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Movie Review : Life of Pi

Posted on February 7, 2013 by amodini

[amazon_link id=”0547848412″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Rating : 3.5/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2013
Running time : 2 hours 3 minutes
Director : Ang Lee
Cast : Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Suraj Sharma, Rafe Spall
Kid rating : PG

Life of Pi is based on the book by Yann Martel. Pi is Piscine Molitor Patel, oddly named because of his uncle’s love of the great French swimming pool of the same name. Pi, in an effort to disassociate himself from Piscine – which has been shortened to Pee by troublesome classmates and unwittingly cruel teachers, reintroduces himself as Pi, the boy with the amazing ability to remember the mathematical number Pi (Π), and write the infinitely long string of numbers that make Pi, down on many blackboards at school.

Pi’s father, a man with a head for business runs a small zoo in Pondicherry. When the zoo goes broke, and the family decides to move to Canada, they along with their animals travel by ship to their new home country. A storm sinks the ship, leaving Pi, an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a tiger named Richard Parker on a lifeboat – the only survivors. After a few weeks only Pi and Richard Parker remain, and Pi must use his wits to ensure that he doesn’t become Richard Parker’s next meal.

The film is told flashback fashion by Pi, now a grown man (Irfan Khan) to a visitor who has been sent to him, because Pi apparently has a remarkable story to tell. Pi, over a leisurely lunch of home-cooked food, narrates the tale of his floating for 273 days on a lifeboat with only a very hungry Bengal tiger for company. And that’s the nuts and bolts of the story. Now, because the film is directed by Ang Lee, we expect much more than the basics, and Ang Lee delivers them to us, in great big philosophical flourishes.

Much of the film’s time is spent telling us of the time Pi and Richard Parker spend together on the boat, one trying to eat and the other trying to avoid being eaten. Earlier in the film, we have been shown that Richard Parker is not some tame tiger, but a wild creature who will eat Pi at the earliest opportunity, if Pi lets his guard down even for an instant. Ah, but Pi is alone, but a boy, bemoaning the loss of his parents and his brother and plaintively weeping that he misses them.

The journey is thus fraught with danger for Pi. But it is also imbued with a delicate solitary beauty. Some stunning cinematography combined with Ang Lee’s poetic vision turn the boat into a serene vessel floating on calm, beautiful seas. Richard Parker is mostly CGI although shots of a real tiger were used in some places, and Ang Lee manages to convey to us the pitiable state of the tiger – a carnivore who can rend Pi from end to end.

Suraj Sharma is very good as the young Pi, afraid yet intent on keeping himself alive. I realize that And Lee frames the story almost as a philosophical allegory, and maybe that is why, but Pi’s predicament didn’t quite touch me. Sharma is at times angry, lonely, desperate and wily, but his emotion didn’t quite get through. Tabu as his mother Geeta Patel, and Adil Khan as his father are able actors and do justice do their roles, but like Sharma’s portrayal I found theirs tamped down as though conscious of being a part of an allegory where distant emotion was called for.

Irfan Khan as the adult Pi, and narrator, appears to be a man changed by his sojourn with Richard Parker. He appears learned and calm as though holding a greater knowledge within him. His visitor is filled with wonder hearing the story and muses whether it is indeed true; Pi cannot tell him for sure. Indeed I take the film entirely as an allegory, a metaphor for life itself, but can’t quite countenance the mumbo-jumbo which goes with making Easter philosophy and Eastern people so imbued with it. It reminds me of this American teacher I met who told me that he and his friends went to India, to Varanasi in particular, in search of what I believe they call salvation – a path to happiness. He talked of the holy men they encountered and the ghats, and the poverty they saw – I don’t believe he was any wiser because of it – more resigned and cynical maybe. Apparently the reservoir for true knowledge is somewhere in impoverished India, if only we could weave into a pretty enough story with great effects.

So I remain unimpressed with the film; if you must, read the book instead.

Posted in 2013, book to film, drama, hinglish, rating-PG | 1 Comment

Movie Preview : Midnight’s Children

Posted on January 31, 2013 by amodini

This Deepa Mehta directed film, based on Salman Rushdie’s book of the same name, hits theatres in India Feb 1 – hopefully it comes to the US soon also. It features an impressive star cast – there’s Seema Biswas, Shahana Goswami, Shabana Azmi, Ronit Roy, Shriya Saran, Kulbhushan Kharbanda – just to name a few of the many.

Posted in 2013, book to film, drama, hinglish, historical, Previews | 1 Comment

What to watch on Netflix Instant : Edition #6

Posted on January 26, 2013 by amodini

[amazon_link id=”B0064NLRG8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]- The Double Hour (“La Doppia Ora” – Italian with subtitles) – Hotel maid Sonia encounters one tragedy after another, and she cannot find peace and love in any relationship she’s been in. And lately she’s begun to imagine things . . . This is a superb thriller spun so expertly that each twist comes as fresh surprise. I cannot recommend this enough.

– Reindeer Games : A rather good, if old thriller starring Ben Afleck as Rudy, a man newly out of prison, hooking up with beautiful Ashley (Charlize Theron), and unwittingly getting pulled into more trouble than he would have bargained for. If you didn’t see it in 2000 when it released, now would be a good time.

– Monsieur Lazhar (French with subtitles) : This Canadian film is of a Montreal public school, in which a teacher commits suicide while at work in the classroom. An Algerian immigrant is hired as a replacement, and as he helps his traumatized students, we get to know a little more about this reticent, quiet man. A sombre, moving film.

– Arjun The Warrior Prince (Hindi, animated) : This is a well-made UTV/Disney production, and a surprisingly good animated film, considering that there are few quality animated films (for kids) coming out of India. It tells the story of Arjuna, so it’s part of the Mahabharata, but not quite. The only drawback with this one is that it is not subtitled, so if your kids have sketchy Hindi, like mine do, be prepared to chip in with translations and a little primer on Indian mythology.

[amazon_link id=”B001XGM0KI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]- Shades of Ray : This turned out to be a surprisingly good film, considering that I had low expectations of it. I started it thinking that I would shut it off (Ah! the beauty of Netflix!) if it descended into the emotional, desi drama genre, but it never came to that.

Rehman has a Pakistani father and a Caucasian American mother. Growing up in America, he has always had cultural duality thrust upon him, although he has soundly rejected his non-American roots. He’s now found the girl of his dreams – Nicole, but his overbearing father insists that Ray can find happiness only with a “nice, Pakistani girl”.

A smart humorous film, this.

Posted in 2013, All Netflix, foreign, lists, mini-reviews, movies online, Netflix Recommendations, ratings, recommended, romance, thriller, WhaTWON | Comments Off

Movie Review : Aiyyaa

Posted on January 19, 2013 by amodini

Rating : 3/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2012
Running time : 2 hours 15 minutes
Director : Sachin Kundalkar
Cast : Rani Mukherjee, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Satish Alekar, Anita Date, Amey Wagh, Nirmiti Sawant, Subodh Bhave, Jyoti Subhash
Kid rating : PG-15

Meenakshi Deshpande is a middle-class girl living in a middle-class neighborhood with her parents, wheelchair bound grandmother (Jyoti Subhash) and brother. She is no ordinary girl though, but one with a penchant for fantasy, high aspirations and a finely honed sense of smell. As her perpetually hyper mother and cigarette smoking father try their level best to “settle” their daughter with a nice groom, she herself has other ideas.

Meenakshi gets a job at a college library where she is entranced with a wonderful smell – that belonging to taciturn Tamilian art student Surya Iyer (Prithvi). Even as she follows him everywhere besotted, Surya has no idea she exists. Push comes to shove when Meenakshi is engaged to Madhav Rajadhyaksha (Subodh Bhave), and the wedding day dawns, but Meenakshi is nowhere to be found.

The olfactory senses play a big part in the movie, because Meenakshi can smell everything – from the stench of the municipality trash bin right outside their house to the smell of an alluring male. Stylistically Aiyya is over-the-top and goofy, primarily because of it’s quirky heroine, played marvelously by Rani Mukherji. Rani immerses herself in Meenakshi’s filmi fantasies – one moment she is Sridevi from Chandni, the next she is Madhuri from Meenaxi (here’s the song). Each of her fantasy songs is enjoyable and performed with much gusto, and Rani brings verve and charm to Meenakshi’s character.

Meenakshi’s family members seem a little crazy – her grandmother careens around wildly in her wheelchair, with shrill shrieks to match, her father (Satish Alekar) is fixated on odd jobs and her mother(Nirmiti Sawant) can barely contain her hyper energy. There is Meenakshi’s dog-loving brother Nana(Ameya Wagh) who hooks up with Meenakshi’s John Abrham-obsessed co-worker Maina (Anita Date). Surya, the eccentric art student keeps odd hours and is seen in the film through Meenakshi’s perspective. So in all honesty there is only one person in the entire film who seems “normal” – Madhav Meenakshi’s fiancé.

This film is a little different that other Hindi films, because it is really heroine-centric – really. It is based on the perception of one, slightly off-kilter girl. The film is focused on Meenakshi – her wants, her desires, her aspirations, her fantasies and her sexuality. She isn’t an abla nari, or a traditional bhartiya nari. She doesn’t fit the mold, nor does she want to. She wants to be fancy-free and footloose, but oh, this middle-class world won’t let her be! Her marriage to staid Madhav looms, while all she wants is to be left alone to bask in Surya’s scent. And he, Surya, is served up as so much eye-candy – a niche generally reserved for women in Bollywood.

While this is a lot of fun, because it is such fun to watch a woman who knows her mind and acts upon it :-), and it is SO rare in Bollywood, even Rani’s skill can’t save this film from it’s slow pace and rough-shod screenplay. While I’m totally with it during the telling of Meenakshi’s story, the “crazy” touches like the banshee-like grandma, or the incongruous hook-up between Nana and Maina leave me flummoxed and a little short on patience. The end feels patchy and badly wrought, and although Meenakshi is happy with how it all ends (coz love must triumph and blah-blah-blah), I couldn’t say the same for myself.

The film is notable for it’s songs. Each one is a lavish (and lascivious and fun) spoof, some of well-known Hindi films and some of South-Indian films, with lyrics to match. In the beginning the songs feature just Meenakshi indulging in her fantasies of being a Bollywood star. In the later part of the film, when Meenakshi desires/stalks/lusts after Surya, the songs also feature him – bare-chested and well-toned. The songs then also start to sound Southie, with cheekily “derived lyrics” (Dreamum Wakepum, Sizem matterum), presumably because Surya speaks Tamil and Meenakshi is learning Tamil to communicate with him.

The film is out-of-the-box and inventive for Hindi cinema. It is a pity then that watching it isn’t smooth sailing, although Aiyyaa is interesting and hilarious in parts. I’d say this was a worth-it watch for Rani herself – her fun and impish portrayal of Meenakshi is a rare one and must be seen.

Kidwise : The steamy songs aren’t exactly kid-friendly, but the film would be passable for older kids. Hence the PG-15 rating.

Posted in 2012, bollywood, fantasy, goofy, quirky, rating-PG15, women | 2 Comments

Movie Review : Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola

Posted on January 13, 2013 by amodini

[amazon_link id=”B00AQCRAP0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]
Rating : 2.5/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2013
Running time : 2 hours 28 minutes
Director : Vishal Bharadwaj
Cast : Pankaj Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Anushka Sharma, Imran Khan, Arya Babbar
Kid rating : PG

Vishal Bharadwaj has lost his way. One hoped that he would have found it after “Saat Khoon Maaf” but it was not to be. So even though I went to see this film with moderate expectations, MKBKM fell below them – and those are words I never thought I would say for a Bharadwaj film; indeed I had imagined spending my time writing odes in praise of the man!

Pankaj Kapoor is Harpool Singh Mandola. Rich Harry is feudal master of a village called Mandola, somewhere in Haryana. In cahoots with lady love, politician Chaudhari Devi (Shabana Azmi) Mandola wants to get the village declared an SEZ – Special Economic Zone, so farmers will sell their land to the government and he can build his dream project/concrete jungle over it. The farmers are reluctant to hand over their lands, and are encouraged in their protestations by a mysterious figure known only as “Mao”.

Harry has almost a Jekyll/Hyde character. When drunk on “Gulabo” from the local theka, he turns genial, promises to do well for the farmers. When sober, he turns into trigger-happy feudal lord, hoping to squeeze every inch of land from the farmers. His right hand man, Hukum Singh Matru, has been employed expressly to prevent Harry from lapsing into a detrimental drunken state.

There is also Bijlee (Anushka Sharma), Mandola’s young, Cambridge educated daughter, traipsing about the village in short shorts, and sighing like there’s some tragedy afoot. She is to be married to Chaudhari Devi’s nincompoop son Baadal (Arya Babbar) to cement Mandola and Devi’s business and personal relationship.

A rich cast of characters indeed, and one, you’d think would lead to the creation of a similarly rich drama. It is not to be, alas. Bharadwaj’s film tries to make a smart commentary on the real condition of “shining India”, but fails. There is a sharp, political satire in there somewhere but it is lost amid the extraneous, eccentric fluff. One hour into the film, I was thoroughly bored with the non-existent storyline. Precious little happens in the film, and perhaps it is that it develops so slowly when it is does, that you have to be a very patient viewer to appreciate it (if you do).

Pankaj Kapoor’s character is the most well-fleshed out. And he does full justice to it, whether it is as the lovable, out-of-control drunk or the whip-snapping, almost-mean builder. Shabana Azmi is fabulous as the evil politician, grasping, greedy and wily, but purporting under public gaze to do good for the nation. Arya Babbar (son of Raj Babbar and Nadira) does well enough as Baadal. I could have almost cared for Anushka’s character Bijlee – all her sighing and faux happiness at being Baadal’s fiancée made her a very interesting person, but I know too little about her. The weakest of the lot was Matru. Imran Khan is lost under the big, bushy beard, and his robust Haryanvi Jat is mostly ineffectual – he can’t sway his boss Mandola, and he is just as little use to his fellow villagers.

Apart from Mandola and Chaudhari Devi’s character, the others never came to life. We know not what they want or why, and the big one – why is it that they deserve to be cared about? This film’s teaser made it out to be a zany comedy/romance. But the promised humor is strained; I groaned at the stretched out scenes where Mandola and Matru run about in a drunken state. There are moments of sharp satire, but they are few and far between. There is very little romance/romantic chemistry. Matru and Bijlee might covertly have the hots for each other, but they aren’t telling/showing us. There is one liplock between the two, where I felt for Anushka; she had to face Imran’s facial hair all alone, poor kid!

Vishal Bharadwaj does inventive, out-of-the-box cinema, and for that he is too be commended. Still a film must hold interest and make sense, and this one does neither. The ending is weak and meandering, and given to spouting gibberish and silliness. The storyline is rather earthy, a departure from Bharadwaj’s generally esoteric and cutting-edge dramas. Post-watch I think he meant to gussy up an ordinary political storyline with his trademark eccentricities, but the eccentricities overwhelm the film. The music is poor for a Bhardwaj film, the only song I liked was “Khamakha”.

This film is best when not watched. If you must, save yourself the trip to the theatre and wait for the DVD.

Kidwise : There is no overt vulgarity, so a PG rating is in order.

Posted in 2013, bollywood, goofy, politics, rating-PG, social issues, stinker | 2 Comments

Movie Review : Dabangg2

Posted on January 10, 2013 by amodini

Rating : 3/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2012
Running time : 2 hours 10 minutes
Director : Arbaaz Khan
Cast : Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Prakash Raj, Vinod Khanna, Arbaaz Khan
Kid rating : PG-13

Chulbul Pandey is back this time with father Prajapati Pandey (Khanna) brother Makhandas (Arbaaz Khan) and new wife Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) in tow. Dear Ma has died and brother Makkhi has turned over a new leaf (need more reminders?) Chulbul asks for a transfer to Kanpur, where he proceeds to wreak havoc on the local criminals. Chief among the criminals is politician Baccha Bhaiyya (Prakash Raj) who is contesting the upcoming elections.

Chulbul “Robin Hood Kungfu” Pande is upto the same antics again. Like in Dabangg, here too he accompanies the dhishum-dhishum with playful antics interspersed with energetic dance numbers. It is to Salman’s credit that he makes the cheesy Chulbul-ism’s work, and gives it his all, whether it’s giggling or pelvic-thrusting his way through the film. Sonakshi Sinha has transformed from the ghaagra choli wearing single girl Rajjo to the chiffon saree clad Mrs. Chulbul Pandey. She spends her time cooking, cleaning, hanging out the washing/other homely things, relegating some of her time to batting her eyelashes /waiting for husband dearest at saree shops or accompanying him in raunchy dance numbers side-by-side with the neighborhood nautch girl.

Prakash Raj makes a formidable villain. Vinod Khanna has little to do except be fatherly. Arbaaz Khan is Makkhi, just as daft, although not as villainish anymore. This film is what it is, an all out masala entertainer – no sense or logic needed. Dialogues are daft and the sly innuendoes reminded me of Kader Khan’s dialog writing skills. Direction is poor. The music is passable – with “Maare Seeti” number displaying infectious number – me thinks they need not have bothered with bringing in “Munni” (Malaika) in at all! Kareena makes a short appearance in the “Fevicol Se” song.

The problems with this film are too many too list, but let me list my one big objection. Dabangg2 reiterates the “traditionalist” roles for it’s men and women. While Chulbul is brawny and rains fistcuffs, his wife is the dutiful daughter-in-law and simpering consort to her manly man. It is another thing that I probably am out of touch what constitutes a “good” hero, because Chulbul fails to be one in my book. He is a good son, a good brother, talks respectfully to his mother’s garlanded photo on the wall, but of questionable morality when it comes to his wife, as he talks of brothel-houses with great familiarity and spends much of his gusto-filled evenings there.

This is the film to see if you want silly and pointless. Aim any higher and this film falls short. This is Dabangg Version 2.0 and rather worse for the wear.

Kidwise : I read in India Today that Salman Khan continues to make “clean, entertaining” films with Dabangg2, because the film apparently was passed by the Censor Board with a UA certificate and no cuts. If this is “clean” then there is a disconnect here. UA translates to PG-13, but I’d advice restraint for kids in general – the film has large doses of sleaze, not to mention the “Fevicol Se” number which is one of the vulgarest dance sequences I’ve seen, and I’ve seen all of them. “Sheila ki jawani” looks almost classy by comparison.

With the recent Delhi crime I am even more critical of the out-dated gender roles and societal mores that the film stresses upon. Bollywood “culture” might not be THE problem but it does create an atmosphere where women aren’t their own agents, just helpless beings in need of protection.

Posted in 2012, All Netflix, Hindi movies on Netflix | 2 Comments

2012 : Watchable Hindi Films (or The Great Hindi Movie Wrap-Up – II)

Posted on January 5, 2013 by amodini

Yeah, so where were we ? Ah, counting down the watchable films of 2012! If you haven’t seen my Top Ten Films for 2012, go ahead and check that out! Here are the ones that didn’t make that list :

[amazon_link id=”B007UQC4IS” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu Hindi Blu Ray (2012) (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema) [/amazon_link]- Ek Main aur Ekk Tu : Out of all the ones that didn’t make The List, this one is my favorite. Kareena does happy as only she can. Imran Khan plays perpetually down-in-the-dumps Rahul. Ri meets Rahul and sparks fly. But this does not end like you think it would. Very watchable for the broad-mindedness it portrays (and that’s like a say-what moment for Bollywood aficionados).

[amazon_link id=”B009SLANLI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Oh My God (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema DVD) (2012) [/amazon_link]- Oh My God : With a very television serial like feel this is based on a Gujrati play and stars Paresh Rawal as a wily shop-keeper who wishes to extract his pound of flesh from God. Akshay Kumar plays God, or rather his modern avatar on earth come down from the heavens to look after the interests of his devotee. Given that we are all out of time in 2012, I will be reviewing this shortly.

[amazon_link id=”B00AGEVZB8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Student Of The Year (2012) (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema DVD) [/amazon_link]- Student of the Year : Karan Johar’s contribution of the year, this is classic Johar. Slick and shiny and glamorous, this is a bunch of pretty-young-things trying to wrap their minds around what else – this is Bollywood after all – love! A fun watch of the brainless kind!

[amazon_link id=”B009FX05NU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Cocktail (2012) [Blu Ray] - (Hindi Movie / Bollywood Film / Indian Cinema) [Blu-ray] [/amazon_link]- Cocktail : This love triangle of a film pretended to be all hip and modern but had a nasty regressive streak. Saif Khan stars as suave bachelor Gautam who wants to romance alcohol-guzzling girl-friend Veronica, but will marry only the God-fearing, good girl mummy picks. And mummy dearest really likes Veronica’s mousey room-mate Meera.

[amazon_link id=”B008ZDIJHU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Ferrari Ki Sawaari (Bollywood DVD With English Subtitles)) [/amazon_link]- Ferrari ki Sawaari : It’s a big, bad world out there and Kayoze and Rusy have to face it together. The film started out fairly well, but got all sentimentally desi after a while, and by the that I mean annoyingly overdone. Still clean for kids except for an “item number” by Vidya Balan.

[amazon_link id=”B007XJ7BWQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Agent Vinod (Bollywood DVD With English Subtitles) [/amazon_link]- Agent Vinod : We had two Hindi films with RAW agents for heroes. This is the watchable film of the two (Ek Tha Tiger was the unwatchable one). Anyway Saif is dashing Agent Vinod, and Kareena is his wily Pakistani counterpart, and this is a not-too-shoddy attempt at the spy-espionage genre.

[amazon_link id=”B00AER0XUG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Aiyyaa [/amazon_link]- Aiyyaa : I watched this very recently, and I’ve now figured out why this didn’t do well at the box-office. Given that Rani is enchanting in this film (as she is in every film) and bubbles over as a girl with a penchant for fantasizing, this film is a tad slow paced. Review coming up soon – watch this space.

We did have some terrible films this year too; thankfully I watched very few them. I did watch Ek Tha Tiger, and cannot un-recommend it heartily enough.

Here’s to a great year for film!

Posted in 2012, annual roundup, bollywood, comedy, crime, drama, humor, lists, mini-reviews, ratings, watchable | 4 Comments

2012 : The Great Hindi Movie Wrap-up – I

Posted on December 31, 2012 by amodini

A good year for Hindi cinema as I’ve said before – I was spoilt for choice picking the Top Ten Films, and that rarely happens! Generally I’m scrambling around trying to pick ten films to make the cut. The end of 2012 marks my 8th year of blogging (I have faint memories of when I began), and I averaged about 4.5 blog mosts per month on this blog, this year (I actually did better on my other blog), which is fairly reasonable, considering that the year fairly flew by. I still remember last year’s New Year Party!

This year I started the “What to Watch on Netflix” monthly post, which is a post listing out 5 good films on Netflix with a mini-review of each of them. Given that I watch a bunch of films a month and not all are in Hindi – I watch a lot of subtitled films, these can be of varying genres and in different languages – it behooves me to point them out to you.

While I’m in a loquacious mood, I will get to the point which is to summarize the State of the Hindi Film (kind of like State of The Union, but you get me, instead of President Obama or Candy Crowley. Lots of good, inventive, watchable films in 2012. I’ve recounted the Best Movies of 2012 in an earlier post, but there were quite a few watchable ones that didn’t make the list. And they are listed in my next post!

Posted in 2012, annual roundup, bollywood, lists | 1 Comment

Best Films of 2012

Posted on December 26, 2012 by amodini

2012 was a good year for Hindi cinema – I haven’t had this little trouble deciding the Top 10 Movies in years ! Here you go :

[amazon_link id=”B007SLF9ZK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]10. Paan Singh Tomar : A bio-pic on Paan Singh’s real-life struggle against land-usurping hoodlums. Tomar, an athlete, having represented India in the Asian Games, finally becomes a dacoit in India’s notorious Chambal Valley.

[amazon_link id=”B008174J2O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]9. Vicky Donor : A humorous look at the life of a regular young man once he begins to donate . . . sperm. MTV VJ Ayushmann stars and brown-eyed beauty Yami Gautam debuts in this fun-filled romp of a film.

[amazon_link id=”B009VGREIU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]8. Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana : A wayward son returns home to the Punjab and to his staunchly Punjabi family. Even though he is accepted back into the fold, problems from his previous life loom. A sweet little script with Wodeouse-ian twists this one has it all the goodness and bonhomie you could wish for.

[amazon_link id=”B007SLF9ZA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]7. Kahaani : Vidya Balan stands tall in this accomplished who-dun-it, as a pregnant woman, Vidya Bagchi, searching for her missing husband. An atmospheric mystery with a great cast, and some beautiful cinematography this comes in at #7.

[amazon_link id=”B009TJDXSY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]6. Talaash : This Amir Khan- Farhan Akhtar joint production almost has it all – a fairly well-thought of story, deft direction, great acting and characterization, attention to detail, and a nuanced telling of an interesting tale. I’m hoping that the lead character Inspector Shekhawat endures beyond this film – a sequel or a series perhaps?

[amazon_link id=”B008MIOSVY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]5. Shanghai : The truly great films portray truths, and they portray them in a way that hits close to home. While the characters in this film are a tad removed from touching a raw nerve, this intriguing drama is still a thought-provoking, tongue-in-cheek depiction of the Great Indian Political Farce.

[amazon_link id=”B00AB685UK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]4. English Vinglish : Sridevi’s come-back vehicle, this graceful, nuanced portrayal of an ordinary house-wife finding her self-worth, is one the more heart-warming films of the year. Gauri Shinde (wife of R. Balki) directs her third film.

[amazon_link id=”B009SLANR2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]3. Barfi : An eloquent, moving portrayal of a happy-go-lucky deaf-mute and his tempestuous life, Barfi is as close to art-house as you can get this year. Ranbir Kapoor shines as the lead character, Priyanka Chopra co-stars as the autistic girl who loves him, and Ileana D’Cruz is the woman who has loved and lost.

[amazon_link id=”B008MIOSUU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]2. Gangs of Wasseypur I : The violent tale of Qureshi-Khan warfare in the small town of Wasseypur, this is the 1st part of this Anurag Kashyap venture. Manoj Bajpai is the rock of this engrossing drama as lead character Sardar Khan.

[amazon_link id=”B009HPL0ZI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]1. Gangs of Wasseypur II : A gorgeous successor to GOW – Part 1 and well deserving of the full 5 stars, Gow 2 is my pick for the best film of 2012. Nawazuddin Siddiqui continues the murderous saga as Sardar Khan’s fearless son Faizal. Lovely Huma Qureshi debuts as Faizal’s feisty love interest in this violent, dramatic tale.

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What to Watch on Netflix Instant : Edition #5

Posted on December 21, 2012 by amodini

[amazon_link id=”B001KVS4SS” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]- Sliding Doors : Ever wondered about second chances? The ability to walk back and choose that different path? The heroine of this film has it and we the viewers can see what would have happened to Helen (Paltrow) in an alternate reality.

– Snatch : Goofy and quirky just about sums up this hilarious film. Plus there’s Brad Pitt playing a gypsy with an accent you cannot understand. You don’t really need more, do you ?

– Romantics Anonymous (French, with subtitles) : A lovely, feel-good romance built around an adoration of chocolate.

– Touching the void (documentary) : This film is based on the real-life climb, of mountaineers Simon and Joe, up the Siula Grande in Peru, and their desperate fight for survival once things start going wrong.

– Skin : This film is also based on a true-story – that of Afrikaner Sandra Laing, born during the apartheid era in south Africa. Sandra is the biological daughter of two white parents, but she doesn’t look white. Because she looks “colored” she might be reclassified as such by the government. As she grows up, Sandra faces hostility from white society, she cannot fit in. Friends and family look down upon people she might have kinship with, and since this is a strictly racist society, there is no middle ground.