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Bombay Velvet (2015)
A highly misinterpreted film
Most of the people are blaming Kashyap for not maintaining 'reality' in this film. It is shocking to see that very few people are trying to grasp what Kashyap actually tried to convey, that nostalgic feeling. He could have easily made a more 'realistic' period drama like Ashim Ahluwalia's "Miss Lovely", but he did'nt, why? Because he wanted the film to be made according to the structure of the films made in the period with which the film is concerned. On close observation we notice the close similarity of the background synopsis between Bombay Velvet and old age Bollywood mainstream cinemas. Kashyap recreates the atmosphere and the ambiance of the lavish sets in the films of 1960's through the set designs of the Bombay Velvet club in the film. Even in the opening scene Kashyap tried to convey this message by first showing actual scenes of clubs in Mumbai (of that period) and then slowly dissolving into the actual film (The poster of the film is also made in a vintage style). Based on the historian Gyan Prakash's book "Mumbai Fables", Bombay Velvet connects many true events of that period, the character Rosie in the film is inspired by a real Jazz singer in the 50's and 60's. It is also loosely inspired by the famous rivalry between two newspaper editors D F Karaka and Russi Karanjia who published controversial weeklies Current and Blitz at that time.
Moreover it parodies the unrealistic approach of the concept of twins in the films of that time. Kashyap maintains minute details in the film from cars to shops to matchstick boxes, all belonging to that era. The film revolves around the political turbulence of Mumbai in the 60's regarding the domination of land by gangsters and politicians. It also deals with the illegal trade and smuggling of silver, drugs and alcohol (alchohol was banned in Mumbai in the 60's, giving rise to gangsters like Jenabai Daruwali, Haji Mastan and young Dawood). The background scores are perfectly juxtaposed with the film giving a heightened awareness of that period. There are many subtle hints of reference of the type of films made in that period, even in the scene where J. Balraj escapes the police in disguise. This film is being highly misinterpreted by many people. Instead of negatively criticizing it, people must try to see it through Kashyaps' perspective. From the set to story to characters, in everything we can discover a nostalgic feeling of the 60's. Kashyap's imagination dominates the film.
Ugly (2013)
Simply boisterous !!!
The first thing that strikes the audience while watching this film is the dark reality that is being portrayed in it. The film is very dark and hard-hitting, which is amply evident-ed in its first scene alone.
The best part of the film is its casting. The characters are perfectly juxtaposed with its actors to bring out the perfect mood and emotion that Kashyap wanted to portray. We experience brilliant acting from Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhatt, Girish Kulkarni and finally Tejaswini Kolhapuri, with whom Kashyap has already worked before in "Paanch".
Kashyap also focuses on the operations of the illegal child-poaching market in India, which makes this film a standout(although he faced a lot of Censor board issues with this). We see this kind of feature in his early films like Black Friday and Dev D also.
The plot revolves around a ten year old kidnapped girl, and eventually as it proceeds, it gets more and more complicated, revealing the UGLY intentions of the characters and finally ends with an unexpected ending that brings the audience to a state of mixed emotions-surprise and despair.
Another thing worth noting in this film is its background score, specially the music "Money" by Christopher Stanley. The music successfully ignites the sensation of the audience to perceive the film according to the director's view. For example, in the first scene where Tejaswini is sitting idle and is about to commit suicide, and unlike any other film Kashyap intelligently gives a metal music in its place, which describes her chaotic mental condition.Now,this kind of clever background score imposition is seen very rare nowadays in "bollywood films".
Coming to cinematography, we don't see anything new but Kashyap's old style only, which he used in "Black Friday", "Paanch", "Dev D", or "That girl in yellow boots". Yet, it does no harm to the film. Because Kashyap's brilliant directing overshadows all other technical details.
This film TRULY draws the audience inside it and makes them forget everything that's around.
After-all it is written and directed by the "poster-boy" of new age cinema-"ANURAG KASHYAP", our one of the few hopes to make a wave of new age cult films in Bollywood.
{TRIVIA: Kashyap did not allow his actors to sleep to make them look more exhausted and devastated in the film} :)
-^-THANK YOU ANURAG KASHYAP -^-
Shorts (2013)
Leaves a little gap in your expectations...
SUJATA, EPILOGUE, AUDACITY, MEHFUZ, SHOR...!
SUJATA did'nt satisfy me well, it fails to describe the story or the editing is not good...although Huma Qureshi did play her role very well but the story was not correctly arranged..and cinematography is average (5/10)
EPILOGUE has the most mysterious story in shorts...in other words..it is awesome. It explores the mind of a lonely man(gay) whose mind is infested with demons, and other psychological hallucinations...cinematography is awesome...but the Director uses too much close focus ..the climax is simply great.! all total it is perfect (8/10)
AUDACITY has the story that begins with very much like many other art films but ultimately ends up with something more awesome....! It describes the story of a very common scenario of an Indian middle-class family and their daughter's dream which is against the society..and so on with a unexpected twist at the end... (7/10)
MEHFUZ is also great which explores the story of a very poor man who burns dead bodies illegally..and who is always drug addicted...however he falls in love with a girl and the next day when he again went to bury two dead bodies, then he discovered his crush's dead body ! the story is very touching and the cinematography is also great but it looks that the director needed more screen time to make it more great...(Nawazuddin Siddique is simply awesome) (7/10)
SHOR is again an awesome film with a complete use of screen time, a well developed plot, great directing, and good cinematography, this film explores the family of a slum dueler...and their hardships..and in the end how they again fall in love with each other after several years of marriage. The story also explores the mental state of the protagonist, his fear of death, and his bond with his loved wife which was loosened due to poverty, hardships, and struggle...! (8/10)
Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
Boundary breaking film !!!
1st thing I want to say is that..if you are a YASH RAJ FILMS fans, then this is not for you...! This the most perfect film Bollywood has ever produced...The film goes through the lives of gangsters and goons...instead of just showing their activities(which all bollywood films does), this film takes you through the pain, sense, feeling of the lives of those gangsters. I did a really really lot of research of those Bihar gang wars and have concluded that the film tells 75% of the truth....moreover HATS HATS off to my favourite director ANURAG KASHYAP SIR for excellent cinematography (that hawk-eye view of filming !!!), filming, screenplay, story and the whole package.....and of-course to the reality in the film that he has shown... And lastly I want to say that this film changed my life...after this film released, I started watching only sensible and reality films...THANKS TO SIR A. KASHYAP...! SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WATCH this film....for a life long experience...I have a lot more to say but here there is word limit....so THANK YOU...! and don't miss this one....!