Monday, August 01, 2005

Well I was waiting eagerly for this movie as I love animation abe it 2D or 3D. The best part about these movies are that one can watch them again and again. ************************************************************ About The Movie ************************************************************ This movie is one of a kind. It has a different plot and an interesting ending. It has romance and humor and yes the voiceovers and the script had us in stitches. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow and how can I forget Eddie Murphy who is known for his wit, have given life to the animated characters . The whole movie has tried to be different than other animation movies and it succeeded. Dreamworks have done a good job. Your kids will love it and you will also enjoy the antics of the characters. ************************************************************ The Plot ************************************************************ The plot is unique and though it has it’s shares of loopholes, one can sit back and enjoy oneself and get involved with the characters . That’s what matters to me when I watch a movie. Even if the plot is weak, the director should be able to hold the interest of the audience. This movie takes you to a world where humans and fairy tale creatures lived side by side. The town of Duloc is where the focus is placed. Lord Farquaad, who has ambitions to become a king, rules Duloc and he can only do so if he marries a princess. Shrek (voiceover by Mike Myers) is an ogre who lives the life of a recluse and is happy to be on his own. Everyone is scared of him and it suits him fine as he knows he cannot inspire anything but disgust because of his looks and stature. He is selected by the fairy tale creatures to save their land, and he is manipulated into rescuing the princess (voiceover by Cameron Diaz) who Lord Farquaad wants to marry but is too scared to risk his life for the princess. Anyway along the course of the story Shrek meets a talking donkey ( voiceover by Eddie Murphy) who sometimes steals the show from Shrek. This donkey is cute and arrogant and has a perpetual smile in his face … very endearing !!! The story is good and the ending is pretty interesting. That’s what makes the plot going. ************************************************************ Animation ************************************************************ They have done a great job in making everything seem so real. Its amazing what animation has achieved. I had watched Final Fantasy, which was technically very good but the story and the concept was a little dry. I believe that Monster Inc. is also a great revolutionary movie when it comes to animation. Shrek has used bright colours and great expressive faces. The backgrounds are very impressive. Its as close to reality as it can get. ************************************************************ My Impressions ************************************************************ I was very entertained by this movie and this was a fairy tale about which I did not read about and that made it all the more interesting !! What I liked best was the voiceovers which was real funny specially Eddie Murphy. He is incorrigible. After watching this movie you can take home with you at the memories of all the characters and the kids will have something more to smile about. And there is a moral to the story too like all other fairy tales which you can teach your kids. ************************************************************ Should you watch this movie ?? ************************************************************ This is a must watch movie for kids and for those who love animations and fairy tales. This is a movie one has to watch in the theatres. So what are you waiting for?? Go with your kids and watch it. Bangalore has 4 shows playing in the Plaza theatre. Pros : Great script and great animation Cons : none Plot : Good - Original and a good plot Cast Performance : Good - Overall good Soundtrack : Good - Except a few Camera Effects : Wow - Best effects I've ever seen Watch this movie with : Spouse / Partner

Mitr - Friendship makes the world go round

This millenium seems to be a season of offbeat movies. Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, Bollywood Calling,Monsoon Wedding and recently Mitr. What I like about these movies are that they are much more realistic and are slowly making place of their own with their mix of some mainstream cinema and some art cinema. And most importantly these movies relate with the audience. That is what I appreciated about the filmmaker. She has tried to connect with the audience and succeeded, I feel. Believe me these movies are a welcome change after watching cliched movies like Mohabbatein, Yaadein, Mission Kashmir, AAAAGHHH !! Just thinking about these movies makes me shudder. ************************************************************ Concept ************************************************************ A friend is one who excepts you as you are and well does not judge you for what you do .. A friend in need is a friend indeed.... A friend i sone who shares and cares .... etc etc .. uou must have heard these words a thousand of times and believe in it too.. I do for sure .. But in real life as you proceed across the different phases of life, childhood, youth, adult, middle-age, old-age, etc the concept of friendship changes. Thats what MITR is about in a nutshell. How would you convert relationship to friendship and how important it is for your survival. ************************************************************ About the movie ************************************************************ The movie is simple and the message is very clear cut without any frills. You have to think about the subtle nuances projected in the movie. Its everything to with what happens and may happened to many people and family . The best part of the movie is that one can enjoy the story even if it has its serious undertones and one can definitely relate to the movie. The concept is not far fetched and one may find oneself in a similar situation sometime. Specially for an Indian who has left the country and settled down in another country for business purpose. The movie boasts of all women technical crew which is a first, I think. Revathy Menon who is a powerful actress in her own right has directed this movie and well she has done it very well. The editing is well done. It is difficult to watch the movie if the editing is not done well. FOr example, Monsoon Wedding was very shabbily edited I feel. It was not comfortable watching the movie. The music was composed by Bhavatharini Ilyaraaja, the esteemed Ilyaraja’s daughter. The music was okay but it could be improved. According to me it blended well with the movie and for a change the music did not overpower the story. The cinematography was also very pleasing to the eyes as they locations were well selected. Shobhana, Naseer Abdullah and Preeti Vissa did a great job in portraying the emotional confusion and the flow of the story and the characters were pretty smooth. You will not get lost in the movie with certain scenes being there unnecessarily. ************************************************************ My Recommendation ************************************************************ Go and watch it if you liked movies like Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, Bollywood Calling and Monsoon wedding. This movie is something which many Bangloreans will relate too specially those having left the country to slog in the IT industry and earn more money and have a better life. Its a movie where you dont have to think much and yet feel that you have enjoyed the movie. Its ideal for an evening date with your partner. :) Avoid it if you have a penchant for chicks running haywire in spandex and hens running around trees and going WHAM BAM with lot of tomato sauce smeared on their face. :) Pros : Good script and story Cons : The music could have been better but I found it was ok for starters Plot : Good - Original and a good plot Cast Performance : Good - Overall good Soundtrack : Fair - Only a few Camera Effects : Good - Will do for normal viewing Watch this movie with : Spouse / Partner

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

I was very interested in the movie because firstly it had something to do with Martial arts.I am a fan of martial arts and right from school I always enjoyed, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Ninja movies, etc. Moreover I had seen the rushes of this movie and was interested to watch it in the big screen. Well I must say that I felt like hitting myself as I had to undergo more than two hours of Chinese torture !!! This proves that just because a movie got few Oscars, its a superb movie. :( Anyway I am not wrong about special effects but thats what there is in the movie. No great action like raw action as seen in Chan or Lee movies. It was very obvious that they copied the technology from Matrix. Matrix could be called a pioneer of fighting with threads hung to your suit so that you can be given an impression of gliding smoothly and every shot can be measured and manipulated as to show that this guy has amazing fighting powers. This method was used extensively in this movie. There were very few fight sequences which was a real hand to hand or a natural looking fight. Acting talent could be a consideration as most of the actors were talented ones. The worst part of the movie was the story. I am not motivated enough to make you aware of the story but I shall give you the gist of it . It starts with a warrior wanting to give up his sword which was called Green Destiny. Green destiny gets stolen and is found and gets stolen again and then again its found. the whole story revolves round this. It is tolerable till now. I am now curious as to why the green destiny is stolen.. well there is no motive. The thief happens to a daughter of the governor in Beiging. She gets married and suddenly out of the blue appears her lover... well now its turn for a Flashback... and what a flashback .. this sequence has no link with the stroy... this lady in question gets married to a guy whom she does not like and then for no reason she flees the house with the Green Destiny ( this is the part where the sword gets stolen again)... I now am grappling with the situation... where to focus.. the sword or the love story ... the love story was also pathetic.. the lover vanishes and appears only at the end of the movie.. Okay have I confused you enough ?? I am going to confuse you more ... now this lady has a guru who is evil and this villainess appears as her governess and disappears for no reason... the villianess happens to be the warrior’s enemy and well she is being pursued by the warrior ... but the focus of this sequence is totally lost when the villianess disappears one night after having a confrontation with the lady( with the sword) who is also her disciple.... ( yes I am seeing stars now ) The warrior with the help of his lady friend ( who is also a warrior and a friend ) go in search of the other lady who has taken the sword. The lady with the sword is found and the warrior says that he would like to entrust the sword to her and teach her the ways of Hudan ( a form of Martial arts )... the lady arrogantly refuses... so the warrior throws the sword into a lake and the lady dives in to get the sword... and is saved by the villianess.. she is taken to the den of the villianess where she is drugged. THe warrior comes in search of this lady and finds her and tries to save her from the villianess... he is followed by his lady friend... Now there is a confrontation between the bad gal and the rest .... ( the focus of the sword is totally gone) The villianess dies in the fight and so does the warrior slowly and gradually... as he is poisoned... The lady with the sword tries to help him by getting an antidote for the poison... yes I must point out this fact that .... all the while in the movie, she flies swiftly .. now when there seems to be an urgency, she is on horseback .... ( ha ha !!! I am bored to death now) She cannot save the warrior and the warrior dies in the lap of his lady friend in a typically hindi movie style... The lady then is instructed to go to the Mountain where her lover awaits her... here too she walks all the way up when she could fly :):)... well she goes there and after meeting him she jumps of the mountain as she wants to fulfil the wish of her lover.... ( this act is supposed to be a superstition of some sorts.... if you want to fulfil some wish you jump off a particular mountain ... and your wish will be fulfilled) EGADDD GIVE ME BREAK !!! and god is merciful !!! THE MOVIE ENDS !!!! Well the story seems as if the scenes have been filmed seperately and just because it looked good it was linked somehow... somewhere... only you dont get to know how and where .... Anyway I wish they could have done a better job ... they had all the resources on their hands, technology, equipment, good cast , etc... Well you can give this movie a miss and go for GLADIATOR> Its a classic movie !!! And if you are still curious about Chinese torture , you can sit through this movie... :):) Have a nice day !!!

Monday, May 02, 2005

Schindler's List

This is universally acclaimed to be one of the best movies. Steven Speilberg who has many great movies to his name directed Schindler’s list. He created a classic movie when he made this movie which leaves a lasting impression in the minds of the people who watch this movie. This film was made in black and white and had a strong script. The direction was flawless. The thing that holds the movie together is the story. The story is very captivating and Speilberg has brought out the essence of the story. The cast had been chosen very carefully. It was as if the characters were tailor made for the chosen cast. The film is based on the true story about Oskar Schindler, a german businessman who manages to save about 1000 jews from the hands of the Germans. The story is set in Germany occupied Poland during World War II. The Jews in Poland are forced to relocate to larger cities where they are placed in over crowded ghettos, turned into slaves and ultimately taken to the concentration camp where they meet a painful and horrible death. The Jews are made to loose their property, freedom and then lives. This order is performed with great precision. There are two lists for this purpose, one marked for death and one whose death has been postponed. This list had another purpose. This list became the list of the members who would be rescued out of this situation. Oskar Schindler( Liam Neeson) initially is a businessman to the core. He wants to make a profit with the incoming of slave labour. He is assisted by his brilliant accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) who looks at this as a perfect opportunity to save his Jewish friends. Amon Goeth(Raplh Fiennes) is the head of the German concentration camp. Ralph played this character very well. He sends chills down your spine. The main focus of the film was the situation of the Jews. As the film progresses Oskar’s personality undergoes a change. From a man whose main aim was to make more money from the current situation, he becomes a humanitarian determined to help the Jews by using his fortune till the last drop to rescue as many Jews as he can. Liam Neeson plays the role of Oskar to perfection. Ben Kingsley was excellent as usual. There are many poignant scenes that gets etched in your mind for ever. The film being in black and white, the images are vivid and it will leave you thoughtful and captivated by the movie. The movie itself is very serious and it needs to be seen alone or with someone who also likes watching serious movies.This movie is not recommended for children. This film won seven Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn), Best Score (credited to John Williams, but featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman), Best adapted screenplay (Steven Zaillian). Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. I would suggest that you watch the movie and feel the story for yourself. Its a must watch if you are looking out for some excellent direction, performance, dialogue and story. Pros : story and script Cons : maybe on the serious side Plot : Good - Original and a good plot Cast Performance : Very Good - Natural acting by all Soundtrack : Very Good - One of the best Camera Effects : Very good - One of the best Watch this movie with : Alone

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Vanity Fair

Casting Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Bob Hoskins, Geraldine McEwan, Ruth Sheen, Reese Witherspoon, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Rhys Ifans, Romola Garai, Lilette Dubey..etc Writing credits William Makepeace Thackeray (novel) Julian Fellowes (screenplay) Matthew Faulk screenplay Mark Skeet screenplay A good adaption of the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray this is the story of a woman who is orphaned and does not give up any chance to make a good life for herself. In fact this movie delves with every aspect of a survivor when times are tough. With a dollop of satire thrown in. Vanity is the theme here. Losing is vanity... winning is vanity.. and how the story consistently shows light upon the society that lives with so much scruples and hypocrisy and the author never fails to make it a point to rub it in.... how money could buy anything from relationships to aristrocracy is very well depicted here. It is something to raise your eyebrows but I think given the period when the story was concocted and written, it portrays the very aspect of the other side of the coin of a frivolous and vain social circle among which the main protagonist , Becky Sharp makes the best of the situation. Sometimes she is cold and calculative. Sometimes she is endearing but she always wants to get the best of what is available. And I think it is very justifiable for an orphan who has to fend for her own and who does not have noble parents.. to do the things which they do to put their daughters in the elite society. She is respected and sconed, lusted and befriended, a grudging admiration too.The other characters are equally important but the author of the story has given credit even to the most evil person. Maybe it is a way of looking at humans... mostly a strong message that comes forth is that even if the man is his most evil self there will be some quality in himself that redeems him of his nature... and the fact that even if a human is in his or her very best nature, there are times when the darker aspects can take over one... Moreover the story tests the limits of patience of all characters and one is left feeling when is she going to break down.. when is he going to realise his mistake.. is he going to fall for that trap... Mira Nair has done a great job in bringing so many characters together and balancing the whole act so that each one can hold one's own in the movie.. though the stories are intermingled it is easy to continue from where the story of one left to the other... All in all a nice movie... something to think about and well frankly its kind of long and detailed and it needs for you to think and connect to the movie. I would not reccomend this movie if you are in a fast movie mood.. A melancholic, reflecting mood with some good time in your hands and then the movis will work for you otherwise ... do not bother.. you will come out of the hall bored to tears.. dont say I did not warn you.. :)

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Zen Katha ... a review

A beautiful play directed by Lillete Dubey, this expounds on the story of a prince who becomes the first partriarch who spreads the ideology of Zen and Buddhism in China. Casting included Rajiv Gopalkrishna, Sandhya Mridal, Denzil Smith, Vikram Chaturvedi, Asif Ali Beg, Shardul Chaturvedi, Anu Menon, Pawan Singh, Pallavi Symons. Martial Arts by Sensei Parvez Mistry Original music score by Mahesh Tinaikar Went to this play mainly because I was interested in how they would be depicting the martial arts and zen given the fact that I am doing a lot of reading on these themes myself . On the other hand it had two of my favorite actresses.. Lilette Dubey as the director and Sandhya Mridul as one of the actors. The play, Primetime Theatre Company’s twentieth production, was based on the story of Bodhidharma, a prince from the ancient kingdom of Kanchi in 525 A.D, who was the first patriarch of Zen and Martial Arts, as we know them today. The first half devotes itself to the introduction of Prince Dharma who belonged to the royal family of the Pallavas and how he was brought up under the wise guidance of his guru prajna.The first half also brings forth the innocent love of Sanghameeta who was ready to give up everything for her Prince Dharma even allow him access to the secret codes of buddhist martial arts... from her father. Written by the famous narrator and playwright Pratap Sharma, the play is an interesting and colourfully dramatic piece which enraptures you with its story flow and the flawless performance of the characters in it. I would like to specially mention Denzil Smith who simply stole the show as Boddhidharma's guru in the first half and then as teh Chinese emperor in Wu Ti of the Lian dynasty. His depiction of the Chinese emperor and the nuances of the language commands special attention. His delightful baritone of a voice and his acting skills have held the audience enthralled and I was thinking to myself that I needed to see more of this man's performance. Another very versatile actor is Asif Ali Beg who donned many hats to perform many roles.. Be it the tantrik who has a lascvicious attitude or the 28th aging Partriarch of Buddhism, or the rogue who accosts Boddhidharma or the Hui 'Ko who becomes the second patriarch of Zen, he is a actor to watch out for. It was as if he was pulling out rabbits out of a magic hat... when he was changing his character so quick and fast. Among ladies, Sandhya Mridul put up a lively performance as the role of Sanghameeta and of Velu the disguised Sanghameeta who follows the love of her life to the mountains under the monk's garb. She is a refreshing as I had seen her in the serials... The play had some good choreography of martial arts which was one of the main things that I was interested in. I must say that the main protagonist, Rajiv Gopalakrishnan who acted as Boddhidharma needs some more years on him to hone his performance. His stage presence was lacking and well maybe its personal.. but I was not impressed with his performance be it his acting or his delivery of the dialouges. I think he will be better with more acts.. Well I had an enriching experience and look forward to watching more of them ... and sincerely hope that they keep coming to Bangalore with such interesting themes...

Monday, November 29, 2004

Laws of Attraction... yes there are ...

Casting Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Nora Dunn, Frances Fisher, Parker Posey Directed by: Peter Howitt Produced by: Beau St. Clair, David Bergstein, Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Julie Durk An excellent romantic comedy to light up your senses... between two divorce lawyers out to get each other. While fighting a high profile case they kind of fall in love and end up getting married in a cultural fest in Ireland. I love romantic comedies and totally flipped for this one. Always liked Pierce Brosnan for his bohemian attitude. He is as good as you can get. The relationship goes awry when the case that they are fighting for becomes a bone of contention. A light story with good direction and a flowing script. It is not heavy on the mood and is quite a entertainer. Some might find it a bit dull and nothing new. But then as I said if you like romantic comedies , this is a good one. Given the cast the essential punch however is somewhat missing but you can overlook that. Watch it when you are feeling light headed and you will not notice the bland parts.. :)

Khushi.. something different !!

Starring: Fardeen Khan, Kareena Kapoor Director: S. J. Suryal Music: Anu Malik Lyrics: Sameer Singers: Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, Kay Kay, Shaan, Srinivas Produced by Boney Kapoor, this movie is about two people who are destined for each other how fate brings them together inspite of their vast differences in their outlook and their backgrounds. It starts with the birth of these two babies Khushi and Karan. Karan is born in Calcutta while Khushi is born in Chamoli in Uttranchal. Both grow up to have different aims and careers but are forced by destiny to change their plans and study further.. in Mumbai where they meet each other. They start as friends and get closer in the process of helping their close friends get married inspite of opposition. While being friends they cannot admit to each other they might be falling for each other. It so happens that they end up having a big fight which makes them lose their friendship and thus their relationship.. but in the end love prevails and all is well that ends well.. Seems like a simple story .. and well I liked it just because of the fact that it was for a change a bit unpredictable. Humor is redundant and you can ignore it. Music is good. Kareena overacts sometimes. Fardeen has done OK and is good at looking cute. Story is good but confusing.. yet you will feel OK. which is the normal for Bollywood movie. So you will not realise it at all when you see a posh room with purple room with expensive furniture when they show a hostel, etc. Well something different ... yet something similar... nothing that great but it is ok for good entertainment and timepass.. but not worth thinking about.

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Sand In the eye !!

Choker Bali

This was a movie I was desperately waiting to see.. and had given up hope of seeing it too... but as luck would have it, PVR multiplex in Forum was airing it and we did not want to miss this chance of watching it... and to top it all this theatre complex had just opened

Movie Review Cast : Aishwarya Rai, Lily Chakrabarti, Raima Sen, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Tota Raychaudhuri Director : Rituparno Ghosh Producer : Shree Venkatesh Films Music: Debojyoti Mishra This film has been adapted from Rabindranath Tagore's Binodini. Directed by the acclaimed director, Rituporno Ghosh, it showcases the emotional pschye of a young and intelligent widow. Ghosh is famous for his take on unusual and interesting topics having women protagonists as the centre of the story. The story is set in the early 1900's with the background of the political resistance occuring during the Bengal partition. It was also a time when Raja Ram Mohan Roy's philosophy and opinions was causing a great stir a among the society of young widows. Widow remarraige was much written about and takled about. The story begins with Rajalakshmi's family which includes son Mahendra his best friend Behari (both studying medical profession) and his aunt Annapurna. Mahendra (Prasenjit Chatterji) is shown to be a typical indulgent man who is not bothered with anything except what is going on in his life and well to certain he has not scruples about getting what he wants. Behari ( Tota Raychaudhuri) on the other hand is the shy kind of man who has good principles and can do anything for his friend and his family. Binodini ( Aishwarya Rai) is a poor but well educated girl. She is from the same village as Raklakhsmi ( Lily Chakrabarti). When her proposal comes forth to for Mahendra he refuses it even after looking at the photograph without much ado and so does Behari. Binodini is then married off to Bipin who dies within a year of their marriage rendering her a young childless widow. Mahendra and Behari go to see a girl for Behari by the name of Ashalata on the urging of Mahendra's aunt, Annapurana. Ashalata is a young and naive girl who charms Mahendra at first glance. Behari is then requested to let the proposal go in favor of Mahendra which he does since he loves his friend a lot. Mahendra, totally oblivious to any form of duties and responsibilities towards himself and his family, gets enmeshed a little too much in the bliss of marital life. Rajlakshmi, Mahendra's mother does not like this usurping of loyalties and in a huff leaves for her village hoping that Mahendra will come after her and get her back. Mahendra does no such thing. Rajalakshmi meets Binodini and realises that she can do a lot for her in the form of helping her around the house and being a good companion. Binodini, a wise woman woos Rajalakshmi with her services and comes along with Rajalakshmi to their house. Here begins the friendship between Binodini and Ashalata. Two women of same generation. One having everything without asking for it and one who having had everything had lost it. Binodini's friendship is tinged with envy and she tries to enjoy Ashalata's marital life vicariously by listening to it and giving her wise advise which sounds very intelligent to the naive Ashalata. They all each other by a pet name "Choker Bali" meaning sand in the eye. Mahendra is not unaware of the charms of Binodini and he wants to meet her. In the pretext of meeting her he organizes a picnic inviting them all and falls for the charms of Binodini. Binodini with ehr sharp tongue and witty conversations captivates both Behari and Mahendra. Mahendra feels jealous of Behari and Binodini plays this weakness to her advantage. Binodini secretly admires Behari and wants him to admire her. Behari being a shy character does not know how to react to her. Widow remarraige is one of the main topics. Along with widow remarraige we also see a lot of concepts which has made the plight of the then widows not less than keeps of rich Zamindars. Not knowing where to go and what was their future they were not asked about in any way and not cared about in any manner by the society. It rankles one that our society could be so ruthless. Mahendra gets attracted to Binodini with the innocent help of Ashalata who pushes both of them together without realising what she was doing. Mahendra being a typical indulgent man does not think twice before starting an affair with Binodini. He becomes obssessed with her and starts an illicit relationship with her. This comes to the fore by accident and Ashalata is very hurt. Binodini runs to Behari and asks him to marry her but Behari refuses her. Binodini's is hurt since she actually wanted to impress Behari. She goes to her village while Ashalata goes to Kashi with her aunt. A desolate Mahendra follows her to her village and proposes to her about living together but Binodini has had enough of him and despises his lack of standing up for himself. She asks him to take her to Behari to Kashi and then go back home. Mahendra is hurt but promises to take her to Kashi. Meanwhile, Rajalakshmi passes on and Ashalata comes back from Kashi pregnant. In Kashi, Binodini has a chance to look at herself and her life. She is full of remorse but she is full of independence and purpose too. She wants to be more than just a widow, more than just a woman with a body. A strong personality... she impresses Behari who proposes marriage to her but when he goes to her with the marriage thali, Binodini is nowhere to be see. She vanishes from the life of all. The treatment of the movie was very good. It was expected coming from Rituporno Ghosh. The lighting of the set and the camera angles are awesome. Bibi Roy, the art director has done a great job in creating the perfect set for that era without missing the minutest detail. The screenplay ...(albeit slow) gives one something to think about. The concept was handled very well and each character was given their full due and no one was subdued for another which I really liked. The sensitivity with which the script has been unfolded can strike a chord within you. I also liked the spattering of humor here and there which lifts the mood of the movie. Music reminded me of the songs that were sung by my mom to be.. songs that I grew up with and it fitted the background perfectly. Of all the characters however, I would have preffered more interaction from Prasenjit who appeared a little flat on his role. Tota Raychaudhuri was great in his role as Behari. Aishwarya proved that even she can shine without an ounce of heavy makeup and a strong story and director. In short if you are a fan of Rituporno Ghosh movies and Rabindranath Tagore novels, you will definitely like this movie but if you like fast movies with nothing to think about, you might as well avoid it. What I did not like about the movie was the modifications made on the story. Like Devdas there were quite a few changes to the storyline here and there... specially the ending which leaves you to make your own conclusion, which kind of surprised me but all said and done you will not be disappointed.