ROY: A painful writer’s block!

Never judge a book by its cover; and a film by its trailer. Looks can be deceiving. Debutante writer-director Vikramjit Singh’s self-indulgent thriller ROY falls for the same. Suggestively projected as a romantic thriller with some nail-biting tension and edge-of-the-seat action, it is actually a slow, dreary and superficial psychological thriller that travels far too many places but reaches nowhere. Though it is not some Herculean task to anticipate the flight of a thriller having a writer in it as its main lead, Vikramjit Singh tries his best to create a perfect setting for a perfect thriller but couldn’t bless it with a taut story to pull it off.

Writers live their lives through their characters. Characters walk through pathways their creators have crafted for them. And then there are blurred lines in the narration where they both transit into each other’s territory. It may sound easy and simple as lighting a cigarette but it is not when you are a first-timer. Filmmaker Kabir Grewal [the stylishly cool and casual Arjun Rampal] is a perfectionist in almost everything he does and as precise as those three cubes of ice in his favorite drink. His sources of inspiration were categorically been the women in his life. 22 to be exact! And now, he is facing writer’s block. Enters Ayesha Aamir [Jacqueline Fernandez] another filmmaker from London [probably to give Miss J’s distant accent a valid reason]! Kabir starts stealing moments from his relationship with Ayesha to complete his third film about a mysterious serial thief Roy [Ranbir Kapoor in a well-coined dynamic role] but before he could meet the end, Ayesha is gone.

In ROY, Vikramjit Singh gives us a shiny-glossy world as much high on style and sophistication that even the statutory ‘smoking kills’ caption on the screen is written in some fancy font. The psychosomatic bond between the writer and his creation is, though, well-thought; it often gets confusing with a not-so neat & clever screenplay mixed abruptly with the romantic track. The dried out dialogues forcibly talking heavy just for the sake of sounding profound low down the shades of an engaging thriller. One of the high-points in the film takes more than an hour to show up where Kabir & Roy are seen coming ‘not exactly’ together but in one frame. Smartly written and brilliantly shot! Writer’s block allowing the leading man in the film within film in a long-waiting ‘stay where you are’ situation is another smart piece in the writing. Sadly, these are very few in numbers and placed at a tiring distant interval.

Cinematography captures it beautifully; be it the picturesque locations in Malaysia or the esthetically rich sets. Arjun Rampal looks more like coming straight from one of his shoots for fashion magazines. So does Jacqueline but then, there is a lot more to comment on her acting skills; an ineffective effort she needs to do better in. Ranbir Kapoor is the only saving grace for the film. He gives screen the much-needed depth and a starry presence that could make your being there an endeavor worth taking. Well-shot songs are also reasonably good part.

To end, ROY suffers multiple climaxes in the most frustrating screenplay. The comments given to the film within the film like, “Finally, it’s over!”, “pata nahin, yeh film kaise bann gayi?” and “yeh film toh mujhe duba hi degi” help none but to express the exasperation viewers feel and face while seeking out quick exit from the theater. Watch out if you have tons of patience, and love and likings for Ranbir Kapoor! Writer’s block is a painful state for writers; this time it’s for viewers too! [2/5]     

GONE GIRL: Miss it…and you will miss it! [4/5]

She is a Type A. She is a decorated scholar, bright and kind in personality. 5 years in the institution called marriage and still, you wouldn’t notice a single line of discontentment on her highly proud forehead. She is the ‘amazing Amy’ her proud parents has based their bedtime-story series on. She herself is a writer with almost no friends in the quite friendlier town of Missouri. She is missing from her house, under suspicious circumstances. 

He is a Type B. He is a writer too but the mean times of recession have had him quite bad. His double-chinned face has a villainous impression, according to his wife of 5 years. He’s lethargically casual, wittily complaining and looks hardly convinced about his wife & marriage. He is the prime suspect behind his wife’s disappearance, possibly murdered by now.

David Fincher is back in theatres with GONE GIRL- a relentlessly engaging missing-drama that never approves you sitting quietly through any of its chain of events. The incredulity in the character you had just made likeable to you and your own sense of judgment getting activated soon after the air gets clear keeps you in an unsettling mood & mode of ‘What might have happened?’ to ‘What actually has happened?”.

Adapted for the screen from the bestselling novel by screenwriter Gillian Flynn, GONE GIRL is more of a psychological drama than a crime-thriller. One fine morning on his Fifth marriage anniversary, Nick [Messily cool & composed Ben Affleck] returns to his home to find his wife Amy [Mysteriously ‘a treat-to-eyes’ Rosamund Pike] missing. Before the local detectives [Kim Dickens plays one of the two] could actually give the investigation a demanding pace comes the frenzied whirl of media to cover the story. It takes no time to trace the disrespect, missing love, dishonesty and the tense-air between the two in the married life. Rest follows the twisted plot, diverse perspectives to events and a layer-on-layer dissection of the most researched and widely conversed social school of commitment i.e. marriages!

Taking from the original work of fiction, David creates a parallel narrative of one in present with Nick getting plunged into the proceedings of investigation, while the other goes back in regular intervals to revisit the good old times of romance blooming in the air. David successfully hammers on the role of media and the broaden technology juicing the best they want. When the mother announces a dedicated website & hotline number to find any clue of her missing daughter, you sure find yourself in the midst of generous giggling and joining it with equal force.

With a haunting background score and commendably cinematographed scenes, GONE GIRL gels well with absolutely in-sync performances of Affleck and Pike both. Affleck with his paunchy, weathered, sluggish look and the contagious resilience in attitude delivers his most pitiable yet pretentious character on screen. Pike surprises you with the most being unforeseen and undercover due to the twists in the plot. I wish I could unravel more to add more to illustrate her part here. In short and sweet, it’s a stellar.

And the final word on the film! GONE GIRL is one the best thrillers, this year! No doubt on that. The duration and the pace could sure make you shifting eyes from the screen but the finesse in the storytelling and the craftsmanship involved will pay you back of your every single penny spent on it. Missing this ‘Missing Story’ is not at all recommended! [4/5] 

PIZZA [3D]: Smells fresh, tastes regular and takes too long to deliver! [2/5]

While watching horror, most people laugh out of their nervousness as in mental uncertainty for how to react at the proceedings but at times, it just fails and becomes a funnier effort to generate giggles in rejection. Sadly, Akshay Akkineni’s PIZZA finds its place in the later category, for the most. Projected wrongly as a horror film, it is more of a psychological thriller that mocks at the Indian ghost stories and blind beliefs in favor of the same. Conceptually novel, least practiced before and refreshing in thoughts, PIZZA fails miserably in the execution and takes too much time to deliver its strongest portion i.e. the unexpectedly and relatively smarter climax. Bad service, huh!

An official remake of 2012 Tamil superhit, PIZZA revolves around a pizza-delivery boy [played by debutant Akshay Oberoi] who gets stuck in a haunting villa while delivering one of his orders. Things of strangest nature start taking place behind the closed doors and the delivery boy hardly has any clues about them. Though not sooner, he does manage to escape the playground of the bizarre but not without losing his wife [played by former Miss India Parvathy Omanakuttan] in the pit of darkness. The concluding part includes after-effects of the trauma he has experienced and how the ray of a new hope awaits at the other end of the tunnel.

From the very start, this slice of psychological thriller thrives to sound, look and be a not so regular horror flick chained in typical groaning-grunting, seductive and revengeful ghost stories Bollywood has been restricted till now (If one could sue someone for that, Bhatts would be the bunch of prime accused). It does show a promising image of change with smart writing taking over the topicalities but only at the start and the very end. In between, it only gets repetitive, immovable and trapped in its own mesh. There are times when you have to nothing but laugh at whatever goes on screen just to release your disappointment. It’s only the climax that saves a lot for your financial contribution at the box office. It’s widely unseen, satisfactory and fairly enjoyable. Still!

Akshay looks every part of his character and leaves nothing much to complain about his acting ability. He has it in him. And for a début, it is pretty impressive. Parvathy is good though she doesn’t get opportunity of equal level considering Akshay’s. In supporting cast, Rajesh Sharma and Arunoday Singh are good. Dipannita Sharma, Omkar Das Manikpuri [Nattha of PEEPLI LIVE] and D. Santosh are completely wasted. In other highlights of the film, the opening credits are one of the most impressive title sequences in recent. Done in the flavors of animated comic strips, it shows a dramatic graphical representation of the time-chasing delivery process in life of a delivery-boy.

At the end, PIZZA is a feast that smells fresh, looks extremely inventive but disappoints with its ‘run of the mill’ taste despite consoling your soul with its best of portions left to serve at the very end when you’re almost done with it. Avoid ordering this, instead go out with your family to the nearest and your favorite pizza-joint; that will be more fulfilling fun. [2/5]

PRAGUE: Go with no expectations and you might come out going ga-ga over it! [3.5/5]

Prague is one beautiful city with spectacular world heritage sites and astonishing architectural monuments of all sorts. Being a crucial location for catastrophic World War II events, the city itself has a mysteriously spirited feel to it. Look at those sulking mutilated figurines to be reminiscent of the tragedies happened long ago or that ‘bone chapel’ seeking peace and humanity in middle of countless human bones…& you will know that no other setting can be so appropriate than this enigmatic city of Prague when it comes to paint down the complexities of human mind that deal with harsh reality and even harsher world of imagination and hallucination simultaneously.

Ashish R. Shukla’s PRAGUE is an awe-inspiring mind-bending psychological thriller that stands out from many efforts in the recent past. Weaved in an innovative narration style, film focuses on the life of a promising architect in search of peace of mind, love and redemption!

Chandan [Chandan Roy Sanyal in a tailor-made role with an applause-worthy performance] is in love with Shubhangi [confident Sonia Bindra]; his perfect soul mate seems to be but nothing is as it seems. Seeing is misbelieving. And as Chandan happens to see his dead friend Arfie, guiding in his most of decisions and beliefs in life, another ‘always-on-weed’ ‘high-on-life’ friend Gulshan [Kumar Mayank in an impressing look and characterization] is found under same sheet with Shubhangi. Story takes a leap when Chandan is in Prague for his ambitious monumental project on World War II victims. This time, a gypsy Girl [Ellena Kazan surprises with her ability to act besides just looking ravishing] finds a place in Chandan’s heart but to his wildest fear makes a come back as Gulshan. Rest is how what you see is far from what you believe.

PRAGUE is an independent film and carries off that tag very confidently. It persistently involves itself in creating freshness in its approach. So, besides that visually stunning picturesque camera work and the edgy-crispy editing hands, there is also the skillfully layered writing that keeps you on your toes either with interesting narration style [story goes back & forth to interlink happenings and divided into chapters to keep focus on the highlighted part] and the aromatic suspenseful twists & turns in the tale.

The plot here doesn’t leave much scope to create perplexity in viewer’s mind because of lesser number of characters than fingers in your hands. And the characters are also real, simple, straight yet complicated in their own way.

Film if belongs to anyone solely, it is Chandan Roy Sanyal who outshines everyone else in the frame. Here is a talent that has never been explored to its maximum and demands much more than skinny supporting roles. Watch him in emotional scenes where he is struggling to manage his connect to relationships in both the world…in real & in hallucinated one.

I am sure you haven’t heard of it much before its release, but for one who believes in experimental cinema that dares to break league and norms…this is a huge huge pleasurable surprise of the year. PRAGUE is trippy, witty, confident, engaging, innovative, astonishing and an exhilarating psychological ride you must take for a mind-bending experience and to trust the fact that this is the best period of indie cinema in India. Go with no expectations and you might come out going ga-ga over it. [3.5/5]

Special Note: Do not go if you don’t know what the term ‘Indie film’ stands for!

LUCIA: India’s answer to Nolan’s INCEPTION, that too in Kannada. Be proud! [3.5/5]

Psychological thrillers that bend your mind with a thin blurred dividing line between dream and reality have always been fascinating stories to shake & shock cinema-lovers across globe. Christopher Nolan’s much acclaimed INCEPTION was the last most-talked venture in the said genre…and the latest has just arrived. Not from the other side of the world but from our very own Kannada film industry.

 

Pawan Kumar’s LUCIA is a small film […made merely in a shoestring budget of 70 lakh, funded by hundreds of cinema-enthusiasts on social networking sites] that never restricts or limits itself from being big in aspiration, execution or projection.

An usher/ torch-shiner in a dying talkies [not multiplex or theater  mind you!] in the town finds it difficult to have a good sleep in nights, thanks to his ‘a little too much to be comfortable with’ roomies of every kind, and soon develops symptoms of insomnia. Next in the line comes an illegal drug-distributor who, as an ultimate solution, provides him a set of sleeping pills named ‘Lucia’ that could miraculously not only helps him in getting good sleep but also allows him to live his personalized dreams like a one big movie of his own. Eventually, you see our protagonist leading two separate lives respectively one in reality and the other in alternate reality aka dream […clearly shown divided with sequences in color and in b/w].

So, whatever in one life he can’t do is now doing in the other to entertain his soul. The girl of his dreams, the career he always has looked up to and everything else…but who really can tell if what you see is reality or a dream or it is just both within you? Best unanswered for you to explore at your own!

LUCIA is a brilliant example of what a far-reaching vision can create- achieve & celebrate despite having cumbersome obstacles largely called here as age-old ‘business norms’. Leave Kannada alone, I am still looking for examples to equal this effort in all of Bollywood. Cinematography by Siddharth Nuni is exceptionally good and of qualities that could take it to bigger platforms proudly and profoundly. Siddharth plays with lights and well-designed shots that are bound to leave you awestruck…and to complement it evenly, there is crispier than ever scissoring hands of […sadly, did not find the name of film-Editor anywhere].

Watch out for the opening-montage where the addictive Lucia capsules are shown being experimented, manufactured and later consumed but in an innovative reverse order. Though performances are not so overwhelming, you also don’t complain as it is very very satisfactory.

Ironically, the biggest strength and the biggest limitation in this case are the same. The screenplay does provide to promises of huge expectations but the story quite doesn't fulfill your appetite as it decides to remain massy for most parts, keeping the entertainment need of commercial Kannada audiences, I guess. And to some extent, I personally consider it the need of hour to reach and to bring more people to this kind of cinema than just being a complicated experience for few hardcore art-cinema fans; they sure will find it a little distracted 2 hour 15 min long effort which could easily get trimmed by 20 odd min, at present, deeply dedicated to masses only.

Having said that, I must recommend it to all of you who are not constrained and classified in terms of language when it comes to good quality cinema! It has shines and glares of ‘Cinema Paradiso’, ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception’ but stands out at its own because of technical excellence and a sheer example of gripping story-telling. [3.5/5]