The Iron Lady - Movie Review

“The Iron Lady” starring Merrill Streep is every foot of the film a fitting tribute to the living legend of Margaret Thatcher – the western world’s first Head of State not seen since the days of Queen Victoria. A brilliant screenplay by Abby Morgan and telltale direction by Phillida Lloyd apart from a mesmerizing portrayal of title role by Merrill Streep make this a delightful story of Britain’s ...most famous Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and Lloyd George. What makes the movie memorable is the intelligent use of pause and play and rewind buttons in the retelling of Maggie’s life – with snatches of her youthful exuberance, her iron-clad will, her quintessential feminity and yet, a lifelong struggle against the efforts to undermine her from self-righteous men in public life all captured in semi-documentary and anecdotal style.
I have always thought that Margaret Thatcher is the one lady who started the movement of privatization before it engulfed the whole of Europe, Eurasia including the erstwhile USSR, France, Germany and eventually the Asian Tigers – China and India. What shaped her fertile imagination to embrace Free-Market Economics was brought out well as of all the salient epoch-making events that punctuated her life – the Trade Union dismantling, the privatization of the Steel Industry, the epic swift battle to reclaim the naval base of Falklands from Argentina (which used to be a hit amongst school students of the 1980s – remember “Time” cover story – The Empire Strikes Back!), the battles of wit she waged in the British Parliament, her uprighteous and stubborn demeanour to never give up despite her deposing…The reels move on at lightning speed never failing to sizzle even when Maggie lapses into momentary brooding.
There are other human moments and enormous attempts to ensnare with proper British blood traits – Maggie’s and her hubby Dennis’s lifelong attempts to quiz each other and search for what’s the good word, Maggie’s nonchalance about bringing her children in any privileged manner but that of a commoner, and she continues to this day as they show at the beginning and the end how she buys milk from the grocery store and cares for the country when London was bombed in 2007. Merrill rightfully won the Oscar for portraying a true-to-life Margaret Thatcher – it’s a story that inspired several women in western society and might do so to leaders in every part of the world – either stand on principles or make no attempts hide it if you can’t. There are some other defining moments brought out with the dignity of a stiff upper lip – like when Margaret Thatcher is counseled by the doctor on her health checkup and she says, “All the young care for is about the emotions of the old people, but do they know its about ideas and thoughts too.” Makes a powerful statement about the things one should get old with. Recommended for all parental and grand-parental viewing for dollops of inspiration.

Banned Books in India

"Banned books in India". Thats an interesting feature in recent issue of  "Hindu". Since my dad and I started collecting, sharing and reading books (almost in a Naipaulian way) we were always on the prowl for books. When I was growing up, my wish was his command - to get books out of print and out of bounds. Now, when he is slowing down, his wish is my command. I can track down a book down to its bare... form wherever on earth its hiding from my home. Over the years, its become a useful skill but built an audacious disposition especially around banned books which is what I wanted to ask of many of you. How many of you have such banned books in India? "Hindu" gives a complete low-down on such banned books and I still don't understand why only English books need be banned. Even vernacular press can turn out vicious and seditious books in India probably with much more vicarious consequences. There is more than a little adventure in seeking out banned books - firstly, they are like liquor during prohibition days - you know where to get after an effort and then you want to tell the whole world about it. Its almost as intoxicating as the book-hunt and denouement that you have it in your hands is more addicting than reading the book itself. Here are the books that my dad and I read between the both of us -
1. "Nine Hours to Rama" - the story about Gandhi's assassination.
2. "The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubai Ambani". I heard about this book in my second job. I got to read it during my sixth job. It was never allowed during Dhirubhai's tenure. Only during his last days did it re-surface as a pirated copy on Mumbai streets.
3. "Such a long journey" by Rohinton Mistry. Didn't know why Shiv Sena found it derogatory.
4. "Lajja" by Taslima Nasreen. Again mysteriously banned for "secular" reasons. Its a nice piece of literature by a woman writer.
5. "Lady Chatterley's Lover". It is not a book on porn, I repeat, and both of us enjoyed reading it.
6. "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence" (banned in only Gujarat but not worth the ban).

Now that the "Hindu" has given some amazingly interesting books banned in India that is longer than you think, it should make my dad several years younger in assigning me to ferret these out. His choice commands from the list are salivating to say the least:- 1. "The heart of India" 2. "Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India". 3. "Hindu heaven" 4. "The land of the Lingam". 5. "Soft Target: How the Indian Intelligence Service penetrated Canada." Its interesting what is concealed seeks to reveal itself.

The Artist - Movie Review

"The Artist" directed by Michael Hazanavicius (Oscar winner), produced by Thomas Langman (Oscar winner) and starring Jean Dujardin (again Oscar Best Actor) is a visual silent treat in the era of noisy films. Its a story of two characters - George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and Pepppy Miller (Bernice Bejo) in the era of silent films before "talkie" technology took the charm away. George is the ruling superstar of silent era films and he encourages Peppy to get introduced as a Fred and Ginger foot-tapping dancer in his movie. George has all the opulence that stardom can buy and the vanity that he doesn't need to ever "talk" ; even when the studio which catapults him to fame demands they should now make movies with "spoken" dialogues.

By contrast, Peppy Miller is fast on the update, she starts getting meaty roles and eventually stars in talkie films and becomes a superstar. George, meanwhile sulks into a manic depression as both his wife and stardom both desert him. He sells his car, his bungalow, his wares and even destroys his movies in a fit of rage. His dog (feted at the Oscars for a stunning performance) remains the sole companion.

There are other quirky twists in this tale of reversal of fortunes of two different stars besides the subtle romance thats always in the air. A thoroughly enchanting movie with so many first-time experiments that have not only won the top honours at the BAFTA and the Oscars (five in all) that you wonder why they stoppped making silent films since the times of Charlie Chaplin. Of course, Chaplin's movies had a slapstick comedy and uneasy pathos with less intrusions by layers of characterisations that underpin this film. In flat 98 minutes, the movie is a feast of unbridled exhibition of cinematic genius sans dialogues (except for moments in the end). Will we see more movies of this kind? Will we see silent movies (last attempted by Kamal Hasan in "Pushpak")? Time will tell.

There is a scene where the Artist (sorry for the pun) wakes up to a nightmare where everything around him - the dog, the microphone, the phone all produce Bose-quality sounds and yet when he tries to speak and shout and yell, there's uneasy silence. A highlight scene in which the director shows how the hero's silence has turned against him. For most of the movie, Ludovic Bource scores loud and orchestral soundtrack that defines the emotional undercurrents in the story. Even though the director uses the same format of the old B&W films with the motions, the interludes and the mega font exclamationary quotes circling the dialogues between the characters, there is no noise in the film except the music.

But the pace of the movie never slackens and the atttention to detail doesn't show signs of laziness. Because this is the only movie that celebrates the struggle of an actor on the brink of sunset by sunrise technologies since whatever must have come in the 50s, and because the audience is not color-blind anymore - the director takes close and comfortable shots that get you glimpse the emotional highs and lows more effectively than the old movies made with a constrained technology. So you see the greenback, the speck of a black dot planted by George on Peppy's face to give her a star-turn, the dog's sudden energy burst to save his master from getting incinerated - all these are captured in ensnaring detail.

Just before the End, when the stars get re-aligned to shoot for another foot-tapping dance, and the camera rolls on, the director plays out his last trick - the music syncronises with the couple in their moves but you hear the words - "Cut" and still the magic of the dance continues and you doubt still that the silent march is over - you are yet to get out of that stupor of charmed silence. Its a memorable movie thats worth all the honors that greeted. The magic of movies will continue even if you make silent movies that don't talk or movies that silence you. "The Artist" has been a moving experience and suddenly my count of better movies has gotten the better of my love for mediocre dishum-and-dance movies in 2012. You will not come out of the movie hall with just one feeling.

And the Oscar goes to...

3.5 inches high, 6.75 pounds, tin and copper, with gold plating. A rough sketch of  a figure holding a sword hanging on the reel of a film. Not the best of designs but since 1927, its the hallmark of recognition and respect. It is probably the best-known statue in the world, known as the Oscar, because Margaret Herrick, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts (MPAA)'s first Librarian, named it as Oscar because it resembled a lot like her uncle Oscar. Monday mornings in India on 27th Feb-1st March are something to look forward to  - Its the night of Oscars telecast live in this part of the world, thanks to Star Movies. An awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of cinema the Hollywood way, the night of limited dance and song, of solemn remembrances, of a brief snapshot of the non-Hollywood cinema seen through the prisms of "Foreign Language" category. The night of all-colour men and women dressed in Black and White and Red array of shining, coal-black, shining costumes. The night which has epic commentary on how Hollywood breathes life into the annals of society through its movies of the year.
I always admired the preciseness, grand scale of executions, class and charishma that underlines the Oscar awards. Only the best talent who usually vie with one another - screenwriters, costume designers, animators, editors, sound recordists, stage and setting designers, actors and actresses, playwrights and lyricists, writers and comedians - all of them get together, give their best flat foot forward, lend their voice, pen, nerve and sinew to make it the spectacle that counts. Somehow, the humor that comes out of this one night, according to me, is enough to drive you to raptures of laughter. Its like the night when the wit and received wisdom of PG.Wodehouse, Groucho Marx,  Erma Bombeck and  Woody Allen pillorie the pale lines off your face.
Talk about the comperes, I grew up catching up of the best comedians and standup-champions chaperone the Awards nights - from Bob Hope to Woody Allen, Billy Crystal to Eddie Murphy to Robert Downey Jr. Over the years, the Awards represent an assemblage of talents coming together to give the best glimpse of the Industry' united strength - although it is never the case because all folks can't be satisfied. I remember Bob Hope the great humorian who lived till the age of 100 - he started the whole tradition of hosting the funny side up. He never won an Oscar and rubbed it in at one of the Awards Ceremonies: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Academy Awards, or as it's known in our house, Passover."
Tonight (or tomorrow morning for us in India), you have some of the best contemporary actors competing for the top honours - the likes of Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and George Clooney ("The Descendants") and the classic legends like Merryll Streep. Sophistication and class, subtety and style  - you can expect to see a harvest of all of these in the Awards ceremony especially with Billy Crystal - Oscar Awards Host for the ninth time - replacing Eddie Murphy. Contrast this with the crassness of the Filmfare Awards - OMG! Come on, Oscars, lights on!

"Moneyball" Movie Review

"Moneyball" is a smashing adaptation of best-selling author Miichael Lewis's book by the same title. It must be one of the best movies on a game that Americans and Japanese love to freak out on - Baseball. Director Benett Miller draws some of the finest talent available in screenplay including the award-winning "Social network" writer Aaron Sorkin and creates a pulsating account of a true story. Its a story of two outliers Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who think out of the box in replacing a club team that lost its three pricey players; they instead pick unconventional players who are technically "faulty" and boy, their team - Oakland A's - goes on to win 20 consecutive games in Baseball history - the best record since 1918.

Peter Brand, partner to Billy Beane, is the whizkid who relies on arcane formulae from calculus and creates algorithm-based programs that zero in on the game's most valuable but under-valued players. The twosome meet with stiff opposition for their unconventional thinking but eventually win the plaudits when they redefine the rules of the game. The more you know the game, the less you know more about it says an introduction to the movie - and it turns out that way. Later, as goes the true story, Billy Beane - the General Manager who turned it around for Oakland gets a multi-million dollar deal for more clubs but he turns it down to dote on his daughter. Peter Brand, the silent number-crunching backbone behind this whole idea to bring down valuations of players down to the real numbers they produce on the pitches - his play becomes the new motif for another aspirant Red Sox who win the next American League season.

I always wondered why the Americans never succeeded in attracting the commonwealth nations like India and Australia to Baseball. But this is the closest to getting an appreciation of the game, its contours and its flamboyance, the pace and the adrenalin are well brought out by Bennett Miller. Brad Pitt who plays the legendary Billy Beane must have seen gold in the Michael Lewis book, he produces this as well. Jonah Hill who played the Ivy League Economics graduate Peter Brand using computer-based algorithms which made the players bidding more credulous and level-playing ground for poor teams does an impressive job too. You can't help but relating to explore if the strategy adapted by these two protagonists has any implications for Indian cricket - especially in IPL valuations, the way players are bid at astronomical prices. Brad pitt essays a brilliant role and he has the best lines. "Is losing Fun?" and "Thats how losing sounds to me" must become two of the shortest motivational speeches ever delivered in the players' restrooms in sports movies. One line I remember: "We bought you as a valued player not because of your past but because of what we believed you will deliver for us." That says it all.

Michael Lewis - Wall Street's favorite writer who brings out the funny and romantic side of monetary worlds - he should be happy with the adaptation. I gather now that buoyed by the applause for this movie, his book "Coach" rights are bought by Walt Disney. That way, American movie-makers can make sensible and intelligent movies based on true stories for many millenniums - something that movie industries in other countries including India only occasionally attempt.

Cricket Australia Vs.Cricket India

The strength of a country's cricket team lies in its coaches and the process followed by the apex body in selecting in-form cricketers and giving a fighting team for the nation - a team that wont retreat or rest on past laurels. Cricket-lovers will always remember how clinical and ruthless Cricket Australia functions. They eased out Shane Warne at the cusp of another 300 wickets, and didn't spare ...Andrew Symonds for a few faux pas, waited for Steve Waugh, Glen Mcgirth, Dean Jones, Allan Border, Michael Bemen, David Boon, and several other cricketers I fail to recollect. And now, Ricky Ponting - the only cricketer who can beat the combined trio of Sachin, Laxman and Dravid in batting records. And look ma! he has been shown the door in ODIs. Thats class act of Cricket Australia.


Contrast with BCCI - reeking in corruption, under-invested in harvesting new talent, or training our cricketers to face bouncy pitches or fast bowlers. We don't even know how to sustain interest in fast-bowling as a career option, we make pitches that suit more batting records to get piled up. And look at our cavalier attitude towards non-performing assets - We are all the time waiting for some people who for some reason, we feel are above law, like Sachin to announce retirement. Gavaskar was right in saying, the best time to retire is when people say,"Why?" rather than "why not?". I have been saying consistently that Sachin's best days are behind and he doesn't deserve Bharat Ratna - thats a totally different topic (which I will address with proper arguments constructed layer by layer). And now, we are afraid to drop the demigod of cricket for whatever reasons. The point, however, is not that. The point is why BCCI doesn't have exacting performance standards for seniors who are not consistent like Cricket Australia or even neighbouring Pakistan Cricket Body which was notorious for sacking indisciplined players. Trouble is, BCCI has spread itself too thin on past laurels - and the country is going berserk on watching more and more of 14-reel cricket - Celebrity cricket league, IPL-Summer and IPL-October and the long dry-and-deadpan-pitch winter cricket season which end in draws or batsmen hauling up triple ton records.

Cricket nations across the world are waking up to the fact that too much money has crept into the cricketing lives - and cricket in India is becoming as gawdy as the big fat Indian wedding. If performance is not coming sooner or in consistent bouts, the euphoria or fixation over our national sportsgame will become anathema. Cricket lovers in India know that cricket blues happen also more often here than anywhere else. We just need an independent decision-making team that can look the other way when advertisers, business groups and cricket superstars are pouring in money. Money talks, in cricket also but not for too long - especially when performance goes missing.

"Poola Rangadu" Movie Review

Poola Rangadu" is comedian Sunil's third film as a hero. Directed by Veerabhadram, it is as entertaining as any mass hero's commercial project. Unlike in "Maryada Ramanna" where he puts an apprehensive face, this time, Sunil gives a treat of a range of emotions from his characteristic comedy, slapstick, punch dialogues et al, and mixes with sentiment well. Sunil has got a good support from other... actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao and heroine Isha Chawla and the two villains. Director Veerabhadram seems to be adept at story-telling with grip on entertainment and the pace never slackens till the end. He shows command over all departments of directing with a touch of mass appeal that could get another hit for Sunil as he comfortably struts from one range of emotions to another, jumps like an acrobat, runs like a cheetah, serenades Isha Chawla, dances like the best of Tollywood heroes now and like Salman Khan bares his newly-sculpted six-pack body in the climax.


Music by Anup Rubens and dialogues by P.Sridhar are both good and classy. Even if the plot is average, the screenplay and story-telling skills of the director make it a little better than average commercial films. Sunil the hero shows that with the backing of a good script and deft direction, a talented comedian can also do what superstars do on screen - with good dancing skills, timing sense of dialogues, average screen presence, and a body that pumps iron. From an expectations point of view, Sunil should find his rewards as the audience will find the movie thoroughly entertaining. Because of an effort to give a 360 degree view of what a full-fledged hero out to display on screen, the movie gets a bit longer at 150 minutes. But fun watching with some thrills and good laughs.