1947 Earth

After Dil Se..., I wasn't sure I was in the mood for another depressing film. I didn't know much about Earth, but since it was directed by Deepa Mehta, I knew better than to expect anything for the faint of heart.

But I popped it in anyways--Truth was, I'd been dying to see it for quite some time now. For one, it stars Aamir Khan! Isn't that reason enough to watch a film?

Dil Se...

Let me first say that my prayers and thoughts are with all of those who have lost loved ones in the recent terror attacks on Mumbai. It's hard to watch a movie like "" at a time like this and not think of the horrible reality of hate crime and terrorism. I usually don't use this blog to post on anything other than straight film reviews, but I just wanted to let everybody know that I am posting this review and an upcoming review of "1947 Earth" without any intention of offending or glazing over something which rings horribly true for those who are living it. I'm sensitive to what you are going through, and although I am fortunate myself to have never been a victim of a terrorist attack, my heart goes out to all of you.

Secondly, I want to thank publicly and warmly my blog readers and newfound friends Summer and Katy for sending me this film as a present on their recent trip to Mumbai (thankfully, they were unharmed by the attacks). Along with I received 1947 Earth, Deewar, GolMaal, and Chotker Bali, so reviews on these films are forthcoming. Thanks again guys!

But onto . I was stumped for awhile on what to say about this film. It was quite a switch from the recently watched Main Hoon Na. Folks, if you're looking for a Shahrukh movie thats not your typical sugary song and dance, then is for you.

I'm used to watching love stories that make me feel good, a huge fan of rom-coms and heartwarmers such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. But was very much opposite. Yet it appealed to a different side of my heart, the side that understands the yearning and passion of love that isn't always good for you. The side that wants something it can't have and can't understand why. The side that believes there is a thin line between love and hate.

Rajneeti A lesson well unlearned!

Prakash Jha, a young talented director with limited resources, makes unforgettable Damool. Prakash Jha with some resources makes memorable Gangajal, Apaharan. Prakash Jha the rich director with unlimited resources makes at times mediocre Rajneeti...

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of relevance with Sonia Gandhi or references to Mahabharata. Rather I’ll focus on the art of storytelling, which is what cinema is all about.

Well almost all about.

First, regarding production values, there is a large troupe of well known actors, grand production design, thousands of extras, a huge canvas - all these attempted to give a local look and feel to the story. Unfortunately the camera which was capturing all this was not quite sure about the intention of Mr P Jha. The outcome is haphazard. At times the visuals are shaky, inadequate or with excessive bright lighting.

As a film maker I personally know how hard it is to manage even a tiny crew of creative brains. Prakash Jha has done that job very well. It’s a terrific job on his part to manage these many actors, extras, film crews and the passionate Indian crowds on locations. So kudos to him for that. But sadly cinema is not about managing people and getting the project done. What Rajneeti is missing is a beat, a heartbeat. In the midst of all this dark, dirty, and violent political mayhem Parakash has totally failed to capture the human emotions of pain, anger and trust - which in fact is his strength. Rather rich Prakash Jha relies on his fleet of expansive shiny cars and useless ‘not at all required’ kind of people in the background to portray the dirty story of mistrust, sabotage and backstabbing.

Quality acting is missing. I did not care for any of the characters. None of the actors - including the mighty but monotonous Nana Patekar - were able to provoke any emotions in me. It’s a plot driven script where actors were just doing their part and looking disinterested all the time. Ranbeer Kappor has somehow discovered a kind of smooth dialogue delivery and understated acting style post Rocket Singh which does not serve the purpose of this drama. I still believe Arjun Rampal should continue with modelling jeans and Nana Patekar with farming in Satara. Manoj Vajpaiee has funny facial expressions which look comical at times. Watch carefully for the few scenes in which he transforms into the legendary Dilip Kumar. Oh my god! SRK got the rights, didn’t it? Katrina never gets under the skin of her character past act two. Life is very hard on the other side of glamorous Bollywood. Welcome Katrina. Watch her walking in a saree.

Apart from mediocre acting, rich director’s poor direction and all-over- the-place cinematography and loose editing Rajneeti also offers us a dark maroon blood ( yaar khoon to sahi istemal karo?) fleet of shiny cars, a uniformed army of body guards, pointless shootouts and an omnipresent Indian media.

In short Rajneeti is a must watch movie for those who want to learn how not to make a bad movie, though the great army of Indian cinema goers have turned this small film into a big success. The first week’s revenues are far better then some of the well-researched, well-planned, waste-of-time ho-hum features from Down Under.
Well, ladies and gentleman, welcome to the world where 200 million people have 400 million reasons to watch a movie. It is a democracy after all!!

Thanks for reading. See you next time.

Film Funding, FTO and all that...

I've applied for EFF (emerging film maker fund) 3 times and good news is i've been rejected all the three times! I've tried different scripts, different budget, different crew, actors etc..but no luck so far..then you watch the film made through this fund and I'm quite surprised at the benchmarks used to decide the finalists...well I'm not trying to say that grapes are sour, but answer lies in Australian Film Industry...and films made here..

I love the Bollywood structure where there is no 300 pages applications and gate keepers and frustrations and the mediocre outcomes.. creativity is one thing and popularity is another. FTO has decided to keep audiences out of theaters.

let's face it Australia does not have any industry, or audiences as we have not master the art of going solo with freedom and still we heavily rely on gate keepers and mediocrity top up with I'm great attitude..the hypocrisy in film circles does not tell people that their films are worst and they don't have story...or a film for that matter...all is well...anyway, lets hope one day..now something creative:

following statement I've submitted as director's statement:

Director’s Statement

“Dinner with Nikhil” is a humorous take on two different cultures and their cultural differences. The film is about an over confident Indian guy and his survival tactics in the world unknown to him. The protagonist Nikhil is a street smart individual who wants to be successful at any cost in all aspects of life in a foreign country including a relationship with a white Australian girl. This film takes a mildly ironic look at the postcolonial mentality and competitiveness of Indians (where they must look successful in career, status and achievements by any means possible) in stark contrast to their easygoing egalitarian Australian counterparts. “Dinner with Nikhil” is also a story about a contemporary Australian girl and her casual but ambitious attitude towards life and relationships. Sarah Marsh too has big dreams and wants to meet a tall dark handsome, and preferably wealthy, man. When she is attracted to Nikhil, who seems to fulfil her criteria, she unknowingly enters a world which is bit more spicy, colourful and traditional than hers. How will Nikhil and Sarah respond to each other’s different habits values, beliefs? This is the source of the comedy. ‘Dinner With Nikhil’ also addresses the conditions of young Indian like the waiters Vinay and Shashank in Australian society where the sexual mores are starkly different from those in India . There are many interesting characters in the film that provide comical moments through their mannerisms and their perspective on the Australian way of life. In a nutshell this is a simple romantic comedy with funny complex characters.

STORY STRUCTURE

This is a visual film, where less dialogue and more action is the key element of story structure. Comedy of errors and farcical moment drives the narrative of the film. Indian accent, use of colloquial English words, different structure of sentences makes this screenplay very interesting for the Australian audience e.g. when Nikhil asks Sara “what is your line of business?” a common question in India but very alien for an Australian girl.

CINEMATIC THEME AND STYLE

I’m aiming to shoot this film in a TV journalism style – part mockumentary, part Bollywood pastiche. The film is introduced through the eyes of the Indian TV reporter Kapil and his Aussie cameraman Bruce. This third person perspective will provide a unique cinematic dimension as a ‘film within a film’. What we want to integrate here is a combination of “reporting from location” with traditional cinematic story telling, to make the audience’s perspective and viewing experience more interesting. The collages of events (Nikhil picking up a plant from a strange house, Gunduswami’s introduction scenes etc.) will add to the overall humour of the film. The second subtle but important cinematic element is the use of colours. The Indian culture and way of life are very colourful. I want to explore and compare these aspects of two cultures this in the film – the relatively drab suburban experience of living in rented units in Parramatta and Harris Park contrasts with the Indian community’s more flamboyant world. The clothes, the food, the kites, and the red cricket ball -almost everything which relate to Nikhil - are bright loud and even garish. Sarah’s world is different - dark and somewhat stark Western Suburbs grit. When these two cinematic themes combine with Bollywood music, dance numbers and constant chattering, there will be create a lively prism of different moods through out the journey of the film.

CHARACTERS

The characters of this film are real characters based largely on my own experience. We’ve got an over confident Indian guy, a snooty Ausse Girl, the ex Indian army cook, two eccentric Indian students making for a sub-continent version of Fawlty Towers. They all have very interesting backstories. Nikhil is a man with a mission to do well in his new country to justify his father’s support back in the post office at Maniagar. Sarah has her own priorities – an aspirational Western suburbs girl who is looking for a way out of her humdrum, out-of-work situation. Gunduswami is a symbol of Raj Days from colonial India in Bangalore. Mix and match of personalities makes this simple story a very interesting film. I want to concentrate on the experience and understanding of the character, rather than telling actors how to act. The boot camp at the end of rehearsal schedule will give all actors a real life experience of working in an Indian restaurant and living the student life.

SCRIPT AND DIALOGUE

the story for this film has came from my own experiences as a migrant struggling to settle down in the unknown world of Parramatta, make a career and start a family. Being born and brought up in India, I was fascinated by the idea of comparing cultural differences and ways of thinking. I’ve tried to portray this in a humorous way in this film. My co-writer, Jack Douglas, as a resident of Macarthur, has contributed the other side of story. We have worked through the concept with lots of brainstorming for four to five months and it has been well received by the actors, the production crew and sample audience readers.

The actors have provided sound feedback given they are very familiar with the worlds portrayed.

WHY I WANT TO SHOOT THIS FILM

I want to portray ‘multicultural Australia’ from a uniquely Indian perspective and show how this amazing country is home to so many different, and at times conflicting, cultural currents. This film will be an entertaining contribution to the ongoing and increasingly strong interaction (not just in cricket) between our two nations.

Parth Nanavati

My Name is Khan: Emotions in motion.

SRK aka king Khan, Karan Johr, Kajol in second innings, I was bit sceptical, as from my own experiences I’ve seen that lots of hype is not a necessarily a healthy thing. But the K-team (Khan, Kajol, and Karan) has lived up to the expectations, (at least of the masses)
My name is Khan is a smart script, it’s blend of Hollywood three-act structure with typical Indian love story minus Karava-choth, and wedding songs. Karan is matured in terms of screen play/ script writing. He successfully awakens the emotions of common people. I bet lots of wet handkerchiefs in Indian theatres!
There were few post 9/11 films came and gone, but what different in MNK is, the post 9/11 atrocities stays in background without getting loud and making film boring. Lover boy SRK travels back and forth between real world and surreal world.

Here are the highlights of the script.

• Journey of protagonist to achieve his goal. (Straight from Hollywood’s formula)
• Make protagonist miserable (Asperger’s syndrome) to gain sympathy from the audience (Thankfully those extended dance sequences are out of equation)
• Concept of Hero: where a Hero helps to save the world, lives and comes out as winner in the end. (Hurricane in Georgia)
• It’s all about SRK: This script is specifically written keeping SRK in mind, and nothing wrong in it, but I do believe that good scripts are characters based and not actor based. An actor should be able to slip in to the character not the other way round.
• Influence of western cinema is flashing/flagging in this script, starting from three act formula structure to the story idea, cinematography, back ground score and so on. I hope this does not a step forward to loosing originality of art of story telling the Indian way!

SRK is brilliant as Mr Khan, Kajol welcome back, still I’m not big fan of your voice culture, but it does not matter. Jimmy is OK, so are the others. Many Hollywood actors got important roles - a new beginning in terms of collaboration between two giants of cinema.

Direction I’m sorry but too predictable, Karan tried hard and he is successful to some extent in awakening feelings in the audience’s minds, but nothing outstanding. A typical Bollywood job if I must say. Sometimes I wonder why they don’t dare to be different, do you have to have dialogues for everything, can’t you few emotions without saying? Do you have to have a fat lady in your film as good omen ( and for that matter few other irrelevant characters such as Dr. Rahman just to prove a point)? Do you really have to stab protagonist and then show him in and out of death? Do you have to take inspiration from Forrest Gump including mannerisms of Tom Hanks? I personally know this is very hard for a director not to indulge in to the stereotypes but at Karan Johr’s level, he can afford it I suppose.

Music good. Cinematography and VFX are cool. American landscape has been captured luxuriously. Editing could be tighter.

The film grabs and looses the viewer few times. At times melodramatic and loud at times really strong. In short it’s not gripping from beginning to the end. SRK carries film on his shoulder throughout and saves the day in the end.

My Rating: Three and Half/ Five.

A Script..

My relationship with creative arts is kinda love hate, at times i hate to write, or create anything. At times I just indulge and immerse myself passionately in to creative processes.

the script posted here was written on the date and mood i can't remember, but I'm sure after watching Quentin Tarantino movies for a week i cameup with the idea of this mystery plot.

Have a read...

EXT. A QUITE PARK. DAY

it's an early morning. the bicentennial park is not
crowded yet. the air is chilly suggesting that the winter
is at the door step. it is also a windy day, tree tops
are dancing at the tunes of wind. somewhere in this quite
park a woman is knitting something from her yarn. she is
also humming along suggesting that she is very happy,
content and productive in whatever she is doing.
camera slowly retracts after establishing an early
morning, a quite park and a knitting lady.
in the next shot, which starts at the entrance of
bicentennial we can see an elegant and sophisticated old
man coming out of his car. he is elderly but agile. the
old man is dressed in three piece suit. he also has a
smoking pipe in his mouth, a golden watch in his pocket
and walking stick in his hand. The old man also has a
packet in his underarm. he locks his car and quickly
looks at the time. he briskly starts walking towards the
bench, where that knitting lady is still busy knitting
and humming.
the scene end here with wide shot, where we can see an
old man walking towards the lady in a quite park.
INT. KITCHEN. DAY
The scene starts with a close up a frying pen, somebody
breaks an egg in to the frying pan and camera slowly
zooms out. Now, we can see that a young lady is preparing
break fast, the camera does a haphazard reconnaissance of
kitchen. apart from messy kitchen wares what stand out is
the photograph of humming lady in a frame, on the top of
refrigerator. a man is his thirties walks in to the
frame, opens the door of freeze and gets a bottle of
juice out. he is in pajamas. he looks at the young lady,
who is bit conscious of the presence of the young man.
the young man, grabs the lady from behind and start
kissing on her neck. she tries to get way from man but
unsuccessfully. camera moves out the kitchen with gentle
moaning sounds in back ground. in the last of this scene
we can see that an retarded teen ager is laughing
violently while playing play station in the lounge room
of the same house. he has blood all over his shirt and a
slit in his wrist. camera also takes a quick note of a
disposable razor next to him.
fade out.

INT. BEDROOM. DAY

A heavily pregnant teenager girl is laying on her back
on the bed. she is starring at the ceiling. she looks
really depressed. she turns on her side after a while and
gets the coke powder out of her beg, grabs the framed
picture frame of the old man, who we have seen in the
park. she puts the powder on the frame and start
sniffing. we can see that she is on high and her mobile
is buzzing with a name on it, Rick calling. after a while
she stops drug abuse and runs to the toilet, the door
closes, we can hear flush of water. she comes out, picks
up the picture frame stares at it, and then starts
kissing the frame. after a little while she is crying,
with the same frame in her hands. in the last shot we can
see the saliva dropping on the frame. a close up of the
old man smiling in the photograph. camera leaves the
room.

EXT. BUSY STREET. DAY

Another old man, starkly opposite in appearance and
clothing then the old man we have seen in the first scene
is seen pushing a shopping trolley on the street of
kogarah. the trolley is full of all the imaginable
rubbish in it. this a moving home of the old man. she
picks up rages from the garbage bin. He is dirty, filthy
and melancholiac. the saliva is dripping from the corner
of his mouth. he parks the trolley at the end of the
street, sits next to the trolley on the ground. the train
passes by in the back ground. he grabs his wallet and
stares at the picture of the lady. we can hear the
humming of the lady in the park in the back ground. it's
her photograph though she is few years older now.the old
man neatly combs his hair, takes a pack of disposable
razor out of the trolley. hides the trolley and walks way
from the camera. the scene ends with another train
passing by.


EXT. A QUITE PARK. DAY

Camera is back to the park. however things have changed a
little bit now. the first shot is out of focus, with a
somebody is gulping from air in back ground. when camera
gets in to the focus we can see that the knitting lady is
off the bench, on the ground. the needle is in her
throat, and blood is flowing freely. she is dying and
gasping for air. camera without showing any sympathy
moves to the other end of park. it find the old man in
three pice suit on the ground with smashed face. the
packet next to him has a framed photograph in it. we can
see only half of the photo with old man in suit and
knitting lady. there is a hand around the shoulder of
knitting lady. a man's hand! the camera moves away
quickly from the crime scene. we can hear noise of
ambulance in the back ground.
EXT. STREET. DAY
the dirty old man is walking on the street with his
shopping trolley. soon after establishing this we can see
the young lady who was preparing break fast in second
scene is walking behind him. they don't notice each other
and keeps walking. the camera zooms in on the traffic
light which changes from amber to red.

finis

copyright- parth nanavati 2010

Gulaal- Khwhish Main Lipti Zarurat ki duniya

Anurag Kashyap Has done it again! After DEV-D, this talented film maker has embarked on a journey which might be remembered as Neo-Bollywood era. THe Bollywood has matured with age.
Story writers and directors have a better access to the world cinema. The sphere of expressions has expanded. Writings and story lines are more organized. Revelations are more provoking! Dynamics of those buried bad relationship, Concept of Kept and Ragging are blown away right on the faces of audiences. Here is the reality and face it! There is no escapism, no symbolism, just plain naked truth. Thats What GULAAL is all about.

As tons of reviews written about the film, characters, story line, actors etc. I'm not gonna to ponder in all those aspects. What I want to high light is a complete new style of film making, in Bollywood. Unconventional by Bollywood Standards Gullal draws a very thick line between Mediocrity, Melodrama and Realistic story telling. Protagonist is not Immortal , The lead girl is not next door dancing singing girl and life is not at all simple in this part of world. Skin and Sensuality are on surface. Dirty games and shifting loyalties are the buzz trends. Politics is a lot more than just contesting in elections![polldaddy poll=1725627]

The most remarkable style in this film is small, short scenes, sometimes totally irrelevant to the narrative, still successfully pushes the overall narrative. Another cool stuff is characters who have nothing to do with the main story line. Mix this with Piyush Mishra's Music, Lyrics and Excellent dialogues by AK, the product is Gothic Mystic eStyle of Bollywood noir.

" aage se right mat lena kyu ki hay hi nahi"
" aek bansuri wala rehta hay, aap bhi reh lo"
" tera bhai padayshi ullu hay usne koi course kiya hay"
" abe tu itna lamba jkaise ho gaya, isme kanoon ka hath hay"... The treat goes on and on.. The narrative travels in one trajectory, the visuals in other and film itself in third! Still everything comes together nice and intact.

Kudos to talented AK, Piyush and all actors. Music a different genre, Lyrics like " Angday lete Kabutar ki duniya O duniya Re" and "Khwahish main lipti Zarurat ki Duniya" Blows you away in the world oblivion.

Carry on Guys, We need a lot more than just a looser Hero!!

Dinner With Nikhil

This film it’s story, and most of it’s characters have came from sun soaked side streets of a dusty city in western India called Ahmadabad, they have also came from the rain drenched slums of Mumbai, and from the crowded, unreserved second class compartment of a train called Bhopal Express!

Somebody has said “you want laughter but where are your tears?” Like most of the comedies this story also has its roots in tragedy.

Making of a Comedy film is sometimes itself is a tragic process. What i meant is other people have a good laugh at you when you trying to make a comedy film in tragic situations. Here is a list of tragic situations Team DWN has gone through..

1. On the 1st day of filming, three crucial members of crew got lost in a Suburb called Strathfield (divided by ugly city rail tracks in two halves), one of the member went home, after he could not find the location.

2. on the second day of filming, we went to a wet cricket field, and struggled with nasty weather all day.

3. The last day of filming went four hours over then schedule and most of the actors have lost it!! result well I'll post it here

in nutshell WE HAD A FUN, a spirited, passionate TAFE film School crew, Indian subject acotrs and director who himself is a lead in the film, add bad weather plus dire finances and what comes ojut is Inde Film making Sydney Style.

My Facebook update has two words on the next day

"Disillusioned and Disoriented"

I guess it was a momentary feeling....Now back in business.

bookmark my blog page which i've intended to update on regular basis and we will share our passion of cinema RIGHT HERE till then..Sallam Namste

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Making of 'A death in kogarah'

July is chilly month in Sydney...cold days and colder nights. 7South film company has successfully finished filming of their latest short film 'A death in Kogarah'

'A death in Kogarah' (DIK), is the script which has won second prize from Metroscreen. it's story of Simon Smith a 79 years old, suffering from progressive dementia and his relationship with his grand son Nick smith. It's also story about the changing suburb of Kogarah.

This is very ambitious project for my production company 7South, as we have first time ventured outside 15 minutes running time.

I wrote this film with John aka jack Douglass. the cast comprise of local theatre actors.

the film will be premiered in September.


synopsis:

Synopsis
'A Death in Kogarah' is a surreal journey into the inner
world of a frail old man, Simon Smith, who is devastated by
the suicide of his grandson Nink, a teenage graffiti artist.
Nink was the only connecting link for him with the 'living
world'. Everything is dying around him - his suburb, his
memory, and his friends. He is trying hard to keep alive in
this dying world by imagining the presence of a young Greek
woman from his past, Alexia.


anybody interested in watching this film please email me

A Mighty Heart - The Sub continental emotions

Watched last week, a mighty heart the film based on a book by Mariane Pearl, about her husband Daniel Pearl, his life in his last days and events surroundings his kidnapping and brutal killing by extremists.

PLAN B (i like this name, Brad always has plan B!) production Featuring Angelina Jolie and hot, crowded, arid landscapes. Mosques, traditional Islamic culture, extremism and the happening city of Karachi. The film has enough material to have an in and out action movie...but thankfully Michael Winterbottom did not get carried away.

Very simple in packaging (I don’t mean low budget), yet effective. No melodramas, No SWAT teams, No command centres with 200 monitors and satellite imaging, No Helicopter scenes. This is what stands out in this Winterbottom movie.

The film focuses more on human emotions, and for that matter emotion on both the sides (victim and tormentors). A mighty heart is an attempt to understand, the psychology of a human beings in unusual conditions out of their comfort zones
It is Up to the mark script work for a very thin story line. Though I’ve found sometimes the commercial Hollywood touches in this doco type film( the FBI entry and then you don’t see the agent anywhere later on). Since film has very well known beginning and end, the film maker has to rely on his skills to portray the story in a different way so the audience doesn't get bored at any point. In this balancing act though film looks bit tiring and lengthy at times.

According to me the WOW factor of film is cinematography (Marcel Zyskind) and very tight editing (Peter Christelis). Guys Hand held is the in thing. Esp. when you have a very little to say in terms of dialogues and not much happens on the screen (what is different than the main story line). Camera is a character in this film, and Marcel has done excellent collage work. Watch all those scenes where camera strays from the main story and zooms in on that little baby who is playing with some toys, totally unaware of what going on? Even the way they shown those dusty crowded roads and ornamental buses and oh god its mind blowing for somebody like who has born and lived in subcontinent. Production design is sleek and very balanced esp. when you have Glamorous Jolie in the film.

Angelina Jolie good but not up to the mark. She has tried her best not to look glamorous and French accent etc. It was a good attempt for her to be taken as serious cinema actress. Dan Futterman has lived character of Daniel Pearl very convincingly, the glasses, the innocent look and the firmness of saying “I’m Jew”, yeah he is an actor to be watched. Irfan (my personal favourite from Bollywood) is once again at his best. Archie is cute and very expressive, she has very well understood her character and the result is good performance. Rest are ok

I always ask myself what makes a good film or bad film. Actors? Story? Direction? Or sometimes nothing....well this one is somewhere in between. It’s good in terms of new form of storytelling. Camera work very controlled performances. But the film fails to gain momentum and gets slower and slower (loose and lengthy).
When you watch a mighty Heart, remember to watch out for camera work in particular those hand held scenes, the simplicity of film and the powerful performances. And off course the hot, arid and yet full of emotions landscapes of subcontinent.....
A worth to watch film for film enthusiast and serious cinema lovers!!!

PERIOD

OM SHANTI OM - Mixed Feelings

First Day of New Hindu Year. The SRK film. Liverpool Grater Union cinema no 11, half empty!! It can only happen in Australia!
This is second Sharukh Khan, Faraha Khan film. Lots of Hype, Marketing, Official Web Site, and may be loads of Reviews.
Has this film has lived all those expectations?
Will it be another SRK HIT phillim?
Time will tell, but here is my personal observations both as a fan/advocate of Bollywood and self claimed critic ( Beware)
Om Shanti Om ( OSO) is all in one, totally commercial cinema with all tricks and styles of a typical Bollywood film.
1977 to 2007 two different era, two different times, people, music, culture this is the main theme around which story of reincarnation has been weaved.
Reminds me of Big hit of those days KARZ ( my favorite Subhash Ghai Film)
However smart and catchy production and characters from film industry makes it more interesting.
A superstar and a junior artist and a crush. There is a bad guy. Very thin story line but still first half holds the common viewer. My guess is its magic of 70's time period. Even you can see in actor's body language.
Farah has done good job as director in keeping pace of film at least in first half. Lots of ups and downs in story line, funny sequences, intentionally melodramatic dialogs, all these plus Sharukh Khan and off course the stunning Deepika Padukone. The film picks up from third scene the graph goes up and up and suddenly starts dropping down, when Om finds out about her dream girl's deeply buried secret. From that point it becomes the typical SRK film. Bloody wounded face and that desire to save his love at any cost. Bingo, watch the film and note this down, you will know what i mean!

Second half is the problem area. Selling reincarnation to audience is bit tough job in 2007. What started as a magical journey turns in to same old GHISIPITI story. Farah Khan could have done a lot better but as i mentioned it is very thin plot. Thin plot requires lots of other packaging, in here it comes in form of Darde Disco, oh Fish line, OK ( Om Kapoor) , all star song etc.

SRK looks tired and constantly trying to look young in second half. Deepika doesn't have much to do. Shreyash talpade with bavarachi costumes, you start thinking that what's going on? Arjun Rampal as Mike not very convincing. I mean somebody from Hollywood wouldn't look this stupid and fall for catch just like that. I hated the scene when Music director Vishal acted as a director. Is this some sort of time pass job?

Second act starts getting boring and film start looking monotonous with same old revenge seeking saga. Loose scripting, sluggish story line...god help OSO. Though it picks up again in climax, for a while but i guess its too late the as viewer has already lost interest. it's just another film.


SRK very good in first half. Deepika talented. Shreyash wasted in second half. Kiron Kher another good attempt. Arjun Rampal stone faced most of the time. All others OK

music is the savior of the film. Darde Disco and aankho main teri...

Editing is cool, so is the expansive SFX and cinematography.

Farah good effort, may be you need to work more on stories, as films cant be a TV show ( where brother Sajid khan makes fun of everybody), where you have thin story line, one concept and then add all other ingredients to shine it up. film has to have very strong story, and it's also true for SRK film

That's it

Om Shanti OM

the Bread

The bread is my second Short fillim, originally i wrote this for SBS "change the world in five minutes" competition. it never got selected but i proceeded to shoot it without any funding. sue bunt a talented theater director wrote dialogs for me. Abdul from wheelchair did the lead role and my favorite Michael was again as DOP and editor. Tanya, Steve, peter the cop, were others who acted in this film. Jack Douglass aka John Holgate was in and as a boss. We shoot entire film on one day schedule, morning to midnight. When you don't have money, you have to finish the film in one schedule. Frances also teamed up as a production controller. It was fun. running between locations ( i got speeding fine at that bloody princess highway speed camera!!!! more money into project), Michael got bout of hay fever. Abdul rahim's lateness. the film got previewed at St George Hospital auditorium. We got lots of complement for uncommon story line, filming and editing.

See if i can put that film in here for you guys to watch.

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Trop Fest - again

inbox has got a new mail from SONY tropfest 2008. it's back again. believe it or not but i started my film making with tropfest, in 2006 i was suppose to direct a film for a friend but that never happened. in 2007 finally made 1st short wheel chair.

wheel chair was recently finalist in haromnyfilmfest. i went to award function and got a good review. it's simple story without any structures but very human. will post it soon

Now on tropfest. i'm still trying to understand the concept behind the films which made in to finals on 2007. well to be honest i was not impressed at all. very weird kind of story line, patchy camera work and no drama!!!!

lets hope this year we get more meaningful cinema out of it.

I'm doing one film this year again. and once again I'll not follow the traditional rules of film making. somebody has to do something different right!!

if ANYBODY reading this blog at all and you are interested in film making, drop two lines please

"OM SHANTI OM" and "SAAWARIA" will be released on 9th November, check this out and you will know what entertainment means.....

all these YeaRs

hi my name is PartH , and this is my bLoG,

not long ago i've migrated to this beautiful country named AUstrLia..and i live n work to live...in sYdNey..life is very fast n diffrent here, so am I..

in following pages i' want to talk abt my pasiion...tHeatre N Film making..

i've grown up watching BoLLYwood movies and my CReaTiviTy has its rOOts in Bollywood, Extensive Reading and Exposure to world cinema has given me a CrEatiVe vIsion, They SAY i look at a ShOt very diffrently...In those UNI yeArs i'd a aCTing Stnit As well... and PeRformed At Few vEry PrestiGious places such as Prithvi , Mumbai

BUt nOw i Do make PHILLIM ( bollywood slang for movie), short FiLms..

in ComIng Months, you will SEe uPDates aBoUt , my uPcoming short films

NExt in Pipeline is the BREad..a story of forTunate man goes through UnfOrTunate Events in a Day...

I'm Also working on ScriPt of a feaTure...Phillim...a Estroy of 19!! year old girl...and WoRLd Around her fRom Her poinT of View....

so thats all about my passion...Apart from that i do write poETRy..Drive car and WoRk as a Scientist......

the Begining......