REAL FM by ANURAG BASU on MTV

 

Last week as my blog turned 1(ONE-Happy Birthday) , I finally decided to register it on INDIBLOGGER, a website for bloggers across the country which acts like a forum with regular meets and events. To my surprise I got a special invite for a screening of a short film written and produced by ANURAG BASU which was sponsored by HUL for its brand SUNSILK and will be aired on MTV tonight at 7 PM IST. I was absolutely thrilled because I have been a great fan of ANURAG since the time he directed the fabulously entertaining LIFE IN A METRO in 2007 and followed it up with BARFI in 2012. It was also a chance to meet fellow bloggers and to experience first-hand the ground realities of blogging in India. 

REAL FM is a story of three girls in their early twenties who are close friends and suddenly find themselves running a radio station for one day (Independence Day). The circumstances leading them there is for you to find out on MTV tonight. The movie actually has a clichéd start and for people like me who like to write reviews it was like a trap as I had already written the movie off in the first 5 mins and was looking towards exploring the blogging part post the screening and that’s where the story turned. 

A crisis in the family, young generation which is not motivated enough, a girl scared of her family, exams, boyfriends, office tensions, it couldn’t have been more mundane and boring to begin with, but that is the beauty of REAL FM as it is showing you the reality of average people who are so obsessed with their own struggles to not know “in which part of the country is TRIPURA located” and that is where the narrative picks up, confronted with a gigantic task of running a Radio station for a day, the girls come with the idea that instead of playing anthems like other stations they will play a song each from every state of the country and thus begins a journey which mesmerises with melodies from every corner of the country, the music clearly demonstrates BASU’s knack for picking great beats as he has demonstrated in METRO and BARFI. 

Many characters are introduced in the middle just like a lot of characters were beautifully woven in METRO and they all play their parts to the T, but the highlight remains the musical tributes from all the states of the country and the girls who bring them together on REAL FM. Catch this wonderful journey of today’s youth who might not know where TRIPURA is for starters but have their heart in the right place to acknowledge and embrace it whenever they come to know about it. 

 

               So catch the hour long feature directed by AKARSH KHURANA tonight on MTV at 7 PM.

QUEEN- A STORY OF LITTLE JOYS

             QUEEN- A STORY OF LITTLE JOYS

The little joys in QUEEN are evident from the first frame as the entire family is dancing away to glory (LONDON THUMAKDA) to celebrate the joyous occasion of RANI-QUEEN-KANGANA’s wedding and after 5 minutes they are shown mourning together once the wedding is called off. A weeping rani facing the social rejection closes the door on the outside world, but you see the mother standing outside the door for the entire night, just right behind where she should be (her daughter’s back) and the grandmother is shown motivating RANI (sitting outside the door) about the wonderful things that the future has in store and the tempo is set. 

The casting of national award winning actor (FASHION) KANGANA RANAUT and stunner LISA HAYDON is impeccable as both of them hit the right notes from beginning to the very head, their combination is like the classic Fast bowler spin bowler (A la Mcgrath and Warne) duo. They are out there to take wickets oops I mean win hearts and they absolutely succeed in doing that. The screenplay by VIKAS BAHL, PARVEEZ SHAIKH and CHAITALLY PARMAR is top notch and keeps you on the edge of your seat even though this in not a thriller. 

Reality of girls like RANI is that they are very much a part of the society till date, slotted somewhere between unfortunate girls who are abused in every nook and corner of our country to the more privileged liberated girls out to conquer the world. As a drunk RANI says in a monologue “MAINE HAMESHA SABKI BAAT MAANI HAI, KABHI KOI GALAT KAAM NAHI KARA” at that point you don’t feel funny but you feel her pain and that is the beauty of KANGANA RANAUT’s performance that it is very believable and transparent. 

The real hero of the movie/project (Kangana is the reel hero) is the director VIKAS BAHL, who has had such an amazing life till date that most of the people out there including yours truly would (not be jealous but) be in awe of a journey which has been nothing short of the LIFE OF PI, after graduating from film school he learnt the ropes in advertising (NON CREATIVE), but just as he was getting to the corner office he moved on to television where he was the business head of SAB (some of the best comedy shows in Hindi in the last decade) and took it to the no.1 spot in its segment, then he moved on to UTV where under the tutelage of the legend Ronnie Screwvala produced movies like AAMIR, DEV-D, UDAAN and NO ONE KILLED JESSICA, just as UTV was about to be acquired by DISNEY and BAHL’s prospects were about to get more global he left to co direct a marvel of an effort called CHILLAR PARTY and followed it up to start a production house with ANURAAG KASHYAP and VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE called PHANTOM which has given us LOOTERA , HASEE TOH PHASEE and now QUEEN.

You don’t give stars to a movie like QUEEN, just like you don’t give stars to the neighbourhood halwai ka boondi ka ladoo and just gobble it up instead of singing its praises to the world, the same ladoo that rani had when she got up the next morning (after the wedding was called off) and decided that she would proceed on her journey alone, such is the power of a ladoo and such is the effect of QUEEN.

 

HOUSE OF CARDS – INDIA IS WAITING

HOUSE OF CARDS – INDIA IS WAITING

The impact that the Indian adaptation of American hit series 24 has had on the audiences has been phenomenal, as most of the television critics have rated it as one of the game changers for the Indian television industry, the Indian edition was produced by Anil Kapoor who also starred in it, the series had a brilliant ensemble cast which is the second most exciting thing after a solid script, the two dozen episodes did well and people are looking forward to a second season.

There is another very exciting American show which goes by the name of HOUSE OF CARDS (HOC) and is being broadcasted by NETFLIX and has a good potential to be imported and customized for the Indian palate.

HOUSE OF CARDS is currently in season 2 in the states and ZEE in India is showing the first season on their English entertainment channel ZEE CAFÉ.

In lead role we have one of the finest actors of this generation KEVIN SPACEY who is etched in our minds for his portrayal of LESTER BURNHAM in AMERICAN BEAUTY which won him the best actor honours at the Academy awards in 1999. SPACEY along with FOREST GUMP star ROBIN WRIGHT bring to you a delightful depiction of an extremely driven American couple out there to CHANGE things.

The plot of HOC is as old as the civilisation with subtext of deceit, revenge, obstacles and success which translates into a universal theme. A lot of inferences on how people have reached a “certain “ position after “certain” struggle really grab your attention and will be easily absorbed in an emerging economy like India with half the population below 35.

To the team of HOUSE OF CARDS and BEAU WILLIMON, INDIA is waiting for its delightful import.