Like a spy thriller should be – tightly packed suspense against a backdrop of stark reality

IIPM Mumbai Campus

The spying game

Can a female spy thrill minus the car chases and rooftop leaps a la Angelina Jolie in “Salt”? One look at Naomi Watts as CIA agent Valerie Plame in the opening sequence in Doug Liman’s “Fair Game” and your answer will be a resounding yes.

Liman tells the true story of Plame, whose covert status as a CIA agent is revealed by officials looking to discredit her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson after he, in an op-ed piece in The New York Times, accuses the Bush Administration of manipulating intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to invade Iraq. The story unfolds Bourne like across three continents – Asia, North America and Africa as we find Valerie cornering sources in Iraq while Joe travels to Niger to find out the facts behind an alleged Uranium deal. Liman did a terrific job of reinvigorating the good old spy thriller with the Bourne series and he keeps the energy going here, fuelled primarily by the familiar premise and superb performances from Watts and Sean Penn. Penn as Wilson is his usual self assured, pensive and intense self while Watts superbly brings to life the grace under pressure and strength of character a mother (who also happens to be a spy) should possess.

“Fair Game” is both an intelligent and exciting watch. So what if the crash boom action is missing here; it crackles with the energy of the lead pair.

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No One Killed Jessica: Bringing down The Elephant

IIPM Mumbai Campus

A heavy dose of untempered reality

In one of the scenes of the film we see Sabrina (Vidya Balan) walking, and the next moment getting blocked by an elephant. This fleeting moment in the film sums up the film like no amount of dialogue could, for “No One Killed Jessica” is about how Sabrina Lall was pitted against political behemoths in her struggle to see her sister Jessica’s murderer punished. What in the

beginning seemed like an open and shut case was twisted such that the murderer managed to go scot-free, as India watched in wide-eyed astonishment and horror at how the people in power had hoodwinked the Indian judiciary.

The two protagonists suit their roles to a T, while Vidya Balan in her loose tees and massive specks gives a restrained yet powerful performance, Rani Mukherjee, as a hardened media person, shows us after a long time just why she is one of the leading ladies of Bollywood. Myra Karn as Jessica puts up a spirited performance while Rajesh Sharma as the tough cop, who wants the killer behind bars yet doesn’t shy from accepting Rs 70 lakh in return for not hurting the accused, is simply superb.

“No One Killed Jessica” was a difficult film, for while the makers hold that it is a fictional take on the case, the audiences in the theatres do already know the plot and even the climax. Given that, director Raj Kumar Gupta creates a film with great pace, suspense and emotions, however, it does not manage to strike hard enough. Ruminate and reflect, yes, but it does not make one tremble with rage or curse hard enough at the sordid state of affairs in our capital. After “Aamir”, Gupta had set his bar rather high, and while he does succeed in creating a very good film, it stops short of being excellent.

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Guzaarish: Dying to live!

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It is said actions speak louder than words. If one were to look at Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s body of work, “Khamoshi,” his first film, had a deaf and mute couple among the lead players and in his “Black” he went a step further and made the main protagonist blind. All these characters relied on just actions and never had the benefit of words to express themselves. With “Guzaarish” he does a complete U-turn with the character of Ethan Mascarenhas.

Ethan, once a great magician, is confined to bed for the last 14 years due to a tragic accident that cripples him for life. He continues to remain in public memory through his radio show which talks of positivity and hope. Sophia, his dutiful nurse, takes care of his every need. The story takes off when Ethan expresses his wish to end his life legally. The frustrations and the spirit with which he deals with his condition and the way people dear to him and society react to his strange Guzaarish (request) are what the movie deals with primarily.

Talking of performances, if the only means one had to express himself was just the face and nothing else, chances are one would run out of expressions in a matter of seconds. Imagine doing the same thing over the span of more than two hours and you will see why Hrithik Roshan deserves to win each and every award out there for his performance as the paraplegic character Ethan. In the brief flashback portions of the movie we are also witness to sequences where Ethan the magician performs some extremely graceful, fluid and almost magical moves. Interestingly, the entire flashback episode is devoid of any dialogues. This is where the brilliance of the director emerges; he beautifully juxtaposes these two extreme states of the character between the past and the present, in the process narrating a very sensitive story.

In contrast to the extreme limitations that he binds his characters with, Bhansali does the opposite where it concerns the world in which his characters reside. There is opulence and grandiosity even if the subjects are living in penury. The world Ethan inhabits is a curious mixture of art and architecture that is hard to be classified into a certain time frame or region. The way the camera, lighting, costumes and music are used, looks as if poetry meets painting, creating a rare art form that seems to be a brilliant departure from the conventional.

While the filmmaker and the lead get to do all the experimenting, the character of the nurse Sophia, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, essays her character with the right measure of composure, compassion and confidence, providing solidity and weight to the proceedings.

“Guzaarish” only proves once again that there is absolutely no director in this country who can beat Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the art of film making. He makes a painting out of each of his frames. He did that even in the film that went all wrong – “Saawariya”. And trust him to invariably take out the finest performances out of all his actors. From Rani to SRK to Big B, they’ve all given their best performances under this magician’s wand. Thank God that Aishwarya Rai, who never really got a camp of her own – with Yash Raj and Karan Johar both virtually staying away from her – got Sanjay Leela Bhansali to show the world her immense acting potential and timeless beauty. And what Hrithik does – and Bhansali makes him do – has to be seen to be believed. He is not just the best looking man in Bollywood, not just the best dancer and the man who must be James Bond sooner or later, but also the man who is unparalleled in the acting department. For direction and for Hrithik and Aishwarya’s acting, we give this film eleven stars out of ten. The other departments become insignificant in front of these.

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