Posts Tagged ‘imagination’
Big Ben’s here!
Posted on: December 3, 2009
MARK MANUEL Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; December 3, 2009)
“I love India,” said Sir Ben who’s been here quite a few times since Gandhi, “it’s always been a happy experience for me. But this time I’m not here as a tourist, I’ve come as an actor, to work, and it feels tremendously good to be given the kind of lovely welcome I was…” He’s thrilled that people here still identify him with Gandhi. “Isn’t it unusual to be recognised and appreciated by a whole sub-continent,” he asked. “It puts a responsibility on me, it’s a humbling and steadying experience, and I believe this is unique for any actor.” But, yes, along with that, is Sir Ben now concerned how Indian audiences will react to his new character in Teen Patti? “I’m afraid I’ll be booed off screen,” he laughed, pleased at his own joke. Whether he likes it or not, people talk to him about
Gandhi, they ask him if this was his best role. “I was privileged to play Gandhi,” Sir Ben admitted, “but I’ve done 60 films since then, and I’m equally proud of all of them. I understand people here have seen about five of my films, and if they like Gandhi best — fair enough, but that’s not all my work. I’ve also done films like Sexy Beast, Fifty Dead Men Walking and Elegy in which I play extremely different people. The range I’ve been offered in my films is extraordinary, the variety is my joy, my new dream now is to play Emperor Shah Jehan in Taj Mahal, a film which I see as a struggle for love… rather than a straightforward love story. I hope to raise finance for it and begin shooting in autumn 2010.”
He talked about Teen Patti, a film he was excited about even when he read the script, and for which he shot in a private casino in London and at the St. John’s College, Cambridge University. The film is described as being an emotionally-rivetting and razor-sharp thriller about greed, deception and giant feelings of imagination. “It was a sweet ride,” Sir Ben explained, “of a storyteller, a listener, a forgiver… I’m not quite an outsider in the film, more like an observer. I’ve used my screen time skillfully to act as a constant thread through the film.” He has no Hindi dialogue in the film, which is fortunate, because Sir Ben knows no Hindi. But he knew of Amitabh Bachchan even before he met the great actor.
“He’s very hard working, charming, and a lovely actor,” Sir Ben said of Bachchan, “but what I liked best is that he’s vulnerable… I mean vulnerable in a good way, he’s not closed off, he doesn’t live within the walls of his own ego.” Ambika Hinduja, who is industrialist Ashok Hinduja’s filmmaking daughter, described Sir Ben as being very friendly and down-toearth. “He was patient and calm, a nice person, absolutely professional, and he thought our Indian crew worked four times as hard as any Hollywood crew,” revealed Ambika. “On the sets, everybody addressed him as Sir Ben, including Mr. Bachchan. But in the credits of the film, he wanted to be known simply as Ben Kingsley.”
By Taran Adarsh, November 13, 2009 – 10:01 IST
Every kid imagines what it would be like to be an adult. He wishes he could grow up quicker. Of course, once he grows up, a small part of him wishes he could go back to his childhood days. Quite an irony, isn’t it?
There’s a line in AAO WISH KAREIN that goes, ‘If you want to be a part of a fairy tale, it’s important that you believe in it [fairy tale].’ The statement is applicable for everyone desirous of watching AAO WISH KAREIN.
| BY BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM |
In terms of concept, AAO WISH KAREIN bears a striking resemblance to the Tom Hanks starrer BIG [1988]. A decade-and-a-half ago, the Salman Khan – Sridevi starrer CHANDRAMUKHI also tackled a similar theme. In that respect, the concept isn’t alien at all.
It’s not sacrilegious if a film bears an uncanny resemblance to another film [it could be a coincidence], but films like these need to be well-structured and most importantly, supported by incredible actors who can make you believe in fairy tales. Also, the makers ought to take a stand at the very outset: Should it be targeted at kids or youth? You just cannot sit on the fence. In this case, you don’t know if AAO WISH KAREIN is aimed at the kids or is it a breezy romantic flick, targeted at the youth.
All said, AAO WISH KAREIN has some endearing moments, but not enough to salvage it.
12-year-old Mickey’s life was almost like a fairy tale: A beautiful family, best buddy Bonnie and his angel on earth – Mitika [Aamna Sharif]. One fateful day, Mickey’s fairy tale is shattered into a million pieces. He realizes he’s an adopted child and his 23-year-old angel Mitika too calls him a kid. A heart-broken Mickey sits all by himself until Hitchcock [Johny Lever] appears.
Mickey hopes for a miracle to happen. He wishes to become big. To his astonishment, he wakes up next morning and realizes that his wish has been granted. He has indeed turned big. But was this miracle a blessing or a curse in disguise?
The choice of the subject is perfect. But there’s an inherent flaw in the story and that is, the 12-year-old kid seems to be in love with the pretty woman, but the moment his wish his granted and he transforms into a grown up man overnight, he continues to behave like a kid. Romance, therefore, just doesn’t exist and even if it does, it’s far from exciting.
Ideally, the writing would’ve worked had the kid-turned-grown up behaved like a grown up.
The culmination to the story is well penned, but, again, it might not work in entirety. The writers could’ve run their imagination wild, given the fact that they were writing a fairy tale, instead of taking the safe route here.
Director Glen Barretto has handled a few individualistic scenes well, especially the ones between Aftab and Johny Lever. Music is soothing to the ears, but the non-promotion or lack of popularity will make the effort go unnoticed. At the same time, there are too many songs in the second hour, which weren’t required frankly. Keshav Prakash’s cinematography is top notch. The locales of Himachal Pradesh and Goa are well captured on celluloid by the DoP.
Aftab pitches in a sincere performance. He looks the character. Aamna is easy on the eyes, although the role doesn’t demand histrionics. Johny Lever is first-rate. Rati Agnihotri is good. Yatin Karyekar is alright. The kids are full of energy. Riteish Deshmukh makes a brief appearance towards the end.
On the whole, AAO WISH KAREIN is engaging in parts, but how one wishes the film would grab your attention in entirety. The wish of striking a chord and hence, succeeding at the box-office won’t come true for this reason.
We all, in our childhood, had made a list of careers that we want to pursue when we grow up. But once we enter college, there comes a change in our mindset. We suddenly don’t feel like growing up. We shudder to think of our future when we would only be working with very little time for leisure and friends/family (I am passing through this phrase currently!). Some may claim that they never had such a feeling and that they were ambitious right from the beginning. But the truth is, everyone had gone or will go through this anxiety and even fear at some point of their academic life. Wake Up Sid deals with such similar issues. Although the protagonist is projected as highly lazy, almost everyone will be able to identify with him. This and the wonderful execution by debutant Ayan Mukerji makes Wake Up Sid one of the finest films to come out this year!
The story of the movie: Sidharth Mehra aka Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) is a lazy and non-ambitious youth who has just attempted his final year college exams. His life revolves around his friends, Rishi (Namit Das) and Laxmi (Shikha Talsania) and he loves hanging out with them. Sid’s mother (Supriya Pathak) loves him a lot but he doesn’t reciprocate. His dad (Anupam Kher) manages a big business and wants his son to take some responsibilities on his head. He tries but his efforts are futile. At this point, Sid comes across Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), an aspiring writer from Kolkata. Sid and Aisha are as different as chalk and cheese (Ayesha is even older than Sid) but still both of them become good friends. Sid even gives Aisha the much needed help in settling in Mumbai. Soon, Sid’s final year exam results come out and his world turns upside down.
Wake Up Sid is very different and that is evident at several points. The film is completely original and tries to be interesting as well as not to fall into any stereotype. For instance, our Hindi films have got a habit of projecting ‘aamir baap ka bigda beta’ as lazy, irresponsible, arrogant and hot-tempered. But, Sid in Wake Up Sid is shown only as lazy and careless. He is not arrogant; in fact, he’s well-mannered and very sweet and cute!
One gets hooked to the film from the first frame. Note the scene where Sid is in the exam hall, dazed and confused, and his imagination goes wild! Ayan Mukerji’s creativity is exposed fully in that very scene! The wonderful entry of Konkona Sen Sharma and her first interaction with Ranbir takes the film to dizzying heights. The best scene of the film-Konkona’s birthday, will surely bring a smile on everyone’s faces!
The intermission point was explosive. The 2nd half tends to get a little slow but frankly speaking, one doesn’t mind as one enjoys the goings-on thoroughly. You get so involved in Sid’s gradual transformation from a good for nothing guy to a responsible youth that you care a damn about the duration! Also, Ranbir-Konkona’s relationship is very cute and will be loved by everyone! Who says Ranbir-Konkona pairing is a mismatch?
Most importantly, one learns a lot of lessons from the film. The best teaching from the film-let one decide which path he/she wants to choose. Everyone has different capabilities and likes. Many just hate the 9 to 5 job. In such times, one should be allowed to flourish and grow as he/she likes.
The film gets dragging in the last 15 minutes but again, one doesn’t mind as it’s very well executed. One comes out of the theatre feeling refreshed and satisfied!
The film rests on the rock-solid performance of Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma. Ranbir was outstanding in my opinion in Bachna Ae Haseeno and in Wake Up Sid, he comes up with another amazing performance. He has put a lot of effort in the film and it is evident at several points in the film. Here’s an actor who deserves to be a superstar as soon as possible! He’s expected to give equally fabulous performances in the forthcoming Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Rajneeti! Watch out!
As expected, Konkona Sen Sharma does a splendid job. She was absolutely natural and completely in character. Also, she looked stunning throughout the film. It’s really great to see such an effortless actress being showered with awards, accolades and acclaim! She completely deserves it, after all! Keep rocking Konkona!
Surpriya Pathak was funny at times but overall impresses a lot. Anupam Kher was consistent. Namit Das and Shikha Talsania were wonderful in their respective parts. Rahul Khanna, like everytime, was charming but why did he played two similar roles in two films? In Love Aaj Kal, Deepika worked under him and she got floored by him. In Wake Up Sid, a similar situation arises between him and Konkona. Actors like Rahul Khanna deserve to get better roles! Kashmera Shah didn’t have much to do. The girl who played Tanya also was wasted. Others were good.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music was brilliant and their every song impresses. The title song and ‘Kya Karoon’ were rocking compositions. Amit Trivedi has composed the song ‘Iktara’ which is the best song of the lot. You’ll love the song more after watching the film! Trivedi’s background score was in sync with the light mood of the film.
Anil Mehta’s cinematography was superb. Notice how the scenes turn shaky during confronting scenes! Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues were casual and something which we hear or speak in our day to day lives.
Amrita Mahal Nakai’s production designs was highly impressive. The sets were just outstanding. Konkona’s workplace was so cool and uber. Man, work would be so much fun if offices had such rocking interiors! Even Konkona’s house seemed so cute, even though it wasn’t huge. Great job by Amrita!
Special mention should be made of Karan Johar, who understood the importance of this film and decided to produce it. Really nice of him to give a chance to promising youngsters and guiding them! Great job!
Ayan Mukerji comes out as a winner! He wrote the story, screenplay and also directed the film and excelled in all three! The film is extremely simple and doesn’t turn out to be full of rona-dhona or melodramatic. Most importantly, Ayan keeps the mood of the film realistic. The characters in the film are believable and straight out of life and the situations they face seem totally real. In short, a brilliant job by Ayan, who is just 26 years old! Simply fantastic!
Some of the best scenes of the film:
1. Sid in exam hall
2. The song ‘Kya Karoon’, ‘Aaj Kal Zindagi’ and ‘Iktara’
3. Sid and Aisha meeting for the 1st time
4. Sid helping Aisha to decorate her house
5. Sid in his dad’s office
6. Sid with Aisha on her birthday (best scene of the film!)
7. The intermission point
8. Sid clicking pics of everything under the sun
9. Sid and her mom looking at his childhood pics
10. The last 20 minutes of the film
On the whole, Wake Up Sid is simply a well-made film in all respects. It is simple, sweet and extremely relatable with great direction, extra ordinary performances and melodious music. A must for all youngsters and for all those who crave for good cinema! Go for it!
My rating-**** out of 5!
This post first appeared on MouthShut.com: http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Wake_Up_Sid-176496-1.html
Fenil and Bollywood 