing the stunts himself apart, he is believable and is able to convey skill and amusement in equal measure. 
Team is top notch specially the female lead (Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson)  and Sean Pegg a perfect Watson. Story has sufficient suspense and shadow areas so characteristic to the series. Action lives up to the hype and the movie delivers. An enjoyable and movie that fulfills the genre expectation without looking dated.

A Love Letter to Goa

‘Finding Fanny’ is, if nothing else, is a love letter to Goa. The languid raw beauty of the land coupled with distinctive culture has been captured with unfailing affection. Story or plot was just a flimsy excuse for bringing out the archetypal Goan characters. Socially active Rosy, good girl Angelina, Don Pedro, irritable Savio and Ferdie.

 Naseer is easily the highlight of the Movie. After long time,I found him worthy of his reputation. Woolly headed Ferdie has been realized to the last hair. He is very credible as a lost lonely person who has enough quirks to make few good souls care for him. Naseeruddin Shah maintained that low apologetic pitch, which would have been irritating in less accomplished person but with the thespian defines the diffident but committed human being. Dimple stayed with the character bravely and avoided the caricature despite having to act with broad strokes. Her vanity and vulnerability is clearly communicated without compromising the complexity of her situation. She played being old with aplomb. Young couple was sweet and fit in the roles with ease. Dipika exuded sweetness and was suitably good at being good natured and sassy. Arjun Kapoor was to bring confused adolescent longing to his part which he shouldered competently. Only my favorite Pankaj Kapoor struggled to break in the party. He brought his presence to the role but could not create a memorable character. While he portrayed artists anguish for regaining inspiration, he failed to give the artist a home. He was rarely Goan and looked least rooted in his surroundings. Instead of attempting a Picasso,  he would have been better of as Manjeet Bawa on a break in Goa. Still, him being Pankaj Kapoor, he is never less than entertaining.

Apart from locales and performances, film does not impact as it should with its strengths.  Reason for this may be that this was neither a road movie, nor a love story. It set out to convey a slice of Goa which it did admirable and this success was both its success and limitation.

Doctor Who Season 8 Episode 1. Delicious Chaos Continues

Starting Doctor Who from Season 8 was a difficult decision as there was an apprehension of feeling outsider in an already warm party. The show has a cult following and tend to evoke strong response. All this made casual walking in feel like committing blasphemy. But my nonchalance towards a very strong tradition paid off and I am happy to report that the delicious chaos of the show makes it amply rewarding irrespective of the stop from where you hitch the ride.

First impression of the rank outsider is the feeling that a wildly permissive premise provides myriad opportunities for a very rich template. This pleasure is augmented by very high production values and superb performances. Props like time traveling devices, pen like instruments that look for their purpose and become whatever is need of the hour create a story that is limited only by imagination, which is by no means scarce here. This results in a veritable riot of stupendously fantastic situations which may stretch dry credulity but are loads of fun.

A funny streak with all the philosophical undercurrents is perhaps the main attractions of this show. Inherently playful, the first episode of the new season kept many amusing moments specially the arrival of the new Doctor (Peter Capaldi)  and chemistry between him and Clara (Jenna Coleman) on the one hand and lesbian couple one of which is a lizard is simply delicious.  Lumbering man servant, and gawking London crowd for a T-Rex over the Westminster crowd along with mandatory struggling inspector kept the fun crackling.

Sudden punctuation of horror was invariably chilling. The robot resorting to organ harvesting  to fulfill its aspiration to be human raised hair at all suitable places. Moment when Clara was left in the chamber of dead was horrifying for a newbie who wasn't so sure of good Doctors success rate. This intermixing of  playfulness with full weight of horror has been accomplished with admirable panache in the new Season.

Any series with a concept of regeneration and time travel, deep philosophical questions are bound to arise. Peter Capaldi’s new Doctor is  spry but gray gentleman that leads to lot of soul searching on the part of his travel mate Clara. The first episode manages to make driving the point about connection between core and outer appearance reasonably entertaining. But Doctor has to verbalize that he is not her boyfriend and has to take help of the earlier version of Doctor Who (Matt Smith) to keep her sufficiently invested him.

The show is great. It entertains in a very satisfactory way. The depth of its quality goes beyond the outlandish premise and all the razzmatazz that goes into realizing that premise. The greatness lies, as with all great stories (Harry Potter comes to mind), in establishing connect with the very basic and all pervading human situations of love, longing, trust, friendship and adventure. In its latest season Doctor Who performs very successfully.

Review of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl- Banality of evil makes it commonplace

The novel scores as a very contemporary  depiction of the dynamics of  relationships in modern world. Gone Girl may have a very sick relationship as it's centerpiece but Ms Flynn manages to strike a universal note with these demented characters. Finding echo of everyday turmoils and conflicts in such a diseased milieu is hugely disconcerting. This novel may put off quite a few readers as Gillian Flynn makes us inhabit these twisted minds in a dizzying tandem of  chapters made intimate by first person voice. The reader may feel alarmed by easy identification with many aspects of thinking of the sociopaths. For example, Amy's grouse with the concept of 'cool girl' May find many nodding in agreement when she writes""Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl."  or when Nick waxes eloquent about his lack of control over what image he is projecting    "People love talking, and I have never been a huge talker. I carry on an inner monologue, but the words often don't reach my lips.” Banality of evil makes is easy to find startling resemblance in most mundane of the moments.

Gillian Flynn demonstrates  a dexterous hand at psychological profiling and characters remain at the desired degree of likability-under full command of the author. She can make the reader fall in love with character in one chapter and create intense hatred in the next. Furthermore, she can go nuanced and successfully conveys the machination deployed by the character to be likable or despicable. She also benefits from the useful gift of keeping many plot balls in the air while keeping the reader clued in with the basic tension of the story. All this with tight accessible prose and painterly depiction. She creates word pictures that conveys with dazzling clarity the basic point of the author about a very complex feeling.