Dibakar Banerjee gets together an ensemble cast for his fourth outing, a mix of regulars (Abhay Deol), expected (Kalki Kochelin, fast an alternate cinema favourite) and completely unexpected (Emran Hashmi??!!??).
Shanghai takes off from the promise that politicians make, about bringing about development, in this case, compared to Shanghai. Shanghaied also means to swindle someone. In the case of the move, the title can refer to either.
Based on the Greek novel 'Z', the setting has been Indianised. The aspirations of small town India aiming to be in the big league, 'progress' and 'modernity' trampling the traditional, the film covers everything.
Dibakar Banerjee has an eye for details, which catches the smaller nuances in a scene. He employs this sharp observations to good use to capture the feel of a small-town India. His Bharatnagar is a claustrophobic town, filled with people aiming to move up in life. Pitobash wants to learn English, so that he can become a manager, Emran wants to earn money so that he can go home, and many more such stories. In the middle of all this, there are huge celebrations by the political parties celebrating their city that is about to become another Shanghai.
The Bharat Mata Ki Jai song appears to be ill-fitting in this setting, but in the smoke and mirror goings-on in the film, it is the most direct shot of reality. Calling the bluff on all the positive surroundings, the song, instead, revels on the truth of the visible India, the gur as well as the gobar.
The bleak environs of the movie are a stark contrast to the candy floss that is served up every week in theaters. That itself sets apart, but what elevates it is the performance of the principal cast. Of special note is Faroukh Sheikh as Kaul, the face of the government, as he goes about ironing out the issues, and also, the actor who plays Pitobash's mamu through all the mayhem, he is concerned about his truck, while being consumed by guilt. Though he speaks less, his eyes speak volumes.
Whit this movie, Dibakar Banerjee serves up another intelligent far. If three strikes is a hat trick, what do you call it when a person strikes four times?
Shanghai takes off from the promise that politicians make, about bringing about development, in this case, compared to Shanghai. Shanghaied also means to swindle someone. In the case of the move, the title can refer to either.
Based on the Greek novel 'Z', the setting has been Indianised. The aspirations of small town India aiming to be in the big league, 'progress' and 'modernity' trampling the traditional, the film covers everything.
Dibakar Banerjee has an eye for details, which catches the smaller nuances in a scene. He employs this sharp observations to good use to capture the feel of a small-town India. His Bharatnagar is a claustrophobic town, filled with people aiming to move up in life. Pitobash wants to learn English, so that he can become a manager, Emran wants to earn money so that he can go home, and many more such stories. In the middle of all this, there are huge celebrations by the political parties celebrating their city that is about to become another Shanghai.
The Bharat Mata Ki Jai song appears to be ill-fitting in this setting, but in the smoke and mirror goings-on in the film, it is the most direct shot of reality. Calling the bluff on all the positive surroundings, the song, instead, revels on the truth of the visible India, the gur as well as the gobar.
The bleak environs of the movie are a stark contrast to the candy floss that is served up every week in theaters. That itself sets apart, but what elevates it is the performance of the principal cast. Of special note is Faroukh Sheikh as Kaul, the face of the government, as he goes about ironing out the issues, and also, the actor who plays Pitobash's mamu through all the mayhem, he is concerned about his truck, while being consumed by guilt. Though he speaks less, his eyes speak volumes.
Whit this movie, Dibakar Banerjee serves up another intelligent far. If three strikes is a hat trick, what do you call it when a person strikes four times?
1 comment:
The place is full of culture and now mixed with some modern beliefs.
security systems
Post a Comment