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5+
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8 years
Reviews
Dear Dad (2016)
Honest, but flawed
Tanuj Bhramar's new film, Dear Dad, has been a bit of a revelation for me. As I walked into a packed theater over the weekend, I noticed in line, ahead of me, walking to their seats, women with odhnis around their heads, children at their hips, elderly couples, and hipster young things with their flipflops and DH Lawrence haircuts. What an odd bunch of movie goers, and yet, how exciting to see India transform in front of my very eyes; to see this diverse population come to watch a film about a father coming out to his teenage son! Bravo, Tanuj Bhramar for making this happen.
Now, onto the film itself. The film revolves around a road trip, a father, who has confronted his wife with the fact that he is gay, takes his teenage son his boarding school in Mussoorie. During this trip, Nithin (the father, played by a more than capable, and intense as always Arvind Swamy, of Bombay and Roja fame), confesses his homosexuality to his father. In an unabashed moment, a few feet away, fuming like a volcano, his son (Shivam, played by Himanshu Sharma), has happened to overhear the entire conversation.
From here on out, much like a teen angst movie, we are confronted with endless scenes of an almost teary eyed father and a furious son trying to come to terms with the fact that they have been presented with a rather weak script. What could have made for an exceptional premise, is completely spoiled by ridiculous subplots, involving a reality TV star, and an oddly androgynous panacea delivering guruji.
Shivam's only concern, is a genuine one. Like most teenagers, he cares only about himself. He is not angry with his father for being gay, he only cares that the life he loved and cherished will now be destroyed, due to his father's selfish nature.
The ending of the film has a rather interesting twist. Save that, the rest of the film rings hollow. Some scenes look stagy and unreal. The dialogue, while sometimes shining in it's brilliance, is yet at other occasions, mired in the mundane, and downright silly.
There are several honorable mentions in this film.
Firstly, Aravind Swamy. It is rare to see a man with such presence on screen, such command over the art of underplaying a complex character, with such ease. He is a joy to watch, and a sight to behold. Truly, an excellent comeback for an actor who deserves this and much more. Kudos, as well, for taking on such a controversial role; for without his presence, this film would never have made it to the multiplex near me.
Secondly, the man playing the role of the reality TV star. I am not sure of what his name is, and who he is, but an excellent performance in a small role.
Third, the background score and the music. While I would be the very first to agree that the background score is very much "inspired", from what seems to me to be the works of Thomas Newman, Jan AP Kaczmarek, and even Gustavo Santaolalla, I think it is an excellent effort. The music does really fuse with the movie quite well, except for the percussive comedy piece (during the Guruji scene), which was downright silly and absurd.
The only song in the film is a throwback to the likes of David Karsten Daniels and Alexi Murdoch, a nice, gentle, tugs-at-the- strings-of-your-heart kind of song.
Overall, A for effort, and I give this film 8 out of 10, for being the brave little cub that it is, standing in the face of adversity, it's head held high!
Now, onto the film itself. The film revolves around a road trip, a father, who has confronted his wife with the fact that he is gay, takes his teenage son his boarding school in Mussoorie. During this trip, Nithin (the father, played by a more than capable, and intense as always Arvind Swamy, of Bombay and Roja fame), confesses his homosexuality to his father. In an unabashed moment, a few feet away, fuming like a volcano, his son (Shivam, played by Himanshu Sharma), has happened to overhear the entire conversation.
From here on out, much like a teen angst movie, we are confronted with endless scenes of an almost teary eyed father and a furious son trying to come to terms with the fact that they have been presented with a rather weak script. What could have made for an exceptional premise, is completely spoiled by ridiculous subplots, involving a reality TV star, and an oddly androgynous panacea delivering guruji.
Shivam's only concern, is a genuine one. Like most teenagers, he cares only about himself. He is not angry with his father for being gay, he only cares that the life he loved and cherished will now be destroyed, due to his father's selfish nature.
The ending of the film has a rather interesting twist. Save that, the rest of the film rings hollow. Some scenes look stagy and unreal. The dialogue, while sometimes shining in it's brilliance, is yet at other occasions, mired in the mundane, and downright silly.
There are several honorable mentions in this film.
Firstly, Aravind Swamy. It is rare to see a man with such presence on screen, such command over the art of underplaying a complex character, with such ease. He is a joy to watch, and a sight to behold. Truly, an excellent comeback for an actor who deserves this and much more. Kudos, as well, for taking on such a controversial role; for without his presence, this film would never have made it to the multiplex near me.
Secondly, the man playing the role of the reality TV star. I am not sure of what his name is, and who he is, but an excellent performance in a small role.
Third, the background score and the music. While I would be the very first to agree that the background score is very much "inspired", from what seems to me to be the works of Thomas Newman, Jan AP Kaczmarek, and even Gustavo Santaolalla, I think it is an excellent effort. The music does really fuse with the movie quite well, except for the percussive comedy piece (during the Guruji scene), which was downright silly and absurd.
The only song in the film is a throwback to the likes of David Karsten Daniels and Alexi Murdoch, a nice, gentle, tugs-at-the- strings-of-your-heart kind of song.
Overall, A for effort, and I give this film 8 out of 10, for being the brave little cub that it is, standing in the face of adversity, it's head held high!
Jacobinte Swargarajyam (2016)
A Dishonest Attempt
Jacobinte Swargarajyam released a few days ago, and being a "Gulf" malayalee of posterity, I punched in at 9:45 on a Friday evening, expecting something akin to a gentle, cute family film. And at that, my wish was fulfilled. But, in almost every other sense, this film, in it's painful entirety, is a lost cause, a bright spark, destroyed. Before all of you get all anal about my intentions here, let me start by saying that I have loved most of VinSri's movies, and almost anything with Nivin Pauly in it.
Let me start with my biggest gripe with this film. Having spent all 18 years of my childhood in the Gulf, I always have issues with Malayalam films about people who live there. There is a certain outsider's perspective, the dialogs and shots focused skyward resembling a child in a carnival. Most of us have lived in these concrete Gulf canyons for years, and we do not look skyward. We do not get impressed by it's sheer grandeur, and it's infinite promises. It's only a part of our lives that we choose to overlook, like the color of your car's dashboard, or the poor quality of the coffee in your office canteen. Dubai is not a magical city for those who live there. It's just like any other place. My second gripe with this film are the characters. I appreciate that this film is inspired by true events, and I do not know as much about the titular character and his family as does VinSri, but almost all of them seem like hollowed out shells. Not one of them looks like they belong in family. Even as they huddle for those all important family photos (taken on you guessed right, an old analog camera), the distances between them jump out of the screen. And the less said about Renji Panicker's performance the better. This isn't the stage Renji. You may make a good voice over artist, but your what your voice garners in conviction, your face gives up.
I will gloss over the performances of the other actors in the film, save from the one of Abin, which feels complete, and much at peace with itself. Neither the stereotypical achhayathi mother, or the ever smiling young son (chubby for good measure) manage to ring true even for a moment.
My biggest gripe is with Nivin Pauly. An actor of his caliber should be more careful in choosing roles. His talent is wasted in almost every scene, his usual genial face replaced with a constipated "God What Am I Doing Here" look that makes you cringe.
This whole film, it's brilliant premise, and everything good about a financial struggle in a world ruled by money, and it's eventual, predictable yet acceptable effect on character building, are let down more than all, by the uneven and quite frankly exasperating directing by VinSri. His characters, his camera, his dialogs, and even his music feel out of place. It almost feels like he decided to make up what life in the Gulf may be like, and then shot it based on what he felt it may look like.
I hope for the day when a movie about Malayalees in Dubai will not include a shot of the Burj Khalifa or Sheikh Zayed Road or desert safaris. I hope for a day when actors will realize that in order to look like the MD of a company, you will need to do much more than wearing all fitting suit. I hope for the day when a negative character will not have to come with a deformed lip, excessive beard and speak a different language in default mode. I hope for a day when the hard work of business is not reduced to a montage of unfunny quips and close up inserts of currency stacks. I hope for a day when film makers in Kerala will start considering expats in the gulf as real people, with identities and features separate from their surroundings, with individuality, and not as standardized bar coded by-products of a city they live in. I hope for a day when the true Gulfkaaran will be immortalized on screen, not as an Alice in the Wonderland of Dubai come lately, but as a person with the exact same emotions and sentiments as anyone else, living anywhere in the world.
2 Stars.
Let me start with my biggest gripe with this film. Having spent all 18 years of my childhood in the Gulf, I always have issues with Malayalam films about people who live there. There is a certain outsider's perspective, the dialogs and shots focused skyward resembling a child in a carnival. Most of us have lived in these concrete Gulf canyons for years, and we do not look skyward. We do not get impressed by it's sheer grandeur, and it's infinite promises. It's only a part of our lives that we choose to overlook, like the color of your car's dashboard, or the poor quality of the coffee in your office canteen. Dubai is not a magical city for those who live there. It's just like any other place. My second gripe with this film are the characters. I appreciate that this film is inspired by true events, and I do not know as much about the titular character and his family as does VinSri, but almost all of them seem like hollowed out shells. Not one of them looks like they belong in family. Even as they huddle for those all important family photos (taken on you guessed right, an old analog camera), the distances between them jump out of the screen. And the less said about Renji Panicker's performance the better. This isn't the stage Renji. You may make a good voice over artist, but your what your voice garners in conviction, your face gives up.
I will gloss over the performances of the other actors in the film, save from the one of Abin, which feels complete, and much at peace with itself. Neither the stereotypical achhayathi mother, or the ever smiling young son (chubby for good measure) manage to ring true even for a moment.
My biggest gripe is with Nivin Pauly. An actor of his caliber should be more careful in choosing roles. His talent is wasted in almost every scene, his usual genial face replaced with a constipated "God What Am I Doing Here" look that makes you cringe.
This whole film, it's brilliant premise, and everything good about a financial struggle in a world ruled by money, and it's eventual, predictable yet acceptable effect on character building, are let down more than all, by the uneven and quite frankly exasperating directing by VinSri. His characters, his camera, his dialogs, and even his music feel out of place. It almost feels like he decided to make up what life in the Gulf may be like, and then shot it based on what he felt it may look like.
I hope for the day when a movie about Malayalees in Dubai will not include a shot of the Burj Khalifa or Sheikh Zayed Road or desert safaris. I hope for a day when actors will realize that in order to look like the MD of a company, you will need to do much more than wearing all fitting suit. I hope for the day when a negative character will not have to come with a deformed lip, excessive beard and speak a different language in default mode. I hope for a day when the hard work of business is not reduced to a montage of unfunny quips and close up inserts of currency stacks. I hope for a day when film makers in Kerala will start considering expats in the gulf as real people, with identities and features separate from their surroundings, with individuality, and not as standardized bar coded by-products of a city they live in. I hope for a day when the true Gulfkaaran will be immortalized on screen, not as an Alice in the Wonderland of Dubai come lately, but as a person with the exact same emotions and sentiments as anyone else, living anywhere in the world.
2 Stars.