Vicky Donor: Of fertility and revolutionary ideas
There was a time when an action sequence was all that was needed to capture the audience. Vengeance and thrill always succeeded at the box office. Add a little romance to the story, and you were sure to have yourself an award winner. Now, however, modern audiences have grown tired of the same old stories. Movies today have different plots, a lot of which address social issues and real life concerns. These would previously have been condemned by people at large which is why taking them to the big screen was never an option. Interestingly enough, the audience of the 21st ...
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Let’s hope your heart keeps going on and on
If you were Jack and I was Rose, you would have sacrificed your life to save mine, said a woman to a man sitting on my right at the cinema. Arif, you would have saved me, right? It’s a Friday and I’m watching Titanic in 3D. I’m slouched in my cinema seat, trying desperately to blend into the surroundings – anything — in order to avoid the romance unfolding on my right. Onscreen Jack is convincing Rose not to commit suicide, but all I could think, “Way to put Arif on the spot, woman.” Picture the same cinema an hour later. ...
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Hate Story: Vengeance with vulgarity
We all know Vikram Bhatt as the infamous director who dares to be different. Remember Raaz, the horror movie starring Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu? Well this time Bhatt is back with a film that he penned himself. Hate Story brings to screen the same old Bhatt formula; the story of a scorned, wounded woman seeking vengeance. However, the very first promo of the movie makes quite an impact; with audacious and explicit scenes and lines, this film promises to be the “the most controversial film of the year“. Hate Story revolves around a journalist, Kavvya Krishnamorti (Paoli Dam) who conducts a sting operation and successfully defames a corporate house. ...
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Going to the movies? Well, good luck!
I recently went to watch the movie The Hunger Games at a cinema located in Saddar. To say that I had wanted to watch this movie for a long time (since it is based on a novel that I had read and really enjoyed) is an understatement. I was truly looking forward to the experience of watching the characters come alive on screen and discover how closely the scenes matched the ones I had imagined while reading the novel. So, in short, I was really excited for what should have been an amazing experience. But amazing it was not, and ...
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In marriage, golden jubilee anniversaries do happen
Sometimes memories of the years that have passed roll on in front of our eyes like old black and white movies. On April 8, every year since 1962, I have felt that way and am reminded each year of the day I married my beloved wife. This year is our golden jubilee anniversary, and I plan to celebrate it with my wife by my side, God willing. On this day, I intend to invite our relatives and friends, not to celebrate the day we got married, but the happy days we have spent together and how we have made an impact ...
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Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, you are my role model
As I sat waiting for the award for ‘Best Documentary, Short Subject’ for which Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy had been nominated for her documentary Saving Face to be announced, my stomach tied itself in knots. Having interned with Sharmeen last year, and worked with her on “Saving Face”, I was inspired by her. I frantically texted my friend Anushka (who had been Sharmeens’ assistant last year) who was as nervous and excited as me. The thought of Sharmeen at the Oscars was overwhelming and we had a strong feeling that she would win. We felt anxious, almost sick, but we knew that we were not alone. There was an entire ...
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Contraband hits and misses
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Contraband is an unremarkable heist movie, which features little in the way of action, and instead tries hard to build tension with narrative. The film stars Mark Wahlberg (Chris Farraday) as a former smuggler, who has given up the crooked life to live honestly with his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and children. The movie shifts into second gear when Chris’s brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), who also happens to be a smuggler, is forced to dump his consignment of drugs from a cargo ship in order to ...
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What MI 4 taught me
In a weak moment, I decided to watch Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol. I got roped into watching this movie despite the fact that I am not a fan of MI3, and I haven’t even seen MI1 or 2. Yet, sometimes in life you just have to sit back and be grateful; I am grateful that I watched MI4 because it taught me a few invaluable lessons. Please find below a list of things I learned from this movie (in order of appearance), and note that a few of these might be spoilers. American agents can plant/overtake ...
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Household help and hypocrisy
It’s safe to say that most of us are guilty of taking for granted our privileges. I was reminded of this unspoken understanding that has been neatly folded into what we call our social structure when I recently watched The Help, a movie based on a novel of the same name by Kathryn Stockett. Set in 1962 in America, as the civil-rights movement is boiling over, the film follows a privileged white woman, Skeeter, who interviews African-American maids seen as the lowly help, who are not even allowed to use the toilet ...
Read Full PostSex, sleaze, and The Dirty Picture
Some people watch a movie for its elegance, good acting, and high production value. Others watch it for the sleaziness, skin display, and controversy. How often do you get both sides and leave the theatre satisfied, thinking “Wow, I got great value for my money”? In the words of Silk Smitha, a film works for three reasons; entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. This is exactly what Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture is – entertainment. Having said as much, I must admit that it is a movie for an adult audience who is mature enough to handle the kind of humour and exposure this movie has to ...
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