City of Gold [2010] (Hindi): An untold tale of the City of Mumbai

They say that one should not bite the hand that feeds. Very True. But what happens if the hand that feeds, itself becomes the hand that kills?

Parallelly released in Marathi language under the title Lalbaug Parel, it is directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. If you have seen Vaastav and Astitva, need I say anything more? But I feel I do need to say more... For this is a unique movie, about the city I was born and brought up in. The city I love, like so many others. And hate, like so many others too. And I feel it needs to be told...

Truly speaking, this is the story of a standard lower middle class mill-worker's family, one of the many millions of similar families that formed the cogs in the machinery of this City till the 80's... Till the mills were shut down, to make way for Shopping Malls and sky-scrapers. A family of six living in a 10 x 10 feet room in one of the many chawls that formed the landscape of Mumbai during that time.

The father, who used to work in one of the textile mills, has taken retirement. He is waiting for the gratuity amount promised him post-retirement - but the mills are yet to settle the dues of all the retired workers. One son is a struggling writer whose plays don't ever get sold. Another one, Mohan, works in a bank. The third son roams around being a "bhai" - a local goon. And the only daughter works in a beauty parlour. Somehow they are all trying to make ends meet.

The Mills are shutting down one department after another, claiming loss in business. The workers go on strike. While this drama unfolds, the family faces one problem after another. And they are not the only ones. The mill workers have not been paid for months. How are they to feed their families, pay the school fees, the rents?

And in the backdrop of their tribulations, unfolds the untold story of Mumbai, currently one of the costliest cities in India, maybe in the world too. How this City of the working class turned into a City of Gold. I think each city is like a person. It has a unique personality, a unique past, present and future. If I have to describe the personality of the city of Mumbai, I would describe it as that of a worker. For it is the city of the working class. A city born out of economic necessity, build and developed out of economic progress. Everything in Mumbai is economy driven.

One of the major trades in Mumbai post-independence, was the Textile Mills. Millions of mill workers worked in these mills, which worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in three daily shifts. All these workers mostly stayed in chawls near the mills itself, in the area around Parel, which came to be known in the local slang as the "Giran Gaon" - the village/town of the mills. Hence the name of the Marathi version Lalbaug, Parel. At the end of every shift, the iconic Siren would go off, indicating the end of one shift, and beaconing the workers who would toil and shed their sweat and blood in the next one. They would work one or two shifts a day and make ends meet.

But all this changed when the mill owners began to shut down parts of the mill, claiming losses. The mills might not be profitable, but the abundant land on which they stood, could gain the owners a lot of money. This was what they secretly desired. The untapped development potential of the land on which the mills stood. The land, so the movie claims was not owned by the owners themselves, but was given to them on lease for 99 years by the Government. And so, they began to make things difficult for the workers. The movie depicts this very nicely.

It depicts the hunger and desperation of the common mill worker and his family. Some commit suicide. The kids of some turn to crime and violence, driven by the most basic need to feed the fire within their hungry stomachs. It is sad and horrible indeed.

The movie also depicts the machinations that go on behind the closed doors of the mill owners' offices. The corruption and the under-handed deals would make anyone's blood boil.

All the major characters are quite well-sketched. All the actors, most of them from Marathi film industry, have played their part extremely well.

The directorial talent of Mahesh Manjrekar is evident in the brilliant portrayal of the harsh life of the mill workers, before "they became extinct, like dinosaurs" (to borrow a dialog from the movie itself). The story does not flinch to depict illicit love affairs or violence, in the same way it unflinchingly depicts the desperation and the sad state of the mill-workers' families after the mills shut down. The life in the chawl is portrayed very realistically - life in small 10x10 rooms, where there is no space for personal privacy, but lots of space for humanity, and neighbourly love and care. 

As far as I know, the Marathi version - Lalbaug Parel - became more famous than the original Hindi one. One of the reasons probably was that the Marathi speaking localites could identify with its content. And second reason being that, the Hindi audience, who were looking out for mere entertainment, probably found nothing new in this movie. For Mahesh Manjrekar has already explored similar concepts (like common man turning into a criminal) in his previous movies like Vaastav. If that is the case, then I think they missed the point entirely...

Because this is an important movie for anyone who wishes to understand the events that triggered the transformation of this city of mills and chawls, into a city of skyscrapers, huge corporate offices and shopping malls. A city where people who own a piece of it's land, need not really work for a living. And ironically, a city where a hard working common man can no longer afford to buy a home of his own. A City of Gold...

My Rating: 3.5

Monsters [2010] (English): Who are the "Monsters"?

This movie is not about Monsters.

It has aliens. And Soldiers fighting them. But it is not about Aliens. And it is not about war. And certainly not about Humans fighting Aliens. 

And its less of a Sci-Fi movie, more like an art flick. Somewhat like the movie The Road, only less intense, less apocalyptic, less tragic and much more positive.

If you are expecting any of this masala (spicy) stuff in this movie then I recommend you go watch something else. You and this movie may have compatibility issues.

If you are still reading on, it probably means you are open to watching something that is more substantial, subtle yet meaningful than the mindless movies that depict the above mentioned scenarios. If so, then this little piece of audio-visual treat may surprise you.

In defiance to what its name and its story-line may suggest, its about a little voyage. Involving two humans. One is a photographer. Another is the daughter of his boss, a big-shot publisher. He is unwillingly entrusted the responsibility of leading her out of Mexico and back into US across the "infected zone".

Science-wise, the premise about the aliens and how they appeared on earth is sadly quite shallow. Nor is the depiction of the aliens original or inspired. But it does no injustice to the story-line  which uses the alien "infestation" as a base to build upon, nothing more.

The characters of both the protagonists are complex and very well-sketched. He is a care-free soul, unscrupulous when it comes to savouring the little joys life has to offer. She is a some-what disillusioned woman, probably searching for a meaning out of the meaningless chaos that life sometimes appears to become. The chemistry between them is depicted pretty nicely. 

The dialogues are pretty thought-provoking. The one I liked best was a sequence where the lady asks the photographer (who is dying to get a good shot of an alien's attack) "Doesn't that kinda bother you, that you need something bad to happen to profit from it?" And his answer to her is mind-blowing. I wish I could quote it here, but that would ruin your experience of actually stumbling over it during the movie.

The script and story are well-crafted enough. For instance, the sequence about how they loose their only chance to leave Mexico via a ferry ride over the sea, is both comical and tragic.

The post-apocalyptic scenes of a countryside ravaged by calamity are sometimes visually stunning, sometimes subtle, beautiful and touching. Its a pretty slow movie. Don't expect quick and stunning action from it. It has a slow but enjoyable pace of its own.

The direction and photography are technically pretty amateur, crude, by commercial movie standards. Yet the story is depicted with maturity and empathy. The visuals are artistic and pleasing. In spite of its slow pace and not much action involved, some of the scenes build up the suspense pretty nicely. It makes good use of the background score and audio effects to do that.

And in the end, we are left to wonder, who exactly are the "Monsters" in the movie?

This is a little unknown gem. It was released in 2010, and I don't remember ever hearing about it. Like all the best movies I have ever seen... yes yes, I know I am repeating the phrase... I did "stumble upon this" one too, while trawling for such unknown gems over the net. And am I happy about this find.

My ratings: 3.5

The Last Exorcism I [2010] & II [2013] (English): Surprisingly more than mediocre

Right from the time shaky camera / found footage genre captured my imagination after watching Paranormal Activity and Rec, I have searched for and viewed quite a lot of similar movies. Some were mediocre. Many were disappointing. After a while, it just  becomes s.o.s (same old story). Boring and repetitive.

But sometimes, a movie comes along, that does something different with a worn out formula, and leaves a mark on your memory. One such movie was The Last Exorcism... When I read that the movie used shaky camera technique, my first impression was: "Paranormal Activity meets The Exorcist"... Which proved wrong.

To be frank, the movie does not have anything new to add to the well worn shaky camera technique. The acting is strictly ok. So is the direction. But the real winner was the story. I will not disclose exactly why, except for stating that its a pretty rational take on the ritual of exorcism. The only thing that one might not like is the twist ending that might leave a bitter aftertaste for the rational viewer. Personally, I enjoyed the end as well.

My rating (for "The Last Exorcism"): 3.5

And then I stumbled across a sequel to this nice flick. I was surprised, because as far as I could tell, there was nothing left in the climax of the first movie to warrant a sequel. Maybe it won't be the continuation of the same story. But a different story with different characters but same central theme? I was wrong...

If you enjoyed the first movie, and expect something similar, you will be disappointed. First of all, the sequel veers away from the shaky camera technique used in the first movie. It has your traditional movie camera work. Secondly, it continues the story from the first part, which by all means should have ended right there in the first part itself. And thirdly, the theme of the story is entirely different from the brilliant theme of the first part. So by all counts, the sequel is a disappointing flick.

But why do I mention it here? Because there are two things that make the movie stand out.

First is the brilliant direction and camera-work. Its pretty neat for a horror flick. They have made good use of the light and the settings instead of excessive and unnecessary use of CG. The direction is nice too. Throughout the movie, they have managed to maintain the pace. Instead of using blood-and-gore or horror, the movie creates an unsettling atmosphere, which manages to satisfy the hunger of the horror movie fan.

Second thing worth mentioning in this movie is the acting of Ashley Bell who enacts the lead protagonist. Sometimes a bit overdone, her acting still manages to seem very convincing and professional. She certainly has good acting potential and I hope she does not get stereotyped for these kind of roles only.
But both of these good attributes cannot hide the disappointing fact that the story of the sequel is really below average. Yet these two points make it worth watching once, if not more.

The movie ends with an opening for yet another sequel. But I seriously hope they don't go for it. As it is, the current sequel was stretching it a bit too far. Stretch it more, and the rubber-band will break...

My ratings (for the sequel "The Last Exorcism II"): 2.5