Why does Ram Gopal Verma make movies? Answer: Because he likes making movies.
Its sometimes hard to comprehend people like Verma talking about doing things just because he likes to. Does that mean he doesnt like other stuff. No! He probably likes to go home, watch CNN show some crap about the world, eat some dinner, andhra pickle and ice cream with his family more than he likes to make movies. But now, he would be no different than others, would he?
When I first watched Satya back in '98 in Hyderabad with one of my buddies, when movie-watching for me was a way of getting out of the house on your motorcycle, have some chai, get a smoke, I went into the theatre with normal expectations of watching a good, well-directed RGV movie. The buddy I was with, is a die-hard fan of the director and has a lot of information regarding what makes the director 'click' and how he manages to make movies in a non-bollywoodish style. He figures, that Verma has a vision. A vision? Every director has a vision, for gossake! True, but what's different with Verma is that he first envisions the audience getting a spell-binding experience out of watching his movies..other movie-makers might envision different things like distributors queing up, people thronging the movie theaters etc. Sure, Verma also wants people to watch his movies, but its with a different attitude. He wants to make it different for the audience when they watch his movie. I have listened to my friend, buddy talk about things like this for more than ten years. And I believe him.
Satya is the story of a simple man who, after arriving in Mumbai comes to power in the underworld through sheer grit, cleverness and a bit of luck. Verma does not waste time in flashbacks. I have read on one of the numerous fan sites that Verma originally thought of making an action movie, and started off making Satya. I feel he ended up making a different movie altogether. Spontaneous. Nothing is said about where the main protagonist comes from, what makes him come to Mumbai or what drives him inside. All throughout the film, he is projected as a normal, simple human being. Ruthlessness is a misdeamenor. He was probably born with it. The way Verma introduces the characters in this movie is nothing short of sheer genius. They are just a few among the millions, but then they are different..like the director wants them to be. The best part is, you agree with him. You do not understand why and how you connect with the characters in this movie, but you do. The best of them all..Bhiku. Actor Manoj Bajpai made this character look so effervescent and clear that you do not doubt for a moment that he is in fact, a member of the shady group. In spite of realizing the fact that all members of the bhiku gang are hardcore criminals, you begin to connect with them and in certain stages, like them for what they are doing.
One thing you will notice about Verma's performers. They are not great actors, no sir. But they all have wonderfully expressive eyes or the most amazing body language. Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai, Nagarjuna, J.D Chakravarty, Jagapathi Babu (Gaayam), Abhishek Bachchan and of course, Urmila. All the above listed actors have, in one movie or the other have mesmerized me with their performances..only using their eyes. This is what RGV excels in. You dont need loud, garish costumes, music or special effects to show off action scenes, menace or destructive scenes. Silence, clever lighting and the actor's portrayal of his character using minimal body language can also have the same impact, if not a better one. One other thing, among many is the minimal usage of lighting for scenes. Dark scenes dominate most of the movie's indoor shots. You also get to see Verma's trademark body-mounted camera moving rapidly during action scenes.
Satya's character develops slowly over a period of two hours and the shattering climax brings out the desperation, anger, frustration and ultimately a fitting end. No longer is he, the calm, calculated criminal...he is kicking, screaming, crying and dying to meet his humiliated girl friend. Verma brings out the best in this relatively unknown, untapped actor.
A remarkable effort, I must say, by RGV for making a movie so different yet so close to the heart of Indian movie-goers. Succeeding in doing so, he has proven that he has the talent, resources, technical expertise to make world-class movies which almost everyone will watch and wonder how he was able to do it. That, I think is exactly what Mr. Verma wants. Encores all the way.
Friday, October 28, 2005
The dogs of small things
Movies. Why do we watch a movie? What drives a person to watch a movie? Mind you, movie-making is different. It is a career-driven aspiration for some people to make movies, earn money, fame and overall satisfaction. But movie-watching is a completely different subject. It deals with human nature, interests, experiences, acquaintances yadayadayada.
I realized one day, that if I want to tell people something I know, I am not sure about how my reaction would be once I have finished expressing what I wanted to say. Would I feel satisfied, peaceful, content or what!? So , here is something I am attempting..
Last week, I was in one of those big electronic markets which sells everything that has the letter 'e' in its name or whatever-its-called. After spending about twenty minutes browsing three floors, finding nothing interesting or rather, finding everything unaffordable, I walk down to the lower level of the store where they have one of the biggest DVD/CD collections in town. Now, I've had some titles in mind that I wanted to buy and add them to my modest collection. These include some movies from Hollywood and Bollywood which I have recently read reviews of, on the internet. Now, you may ask..is reading reviews my favorite pastime? You betcha..
So Im looking for this one title which I have heard rave reviews of, and as I recall..have seen the movie in one of those college parties when I was half-drunk. Now, Reservoir Dogs is not exactly everyone's favorite movie, but let me finish.
Quentin Tarantino is a great storyteller, for sure. He probably stole this script from someone or some book or just dreamed it up..(Written by him, actually). Now, direction is something which has to be developed over a period of time..not many people are born with the talent for directing movies. Starting from the first shot of this movie, you see situations which do not appear in your regular hollywood movies. The movie is bloody, sure..but its the way the editor cuts between the scenes which give you the hair-raising experience of watching this Tarantino movie.
The movie starts off with this bunch of guys sitting around a table having breakfast, or rather finishing up breakfast and discussing about random stuff. Yes, thats 'RANDOM STUFF'. For many, this will remind them of a scene between John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson discussing about stuff relating to how fast food joints are known across the world. Pulp Fiction is considered a classic by many because of this unique methodology employed of getting the viewer involved in the proceedings of the movie. You first listen to these people talking, and initially, you can't help but wonder if the director is just trying to kill time with the wafer-thin storyline he has on his hands. You are right. That is exactly what the director has on his hands..a piece of story which probably has been recycled so many times in Hollywood, that it actually starts to smell like the trash-can in sardine-land. But then, as soon as the scene shifts, you see, on the screen, something so utterly indescribable, unrelated and unexpected that you can't help but again wonder why you had underestimated the director's talents in the first place
.
The story goes something like this..five people team up for a crime which goes wrong because someone tipped off the police. That someone is from the team of five. Tarantino does not make any mockery of the script by hiding things irrelevant to the narrative..instead, he concentrates on simple story-telling, taking the viewer from such a wonderful perspective of vision that you end up holding your breath for too long. He does not mock the viewer, instead he taunts them to guess how each character unfolds. Mr. Blonde, when first shown seems like a relatively harmless guy, loyal to his friends and wrestles with the ganglord's son. If you look at scenes of Michael Madsen having fun with the cop later on, you wouldn't want to even see the guy ever in your life, let alone wrestle with him. I seriously have second thoughts about being Madsen's fan. Harvey Kietel's character is again a revelation. Is this guy ruthless, caring, too sensitive, goddamit! What! Tim Roth is one of those underrated actors who need a movie like this to showcase their true potential. His agony, pain, helplessness and finally his apologetic scene stays with you for a long time even after the movie has ended.
I will not ask you to go watch this movie if you feel like watching it, if you like slick movies etc etc.. Instead, I will ask you rather to think about how you would imagine yourself to be in one of the character's shoes, if at all you get the chance to watch the movie. I would rate this movie as a classic example of story-telling at its best. Colorful.
I realized one day, that if I want to tell people something I know, I am not sure about how my reaction would be once I have finished expressing what I wanted to say. Would I feel satisfied, peaceful, content or what!? So , here is something I am attempting..
Last week, I was in one of those big electronic markets which sells everything that has the letter 'e' in its name or whatever-its-called. After spending about twenty minutes browsing three floors, finding nothing interesting or rather, finding everything unaffordable, I walk down to the lower level of the store where they have one of the biggest DVD/CD collections in town. Now, I've had some titles in mind that I wanted to buy and add them to my modest collection. These include some movies from Hollywood and Bollywood which I have recently read reviews of, on the internet. Now, you may ask..is reading reviews my favorite pastime? You betcha..
So Im looking for this one title which I have heard rave reviews of, and as I recall..have seen the movie in one of those college parties when I was half-drunk. Now, Reservoir Dogs is not exactly everyone's favorite movie, but let me finish.
Quentin Tarantino is a great storyteller, for sure. He probably stole this script from someone or some book or just dreamed it up..(Written by him, actually). Now, direction is something which has to be developed over a period of time..not many people are born with the talent for directing movies. Starting from the first shot of this movie, you see situations which do not appear in your regular hollywood movies. The movie is bloody, sure..but its the way the editor cuts between the scenes which give you the hair-raising experience of watching this Tarantino movie.
The movie starts off with this bunch of guys sitting around a table having breakfast, or rather finishing up breakfast and discussing about random stuff. Yes, thats 'RANDOM STUFF'. For many, this will remind them of a scene between John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson discussing about stuff relating to how fast food joints are known across the world. Pulp Fiction is considered a classic by many because of this unique methodology employed of getting the viewer involved in the proceedings of the movie. You first listen to these people talking, and initially, you can't help but wonder if the director is just trying to kill time with the wafer-thin storyline he has on his hands. You are right. That is exactly what the director has on his hands..a piece of story which probably has been recycled so many times in Hollywood, that it actually starts to smell like the trash-can in sardine-land. But then, as soon as the scene shifts, you see, on the screen, something so utterly indescribable, unrelated and unexpected that you can't help but again wonder why you had underestimated the director's talents in the first place
.
The story goes something like this..five people team up for a crime which goes wrong because someone tipped off the police. That someone is from the team of five. Tarantino does not make any mockery of the script by hiding things irrelevant to the narrative..instead, he concentrates on simple story-telling, taking the viewer from such a wonderful perspective of vision that you end up holding your breath for too long. He does not mock the viewer, instead he taunts them to guess how each character unfolds. Mr. Blonde, when first shown seems like a relatively harmless guy, loyal to his friends and wrestles with the ganglord's son. If you look at scenes of Michael Madsen having fun with the cop later on, you wouldn't want to even see the guy ever in your life, let alone wrestle with him. I seriously have second thoughts about being Madsen's fan. Harvey Kietel's character is again a revelation. Is this guy ruthless, caring, too sensitive, goddamit! What! Tim Roth is one of those underrated actors who need a movie like this to showcase their true potential. His agony, pain, helplessness and finally his apologetic scene stays with you for a long time even after the movie has ended.
I will not ask you to go watch this movie if you feel like watching it, if you like slick movies etc etc.. Instead, I will ask you rather to think about how you would imagine yourself to be in one of the character's shoes, if at all you get the chance to watch the movie. I would rate this movie as a classic example of story-telling at its best. Colorful.
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