127 Hours review: Filming the impossible!

A high altitude hello, frEek fellows!!

British wonder-director was ushered into the collective psyche of Indian cinegoers through "Slumdog Millionaire", Slumdog's global success resulted in Boyle taking on a film which he had been planning for over four years; based on the book "Between a rock and a hard place" by mountaineer Aaron Ralston. The resulting movie was of course, 127 hours.

What it is: 127 Hours recounts the life of adrenaline junkie and free-spirit Aaron Ralston (played by James Franco), who while traversing the canyons in Robber's Roost - Utah, falls into a deep crevice, resulting in his hand getting lodged underneath a boulder. What follows, is a gut wrenching tale of courage, as Ralston desperately tries to dislodge his hand from the boulder; resulting in him spending the titular 127 hours in a mountain crevice! With dwindling food supplies and very little water, Ralston is forced to take the horrendous decision to amputate his lodged arm; things take a turn for the worse when he realises that the pocket knife tool he has carried with with him, is not sharp enough to cut through his arm!

What Works: Danny Boyle described his screenplay as an "action film that goes nowhere". Truly,the plot faces several disadvantages in that it focuses for the most part on one character, and that too stuck in one location; even so, Boyle lets his creative genius shine in this impossible film. At the very onset, we are made to understand Ralston's free-spirit and his willingness to be with nature, as the story progresses on to where Ralston is trapped; Boyle uses innovative cuts to give the viewers a glimpse of Ralston's imagination. This movie, marks the global heralding of actor James Franco who dials in a brilliant performance as the free-spirited Ralston; In a performance where the camera solely focuses on his face, for a major part of the film; Franco brings an easygoing charm, that never lets go of the viewer's attention. Truly, an Oscar worthy performance!

What Doesn't: 127 Hours, is a film that lacks Slumdog's larger-than-life canvas; even though it far vividly portrays the triumph of the human spirit. There have been known cases of audience fainting during the "arm-amputation" sequence - hence if you are the queasy type, be advised!!

Verdict: Film Critic extraordinaire Roger Ebert called 127 hours, "an exercise in impossibility" and I cannot think of a better term to describe this movie, that despite it's constraints, manages to herald the triumph of the human spirit, and in so doing, never once lets go of its vice grip on the viewer's emotions!

A Full Five FreEkies - A modern masterpiece!



Chutney on the side: A.R. Rahman provides a melodious score, but his duet with Dido; tries hard to do an "Enya" from Lord of the Rings but fails!!

GOREY FILMAY, KAALEY LOG!

A million hellos, my frEEK fellows,

I was recently intrigued by the interesting article, by Expat on the Edge aka a brit journalist living in Mumbai; Naomi Canton. Naomi's article provided an interesting look at the various foreigners that work in Bollywood cinema. She interviewed foreigners of various nationalities that are "recruited" by casting agents at various "foreigner hangouts" such as Cafe Leopold, and are utilised as background fillers, dancers and such for Bollywood. While providing an interesting insight on the good and the not-so-good time faced by these people, the article was though provoking on Bollywood's need, nay obsession with foreign locations, stars - while perhaps subconsicously trying to measure itself with its firangi counterpart Hollywood. While Yashraj films was responsible for exposing us to the lurid locales of Switzerland, where nubile heroines cavorted in see-through chiffon, only to extoll the virtues of vestal virginity a few reels later. More recently Sajid Nadiadwala and Akshay Kumar's vanity project : KAMBAKHT ISHQ got us the chance to see aging Hollywood Lothario Sylvester Stallone and ex-bond girl Denise Richard cavort with Akshay and Kareena; and what a disaster that turned out to be.
This led me to wonder whether Hollywood has ever thrown a glimpse at our shores? have our actors ever been called into participate in their mega-dollar offerings, so join me then my frEEky friends as we dive once again in the murky realms of celluloid to see if whether we desis did make an impact on foreign shores:

a) SABU:

Perhaps, the biggest and yet largely unknown offering from India's shores was Sabu Dastagir (although that last name was an error ) Discovered by director Robert J. Flaherty during a search for the lead in Elephant Boy, 11 year old Selar Shaik Sabu was from a family of elephant vtamers, and his skills were put to apt use in Flaherty's film which was about a boy who magically communicates with elephants. While the film itself received mixed review, there was no doubting Sabu's charisma, as is evident from the clip below:

An instant box-office favourite, Sabu was loved by the audiences, and became a mainstay of all "exotic" films set in the "mysterious" and forbidden eastern realms ( any place outside America!)
one of Sabu's bigger successes was "Jungle Book" based on Rudyard Kipling's classic of the same name:

Sabu went on star in a loosely adapted version of Aladdin called the "Thief of Baghdad" where though playing the lead role, he played second fiddle to the smashing prince (played of course by, a gora)

Roles faded as Sabu's age advanced, and no longer was deemed "cute" enough to play his previous roles, yet he was part of the controversial "Black Narcisuss" which dealt with a nun-in-training being seduced by the prince of a mysterious eastern kingdom that she volunteers to work for.

Plagued in his later years for allegations of homosexuality, Sabu died a rather unfortunate and impoverished death. His legend hitherto unknown in his home shores, needs to be discovered and cherished.

b) Om Puri and Victor Banerjee :

An underrated actor of immense talent, and brother of Amrish Puri ( who played the legendary villain Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) Om Puri made some inroads into Hollywood cinema starting of with a bit cameo in Attenborough's Gandhi, he starred in the cinema adaptation of the " City of Joy " starring Patrick Swayze. Om went on to play the stereotypical Indian mystic in films such as the The Ghost and the Darkness starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas and Wolf starring Jack Nicholson. He has also made several appearances in well-meaning but lesser known movies such as "Sam and Me" Om's defining moment in foreign cinema was perhaps "East is East " a low budget british movie, where he played a muslim immigrant, married to a firang trying to keep his two sons rooted Indian culture, and not be swayed by the lure of the West. The movie was a runaway smash and showcased amply Om's acerbic comic talent to the world.





Victor Banerjee, finds himself mentioned here on account of his undoubted acting talent which led to his roles in Merchant Ivory's - 'Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures" and David Lean's A Passage to India

and Roman Polanski's frEEky Bitter Moon. My favourite Victor Banerjee film is perhaps Foreign Body which stars Banerjee in the lead as a bumbling medical student who is mistaken for a high profile medical doctor and becomes the toast of high society London - the film was loosely remade as the The Guru. several years later.

c) Irrfan Khan :

Perhaps the most well known face of India in Hollywood right now, Irrfan announced himself as a global talent in Mira Nair's "The Namesake" , he followed it up with the true-life based "A Might Heart" also starring Angelina Jolie. Irrfan's most well known claim to fame is, you guessed it.. Slumdog Millionaire where as one reviewer put it, he effectively represented the audience in gauging the lead credibility in unbelievable adventures that he undertakes. Irrfan also made a blink-and-miss appearance in Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited . Irrfan's role was criticised by locals as an attempt to garner western publicity - to which Irrfan responded that his role was as a tribute to Wes, who was one of his favourite directors.
Jai Ho Irrfan,! may your talent never be restricted by geographical boundaries!

Extra frEEKy: Yes, there's Aishwarya Rai's foray in Hollywood, but then this article is about actors - i.e. people who can act!

Let Sleeping Slumdogs Lie!!!

Hello fellow freekies,

is been a while that I have been visiting these pages...is a new year, a time for new beginning, and from the media buzz screaming at you from every rooftop, it is the year of the dog or rather the SLUMDOG!!

That's right fellow Freeks, Slumdog Millionaire, seems to ready to topple "Gandhi" as the most widely watched movie, that ever featured us Desis!! (umm, there was that little number called Monsoon wedding).

Given its fast frenetic and unapologetic pace, Slumdog has come in for equal amounts of pace and criticism including some from that aby-baby sr. himself! (perhaps he is miffed upon being caricatured in the film?...surely Mr. Bachhan, u are aware that imitation is the best form of flattery! )

Adapted from the Vikas Swarup novel "Q&A" (which ironically had its share of sales increased in no small amount by who else, but slum kids peddling it across traffic signals; the movie features the twists, turns and trysts (yes, i alliterate quite well , thank u!) of Mumbai slum-kid Jamal Malik (voiced in a Brit accent by the otherwise earnest Dev Patel) who has to come to terms with his winning the jackpot in India's version of "Who wants to be a millionaire!" , all the while trying to win back his ladylove Latika (played by the lithe Freida Pinto!!) from the clutches of the stereotyped Mumbai king-pin (played by Mahesh Manjrekar) the movie also features crackling cameos by Hollywood's favourite Indian Irrfan Khan, and yes, Anil "jhakaas" Kapoor!

The movie, in an uncanny way bears semblance to Boyle's other masterpiece "trainspotting" in its frenetic pacing, wicked dialogue, and yes that scene involving a toilet (or well at least the indian slum equivalent of it!) .

To give the devil (or in this case, the slumdog) its due the movie, has its share of flaws, the very very least of what could be the stark portrayal of the Mumbai street-life; and the alleged "stereotyping" of Mumbai's poverty by a "firang" or "gora" aka white director, but then is it such a raw deal? for mountains of trash, and shit that dot the mumbai slums in which the protagonists thrive, can only be portrayed as well...mountains of trash and shit, and isn't our own bollywood guilty of stereotyping the "gora" as either the foreign business-man or drug lord out to rob Indian treasures, or ravage the modesty of the buxom bollywood beauty - only to be thwarted in his plans by the son-of-the-soil hero! ask our very own Bob-Christo (yes click on the link!) or Tom Alter who have paid their bills for years in playing such stereotyped roles. And in resting my case, isn't the aforesaid Mr. Bachhan guilty of at the very least, of all such stereotypes in just of his movie masterpieces called "MARD!"

So , fellow Freekies flush away your frets , for beneath all its sheen, and wisecracks, Slumdog is at its heart, a coming-of-age movie, and nowhere is this more evident than in the scene where the street kid of today (Dev Patel) sits across the host of "Who wants..." played by Anil Kapoor.

yes that very Anil Kapoor who has played the street-element in several movies of yore (Tezaab, Mashaal, Loafer and even Parinda, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the latter portion of this movie), this fellow freeks is a passing of torch moment from the old street "tapori" to the new "slumdog" the new breed of Mumbai's street-smarts who are not just content with running the local gambling-den, or flirting with the grocer's daughter, but are gunning for the big-time, the prize-money, the girl, and yes the celebratory dance at the end of it all!!

"JAI HO!"