FILM: Jai Ho! Democracy
DIRECTOR: Ranjit Kapoor
CAST: Om Puri, Seema Biswas, Annu Kapoor…
A farmer hangs himself from a tree at a political rally. And you wonder how much lower the below-the-belt politics of this country is likely to go.
Laughter seems to be the only remedy to the sickness that has ceased the process of statesmanship in our country. That the India-Pakistan issue is being fuelled and fired for various nebulous reasons is a fact that we all must face before a solution to the cross-border strife can be found.
Facing the face-off at the border with farcical directness can be exciting in a certain kind of cinema.
There are plenty of satirical films to fall back on.
After mildly amusing and vaguely heartwarming film about interactive interjections among soldiers at the border in “War Chor Na Yaar” and “Kya Dilli Kya Lahore” comes this satirical rebuke of the conduct of politicians, and yes, the media as matters escalate on the border for no apparent reason.
The basic idea of a short-circuited peace plan is in itself exciting when put in hands as creative as Ranjit Kapoor.
Kapoor was the writer of “Jaane Bhi do Yaaron”, one of the most scathing political satires ever put on our screen.
Here, in “Jai Ho! Democracy” all the sting seems to have gone from the tale.
What we are left with is a pale, frail and stale tale propped up by a bunch of actors who know how to control their characters in spite of the thick accents that the script insists on making them wear like disguises at a costume ball.
There are two levels of story-telling, one on the border where a junior cook from the Indian Army strays into the Pakistani side of the border and befriends a senior cook from their army.
Haven’t we seen this ‘cook’ and bull concoction earlier in “Kya Dilli Kya Lahore” were Vijay Raaz and Manu Rishi excelled in their respective interpretations of communication over the barbed wire fence.
Elsewhere, a parliamentary committee huddles together in a room trying to find a semblance of coherence in the political goings-on of our country.
In “Jai Ho! Democracy” the enormously accomplished actors struggle against the tedium of repetitive jokes about the banality of parliamentarian exchanges.
Om Puri as the upright Gandhian neta strikes the right note. But it’s sad to see the other habitually seasoned actors fumbling over their farcical characters trying to look parochial in their allotted spaces.
To the brilliant Seema Biswas goes the award for the worst-ever Mamata Banerjee impersonation in the history of political satires. Ranjit Kapoor is a brilliant writer, no doubt. As a filmmaker, he is not too successful in extracting that stagey quality from the material which most of us refer to to see as the rang-manch of life.
But when it comes to cinema, we would want the boorish banter and the endless ennui of Indian politics to seem a little less tedious than this.
After all Chaitanya Tamhane’s “Court” is about the monotony of legal proceedings. But it never falls prey to the affliction that it describes. (IANS)
FILM: Avengers: Age of Ultron
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon
CAST: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo…
The superheroes from Marvel comics have their own set of followers, thus making the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe cult movies. For the uninitiated, these films would make little or no sense at all.
With most of the superheroes featuring in this film, the much awaited eleventh film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe — “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, is a sequel to the 2012 released “Avengers”. It is a fan’s delight and a layman’s nightmare; trying to figure out these characters and relating to them.
Showcased on a vast canvas, it is an epic tale of a secret mission going awry.
The lengthy prologue reveals that the earth is purported to be under attack.
In order to safeguard the planet, Stark aka Iron Man, secretly creates, “the global peace keeping program to help Avengers to succeed” – a robotic ‘Iron Legion’ – Ultron.
It is after he chances upon Hydra Chief, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker’s Artificial Intelligence and a scepter which contains a powerful “Infinity” gemstone that belonged to Thor’s half brother Loki, he uses it on Ultron, who becomes a mighty powerful entity.
It is Ultron’s warped logic – that mankind is the enemy of the planet – which eggs him on to bring about its extinction. Avengers – Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye along with Strucker’s experiments – The Maximoff twins; Pietro who has superhuman speed and Wanda, who can manipulate minds and throw energy blasts, all join in to stop Ultron from causing mass destruction, forms the crux of the story.
Though this is an action thriller, there is drama and humour in equal measure. The performances of every character are typical and everyone has a decent amount of screen time to shine. But it is the line-up of new individuals who add to the novelty factor of the film.
Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the super powered Maximoff twins – both struggle with their Eastern-European accents, but Olsen comes off better with more graph to her tale and more interesting powers. But it is James Spader, who steals the show. He lends his voice to Ultron and with his tone, both chilling and affable; he turns out to be a formidable foe.
Writer-director Joss Whedon plunges directly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and unravels the complex plot with dexterity. There are numerous sub-plots and back stories that tie up loose ends. Apart from the action adventure, the director delves into the soul of the characters, thereby portraying their weak points.
While the narrative is racy, with nothing constructive happening in the first half, the pace drags. The narration only picks up momentum in the second half.
What keeps you glued to the screen are the visuals of the fast-paced, well-choreographed action sequences.
The mega setting of the destruction is breathtaking and the effect is amazingly enthralling.
The razor-sharp edits too are flawless as they seamlessly blend motion capture frames with the computer generated images. The 3D effects are an add on, but they do not boost the viewing experience.
Unfortunately, the flaw with the film is that, it shares a familiar premise and the consequences pale in comparison to earlier Marvel films.
Overall, this is a spectacular film, which fans will thoroughly enjoy.