FILM REVIEW SACHIN CHATTE

Straight From the Heart

Film: A Star Is Born

Cast: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott

Directed by: Bradley Cooper

Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins

Rating:  * * * *

During times when remakes are more of money making than a creative exercise, A Star Is Born comes like a breath of fresh air. Actor turned director Bradley Cooper makes an assured debut and is impressive both behind and in front of the camera. But it is the singer turned actress Lady Gaga who steals the thunder here and surely Cooper won’t mind that – their chemistry in the film is charming which ensures that this musical hits all the right notes.

This is the fourth cine version of A Star Is Born, the first three came almost two decades apart the previous one – Janet Gaynor played it first in 1937 opposite Fredric March, the Judy Garland and James Mason version was in 1954 and Barbara Streisand reprised the role with Kris Kristofferson in 1976 – the last film being the least acclaimed of the three. While the Gaynor film was about an aspiring actress, the musical element was introduced with Garland and the Streisand as well as this film is all about a singer, songwriter.

The core of the story is timeless but it still has to be adapted well – Cooper and the co-writers have done a tremendous job of sticking to the basics and have given an endearing film. Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a rock star whose glory days are behind him but he still very capable of pulling the crowds. Maine, who looks like a cross between a country singer and a 70’s rock star, is also carrying a lot of baggage – he has a drinking and drugs problem and a strained relationship with his elder brother (Sam Elliott) who also doubles up as his manager. Like an automobile that won’t move without fuel, Maine cannot function without guzzling down some alcohol. Cooper doesn’t go over the top while playing drunk, he lets his disheveled hair and dopey eyes play the part.

On the other hand there is Ally (Lady Gaga), a singer and song writer though the first time he sees her, she is singing at a drag bar (she is friends with the queens there so they make an exception for her), she is crooning Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose. He is impressed with her singing and asks her out for a drink. She treats him more like a human being than a star – he likes that and reciprocates in the most gentlemanly manner. Instantly, they form a connection. Next thing you know, he has kept his private plane ready for her to attend one of his concerts. Not just that, he also invites her on stage to sing one of her original songs. Soon enough a star is born but it also comes with its own set of complications. She is at a point where the world could be at her feet (like the real life Lady Gaga)  Even though they have a strong bond it is thwarted by Maine’s problems. This story could well be called A Star Has Faded if you look at him as the main protagonist.

The film benefits tremendously from the inspired casting of Lady Gaga in the lead role. Being a diva, she plays a commoner with such conviction that you feel for Ally. And when the time comes to let it rip as a singing sensation, she is in her element. The soundtrack has some hummable tunes like Shallow which, in all likelihood will sweep the awards in the next season. The film itself will be in the reckoning and with all the singing awards, Lady Gaga might even add some for her acting talent. A star of a different kind is truly born with this film.

 

No Fizz

Film: Helicopter Eela

Cast: Kajol, Riddhi Sen, Tota Roy Chowdhury

Directed by: Pradeep Sarkar

Duration: 2 hrs 18 mins

Rating: * *

Based on the Gujarati play Beta, Kaagdo by Anand Gandhi, Helicopter Eela directed by Pradeep Sarkar is a slog – so much so, that two different groups of teeny boppers in the theatre were chatting continuously throughout the film and nobody seemed to mind – there wasn’t a great deal of difference between what was going on screen and off screen.

The story doesn’t quite have the panache to become a film that will keep your attention and the editor was conspicuous by his or her absence – there is a scene in a music studio where a song is being recorded which goes on and on – you could have your lunch and come back and you’ll find it still going on.

Even though Kajol is a fantastic actress, she is appears to be lost about her character – most of the time, she shows more excitement than a kid who has had a double dose of sugar. She plays Eela, a single mom who runs a tiffin business but joins her son (Riddhi Sen) in completing her studies, when she is in her 40’s. Ashwini Iyer Tiwari’s superlative Nil Battey Sannata (2015) has a similar plot and a much better background story.

In flashback, we are old about how she loved to sing, when she was young. Her friend turned husband (Tota Roy Chowdhury) supports her to the hilt. In the process of exploring her singing options, we get to see cameos by Mahesh Bhatt, Ila Arun, Shaan, Anu Malik and even Baba Sehgal. You want the story to move but it stands there like an obstinate mule.

The second half takes a turn for the worse and while the mother-son bonding has its moments, there are hardly any redeeming factors otherwise. Riddhi Sen who won the National Award earlier this year for Kaushik Ganguly’s Nagarkirtaan plays his part as a young adult while Kajol in inconsistent in this consistently dull film.

 

Bright Side of the Moon

Film: First Man

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy

Directed by: Damien Chazelle

Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

Rating: * * * *

Based on the book by James Hansen, First Man directed by Damien Chazelle is about Neil Armstrong, the first human being to walk on the moon. The film is largely a biopic of the astronaut, from the point where he was interested in flying.

The 33-year-old Chazelle, whose previous three films (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Whiplash, La La Land) were all based on music, deftly manages to tell a no frills but highly engaging story. He submerges you in the complexity of what was going on at NASA at that time – the space race with the Soviets was in full swing and both countries were pushing hard to prove a point. And then the mission itself, to boldly go where no man had gone before – that also meant there was a chance that they would never come back. In the process we also learn about Armstrong’s domestic life and given his work scenario, it wasn’t exactly bubbling with enthusiasm.

Chazelle has already proved that he has an eye for visuals – the actual moon landing event was always going to be the highpoint of the film and the manner in which the director (and his team of regulars) have crafted it, it doesn’t disappoint. Even the sound (or lack of it) is used most appropriately.

The story unfolds about in the early 60’s almost a decade before the actual moon landing that took place in July 1969. Armstrong, was a test pilot with NASA then and on the personal front, he lost his three-year-old daughter. His wife Janet (Claire Foy) has the thankless job of looking after the other two kids and juggling between Armstrong’s risky job. There is too much uncertainty about the missions and it gets only worse when three members of the Apollo I crew were charred to death in the cabin in 1967.

Armstrong along with Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins was then chosen for the mission that made history as we know it now. Back then it was a palpable time for everyone involved, the individuals and their families. In a poignant scene Armstrong is forced by his wife to sit with the kids and explain to them about the mission – and that he may never return.

Chazelle holds your attention with the manner in which events unfold – he leaves out the unnecessary dramatization and sticks to the key ones in the most effective manner. Even the planting of the American flag is omitted – the film is about man’s landing on the moon, not necessarily about an American national stepping foot.

Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 comes to mind when one talks about space missions – in fact the character of Jim Lovell (which was played by Tom Hanks in that 1995 film) is briefly seen in First Man.

Of the cast, there are two potential nominees for the Oscars here – Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy – she emotes the travails of torn housewife quite effectively.

First Man is a captivatingly told story and it is also a triumph for Chazelle, whose dream run at the movies continues and hopefully will last for a very long time.

 

Fantasy Horror

Film: Tumbbad

Cast: Sohum Shah, Anita Date

Directed by: Rahi Anil Barve

Duration: 1 hr 53 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

Tumbbad directed by Rahi Anil Barve is a film that is very high on atmospherics but is let down by the screenplay. It is Pankaj Kumar’s stunning cinematography that takes the cake above everything else here. The dark grey skies, the blood red interiors of a spooky place, they all add up in creating the right mood. The rest of it belongs to the genre of fantasy/ drama which is not really explored much in Hindi cinema.

With three different chapters starting from 1918, Tumbbad opens with a quote by Mahatma Gandhi – “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not for everyone’s greed.” That in many ways gives away part of the story. In the prologue we are told about the demon god Hastar and how he came into being. There is an old granny in the house who looks straight out of a Ramsay film – she is scary and fierce but if you remind her of Hastar, she goes to sleep. Welcome to the world of Chandamama.

A little boy and his brother are often traumatized by the presence of the granny – they live in a house that is far away from civilization and that doesn’t help. In chapter two, the young boy grows up to become Vinayak (Sohum Shah) who knows about a treasure but he can’t access all of it. Instead, he gets a few gold coins at a time after going through an ordeal. Even after collecting so many of them, his lifestyle doesn’t show much affluence or comfort, unless you count his bike. The third and final chapter is set in 1947 and has its moments as Vinayaks’s son advises him about how to get the treasure. But then we already know what Gandhiji said about need and greed so we know where this is heading and how it will end.

If Tumbbad was trying to make a larger point than what the visuals suggested, it escaped me. It appears as a straightforward story and the basic parable about human greed is well taken but beyond that, it doesn’t have a lot of offer. At some point, the characters even look more thick than greedy.

What helps the film stay afloat is the visuals and Rahi Anil Barve’s direction – they are unfortunately let down by the script that raises more questions than answers them.