Dum Maaro Dum

Six years after his sophomore feature, Rohan Sippy brings us Dum Maaro Dum – a movie that has all the right intentions, but fails on a few key points that are too evident to ignore. Its single biggest flaw is the “look”. Sippy has washed the entire movie in a stale yellow palette, giving it the putrefied look of a decades-old film that has not been preserved well. This garish misjudgment becomes a distraction and, worse, deterrent from enjoying the movie for what it should be worth.

Set in a narcotic-infested life within Goa, Dum Maaro Dum canters around a cluster of characters affected by the drug-trade. Incorruptible ACP Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachhan) is assigned the task of cleaning up Goa, thus setting him up for a head-on collision with ruthless local businessman Lorsa Biscuta (Aditya Pancholi). 17-year old Lorry (Prateik) wants to make a quick buck in order to follow his girlfriend and fulfill his dream stateside, but unwittingly gets involved in drugs. DJ Joki (Rana Daggubati) finds himself caught in the cross-fire when first his girlfriend (Bipasha Basu) and now his friend Lorry get entangled in the mess. Their lives collide as ACP Kamath works to bring the drug-trade crashing down, trying to uncover the major player behind it all.

Rohan Sippy seems to have had a clear idea of what he wanted out of the movie, but tends to be juvenile in how he goes about achieving it. He falters in his execution, oscillating between style and substance erratically. Sippy chooses the path of quirky stylization early in the movie which wanes in the latter half to make way for the drama. Meaning this in the best possible sense, the story is mostly an updated version of many 80s movies that featured a hero cop and a rich villain habitually in white suits. This could also account for the stale-yellow look that was probably meant as a tribute but comes across as a gross-error by the projectionist. Dum Maaro Dum does feature some wonderful lines, referencing everything from Google to facebook and twitter, most of them spoken with panache by Bachchan.

Dum Maaro Dum’s biggest asset is, curiously, its multitude of stock characters, easily recognizable with years of use. These are rendered interestingly because of the effective performance of some of the cast. Standout of the crowd is Prateik, despite his high-pitch vocals. An effortless actor, Prateik brings genuineness to his character that, coupled with Abhishek Bachchan’s charming turn as the fearless cop, wins the audience. Rana Daggubati manages to walk through his role, looking the part, but scarcely registering any appeal. Aditya Pancholi is a welcome return as the rich screen baddie, thankfully with a head full of hair.

With a runtime of a little over two hours and a steady pace, Dum Maaro Dum keeps you interested throughout. If only Sippy had done away with the awful remix of the classic track it takes its title from and the piss poor look, he would have a movie that would score at least more than just average with the audience.

Celebrities at DIFF 2009

Hollywood:
Gerard Butler (receiving Variety’s International Star of the Year Award; but the most pertinent question is, will he DINE IN HELL?!?)
Matt Dillon (remember him?)
Mandy Moore (party prime rib)
Christopher Lambert (who? okay, we jest; we love this duke of B-cinema!)
…more ‘celebrities’ you’ll need to google to remember!

Indian Cinema:
Amitabh Bachchan (receiving Lifetime Achievement Award)
Other Bachchans (Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan; yup, it’s a family affair)
Ranbir Kapoor (described by DIFF as “teenybopper sensation,” which is *not* a compliment)
Manisha Koirala (she’s judging the Muhr Arab and AsiaAfrica awards)
M.F. Hussain (he too is judging the Muhr Arab and AsiaAfrica awards)
Mammootty (the stalwart of cinema from Kerala)
…more of them will be seen around the city (shopping for clothes and gold, we’re sure)

Arab World:
Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan
Omar Sharif (receiving Lifetime Achievement Award)
Hala Sarhan
Somayya Al Kashab
Mostafa Fahmy
…and more, lost count, there are so many!

Panels & Workshops
Vive Le Cinema: co-producing fiction features with France
Against the Odds: a case study of filmmaking in Palestine
Variety-DIFF Spotlight: for filmmakers and producers in the Arab world
Screenwriting Workshop: in association with TorinoFilmLab
DIFF Young Journalist Award: in association with MBC and Funding in the Middle East

A staggering 168 movies from 55 countries will be playing over the week-long film festival (but then again, this is Dubai, so you only get more of more).  Only 2 days remain until the opening night of the 2009 Dubai International Film Festival. Excited?

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Dubai International Film Festival 2009

WearetheMovies.com has been diligently covering the festival since last year (our writers are pretty comprehensive and brutal; see links on the right), and this year we will once again jump into the fray, all guns blazing. Dubai is a city we love and we love it even more during the film festival. (Wait, I think I hear Bloomberg and Financial Times nerds crying foul, screaming “standstill” and “meltdown” — screw ‘em, what do philistines know about art.) The DIFF website has just unveiled the entire roster of films, schedule and price details. The information is a bit dense there, so here is a snapshot summary:

Films
The festival films have been split up into 16 programmes. You can navigate the selections by these categories, or become a film militant and scroll through each page, film by film (if you do this,  you will earn our greatest respect). I hand counted 168 films films in there, which is kinda insane and awesome. Ready? Now click these:
A Celebration of Indian Cinema (3 films)
Arab-French Rendez-Vous (5 films)
Arabian Nights (14 films)
Cinema for Children (7 films)
Cinema of Asia-Africa (11 films)
Cinema of the World (26 films)
Gulf Voices (10 films)
In Focus: France (6 films)
Lebanese Night (4 films)
Lifetime Achievement (4 films)
Muhr Arabic Documentary (14 films)
Muhr Arabic Feature (10 films)
Muhr Arabic Short (15 films)
Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary (12 films)
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature (15 films)
Muhr AsiaAfrica Short (12 films)

Ticket Prices
Regular tickets are AED 25 ($6.80), but if you’re a Student then it is only AED 10 ($2.70) which is nice of them. Tickets for the Red Carpet Gala Screenings, if you’re into that sort of thing, are AED 80 — only requirement is that they ask you wear “formal or national dress — no jeans.” Else they might kick you out, or worst… actually let you in where snobs in black ties and gowns will really make you feel at home. If you buy tickets in bulk (which we always recommend), then there are special discounted packages. Do the math yourself: let your brain and wallet pick the right deal here.

Box Office
They have counters at the Madinat Jumeriah, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Media City. Check out this page for the operation hours and contact numbers. Hopefully, the young turks working the phones have a clue.

And you’re done.

(P.S. Need recommendations on what to see or avoid? We have something in the works. Meanwhile, read the early rants and raves from our feisty members on the WM Forum.)

There is a distinct difference in how Romantic-Comedies are interpreted by filmmakers and audiences in Hollywood and Bollywood. While American movies tend to be Romantic movies with a measure of comedy thrown in, contemporary Bollywood makes them primarily as musical comedies with a love-story theme. While Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is firmly set in present-day Bollywood mannerism, Rajkumar Santoshi’s inspiration is classical Bollywood. This lends the film a distinct adorable flavor that many modern comedies lack.

Prem Shankar Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor) is the president of Happy Club, a rag-tag association formed by a handful of unemployed youngsters that operates out of a coffin shop. While they mostly indulge in harmless mischief, they occasionally help unite separated lovers. When Jenny (Katrina Kaif) and her family move into their small town, Prem falls in love, Jenny is sent to Goa, Rahul (Upen Patel) defies his father (Govind Namdeo) who just wants to win the elections and Sajid Don (Zakir Hussain) just wants some money, and probably respect.

Rajkumar Santoshi is well-known for his excellence in action and drama (Ghayal, Chinagate, Khakhee, Damini). The one goof-ball comedy he did make, the iconic Andaz Apna Apna, gave us an idea of the kind of humor he is capable of executing. Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is populated with equally wacky moments of fun that make the movie an effective comedy. Nevertheless, Santoshi lays the comedy on a simple-love story. In the tradition of romantic comedies from the 60s, ala Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Pyar Kiye Ja and Kashmir Ki Kali, the story spends several emotional moments with the leads that adds depth to the movie, giving it a charming resonance. However, with his last few movies not cashing in at the box-office, Santoshi (perhaps at the behest of his producers) undoes some of the good work by going for commercialism. Thus, the movie falters in pacing. There are instances when the obvious is overplayed – spending too much time either in exposition or in observance, including two cliché scenes that remain a la mode in Bollywood.

A big triumph of the movie is its lead actor Ranbir Kapoor. This stalwart prodigy from the Kapoor clan brings in the charisma of a star, combines it with a wonderful chemistry with leading lady Katrina Kaif, and packs it up with fantastic comic timing. Like his grandfather, father and their brothers, Ranbir Kapoor has his own charming style that makes him instantly likeable. Paired opposite him, Katrina Kaif finally delivers what can be called a performance. Santoshi maneuvers her vulnerable beauty, guiding her with a deft hand through a role that she makes her own. Darshan Jariwala, the erstwhile Gujrati theatre actor turns in a fine comic performance as Prem’s father, reminiscent of the two fathers from Andaz Apna Apna. Pritam’s triumphant soundtrack, especially “Tera Hone Laga Hoon”, enhances the required musical quota to an enjoyable indulgence.

After a dozen movies, eight of which have won him numerous awards, Santoshi has given us a movie that aims to serve the single purpose to entertain. That it mostly does so, and with his known ludicrous style, is a welcome achievement. That it misses out in some ways is unfortunate. Although not touching the ridiculous height of Andaz Apna Apna, it is nevertheless a worthy companion for the “Rajkumar Santoshi Comedy” label.

Wake Up Sid
Ayan Mukerji | India | 2009
138 min

Wake Up Sid, the latest movie from Karan Johar‘s camp by yet another debutant director, has been strongly marketed as a movie for the present day youth, the slacker generation that refuses to grow up. Unfortunately, the director comes from the same culture as his target audience, and lacks the maturity and wisdom that this movie requires in its telling. This failure turns a fantastic opportunity into a dismal melodrama heavily layered in saccharine, making it a movie that is more a generation’s dream than a wakeup call.

Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) is a shallow rich kid, living on the surface of an easy life, fare from any form of responsibility and reality. He lives his life of cartoons, friends, parties and gadgets. Even when reality does hit him, he refuses to face his failings, choosing arrogant denial over humility. But when separated from his luxuries, he discovers his shortcomings. But does he learn the lessons of responsible living?

In this two-act story, first time director Ayan Mukherji sets up the premise quite well. Probably belonging to the same stratum of life, he understands the nuances of privileged upper class living and the dilemma that its youth is ignorant to. He fails miserably though in the second act, which becomes a fantasy of easy opportunities and even easier fulfillments. Satisfying Karan Johar’s staple offerings of heavy-handed sentimentality as well as a paradise-like pseudo-reality, Wake Up Sid is a shallow product in the guise of smart contemporary filmmaking. It may be pleasant and easy to admire on the surface, but a bit of consideration uncovers how flimsy and filmy it is.

In a predictable casting that does half the job for him, Ranbir Kapoor, as the eponymous Sid, is the only reason that this movie is not a complete failure. Although a simple performance, he fittingly represents a section of the urban youth culture. He manages to make Sid identifiable and, therefore, somewhat likeable despite his flaws. Konkona Sen Sharma, on the other hand, replays an oft repeated performance that has now become her identified slot. Unfortunately, this merely reduces her credibility as an actor, something she should have been conscious of a few movies ago. Rahul Khanna, though, is already a lost cause. He has now made a career out of doing cameos as a loser, one who never gets the girl, that it’s now become a cliché.

With a dismal soundtrack, mostly poor performances and a naive story, it’s a wonder Wake Up Sid is not called Sid’s Dream. For now, Akshaye Khanna (from Dil Chahta Hai) continues to hold claim to the more memorable character named Sid.

Wanted

Well before the release of Wanted, the movie’s strong and evenly loud promotions made it abundantly clear what to expect from it — action bent towards exaggeration and characters that are wild caricatures. In this, the movie does not disappoint. For those averse to its lead star, Salman Khan, or “Bollywood Masala” movies, Wanted can be punishing. Fans can rejoice though, as Salman Khan possibly delivers the most heroic performance of his career yet, molded firmly within escapist cinema.

The story is next to negligible. Radhe (Salman Khan), a hitman-for-hire, quickly makes a name and rises through the gang-ranks of underworld Mumbai. When a war erupts between rival gangs, Radhe drops loyalties and walks his own path – one that leaves behind a trail of blood, bodies and bullets.

Wanted marks actor-choreographer-director Prabhu Deva’s directorial venture into Bollywood. For this, he chose to remake his own Tamil-language superhit movie, Pokkiri. In doing so, he brought with him a tried and tested script and all the machinations of a mainstream production that had previously worked. Adapting it to the sensibilities of North-Indian cinema’s audience could not have been too difficult — Wanted plays through and through like a contemporary formula movie. It has the required quota of star-power, song-and-dance sequences that have been shot overseas, the right amount and range of humor (subtle to crass), a glamorous female lead, and very importantly, an interesting villain. Not much time is wasted in melodrama or establishing back-stories. Instead, Prabhu Deva gives a scene-to-scene movie that is only interested with moving forward. His intentions with the movie are made ample clear within the first few scenes – Salman Khan’s Radhe faces a score of goons in a warehouse. As he single-handedly bashes them up while the head-goon scampers like a mouse, Prabhu Deva uses freeze-frame, wire-stunts and CGI to make the violence deliberately unrealistic and cinematic, and in some occasions, humorous. The rules of the movie have been set – align your beliefs, or you might just as well walk out.

The staying power is primarily what Salman Khan brings to the movie. Arguably, the biggest “star” in Bollywood today, he carries the movie on his well-built shoulders on the basis of his charm and charisma – something he exudes in this movie without his regular garb of designer labels or spit-shine grooming. In his trademark style, Salman Khan delivers one-liners that pack as much a punch as his physical comedy. Wanted is also Salman Khan’s first action movie in over a decade, yet he eases into the role quite well, credit for which should also be shared with Prabhu Deva and his co-star, south indian veteran Prakash Raj. Portraying the main villain, National-award winner Prakash Raj’s spectacular Bollywood major-role debut as the colorful and quirky Ghani Bhai comes as a splash of cold water on the score of bland villains that Bollywood mostly burdens us with. Ghani Bhai is, as he calls himself, an “International Don” and lives as one who likes a good laugh. This doesn’t make him any less fearsome, just one who is wonderfully entertaining to watch. Prakash Raj uses wacky and exaggerated expressions for his villainous role, further steeping the movie into escapist entertainment.

Being possibly the most well-known dancer in India, Prabhu Deva does not disappoint his fans or the expectations his name sets by populating the movie with enough fast-choreographed numbers to whet anybody’s appetite. He also makes a cameo (to loud applause) along with Govinda and Anil Kapoor in a song early on in the movie, as they accompany Salman Khan and numerous back-up dancers for an elaborate routine. As a director, he enriches the movie with ample varied flavors to appeal to the Indian movie audience. In doing so, he invariably alienates those looking for sophisticated or meaningful cinema. But to be fair to Prabhu Deva and his movie, he’s not looking to please them anyway.

Kaminey (Rascals/Scoundrels) is Vishal Bhardwaj’s first movie after achieving commercial success. Most directors would lose their footing by this point, amidst big budgets, bigger stars and a bloated stardom. The good ones learn to adjust, and continue making movies their way, taking advantage of the extra resources at their disposal. Bhardwaj does just that. With all the anticipation, popularity and pre-release success already associated with Kaminey, he nonetheless delivers an astounding movie that stays with its eccentric characters and the situations they find themselves in.

Guddu and Charlie (Shahid Kapoor in a double-role) are twins. One stammers while the other has a lisp. Estranged after their father’s death, Guddu chooses to fit in with the normalcy of everyday, middle-class existence while Charlie takes the get-rich-quick path of horse-race betting, dreaming to one day own his own betting booth. When one of them gets involved with a gangster’s sister and the other runs head-first into a multi-million drug deal, their lives spin out of control as a bevy of characters get involved in a mess of personal gains.

Bhardwaj drapes the movie in the dirty colors of Mumbai’s slums. As it must be for those that live there, the world around the characters becomes a de-facto background, never being focused on. Taking a cue from Tarantino, Kaminey is aware of the audience’s knowledge of this world, and eagerly works with it. Cinematographer Tassaduq Hussain, bringing his experience of gritty realism from Bhardwaj’s Omkara, mixes a sense of escapism into the visuals using shots that lack the clarity of crisp focus. Going mostly hand-held, we rarely see scenes from a preset point-of-view, instead observing them like an onlooker in this over-populated city where witnesses abound but hardly exist. A foot-chase sequence is seen in cuts from one place to another, a shoot-out is seen in short scenes from within. Hussain drops and raises the camera often for a vantage point, adding to the absurdity of the situations. Vishal Bhardwaj, being at heart a radical music director, underlines the story with a passionate score that works because of its devotion to indulge.

The director’s biggest achievement in Kaminey however, is the set of characters he uses to populate the story. Essentially scoundrels, they retain a quirkiness that brings subtle humor to the forefront of the bloody chaos that the movie displays. Amongst them, almost one upping the slime-ball ratio, are three eccentrics: Bhope, Mikhail and Tashi, each living a violent yet separate existence until they collide. All three are played by debutantes or relatively unknown actors. In fact, although this is a mainstream feature, the cast comprises of only two recognizable faces. The others, undoubtedly taking their cue from the air tight script, turn in performances that match the confidence of the maverick director. At one point, when two of the power hungry gangsters face off, their arrogant words are absurdly accompanied with laughter. Yet, the brilliance of this scene comes from the imbalance created by a gun-shot, their own one-upmanship and also their ability to laugh through it all. Shahid Kapoor, in his most accomplished performance yet, shines as Charlie. In contrast to the meek and stuttering Guddu, he plays Charlie as a smart street dog who is only interested in his piece of bone. That is, until a larger one drops on his lap. The visual allegory of Charlie as a race-horse works as a master-stroke, not just symbolizing where his dream lies, but also what Charlie himself has become in the scheme of things. And as the brothers’ lives intertwine, Bhardwaj drives the movie to a cinematic climax that is not as much a surprise in predictability as it is in execution.

Five films, five gems. There seems to be so much more in Vishal Bhardwaj’s pouch that is yet to come. From children’s films to Shakespearean adaptations, rural living to urban gangsters, he seems to be exploring his own zenith. With Kaminey, he triumphs in his ability to merge sensibilities of non-conventional, art-house cinema with commercial Bollywood masala. What will he explore next? Give him another well-deserved solid pat on the back, sit back and wait for his next release.

Love Aaj Kal is an irritating movie. The first half (of the two-act format of most Bollywood movies) of this movie is intended as a mish-mash of events to confuse the audience to get them thinking. The second half was possibly intended to disentangle the scenes, peel them off layer by layer and decipher the movie into a lovely love story that makes you follow your heart to the person you’ve always meant to be with.

Unfortunately, Imtiaz Ali gets ahead of himself. What I think happenned is, he forgot how to disentangle. He ended up in a mess. He tried even harder, and ended up with a marriage knot. Eventually, he cut his way through it all and cell-o-taped it to a quick fix. Oh, what a mess.

Saif Ali Khan is usually likeable, but he is irritating here. The guy doesn’t shut-up! If only he shut up and let some of the other chatacters speak, the movie would not have needed to go through the mess it does. Midway through the second-half, you feel like climbing up there and giving him a tight slap. Even the songs are a mess, especially “Twist”, which starts like a Brazillian Carnival with an Indian theme in the middle of London.

The leads’ families are as distant from them as in Western movies — they live an independent life that just seems so disjointed from reality that you wonder if Indians are already Americanized, or Bollywood just can’t seem to get over their fascination with the Western concept of “growing out of your parents’ house”.

Also, I have a feeling that Rahul Khanna is a born loser. I wish it was Akshaye Khanna in his place. There we’d have an interesting story of him hunting down his partner’s ex-lover, or simply just killing her and getting over with. That would be nice.

Saif Ali Khan is now pushing 40. Isn’t it high time he stop playing a 28-year old? It’s sad really. Ranbir Kapoor or Shahid Kapoor should play these roles. Saif should really really get over his Hum Tum / Salaam | Namaste / Kal Ho Na Ho / Ta Ra Rum Pum roles – basically multiple versions of his own Dil Chahta Hai role.

Also, isn’t it time that Bollywood get’s over its obsession with Punjab? If 10 movies need to show some ethnicity, 9 of them show Punjab. From a country of 8 major religions and 28 states (+7 Union Territories), that’s some disbalance. Really, for a change, show us Assamese. Take us to Orissa or Nagaland or Manipur. Atleast to Gujrat? Don’t get me wrong, I love Punjabi culture too, and one of my closest friends is Punjabi. But overkill hai yaar!

<deeeeeeeeep breath>

Ok, now let’s wait for Kaminey.

Luck

Luck, the second film by Soham Shah, is not the debacle that Kaal was. In fact the movie, although it is not, feels like a “White Feather Films” production, having been cut from the same fabric as Plan and Musafir. The one factor that links them all is obvious – Sanjay Dutt, typecast in his usual role, though this makes the movie more entertaining as a result. That is all this movie aims to be anyway — entertaining.

Karim Moussa (Sanjay Dutt), after surviving numerous brushes with death, realizes the existence of a “luck” factor that some people have. He goes on to create and run an underground gambling racket, one which bets on people’s “luck”. Tamang (Danny Denzongpa), working for Moussa, scouts for lucky people and recruits them for a 20-day challenge that pits them against death. If they survive, they do so with enough money for a life of luxury. Ram Mehra (Imran Khan) is one such lucky person. He joins Major Jawar Pratap Singh (Mithun Chakraborty), Raghav (Ravi Kissen), Ayesha (Shruti Haasan) and Shortcut (Chitrashi Rawat), among other lucky people, in the game to cheat death.

Soham Shah, as a director, has little to do with what makes this film work. Soham as a dialogue-writer though, does a better job. Yet, it is this films novel concepts that drive the linear story from scene to scene, with only a few pauses for songs. The main reasons though behind Luck‘s watchability is the spot-on casting, quite obvious in the roles that Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan play, but equally effective in the castings of Danny Denzongpa and Ravi Kissen. Playing yet another standard “cool” gang-leader, as we’ve seem him play ever so often, Dutt manages to give his character a winsome charm. Imran Khan is a potential star in the making, this being his boy-next-door-turned-hero transformation. Shruti Haasan, veteran actor Kamal Haasan’s daughter, in her film debut, is gorgeous to a fault and adds the requisite and obligatory glam factor.

A lot of the film’s charm lies in two actors rarely seen in modern Bollywood films. Danny Denzongpa has, without good reason, not been very active recently. In this return to mainstream Bollywood, he infuses the role of Tamang with his own unique style. Tamang is neither a good or a bad guy, he is just an opportunist out to make the best use of his time. He exudes a sense of authority over the players, respectfully steps aside for Moussa, yet mentors Ram when needed. Similarly Ravi Kissen, a star from regional cinema, brings a slant to his obnoxious character that makes Raghav as intriguing as nutty. He has a way of grabbing our attention, and without the likable charm of Dutt, Kissen colours his role in darker shades. It is for these two characters, Tamand and Raghav, that Soham writes the best lines. Witty one-liners are peppered throughout the script, as both these actors sometimes deliver them to explosive verbal effect.

Upstart mainstream directors backed by a big budget are often susceptible to the suspension of logic in their movies. Soham Shah is no different. The required quota of melodrama and suspension of belief reaches questionable heights in the last act. By then though, the movie has garnered enough points for its entertainment value, to let the closing become an excusable, minor groan. With the amount of fun the film provides, viewers should have no hesitation in hoping for an equally obnoxious sequel, with a new set of players.

Five years ago, director Anurag Kashyap tore through the press, public and Bollywood with his mighty sophomore feature, Black Friday, a riveting drama chronicling the Mumbai Bomb Blasts of ’93. Its release was blocked by Indian courts due to the ‘sensitivity’ of its themes, but a lot of international acclaim was generated for the quality filmmaking on display. Kashyap now gives us Gulaal, a movie about the Rajputs and their desire for an independent state. Equally controversial (for Indian courts) and equaling Black Friday’s greatness, Gulaal is another achievement for India’s Independent cinema, one that threatens to be lost in the melee of everyday Bollywood.

The film is set in an unnamed city of Rajasthan, with a deteriorating law and order situation. Dukey Bana (Kay Kay Menon) is an over-zealous Rajput. As the self-styled kingpin of control, he strives for an independent ‘Rajuptana’ state. To achieve that end, he enlists Ransa (Abhimanyu Singh) and his roommate Dileep Singh (Raj Singh Chaudhary, also the co-screenwriter), students from a local college, to contest the student elections and add some political muscle to his fight. As the film digs deeper into issues of student politics, separatism, honor and ego, Gulaal creates a complex reality and then peel away the layers to reveal truths about the chaotic state of regional India.

Kashyap doesn’t take long to establish his players — he tells an engrossing story and gets the characters to inhabit it on their own individual terms. This help to flesh out a strong existence for them, which in turn adds to the requisite depth to the film’s realism. Notably, Kashyap allows the audience to discover the machinations behind the motivation of some key characters, especially in the case of Karan (played with a burning intensity by Aditya Srivastava) and his sister Kiran (a stunning debut by Ayesha Mohan, who also happens to be the Assistant Director). Equally stunning is the scene-stealing performance by Abhimanyu Singh as the foul-mouthed, reckless Ransa. He makes the performance so real, that it would be both surprising and shocking to ever watch the actor out-of-character. All these wonderful performances revolve around a composed yet maniacal portrayal by Kay Kay Menon in what has become his forte. His opening monologue carries so much fervor that it throws the audience into the midst of the chaos that the movie examines.

Putting yet more people from the crew in front of the camera, Kashyap hits a home-run by having lyricist/music director Piyush Mishra play the eccentric elder brother to Kay Kay Menon’s Dukey Bana. Piyush Mishra’s Prithvi Bana, along with his “ardh-nar” mime, becomes the voice of philosophical cynicism commenting on the futility of man’s greed. At one point, Prithvi Bana has an imaginary conversation with George W. Bush demanding all the disappeared oil to light the Diwali lamps. From quoting John Lennon to Jawaharlal Nehru to Sahir Ludhianwi, Piyush Mishra’s presence and input makes the movie a literati’s delight.

With his trademark hard-hitting dialogues and a taut script, Kashyap proves that he is a writer-director worthy of representing Indian independent cinema on the international circuit. The only caveat is that Gulaal does require a basic idea of what state politics and powerplay can be like in regional India. But although it is set in Rajasthan, the movie becomes a metaphor for what transpires all over India, and quite possibly, in third world countries and lawless states globally.