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October 20, 2005
Eight Days a Week
FILM
Mollywood’s already lifted elements from The Usual Suspects in two recent films, Kaante and Dus. Now, with Chocolate, debutante director Vivek Agnihotri goes one better and pretty much copies the Bryan Singer film almost whole. Unfortunately, while his presentation is slick, Agnihotri doesn’t bring much honour to the original.
Sunil Shetty, Irrfan Khan, Emraan Hashmi, Arshad Warsi, and Tanushree Dutta play aspiring musicians forced into pulling off a hi-tech bank heist in London. When Khan and Dutta are hauled up by the police as prime suspects in the case, reporter Sushma Reddy and big-shot criminal defense lawyer Anil Kapoor set about trying to uncover the truth from the two. If you’ve seen The Usual Suspects you probably know where the movie goes from here. If you haven’t, then you’ll find it impossible to figure out what’s going on. And that’s not just because it’s a complicated script but because it barely holds together.
There are plenty of plot holes. Agnihotri would have been better off sticking to an almost exact remake of the original instead of bringing in the few cosmetic changes that he does because those very changes break the movie. For instance, the Anil Kapoor character in the original was a cop (played by Chazz Palmenteri). Making him a lawyer makes no sense within the context of the film. On top of that, the moment of the big reveal is extremely sloppily filmed making it almost incomprehensible.
The dialogue doesn’t help either because it tries too hard to be hip and trendy. But, instead of being clever it just comes across as kind of pathetic. The acting also leaves a lot to be desired because Reddy and Dutta are really quite bad and even the generally reliable Anil Kapoor goes well over the top here.
However, the cinematography is hard to fault and the songs (including two ripped off from Pakistani pop numbers) are kind of catchy though superfluous in a movie that’s supposed to be a thriller. A nice wrapping doesn’t help if the core is empty.—Khusro Mumtaz
OR
Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Manish Jha, Matrubhoomi – A Nation Without Women is set in India’s near future. The tradition of female infanticide has resulted in the disappearance of almost all the female population in a small, rural village and surrounding areas. As a result, young men have no women to marry and have turned into brutish, pornography-watching louts. When a priest manages to chance upon the nubile Kalki (the charming Tulip Joshi), being raised in hiding by her father, the wealthy landowner Ramcharan (Sudhir Pandey) purchases her for his eldest son. Hence begins a tortuous existence for Kalki which will eventually have severe repercussions on the entire village.
Matrubhoomi is a movie with a strong message. Unfortunately, the message tends to overwhelm the film as a whole and the apocalyptic ending comes across as a little too pat and contrived. The misfortunes and degradations heaped upon Kalki could have easily come from a Lars Von Trier (Dogville, Breaking The Waves) film and are almost too painful to watch ––- which I suppose is the point ––- but by the end they only become mind-numbing.—K.M
CLASSIC MOVIE
Considered somewhat of a failure when it was first released, Vertigo (1958) has now come to be regarded as one of master director Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films and certainly one that revealed much about his own personal obsessions. James Stewart plays Scottie, a retired police detective who suffers from vertigo. Hired by an old school friend to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak) who’s been behaving strangely, Scottie proceeds to fall in love with the cool, icy blonde (the description of almost every Hitchock heroine). Then tragedy strikes.
The solution to the mystery, when it comes, seems to hinge precariously on a few too many coincidences. But that’s actually beside the point. Adapted from a French novel, D’entre les morts, the movie changes mid-way from being a mystery to a creepy little tale of obsessive love, control, dependence and surrender. That’s where the movie’s brilliance lies.
Hitchcock’s treatment of the script is faultless. Keep a look out for Hitchcock’s technical innovation in the way he depicts Scottie’s vertigo by the simultaneous tracking-in/zooming-out of the camera as well as the director’s brilliant use of colour (the cinematography is by Robert Burks, a frequent Hitchcock collaborator) and the haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, another Hitchcock regular. Available on DVD.—K.M
SINGLE
There’s no doubt that Gwen Stefani is very cool. She is funky, original and has star presence. However, it’s songs like her latest solo single Cool off Love, Angel, Music, Baby that remind us of her superstar talent.
Just like the last single she wrote for former love and No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal –– the heartbreaking Don’t Speak –– Cool is one of the best singles of her career. This time around, however, the straight-from-the-heart song celebrates Stefani and Kanal’s friendship and the healing in their relationship. Co-written and produced by Dallas Austin (TLC, Mary J. Blige & Madonna), this light mid-tempo tune actually has a lot of depth. The combination of a retro eighties beat with a very millennium electro groove is alchemic.
Stefani relates And after all the obstacles/It’s good to see you now with someone else/And it’s such a miracle that you and me are still good friends/After all that we’ve been through/I know we’re cool/We used to think it was impossible/Now you call me by my new last name/Memories seem like so long ago/Time always kills the pain.. The cadenced chorus — we’re co-oo-l — is melodic, subtly sexy, surprisingly memorable and incredibly catchy.
Although Hollaback Girl and Rich Girl have proven to be big hits off this album, it’s Cool on which Stefani is her most authentic, vulnerable and co-oo-l.—T. U. Dawood
ALBUM
After almost four years, Toni Braxton with her deep, smoky vocals and sexy, subtle sound returns to the music scene. From her first single the heartbreaking Love Shoulda Brought You Home off the Boomerang soundtrack to her first hit the poetic Breathe Again, Braxton quickly proved that she had the ability to become an industry favourite. By the time she donned her famous skintight white jumpsuit to sing You’re Making Me High and broke quite a number of hearts with the Diane Warren-penned Unbreak My Heart, the multiple Grammy Award winner had carved a niche for herself as one of the most memorable voices in the music industry.
Her latest album Libra is choc-a-bloc full of great music ranging from catchy, mid-tempo ballads such as Trippin’ (That’s the Way Love Works) and I Wanna Be to jammin’ fly numbers like the catchy first release Please and the seductive inquiry What’s Good? In fact, there are quite a lot of potential hits on the disc. Although the sexy white jumpsuit is long gone, it’s clear the Preacher’s daughter knack for making incredible music is still very much intact.
Please is already garnering a fair amount of radio and video play and is quintessential Braxton with its minimalist lyrics, classic R&B style and provocative promises. The backbeat in particular will have you hooked. Similarly, Trippin’, which rumour has it will be the second release, has a great chorus. In fact, most of the singles on Libra are melodic, listenable, catchy and show off Braxton’s distinctive voice.
Although this diva’s return is not in the same league as Mariah Carey’s super-comeback, Libra is the best Braxton album since 1996’s Secrets. The only catch to the disc is it clocks it at just over forty minutes! Fortunately, in Pakistan and the UK most versions of the super-short album feature two bonus tracks: Suddenly and Long Way Home.
Fans can finally breathe again now that Braxton is back.—T. U. D
TV
A Ramazan special, Zikr is a 25-minute talk show produced and hosted by
Atiya Khan, aired everyday throughout the holy month. Focusing on different aspects of Islam, every episode concentrates on one subject discussed by two or three learned Muslims, occasionally including ordinary people also. Shown on HUM TV at 6.30pm every day.—S.R
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