Feline Musings

Coming back to the original premise of this post, the episode got me thinking as to whether demonic possession is for real, or is just a mental/psychiatric disorder. To believe that spirit possession is real, we have to first believe that demons and spirits exist. And if we believe that evil exists then we must also believe in the existence of goodness. If demons can possess then so can angels; so why don’t we hear of angelic possessions.

The flashback shot of Arun touching a toe-ring also has great energy and leaves much to the viewer’s imagination. And then there is this image of Yasmin walking into the sunlight at Elephanta caves; a clever depiction of the culmination of her story. Yasmin’s video tapes are, of course, loaded with the best of the moments of revelation, innocence, and façade, and make for exhaustive study.

The movie has interesting moments and intelligent dialogues. Some of the scenes and dialogues bring a smile, just because they are so tightly woven into the screenplay, that you would almost miss the impact and intention, if you were not paying attention. For example, Farhan Akhtar’s dialogue – “Theater has kept the actor in me alive.” – beautifully sketches the intricacies of his character …

It’s got melodrama, suspense, childhood love that grows into adult passion, big bad brother who traverses between black and grey shades and invariably drives the destiny of his younger brother and beau, complete with the underworld don and gun-wielding goons.

The treatment of the movie is quite similar to Page 3, with the characters being introduced to the audience at a fashion show – remember the Page 3 party when the characters were introduced. So much so that some of the incidents are also common – clandestine affairs with married men, strong women who get thrown out for being too bold and outspoken, the hidden lives of socialite, and marriages of convenience. True to the scale of the movie, there are many characters in the movie, so much so that once in a while one loses track.

The rock-star look of the youngsters is wonderfully natural and you do not have any awkward wigs or outrageous tattoos. These are normal people, with normal lives, living and dreaming music, creating rhythm and lyrics out of day-to-day scenarios. And as time and tide changes, they decide to move on with what life offers them, except for Joe, the character played by Arjun Rampal. He is the only person who doesn’t give up even on his hair, and over the years his shoulder length tresses become long – as long as his wait to get just another chance to play his kind of music, to an appreciating audience.

The play of light, shadow, effects and even the background music adds to the confusion of the script. Things are just happening, dialogues are just being delivered and amidst all the very-slowly unfolding melodrama, the female protagonist is “unnaturally” omnipresent.

We watched Bhootnath over the weekend, but I decided to wait for a couple of days to write an unbiased review. Though I have no qualms about saying that this 2-hr flick was entertaining in the first half, I still don’t feel confident about recommending the movie to someone. Maybe the easiest way out is to [...]

This is the biggest success of the script writer, who managed to weave the threads of hope and peace in a movie that is primarily about fear, desperation, dejection, mental and physical trauma, and also the sad plight of women.

Literally and metaphorically …  Literally, because the movie rambled on and on for three hours and eternity. Metaphorically, because the movie-makers asserted that the love-influence of the Jodha impacted Muhgal politics for posterity.  Fact, or fiction, true love or political game, the first concern that the movie invoked in me was not regarding the historical [...]