Three Filmmakers, three films..
Print
Haven’t written in a long time. Wasn’t inspired enough by anything, so decided to take a break from the world and pour myself into writing. The bane of my writing career,“Gurudutt” has taken more than two years and is still not finished. A very complex life of an extremely complex man. How do you write a film on the man who stayed in the room and never talked much. Anyways this post is not about him. Neither is this about my unending struggle with “Bombay Velvet” . My first big budget film, a very scary thought. Until now i have always felt free to play around with themes and cinema because there never was much at stake. The first thing to do when you tackle big budgets? Simplify? Simplifications and explanations scare me. Anyways this post isn’t about that either.
This post is about the three films, hindi films that i saw recently , that excited me. I say hindi because there are three marathi( Harishchandrachi Factory, Ghabricha Paus and Gandha) and one tamizh (Subramanyapuram) films that i completely fell for. A lot has been written about them. I will talk about the three films that really were fantastic and something to look forward to. Which one i write about first. On the basis of seniority of the filmmaker. Then let me begin with Pankaj Advani.
SANKAT CITY- Pankaj Advani is probably one filmmaker who has had worst luck than me. I first met him in 1994-95, he was the co-writer on “Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa”. He was the one you had to go through to meet Kundan Shah. Him and Gurpaal ( who also acts as the Sikh taxi driver in the film) . Pankaj was our hero, his energy, his sense of humour , his restlessness. His first film “Sunday” , that we saw at Kundan’s office years ago, his “Urff Professor” that we got to see on Zee(in their better days of television) and now in “Sankat City” you can see the impact Kundan’s cult classic,”Jaane bhi do Yaaron” has had. Madcap zany comedy, social commentary and those noirish characters, dialogues. Scum of the earth populates his films. Sankat City is one such madcap zany film. So many characters, unaware of each other, money being the only degree of seperation between them. It is laugh out loud funny, completely over the top. A Dr. Rajkumar inspired Chunkey Pandey’s superstar, to Anupam Kher’s Faujdaar, who reminds you of his incredible, “Bhabhizee Bhabhizee Sweet Sweet Bhabhizee” act from “Hum”. From a completely original, never before seen Kaykay( I have worked with him so long, i have never seen this side of him ever before i saw him here) to completely non-jaat , mellowed down Yashpaal Sharma. Each one is hilarious and so there. Will not want to reveal anything about the film, would just urge you to watch it.
Releasing July 10th
KAMINEY- Vishal Bharadwaj is in form and how. He completely reinvents himself with this one. He completely goes away from Maqbool and Omkaara and rediscovers the gangster genre. Story that takes place in a day, bengaali, marathi underworld that one has never seen before. He has sworn me to not reveal anything about the film and i can not, but after this film there will be a whole new list of favourite actors that everyone is going to make. So many return to acting with this one film, a cast of more than thirty actors. This is the biggy that will surprise you and his reinterpretation of that old R. D. Burman, classic from “Tee………”. I am not saying anything more.
Releasing August 14th
LOVE AAJ KAL- Imtiaz Ali goes urban with this one. It is more contemporary, more now and how the perception of love has changed but the dynamics don’t. Today’s relationships are more about convenience, but then what if you will never really find the one and worse if the one is the one that was inconvenient. How far would you go in love in today’s time. Crossing the river on an earthen pot is more romantic, today the options are Practical vs emotional. I saw the first cut long time back and the rough cut on avid and it had me laughing through till it had me in tears in the end. Vintage Imtiaz of great small moments is intact and he goes further too this time.
Releasing July 31st
The first had me in splits, second had my adrenaline pumping, third one made me feel and cry without being overdramatic. Now the fourth and fifth film that i am looking forward to are Kites and Wake up Sid. First one because it is Anurag Basu and second because that’s the script i read, haven’t seen any of these as films so would not recommend them yet but am really waiting to see them . The script of “wake up sid” is the most awesome coming of age script i have ever read . Here is hoping they show it to me.
I am sorry for not revealing any story and plotpoints as i would not like anyone to do so to me. May be when i write A review after the release of these films. And also because i don’t have the necessary permissions to do so. But watch them as I go back to my writing.
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
ANURAG! Where have you been? from the sound of it, you havent been writing well and you’re watching all these lovely movies, which we have to wait for :( sound comfy and cosy
Thanks for giving the heads up and I cannot believe we have 5, count em five movies to be watched for, when the first half of the year we were just boring our heads off with insipid movies and equally insane awards show!!!!!!
YAY!
HURRAY!
loading...
Thanks for the reccos…at last some hindi films for which I would go to the theatre and watch…
All the best to the films makers…May success kiss them…
loading...
Yep “Wake up Sid” is gonna reveal how cute boys are falling in Love with Older Intelligent lady and watching it would be quite interesting and in kaminey once again we’ll see a glimpse of Dharavi,Asia’s largest slum after its worldwide popularity in SM.Let’s see how Pankaj Advani’s Sankat city does.
loading...
Oh Wow, Sunday ka surprise!
Ok Sankat City, we’ve had this huge debate on. I love the movie and its been a long time since something as different, mad caper as this has been seen in Hindi cinema in a long time.
Kaminey, has my brain seeing a Guy Ritchie hobnobbing with Tarantino visuals as they both speak at a high energy pace in Hindi… That is one movie which I’m counting the hours to the release date.
Love Aaj Kal, now this one is something which I’m still not getting the heart pumping for. But then I wasn’t too inclined to watch his last one too, until I saw it!
Kites, mixed reactions all over, yours is the first positive one.
Wake up Sid, have no clue what it is about, and would like to know more.
Gurudutt, so that’s the reason for you going AWOL… nahin chalega yeh underground going!
Bombay Velvet – quite frankly this is the one I’m so eagerly waiting for. Its been two years since you first told us about it. I’m in love with the premise the concept the whole design. And as I’ve said to you, this is the movie I’m expecting will be at par (if not ahead) than my favorite Black Friday. But who knows, when you are going to get this going… jaldi karo baba…
loading...
This again shows its more film makers than actors in Bollywood on whom we can rely. Thanks for the update and hope you review them.
loading...
Kaminey is Paul Greengrass meets tarantino..
Characters are guy richie
loading...
” Kaminey is Paul Greengrass meets tarantino..
Characters are guy richie”
Deadly combo.
This post is like an appetizer.Can’t wait to watch Kaminey,Sankat City and Love Aaj Kal.
loading...
Wow! The times ahead look so positive. For me Love Aaj Kal plot seems damn interesting, not too impressed with the trailers. Kaminey, like Oz said, I am counting hours. Sankat City is up next. Some of you would hate me for saying this but I’d be more hopeful of the New wave of Indian cinema when a film like Kambhakkt ishq doesn’t do well. That should be a sign of times that are a changing.
.
@Anurag
Is the reference of “Tee..” hinting at Teesri Manzil? :-)
.
I know you wrote on my Pyaasa post that you will not be directing it and only writing it. Honestly, its quite difficult to imagine someone else other than you directing it. I simply cant. But then, If you have entrusted someone to do justice then we all believe in you. Simply cannot wait for the movie to come through. If ever I’d die early, I’ll want to watch the film as my last wish, that badly I am waiting for it.
.
Bombay velvet: John, Naseeruddin Shah and Kay Kay Menon: Sounds interesting. BTW, whats the connection with Gyan Prakash for BV? And of course this has got nothing to do with Blue velvet right? :-)
loading...
With so many recommendations I hope against hope Sankat City is good!
loading...
H’chi Factory didnt work for me..,.Humor, DP has the oneliners and the rest are just sounding boards…the jokes too at times beat me..delib n quite todays…anyways…
K and SC def…
LAK….very reluctant…Tx for the marathi n tamil reccos…at times just titles are enough for one to get to kno @ n watch good films…
loading...
IMHO this post belongs to Qwiki section as it only give certain insight of upcoming movies,
loading...
Anurag- great to read this especially after a slightly long break from your end.All these movies are on my to be watched list.thanks for re-inforcing my belief.I’m not very convinced on Kites though, atleast not till now.But nevertheless will still give it a chance.All the best with Guru Dutt,BV and everything else that you are working on.
loading...
1 2 3 4 6…
Ye Paanch kab ayega???????????????
loading...
well haven’t seen kites.. want to see it.. expect a lot from anurag basu..
loading...
love aaj kal looks like a movie sure to disappoint big time .jab we met had something going for it even from the first promo..this one sadly looks like a yash raj film , the bad ones , the siddharth anand and hum tum types
loading...
well sags you would be surprised..
promo is not always the film.. promo is a different department.. in this case eros..or whoever the boss.
loading...
i hope so anurag , there are hardly any good films coming out and a very few good filmmakers .
loading...
very excited abt kaminey , vishal bhardwaj , the music , shahid kapur looks like he’s come into his own and one knows wat to expect from teh film and one’s sure one wont be disappointed….didnt know amol gupte is such a fine actor, atleast he’s just so natural in that scene . to kya fa ko la bolega!
loading...
Samar Nakhate the ex dean of FTII said to us about the marathi film Gandha, he said it is made by one of his student & it is a unique film in itself as it depicts the essence of smell through its storytelling.
when & where did u see the film?
loading...
see its website
http://www.gandhathefilm.com/
loading...
could you please assign an order of preference > mine is…
sankat city
kaminey
love aaj kal :-)
loading...
Bombay Velvet is too intimidating….hmmmmm….thats good fear….maybe to go ahead and fight it out…
Big budget I think is like the RED PILL (Matrix) once you have tasted it there is maybe no going back but sooner or later you have to take it.
What is any AWESOME filmmaker without his Small Gems, Big Duds and and Bigger Mammoth Spectacles and even bigger than Mammoth FLOPS
I know aapko choti choti baaton mein kushi milti hai jaise samandar, batata wada….per kabhi poora bhar pet bhojan bhi kijiye…Ramashray ke bahar banarasi paan ka swaad bhi lijiye….
Love you Sirji…keep the faith and maybe just forget everything and spend some time maybe a little more than you would usually give to this. Milestones yes all you need is a big stone and some paint but Landmarks can’t be made real cheap….go for that LANDMARK. This is it.
loading...
Talk about coming back to PFC with a BANG! Looking forward to AK doing big budget. Your instincts have always been right…
‘Love Aaj Kal’ is on my must-see list. Looks spectacular and the music WOW! ‘Sankat City’ – am hoping gets some play in one of the two NYC theaters that feature Hindi films… It’s opening the same weekend as ‘Short Kut’, which already has elbowed into one of the spots at least.
‘Kaminey’ looked kinda weird from the trailer, the big while horses scene made me chuckle, but am glad to find out Bharadwaj won’t disappoint yet again!
And good for you for not giving any of the stories away!
loading...
“Kaminey is Paul Greengrass meets tarantino..”
i hope that doesn’t mean an overuse of headache-inducing shaky-cam shots.
.
looking forward to all these movies.
loading...
Anurag, Just tell me once again, tell it in the following words “I loved Kaminey”…
I literally shivered wid excitement reading “Kaminey is Paul Greengrass meets tarantino.. characters are guy ritchie”.
Please reassure me Anurag. I just cant wait for it!!!!!
loading...
i absolutely loved Kaminey.. it was my facebook profile for two straight weeks.. i wouldn’t say it if i didn’t like it..
loading...
That’s comforting to know of “Kaminey”. Can’t remember the last time I waited so eagerly for a movie … come to think of it, this was the best part of “Delhi 6″- the teaser trailer of Kaminey!!
I hope “Sankat City” gets it due share… my fear is its fate would be that of the many good small films that go into oblivion before the audience even hear of it… I hope I am wrong on this one…
loading...
awefome comeback. hope to fee you at the fankat city premiere! thankf!
loading...
Hope these movies do well man. Have heard a lot about Pankaj Advani’s travails. And hope all the other movies do well too.
Just saw the making of Dev D, I never thought that so much thought was put into that movie. And that new camera that you guys used, man now I know why the movie was stunning.
Hope to see a movie from you soon. I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Truly psyched about the potential of all these film-makers that you talked about.
Cheers
loading...
Great to see your post anurag. All 3 movies should be good and Kaminey is the best i guess.
I want to see “Urf Professor” (The uncut version). Is there a DVD available for that? I’ve heard a lot about it from my friend.
loading...
Was impressed with Vishal Bharadwaj from the day he made Makdee. Maqbool was fabulous. Omkara disappointing. But waiting for Kaminey. Sometimes I wonder if you guys revel in celebrating films, which bore people much of the time (Omkara)
I wuz hoping that Kites would not be a love story, simply because its a bollywood product and that is our mainstay. The film, I hear is being made in two languages. However, there could be a good reason.
We are all going to watch Sankat city first weekend itself simply because there has been so much discussion with Pankaj Advani himself and recommended, from the heart, by Anupam kher and the writers.
Love aajkal is a copy. Why encourage and celebrate copies!
There are films like Black friday, Chak De and Lagaan, where the premise is simple and clear. First half goes into intro, reason, purpose and training and Second half goes into actual battle.
Isnt it difficult to find such simple yet, engaging plots, which would “click”.
Among your films, Black friday, Dev D were worthy of a feature film attempt. I found gulaal more of a novel book story type. When do you decide that any story is worthy of making into a feature film? Or its just not possible! Also the continuity. Each scene was picturized so much wanting to be unique and non-cliched that continuity and engaging interest became a huge issue with Gulaal. But good luck for Bombay Velvet and Gurudutt!
loading...
Vinay.. love aaj kal is not a copy.. wait till you see the film.. do not judge a film before watching it.. media speculation is just speculation..
from what you say you like , you will be singing a different tune after watching the film..
loading...
When is Paanch releasing? You said somewhere in June? but no sign yet? Can you throw some light on that?
loading...
I am the ostrich with his head in the sand when it comes to paanch.. something has obviously gone wrong with the producers..
If it doesn’t come out this year, i promise to pirate it..
loading...
@Magik: u missed an ‘eff’ dude
… replace all ’see’ sounds not just ’s’ 
its fankat fity premiere
.
by the way, i m looking forward to all 3 movies mentioned by AK
loading...
@Abhishek Sisodia: its a ‘technical’ thing dude … only those items go into Qwiki which are like 5-7 lines long. we cannot post articles and long write-ups under Qwiki …
loading...
I am eagerly awaiting Kaminey…heard a lot about it…know an actor from the film, and have been waiting for it for ages..its releasing aug 14th right? not 24th as uve said?
loading...
Divyesh sorry.. ya its august 14th.. corrected it..
loading...
finally !! ….. keep writing pls.
. Btw what i dont understand is – how do CL(cinema lovers) skip movies just coz they didn like the trailer or the basic plot of the movie …. i make it a point to watch all the movies, no matter how stupid or prolific …. i want to judge it myself!! but thats my pov.
U do know that ur recos start chain reactions
Anyways …. the F instead of S thing was there in a sunny deol movie …. it was the other way round though “jo bole sonihaal” i guess. Just the day after i saw the trailer of kaminey i accidently came across this scene from that movie on TV …. fax was pronounced sex …. it was sad coz i was really excited about the originality of kaminey !
loading...
AAJA AAJA DIL NICHODE
RAAT KI MATKI TODE
KOI GOODLUCK NIKAALE
AAJ GHULAK TOH FODE
HAI DIL DIL DAARA MERA TELI KA TEL
KODI KODI PAISA PAISA PAISE KA KHEL
CHAL CHAL SADKO PE HOGI DHAN DHAN
DHA TE NANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NANANANANANANANANANANANANAN
AUGUST 14 KO
loading...
thats sad to hear Anurag about Paanch. Hope it gets atleast one screen launches across country
loading...
sankat city is my personal fav . one more small budegt and high concept and more entertaining movie…These are those small but effective footsteps will be remebered in history to bring change in cinema,…and ofcourse KK ..Beech main ayye na sakhi to beech main sai cheer dunga..:-)
loading...
Man, one of the advantages of being at the helm and being worth it.. getting to watch the best of bollywood as it is being cooked… Lucky u. anuraag!
loading...
Sankat City’s trailers are not at all captivating, but am looking forward it just for the sake of his awesome backchodi on PFC. What a fun his artciles are!!!! If his sankat city is one tenth as good as his blog, I will be satisfied.
The best and the worst part of Kaminey’s trailer is its soundtrack. Its very captivating, but nonetheless it sounds like almost a rip off from pulp fiction. But since its a Vishal’s film, so obviously will look forward to it.
LAK looks pretty lame. In fact, I had found JVM a bit boring too.
loading...
Thanks for this Anurag! We really are starved of good movies this year! This should be fab! I am looking forward the most for Kaminey. Vishal is a genius in my book. I have two reasons to look forward to it – Vishal and Gulzar saab. Yeah, happy days are here again!
loading...
to say that kaminey is a rip off of pulp fiction would be wrong …inspiration’s the word here .
even the title is tarantino …inglorious bastards:)
about love aaj kal being original , well i dont agree with anurag . if the basic theme/concept(two time periods against three in the original , two love stories ..time change, love takes a different look but the basics remain the same) is copied then the plot and screenplay and everything else can be different , it cant be called original . no harm in doing it as long as the director acknowledges it .
loading...
Anurag bhai then what abt Rann… expectin RGV to bounce back with this……
loading...
I don’t think that anyone is claiming Kaminey as a rip-off of Pulp-fiction. Only thing is that the song being played in trailers sounds(in parts) somewhat similar to theme music of Pulp-fiction.
loading...
I loved Harishchandrachi Factory. It was the first time I saw everyone inside the theater going gaga all together. Watching a film was fun again.
I did catch some of brilliant scenes from Subramanyapuram after I heard Vasan raving about it a lot. Awesome work. The action/anger/agression was so wild. City of God-moment for me!
Just wondering who will end up making Guru Dutt!
loading...
sankat city and kaminey were on my list. But now with reco from anurag, love aaj kal will also be included. its not everyday when someone like anurag recommend you film for coming friday. Thanks anurag sir for the name of tamizh and marathi film also. Watch Tingya(marathi) if you want to be blown away.
loading...
Pulp Fiction paid tributes to as many as twenty films.. nobody calls that a rip off. what is a rip off..
Sags — you are too much in a hurry to prove yourself right.. let me know where you will be on the release of Love Aajkal.. i would love to be the one to extract your foot out of your mouth or where ever you are putting it..
loading...
hi
anurag sir , i have little quirky script for u .. only u can do justice with it . give me a chance .
loading...
Anurag,
I must confess that I did not hold you in high regards up until a few months ago and though you were a self-obsessed, egoistic fellow. The interviews I’ve seen of you and your writing has changed my opinion and for the better. I saw you on ‘On the couch’ and with a panel of new age directors (Zoya, Dibakar etc.) and loved your perspective on Hindi cinema. Looking forward to more of that in your blogs and movies.
loading...
“pulp fiction paid tribute to as many as twenty films”…hey anurag can you name a few films?
loading...
@anurag
i need one piece of advice if you can.
Being a budding scriptwriter and not being confident enough of my English i am planning to write a script in Hindi. Do u think thats a good idea considering the fact that everyone in the industry prefers to read scripts in English.
loading...
Kaminey music is motherfucking beast!! I can’t stop listening to it!! I am so amped up for this movie now!!
loading...
Welcome Back Anurag Kashyap after long time… and u have made us more curious for these upcoming films, aag mein ghee dal diya… well for me Kaminey comes first…right now use to watch trailor of Kaminey daily to reduce my hunger for it slightly… but in reality bhukh badhti ja rahi hai… waiting to see KK in new role in Sankat city and hoping Love aaj kal to be a lovely romantic film with different angle of Imtiyaz Ali. Kites seems to be good movie considering names of Anurag Basu and Hritik Roshan…. I cant say much about Wake up Sidh bcoz i dont know about it…but as u are praising then it must be good bcoz i my expectations from you are and Vishal Bhardwaj are very high…
loading...
waiting for movies for sure
loading...
Kaminey promos r absolutely awesom !! Vishal Bharadwaj has always done somthing exceptional in his every film – so we viewers r sure the film ll be hit! the only thing is music of Kaminey is not having the melody of vishal bharadwaj’s earlier films !
loading...
Hello Anurag
plz keep writing regualrly – we like to read ur posts
loading...
putting my foot in my mouth wud be painful , so i delightfully withdraw from this argument . will wait till july 31st to say anything further:).
loading...
@anurag
; an actor like him given a good script and a powerful character will blow the roof off, and who better than you to provide him with that opportunity. Waiting for this one with bated breath actually more than the ones mentioned above 
Will see Hrithik working with one arnurag in Kites, want to see him work with another anurag (kashyap) in the future. Request to have him in your film. maybe the next one or the one after that
- Sharath B S
loading...
Sharath Hrithik i think is doing his next with Vishal, so your wish to see him give a roof blasting performance will soon be fullfilled..
loading...
Well, I’ve been looking forward to Kaminey ever since it was launched, Sankat City because of all the noise here (10th July’s almost here – but why’s the promotion so lacking?) and Kites because I really liked Metro. I’m also looking forward to Rann, Wake up Sid and, sigh, Paanch. If it never sees the dawn of day, instead of pirating it, why don’t you make it a straight-to-dvd? I’m pretty sure a lot of people’d lap it up, yours truly included. It’d also make SOME money that way. I’m not saying it for the money factor, but primarily because, as a fan, I think it would be the more ‘right’ thing to do. Ah well.
On a different note, seems like Kambakht Ishq’s all set too be a big hit. Sigh. Where, then, do the Delhi 6(which I personally thought was superior to RDB)es, Luck By Chances, Dev Ds, Gulaals and Frozens go? Heh. No wonder they usually call people who make good, meaningful cinema ‘bold’. I’ll take a while to get into the industry, but I really do hope to work with you someday, as much as I sound, errm, however I sound.
Arjun.
P.S: Was watching No Smoking again, yesterday. The part where John Abraham and Ranvir relive the days when they used to smoke in the latter’s dad’s bathroom? Was it a reference to the sitcom scene in Natural Born Killers, when Mickey and Mallory meet?
loading...
another wish to be fulfilled is to see him do that in your film.. two of my favorites coming together
i am sure you will work with him someday; i meant your script will demand him one day 
Keep up the good work kashyap.
Cheers,
Sharath B S
loading...
Arjun ..yes it was a throwback to NBK
Saahil to begin with The Golden glow from the briefcase was a tribute to alex cox and his film..
most of them were from B films..read his early interviews , you will know..couple on a rampage in the opening was to bonnie and clyde..
loading...
Anurag, I am also interested in which are the films that are sitting in your “World Cinema” shelf right now. It may not have to be new releases but I am sure a lot of your fans, like me, would like to know which of the films moved you, which sucked, so on so forth.
On a wishful note, I’d love to see your all time top 10 films from world cinema.
loading...
Hi Anurag sir.
I was watching The Making of Dev.D, therein you mentioned a few directors whose work u used to discuss with your cinematographer. One was Wong Kar Wai and the other name, i just coudn’t make out. kindly enlighten me on that.
All the best for your mega projects.
Nishant.
loading...
Uma Thurman’s hairdo – Nod to one of the movies of Godard, where the female lead sports a familiar hairdo.
Boxer’s name – Tribute to On the Waterfront.
Taxi Driver(I think Tarantino said it one of the interviews. Not very positive on this.)
The popping of the bread from the Toaster when Willis kills Travlota, is said to be a tribute to The Graduate, though i tink it is a far fetched(read at IMDB!).
loading...
hi anurag sir,
i would like to here your reply on 3 marathi films which you mentioned above please.
thank you.
loading...
The briefcase with golden glow was from Kiss Me Deadly.
loading...
on a side note, when is the dvd of gulal releasing. I was real busy at the time of its release and could not catch it. By the time I could manage some time, it was gone from the theatres.. Are you planning to release it or not??
loading...
Tanul, I fished some of the cinematic and cultural homages in Pulp Fiction from the internet:
.
First the cinema homages:
.
The dance competition with John Travolta and Uma Thurman from Goddard’s film Bande A Parte, (1964) after which Tarantino named his production company.
.
The briefcase with mysterious contents is homage to Aldrich’s film Kiss Me Deadly, (1955)
.
Butch stops at the lights and sees Marcellus crossing the road, similar to Hitchcock’s film Psycho when Janet Leigh stops at a set of lights to see her boss crossing the road. Also probably homage to Hitchcock himself, who was one of the first directors to “glorify” violence.
.
‘The Bonnie Situation’ contains Jules and his friend Jimmy, clearly a reference to Francois Truffaut’s film, Jules et Jim.
.
The character of Wolf in this story is taken from Jean Reno’s portrayal of a ‘cleaner’ in Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita, a role reprised by Keitel himself in the American remake Point of No Return
.
The references get even wackier when Butch goes back to rescue Marcellus from the shopkeeper’s basement and finds a treasure trove of “villain” tools he can use:
hammer—The Toolbox Murders (1978)
baseball bat—Walking Tall (1973); The Untouchables (1987)
chainsaw—The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974);The Evil Dead II (1987)
katana (samurai sword)—many, including Seven Samurai (1954); The Yakuza (1975); Shogun Assassin (1980) (Wikipedia)
.
<<>
BURGERS Meat is the matter for these folks. On their way to work, hit-men Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) discuss what a Quarter Pounder With Cheese is called in Paris. Jules wonders what the French call a Whopper. And what do they catch their quarry breakfasting on? But of course: Big Kahuna Burgers 1. Gerald Martinez, a friend and coworker from Tarantino’s days as a video-store clerk, developed the Big Kahuna logo: Surf and turf are twin motifs in Pulp, which is set in the director’s greater Los Angeles stomping grounds.
.
SURFIN’ The soundtrack opens with the beefy guitar of surf-rock Dale; the movie opens with Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) in a diner discussing their future in crime. Pumpkin wears a Hawaiian shirt festooned with surfers 2, which makes him look cool even when he isn’t. Jules tells the jittery lovers that they’re all going to act like ”three little Fonzis here. And what’s Fonzi like?” ”Cool,” says Honey Bunny. ‘Correctamundo,” says Jules.
.
‘TOONS Everyone’s a kid at heart. Pusher Lance (Eric Stoltz) watches a Three Stooges clip while eating General Mills’ Fruit Brute 3, one of the friendly monster line which includes Frankenberry and Count Chocula. Since the cereal wasn’t made after 1974, Stoltz actually ate Fruit Loops, says production designer David Wasco. Tarantino is a fanatic fan of Speed Racer, hence the vintage tee Lance wears. Mia (Uma Thurman) flaunts her Flintstones fluency by drawing a cartoon square in the air (quoting 1965’s ”No Biz Like Showbiz” episode) — as in ”Vincent, don’t be a…” The only real kid in Pulp sits rapt before Clutch Cargo, the ’50s cartoon character with the live-action lips.
.
WHEELS Winston Wolf (Harvey Keitel) drives his $70,000 Acura NSX ”real f—in’ fast” (Tarantino originally wanted a silver Porsche). Vincent’s ride, a ‘65 Chevy Malibu Super Sport, belongs to the director, who bought it from his pal Martinez after selling his True Romance script in 1989. But since Tarantino never drove the four-speed convertible, he’d planned to total it in one Pulp scene. It survived, however, and now sits parked in story cocreator Roger Avary’s yard. Stripped of his getaway car, Butch (Bruce Willis) finds the keys to Zed’s custom-designed Harley-Davidson chopper 4, which is branded with the name of Tarantino’s girlfriend, Grace.
.
.
Huh!!!!!
loading...
“Kaminey is Paul Greengrass meets tarantino..
Characters are guy richie”.
Now that’s some cocktail for us movie drunkards. Thanks for the grand recos.
*
28,35- Magik/ rals: PA tweeted me. Shall I carry a ‘lal roomal’ for easy identification ?
* AK,please tell me the movie name if you have seen the
movie #4 on this post . I can’t sleep w/o knowing this and am fairly sure you have seen the film.
loading...
Hi! Anurag,
I am still wondering about R.D.Burman angle to Kaminey.Whats the RD connection? Teesri Manzil? what is reinterpreted? and How?
loading...
hi dada…
welcome back after a long time…
dada wat is happening on the DOGA front??
I m dying to know about that project….
loading...
Is the Guru Dutt movie being directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra with Aamir and Katrina?
loading...
@~uh~: magik will be there, not me. gaaley mei laal tie, a la salman
have a gr8 time at the premiere
loading...
To all those who are skeptic of Love Aaj Kal and Imtiaz Ali, watch “Socha Na Tha”. One movie which blew me out completely and made me a life-long fan of Imtiaz Ali, Abhay Deol, and Sandesh Shandilya (MD). What a lovely movie, much more romantic than any other lover boy’s movies.
LAK and Kaminey are surely on top of my hit-list. Long live cinema!
loading...
Gurudutt is being directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. It has been his baby for 4 years now
loading...
http://movies.indiainfo.com/article/0907071541_aamir_kareena/392395.html
When I read this on a news channel’s ticker, it didn’t say who the writer was going to be!
loading...
Thanks for the brief insights into these films.
Hoping that Sankat City and Kaminey get a US release(east)
I was waiting for ‘Mumbai Cutting’ before all these.. ? Havn’t heard about it in a while…
loading...
Hi Anurag,
Don’ mean to be rude on your comeback here, but isn’t this “mutual masturbation” of sorts. I never could understand filmmakers promoting other director’s works or criticizing them. I think a director’s work is to make films and detach and let the film speak or occasionally speak for the film. Your honest attempts can be construed as a publicity. Let their works speak for themselves.
loading...
I’m jealous that you get to see these films before they release, I don’t wanna be in films because I don’t think I’m talented enough, but the perk to see films before they release might make me change my mind. Also, what’s the word on Gulaal’s DVD? Is it going to release? And will you do a director commentary on the dvd of your future films?
loading...
@ narayan
i think anurag is speaking as a film buff, as one of us…not as a filmmaker. so he has the right to talk about any movie in any way he wants to. because i do too.
loading...
are you sure Sankat City is coming this weekend?? Its not put in the multiplexes of Bangalore. :(
Kya frustness hai yaar… ek arsa guzar gaya hai theatre main achchi picture dekkhe huye…
loading...
a non-jaat mellowed down Yashpaal Sharma? another side of Kay Kay? a new kind of gangsta film? How many surprises are awaiting us? More stars need to break the stereotypes. They just can’t seem to break their mould.Perhaps you can, Anurag?
loading...
I am eagerly waiting for Kaminey…it has that pulp fiction feel to it. I love such films esp. the Tarantino sorts …recently, I saw a Mexican pulp fiction called “Nicotina”…simply amazing…I loved its ending…
by the way, I am in Mumbai…for good…got a job offer which I accepted it…they r paying me good and it’s much better than writing dry and sarcastic humor (that’s what I did in Delhi…reinventing MAD in desi style…also, it had gone pretty redundant. Therefore i switched places…)
I am glad you are back to blogging…I haven’t blogged much either…too much work…
take care
loading...
Lucky to see Sankat City @ premiere show. Not sure if I will be able to do justice by writing a review. If I can organize my feelings, I will post it on PFC.
loading...
looking forward to all these movies.. hopefully they will play it here in the only theater near home where they play hindi movies and even that is 25 miles off.
Anyway, somebody wrote on wiki that Love Aaj Kal “It is said to be a hindi remake of Taiwanese film Three Times,directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien[3]”
Is it true? Not that it matters if the movie is good.. but just wondering.
I have loved all of Imtiaz’s movies so far so expectations are high.. So thanks to errors on the wiki page for Sasirekha Parinayam, I dragged my husband along to this telugu movie thinking Imtiaz Ali wrote it. Now that I check this page, it says its someone else. Given that we walked out halfway through the movie that figures!!
loading...
I was expecting a post from Anurag just in time of the release of his friend’s movie. I am not saying these movies will be bad but he is doing the same thing (promoting friend’s movies) as he was complaining about what other camps were doing, calling them mutual mas… club etc., And if I remember correctly, early in February, he proclaimed that Delhi 6 would be a great movie etc., which turned out to be a turkey
Height of Hipocracy :-(
loading...
Well writtern…Sir..
we all are waiting for kaminey Desperately.
i seen yr film Gulal 4 times,entire film is nice …But main reason was KK menon entry scene that made me crazy ..
if you get time please add a post discribing yr thought and what was going in yr mind while writing such a wonderfull openning scene…..
i feel its one of best film opening scene …..
keep writing sir !!
loading...
Hi AK
i have one query from dev d , in the film chanda before becoming chanda plays 3 balls , what you wanted to tell from that ? i have my thought about , plz give your take . I have to decide i can see the cinema or not
loading...
On an aside: I hope you all know that Kambakth Ishq is a copy of Kamal Hasan starrer Pammal K Sambantham, a tamil film which was a comedy. It was much much better than its copy. I dont know how copies work. Do the directors take the permission of the producer of the original film or it is just done arbitarily.
loading...
Hi Anurag,
Surely Kaminey is a movie everyone is eagerly waiting for and should be worth the wait …However; am more interested to see how Vishal would have made Shahid & Priyanka act as his movies typically boasts of great performances? We all hope this movie does wonders for them too….
Talking of great performances – I saw last week ‘New York’ in Regal Cinemas(NJ) and a great compliment from a white couple about the character in the movie (guy who kills the cop and then jumps from the building) caught my attention to how important the aspect of casting could be for even small roles to get noticed – Guess; that guy was seen first in your ‘Black Friday’ – acting as Assistant/Accountant to Pawan Malhotra’s character. Is he a theatre artist?
loading...
For your reference,
“Gabhricha Paus” is releasing on 17th of July.
website is www.thedamnedrain.com
loading...
Its great to see AK ignoring the IGNORANT LOT ,
Great going AK !!!
GK
loading...
kaminey music is 50:50, 4 fine songs, two ordinary songs but this is one film i m eagerly looking forward to…shahid looks great and amole gupte is classic stuff…
loading...
My review of Sankat City My review of Sankat City posted on PFC. Check the plot bubble diagram out
loading...
I just returned from the movie and now I know why some people had extreme reactions on this movie; those “it was not that great” kinds. I was immediately reminded of Tarantino’s Grindhouse. People had similar reactions. It’s such an incredible piece of post-modern work. I don’t know of any Indian film that has gone down to offer such an awesome homage to Indigenous pastiche. Right from the name, poster, background score(80s western pop to 80s dishum dishum films) , each character, the twists and even the sudden voice-visual mismatches and jump cuts that I guess were deliberate ( Homage to some 80s Hindi films) The people returned with smiles on their faces. Its intelligent craziness in the film that is so unique. I don’t know if the joker character in the bar was homage to Ledger or La Strada. By the way, check out the posters on the walls of Gogi’s office. Awesome homage to the exploitation genre. In Masand’s lingo, I give this movie a thumbs up or better so in Adarsh bhai’s; over all this movie is hilarious and will do earth shattering business. Uh-oh I started giving homage now to these critics. Look what you’ve done Pankaj:-)
loading...
Anurag: You are lucky. You can see movies in advance. I went for Sankat City in the morning. And i was told that show is about to cancel because only you are the first today who is going for this movie. I went after 2 hour again and Thankfully there were 10 people. I thought at least 10 people are there who love good movie.
But i was wrong too. Out of 10 4 were couples. And they took corner seat. Its obvious that if bad movie is there than no one disturbs you nd you get some private time.
But movie was great. They are missing such a good movie. And now looking for Kaminey ( Looks like Shahid will play like Heath Ledger of Darknight and ofcourse great lyrics of Gulzar ssab). And Love aajkal too.
At least from promo it seems that both story are almost same. Just want to see how Imtiaz has edited the movie. Dying to see that movie.
Thanks Anurag.
loading...
Word of mouth and good reviews seem to be working for Sankat City. Don’t know about the trade figures, but it was running to full capacity on Sunday at three nearby multiplexes. Good going!
loading...
Can anybody help me find the movie Urf Professor by Pankaj Advani… Pleaseeeee I am dying to see it… My email is feroz_dude@yahoo.com
loading...
this is from your old article ” Bloody Murd..” there you shared your dream to adapt noir novels and even jasson and ken bruen comment on that . Have you reserve your thought about that? or was that only a big blog joke
loading...
@ Sankat City: Thought the movie was just an improvement on the many akshay kumar movies floating around. KK was as always brilliant though. And i don’t get why Rimi Sen keeps bursting into bengali in all her movies. I am a great fan of yours AK, i make it a point to buy DVDs of your movies so that there are more filmmakers with the kinda conviction that you have. I have also not seen any movie of yours on a pirated DVD for the same reason. But somehow I don’t get how this movie is worth a watch. I guess i went with great expectations and it didn’t live up to them. If you can, please enlighten me on why i feel cheated by this movie.
loading...
or maybe i am just an idiot who doesn’t get this movie. lol
loading...
@ ashwini
because you just do not know the difference between this and that
loading...
yeah right… :P
loading...
Two and two continue to make four, in spite of the whine of the amateur for three, or the cry of the critic for five.
- James McNeill Whistler
loading...
I really haven’t been keeping up to date with the hindi films, so I didn’t know about Sankat City until I read one of Kay Kay’s interviews a few days back. Haven’t seen it, but looks good. Kaminey, I dont know, some parts give me the hope that this is will technically marvelous, I mean the colors and cinematography of that song and the gritty, dark, ‘hellish’ atmosphere has been done very well. Its the characters I am interested in, from what it seems to me, either they will be ‘masala’ characters or Tarantino’s films’ like characters (more probable, and preferable).
About Love aaj kal, just tell me this sir, did you really like Jab We Met? Because you praised it a lot, but I found it just okay. Good timepass, but nothing more, and ultimately masala, giving in to the demands, not pushing the envelope. Judging from the films you have made, there are very less chances of you showing hypocrisy, so I am confused. I know opinions vary, but your positive review of Love aaj Kal, just added to my confusion (as I know you are good friends with Ali) because from the looks of it I find it nothing special, if not regressive. I would love to believe that you give your unbiased, honest opinion about his films but as you said ‘To be Howard Roark you have to kill your family’ and that’s a tough thing for Anyone, so I have some doubt. Just help me out here…
loading...
Thanks Anurag. I always look forward to Vishal Bharadwaj movies and after Omkara my expectations are sky high. I hope Kaminey delivers.
Out of the 3 movies you talked about, Kaminey is probably the only one which will have a theatrical release here in California and I will be the first in line to watch it.
Sankat city DVD came out recently so I will catch it there. I have not seen any of Pankaj’s movies so no expectations there. I really hope that it turns out good .
I thought Socha Na tha was excellent and I felt let down by Jab We Met. Kareena got on my nerves with her usual loud (and what she calls) acting. So, I am not too excited about Love Aaj Kal either.
One movie that I am dying to watch is Gulaal. It’s too bad that it was not released in theatres in my neck of woods. I keep checking for the DVD release but it is very surprising to see that even though there are so many bootleg copies floating around, original is nowhere to be found. I have made a promise to myself that I won’t watch any good movies on pirated DVDs so the wait continues….I hope that it comes out on DVD soon.
loading...
Kaminey and Love Aaj Kal are on my first day last show list. Reason is commonn – film director. Vishal is in top film makers and absolutely brilliant and original. One with gift for camera and pen. Imtiaz is more like a (virtual) buddy. I am fond of him since Socha Na Tha (Abhay’s “buddhe ne baja di yaar” is in our group’s cult lines). He is exciting and fresh and no nonsense cool guy.
Sankat City I am going to watch it today in theatre (Same genre Waisa bhi hota hai-Part II was underrated)
loading...
Baat hi bahot karte hain log . . . Anurag; next time (whenever) you are in London, Black labels on me, Old monks on you.
loading...
yo..Anurag..thanks for the post man…it’s a good inside to these films coming from a veteran director….
by the way…for many days i hav been searching for a movie called, “English, August”..it was Rahul Bose debut movie and was based on a novel of d same name…..heck, i can’t find it anywhere….guess Dev Bengal is working on a DVD re Release…..anyways….Anurag or any other greats on PFC please share the thoughts on the movie(i mean in case u have seen it and liked it)…thanks again…
loading...
How to finish ur book/script on gurudutt? Well here it is how-
1. Try to live his stpry so far in imagination and then lock yourself in a room for sometime for the experimental writing. Eh that would be lot too hurting & too biased
2. Write whatever come to you and then edit
3. Take my help. I have exp of locking oneself in room and will be good help
Trust me am a good analyst with a good understanding of psychology
Numerounity
loading...
“arrey saala, reviews to achche hain. Why don’t we shoot a couple of directors endorsing it for a new promo!” Well, I got a major thrill saying action to Mr. David Dhawan and Anurag!
Thanks Anurag.
loading...
Hey check out my Gulaal page:
http://www.squidoo.com/gulaalreview
Yes, I did it only for my personal gain. Flame me for it if you want.
loading...
Sankat City bored me to death.
loading...
Hi Anurag,
I have seen your movie “Gulaal” and “Dev.D” and it was a really a great experience. Mainly the music/songs/dialogs of Gulaal are so realsitc and touching. I really wanna appriciate your work and your pession for cinema. This is really Great Hunger.
Vikas
loading...
Hay,
As much as I wanted Sankat City to work, the film somehow turned out to be a disappointment – a bit too loud, over the top performances, the kinds that we have seen in countless “old-school” bollywood movies, characters “trying” hard to be funny. Jane Bhi Do Yaron too had slapstick moments, but at some level felt more human and the characters were more believable. Sankat somehow misses the connect because the characters might have looked good on paper, but somehow appear caricaturish when they came to life. Actors like KK and Yashpal Sharma surely proved their mettle, so that is one big plus from this film.
Mindless comedies too can have a heart, right?!
Looking forward to better cracked comedies:)
loading...
To be honest, its a bad movie. The script is awful.
loading...
Hi Anurag,
In case ur still following this Post and arent yet bored,
Can u please tell us when PAANCH is releasing .. in one of ur older blogs you had mentioned dat it ll release in april-may ..
Any updates ..
Why dont you create a post on PAANCH to keep the fire alive..
Looking forward to ur reply ..
loading...
Hi Anurag,
I have been following your blog for quite some time now. I consider you to be a great writer and director. I need your advice.
I have been passionate about films since my childhood days and cherished the idea of becoming a writer/director. I wrote my first script when I was in class 7. It was a 13 page script. Over the time, I have thought about and developed many stories that can be translated into films. However, my problem is that I am not able to convert these ideas into full fledged scripts. Every time I try to write scripts, they end up in becoming two page or five page scripts.
Where do you think I am lacking and can you suggest a remedy to overcome this issue.
Eagerly waiting for your reply.
loading...
Rohan,
Paste all the pages together 4 + 5 + 3 + 7 and you would have a thick 100 pages solid script. I guess that’s what the writer of Sankat City has been doing since his childhood. That would explain all the childishness in the story.
loading...
Anurag I hope u r still reading comments on this post.
Since you are a friend of danny boyle I was hoping you could bring the 28 days franchise to India. We have not yet seen a proper desi horror/gore flick yet and the zombie horror will be the first of the kind here as far as I knw. Even if u have a page of the script for this I am sure the producers will fill your pocket.
loading...
Hey Anurag
I am looking forward to kaminay from your recommendations.
What’s next from your production company?
loading...
Hello Anurag
This is mani. I’d met you at the Seminar at Mumbai University and glad that I could attend it and listen to you and Sankalp Meshram speak. It was not only heartening but most of the time during your speeches I was going like- goodness!they went through it as well. And so I had this smile plastered on my face throughout the session. It was all so uncanny and kind of seredipiditous. I understand that you must be really keeping busy but I was wondering (the usual) if it would be possible at all for me to come and meet you for sometime before the weekend. My number is -9833160130 and my email address is maayaproductions@gmail.com. Thanks so much.
Kind Regards
Mani
loading...
Anurag Sir,
I just wrote my screenlay writing examination of FTII this sunday and when asked who are the 3 screenswriters I like, I mentioned Guru Dutt, Anurag Kashyap and Charlie Kaufman. And now, I am just waiting for the results thugh it doesnt really matter to me whether or not I will be slected…coz either ways I would write wwhat I wanted..be it crap or whatever…..
And yes I am writing this to you coz I wanted you to know one thing…I am currently writing GULAAL 2 (I didnt find a better name yet) a regional film (in telugu, my mother tongue)…it’s about a guy who has fought for a separate state has finally got it but he screws it all and gets screwed (this is just a premise and I am not lifiting directly from your great GULAAL but it isnpired me a lot to write this)…its basically about TELANGANA movement going on in AP.
I know for now all the best is what you can just say but I need more of you and your support….since I sought this to be the best means to I am writing it hopefully I would get a reply from you…..
loading...
We’re proud of you Anurag! Congrats on being part of the jury at Venice Film Festival.! http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006627?categoryId=19&cs=1
loading...
ANURAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WILL YOU BE AT THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL???????
IS IT TRUE????????????
ALL ITALIAN PAPERS TODAY ARE TELLING SO!!!!!
I’M SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS, DEAR!!!!!!!
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
Venice Film Festival Site:
http://www.labiennale.org/it/cinema/
We’ve already posted this WONDERFUL piece of news in the homepage of our site dedicated to Hindi Cinema:
http://cinehindi.blogspot.com/
WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU!!!!!
ITALY LOVES YOUR CINEMA!!!!!
Ciao!
Celeste
loading...
The man has made us proud again. Anurag, your time has come and we are all with you. [FLASH NEWS]: Dev.D, Gulaal and Delhi 6 at the Venice Film Festival. See it to believe it!!
http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/festival/lineup/official_selection/out_of_competition/
loading...
Neeraj!!!!!!! Thank you for the info, dear!!!! Yesterday I was so excited for Anurag that I didn’t read the list of the movies (silly woman! forgive me). Now DEFINITELY I’ll go there!!!!!
Mr Kashyap: I hope it’ll be possible meeting you! Please, don’t refuse it!!!! I’ve seen all your films, included Satya – co-written by you – and Aamir – produced by you. Only Gulaal was missing, but now I may watch it in Venice!!!! See you there! Kisses!
Celeste
loading...
They told me, Heraclitus, they told me you were dead;
They brought me bitter news to hear and bitter tears to shed;
I wept, as I remembered, how often you and I
Had tired the sun with talking, and sent him down the sky.
loading...
Hello Anurag,
I am from Orissa. My parents are against my wwatching movies. I don’t blame them but I don’t know how to explain it to them that this is what I live for! I am an aspiring filmmaker.
And all I wanted to ask you was, is it mandatory for me to enroll myself in some film institute? Can we take influences from filmmakers like you, Vishal Sir, Quentin Tarantino without really taking ‘classes’? Also, what are your favorite films (at least 5 of them….don’t say ‘The Bicycle thief’, I know it is as much your favorite as it is mine)? Please do reply….Thanks…
loading...
And yeah, when will be the ‘Gulaal’ DVD released? I am dying to see it again….
loading...
I thought you were one of those few people Anurag, who called a spade a spade. Saw LAK yesterday, and from now on will never follow any recommendations of yours, because I know for sure that you, yourself did not believe even 1% of what you wrote about the film. I see the transformation of Anurag Kashyap to Yash Chopra beginning.
loading...
I agree with Ajitesh. U rip apart movies like ‘rabb ne…’ but u end up promoting crap like LAK. V all know Imtiaz ali is a good friend of urs so u choose to come out of hibernation to recommend it.
loading...
Ajitesh, Bonzer.. i really love the film.. you probably went to see another Jab We Met which it was not.. you tell me the problems you had with the film , i will tell how not to watch a film…
It is my favourite imtiazali film , higher up than SNT and JWM.. best love story i have seen since DDLJ in india.. you not liking the film tells me just one thing , that if all film makers start catering to the audience’s expectations , then they will have to make the same film all over again for rest of their lives.. thank god imtiaz refuses to caters to his fans and goes out and experiments.. does something new with in his own zone.. he tells you an episodic story and it doesn’t tickle your funny bone, so you reject it.. great.. yours to you and mine to me.. i love the film more than anyone can imagine and i stand by it..
and by the way all filmmakers i know think the same i do.. they appreciate imtiaz had the balls to fuck with your taste of cinema..
argue.. if you didn’t like it.. do not make a statement and accusation… grow up..
loading...
Best Love story after DDLJ? Are you serious? The modern couple to me came across more like “friends with benefits” than a couple in love. It was hard to connect to them or care about whether or not they get together in the end. Jai’s realization that he loves Meera after an year looked like it came out of boredom of playing X-Box night after night more than anything!! I didn’t expect another JWM from him. All I expected was a simple love story where he stayed true to the characters.
There was nothing ‘out of the box’ in this movie. It was full of cliches…everything has already been done. Are you kidding when you say that he was not catering to the audience’s expectations? Same old Punjabi angle, same old US , UK locations, 1 twist song, 1 bhangra, 2 slow music love songs!! Hero is the coolest guy ever and heroine is the most beautiful girl ever!! What ‘balls’ are you talking about?
Have been a big fan of your movies and was eagerly waiting for your next movie until this review.
loading...
Again…that in itself is alright, but…why pretend that you are trying to create a new kind of a film – a film of modern times.
How do you do that? By showing the same stuff? By working on cliches? I thought the Surd story was much better than the contrived cute one. Though…it was as cliched a character as ever. Rishi Kapoor is good but like Shah Rukh’s romantic characters, or Saif’s cool-dude character, it’s not original; it’s boring to watch. And they are all the same.
And yet…I agree, the masses want that – they enjoy that. They are happy with the wise-cracks…with the ‘hep’ styled sequences…with the quick-editing. But that doesn’t help in telling a story. The big hassle of LAK is for all the yap-yap happening…and romantic talks of the senior and the mockery of it by the junior, there is no depth in the emotional journey. Saif’s character changes within a song. Oh sure…he’s been shown as hiding his inner self…the subext is supposed to flow…but does it?
When you have nonsense yapping become the basis of conflict – it’s a play at work, but…a play needs to be made visual for the conflict to come out. For us to relate to the characters. When you make a film or write a story one of the foremost questions you ask is – do you care for the characters?
Please don’t give me the argument – the box office numbers prove what works. Yup…no one can argue against that. By the same logic, No Entry or Heyy Babyy are awesome flicks.
Another over-rated thing, which many will not agree with me – dialogues. What are the dialogues used for? For moving the story forward. For (critical) exposition revealed in situation of conflict. But…in all masala flicks – the intent is to be cute, and so is LAK. And sorry to say – so was JWB, which of course many swear by as another awesome flick.
They are good masalas – t-p characters, good-looking folks, nice locations, sweet-sounding fattas (dialogues), same ol’ (smart and wise) characters. And that’s what it is – it moves fast, with one good thing – focusing on minimal characters; in fact, the lady’s pov is quite less and that impacts her character. It’s more of Saif-Rishi story, but…do you at the end feel – yes, the learning is made — love conquers all. Saif realizes what love is. Naah…when that dimension has not be set-up well before, it shall always be a weak pay-off. And then…isn’t he too passive a dude. Hmm…yeah the real hero is the Surd – he makes all the moves…he risks every thing. His arc is definitely with the most depth.
Though yup…LAK work for many. Naah…not for me.
loading...
(The initial paras:)
Yup…it works differently for different people. LAK worked fantastic for some or many. No offense to any one – it was quite nonsense to me.
As Uma mentions – it’s absolutely ‘made for the audience’ – ’slick’ photography / locations / characters; and that for me is dangerous – trying to be cute, which is the trademark category of masala flicks. When you aim to be cute, you compromise on the story and building characters.
loading...
@anurag saw LAK in NYC. I liked the intent of the film. I thought the idea of the film was very contemporary, the issue, I totally related with. I also liked the old gen vs. new gen arguments: very very valid I thought. Because I frankly believe we’re becoming pretty cold when it comes to relationships now. It’s a very watchable film. As you said, Imtiaz went beyond his fan base and I think in the process of scaling the film’s appeal it turned out a little weird for the purists. I could especially feel that because I was watching it in NYC and wondering just how difficult it would be to make a film that ppl from NYC to Lucknow could connect with. Did think that Padukone stuck out like a sore thumb. Narrative editing was kinda sloppy. The beginning seemed like a power point presentation, and not very sleek. Not that I am not comfortable with non linear or brisk narratives, but it’s become such an over used tool, people are throwing it in without much thought. But then, I didn’t even pay for the movie, someone else did, and the row behind me knew the lyrics to every song, even the onomatopoeic words; so who am I to complain.
loading...
Paanch was expected to release on dvd in april this year. It didn’t happen. Is there any hope that the movie will release? Eagerly looking forward to it
loading...
Read some comments on Love Aaj Kal, and I ended up watching it and I thought it was pretty good. But I agree with the people saying Deepika Padukone brings the film down because she isn’t a good actor at all. One thing I love about Imtiaz Ali films is the dialogue, I hope no one writes his dialogue for him because he does such a good job writing dialogues himself. My issue though isn’t with the film as much as it is with the promotion and the decision to be all secretive about Harleen. I saw the pirated version (not that it matters because it’s gonna be a hit anyways but i didn’t wanna contribute to it) because I felt insulted as an audience that they thought revealing her real name would change my judgement of the film, and after watching the film I didn’t think it served any purpose to hide her. Can’t really hold it against the quality of the film though, it was pretty good
loading...
anurag, maybe, my taste is not as evolved as urs is. after all, I am still one of those ‘Mango People’, and not a hotshot film maker. TC
loading...
i agree wid u on lak anurag,i think its a try to made another rang de basanti from love angel where 2 stories run parallel which shows that emotions r still d same only the situations have changed!as i say always dhuein le kar aa gayi jawaani,phir se wahi kisse phir wahi kahaani.kuch naya nahin hai or manzil wahi hai!!!!!!!!!!
loading...
Hi Anurag
really love your idea of Devdas and its music that provides different layers to the movie. In my conciousness this is the only movie that got 5 out of 5 stars in TOI(Times of India) reviews. From the very begining i have a different kind of respect or charm for vey maverick kind of people and you have shown your mettle on this front.
I am really willing to work with you and wanna make my career in film making. I know this is the stupid thing that I am doing but still its nowhere wrong to utilize your resources upto best of your capacity.
waiting for a positive response from your side.
Ram
loading...
saw LAK today… parallelism between Kal and Aaj love is not very meaningful…
straightforward script… what director want to convey -> you try to get over relation for sake of career etc (some career at golden gate and some paint job??)… we can show all these event.. provideded we back them with very solid reasons/events… but unable to.
I am so bored of love story… no basics behind any love… just people are impatient…
DDLJ was pretty cool love story. good but not great.
I did not Jab We Met etc? even this title bore me.
Anurag,
I am not sure if you did Physics… but if did, check concept of “Resonance”…why it happens and what is result… similarly why two things appeals… similar to two frequency matching… hence coining of word frequency match.
I will rate “Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi…” superb in romance movie.
another one… “Pyaasa” from Gurudutt.
not leaning towards sad options… but again they reminds me of “my sad songs are sweetest one”.
but still better than normal movies.
I am curious about points for this movie. I like your sarcasm… “apani aazadi to apani laudiya ke dil me”
loading...
Anurag sir..
I am the craziest fan of yours..i was waiting for your paanch from my school days,,from the moment i saw its 1st promo..a violent one..now i cant even find the trailer anywhere…and i loved LAK…many are not liking it..tats the problem with Indian audience..if they loved JWM..they expect another JWM from the director…i liked imtiaz ali from his television days when i saw his story in star best sellers…later which was made into Ahista ahisa directed by Shivam nair..i must say TV version was better..love u sir..good luck for Bombay velvet n Doga(my fav comic charecter..plz add Kaal paheliyan as the main villain along with Halkan singh)
loading...
Wow, LOVE AAJ KAL is no masterpiece. Anurag Kashyap must be blind or something. And this man is the alpha male of the Indian New Wave (which is a complete farce). LOVE AAJ KAL is as good or bad as a Karan Johar film. Its a shame that Anurag who accused Karan Johar of mutual masturbation has no qualms about doing the same thing with his circle of filmakers.
loading...
and Anurag, please improve the quality of your blog. You write like someone who works at Mid-Day. Not good enough for India’s most promising young filmaker.
loading...
Hi anurag, i am agree with you about LAK….the treatments was superb…but somehow emotion was missing there ….actually imtiaz should try with total new concept ….i found the hell lotta similarities with other two films….though it is a personal perspective to judge and stands for.
I also saw SANKAT CITY…was badly waiting for that film….first half was toooo good…but why second half got messed i couldn’t understand….Pankaj an amazing character writer …but the it could be much better at end…..
now waiting for Kaminey…vishal my one of the FAV director.
also good luck for ur next!
loading...
I love your films anurag and imtiaz’s as well. I am glad he went in a new direction with this film. the worse thing that could have happened here is if he tried to replicate JWM.
loading...
There were too many reviews and then I just didnt feel like watching it. Looked at the trailers and it didnt look that promising either. Read that you had a lump while watching it, I dont know why I was somehow not convinced. Some friends had the tickets so went along. Whatever you have written about LAK is true. I found myself feeling exactly opposite to what the reviews are floating around. I never felt JWM around. Those emotions were subtle and heartfelt on the contrary. The emotions were truer than his earlier films. LAK is indeed a remarkable film. I dont know when was the last time I felt like this while watching a love film. Sort of felt like; when did I become so cold. Now, I kind of feel that those who have found it boring and silly are heartless/cold/passionless. All through the while in the car the “Yeh dooriyan” song was playing in my head and I didnt speak a word in the 45 minute drive back home. Wish I could write a review but now I guess its too late.
loading...
I agree with Anurag as he is the one of the best upcoming directors of this era…LAK rock!!
loading...
Hi Anurag,
Many Congrats for the Venice feat !! More power to you !
I heard that you went to Pune to attend the premiere show of Sachin Kundalkar’s new movie “Gandh”. That was a pleasant surprise since a lot of experimentation is taking place in the Marathi cinema milieu recently and its only apt that you are drawn to those efforts.I heard many good reviews from people who have seen Gandh-for its unique concept and technical brilliance and that Sachin Kundalkar is a name to watch for.
Given your ethusiastic presence at the event, I am sure you subscribe to this notion. Would like to hear from you about the experience of Gandh and such efforts !
Thanks,
SGD
loading...
i went to the movie (lak) because of your recco,
i wasted 60 bucks… it is not even worth downloading online…
dint nobody read the script before filming and said it sucks?
in the end i just wanted to knw what actually is saif’s profession was..i dint care abt the story..but i guess the writer himself dint knw..
sankat city was good..it could have been gr8 if some money of lak was given to it…
i am sure that kaminey is going to be gr8
loading...
I watched Sankat City overall the movie was very good esp the Gujju song “HuuN kaun …” it had us in splits. Crisper and tighter editing could have changed the pace of movie. I don’t agree with the Zany part of your post. Social commentary was awesome something I liked a lot in Barah Aana. I am yet to watch the rest of two movies. I have been eagerly waiting for Kaminey the moment I saw its trailer ages ago (in fact i discovered Gulaal promo and Kaminey together). When is your PaaNch getting released? (or has it released already and I have missed it)
loading...
Kashyap’s interview on his & Indian cinema, and on Venice Film Festival:
http://hindicinenglish.blogspot.com/2009/08/exclusive-interview-with-anurag-kashyap.html
loading...
hello anurag ,
i badly need to write to you .
could you provide your residential address . or if ur uncomfortable posting it on a public platform like this , which in all probability you will be , you could mail it to my email id metalrocksandeep@rediffmail.com
P.S: I WILL HAVE A CARDIAC ARREST IF YOU ACTUALLY GET BACK .
HOPING TO GET SHOCKED .
loading...
I appreciate your somewhat positive review about love aaj kal, but honestly, coming from a filmmaker who made socha na tha (quite pathbreaking, brilliant, and most importantly, simple)I was a little dissapointed after watching the film.
I think this guy called RGV has induced a fear in the audience’s mind not to fall in love with a filmmaker’s transforming vision way too soon, or better still, ever… so maybe because of that, this film left me looking for Imtiaz in the film and I could’nt find him…
just like I love those little references you include in all your films that makes me understand you, your mindset and your vision… and that makes me feel like being an audience to all your films as if it is being made by someone I know…
but love aaj kal, even though it had all the jazz and drama and the songs and the dance… did’nt have Imtiaz Ali in it… don’t know if it is fortunate or unfortunate that he started with socha na tha…
loading...
Anurag, did you mean say ‘Apna …’ as in Apna Desh instead of ‘Tee…’ as in Teesri Manzil for the song ‘Duniya Mien’?
loading...
hi anurag!
what happened to your project DOGA? is it still on or shelved?
i’ll be very disapoointed if its the other way round.
i hope you are convinced with the character, if not there’re hundreds of thousand people who’ll be ready to convince you.
do what it takes but plz do it.
loading...
Love Aaj Kal: I haven’t seen Jab We Met, so I cannot compare between the two Imtiaz Ali films, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with Love Aaj Kal. It was a commercial film to say the least but there was experimentation which was refreshing. The editing was abysmal with constant eye jarring cuts and flipping of the 180 degree line. I enjoyed the fact that Saif was playing Rishi Kapoor’s younger self like the play by Dattani (Dance Like a Man). Also, the use of monologues of Saif inter-cut with Deepika’s facial expressions was very effective in bringing out the essence of the moment. I loved the filming of Saif getting bored in Golden Gate, SF. The music video with the same 4 repetitive rhythmic shots delineating Saif’s couple of years in San Francisco was fabulous.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie for it’s glimpses of creativity and experimentation in a primarily commercial movie.
Kaminey: Wow! Bharadwajji cannot make a mistake. He is truly an auteur and a flawless movie maker. Sorry Anuragji, as much as I adore your films and have loved every film of yours till date, I think Omkara was the best movie ever made in the history of Bollywood (Bold statement, but we are all entitled to our personal choices :P). Dev D runs a very very close second. Before Omkara, my favorite movie was Pulp Fiction. So when I heard that Vishalji is making a movie that’s similar in theme and/or thought to Pulp Fiction, I was desperate for it’s release. But when I saw the movie, more than Tarantino, I saw Guy Ritchie everywhere. It was like Lock Stock mixed with RockNRolla. I loved the pace of the movie and the Vishalji’s dialogues are the best. It was sad to see that no one in the audience laughed when Tope tells Bhope “I am not America”. I think that was an ingenious dialogue. Also, the scene between Mikhail and Bhope (my favorite two actors in the movie) where they toy with each other before Bhope shoots him was intensifying, thrilling yet hilarious. Isn’t it borrowed from Paanch?
The sad part is, neither Dev D nor Kaminey will be among the popular Indian award ceremonies where as movies like Luck or another stupid Karan Johar flick might bag “BEST DIRECTOR”!!!
loading...
Anuragji,
Small point of clarification.
Is it possible to have the newer comments displayed first? It is cumbersome to press newer comments and go through every page to reach the end. Or am I doing something wrong?
- Aman
loading...
kaminay was great , loved the climax action sequence but can you teach how to watch the end ?
loading...
Hi Anurag,
I happened to see Kaminey yesterday and felt few glitches. i know it is a matter of personal choice (watching cinema) but dont u think the director got too much carried away by his hand held camera and had never let the characters or the characters settle. i found it technically brilliant but to me technology has to be the slave of the medium. may be there are different view points with new age film makers like you. But yes it was definitely a different experience.
loading...
another one from me may be annoying, but i must say Love Aaj Kal is not as good or anywhere close to what you have posted at least to me. especially the resolution to the climax seems to have been designed by some big fat producer extremely concernede about the box office collection. and watching saif ali khan was a complete deja vu. umpteen times on the indian screen.
loading...
and finally a request why dont you exploit varanasi (eternally benaras) in any of your film. i think it has got immense potential visually but anyhow it was just a request may be some day i could. i also had few queries regarding the market of short films if i invest few thousands on a short film what are the chances of giving it back to the financers. i know few of the festivals which gives out prize money but is there any festival or circuit where people of your calibre are regular visitors
loading...
Didn’t watch Sankat City completely, but was beginning to like it. Kaminay was awsome, but Love Aajkal – I’ll call it hopeless. It’s a 1D movie – there’s a central idea but no details.
Nagesh Kukunoor’s movies lack details too, but serve some purpose. Blue Umbrella too lacked details but it’s background music made it beautiful as a poem.
loading...