Black Narcissus (1947)

[***1/2 stars/*****]

When the forces of nature take hold upon you, there is no escaping it. 

A psychological drama with a hint of erotica, Black Narcissus stands for allure, and a deep, relentlessly rising foreboding attraction. 

Caught off guard
A group of nuns are sent high up into the Himalayas at a Rajput king's request. 

It doesn't help that the place allocated for the nuns formerly housed mistresses of the king's father - a harem. 

Previously, a group of monks tried setting up their establishment at the place, but left soon after.  

Will the nuns succeed where others of their kind have failed? 

What is it about the mountains, the inhabitants, in the light of repressed desires, and disciplined lives in the service of the lord? 

Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the appointed 'Sister Superior' along with five more nuns, is determined to educate the local Indian villagers, provide free medical treatment, set up a vegetable garden, and to teach lace-making to the local girls. 

But there is something overpowering about the Himalayas, the rich clean breeze and its people. 

A raw sensuality pervades the surroundings, and soon Sister Clodagh and the other nuns struggle to control their senses to the sheer beauty and allure of the place. 

It is on the troublesome Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) that the locale has its most alarming effect, leading to envy, sexual tensions, murderous intent and tragedy. 

Mountain air, repressed souls 
Based on Rumer Godden's 1939 novel Black Narcissus, co-directors and screenplay writers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger deftly embroider this drama.

Kathleen Byron is a steal as Sister Ruth, a forceful character who powers this psychological drama. 

Deborah Kerr is good too, as is Jean Simmons as the beautiful Kanchi, Sabu as the curious young general and David Farrar as Mr. Dean - the general's agent.    

Balanced take, largely...
Though most of the film was shot in-studio and not in India, the makers convey the sense of location competently. 

Even if you make out the painted mountains in some shots, the elevation conveyed in the ringing of the bell scenes is commendable.

The characters are relatable, the screenplay rushes on skillfully, there is no overplay, but for a touch of British dominance and superiority, compared to the 'natives.'

The unprecedented climax scenes curve this drama up several notches. 

Black Narcissus is a good entertaining British drama, lit with exceptional moments - a cautionary and discreetly insightful tale on self-denial, repression and cultural divides.

A 40's British mini-classic.  

2012 (2009)

[** stars / *****] 

Why do cliche-ridden, consistently mediocre Hollywood disaster movies do so well? 

Many of us yearn for a sense of disbelief and an enlarged, impossibly fantastic perspective, in our largely non-incidental lives. 

Like, who wouldn't want to die in epic style, with millions of fellow earthlings? 

Watch a whole island turn into a mammoth volcano and jump in manic glee? 

Do a wide-mouthed eternal scream with the tongue lashing, shivering out, while falling into those mega earthquake cracks?  

That's the way to go!  

Nobody dies the usual way in a template-ridden, mega-budget, end of the world (yes it's that time of the year again!) Hollywood disaster movie 2012. 

Director Roland Emmerich loves bringing the world to the brink of its end, and he does love to watch world famous landmarks crumbling, the earth giving away, and lead characters tottering off the edges but never ever managing to die.

Watch Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson) jumping gleefully at a volcanic eruption at the Yellowstone National Park - that's probably Emmerich channeling himself.    

Predictably, the lead characters survive to save the day. 

So it is left to the VFX team (hail the visual effects people!) to make it all fun and convincing, even as cities fall apart and everything world-renowned is reduced to rubble. 

The loud soundtrack does the rest.

2012 movie review 
Don't look for a story, expect emotional pep talk on universal brotherhood, Asian mystic talk (the cup is full and you keep on pouring...blah blah) and have fun. 

2012 is a movie to be enjoyed and forgotten, to the unhealthy crunch of tub popcorn and in dreading a fatal asteroid attack, more deadly incurable virus, mayhem, zombies, nuclear war, and other mega end of the world scenarios. 

(First edit - Aug 11, 2017

Second edit - 22nd June, 2020) 

October (2018)

[**** stars / *****] 

There are love stories and then, there is October. 

October is easily the best romantic drama I will see in a very long time. 

On paper, the story may seem 'unfilmable', but director Shoojit Sircar and writer Juhi Chaturvedi create an artful, haunting symphony here. 

October story 
Among hotel management trainees interning at a Delhi hotel are Danish aka Dan (Varun Dhawan) and Shiuli (Banita Sandhu). 

Dan is an ever-complaining, irritated and short-tempered trainee. His friends, colleagues, and manager find it hard to put up with him. Dan ends up been assigned repeated errands related to cleaning rooms and laundry. 

Shiuli is, on the other hand, calm and professional. 

The last words? 
On New Year's Eve, the trainees have a party on the hotel terrace. 

Shiuli sits on the terrace parapet asking, "Where is Dan?" 

She then slips and falls down four storeys. Severely injured, Shiuli is moved to a hospital and goes into a coma. Shiuli's mother (Gitanjali Rao), uncle and siblings arrive.

The absent Dan comes to know of the accident and visits Shiuli. 

He is bewildered when he discovers that Shiuli's last words were about him. 

Dan starts visiting Shiuli daily, even as his internship suffers and his friends and roommates fail to understand his concern for a girl he barely knows.

October review 
October is based on a true story and interprets the tragedy with insight and poetry, mingling with nature's wonders. 

I was riveted. 

No sexual release, no dramatic moment, no sweet exchange of sugar candy dialogues. Just quiet, melancholic change as seasons pass and life glides by.

Never have hospital visits seemed so romantic. 

The cinematography (Avik Mukhopadhyay), the sense of location, the overcast atmosphere, add to the mood. 

Varun Dhawan is earnest and seeking depth. Banita Sandhu nails an unusual, difficult role with great stillness. Gitanjali Rao is well cast as the IIT professor and mother. 

The supporting cast is solid.    

A director in fine form 
Sircar explores every scene minutely. 

The 115-min running time, the deliberate use of minimal background music, absence of songs, add to the film's impact. Nothing is underlined or overstated.  

Is caring for a person you barely know, love? 

Is just giving love enough? How selfless can you be in love? What if you never knew whether the other person loved you? 

How many romantic films have made you ponder on such questions?   

October left me with the fragrance of the night jasmine long after the end credits rolled. 

Don't miss it.    

Ankhon Dekhi (2013)

[*** 1/2 stars / *****]

Sab kuch yahan hai, 

aankhen khol kar dekho 

(Everything is here, 

open your eyes and see)

Is it too late to ask ourselves - who am I, what am I to this world and how is life meant to be lived? 

The coronavirus-induced lockdown has been a time of perspective for some. For most, random thoughts and actions have guided our actions, the inculcated burden is to be busy, or perish.   

The urban perception of the truth is defined by Internet browsing, television news, newspapers, movies, WhatsApp forwards and how we view the world.

But do we really view the world around us without judgement, as children do? 

Are the blind more sensitive to life and those endowed with vision, blind?   

Ankhon Dekhi (Through My Own Eyes), streaming on Amazon Prime and Disney + Hotstar (India), is a person's journey onto himself, reflective of individuals who feel the urge to pause and delve within.  

Question everything...
What would you do if a family member, who you thought to be perfectly sane, abruptly changes their habits, outlook, and starts questioning life itself? 

We are reluctant to see change in ourselves, how would changes in our dear and near ones affect us not?    

In a life of absolute ordinariness, Bauji (Sanjay Mishra), the head of a Old Delhi joint family decides, after a chain of events - he will only believe what he experiences through his own eyes. 

This abrupt announcement rattles up the family members. Bauji quits his job, gathers a trail of unintended followers.

Ankhon Dekhi (2013), Rajat Kapoor's insightful yet feathery drama on questioning and absorbing life, is infused with a beautiful lead performance by Mishra. 

You may end up perceiving the world differently at the end of this one. 

I do not agree with the shocker ending - goes against the lead character's sensibilities. 

But for the most part, Ankhon Dekhi is a curious self-discovery of a sensitive rebellious life.  

Psycho (1960)

[****1/2 stars/*****]

Marion Crane and her boyfriend discuss the financial costs of getting married (during office lunch hour in a secret hotel room meeting) and find that they don't have enough. 

Crane returns to her employer's real estate office and is entrusted with $40,000 of the client's money. 

On impulse, she hits the road with the loot, exchanges her car for a used one, until rain causes her to stop for the night at Bates Motel. 

Here she meets the young, nervous yet pleasant motel owner, Norman Bates. 

Bates tells her of his mentally ill mother and is appalled on the suggestion of sending the mother to an institution. As they talk, our thief has made up her mind to return the loot. 

Thus relaxed and assured, the now 'righteous in the eyes of the audience' Marion Crane, decides to take a shower...  

Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock at the height of his film making powers. 

Shot effectively at a modest budget, this horror-suspense thriller stands the test of time for its chilling atmospherics, skilled storytelling and slow-burn dark poetic use of black and white. 

The film was a business risk for its unconventional story line, absence of any crowd-pulling star cast, and daring depiction of voyeurism and sexuality. 

Hitchcock’s genius lay in placing dark elements in scenes of daily life - toying with our minds and making it scarier and unforgettable. 

The house adjacent to the motel, the forbidding feelings it evokes just by its appearance, Hitchcock is one director who seemed damn sure of what precise effect each scene will have on the audience. 

Go watch the unusual six-minute long trailer featuring Hitchcock and you will find a magician at ease with his art.  

Bates Motel, a car disappearing into dark water, chilling background music, and the final sinister smile are stuff of cinema legend now.   

I have played Psycho once for a family member, just to relish the person's reaction during the shower scene. It was totally worth it. 

If you love suspense thrillers, there are few as compelling, shocking and believable as Psycho.  

Anand (1971)

[**** stars/*****]

Babu Moshai, 

zindagi badi honi chahiye...

lambi nahi...

(My friend, 

life must be great...

not long...)

Anand continues to tug at my heart. 

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand remains heart-wrenching, delicately beautiful like a crushed memory embedded between pages of poetry. 

Cancer specialist Bhaskar Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) is disillusioned with the illness, sadness and poverty he experiences every day. 

The tall doctor visits his friend Dr. Prakash Kulkarni (Ramesh Deo) at his clinic when Anand Sehgal (Rajesh Khanna) bursts into the room chattering cheerfully. It's like a cool breeze has flown in! 

Kulkarni has already informed Bhaskar about Anand - he has a rare lethal form of cancer and is expected to die in four-six months. 

When Bhaskar confronts Anand with this fact, he is taken aback that Anand is aware and unaffected. An unlikely friendship takes root.

Bhaskar gradually realizes Anand is a young man with a energetic, restless desire to live life to the fullest, despite his limited life span. 

Life and death poetry 
Anand (Happiness) is a lively brightly-lit (Eastmancolor blues) tale of a man facing death with courage and a tinge of sadness.

Mukherjee's wrote the story for his friend, the legendary Raj Kapoor. Kapoor fell ill once, Mukherjee feared for his life - and a classic film idea came into being. 

Kapoor used to call Mukherjee 'Babu Moshai', the name Anand opts for Bhaskar. 

The movie is dedicated to the city of Bombay and Raj Kapoor. 

The Anand-Bhaskar friendship is the core, the extrovert Anand and an anguished, gentle Bhaskar make good company. 

The scene where Bhaskar nudges Anand to share his grief is touching among many other moments. That Anand adamantly refuses and in return wishes to share only joy, establishes the two characters. 

How Anand sets Bhaskar up with his lady love Renu (Sumita Sanyal) is good entertainment. His spontaneous befriending of strangers, and finally meeting 'Murari Lal' (Johnny Walker) - a lovely story curve. 

Maut tu ek kavita hai, 

tujhse ek kavita ka wada hai,

milegi mujhko...

(Death, you are a poem, 

with you there is promise of a poem,

you shall meet me...)

The radiant life-affirming lightness leading up to the climatic final scenes makes Anand unforgettable despite the glitches. 

It's hard to forget the immortal last lines that sound abruptly in the death silence. 

Did I say glitches? 

Commercial Hindi film makers are infamous for avoiding realism and keeping everything beautiful for the heck of it. 

Why else does Anand looks unaffected, in the pink of health despite his worsening condition? 

Multiple imaginative frames, varied lighting and shades could have added more depth. 

Miraculously, the best Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies remain watchable, despite largely absent art direction and structured story-boarding. 

Anand stands out despite the bare set up. Why? 

It's in Gulzar's dialogues that the movie has its furious blood-pumping heart.   

Anand review
The lead actors compliment each other beautifully. 

Rajesh Khanna manages to tweak his trademark mannerisms to make Anand unforgettable. 

Amitabh Bachchan holds his own with a measured, intense performance.

The screenplay by Mukherjee, Gulzar, D.N. Mukherjee and Bimal Dutta touches on goodness, compassion, and an optimistic outlook. 

Salil Chowdhury's illuminating music is set to lyrics by Yogesh and Gulzar - the four beautiful songs continue to feature in popular retro playlists. 

Mukesh as Anand's playback voice is a masterstroke, as Kishore Kumar was the preferred voice for Khanna back then. The singer's melancholy voice brings out the necessary pain to the character's voice.  

Jaywant Pathare's cinematography makes good use of the predominantly indoor settings, scenes have a clean, washed up feel. 

Bombay (now Mumbai) appears fleetingly in the opening credits, some lovely outdoor shots are showcased in the famous Manna Dey song Zindagi Kaisi Yeh Paheli. 

Go watch Anand for a joyous lead character, the impermanence and celebration of life, lovely music, bright poetic sparkle and timeless good-hearted message. 

Duel (1971)

[**** stars/*****]

It's just another day, another business trip for California salesman David Mann (Dennis Weaver).

Now put yourself in David's shoes. 

What would you do if, out of the blue, a monstrous truck driver starts obstructing your vehicle and then deliberately tries to cause your death? 

David is at first stunned at the possibility - is this really happening? The day otherwise seems ordinary and David is clearly one who has lived a fairly routine life. 

Why would a stranger want to kill him? Who is this truck driver and what does he want?   

Truck vs. Car is the brilliant premise of Steven Spielberg's impressive road trip action thriller Duel (1971), inspired by a Richard Matheson short story (Matheson wrote the screenplay).  

The theatrical version is available on YouTube, at the time of writing.     

Consider it from Spielberg's perspective now. 

How does the director ensure constant audience engagement throughout this unusual one-track 89-min (theatrical running time) action adventure?     

Years later, in an interview to legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, Spielberg spoke on how Duel was treated like a monster movie. 

The ace director went on to credit the sound effects editors in creating the truck's menacing personality - something like a Godzilla on wheels. 

Jack A. Marta's cinematography and the Frank Morriss edit powers this turbocharged experience. The visuals from the driver's perspective, the doctored engine sounds make the experience personal. 

Billy Goldenberg's impressive background score adds measured weight to the relentless face-off. 

David's 'ordinary working man in danger' aspect connects instantly. You want David to be safe, he's like a typical colleague you know from work.  

The strength is in the writing, the stark Mojave Desert setting that adds authenticity to the scary proceedings, and the tank truck's unpredictable, absorbing audio-visual traits - we never see the truck driver, an aspect that adds to the thrill of the chase. 

Duel review 
If Duel is a lesser movie, it is in the budget constraints - resultant scale limitations in production quality, cinematography and sound effects - Duel was initially a 74-minute made-for-TV ABC network special.

Would Duel be a better movie if attempted on a larger budget (probably later in the 90's) with upgraded technology and equipment?  

There is no end to the ifs and buts, and incredibly Duel remains extremely watchable and untarnished by time. 

Spielberg's first feature film is impressive for the director's near perfect execution of an unusual, challenging premise. 

Go watch Duel, a robust reminder of how the most influential director of our times (arguably) began enthralling audiences around the world.  

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 (2019)

[***1/2 stars/*****]

Can a robot replace a son? 

This is the single line premise of this delightful Malayalam sci-fi drama, currently streaming on Amazon Prime (India).

Hollywood action film makers may have made another city-demolishing, people screaming, robot gone bad movie out of this, was surprised at how Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 is a social drama with a message - man's greatest need is to be needed. 

The straight-faced wit, simplicity, compassion and emotional interplay in debutant director Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval's Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 is immediately relatable and compelling.

The director sourced the core theme from his own experience - he was not always around to help his bedridden mother.  

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 story 
Bhaskara Poduval, a stubborn, grumpy and conservative old man (Suraj Venjaramoodu) lives in a sleepy Kerala village with his son Subrahmannyan (Soubin Shahir). 

As events unfold, Subrahmannyan procures a lucrative job in Russia at a Japanese robot-making firm but is unable to urge his father to join him. He can't abandon the job offer either. 

Later, the son gifts the father a helper robot prototype, intending to make the ageing man's life easier and less lonesome. 

The repercussions are comic-tragic and uncommonly captivating, except for some unresolved plot threads.

Simple, slice of life storytelling 
Suraj Venjaramoodu, a middle-aged actor known for his comic timing, is brilliant as the old man. Soubin Shahir, Kendy Zirdo and Saiju Kurup make up a superb supporting cast.

The makers sketch a universal Malgudi-like quality into the colourful rural characters. 

The jokes and life lessons come at unexpected points in the story. The old man's initial reactions to the robot are hilarious, reminding us how getting used to technology can be a scary, discomforting experience.   

Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 review 
Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 deserves to be viewed by a world audience to ponder over the fascinating aspects of future robot-human interactions.  

(Kunjappan means - a 'small man.')