Film Review.
Action Replayy
After many days a film comes which talk about ‘time machine’. The Time Machine is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. Action Replay has adopted this concept and used it conveniently to explore the various facets of marriage system and live-in relationship. Director Vipul shah Vipul Shah initially started off with a soap opera Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, aired on Sony Entertainment Television. The serial went on to become the longest running family drama with over 1000 episodes.
Shah's debut film as director was Aankhen, which was among the five biggest hits of 2002. He then impressed the audience and critics in his next film Waqt: The Race Against Time, which was also one of the highest grossing films of 2005. His next two films, Namastey London and Singh Is King did well at the box office. In 2009, he directed London Dreams.
This film is based on ‘Gujrati Play’ of the same name. This film explores the complexity of marriage concept and it’s understanding by today’s youth. Aditya Roy (Bunty) son of Akshay Kumar (Kishan) go on quest to enter in time machine and change the life of his mom and dad. He him self do not believe on marriage system. He is terrified by the behavior of his parents. His parents are two extreme pole of human life. Akshay Kumar live a simple life where we find (Mala) Aishwarya Rai lives a very loud and garish life. To expect a change in their behavior is next to impossible. Aditya who has in love with a girl ( ) who has a scientist grand father, who is developing time machine. He wanted to have test ride and Aditya Roy takes the chance. He enters the past and manipulates his parent’s life inside out. Akshay kumar become macho out of coward naive fellow. This sea change process had many ups and downs. This family meet many tricky situations and at the end we find the complete change in persona in Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai . Dialogue written by Suresh Nair who is celebrated for film Zankar Beats for screenplay and dialogue. He is writing from 2003. He penned down Singh is king, aladin, London dreams and many more. Aatish Kapadia a television scriptwriter who wrote Baa Bahu Aur Baby 500 episodes and Maan, Aankhey, Waqt: Race against time film. He has stint in film industry from 1999. He also penned Screenplay and dialogue in co-ordination with Suresh Nair for Action Replayy. This film has a signature dialogue - Aawaj Niche. Cinematographer Segal Shah has done an creditable job. Design principals follow her camera. She has used exact light and color proportion while making a period film. In a way it is a period film. It is very difficult to portray the atmosphere 70s in Mumbai with the cult of hippie-ism and fascination towards Eastman color in cinematography. Task is awesome when you shoot it on fugi film stock. The film is made on very marginal budget of 40 corers. We never feel at any point where movie is of low budget. We see college, crowd, party, monstrous song sequence set, villa and animation. It is the skill of art director to create the world of 70s and the magic of atmosphere where we sense the brew of family drama, hippie-culture and romance of Eastman era and the essence of story. Pritam has composed the background music. It is pleasant surprise of heart crooning melodies of that era. We live a moment from 70s. Lyrics is the combination of golden-era metaphors and the in vogue hip-hop cult. Chhan Ke Mohalla song uses very ordinary background what attract you is the choreography. O Bekhabar is a song which is pasteurized in outdoor with the style of 70s film song sequences. Nakhre a particular song is taken in middle of the fair. Yearly Fair which remind us the life style and joyous moments of 70s. You easily get slipped in the Hollywood cult classic ‘Greese’ which is a satire on 70s. It is a good fusion and fusion does not mean just a mixture; it’s a year old recipe like wine. If it is mulled it is mulled else it has to be drain. Amitabh Shukla a veteran film editor and alumni of FTII. Now works as technical adviser for Red Chilli pictures. His professional spear also include as associate producer. He holds many awards on his sleeves. It is pleasure to watch such a crisply edited film.
It is worth to watch this film. It will be a ride in 70s decade which you will love to have it once again.
Written By
Rahul Mate
Film Professional
Thursday, December 9, 2010
A film is a film.
A film is a film.
When we watch a film, what we want is entertainment. According to Andrew Tarkavosky you might like a film or you may not. Critic always writes review with the most chewed phrases from periodicals. No film can be best suited for everybody. Film is film there is no good film or bad film. In preface of ‘Sculpting In Time’ Andrew Tarkavosky mentioned his thoughts.
Khoya Khoya Chand 2008 film made a little noise on box-office. This film is highly praised and appreciated in rest of the world. Sudhir Mishra the director of this film made a new landmark in Indian cinema. Sudhir Mishra’s first directorial debate Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin (1987), Dharavi (1991) then in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005). India cinema has its own strengths: In India, cinema at its best has been given by the likes of Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy and Raj Kapoor.
There is something peculiarly Indian in their films, which I would love to retain. It's the style of story telling, the idea of time, rhythm and possibility of being both tragic as well as comic and yet real. Audience needs to wake up: Audience should see different kind of cinema. That's how simplistic entertainment should remain. They should watch a Bunty aur Babli or No Entry and a Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Iqbal as well. There is nothing wrong in watching a mindless comedy for entertainment. It's not very easy to make such movies. Sudhir Mishra always gave importance to human emotions and their connectivity with social spectrum and complex inner problems and emotional turmoil revolving around social system and politics. There is a rare beauty in the love relationship portrayed in Sudhir Mishra films. Usually love relationships which are platonically private in nature confused with rotten social externally borrowed values.
Khoya Khoya Chand is a film talk about the 50s and 60s decade of film industry, the life of a struggling scriptwriter (Shiney Ahuja as Zaffar) and actress (Soha Ali Khan as Nikhat). How they meet and how their career takes place. We see each detail for a closer view. What is love to them and what life to them shake the audience. These characters demand salute for the definition they offer of love for each other and for film making. This film is made like a documentary on film industry and tribute to Guru Dutta. Every character makes there place. We see characters and their behavior based on the situation. We experience the saying ‘There is nothing good or bad human being life is just the matter of time’. Passion for making a film can be found in each character, right from spot boy to director everybody is equally dedicated and the maestro like Guru Dutta is searching for perfection. As this film loosely inspired by Guru Dutta it poses a great challenge. Guru Dutta did several experiments with cinematography and narration in his every film. Sachin K. Krishn did a respectable work by handling lights and composition. Against the light photography during songs and the tilt movement during song takes us on different note of music when it changes from song to quawalli. With a simple pan shot in dialogue we enter in to the past life of Nikhat and Zaffar shares the emotions with no dialogue. The exploration of character’s inner world and its appreciation with loved one is done through audio visual but not by dialogue.
There is a peculiar incident when Nikhat and Zaffar have a fight. Zaffar immediately show the mirror to Nikhit. This kind of masculine attribute with no fear of loosing is rare to find in contemporary films. The dark aura of physical relationship is unable to touch the concept of love between Nikhat and Zaffar. You will find love triangle and the unimaginable understanding between friends which can be only found in liberal society and it can be easily believed if you flip the pages of Indian cinema and the writing available on it.
Khoya Khoya Chand is neither a documentary nor a complete fiction. To nail down this film by some label of genre is injustice to the creativity of the director.
This particular film states a perfect example of film inside a film. We follow the story of Nikhat and Zaffar both are the strugglers in film industry. We also witness the high and low of film industry. We find the love for making a film and the bitterness of internal politics. It is a mesmerizing account of details of then film directors and producers. We unknowingly explore the world of media czars who ruled the industry. Film does not boil down to any conclusion from classical narration. This is open ending film which lingers in your brain with the portrait of then film industry, lost legends and their life with the insight of their inner turmoil. We see fiction in the inside film they are involved. We find non fiction in the rest of the part of film. This treatment automatically makes us compare their fiction and non-fiction part. Their personal (non-fictional) life reflects in to their work of cinema (fiction). As critics say ‘cinema is a reflection of society’ we find it true with this film.
You will live this film to witness the love of film making and the love relationship of characters. It is a successful effort made in direction to explore the boundaries of story telling and an effort to push the boundaries of viewers who go with a conditioned mind. Take the film as it is and then think of the world of cinema, the life of characters, their life and related problems, the politics and the period.
Indian film music is a unique concept of making film looks appropriate. Lyrics of the songs have been crafted neatly. We do not resemble the songs with old Hindi song yet we feel the charm of golden era. Each song in this film explores the character and talks more than word or picture. There are experiments in compositions as well. ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’ you will find a true cinema.
Great viewing
Rahul Mate
When we watch a film, what we want is entertainment. According to Andrew Tarkavosky you might like a film or you may not. Critic always writes review with the most chewed phrases from periodicals. No film can be best suited for everybody. Film is film there is no good film or bad film. In preface of ‘Sculpting In Time’ Andrew Tarkavosky mentioned his thoughts.
Khoya Khoya Chand 2008 film made a little noise on box-office. This film is highly praised and appreciated in rest of the world. Sudhir Mishra the director of this film made a new landmark in Indian cinema. Sudhir Mishra’s first directorial debate Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin (1987), Dharavi (1991) then in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005). India cinema has its own strengths: In India, cinema at its best has been given by the likes of Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy and Raj Kapoor.
There is something peculiarly Indian in their films, which I would love to retain. It's the style of story telling, the idea of time, rhythm and possibility of being both tragic as well as comic and yet real. Audience needs to wake up: Audience should see different kind of cinema. That's how simplistic entertainment should remain. They should watch a Bunty aur Babli or No Entry and a Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Iqbal as well. There is nothing wrong in watching a mindless comedy for entertainment. It's not very easy to make such movies. Sudhir Mishra always gave importance to human emotions and their connectivity with social spectrum and complex inner problems and emotional turmoil revolving around social system and politics. There is a rare beauty in the love relationship portrayed in Sudhir Mishra films. Usually love relationships which are platonically private in nature confused with rotten social externally borrowed values.
Khoya Khoya Chand is a film talk about the 50s and 60s decade of film industry, the life of a struggling scriptwriter (Shiney Ahuja as Zaffar) and actress (Soha Ali Khan as Nikhat). How they meet and how their career takes place. We see each detail for a closer view. What is love to them and what life to them shake the audience. These characters demand salute for the definition they offer of love for each other and for film making. This film is made like a documentary on film industry and tribute to Guru Dutta. Every character makes there place. We see characters and their behavior based on the situation. We experience the saying ‘There is nothing good or bad human being life is just the matter of time’. Passion for making a film can be found in each character, right from spot boy to director everybody is equally dedicated and the maestro like Guru Dutta is searching for perfection. As this film loosely inspired by Guru Dutta it poses a great challenge. Guru Dutta did several experiments with cinematography and narration in his every film. Sachin K. Krishn did a respectable work by handling lights and composition. Against the light photography during songs and the tilt movement during song takes us on different note of music when it changes from song to quawalli. With a simple pan shot in dialogue we enter in to the past life of Nikhat and Zaffar shares the emotions with no dialogue. The exploration of character’s inner world and its appreciation with loved one is done through audio visual but not by dialogue.
There is a peculiar incident when Nikhat and Zaffar have a fight. Zaffar immediately show the mirror to Nikhit. This kind of masculine attribute with no fear of loosing is rare to find in contemporary films. The dark aura of physical relationship is unable to touch the concept of love between Nikhat and Zaffar. You will find love triangle and the unimaginable understanding between friends which can be only found in liberal society and it can be easily believed if you flip the pages of Indian cinema and the writing available on it.
Khoya Khoya Chand is neither a documentary nor a complete fiction. To nail down this film by some label of genre is injustice to the creativity of the director.
This particular film states a perfect example of film inside a film. We follow the story of Nikhat and Zaffar both are the strugglers in film industry. We also witness the high and low of film industry. We find the love for making a film and the bitterness of internal politics. It is a mesmerizing account of details of then film directors and producers. We unknowingly explore the world of media czars who ruled the industry. Film does not boil down to any conclusion from classical narration. This is open ending film which lingers in your brain with the portrait of then film industry, lost legends and their life with the insight of their inner turmoil. We see fiction in the inside film they are involved. We find non fiction in the rest of the part of film. This treatment automatically makes us compare their fiction and non-fiction part. Their personal (non-fictional) life reflects in to their work of cinema (fiction). As critics say ‘cinema is a reflection of society’ we find it true with this film.
You will live this film to witness the love of film making and the love relationship of characters. It is a successful effort made in direction to explore the boundaries of story telling and an effort to push the boundaries of viewers who go with a conditioned mind. Take the film as it is and then think of the world of cinema, the life of characters, their life and related problems, the politics and the period.
Indian film music is a unique concept of making film looks appropriate. Lyrics of the songs have been crafted neatly. We do not resemble the songs with old Hindi song yet we feel the charm of golden era. Each song in this film explores the character and talks more than word or picture. There are experiments in compositions as well. ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’ you will find a true cinema.
Great viewing
Rahul Mate
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