Thanks Maa – A Film Which I Think We Can Genuinely Term Pathbreaking
There are some movies that yank me in so much at an emotional level that I lose objectivity to quite an extent. I’ve noticed that movies which deal with the issue of safely raising children do that to me. Gone Baby Gone is a recent example. It’s on my list of all-time favourites.
Thanks Maa is another film that got me. This movie is going to be big time when it releases, or at least I sincerely hope so, and I feel privileged to be among the first to talk about it.
A homeless street orphan finds an abandoned baby and then searches for its mother. That’s the one-liner for the movie’s premise. Now, how would one think the treatment has been? Dank and dreary in the ‘art cinema’ way? No sir. Director Irfan Kamal told us last night that he believes there’s no need to break the ‘commercial’ format. By this, in my own humble opinion, one doesn’t necessarily mean the format of item numbers and love angles, but the narrative treatment of films like A Wednesday or Aamir or Mumbai Meri Jaan. But that’s a different subject.
You can have a look at the trailer here.
I don’t know if the makers would rather not have this comparison made, but it’s going to inevitably happen – the comparison with Slumdog Millionaire. Did anyone else feel that the childhood parts of Slumdog Millionaire were much more fascinating than the grown-up, British-accented Jamal’s, and you would rather have had the whole film about the kids? Well, Thanks Maa is that film. It made us in the preview theatre laugh a lot and it also provided several moments of high tension and discomfort. In other words, it worked big time for me.
I’ve already mentioned that I can’t be objective when it comes to films about the safety and security of children, so I may be much more effervescent in my praise of it than others. That said, Thanks Maa goes into a lot of intricate detail. It knows its world thoroughly. The world that we usually like to deny the existence of, or like to sweep under the carpet, or complain when others tell us it exists. (Is anyone going to complain about this movie too, now that it’s been made by an Indian director with an Indian cast? Let’s see. Should be interesting.)
When there’s a long line of great actors in a movie, it usually tells you that there really must be something in the script. One big-name actor after another kept appearing on screen – Alok Nath, Ranvir Shorey, Sarita Joshi, Sanjay Mishra and many others. When you take good actors for even small, two-line roles, it raises the level of the movie by a huge margin. Black Friday immediately comes to mind.
I wondered who the priest in Thanks Maa was for a long while. “I’ve seen him somewhere! He’s one of the settled-in-India Englishmen. Where the blazes have I seen him?” When the credits rolled, I slapped my head. Of course – Barry John! (The acting teacher, for those not in the know.)
And my vote for next year’s best actor awards, as of now, goes to Shams for his completely natural, energetic, sincere and whateveryoucansay portrayal of Muncipalty Ghatkopar. Yup, that’s the name of the hero – he’s an abandoned child. Everyone’s seen Darsheel Safary in Taare Zameen Par, right? Well, Thanks Maa has the next extraordinary performance by a young actor in Hindi films. Wait till you see the film – it’s due in June-July – and you’ll know that I’m not exaggerating.
Acting requires a high degree of shamelessness, which we like to formally term as uninhibitedness. In the scene where Shams storms into the head nurse’s office, I suddenly had this epiphany in my brain: “Now that’s called not having any inhibitions!”
There are a few small glitches here and there in the movie, but the very fact that it got made is in itself surprising. No stars, no songs, a completely producer-unfriendly subject, a first-time director, sync sound, and yet what a fascinating film it’s turned out to be. The few issues that I have with it are mostly related to my own personal ideas about film making. If it were up to me, I would tweak the pace a little bit around the 1.5-2 hour mark, and one or two actors deliver their lines in a way that’s slightly jarring with the tone of the film. But these are just my personal views. Others will react differently.
Irfan Kamal said he’s made Thanks Maa for Indian audiences. I certainly urge everyone to watch it when it comes out. Don’t miss it. Even if you’re the kind of person who prefers paisa vasool films, I believe you’ll still get your vasooli out of this film. If it’s entertainment you want, you will get even that. But without having your intelligence insulted.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
thanks kenny, reading your posts and the one min films you make. i thot a film like thanks maa would be off subject for you.
nice post. lookin forward
This is an amazing film and people please do watch it…
Not fair Kenny, you guys managed to see a preview of Thanks Maa, all we get to see is the trailer!
Looking forward to its release.
Sunny, this time I swear I’m going to make such a dark film no one’s gonna know it’s mine. No, wait, they WILL know it’s mine ’cause I’ll probably act in it too. Anyway, glad you watch and read my stuff
@ Arun
“you guys managed to see a preview of Thanks Maa”
That’s one of the najayaz faydas of living in Mumbai ;)
wow!!! the trailer looks amazing. now i HAVE to see it whenever it comes out.
it’s a good idea for a movie, and i hope irfan has pulled it off. i liked the trailer, and will definitely watch the movie. hope it gets a dvd release.
Everyone is raving about this movie..wow..it ust be really good..hopefully a buzz is created around it..and gets a good solid release..waiting with panted breaths for this. Thanks for the recco Kenny and Shivajee
eagerly waiting for this one!..all the best to everybody associated
I cannot wait to watch it. The idea reminds me a little of the South African movie Tsotsi.
lookin fwd to dis one…
Kenny Nhai Mujhe bhi najayaj fayda uthana hai.
I am in mumbai.
Please mail me if there is another preview on umeshti@yahoo.co.in
How come I am deprived of such Najayaaz Fayda ?
Thanks for posting this & link of the trailer.
Irfan Kamal- debut dhamaka by one more director!
Cheers!
~uh~
Wow!!!Will surely watch it when it releases.Thanks
@ Kenny
sure thing, i do have some ideas which i would like to share with you. let me know if you are interested.
I FEEL DAMN STUPID AFTER READING KENNYS VIEWS.
I AM INDEED TOO SORRY FOR NOT ATTENDING YOUR TRIAL, AND I SINCIERELY HOPE U HAVE ONE MORE COMMING UP IN NEAR FUTURE…..SORRY IRFAN,SORRY ONCE AGAIN. I AM SURE THIS IS GOING TO BE A MASTERPIECE AND U R GOING PLACES..ALL THE BEST.
JALAL
Thanks maa rocks!
Thanks irfan to give such a nice movie to us
In todays era we need such a strong script, director
And a great movie
Dear Vishal Vijay Kumar,
Kudos for such an undiluted and great script.. I hope your magic jodi with Irfan gives further such jewels !!