Aham Brahmasmi

Every time I watch Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne , or listen to the timeless compositions that form its soundtrack, I cannot help but wonder how the 3 wishes granted to Goopy & Bagha by the King of Ghosts are so perfect, so paradisiac. "যা চাই পড়তে খাইতে পারি" (The power to bring forth any food we wish to eat, any clothes we wish to wear), "যেখান খুশি যাইতে পারি" (The power to reach any destination we wish to), "সা-নি-ধা-পা-মা-গা-রে-সা গাইতে পারি" (The power to create music) - the nonpareil ingredients of a simple, relaxed & fulfilling life. আমাদের অন্ন-বস্ত্রের সংস্থান হয়ে গেলে, যখন ইচ্ছে যে কোনো জায়গায় বেড়িয়ে আসতে পারলে, আর তার সঙ্গে একটা সাধনায় (সুরের, সাহিত্যের বা অন্য কিছু) মত্ত হয়ে থাকতে পারলে, do we really need anything else? And I think a telling factor as to to why those boons are so impeccable is the needlessness, and therefore absence, of money. The pursuit of money, especially to procure possessions and fulfil fantasies that are really nothing...

The Netflix descriptor of this movie reads “Bound by the law, he let them walk free. He’s no longer a judge – but he’ll stop at nothing to seek justice.” The idea of a retired judge going rogue kind of drew me in, especially in the light of our current societal structure where the rich and the well-connected get away with pretty much anything under the sun. And when I saw that Anupam Kher was playing the protagonist, I thought it’d be a decent movie. Boy, was I mistaken!   The lingering, bitter aftertaste of this movie is that of bad acting. And I mean really bad acting, even from the likes of Rajesh Sharma who is generally so convincing and relatable. Anupam Kher tries very hard to oscillate between the retired-judge-relaxing-with-family and the calculative vigilante, failing monumentally in both. Esha Gupta’s awful supposedly-Haryanvi accent (which disappears completely in a few scenes) and appalling acting results in a lousy caricature of a strong, no-holds-barred woman polic...

“ Toh bhaiya aisa hai ki hum poori duniya ki sar par chadhkar baitheh hai. Chhote-bade harr aaine mein, hum hi toh rehte hai. Hum hi hai jo najro ko lubhaate hai, aapke selfie k liye Likes hum hi toh leke aate hai. …Hum aapki khoobsurti ka raaj hai, aapke sar k permanent taaj hai. Humara status koi Bajrang Bali se kam nahi hai – dekhiye tel unhe bhi chadaya jaata hai, aur tel humein bhi chadaya jaata hai. Hum baal hai. Sabse bada bhaukaal hai, khopdi ki khaal hai, bheje ki dhaal hai, agar mil gayein toh kamala hai, aur nahi milein toh jindagi bhar ka malaal hai. ” With a soliloquy for the ages, deftly delivered by the inimitable Vijay Raaz’s off-screen voice, Amar Kaushik sets the tone for this social problem comedy movie Bala . What catches the viewers’ attention first up, is the wonderful medley of pictures that accompany this opening stanza – from everyday tea-stalls to roadside Romeos, it captures the common man and his ubiquitous hair. Or lack thereof. After all, what better w...

If you’re in love with BBC’s jetsetting series Sherlock primarily because of its state-of-the-art adaptation and set design, or Benedict Cumberbatch for that matter, perhaps this movie may not be for you. But if you’re willing to be taken back to the Holmes’ heydays, the days of yore complete with breathtaking shots of the countryside, this movie is for you. Watson may have embellished his accomplishments, but this elderly Sherlock is as adorable as he is accomplished. Flawless acting from the ageless Ian McKellen and a refreshingly different modus operandi of storytelling, this movie is one for keeps.

Wessel Johannes Cronjé was a good fielder, a handy bowler, an average batman (which he more than made up for by sheer grit) – but, head & shoulders above all his other cricketing credentials, he was the consummate leader. Thorough, charismatic & inspirational, Hansie (essayed in the movie by the square-jawed Frank Rautenbach) was the most revered youth icon & a household name in South Africa right through his six years at the helm of the national cricket team. Cronjé, then Coach Bob Woolmer (played by Nick Lorentz) & then Chief Selector Peter Pollock (played by David Sherwood) took the prodigal Proteas from being a bunch of unsure, recently Apartheid-returned cricketers to almost becoming World Champions. The curse of a movie about a deceased much-loved-hero-turned-anti-hero is that whenever there is someone from the immediate family behind it, one invariably tends to question the authenticity of its truth-telling abilities, for personal bias is an ever-present t...