Plenty of superlatives have been laced around this gift of cinema by the common man and the critics alike. Having stated my grievance over the local (read Malaysia) Hindi film distributors, it's been no surprise that "Stanley Ka Dabba" never saw the light of day in a market that I see as a melting pot of cultures and has a tremendous future in its entirety. But business aside, I consider myself lucky to have laid my hands on this gem of a movie after some trials since its release. Considering the pragmatic message of the enterprise and the manner its told, I'd do my best to spread the fire (if it can be called that) amongst masses where pre conceived notion of a Bollywood potboiler has run riots, more so lately. Emergence of absolute trash in the past few months and its glorified success stories augurs bad for the industry as it is. But what that trend has done is make SKD stand out and brought along a bag of possibilities.
The tribulations of Amole Gupte and the crew while making this project a reality, is just a click away on plenty of websites. However let that not influence Your reasons to fall for this charmer. My bet is, a few seconds into the screenplay and You will forget much of it anyway. That's for me, is what a movie's sole purpose if. Make You leave Your world behind and get You connected with the protagonist immediately. The introduction, the conflict and climax are woven seamlessly giving the viewer the pleasure of time, money and energy well spent. With that said; a very very special mention to all the kids involved in the movie, led by a nonchalant powerhouse performance by Partho (incidentally the son of Amole Gupte) and the man himself, playing the protagonist and antagonist respectively. If You have never felt a lump in Your throat or may have forgotten how it felt like (since it's been that long), watch out for Stanley. Most likely he will get You and get You bad. By no stretch of imagination is this a saccharine coated or a painstakingly sad tale. If anything at all, this will be long remembered for its well sketched climax, that could potentially knock You off; numb. Special note to my Indian friends who haven't had the pleasure of watching this yet, a word of caution. We in our lives, even if it's for once have come across one "Stanley" and that will be with Us long after the credits have rolled.
Technically it's a lesson in film making for aspiring story tellers of all forms and sizes. I remember what an interviewer once asked a celebrated movie director of Malaysia during her interview "When You're thinking about a film, does it start with an idea and how does it come to life?". To which one of my favourite film makers, Yasmin Ahmed replied "It never starts with an idea, it starts with a feeling". Well although I haven't read / seen any interview of Mr Gupte around his solo directorial venture yet, I am almost certain that it must have been a feeling that stuck to him in good stead and made him gift us "Stanley Ka Dabba". How else would You explain a 90 minutes screenplay based on a subject matter that may come across as trivial at start but gradually builds up to make a special space in Your heart and mind culminating to a very very special message.
Only recommended for ages 3 to >100.
The tribulations of Amole Gupte and the crew while making this project a reality, is just a click away on plenty of websites. However let that not influence Your reasons to fall for this charmer. My bet is, a few seconds into the screenplay and You will forget much of it anyway. That's for me, is what a movie's sole purpose if. Make You leave Your world behind and get You connected with the protagonist immediately. The introduction, the conflict and climax are woven seamlessly giving the viewer the pleasure of time, money and energy well spent. With that said; a very very special mention to all the kids involved in the movie, led by a nonchalant powerhouse performance by Partho (incidentally the son of Amole Gupte) and the man himself, playing the protagonist and antagonist respectively. If You have never felt a lump in Your throat or may have forgotten how it felt like (since it's been that long), watch out for Stanley. Most likely he will get You and get You bad. By no stretch of imagination is this a saccharine coated or a painstakingly sad tale. If anything at all, this will be long remembered for its well sketched climax, that could potentially knock You off; numb. Special note to my Indian friends who haven't had the pleasure of watching this yet, a word of caution. We in our lives, even if it's for once have come across one "Stanley" and that will be with Us long after the credits have rolled.
Technically it's a lesson in film making for aspiring story tellers of all forms and sizes. I remember what an interviewer once asked a celebrated movie director of Malaysia during her interview "When You're thinking about a film, does it start with an idea and how does it come to life?". To which one of my favourite film makers, Yasmin Ahmed replied "It never starts with an idea, it starts with a feeling". Well although I haven't read / seen any interview of Mr Gupte around his solo directorial venture yet, I am almost certain that it must have been a feeling that stuck to him in good stead and made him gift us "Stanley Ka Dabba". How else would You explain a 90 minutes screenplay based on a subject matter that may come across as trivial at start but gradually builds up to make a special space in Your heart and mind culminating to a very very special message.
Only recommended for ages 3 to >100.