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Man-o-rama- Return of the Story
Hail Navdeep Singh everyone. We have another warrior who has joined the ranks of Indie Filmmakers. For this one is a Real one. He has made cinema. Good cinema. No pseudo-pretentious Indie bullshit, no stylish mumbo-jumbo. Straightforward good film. Where every shot is there because the story needs it & not because it will look cool (& hence get me a bigger gig next time). No “look at my direction” stuff. I remember last week when PFC was filled with Manorama. I never thought I would myself write a post on it. But after sitting in a empty hall to watch such a good indian film I feel its my duty to write what I felt. Do whatever I can to send one more guy to drive to the theater.
When was the last time we saw a film that was completely story based? Not character-based, not location-based. Just story. I can’t remember. I remember thats the first thought that passed my mind as i was walking out of the theater. I could not remember a single film in recent years which was just about the story.
The background score of the film is great. It enhances the film exactly at the right moments. What I remember is that there was never any kind of over-dramatic music used. The songs never interrupt the film. Thank god the dream sequence was chopped at the editing table. I assume it was during the Aquarium sequence? Loved the song Woh Bheege Pal.
The best thing about the film for me was Lighting. The 1st half hour is so dark. You hardly see any faces. You hardly see such kind of lighting. Even in the best film they always light enough to see the faces atleast. Here you see what you would see with naked eyes. I have to say it takes balls & conviction to go with these decisions. And hats off to Navdeep & his DP Arvind Kannabiran. I have to say I’m very very impressed with Arvind. My Brother Nikhil had a similar vibe to it. Just serving the story. In a time when DP’s are going crazy with style, its nice to see some are still working to serve the story & the film, istead of making their showreel at the director’s expense.
The writing was damn good. I don’t remember who but someone was criticizing the writing. Esp. of those 2 goonda characters, that they don’t curse enough. Maybe they would curse more in real life. But I think the writers here have pushed it as much as they could get away with. So hope the writers keep pushing more & more towards the edge with each film they write from now on. The writing was pretty tight throughout the film. Vinay as usual gets the best lines in the film. Deservingly so. Very few actors in Bombay can give Vinay a run for his money.
“Thodi si Savdhani, Zindagi bhar asani“
Acting was pretty solid all around. Vinay & Kulbhushan steal the show everytime they appear. Abhay Deol is not bad. I have not seen him in anything else other than 30 minutes of his debut Socha Na Tha. He is great at parts & ok at parts. But I think he is a directors delight. Raima was ok. Its only her character which slows down things for a bit. Gul is great as always. Can Navdeep write a post about the casting of the film? Since he comes from the ad film world, is that the reason we see Raima & Gul?
The ending was brilliant. Its very very hard to get the ending right. Esp a story with so many complexities. But They got it perfectly right. I was sitting in the hall expecting a bad ending. I thought its not possible it keep it perfect till the end. but Navdeep & Deepika nailed it.
The only thing that bothered me a bit was the symbolism of Big Fish. I think it was shown a bit more than necessary. Esp the shots of the Big Fish during the scene between Rathore & SV.
Now the sad part. The only people in the theater was me & my gf. There was no one else who wanted to see this film. I urge people to spread the word as much as they can. In college I used to force my friends to come with me to watch offbeat films with the assurance of money back if they hate the film. I never had to return anyone’s ticket money. Try it. The film I used this trick for the first time was SATYA :)
I also sw Johnny Gaddar in the same theater an hour after MANORAMA. So my mind got cluttered after that. I might have forgotten some things about Monarama.
BTW don’t miss Johnny Gaddar. Its fantastic!
Indie Cinema is here to stay.
20 Responses to “Man-o-rama- Return of the Story”
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I am glad for finally some film captured Rajasthan so aptly. I mostly reacted to the frames, which are not all picturesque, an indulgent one particularly comes to my mind, AD and Raima are talking/leaving while you see two indifferent yet attentive neighbors keenly observing it all. Now THAT is real!
Loved the subtle pulp references(a tad better than Johnny), the loser protagonist(not often we see them), and the thespian grande assault by Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Wonder why noone talks about him. His was the singlemost unique act for me.
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I saw the movie over the weekend and loved it. Going into the theatre I was bit apprehensive because of the high expectations I had but the movie grabbed me from the first shot and didn’t let go till the end. My favorite parts of the movie-
Dialogues- They absolutely crackle. Sample when Abhay Deol says during an argument with Gul -”mere liye bhi shaadi ke bahut rishte aaye the”
Touche.
Acting- So many but Abhay Deol was just brilliant. His character was underplayed to perfection. In any scene he had the lesser of the dialogues. What he had though were pauses. And boy- did he use them! Sample when he wakes up at the end and realizes that he has been drugged and his photos stolen by Vinay.
Direction- I haven’t seen Chinatown so for me everything was great. I loved the motifs of the aquariums. What was it about? Big fish- small fish? I like to think that that is how Abhay’s character feels- a fish trapped in a aquarium, wanting to break out from his average existence?
Rajasthan looks more beautiful than ever and the story is well written. Sample when Abhay tells Vinay that somebody saw him at the minister’s house and Vinay proceeds to beat up a thief/accused.
I hope Navdeep you made a movie that you can be proud of. That’s the only way to make ‘em.
Dear Mr dazedandconfused !!!..ur comment “the motifs of the aquariums. What was it about? Big fish- small fish? I like to think that that is how Abhay’s character feels- a fish trapped in a aquarium”…….
I think it was ‘the big fish eating the small fish..but sometimes small fish also manages to escape!!!!’ hello Navdeep( are u listening) please clarify:)
also this fish metaphor left me thinking that, when we are talking of a place in Rajasthan..which is always short on water(u showed it in 1 scene abhay deoltaking bath)..how come everyone has a fish tank at their place???8-|
Quick note on the fish (clarified elsewhere as well):
They function at various levels:
1. Big fish - little fish
2. Sense of being trapped
3. Irony of fish in the desert (lack of water)
4. Pretty, pretty fishies, look. :d
Well manorama for me was “a good opportunity lost.
This is not film-noir.
There was a good plot. But treatment was missing. Visual narrative was missing.
Association with character was missing. Relationship graph was not coming across. And to top everything “mystery and thrill” were missing. For me Abhay was acting with in his head rather on screen. He was not living the moments he was facing. Screenplay was not upto the mark to classify as “film noir”.
But still I can’t overlook the effort and genuine attempt, that they tried for a different film. All the best for your next film.
let us not just try to make “different” cinema, lets try to make “good” cinema. My best wishes to all of us. for that lets not classify any thing that is above ordinary as extra ordinary. lets be fair and lets try to create good healthy competition.
The climax of a thriller/suspense movie decides one’s reaction to the movie.
In Manorama Six Feet Under, one expects a better climax.
Yes, overall the film is in thewhat I call “Not Boring” Catergory.
How many films today can boast of being in that category?
Good work, Navdeep Singh
Kartik
Whats your definition of a good climax?
What did you expect?
I thought the climax was brilliant. Esp the sub-plot of Rathore’s own people. I thought that the fact that SV didn’t have to physically conquer anything was brilliant.
**********
Last Film - 12 Angry Men(8/10)
Music - Manorama
I can see why the climax could be letdown for some if as an audience you are cheering for SV and want him to smash down his opposition. Instead his photos get stolen by his saala and his scooter gets trashed.
But I liked it the way it was. It was a brave choice for the climax. And hey- it rains after three years in the desert. That must count for something…
I can’t believe that such an absolutely FANTASTIC film couldn’t make it for more than a couple of weeks in delhi. this is just to say to navdeep - dude, if you’re reading, great going! more power to you, fight the good fight and all that. (read: please please don’t stop making movies!)
Hi Navdeep, I just happenned to see Manorama at PVR and dspite being really hungry i really want to get out what ever is inside me after watching this brilliant brilliant piece of storytelling. wow!! it doesn’t look like a debutants f film. Its so cinematic.. its just so perfect.. the structure, characters, the ligting.. the music, the place of the music, the piece of the music.. how every thing so seamlessly blends to give the perfect pace mood to the story.. every frame of yours is well thought of , so detailed.. the tombs looking at the sky.. the fishes floating in the water the empty roads.. I love the intercut of fish in highspeed with music as a catalyst in the scene when Abhay goes to meet kharbanda, loved the fish tank scene between abhay and raima, and the twist in the end.. its just so inspiring.. also kudos to shemaroo to have made this film.. also Pvr was not empty, it was fairly packed compared to the day being thursday .. great work… and thankyou for making this film
I agree with the above comments as well as the blog that MSFU has a great story,acting and technique. But frankly, the movie is way TOO slow. At the end of the day, I found a lot of people (watching the movie with me) losing interest. The slow progress overshadows the awesome story. The film should have been at least half-hour shorter if not more.
Also, no one around had really heard of MSFU. Even when I talked to my relatives in India, they thought I was talking about some Hollywood movie!
Inspite of everything, its simply great to see Indian cinema alive and kicking in its true spirit…
Very well made movie…kudos to Navdeep….I saw this some days after seeing Johnny Gaddar and I love the thriller genre…..these two attempts really pleased me…..The screenplay was really gripping throughout and I am not very sure why some critics have questioned the pace of the film and the screenplay. For me they were perfect.
As regards the acting Gul Panag and Raima were really good. However, I have some reservations about Abhay Deol. He needs to improve his dialogue delivery and acting skills. One problem with him is his presence on the screen….he needs to work on that.
Otherwise very commendable effort!!!
However, Navdeep the marketing for the film could have been much better. When you are making a film in a genre that is not at all familiar to the Indian audience you could have attempted at educating them about the genre much before your film was released. It is really frustrating when such a good effort doesn’t get the commercial success it deserves.
Thanks everyone who saw the film. I’ve been having my SV moment standing in front of the mirror; “Manorama meri pehli film… sirf do sau ticketen biki, sirf do sau”
But seriously, I agree the pace put off a lot of people (I personally enjoy films with a measured pace) and that’s a lesson learnt. It has some other serious flaws too. Making the film (and editing it) was hugely educational and hopefully these lessons will find their way into the next one.
Having said that, it’s great to hear from people who liked the film. At least it reassures us that we got some things right. It’s as important to know what worked vis a vis what didn’t.
Add me to the long list of people who loved the movie. I didn’t think it was slow paced at all - a movie like this requires some time to digest and savour. The one thing I didn’t like too much (and it’s hardly consequential here) is the DDLJ-style embracing in the rain in the last scene… a more subdued return-to-wife-n-normal-life would have been more in the spirit of the movie. But everything about the movie - the acting, the music, the presentation of the major plot points, was absolutely fantastic. Personal favourite scene of the movie was the handicapped wife laughing that chilling laugh. So much said in that laugh, in just a few seconds…
Navdeep ji, please don’t feel at all bad for the empty halls. A lot of it was bad luck - Dhol and Loins were both comedy films, which generally are easier to swallow, and there were huge numbers of other small films coming up in the next week - MSFU just got crowded out for no real reason. Everyone I know who saw the movie has been recommending it left and right, and it will definitely go on to take its rightful place in moviegoers’ minds as time goes on.
Caught the movie yday - Shoold say I loved the film. I has seen chinatown recently and was aprehensive about how this would be . But I loved it - Especialy the ending.
I am sure word of mouth will keep the movie going on for a while more !
I happen to be a huge fan of Abahy Deol. I still remember the exact moment when I acidently while flipping through channels came across “Socha Na Tha.” The storyline was alrigtht however in Abhay I found my favorite Bollywood hero. He was a guy next-door with an adorable dimple who also happens to be a natural actor. Navdeep, I don’t think anyone else could have fitted into the role of S.V. better than Abhay. Kudos to you for making meaningful cinema. Being a NRI, it’s really embrassing when my western friends would ask me to recommend them Hindi movies and my mind would go blank because nowadays many Bolly movies are ripped from Hollywood. It was refreshing seeing something different, something unique. Next time, if possible having English Subtiles on the movie DVD might be soemthing you want to consider…Traslating the whole “Six Feet Under..” to numerous people was bit tiring:)
The reoccuring fish meataphor did it have any sort of reliogious contation?
Mandeep,
Thanks. The ‘official’ DVD does have subtitles so… Hmmm. :-?
No religious connotation to the fish other than ‘Shakuntala’ being a mythological reference to the fish in that story.