Piff - Day 2

Sunday

The plan was pretty straightforward for day 2. Get up, drive up and witness what the festival had to offer today. Like yesterday, I wasn’t able to browse much through the catalogue, and had left the choice of films open to contemplation, mainly governed by my whim at the moment. Barring a few bad decisions, I thought I stayed pretty much on track, getting what I wanted from the fest. Few recollections from the day:


Woman with a camera

Reached a little late to catch the film from its start, but managed to catch most of it nonetheless. The movie was truly for, of and by women. Which was little disappointing for me at least. It upsets, and sometimes puzzles me when women start identifying with a creed of their own. Women’s day for instance. Before expecting men to give their share of respect, it is important that women too erase that grey line, and stop identifying themselves as an oppressed class. Anyways, this seems to spawn a new argument altogether, most of which the film doesn’t deserve, so I’ll take it in a separate thread. Having said what I said above, I still found the film noteworthy, portraying the vivid kaleidoscope of Indian, and more specifically keralite women, quite elegantly. Besides catching real life glimpses from a wide area, it also had certain abstract sequences filled in that made the painting complete. Overall, a good attempt, and definitely a well thought of film.

Thanks

The post screening session said it all. For a change, the audience was blunt on the face of the film’s representative telling him that he had left too much to the imagination. I did agree with some who spoke, as I too felt that though it is best left to the viewer to read between the lines, a film must have the substance to provoke him to do so. Otherwise, it all appears a random sequence of images created just to satisfy the director’s whims.

Chaabi Waali Pocket watch

This one was my personal favorite. So what I write here is prejudiced by my individual admiration for the film. Reason 1 – it being a ftii diploma film which I feel is reason enough. It is like catching a gushing stream right at its source. True it is majestic and grand going down the stages, but the purity of the trickling stream picks its own draw of admirers. With some of the diploma films I’ve managed to get my hands on, one can see the art of filmmaking at its embryonic best. The depth of intense thoughts is portrayed through the outdated, commercially inept equipments, much like the concept itself. It always was, and forever will be the story with ftii films. Reason 2 - the plot: pick an urdu poet, looming in obscurity, and base him in hyederabad. The idea was simple, yet having that intellectual appeal. It was played well as an old, yet spirited shayar who chooses anonymity with deliberation. From the words of the protagonist ‘ Vo fankaar hi kya jise avval hone ke liye awaam ki mohor chahiye’. The film had many short citations that kept the film rolling. Reason 3 – Gayatri Kachru : this was a pleasant surprise. Gayatri used to be my senior in school, pretty then as she is now. Once or twice I had the opportunity to have her company among other friends (whom she knew better I must admit), during the lunch breaks. I somehow remember she couldn’t pronounce my name correctly, much to the amusement of others. Well, that mispronounced name she’d very much have forgotten by now, but it was unusual, and hence moving to see someone you had known in school being part of the credits that rolled. Reason 4 – its cinematography and Art direction: The film was a visual treat if nothing else. Though the cinematography was slightly biased towards gayatri, it deserved a separate round of ovation for its brilliance.


The Old barber

I always had my doubts with Chinese films. Some that I had seen seemed to have a very picturesque subject far from the tries and tribulations of human emotions. Besides, some of them used camera techniques to ‘bend’ the reality to the script’s favour which turned me off. With nothing better showing in other theaters, I decided to try my luck with this one. Also, the title seemed interesting, so did the synopsis. I was at my cynical best(or worst) for the first few shots, that were quite slow paced. I was sure that they were intentionally created so as to catch the critics’ interest. But gradually, the story picked up pace, clearing my doubts of it not being a genuine film. For instance, the winding of the clock at 9 pm everyday that was becoming monotonous when shown repeatedly, soon took meaning when Uncle Jing doesn’t wind it one day. What moved me most was that it could very well have ended as the audience had expected it to, and it’d still have been appreciated. But the story skims through the exit points, often playing with the viewer’s anticipations. It was quite satirical in that way. It ends quite well, marking a perfect closure to a well made movie.

Vietnam symphony

This was a documentary based on a Vietnamese make-do underground music school during the war. The film fared well, tracing some of the graduates from the school, and accompanying them on their walk down the memory lane.

The Black Road

An intense documentary to say the least. Where the line between being a neutral observer is questioned, and finally crossed. Nessen, an Australian journalist who was there to cover the freedom movement rising in the Aceh’s from the Indonesian military’s perspective, soon found himself changing his viewpoint about the rebellion, and later supporting their cause with all his might (well..almost). From gun battles to the mourning over those dead, Nessen covers the rise and fall of the struggle from its very core. It had the power to take the viewer’s attention off it being a documentary, and mull over the cause. Honestly, I must admit I was slightly relieved to hear that peace was declared in the region…though with a mere compromise of a bargained autonomy to aceh, against their voice for complete independence. Made me also reflect over a cause closer at home…could we have gone wrong there?

The Collector
&
UNO

These were the bad decisions I had mentioned. UNO being worse of the two. I’d have gone for ‘The Little Lieutenant’ had I not overheard two chaps discussing in marathi of how good UNO was. Either I judged with the wrong people, or my marathi needs hell lot of improvement. Either ways, wonder how the other movies fared.

In parallel, there was a movie that took quite a rush. Thereby sparing me and a few others a lot of breathing space in other halls. It was the first movie (and I assume it’d be the last) in the fest, where people crowded up in front of the gate much before the intended start. Such was the fervour, that the tide of people now owe the regular E-square clientele a slightly un-hinged door at screen 3. The title of the film – ‘Just sex and nothing else’.

And to say that we indians don’t believe in the concept…well, sez who !

Piff - Day 1

another filler for now....

btw, day 1 here was actually saturday...Since I got to attend the fest only for selective days, i've decided to number the days as per my calender. (I skipped friday's shows)

Pune International Film Festival - Day 0

holding space till I find time to pen day 0 reviews down.

Trek to Mahuli

http://vatsal.t35.com/mahuli.html

Sessionals over....finally!

The 16th sessionals of my B.Tech course got over today. Should be the last ones hopefully. Still can't stop thinking about the futility of it all. What rocket science does the university teach us in 4 months that it requires to test twice a semester?(+ the end sems!)

anyways, went for a movie afterwards. This one had been up for some time - "My Brother Nikhil". A well made film, must say. Though i personally feel that more could have been said through the movie, but a notable attempt nonetheless. Its set in Goa around the time of 1989-90 and is about the changes in the life of a person that come with the revelation of the fact that he is HIV+. The way he is mortified and ostracized by the people around him is depicted prominently throughout the film. The film succeeds in portraying the shocking ignorance about the disease that people had at that time. The scene when he jumps into the pool, only to see other swimmers rushing out of it, is quite striking. He is subjected to numerous other ordeals by his friends and family alike. This is when his sister and his boyfriend fight for his cause and succeed in getting him out of the subjected isolation and bring him back to the society. The movie continues showing his efforts to regain a place in the society. However, his health continues deteriorating and he dies in the end.

Apart from the social message in the film, what struck me more was how the relationships were portrayed. The relationship between Juhi Chawla(sister) and Sanjay Suri(Nikhil) covers most of the storyline, as is expected from the title of the movie. But the friendship that Nikhil and Nigel(Purab) share, is shown equally distinctly and beautifully. Although, another issue like homosexuality was involved, I feel, the director succeeded in taking the focus off it and show the solidarity that they shared with more prominence.

Goa is shown beautifully. Especially the seaside by the night. Some scenes were really a visual treat to watch. But here again, it has been masterfully set to act as the backdrop to the story not interfering with it at any moment.

In terms of acting, Sanjay Suri has done a decent job, though he appears to falter in some scenes. However, the work of Juhi Chawla and Purab were really commendable. Overall, I found that movie conveyed what it had to convey and is reasonably fast paced contrary to what is expected of similar films.

The country shall go to the dogs

Witnessed a rather interesting conversation in the bus the other day. The bus had been standing at a stop for more about 15 mins, enough to arouse the grievances of many of the people sitting around me. That somehow seeded their critical thinking and before the bus started, the discussion had shifted to India.

The people engaged in the discussion were mostly middle-aged enjoying every bit of what was being said. As I have often seen around me, ‘Corruption’ and ‘Cricket’ are two key-words in India on which anyone and everyone holds an opinion. Somehow, here too, India was being held synonymous with the former term. Usually, such instances are meant to be taken with a pinch of salt. But, it made me wonder what image the common man has of his country. The sense of pride is always given a past tense with sentences like ‘In our times’, ‘the system has degraded’, ‘the conditions have worsened’. Words are spoken without thinking, and usually the ignorant lot of the people, safely takes a popular stand and so, gets away with it.

I had always agreed with people saying that our country needs a revolution. But I also feel that it has come in a way. This is the era of the growing countries, and India in a way seems to be paving the way. We have freer trade as compared to 25 yrs ago when we followed a protectionist approach. The GDP is growing, so are the job opportunities, where are we degrading then ?

Politically, I agree the situation is still grim. But, soon, with economics dictating the terms, politics would have to follow. There’ll barely be any room for corruption. Also, with freer and more competitive media, scams and frauds are tough to keep under the carpet. In a way politics, by the sheer nature of it, could never be sanctified completely(Mahabharata wasn’t a completely clean epic either), but with everything under tough scrutiny and under the public eye, it can be confined to a tactical sphere with minimal negative effects on the country’s growth.

Even in terms of arts and culture, the country seems to be recognizing its own distinct flavor. The age of New Wave Cinema that saw a rather humble beginning in the 1980s seems to be catching pace. Sufi Kalaam and Classical music is finding new audience. Everything traditional and Indian now is considered aesthetic and has a distinct charm attached with it. As it’s said, India is suddenly in fashion!

Where we do lack is in the ignorance of the people towards the change. I feel we all see it around us, but somehow don’t acknowledge or realize it, while sticking with our prejudices. India is predicted to be the third biggest economy by the early 2030s. By those figures, we are living in the best of times. As it’s idyllic to see your country among the superpowers of the world, but its more blissful to be a part of the generation that led it there.