A Sweet Concoction and a Goulash of Fairy Tales!
For Shreking out loud!
I am extremely proud of myself! Within a span of 24 hours, I saw 2 movies, one of them in the late night show :) . Of course the gold standard in movie watching is watching them back to back - but I don’t really despise my achievement, interspersed as it was with a cheese slobbered pasta session :)
Anyway, coming back to the movies – even as I was watching them, this blog entry was forming in my mind. These were the type of movies that beg to be written about, and so, here I am, hoping to do justice to them (justice as in giving them what they deserve!!).
I always think it is better to start with small doses and so Cheeni Kum it is!
Cheeni Kum: A light-hearted sugar-free (and how!) romance.
One can always expect an advertising professional to advertise his wares well! This is not to say that the final dish was any less delectable as promised by the teasers, but the ingredients mentioned in the trailers gave me a slightly different taste of what the movie was about. Hence I have written out the ingredients afresh, which I think will give a more accurate flavour of the dish!
Ingredients:
2 ½ kgs of sour, acerbic Amitabh Bachchan
2 tbs of Tabu as a sweetener
½ tsp each of an ancient but zesty Zora Sehgal and a precocious young brat frequently seen in television commercials
A slice of Paresh Rawal for the garnishing
Cheeni kum is an out and out Amitabh Bachchan movie without it meaning to be. Even though the movie is about the unusual romance between a 64 year old man and a 34 year old woman, Amitabh Bachchan totally dominates the space with his portrayal of an arrogant, caustic, perfectionist, MCP chef! His tongue is sharp, his manner sarcastic, his concern for people he’s close to coated with brusqueness – and yet, man, it is possible to get bowled over by him! (Yeah, yeah, I know!)
In retrospect, one realizes that the unique concept (for Bollywood at least) not withstanding, the movie is somewhat like an MB. (hold on a second…only in the sense of the arrogant hero and all.J) The first half of the movie is deliciously crisp and fun- at times it is decidedly cheeky without being vulgar, and the chemistry between the lead pair is really good. The second half loses its pace a little, and one isn’t sure whether the hero being older than the heroine’s dad is meant to be portrayed in a comic or a serious light. What seemed a little unnecessary was the ending track of ‘Sexy’ (the little brat who is at least twice as bratty as she should be!).
All in all, the movie is a sharp romance, fresh to one’s jaded palette. Paresh Rawal is just an attempt to add to the list of mavericks associated with the film (including the director) to really label it as ‘DIFFERENT’!!
And yes, move over Abhishek, Amitabh still has a lot of beans left!! (For the uninitiated, till very recently I was a huge Jr. AB fan :D)
Shrek 3: Coming now to the overdose!
Shrek meets Snow White meets Cinderella meets Rupenzel meets Sleeping Beauty meets Peter Pan meets Rumpeltiltskin meets Harry Potter meets LOTR meets King Arthur meets a typical Teen movie…
Gosh! Do you understand the extent of the overdose?
People, who have taken their board examinations, will understand how a culmination of whatever you have learnt feels like! While watching the movie, I felt my entire childhood (and to tell you the truth, adulthood as well, I haven’t really out-grown fantasy!) flash before my eyes – I found myself delving deep inside my mind trying to remember which fairy-tale which character was from. Even for a Shrek fan like me, this movie was a little too much.
Some people might not agree with me (some of my friends actually found it cute), but I definitely feel that in an attempt to make Shrek 3 bigger, better and grander than the first two, Dreamworks has gone overboard. They simply seem to have used all the characters from an overstocked Disney library.
Actually (to temper down my previous outburst, reeling as I was under the impact of the dose) you don’t really mind the movie that much while watching it, but you keep getting this feeling that the movie is trying too hard and that it isn’t half as cute as the first.
Anyway, the end is predictable, with Shrek and Fiona back to their swamp, Arthur safely ensconced as king and everyone living happily ever after (or till the next sequel) except pore ol’ me L
For Shreking out loud!
I am extremely proud of myself! Within a span of 24 hours, I saw 2 movies, one of them in the late night show :) . Of course the gold standard in movie watching is watching them back to back - but I don’t really despise my achievement, interspersed as it was with a cheese slobbered pasta session :)
Anyway, coming back to the movies – even as I was watching them, this blog entry was forming in my mind. These were the type of movies that beg to be written about, and so, here I am, hoping to do justice to them (justice as in giving them what they deserve!!).
I always think it is better to start with small doses and so Cheeni Kum it is!
Cheeni Kum: A light-hearted sugar-free (and how!) romance.
One can always expect an advertising professional to advertise his wares well! This is not to say that the final dish was any less delectable as promised by the teasers, but the ingredients mentioned in the trailers gave me a slightly different taste of what the movie was about. Hence I have written out the ingredients afresh, which I think will give a more accurate flavour of the dish!
Ingredients:
2 ½ kgs of sour, acerbic Amitabh Bachchan
2 tbs of Tabu as a sweetener
½ tsp each of an ancient but zesty Zora Sehgal and a precocious young brat frequently seen in television commercials
A slice of Paresh Rawal for the garnishing
Cheeni kum is an out and out Amitabh Bachchan movie without it meaning to be. Even though the movie is about the unusual romance between a 64 year old man and a 34 year old woman, Amitabh Bachchan totally dominates the space with his portrayal of an arrogant, caustic, perfectionist, MCP chef! His tongue is sharp, his manner sarcastic, his concern for people he’s close to coated with brusqueness – and yet, man, it is possible to get bowled over by him! (Yeah, yeah, I know!)
In retrospect, one realizes that the unique concept (for Bollywood at least) not withstanding, the movie is somewhat like an MB. (hold on a second…only in the sense of the arrogant hero and all.J) The first half of the movie is deliciously crisp and fun- at times it is decidedly cheeky without being vulgar, and the chemistry between the lead pair is really good. The second half loses its pace a little, and one isn’t sure whether the hero being older than the heroine’s dad is meant to be portrayed in a comic or a serious light. What seemed a little unnecessary was the ending track of ‘Sexy’ (the little brat who is at least twice as bratty as she should be!).
All in all, the movie is a sharp romance, fresh to one’s jaded palette. Paresh Rawal is just an attempt to add to the list of mavericks associated with the film (including the director) to really label it as ‘DIFFERENT’!!
And yes, move over Abhishek, Amitabh still has a lot of beans left!! (For the uninitiated, till very recently I was a huge Jr. AB fan :D)
Shrek 3: Coming now to the overdose!
Shrek meets Snow White meets Cinderella meets Rupenzel meets Sleeping Beauty meets Peter Pan meets Rumpeltiltskin meets Harry Potter meets LOTR meets King Arthur meets a typical Teen movie…
Gosh! Do you understand the extent of the overdose?
People, who have taken their board examinations, will understand how a culmination of whatever you have learnt feels like! While watching the movie, I felt my entire childhood (and to tell you the truth, adulthood as well, I haven’t really out-grown fantasy!) flash before my eyes – I found myself delving deep inside my mind trying to remember which fairy-tale which character was from. Even for a Shrek fan like me, this movie was a little too much.
Some people might not agree with me (some of my friends actually found it cute), but I definitely feel that in an attempt to make Shrek 3 bigger, better and grander than the first two, Dreamworks has gone overboard. They simply seem to have used all the characters from an overstocked Disney library.
Actually (to temper down my previous outburst, reeling as I was under the impact of the dose) you don’t really mind the movie that much while watching it, but you keep getting this feeling that the movie is trying too hard and that it isn’t half as cute as the first.
Anyway, the end is predictable, with Shrek and Fiona back to their swamp, Arthur safely ensconced as king and everyone living happily ever after (or till the next sequel) except pore ol’ me L
posted by daviejones at 4:56 AM
7 Comments:
Haven't seen the movie, but I do think the tiny lil ponytail is incredibly attractive on the old man :)
It's sad that the son seems to only get fatter as he gets older :D
way to go!!! great writin havent watched either.. but will look out for the things u pointed out.. amazing language.. keep up the good work...
Sr. AB meets Anthony Bourdain meets Gordon Ramsey in Hell's Kitchen. Can't put my finger on what exactly disappointed me about the movie... can I leave it at, it was slightly "Cheeni Kum".
Sexy was sexy. Tabu (although she gave a wonderful performance) saying she wants to be sexy too... well, not so sexy.
One more...
Just watched Shrek. Absolutely agree with you.
I certainly did want to run Faaar Faaaaar Away when I saw my favourite fairy tales (all of them mind you!) being hashed into one swampy pot boiler. Worse, I even thought some scenes reminded me of Charlie's Angels.
As gross as it may sound, I was grossly disappointed that the gross, flatulent, albeit loveable ogre lasted only through the first 10 mintues of the movie.
Attempting a sort of Todorovean analysis to film is always a safe idea, but the MB analogy, all said and done, is a bit tedious for my taste (pun intended)..
Is Cheeni Kum a movie about Amitabh Bachchan totally? Or is it a narrative that chooses his point of view?
But one thing for sure, the bratty comment rings true! Jaded pallete? Hmmmm....Interesting...
I was waiting to see at least one of the two movies before I could critique your critique :)
Cheeni Kum was the one I decided to watch.
Loved the one liners & the witty retorts - the whole movie was like a commercial, don't you think?
Was laughing all through the movie - except for the excruciating last 20 minutes when I was just wanting to run out of the theatre. Minus the kid and the Satyagrah and the scene at the pillar, it would've been perfect.
But it's okay - we didn't expect the ad folk to be perfect anyway :P
Keep up the good work.
Post a Comment
<< Home