[Blog] Recensione di Paan Singh Tomar (2012), film che si è candidato a diventare uno dei più importanti dell'anno. Diretto da Tigmanshu Dhulia, con Irrfan Khan e Mahi Gill.
5 agosto 2012
Melbourne International Film Festival 2012
L'edizione 2012 del Melbourne International Film Festival si svolge dal 2 al 19 agosto. I titoli indiani in cartellone sono Gangs of Wasseypur e Miss Lovely.
Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1990s
Vi segnalo l'articolo Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1990s, di Rajiv Vijayakar, pubblicato da Bollywood Hungama il 26 luglio 2012. Finalmente incontriamo nomi di attori e registi in attività ancora oggi, ma soprattutto incappiamo in uno dei titoli leggendari della storia del cinema hindi: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Inutile precisare che la pellicola è campione d'incassi del decennio, oltre ad aver infranto ogni record al mondo di programmazione (ha ormai celebrato le 800 settimane - avete letto bene). La coppia Kajol-Shah Rukh Khan conquista il pubblico indiano anche con Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (campione d'incassi nel 1998). Il trio regale dei Khan - Aamir (Dil e Raja Hindustani, campioni d'incassi nel 1990 e nel 1996), Salman (da protagonista in Saajan e Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, campioni d'incassi nel 1991 e nel 1994) e Shah Rukh (DDLJ e KKHH) - si accinge a regnare su Bollywood. I registi (e sceneggiatori) Aditya Chopra e Karan Johan debuttano e incendiano il botteghino con DDLJ e KKHH. Particolarità: il campione d'incassi nel 1997 è Border, considerato ancora oggi uno dei migliori film di guerra in lingua hindi. L'articolo non li cita, ma vorrei ricordare:
- Rangeela (1995), clamoroso esordio a Mumbai del vulcanico regista Ram Gopal Varma, proveniente dall'industria telugu, e del geniale compositore tamil A.R. Rahman;
- la splendida Aishwarya Rai debutta su grande schermo nel 1997 con Iruvar (tamil), diretto dal mitico Mani Ratnam.
'The Top Guns
It was a clear-cut triumph for Yash Chopra's 1995 Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge directed by his son and directorial first-timer Aditya Chopra, in this decade. The closest film that came to it was the 1994 Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! directed by Sooraj Barjatya. The other eight toppers were
1990: Dil, a love story directed by Indra Kumar
1991: Saajan, a love triangle directed by Lawrence D'Souza
1992: Beta, a family drama directed by Indra Kumar
1993: Aankhen, a crime caper directed by David Dhawan
[1994: Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!
1995: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge]
1996: Raja Hindustani, a love story directed by Dharmesh Darshan
1997: Border, a partly dramatized real war story directed by J.P. Dutta
1998: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, a love story marking the debut of Karan Johar and
1999: Biwi No. 1, a rom-com-cum-melodrama on infidelity directed by David Dhawan.
The derivative angle, however, increased a bit, and we are not talking just about the South remakes Dil, Beta and Biwi No. 1. Aankhen mingled elements of (...) Do Phool [1973], Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (HAHK) was a skilful reinvention of the (...) '80s flop Nadiya Ke Paar and Raja Hindustani was a rehash of Jab Jab Phool Khile. Border, refreshingly, was a dramatized version of the battle for Longowal during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and it became the first-ever Indian war film to mention Pakistan as the enemy. It is still considered the best Indian war film ever along with Chetan Anand's 1965 Haqeeqat.
Whizkid directors
With the media proliferating and various major changes happening, the decade became known as that of the whizkid directors - let us not forget that only 10 days of the 50-week run of Sooraj Barjatya's 1989 Maine Pyar Kiya happened in the '80s because of its late December release. When Sooraj's new film Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'s quantum of success made Maine Pyar Kiya look like an average grosser (it ran for 150 weeks), and a year later Aditya Chopra came up with what is known India's longest-running film (now in matinee shows past the 800th week!!), the stage was set for directors to become brands as big as, if not bigger than, stars. Both these whizkids came from well-known film industry families and the hat-trick was completed by a third film industry scion, Karan Johar in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Interesting all top directors in the '90s with the exception of Lawrence D'Souza (Indra Kumar and David Dhawan bagged two films each) had at least one relative already established in the film industry. Kumar and Dhawan were brothers of actors Aruna Irani and Anil Dhawan, the '70s star. Dharmesh Darshan was the son of filmmaker Darshan [Sabharwal], while J.P. Dutta was the son of writer-director O.P. Dutta, who wrote the dialogues of his film Border. D'Souza, however, was himself known as a gifted cinematographer before Saajan, his second directorial effort.
The Barjatyas as a clan, however, taught a thing or two about marketing to the industry. HAHK was the first film whose Home Video rights were withheld for six months or so after the film's release. This boosted the theatrical revenue. DDLJ started the Punjabi-ization of Hindi films, showcasing the culture in so alluring a light that from music to characters and lyrics to dialogues and locations, Punjab has dominated post-1995 cinema in a far bigger manner when Punjabi filmmakers and actors had been holding sway for decades!
HAHK and DDLJ also opened up the overseas territory for Hindi cinema as never before, and DDLJ made overseas shooting endemic. Soon, NRIs (non-resident Indians), especially stationed in Europe and USA, were the protagonists of rooted Indian stories. While Aditya openly admitted to inspiration from Sooraj, the fact remained that the Indian wedding became a huge cinematic attraction. More importantly, HAHK and DDLJ conclusively proved that a simple story could be made into a terrific film just by the lethal combo of a great director, super music (and lots of it!!), attractive stars and above all - that true hero of a film - the perfect screenplay where the three vital Quotients of Entertainment, Emotional and Intelligence were mixed in perfect proportions! Sooraj and Aditya themselves wrote their film scripts and soon big-name directors began to prefer writing or co-writing their own scripts, a trend that continues even today. (...)
Star breakthroughs
Star breakthroughs happened too. Aamir Khan got his first outside hit and follow-up to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak with Dil, ditto Salman Khan with Saajan. Kajol's stardom was consolidated with DDLJ, (...) and Rani Mukherjee and Sushmita Sen got their careers on track with, respectively, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Biwi No. 1. DDLJ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai consolidated SRK and Kajol as the new magic pair of the '90s. The two had a flop free tally with two other blockbusters, Baazigar (1993) and Karan Arjun (1995), which was the first runner-up to DDLJ that year. Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit also came up with two winners - Saajan and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor came up with Beta four years after the '88 topper Tezaab. Individually, Dixit was the uncrowned Queen Bee with Dil, Saajan, Beta in a hat-trick and HAHK. Karisma Kapoor (Raja Hindustani, Biwi No. 1) and Kajol (DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) had two films each. Tabu had Border and Biwi No. 1. Salman Khan managed four films (Saajan, HAHK, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Biwi No. 1) and Aamir Khan (Dil, Raja Hindustani) two. The ruling Khan troika had made its impact, but no one knew that they would rule for more than a decade after the '90s too. Anil managed he solo Beta and the multi-hero Biwi No. 1. (...)
The runners-up
The runners-up showed a trend away from action and crime for most of the decade. 1990's second biggest hit was Ghayal, 1991 had Phool Aur Kaante, 1992 had Deewana, a violence-studded love triangle, 1993 saw Khal Nayak, 1994 had Krantiveer, 1995 had Karan Arjun and 1996 had Agni Sakshi. It was only in 1997 that Dil To Pagal Hai lost to Border, 1998 saw a rom-com Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha in second place, while 1999 saw Hum Saath-Saath Hain, as much a melodrama as Biwi No. 1 with four lead stars (Salman, Saif, Karisma and Tabu) (...) in common!
Mixed melody
Hit music rather than excellent melodies got bigger importance, despite (...) Jatin-Lalit's brilliant DDLJ and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. (...) The tendency seemed to be more towards a single chartbuster that sold the album, like (...) 'Pardesi Pardesi' from Nadeem-Shravan's Raja Hindustani. (...) Sony Music entered the Hindi film scene with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.
Vedi anche Numero Unos - A survey of the top hit films: 1950s. Il testo raccoglie i link a tutti gli articoli della serie.
Children's genre in television
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| Little Krishna |
Il 21 luglio 2012 Box Office India ha pubblicato un interessante articolo dedicato ai programmi televisivi per ragazzi e alle loro potenzialità pubblicitarie. Nel 2011 il 18,3% del pubblico televisivo fra i 4 e i 14 anni ha seguito questo genere di programmi. In totale 48 milioni di spettatori, il cui 85% preferisce i cartoni animati. La lingua è nel 76% dei casi l'inglese, ma sta crescendo a vista d'occhio la domanda per programmi in hindi e in altre lingue indiane. In particolare, i programmi per ragazzi in tamil sono seguiti più dei programmi informativi. L'offerta è suddivisa fra quattordici canali. Sun TV Network nel 2007 aveva lanciato Chutti TV, un canale per ragazzi in tamil; nel 2009 Kushi TV in telugu e Chintu TV in kannada; nel 2011 Kochu TV in malayalam. Nel 2011 Maa TV Network ha lanciato il suo primo canale per ragazzi, Maa Junior, in telugu. Sempre nel 2011, Cartoon TV e Pogo hanno trasmesso 25 mila episodi di programmi d'animazione. Nel 2012 Discovery Kids ha inaugurato le sue trasmissioni, e si propone di soddisfare anche le richieste locali. I ragazzi oggi godono di un accesso sempre maggiore alla rete, quindi cresce l'interazione. I canali per ragazzi hanno creato siti internet appositi e profili nei social network. Ovviamente questi canali devono offrire contenuti anche per adulti, dal momento che il 66% dei genitori guarda la televisione con i figli. E il 20% del pubblico che guarda canali per ragazzi è di età compresa fra i 25 e i 44 anni. La pubblicità si adegua: nel 2011 il 35-40% degli spot su Cartoon Network e Pogo era relativo a prodotti per adulti.
Le prime dell'8 agosto 2012: Gangs of Wasseypur II
L'India è in fibrillazione: la seconda parte di Gangs of Wasseypur, il film fenomeno del 2012, viene finalmente distribuita nelle sale. Vi segnalo i video dei brani Chhi Chha Ledar (interpretato dalla dodicenne Durga - un nome, un programma), Electric Piya e Kaala Rey. Il trailer è a dir poco magnifico. Cosa aggiungere? Peccato non essere a Mumbai.
Aggiornamento del 12 agosto 2012 - Vi segnalo di seguito alcune recensioni:
- The Times of India, 10 agosto 2012, ****: 'This time it's double the dollops of gore; two much. Booming guns and metal-shredded innards spilling gut onto the streets. More revenge and rage. More gangs and more bangs (...) and more man-power. With every shade of red, black and grey - deeper and bolder. (...) Anurag Kashyap's culmination to this gang-saga is as bloody as the first (if not more); yet it's an easier watch. The story is astutely interspersed with bursts of music (Bihari folkish tunes with a modern twist), humour (crass and rural), high drama and sudden relief - like a sexual climaxing. Even with a high quotient of brutal violence and moral assassination, Kashyap keeps his sense of humour (mostly black) intact, and entertains. With characters named 'Perpendicular', 'Definite', (...) 'Tangent' - he truly defies all tiresomely tried-and-tested formulas of filmmaking in Bollywood with his 'big bang-bang theory'. Though in spurts, it unleashes scenes that make you crack up, in true Bollywood style humour. (...) Nawazuddin Siddiqui spells doom, is devious and highly-dramatic - yet you take to his character almost instantly. He brilliantly blazes through this role, from being as strong or as shallow as his character demands. (...) With excellent performances, a screenplay that's strung together beautifully (....) a revenge story that touches a dramatic crescendo and music that plays out perfectly in sync with tragic twists of tale - GOW II is an interesting watch, for the brave-hearted. Like the first part, the movie slows down at times (with pointless pistols, hordes of characters and wasted sub-plots); the length needs to be shot down desperately. But otherwise, it's revenge on a platter - served cold (heartedly) and definitely worth a 'second' helping'.
- Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama, 7 agosto 2012, ****: 'Murky, menacing and petrifying and yet witty, GOW II is one intriguing expedition that's several notches above the foremost part. Strengthened by exhilarating acts and stimulating plot dynamics, this is a transfixing motion picture that confiscates your complete concentration. In fact, this cartridge-ridden chronicle is immensely praiseworthy and commendable for a multiple viewing, only to grasp all its fine characteristics to the optimum. (...) On the facade, GOW II is a vengeance story. (...) Scrape that exterior and you'll notice more than that. The writing is unrestrained and imaginative. In fact, in terms of its screenplay, there is not a single scene in the film that leaves you with a sense of deja vu. (...) On the whole, GOW II is an Anurag Kashyap show all through and without an iota of doubt, can easily be listed as one amongst his paramount works. An engaging movie with several bravura moments. Watch it for its absolute cinematic brilliancy!'.
- Raja Sen, Rediff, 8 agosto 2012, *** 1/2: 'Kashyap, in pulling out all the stops, seems content here to let his madcap characters actually enjoy themselves a great deal, making for a far sillier - and decidedly more joyous - cinematic universe. (...) Kashyap's visual flair has just grown with each film, and this one is not just cinematically self-assured but also highly nuanced'.
- Tehelka, ***: 'Like the precocious child too aware of being cute, GOW is ultimately irritating. It’s not the cuteness or the precociousness that is the problem, it’s the awareness. Anurag Kashyap is a canny filmmaker. He knows what audiences will respond to, but he is so pleased with this knowledge that he can’t resist yet another slowmotion sequence, yet another film reference, yet another spray of too vivid blood, yet another character with yet another defining tic. (...) Sneha Khanwalkar’s unquestionably cool soundtrack is so overused, it punctuates the film like a giddy schoolgirl might punctuate a text message or tweet: “OMG!!!!! GoW ROCKS!! 2 gud!!! Nawazuddin is SOOO CUUTTEE!!!!” There are so many exclamation points, you long for the restraint of the full stop, the courtesy of the comma. (...) As with GOW I, GOW II careens from scene to scene like a drunk driver between lanes, the tone at once portentous, bawdy, abrasive, comic, earnest: the film amounts to much less than the sum of its often violent, often tender, often funny, often spectacular parts'.
- Mayank Shekhar, 8 agosto 2012: 'Few actors in recent years have managed to morph into characters the way Nawazuddin (Siddiqui) has. His everyman looks and incredible command over his demeanour helps him achieve a level of transition that makes every other leading man you’ve met at the movies this year seem like monkeys - imitations, either of others, or their own selves. You’re equally stunned by the casting (...) for the rest of the film. Each piece, right down to the toothy thanedar, fits in brilliantly across a saga phenomenally mined by (the) story writer. (...) Over the past few years, the kind of talents Anurag Kashyap has managed to attract and inspire as both producer and director makes him India’s top film school of his own. He’s rightly the fan-boy’s ultimate filmmaker. Director Ram Gopal Varma used to play this role before. This is doubtlessly Kashyap’s best work yet. (...) The director is interested in detail, whether in the step-by-step procedure of murder on the street, or booth-capturing, or sweetly mulling over seductive moments. He’s clearly mastered the pop-corn art of sensational killings and colourful dialogue. The reason you prefer this sequel to the first installment, besides it being more contemporary is, well, this is where the beginning ties up with the end. You get a full sense of the film’s ambitions. You leave the theatre feeling satiated, slightly rejuvenated, but mostly heavy in the head. You realise the picture might have hit you with a rod. Clearly that was the intention'.
- Sarit Ray, Hindustan Times, 10 agosto 2012: 'GOW II is less like a movie sequel, more like the season finale of an ongoing (and admittedly, engaging) TV series. (...) In Kashyap’s pulp-fiction version of the Jharkhand mafia wars, violence is fundamental. It’s graphic, easy and often without deliberation. The gravity of death is replaced by an ironical matter-of-factness: the cries of mourning are drowned out by the cheap noise of a brass band. Cinematic realism pervades, not only in the film, but in the minds of its characters. (...) The movie plays out amid political and financial machinations - illegal scrap metal trading, election rigging - not unheard of in Jharkhand. Yet, it would be a mistake to judge Wasseypur for factual correctness. Kashyap shows familiarity with this world in his attention to detail - the typical Hindi accents, the Ray Ban shades, the pager. But they enhance the flavour rather than the facts. Wasseypur is as much a celebration of small-town India as it is a sinister revenge tragedy. If the subject wasn’t so gory, you’d call it charming'.
Jism 2: recensioni
Erano anni che non mi divertivo così tanto scorrendo recensioni cinematografiche. Temevo commenti moralistici, invece la visione di Jism 2 ha solleticato il lato burlone dei critici indiani. La pellicola di Pooja Bhatt è stata letteralmente demolita con dosi industriali di umorismo. Ed è risaputo: l'ilarità uccide l'erotismo. (Nel film Sunny Leone sfoggia biancheria sexy a mucchi, pure in coda all'ufficio postale, ma tutto lo staff concorda con Caterina: la vera pornostar in Jism 2 è Randeep Hooda. Figo. Supremo).
- Rediff, Sukanya Verma, 3 agosto 2012, * 1/2: '(Sunny Leone) delivers her lines with the concentration of an impassive newsreader rattling off cue cards on the screen. She has the body but not the racy persona required to hit the sensual notes. (...) At best, it's just a blank, expressionless parade of rehearsed intimacy featuring an entire catalogue of seductive poses and salon-polished skin playing against various artists' bland soundtrack, which is better suited for exotic spa or honeymoon package commercials. Hollowness, not audacity, is Jism 2's real problem. (...) Moreover, it's impossible to concentrate on anything except the dialogues, which are so, SO cheesy, it'll split your sides. (...) It's like Sunny Leone's assets are the script, screenplay and sole purpose of Jism 2 and everyone outside that - Hooda, Singh, Zakaria or the audience - is obliged to wag their tongues with thrill'.
- The Film Street Journal, *: 'The good: ? Let’s pass this one. The bad: The film unintentionally changes its genre to comedy because of some atrocious dialogues mouthed by a bunch of freaks who breathe lust. (...) The main problem is that it doesn’t even fit in the official porn category which is supposed to be unpretentious, emotionless and brainless. Jism 2 actually has pretentions of having a brain. Take any scene, any emotion, and Sunny Leone is directed to breathe through it. Yes, breathe heavily for obvious reasons. The only switch in Sunny’s expressions is in the range of her breathing speed. Normally a gifted actor, Randeep Hooda has nothing much to do except to look like a maniac'.
- Mayank Shekhar, 3 agosto 2012: 'The predominantly male audiences at my theatre surely didn’t come to this film for its stars, songs or story-line. (...) Viewers probably walk in for the leading lady and the lovemaking. Several female actors in cinema exist merely to excite a wet dream. In a sexually repressed India, this is a social service of sorts. (...) The only thing they needed to get right with Ms. Leone’s acting is the dubbing. They made sure even that’s off. She sits or stands in every conversation, heavily breathing in and out her silicone implants, nervously twitching her eyebrows. It’s hard to tell what she plays in the movie. (...) This is good enough script for a pornographic pic. By the time you hit the climax, of the film of course, you realise, there was hardly more sex in it than any other skin flick, and you had to sit through two growling naked guys (Arunoday, Randeep) and a psycho boss (Arif Zakaria) instead, babbling over international terrorism. Audiences are known to giggle at uncomfortable sex scenes. They laugh here at the heroes’ serious dialogues, in chaste Urdu, cooking up obscure conspiracy theories. This is the entertainment we deserve'.
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