Sunday, July 18, 2010

Movie Review - Lamhaa

The Good : Different take on the hackneyed issue; great, and more importantly relevant research which comes out really well

The Bad : Sanjay Dutt, filmy sequences, climax

The Ugly : nothing really


The Plot
: Lamhaa is beautiful in the sense that the scriptwriters and director have taken a very bold stand and have not been afraid to offer an alternate view of the situation, quite in contrast to the one that we have grown up on over the years. However, despite all the bold moves, I guess the director still could not resist the filmy 'Press Conference' ending. The thing that is most admirable about the movie is the depiction of grey shades be it in the police force, the government or the military. The aspect is most beautifully captured towards the latter part where the director has really gone where no other director has gone before ( will not spoil fun for those who haven't watched the movie yet, but I am talking about the 'police action' at the very end). I guess after all this effort the least the director could do was to avoid the temptation of a 'Happy-Happy' ending. Another thing which catches the eye, in a not so good way, is how the director has picked up too many things and at times is left doing justice to these various aspects. As it appears, a lot of research has been done in the sloganeering aspect of the Kashmir movement which comes out really well. On the other hand, the dealing of the issue of flesh trade seems a bit ad-hoc and looks like it has bore the brunt of the editor's scissor.

The thing that really pleased me about the movie is that, it signifies the coming of age of Indian cinema, long gone are the days when movies were made at the behest of the government (read the times of L.B. Shastri and Manoj Kumar) or when the government really ran a tight leash on anything coming out of Hindi film industry (read Emergency). We really have come a long way from the times of 'Dehleez' when for the first time the words 'Sarhad paar dushman' were uttered to 'Sarfarosh' where the phrase 'padosi desh' acquired a name for the first time.


The Technicals : The cinematography is brilliant at places, whereas in the same breath it must be mentioned that at times one is left wondering whether it has been over-done to an extent. The area where the movie really scores is depicting that yes, there is an element of ordinary day to day life to Kashmir, that there is a Kashmir beyond the beautiful snow clad mountains, beyond the borders with the 'patriotic songs singing soldiers', there is an element of 'normal' life to Kashmir, the curfews, the stone pelting crowds and all. And another way in which the movie scores over similar movies made earlier is the aesthetics of 'war' and 'counter insurgency'. I guess it's a sign of maturity that we don't find cops running around with sniper rifles in close quarter combats. I guess Indian directors have been devoting time and effort to research more in this direction.

The Acting : My biggest grouse with the movie is Sanjay Dutt. Yes!! you heard it right, the supposedly biggest star in the movie is the biggest eyesore of it. Infact the few places where the movie seems to digress from it's realistic path to a filmy one is one where they try to justify Sanjay Dutt's stardom and give him hero like action sequences. On the other hand Kunal Kapoor is pretty convincing in his depiction of a former militant, whereas Bipasha Basu, in my opinion is the real 'Star' of the movie. She has done fabulous work in this de-glam role. And as for Anupam Kher, he proves yet again, why he is still counted as one of the doyens of Indian cinema.


Verdict: All in all, a good movie, good direction, decent acting on the whole. An interesting watch, I say, for the treatment of the subject.

All in all, 3.5 stars out of 5.


Do Share your take on the movie, would love to hear your comments on the review. Feel free to share this post, if you find this interesting!!

1 comment:

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