Swades recreates a new face for patriotism !!!

"You have to come to India and experience it. Then you will probably know what I am saying ", says Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan), a project manager for Global Precipitation Measurement in NASA to his associate. He knows the beauty which lies inside the culture of India and the importance of being an Indian. Swades: We the people, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker is all about developing a new outlook towards patriotism and also dealing with the relevant issue of brain drain. 

Shah Rukh Khan plays Mohan Bhargava; an Indian NASA scientist migrated to America as he finally manages to shed off his star persona, enacting a subtle but powerful performance, thanks to director's marvellous vision and excellent story-telling. The film starts with American-based Mohan feeling a deep regret over not being able to take care of his nanny (Kaveri amma), while she was old. He expresses his feelings to his associate Vinod (Rahul Vora) as in how Kaveri amma was next to his mother and how she took good care of him when he was a child. 

Filled with an urge to find Kaveri amma, Mohan takes a leave for a week from NASA and sets off to India only to find Kaveri amma in a village called as Charanpur. The fictitious village Charanpur (assumed to be 200 kms near Delhi) broadcasts an Indian rural life which is full of loving, caring and affectionate people but is simultaneously plagued with problems of illiteracy, caste system, child labour and child marriage. As India enjoys urban development, technological leaps, and the software boom, here villagers still struggle to accumulate basic needs such as education and electricity. 
In this small village of Charanpur, Mohan finds himself in a world that stands as the polar opposite to his American lifestyle. He tries to convince Kaveri amma to come with him to America much to the dismay of Geeta (Gayatri Joshi), who lives with Kaveri amma. Geeta is the hindrance in Mohan's task to bring his nanny with him to America. She is strong-willed, straight-forward and has immense love for India and its culture. She repeatedly retorts to Mohan's criticism of the government's inability to provide for its people by questioning his contribution to this society.
The film starts deviating from this a bit as Mohan decides to channelize his energies in making Charanpur a better place to live as he sees the social evils, the village faces. He helps Geeta in persuading more children in the villages nearby to pursue education, thus gradually falling in love with her. Aided by a local postman Dayal Shrivastav and a local dhaba-owner Mela Ram, Mohan sets off on a mission to bring in more children in their local school. Mohan tries to enable greater access to education, especially for girls, and integration of the castes & appeals to the more liberal members of the village except the conservative council members. With time, Mohan becomes more of a diplomat and less of a dictator.
Shah Rukh Khan is sincere, takes you through the gamut of the journey his character Mohan experiences, and even brings in shades to Mohan Bhargava's character. I could literally sense a lighting spark in Mohan's eyes to make his country, one of the best nations in the world. He criticizes the people, claiming that they are irresponsible and do absolutely nothing to make their country progress to pinnacle of glory and you can't help but agree to his diagnosis. 
One of the best climax scenes is the part where Mohan, with the help of his brilliant mind and his experience in the field of science, tries to generate electric power in Charanpur. The scene is shot so beautifully in the village showing how Mohan along with the villagers work day and night to introduce electricity in village starts to get lost in its own darkness.

Sure, no one doubts the sincerity of the idea behind making Swades. Conceptually, it is totally noble. It is admirable how the director keeps the movie totally grounded and down-to-earth, not retreating to any commercial pressures. In spite of the movie being of 189 minutes long, the movie doesn't feel to be slow as the director keeps it extremely well paced. Swades is a sensitive story of good triumphing over the evil, only this time evil doesn't have a face but is rather equated with regressive ideology. Indeed Shah Rukh Khan's performance as Mohan Bhargava will go down as one of his best and the most genuine performances till date.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367110/

Scorsese's Taxi Driver increases the bar for dramatic vigilante films...

Taxi Driver is an American drama directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader inspired from 1956 John Ford film 'The Searchers'. The screenplay is crafted so artistically by Paul showcasing a raw, nerve- wrecking and powerful look at depression and solitude. The film has the capability to become an altogether successful venture when the actor-director synergy can make astonishing wonders happen. De Niro and Scorsese happen to be one such example. The collaboration between these two has given us some of the really extravagant films. The movie starts with a Taxi moving in a slow motion as it leaves a foggy smoke behind as credit starts appearing in the cloud of smoke giving a more artistic feel to the beginning of the movie. Travis Bickle an ex-Marine officer suffering from chronic insomnia returns to Manhattan, New York after the Vietnam War. A person having no real life experience in flesh-and-blood human relationships gets alienated in the city of aflame and enthusiastic people. Travis takes up a job as a taxi driver on a night duty travelling around the city watching the night- life and prowlers that rule the streets of NY after nightfall. He is a person who tries to mimic the interactions he sees on the streets and goes horribly wrong, watches dirty movie in a porno theater, falls for a girl working in the Senator Palantine's campaign, takes her for a porn movie making her feel awkward and terribly angry. His small acts highlight his lack of human touch and his unstable mind.

 The director had pivoted the confused notions of the protagonist successfully as the audience was meant to assume him to be a psycho. Travis in the latter half of the movie, fails in repeated attempts to get his love back and finally makes up his mind to assassinate the Senator only to flaunt his prejudice. After a failed Palantine assassination, Travis freeds himself from frustration as he guns down three men who he holds responsible for corrupting a girl's youth in a brothel to rescue a 12 year old prostitute named Iris in an unsurpassed bloodbath. Scorsese proved himself a creative genius through Taxi driver. Only part remains undisclosed in movie is the reason Iris chose to run away from home only to become a prostitute at an age where she ought to be going to school, giving an uneasy feeling to the viewers. Like all the Scorsese directed films, redemption is the soul of the film. The audience, terrified and overwhelmed by urban crime will readily respond to any film about heroic vigilantism in future. Courtesy: Martin Scorsese. Taxi Driver, the drama is one of the most organized and a soulful drama made in the history of Hollywood.




http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/

Dark Knight : Nolan's Redefined approach to a SuperHero film

The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan is the second installment of Nolan's Batman trilogy. The sequel to 2005 stunner ' The Batman Begins' has an ensemble cast of Christian bale, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman in key roles. The film is dark, twisted and austere having a dazzling spectacle and feverish action promising a fun-filled experience ahead.
The film ran a successful theatrical period as the audiences started flooding in to watch a fabled gift from Heath Ledger who plays the evil Joker 6 months after his death and he didn't disappoint them. Like all other superhero movies, the underlying theme of the movie is the battle between the good and the bad. The film begins with iconic bank robbery scene shot with an IMAX camera as six robbers try to rob a mob bank but only one winner to claim all the stolen money leaving others dead. Of course it is the Joker, the person who wears a purple colored suit (his usual dress code), having his face painted chalk-white and a big red smile which extends further from his mouth. Needless to say, Joker opens up with an electrifying performance as expected by the viewers.
He speaks in calibrated accent enunciating his words properly enough to produce terror. His smart-liners steal the majority of the limelight. In one scene, when he says to Batman "You complete me". Don't buy the tease. He means it. Joker starts in the film with simplicity in his action but this simplicity itself goes on to terrify the audience as the movie progresses. We can clearly glimpse chaos at the heart of the Joker instead of creation as he threatens Batman through media that he will start to kill people of Gotham and only way to stop this is by disclosing his true identity. Joker's fiendishly designed actions are meant to pose dilemmas for his enemies. His evil and mean side is highlighted in certain scenes. For example, when he states he doesn't use a gun since the knife savors all the emotions of the victim. Bruce Wayne aka Batman played by Bale is the masked crusader of Gotham who finds himself at war with his own conscience. He is in love with his childhood friend Rachael (Gyllenhaal) who finds herself torn between the love of two heroes of Gotham, the masked vigilante Batman and the district attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart). Batman is indeed the ray of hope to end organized crime in Gotham as he tries his best to apprehend Joker, confronts the head of crime family Maroni and brings down the Chinese accountant Lau who handles the Mob's money. Eckhart handles the role of Harvey Dent with magnificence as he earns the title of Gotham's white knight (the one who doesn't need a mask to stop crime on the streets of Gotham). Later, Harvey dent's character transformed from a candid cop in to a bitter monster which the joker wanted. His sole aim was to bring down Gotham's white knight to the echelon of brutality and he succeeds with a cunning plan to be executed at his behest.

The still from The Dark Knight

Then, there is Wayne's butler Alfred (Caine) who also happens to be a fatherly figure sends often a supply of useful advices to Bruce whenever needed. The Alfred-Bruce relationship is the strong pillar on which the whole Batman legend stands firmly. Alfred also destroys the secret that is likely to demoralize his boss thus proving him to be more than just a butler for Wayne. Other accomplices of Batman include Lieutenant-turned Commissioner of Gotham Jim Gordon (Oldman) and his armorer and CEO of Wayne enterprises Lucius Fox (Freeman) who is fully aware of Wayne being the masked vigilante. 

Christian Bale as The Batman in The Dark Knight

Throughout the duration of the film, we see calamitous explosions, terrific chase scenes and witty smart-liners by the villain. Nolan immortalized Batman through this flawless endeavour .The film leaps beyond the origins and becomes an engrossing affair. The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It is full of surprises you don't see coming

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/