Lectures

I'm writing and illustrating a cartoon strip called Lectures. This is the first one in the series.

Review - Dhobi Ghat

Poster image sourced from here

Director: Kiran Rao
Cast: Aamir Khan, Monica Dogra, Prateik Babbar, Kriti Malhotra
Rating: 0.5/5

Dhobi Ghat, the much awaited directorial debut of Kiran Rao, is a film that intends to view the city of Bombay through the lives of its protagonists. The film examines the effect of the city on the confluent lives of four characters from different backgrounds.

Characters

Arun
Arun is a successful painter (played by Aamir Khan). He is divorced and his wife and daughter (who never appear in the film) have moved to Australia. Arun is an introvert and plays the 'pensive artist' - something that Aamir Khan attempts to achieve by incessantly scowling and smoking cigarettes. He moves into the former home of Yasmin (one of the other characters), where he finds her undelivered 'video letters' to her brother. Arun plays the brooding enigmatic intellectual. It takes him less than the first ten minutes of the film to get Monica Dogra into bed.

Yasmine
Yasmine is a Muslim girl from Uttar Pradesh (played by Kriti Malhotra) who has come to Bombay after getting married. She is also the previous occupant of Arun's flat. We only see her life through video recordings she makes for her brother (found by Arun). These recordings (video letters) document Yasmine's life, emotions and become the subject of Arun's obsession. Yasmine is innocent, naive, helpless and is the victim of a forced marriage - something that eventually causes her suicide.

Shai
Shai is an investment banker(played by Monica Dogra) based in America. She is on a sabbatical in India. She meets Arun in the beginning of the film. Following a one night stand and a rejection, she grows obsessed with him. Shai is also an aspiring photographer and she spends most of her time taking pictures of the city and (secretly) of Arun. She also becomes the subject of Munna's (Prateik Babbar's character) obsession - whom she befriends in the course of the film in the hope of uncovering information about Arun.

Munna
Zohaib a.k.a Munna, is a Dhobi by day and a rat killer by night. He is also an aspiring actor. Originally from Bihar, he lives in the dhobi ghat, along with his mother and drug-dealing brother - Salim. Munna is both Arun as well as Shai's Dhobi. His acquaintanceship with Arun encourages Shai to befriend him - with whom he falls in love with. However, events through the course of the film make him realize the class difference between him and Shai, forcing him to relinquish the idea of having any sort of future with her.

Dhobi Ghat attempts to depict the city of Bombay through its characters, but all it does is obsess with them instead. This by itself isn't necessarily a flaw. However, Kiran Rao's characters do not do anything even remotely significant, to make us want to watch them. We only know that they're from different backgrounds, because the characters themselves claim so.

Munna, the dhobi from Bihar is familiar with 60s American rock music. His interactions with Shai include watching movies in multiplexes and having drinks on the promenade. Kiran Rao fails to realize that an individual coming from a dhobi background will not blend in with the urbane crowd. When Shai flirts with him, he reads it precisely as flirtation - like a more westernized individual would. From the start of their friendship, Shai looks at Munna longingly, with desire. Considering her encounter with Aamir Khan in the beginning of the film, one would be lead to believe that she is promiscuous. However, there is no romance that occurs between Munna and shai, simply because of his dhobi label. An investment banker from America and a dhobi from Mumbai's dhobi ghat cannot function on the same plain simply because their conflicting backgrounds make them function in completely different ways. They're like apples and oranges. Prateik Babbar's body language and mannerisms are that of an urbane youth. He behaves like an apple, when he's supposed to be an orange. He does not seem the least bit out of place in urban areas such as a multiplex. Moreover, we see Munna indulging in western behaviour such as contemplating holding Shai's hand during a movie - One might argue that the massive influx of western culture into the mainstream could make this possible. However, one s keep in mind that his background makes him an outsider in those surroundings and to perform such an act, one would be required not to be conscious of the happenings around him. To suggest that an individual from the dhobi ghat frequents multiplexes is absurd.

Aamir Khan's character does everything, from painting to scratching his head with the air of a star. He incessantly frowns and tries to appear 'thoughtful'. We see that he is dissatisfied, but we never learn why - as if to say that by default, an artist is always contemplating something of the utmost importance. We never even see these 'important thoughts' materialize into anything - there are no instances where Arun says anything remotely insightful. We only see him haphazardly throwing paint onto a canvas. This is less so because artists generally keep to themselves and more so because Kiran Rao lacks the capacity to script it.

The sub-plot with most promise in the film is Arun's interaction with Yasmine through her video diary. The only significant occurrence in the film is Yasmine's suicide. However, this does not materialize into anything. The fact that Yasmine's video letters to her brother are undelivered is ignored, even after we learn of her suicide. Arun does not make any attempts to deliver the tapes to the brother himself, preventing the story from developing further. All that materializes from Yasmine's suicide, is Arun's new collection of paintings.

Dhobi Ghat has been praised for its camerawork. However, this can only be attributed to the fact that it is unconventional. Yasmine's segments are all shot with a hand-held camera, aching to be called Goddardian. The rest of the film is visually uninteresting, with the camera focusing on the actors, almost completely neglecting Mumbai. Kiran Rao has filmed inside the Dhobi Ghat, but it isn't the Dhobi Ghat that she captures, it's Prateik Babbar pretending to be a dhobi. The films tells us nothing of Mumbai (except for abstractions such as - The air around Marine Drive smells of peoples' desires). Prateik Babbar's character is also a rat killer, but we hardly see him killing any rats. Even instances that have the potential to be visually potent are ruined by the actor-hungry camera, making the film a bland embarrassment.

Memorable Rock Music from 2010 - Part 1

Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest



This was my first Deerhunter album and I was very impressed to say the least. Categorized by several websites as 'Noise Rock', the band describes itself as 'Ambient Punk' and it could easily strike listeners as...well... incoherent(not so much this album, but their previous work). But it is in this 'noise, in this seeming 'chaos' that the band manages to achieve a strong sense of rhythm. This is done, primarily with incredibly prominent, catchy melodies. When coupled with lead singer Bradford Cox's placid voice, the 'chaos' is, in a sense neutralized, producing some very interesting results. A similar pattern can be seen with Baltimore-based Animal Collective's music as well. While their music is very different, the process of cutting through chaos with melody can is clearly evident.



Arcade Fire - The Suburbs



I believe that this album marks the 'arrival' of Arcade Fire. I've listened to their earlier albums - 'Funeral' and 'Neon Bible'. While neither of them had struck me as something extraordinary, both of them had immense potential and it appears that the band has successfully channeled this potential in 'The Suburbs'. Lyrically, the album is semi-autobiographical and captures the band members' experiences of growing up in the suburbs. Vocalist Win Butler has a melancholy manner of singing, which gives the entire album a haunting tone and a distinct character. On certain songs, his wife - Régine Chassagne takes over with a more lively, energetic manner of singing - something that provides stability to the album and makes it 'complete'.



Beach House - Teen Dream



Once again, this was the first Beach House album I listened to. Victoria Legrand's voice is distinct, with a hint of gruffness, while still keeping true to the ambient nature of Shoegazing and Alex Scally's bell-like guitars support her perfectly. The most striking aspect to Beach House's music is the structure of their melody. Legrand's melodies seem deliberately incomplete, in the sense, she suggests a certain melody and does not complete it, leaving room for the listener to...well... fill in the tiny blanks. This, I find particularly remarkable, simply because it works.




The Suburbs cover image sourced from here
Halcyon Digest cover image sourced from here
Teen Dream cover image sourced from here

Review - Black Swan

Poster image taken from here

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
Rating: 2.5/5

Black Swan is a psychological horror film that examines a ballet production and the rivalry between two of its ballet dancers. Directed by Darren Aronofsky ( Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler), the film stars Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis and took ten years to make it to the screen.

The Story

The film examines the mind of Nina (played by Natalie Portman) a dancer in a New York City ballet company. She lives with her overbearing mother - a former ballet dancer - who sacrificed her career to have (and care for) Nina. Nina's mother wants her to have what she couldn't and incessantly pressurizes her daughter to be the best. The fact that she isn't particularly well-to-do only increases the pressure she puts on her daughter. It is this background that predisposes Nina to want to be perfect - something she states over and over again, right till the end of the film.

The company for which Nina dances, decides to put on a performance of the ballet classic - 'Swan Lake', under the supervision of renowned director Thomas Leroy (played by Vincent Cassel).

Swan Lake
The ballet, Swan Lake, is about a beautiful girl who is turned into a white swan by an evil sorcerer - a spell that can only be broken by true love. Her saviour comes in the form of a prince - who falls in love with her. However, before their union can take place, the prince is tricked and seduced by her evil twin - the black swan. The prince falls for the wrong swan. Devastated, the white swan throws herself off a cliff and falls to her death (for a more detailed synopsis, please click here.

The Story (continued)
Thomas Leroy tells the dancers at the company that this production of Swan Lake will be more contemporary and that for this new production, a new lead - a new Swan Queen will be chosen - someone who will play the roles of both the black and the white swan.

Leroy picks Nina as the new swan queen, but hesitantly. He tells her that she is perfect for the role of the delicate white swan, but isn't convinced that she will do justice to the role of the seductive black swan. Nina, now the new swan queen, replaces the old one- Beth Macintyre (played by Winona Ryder) - who is devastated by this.

Leroy begins training Nina to become the black swan - something she finds incredibly difficult to do. He tells her that she must 'let go', 'lose control'. Leroy asks Nina to observe Lily - a new dancer in the company who appears to be the ideal black swan - one who Nina has had a secret fascination for, right from the start of the film.

By now, Nina has begun hallucinating and seeing visions of a darker self. She also imagines herself literally turning into the black swan (beak, feathers etc.). This only furthers her frustration and she begins to question her sanity.

Nina strikes up a friendship with Lily - in whom she sees her darker self. She even imagines a sexual encounter occuring between the two of them. Their friendship takes a turn for the worse when Nina realizes that Leroy is readying Lily to be her replacement. From this point, we see Nina's hallucinations worsening as she further transforms into the black swan. She also begins to see parallels between the story of Swan Lake and her own life.

The day of the performance finally arrives and Nina gets off to a shaky start. Right before she can go on stage as the black swan, Lily enters her dressing room and a fight occurs between them. Nina sees Lily as her darker self and in this fight, Nina stabs Lily in the gut, killing her. She then goes on stage and puts on the performance of her life and we see her successfully transforming into the black swan on stage. When she returns to the dressing room to change back into the white swan, she realizes that her fight with Lily was hallucinatory. She realizes that in stabbing her 'darker self', the person that she has actually stabbed, is herself.

Nina (now conscious of the shard of glass in her gut) goes on stage for the final scene where the white swan jumps off the cliff. She is stunning and the crowd goes ecstatic. However, when Leroy and all the other dancers come to congratulate her, they find her bleeding to death. The final moments of the film show a dying Nina (on stage) whispering repeatedly, "I was perfect."


Black Swan is beautifully filmed. Some of the ballet is stunning and the film exhibits technical prowess. However, it appears the Darren Aronofsky has fallen victim to the spectacle that he creates, leaving the story highly undeveloped.
We see Natalie Portman's character incredibly unhappy. We are supposed to believe that she is suffering from immense turmoil due to all the pressure that is being put on her. However, this is conveyed ineffectually by the film. If one is to take away anything from it, it can only be that being a ballerina is lot harder than one would imagine it to be. The only purpose that ballet seems to serve in the film, is that of spectacle. The film could have been about rival clowns in a circus and it wouldn't have made much of a difference to the story.

One question - Why must anyone be interested in examining the mind of Nina the ballet dancer? All her character displays, is signs of mental illness - this does not warrant a film, but a psychiatrist. What makes her the subject of interest? Even if we examine her life, there appears no reason for us to find her interesting.

Nina's mother does not seem as overbearing as she supposedly is. She is definitely poor, but she isn't starving. Apart from her mother, the only source of Nina's frustration is the ballet company - which isn't particularly austere. Even her rivalry with Lily only begins somewhere towards the last third of the film. So what is this great turmoil that she's facing, for her to grow hallucinatory feathers? The only explanation is that she's a raving lunatic. Thus, Nina is the victim of her own madness and it must be seen as 'how a young girl loses her sanity'.

When viewed this way, the film turns more bland as we now see the string of clichés it is. Natalie Portman literally wrestling with her darker self is not something extraordinary. Besides, her insanity just allows for more spectacle - such as her transformation into a swan - without any substantial development in the storyline. After all, she's mad.

Black Swan is driven by the good looks of Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and combines it with the spectacle of Ballet to give us a watchable film - one we realize is incredibly hollow in retrospect.