Posted: 10 years ago
Bombay Talkies [ Get Quote ] celebrates the language of cinema that permeated our system long ago, writes Sukanya Verma.

Hindi cinema is too a voluminous medium, and now a century old, to try encapsulating its glory in 25 quick minutes.

At the same time, the broad appeal of silver screen and its gift to forge unique association with every single member of the audience is much widespread to ignore.

 

And that's the idea behind Bombay Talkies, a cinema anthology, directed by Karan Johar [ Images ], Dibakar Banerjee [ Images ], Zoya Akhtar [ Images ] and Anurag Kashyap.

It's not a comprehensive probe into the nearly-religious fervour for the movies or the innermost workings of showbiz. Instead what play out are four individualistic, intimate tributes by contemporary directors with a distinct approach to filmmaking.

If Johar is known for glaze, Akhtar brings perspective; Banerjee's narrative breaks new grounds whereas Kashyap scores in nuanced writing. Their skill set varies from another.

To be willingly adjudged for their combined creativity, fully aware comparisons lie ahead, regardless of the fact that all four films are completely dissimilar in content, tone and texture reflects inspiring maturity, faith in one's self and a sense of, well, sportsmanship.

Having said that, there's a refreshing consistency in the intellectual aesthetics of all four shorts, it's like a visual proof to the phrase 'on the same page' and it's not something frequent. One could complain, where's the signature touch? But in collaboration, the closer they merge, the stronger they emerge.

It certainly holds true for Karan Johar who begins with his offering, Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh. It's not so much about moving away from one's comfort zone as it is about testing one's potential. It's fabulous to witness him open up behind the camera like never before.

There's an exchange between two characters wherein one says, 'You wanna come in?' To this the other responds, 'You wanna come out?' This scene, for me, defines the first segment of the story. What is it about? Let's just say it's an exploration into the anxiety, politics and provocations of urban relationships.

Where does the movie connect come? It's subtle.

Bollywood, here, is part of small talk, zany humour, sacrosanct ambiance or a fodder for amusing theories. A kid on the bridge sings Ajeeb dastan hai yeh (Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee) and Lag ja gale (Woh Kaun Thi?).

A music enthusiast's study is filled with rare records and movie memorabilia. Or picking a favourite between Sridevi [ Images ] and Madhuri Dixit [ Images ] determines, er, you'll have to book a ticket to find out.

While a reserved Randeep Hooda [ Images ] and impudent Saqib Saleem articulate different kinds of intense, it's Rani Mukerji [ Images ]'s flawless artistry as an imprisoned soul wearing a mark of normalcy, (even if you see those lovely freckles in all their splendour), which elevates the emotional core of Johar's story, is its dignity and strength.

Speaking of strength, there's tons of it on display in Dibakar Banerjee's Star, which follows immediately after. Based on Satyajit Ray [ Images ]'s short story -- Patol Babu, Film Star, Star features Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a struggling actor residing in a rundown chawl who wants to soar in the eyes of his daughter more than anything else.

Star, which celebrates the ties between opportunity and spirit, features an Emu, a supporting cast of ladies with melting smiles, some sprightly assistant directors and a masterfully utilised Sadashiv Amrapurkar.

And the camerawork by Nikos Andritsakis is simply brilliant in putting all of it across. Just that standalone moment with real cars rushing past a remote-controlled toy vehicle, their co-existence on an active street is so mesmerising.

Soon after the focus shifts on the figure controlling the remote, 'Hum sirf bhai ko dekhta hai,' he dismissively responds when informed of a movie star shooting nearby. And in one brief moment, Banerjee conveys the veneration reserved for the superstar of the masses --Salman Khan.

It's tricky to discuss my favourite segment in Bombay Talkies without revealing too much. So I'll just say this, even a 25-minute film can change the way you look at, the additions not extras, who fills the frames. Siddiqui's rehearsal scene and the actual filming are moments that inspire, motivate and create a cinema worth paying tribute to whether 100 or 10 years old. His Marathi is slightly rusty but when he excitedly divulges, 'Tula mahiti hai papa ne aaj kai kela?' against the stirring score of Rabindranath Tagore [ Images ]'s song ---Tobu mone rekho, an accent seems too trivial a technicality to pit against his day's achievement.

After the feel-good Star, it's Zoya Akhtar's turn to enchant with Sheila Ki Jawani. When I saw the promos, I thought her portions resembled Sudipto Chattopadhyay's Pankh but I couldn't be more wrong.

As children, watching your mother get dressed up, especially the delicate art of applying lipstick intrigues most of us. The only thing unusual here is that instead of a girl, it's a little boy (Naman Jain) who shares this fascination.

Pressurised by his well-meaning but stern father (Ranvir Shorey [ Images ]), he doesn't care for football and harbours Katrina-Kaif inspired dreams. One might try to read more than there is in this premise but there's just no need. Kids indulge in all sorts of silliness. Not every action needs to be rummaged for deeper undertones.

Recall a similar plot in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna where Shah Rukh Khan [ Images ] disparages his son for picking music over sport. Akhtar, however, concentrates on the simple conflicts of childhood with dialogues that reflect their age, instead of the maker. So when one says, 'Do you want to be an air hostess?' The profundity in the other's reply is as straightforward as, 'No I want to be a passenger.'

The eventual pay off is reminiscent to Shashi Kapoor's Bilva Mangal moment in Aag. Both the young members of the cast -- Naman Jain and Khushi Dubey do really well as a pair of siblings looking out for each other. Jain gets extra brownie points for those terrific moves in the segment's spectacular even if simplistic climax.

Anurag Kashyap's tribute to cinema, Murraba is dedicated to Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ]. Personally, I found it weakest of all the four film because its movement gets a bit repetitive after a while. Moreover, an overzealous Vineet Kumar as the Allahabad native fails to endear himself or gain sympathy in his fervent pursuit of Big B [ Images ].

Also his fixation is indirect so the hysterics don't register convincingly.

There are some fine moments too. Despite all that build up, Kashyap doesn't compromise and turn the superstar into an accessible entity. He is used like an apparition, a believable, tangible apparition and he lets that aura remain. What I liked most was how he uses Mumbai [ Images ], its people and how they survive on spunk and sense of humour without darkness taking over their being or livelihoods.

Bombay Talkies may or may not celebrate cinema in the direct sense. Except for its hopelessly tacky end- credits -- a complete waste of star power and resources, Bombay Talkies is an absorbing ode to the language of cinema that is part of our collective system.

It honours the imagination and enthusiasm that attracts so many young men and women in this country to embrace a life of risk and rush – filmmaking.

Rediff Rating:

Sukanya Verma in Mumbai
Posted: 10 years ago

Bombay Talkies movie review

(Drama)
Saibal Chatterjee
Thursday, May 02, 2013
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Cast:Rani Mukherji, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Katrina Kaif
Director: Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap



The expectations were firmly set as soon as it was announced that a quartet of contemporary Mumbai directors was making four quickies to mark the centennial of the Hindi movie industry.

The primary point of interest was inevitably focussed on how each filmmaker would interpret the medium that has defined Indian popular culture for a hundred years.

Bombay Talkies serves its principal purpose quite well: each segment of this cinematic anthology underscores in bold relief the defining creative impulses of its maker.

To that extent, Bombay Talkies springs no surprises at all. You get more or less what you expect.

Karan Johar, in the opening segment, stays put in his comfort zone – in the world of a yuppie couple (Rani Mukherji, entertainment supplement editor; and Randeep Hooda, TV news anchor) and a spunky gay rebel (Saqib Saleem) who turns their married life on its head.

At the other end of the spectrum, in the fourth short film, Anurag Kashyap settles for a characteristically cheeky, earthy and breezy style in telling the story of an Allahabad man (Vineet Kumar Singh) who sets out on an improbable mission to meet his dad's movie idol, Amitabh Bachchan, and give the superstar a taste of home-made murabba.

Similarly, while Zoya Akhtar cannot quite break free from the lure of a Bollywood diva (Katrina Kaif) even as she comes up with the unconventional tale of a boy (Naman Jain) who aspires to be a girl, Dibakar Banerjee gives full rein to what he is good at – capturing the joys and despairs of "that little man" in the crowd (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).

Each segment of Bombay Talkies has its moments, either in terms of the quality of the acting or in the little narrative sleights that hit home. What is disappointing is that, barring the Dibakar Banerjee segment, none of the films is an attempt to showcase cinema as a self-contained medium of expression. They only explore its external manifestations.

Two of the segments – Zoya Akhtar's and Anurag Kashyap's – are about the dynamics of movie stardom and how it exercises a hold on the lives of common people.

Karan Johar's story, essentially a relationship drama bolstered by fine performances, establishes no more than a fleeting linkage with the movies through a pair of classic 1960s Lata Mangeshkar numbers (Ajeeb dastaan hai yeh kahaan shuru kahaan khatam and Lag jaa gale ki phir yeh haseen raat ho na ho) that a girl on a railway station footbridge sings for a few tokens of appreciation from passerby.

Despite the obvious stylistic divergences, all the four stories dwell upon lies and truths, and make-believe and struggles to escape the drudgery of real life. But is that all there is to this amazingly multifaceted medium?

The fact that cinema is the youngest and the most modern of art forms forever changing shape and constantly evolving is eloquently underlined by lyricist Swanand Kirkire in the film's lively musical prelude, Lo aaya aaya aaya main hoon movie madaari. But that spirit isn't wholly reflected in the films that follow.

To their credit, in the end credits or anywhere else, the filmmakers do not make the claim that Bombay Talkies is a tribute to one hundred years of Indian cinema as a whole.

As the title suggests, the film recognizes only a single strand of the vast diversity that the cinema of this vast subcontinent represents and stops at "celebrating 100 years of cinema in our lives".

It is only Banerjee's short film that seeks to penetrate the heart of the raconteur's art through the dawn-to-nightfall story of an ordinary man who stumbles upon extraordinary magic in his life, if only for a brief moment, when he strays into a film shoot after a failed job hunt and is roped in for a bit part.

Loosely adapted from a short story by Satyajit Ray (Potol Babu, Film Star), the film is set in a soul-sapping Mumbai where a one-time folk actor from Sangli cannot even find the inspiration to create a simple story that can perk up his listless young daughter.

When the man does rediscover his inner self, Dibakar Banerjee and his lead actor, Nawazuddin Siddique, turn the last few minutes of the segment into an exhilarating exhibition of the pure joy of mime and music, extracting every ounce of energy from silent hand and body gestures as the father transmits the excitement of the moment to his entranced daughter.

The scene plays out to the accompaniment of a soulful instrumental rendition of a lilting Tagore song (Tobu mone rekho), which roughly translates as "even so, remember me if I stray far away; remember me even if old love is suppressed by the mesh of a new affection".

Nostalgia, poignance and the depth of the human imagination all gently spring forth from this construct – it becomes a perfect summation of the magic of storytelling and instantly imprints itself on the mind. Nawazuddin is a marvel, a master of mimetic minimalism.

Such moments of epiphany are rare in Bombay Talkies. One is left with the feeling that a once-in-a-century cinematic experiment should have had more heart and heft.

But do not let that put you off. In encapsulating the dreams, disappointments, falsehoods, flashes of truth, elements of emotional artifice and inescapable realities of life, these four stories, each distinct in emotional timbre and visual feel, do present, within their limited ambit, a range of cinematic expressions that are in themselves laudable.
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/bombay-talkies-movie-review-806
Posted: 10 years ago


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When four of Hindi Film Industry's most distinctive directors come together to celeberate 100 years of Indian cinema and make 4 short films you know there's something special about it. The four films do not come together linearly and form a bigger story. All of these 4 films are as different as chalk and cheese and have completely different storylines. Let's discuss all these four films chronologically.

Karan Johar – Ajeeb Daastan Hai Yeh

Karan Johar finally makes you stand up and notice his talent. Where was this side of KJo all these years? He tackles the story of a gay man with utmost sincerity, aching honesty and humour. This results in a fine, crisp story of a married couple whose lives change forever when this particular gay man enters their lives. Karan goes out of his terrain and delves into an unexpected urban psyche and does it oh so well.

Rani Mukerji has always been a delight in serious roles and here she does her role full justice. Randeep Hooda does tremendously well too. He never goes out of character. But someone who makes you applaud his talent is Saqib Saleem who plays the bold role of a gay man convincingly. He needs to be applauded for signing on to do such a film so early in his career.

Bombay TalkiesBombay Talkies Movie Review

Dibakar Banerjee – Star

Dibakar teams up with Nawazuddin Siddiqui to adapt Satyajit Ray's short story 'Patol Babu, Film Star' into a lower middle class Mumbaiyya setting and delivers what is the best short film among the four. This is the most subtle and least biographical, yet it tugs at your heart unlike most films we see these days. Watch the talented powerhouse of talent, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as he mimes into his daughter's and the viewers' hearts! A splendid effort indeed

The story takes place in one single day and finds Nawazuddin's character land up on a film set by pure luck. The fact that inspite of unfulfilled dreams and unrealized ambitions, he doesn't lose hope and tries to stay happy, is what makes this film so genuinely upbeat. Sadashiv Amarpukar delivers the best performance of all the 4 films. I am gladly he is finally getting his due!

Zoya Akhtar – Sheila Ki Jawaani

Zoya's story seems autobiographical because of the lovely sibling relationship portrayed in this film. This film is about a boy being obsessed with Katrina Kaif and wanting to be just like her! Of course, the father sees this as extremely unusual behaviour and tries to do everything he can to stop his son from cross-dressing. To make things magical, Katrina Kaif appears in a pleasing cameo.

The little boy who is the universe of the film is simply amazing. He goes about his acting duties with a genuine spunk and never misses a beat. Ranvir Shorey plays the mortified father. And what a brilliant performance by this very talented actor! The girl who plays the sister is very good and the sibling chemistry between the two kids is something to behold. This year has seen very good performances by child actors (Ek Thi Daayan mainly) and the two kids here do even better.

Anurag Kashyap – Murabba

Anurag Kashyap's involvement with Bombay Talkies got the other 3 directors on board. This story is partly autobiographical, as he traces the story of a man who comes to Mumbai from Allahabad just to meet Amitabh Bachchan. This was his father's last wish. This film tells the story of this man's struggles to meet Amitabh Bachchan when he finally arrives in Mumbai. It's filled with humorous anectodes and you root for him to meet the BIG B!

Vineet Singh gets the nuances just right and plays an Allahabadi with the correct tone throughout. Anurag needs to be given a pat on the back for entrusting the film on Vineet's capable shoulders. Vineet's presence makes the film so much better than the wafer thin story had you believe. Amitabh Bachchan makes a guest appearance and it's highly satisfying.

Conclusion: Catch this film because the 4 stories take you into their respective worlds, and they make you laugh, chuckle, ache, cry, anguish. This film shows how far India Cinema has come in these 100 years. It makes you and the Indian Film Industry proud. Behold as the magic unfolds on screen. Don't miss this film at any cost!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Bombay Talkies Review by Zayden

Posted: 10 years ago
am watching this movie today at 0800m so excited😃 am hearing rave reviews and it seems KJo's and Dibakra's story really stand out 😃

am so happy for Rani as people are even prasing her acting so glad she is choosing her roles wisely ,am also excited to watch Saqib and Nawwab 😃
Posted: 10 years ago

'Bombay Talkies' review: A realistic filmy saga!

 
Last Updated: Friday, May 03, 2013, 17:58
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'Bombay Talkies' review: A realistic <i>filmy</i> saga!Gayatri Sankar

"Akkad bakkad bambe bo Assi nabey purey sau/Sau sau baras ka hua Yeh khiladi na budha hua…"

The 'Khiladi' referred to here, is none but Indian Cinema, which was born in 1913. People from the fraternity have had their own ways to pay their odes to the 100 year old institution and have expressed pride to have been associated with the same, some way or the other.

And 'Bombay Talkies' is such a tribute – collectively put together on celluloid by Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. Like many of us would have expected, 'BT' comes across as a unique genre of cinema, something that has perhaps never been seen before. 

Nonetheless, the film does display its own share of glitches and meanders through various moments of agony and ecstasy. Here's running through the four segments:

Karan Johar:

The film opens with a boy (Saqib Saleem) in his early twenties roughing up his father, who disapproves of his sexual orientation. In a bid to free himself from the clutches of societal norms, he breaks away from his family to earn his own livelihood. He works as an intern under Rani Mukerji, who is always at her sensuous best. She is married to a political analyst (Randeep Hooda) and shares a somewhat sombre marital relationship.

With this segment, Karan Johar has proved his mettle as a filmmaker. Unlike his other "commercial" and over-the-top ventures, 'Bombay Talkies' comes across as an excellent piece of art that revolves round the intricacies of complex relationships. 

The track 'Ajeeb Dastaan Hain Yeh' and 'Lag Ja Gale' from classic Hindi films have been used as metaphors in this segment, and they talk volumes about the emotional connect between a song and its listener.

Kudos to KJo for pulling off a fine show along with actors par excellence- Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda and the very fresh Saqib Saleem. The dialogues are witty and very natural and so are the performances.

Dibakar Banerjee:

Those aspiring to be actors will certainly understand what an acting ka keeda can do to them. Powerhouse of talent, Nawazuddin Siddique, yet again proves that he is born to do nothing but act. Such is the aura of a man who is way beyond the conventional definition of a Bollywood star. A failed actor but a self-proclaimed "businessman", Nawazuddin strives hard to find a job. His wife, daughter, his pet emu and a mediocre neighbourhood is what he has to call his own. And the segment unfolds all what an emotionally charged man can do to bring about a smile on the faces of his loved ones.

Dibakar and Nawazuddin make a deadly duo. They ought to make more films together to make the most of their profound talents. This part of the film throws light on the complexity that a man nurses in his heart, which stands in sharp contrast to practicality. 

Zoya Akhtar:

Zoya Akhtar's segment in 'Bombay Talkies' emphasises the need to believe in your dreams and do what your heart earnestly wishes for. Ranvir Shorey plays a strict father to a daughter and a son Vicky (Naman Jain). A concerned and a disciplinarian father that he is, Shorey wants his son to take up conventional recreation activities meant for boys. But Vicky dreams of becoming a dancer, and the one who inspires him to pursue his dream is Katrina Kaif. His virtual connect with his fairy-actress gives him the much needed courage to do what he wants to do- dance.

Zoya has done a commendable job and has been able to strike a deal with the virtual space a person travels in. 

Naman is a gifted child and has shown great maturity in portraying a character like that of Vicky. The child star deserves a loud, thunderous applause.

Anurag Kashyap:

Do you know who a diehard fan is? If you don't know, you may have a rendezvous with Vijay (Vineet Kumar), who travels miles to ask megastar Amitabh Bachchan to grab half a bit of a murabba made by his mother. And he does so, to fulfil his ailing father's wish! But is it so easy to even catch a glimpse of a superstar? This segment is all about a man's manic journey from his hometown to Bachchan's abode in Mumbai and his ultimate wish- to make the legendary actor taste his murabba.

Anurag Kashyap unfolds the aura created by the sheer stardom of Amitabh Bachchan and the virtual relationship that diehard fans of his share with him. Kashyap is popular for producing realistic cinema and has succeeded yet again.

Vineet as Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan's popular screen name) puts up an incredible performance. 

All the four segments of the film are diverse in nature. Yet, there are certain junctures that could have been smoother and clearer. Though the film projects complex lives from different walks of life, it somewhere falls short of striking a deep emotional chord. However, the intense impact of cinema on the lives of people has been established with utmost perfection.

Rating: 
12345

Posted: 10 years ago
i just came back after watching the movie and boy oh boy was i  impressed ,firstly must tell u that i absolutely luv the concept of short stories as they get over fast and dont stretch unnecessarily.

i personally liked 3 stories Karan,dibakar and even zoya😃

1]Kjo's story was a real shocker ,never expected Kjo to make such a movie ,an awesome story and that song ajeeb dastan👏truly wonderful singing and it fitted the story so well .for the performances Saqib like all said was a real scene stealer that gy will go places ,right from his angst with him being gay to his scenes with father and Rani and randeep were truly commendable👍🏼 he luks good 2 which is an added bonus 😛

Randeep was very restrained and did not have much dialogues ,however he luked really hot with saqib and their scenes had better chemistry   and that kiss was very well shot 😃

am so glad Rani was given this role ,its tailor made for her ,she luked hot sexy sensous and those sarees manish truly knows how to make rani luk good ,her scenes with saiqb were really good and they shared awesome chemistry but i think she just outdid herself in the last scene when she knows her husband is gay 👍🏼u get to see a very different rani and a performance which not many directors have extracted from her ,Rani truly redeems herself after talaash


diabakrs story was good however i liked only the part where the shooting takes place other than that Nawab siddiqui is the new irfan khan ,his dialogues had the maximum laughs as well as seetis 👏


Zoya story was cute and that kid and his sister plated their part well ,although katrina coming in a fairy was a bit funny

all in all a good a stories and awesome paisa vasool


Posted: 10 years ago
For love of the movies

Bombay Talkies

Rating: 3.5

May 03, 2013

Cast: Rani Mukherjee, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Naman Jain, Ranvir Shorey, Vineet Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan

Dirs: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar & Anurag Kashyap

Two men shift nervously, seldom making eye contact, as they listen to a beggar girl at a railway station footbridge singing an old Lata Mangeshkar gem whose words seem to have particular significance in their unlikely situation. A father, determined to enthrall his bored daughter, narrates a story in mime, his energy palpable, his excitement contagious. A little boy, attired in his sister's dress and his mother's make-up and heels, shakes his hips to the beats of a popular dance number, blissfully nave to the likely reaction of his family. And a young out-of-towner is reduced to tears as he pleads earnestly to the security guards manning the gates of a superstar's home for one meeting with the legend. It's these images that linger in your mind long after you've watched Bombay Talkies, a charming omnibus of four short films that celebrate the centenary year of Indian cinema.

The stories, each roughly thirty minutes in duration, have no common link, except for a shared love and celebration of the movies. In Karan Johar's film, Rani Mukherjee and Randeep Hooda are an urban couple in a passionless marriage. A friendship with the new intern at her workplace (Saqib Saleem) leads to a disturbing revelation about Rani's relationship with her distant husband. Uncharacteristically mature for a film by Johar, and bristling with uncomfortable honesty, this story benefits from solid acting, sharp dialogue, and the fitting use of two evergreen music numbers. Despite its predictable resolution, the film is deeply affecting.

Dibakar Banerjee's film, based on a short story by Satyajit Ray, stars the terrific Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a one-time theatre actor and failed entrepreneur seeking a job – any job – in an unforgiving city. When he strays into a film shoot one day and lands a bit part, he has a life-changing epiphany. Banerjee's film subtly weaves in the magic of cinema and the dedication of an artiste, while setting the story in the ordinariness of everyday life. The director's strength is in capturing real moments and it's accentuated in this achingly beautiful narrative.

In Zoya Akhtar's story, a little boy (Naman Jain) finds his true calling in a darkened cinema hall, when he watches Katrina Kaif gyrate to Sheila ki jawaani. It's his indefinable connection to the actress that helps the boy understand that it's okay to chase his dream, however strange it may seem to everyone around him. Through this sweet story, Akhtar also extracts touching performances from the kid and his older sister.

Anurag Kashyap's ode to a cinematic legend ties up this omnibus neatly. His film is centered on a youth from Allahabad, Vijay (Vineet Kumar), seeking an audience with Amitabh Bachchan, determined to make the star taste his mother's murabba in a jar that he cradles carefully over days. Vijay camps outside Bachchan's house, just so he can fulfill his father's outlandish dream. Kashyap blends extraordinary comic touches with pathos, showing the love, the devotion reserved for a cinematic idol. And yet, here again, life plays an even bigger role than cinema, as seen in the film's interesting end.

You may have a favorite amongst the four stories, because yes, this is cinema, and it touches different chords in different individuals. But there's no denying that Bombay Talkies is a breath of fresh air – a wonderful gift to audiences on the 100th birthday of Indian cinema. I'm going with three and half out of five for Bombay Talkies. Through four consummate storytellers, we're reminded just how much the movies mean to us.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

Posted: 10 years ago

Bombay Talkies

54
Each story is smartly-scripted, well-acted and superbly-paced

Bollywood hasn't given us a film anthology to be proud of, thus far. A few segments of I Am, Darna Mana Hai, its sequel Darna Zaroori Hai and Dus Kahaaniyan had meat, but neither film worked well as a package deal. Bombay Talkies gives us something to cheer about, its set of four films tautly constructed and well-told and tackling the same dual themes – the city of Bombay, and its film culture – yet each is different from the other.

Just the idea of four firm-footed contemporary filmmakers coming together on one film is reason to cheer, and Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap make sure their collaborative effort is one helluva movie-watching experience. The directors give each film their all, not letting the limited runtime come in the way of constructing impactful and entertaining narratives, each smartly-scripted, well-acted and superbly-paced.

Of course, one film will always seem better than the other and Bombay Talkies gives you the opportunity to play favourites. And while each film's a charm, two absolutely stand out. Both, incidentally, come in the first half: Johar's film about a dysfunctional married couple and the outsider in their lives, and Banerjee's about an Average Joe who nurtures deep within the yearning to become an actor.

Johar's film is the perfect start to the series, the mix of humour, drama and romance setting the right tone. Each performance is wonderfully layered: two-film old Saqib Saleem makes a mark among more seasoned actors, Rani Mukherji and Randeep Hooda, both of who nail their characters. The best thing about Johar's film is that it comes together beautifully, with not a shot out of place and not a dialogue unnecessary, the last couple of minutes tying up the various knots tight.

The third film, by Akhtar, is about a young boy who finds himself wanting to be more like "Sheela", the moniker Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif earned after her raunchy item number in Tees Maar Khan. The fourth, by Kashyap, is about a boy from Allahabad who wants to fulfil his father's dying wish: sharing a murabba (sweet jam pickle) with his idol, Amitabh Bachchan.

Akhtar's film takes its time to get off the blocks but when it does it soars, and ends on a high. The relationship between the boy (Naman Jain) and his sister (Khushi Dubey) are among the anthology's more heart-warming moments. Kashyap's is laden with black humour and desi-cool elements that the director's now come to be associated with. Vineet Singh, who played a small part in Gangs of Wasseypur, fits the protagonist's role to a T. It was nice to see Sudhir Pandey, a regular in Hindi films till some years ago and who'd disappeared lately, in the role of Singh's father.

Nothing, though, beats the magic the duo of director Dibakar Banerjee and actor Nawazuddin pack in the twenty or so minutes allotted to them. The film's most memorable moment has Nawazuddin, who's landed the role of an extra on a film set, have an imaginary conversation with the character of a veteran actor (played by the one and only Sadashiv Amrapurkar) about the trials and tribulations that come with being a performing artist. The scene talks about staying true to your craft and approaching art with untiring honesty, both attributes that the film displays sufficiently.

Apart from a terribly put-together and completely disconnected song featuring film stars to bookend the film, Bombay Talkies doesn't strike a single dull note. Highly recommended.

By Aniruddha Guha on April 26 2013 10.12am

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