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All right, I am not going to do review here and neither am I going to pontificate on the box office prospects of Dasvidaniya. But did you guys see the different ways an “ordinary” story has been presented to us via film? It is a classic approach of the “silent spectator”, always putting across the intimate world of Amar in simple view points.
1.       Amar ( fabulous Vinay Pathak) in the car showroom. The sales girl (impressive Purvi Joshi) is being chatty and generally trying to tell Amar about the car, EMIs and stuff. Notice Purvi here. She is genuinely concerned about this man, Amar. The camera is middle distance away and sort of looking at them from the next table. Gogi (classic Gaurav Gera) arrives. He shouts at the service staff. She looks at him. Camera in same stance. Lingers over the argument. Gogi turns. Eyeballs lock with …

Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om expectedly fell by the wayside, in the face of of highly-superior cinema in the competition for Best Feature film at APSA 2008 (Honk Kong auteur Johnnie To’s Sparrow, Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Cannes best director award-winning scorcher Three Monkeys and Kazakh stunner Tulpan by Sergei Dvortsevoy), but a small Indian film, The Prisoner by Pryas Gupta, has picked up (jointly) the Jury Grand Prize. Three cheers to thinking cinema. The only other Indian name in the winners list is that of Yash Chopra, who has been given the FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film.

Here’s the winner list (and here is the post about Indian films nominated: http://passionforcinema.com/oso-tzp-mahek-nominated-for-top-honours-at-apsa/)

Asia Pacific Screen Awards, 2008:

Jury Grand Prize:

The Prisoner (India)

Directed by Pryas Gupta
Just released from prison, Siddharth Roy, a once-famous writer, completes a new manuscript. He re-engages with the outside world, hoping that the new book will restore …

iView Author: Varun Grover (Mumbai, India)

Email: varun.grover26 [at] gmail [dot] com

Dasvidaniya – Life and death of a common man

I know Shashant Shah since the days when he was directing that whacky, irreverent ‘The Great Indian Comedy Show (TGICS)’ (I was one of the writers, while Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Sheorey, Gaurav Gera, Suresh Menon, Purvi and Kiku formed the stellar ensemble) on TV.

He again teamed up with Vinay and Ranvir to direct and produce ‘Ranvir, Vinay aur Kaun’, and that’s why it was a bit of a surprise to see his directorial-debut Dasvidaniya’s songs and promos having a lingering sadness, a slice-of-life feel to it. Though one could spot a similar team as ‘Bheja Fry’ and ‘Mithya’ (Rajat Kapoor, …

Subject = good, Sushant Track = Average, Rajat Track = Excellent. flaws make it an average film. Cine learners must watch it. IMDB

Farah Khan’s blockbuster Om Shanti Om, Aamir Khan’s directorial debut Taare Zameen Par and Kranti Kanade’s Mahek have been nominated for top awards at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, 2008.

In the individual categories, actor-director Rajat Kapoor has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance in Pryas Gupte’s The Prisoner (he won the best actor award at the 10th Osian’s Cinefan this year for this film), while Kiiran Deohans has been nominated in the Achievement in Cinematography category for his work in Jodhaa Akbar.

Here are all the nominations - and as one goes through them, one realises the formidable competition OSO is up against! - Three Monkeys (Nuri Bilge Ceylan), Sparrow (Johnnie To) and Tulpan (Sergei Dvortsevoy).

BEST FEATURE FILM

“The Red Awn” (Hong Se Kang Bai Yin) Cai Shangjun (China)

“Sparrow” (Man Jeuk) Johnnie To (Hong Kong)

“Om Shanti Om” Farah Khan (India)

“Tulpan” Sergei …

Why the blazes are people giving 2/2.5 ratings to Hulla? For me, it was an 8/10 movie. Hulla had me and even my NRI buddy laughing from start to finish, and it did so without insulting my intelligence, which is all I bloody ask of a movie. So why the bally hell are critics on their high horses and their ivory towers and their glass houses dishing out merely average ratings to such an entertaining film? If people can give Om Shanti Om four star ratings for sheer entertainment value, what keeps them from doing the same for Hulla, which had the whole audience I watched it with laughing throughout? I’m sure the ratings would have been higher if this movie had a big name attached to it. Films about the middle class are about as rare as moments of privacy on Big Boss, and …

Its not everyday that a bunch of filmmakers I like, get together and converse on the medium. For such occasions I always had to depend on film festivals or even take a trip back in time during those glory days of DD. Most such occasion are fruitful when the moderator/interviewer is as well versed or at least someone who can hold his/her own amongst such august company.

Imagine, the thrill when Sudhir, presented the link to this gup-shup between Anurag, Navdeep, Rajat conducted by none other than Bharadwaj Rangan.

All about Old vs New Parallel Cinema - a lovely read this.

Excerpts

Nearly two decades after the demise of what was called Parallel Cinema, three filmmakers from a new age of non-mainstream cinema open up about then and now.

B Rangan: What is your personal opinion of the Parallel Cinema movement of the 1970s/80s?

Rajat Kapoor: I think great beginnings were made. There …