I saw the picture "Dev" on the day before yesterday at a multiplex.
It was the first time that I went to the only multiplex in town. My friends had said that the acoustics were horrible - and I can confirm that now ! In the middle of "Dev", I heard music from another hall alongside ! The ticket fares run into three figures and though the facilities are good, they certainly don't do justice to the high ticket rates. As soon as there is good competition or after the novelty wears off, I expect that this multiplex will see tougher days.
Here is my review of the movie itself !
"Dev" is a movie that has come from the heart. Govind Nihalani directed the hard hitting "Ardh Satya" in the '80s. This one is in the same vein, but (in my opinion), diluted. The picture begins with the disclaimer that there should be no parallels drawn with real life incidents, but as the director has himself disclosed in an interview, the story has been triggered by the Gujarat riots.
The story, briefly, is : Dev (Amitabh) and Tej (Om Puri) are friends and policemen who are in the police force to rid the country of evil. Dev and Bharati (Rati Agnihotri in a cameo) lose their young son named Armaan by Tej, to the bullets of terrorists.
Over the years, Dev and Bharati pledge to honour the memory of their son by retaining their sense of compassion and love. On the other hand, Tej cannot reconcile the loss of Armaan who used to call him "uncle daddy". Tej becomes totally prejudiced and feels that all the Muslims of the country are traitors ! The communal riots in the metropolis becomes a stage for the confrontation of these two viewpoints and ultimately the violence claims both Dev and Tej.
In my opinion, both Om Puri and Amitabh have turned in superb performances. The reviews in the newspapers pointed to a scene after a building is burnt down, when Dev brokes down in front of Bharati. The reviewers have got it right this time : Amitabh is superb in the scene, showing the anguish and guilt, since he was powerless to prevent the burning of helpless people caught locked in their houses. Similarly, Om Puri excels where the two friends meet over drinks and Tej defends his idea of extremism. Dev's retort is to salute him and say "Heil Hitler" !
Among the other characers, Farhaan (Fardeen) is a hot headed young man who feels Dev is an extremist and plans to kill Dev. Over time, he recognises that Dev is tolerant, since Dev does not arrest him though he was present at a site of a bomb blast - and this was after he had already been arrested once. He realises that Dev is impartial and compassionate.
Farhaan, Dev and Tej are manipulated by the CM ; his aide, who is a Hindu fundamentalist ; a Muslim leader and his sidekick. To the politicians, the people are only a means to the end of obtaining power and this is clearly seen in the interactions between the CM, his aide and also the leader.
Dev clearly identifies the CM's aide as a person who was responsible for the riots, using the FIR filed by Aliya (Kareena Kapoor, looking like a Muslim middle class girl that she plays). Dev later also places the blame squarely on Tej when the aide sets a building on fire, with the inmates locked in. Tej merely stood and did nothing and Dev reports this.
The CM tells Tej to ensure that the report does not become public. Tej arranges to handicap Dev but unfortunately Dev is killed in the melee. A remorseful Tej kills himself, later. However, the picture ends on an optimistic note with Farhaan, Aliya and Bharati joining forces and Farhaan donning the robes of a lawyer with Dev's final report entering the halls of justice.
I like the picture for a few important viewpoints that it brings : first, not all Muslims are evil ! Secondly, not all Hindus are right wing Hindu fundamentalists ! Third, it is easy to generalise and therefore become prejudiced. Fourth, in a democracy there are institutions that still work :-) The judiciary and police may be criticised for a lot of shortcomings, but they do serve useful purposes. "Last but not the least", violence is no answer to any problem : it just ends up in a spiralling circle that keeps on growing worse and worse !
As I said earlier, I found parallels in real life to the story in the film. Gujarat, Godhra, Best Bakery come to mind immediately. To every thinking Indian who would like to see a balanced viewpoint on communalism, I will recommend this picture.
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
It was the first time that I went to the only multiplex in town. My friends had said that the acoustics were horrible - and I can confirm that now ! In the middle of "Dev", I heard music from another hall alongside ! The ticket fares run into three figures and though the facilities are good, they certainly don't do justice to the high ticket rates. As soon as there is good competition or after the novelty wears off, I expect that this multiplex will see tougher days.
Here is my review of the movie itself !
"Dev" is a movie that has come from the heart. Govind Nihalani directed the hard hitting "Ardh Satya" in the '80s. This one is in the same vein, but (in my opinion), diluted. The picture begins with the disclaimer that there should be no parallels drawn with real life incidents, but as the director has himself disclosed in an interview, the story has been triggered by the Gujarat riots.
The story, briefly, is : Dev (Amitabh) and Tej (Om Puri) are friends and policemen who are in the police force to rid the country of evil. Dev and Bharati (Rati Agnihotri in a cameo) lose their young son named Armaan by Tej, to the bullets of terrorists.
Over the years, Dev and Bharati pledge to honour the memory of their son by retaining their sense of compassion and love. On the other hand, Tej cannot reconcile the loss of Armaan who used to call him "uncle daddy". Tej becomes totally prejudiced and feels that all the Muslims of the country are traitors ! The communal riots in the metropolis becomes a stage for the confrontation of these two viewpoints and ultimately the violence claims both Dev and Tej.
In my opinion, both Om Puri and Amitabh have turned in superb performances. The reviews in the newspapers pointed to a scene after a building is burnt down, when Dev brokes down in front of Bharati. The reviewers have got it right this time : Amitabh is superb in the scene, showing the anguish and guilt, since he was powerless to prevent the burning of helpless people caught locked in their houses. Similarly, Om Puri excels where the two friends meet over drinks and Tej defends his idea of extremism. Dev's retort is to salute him and say "Heil Hitler" !
Among the other characers, Farhaan (Fardeen) is a hot headed young man who feels Dev is an extremist and plans to kill Dev. Over time, he recognises that Dev is tolerant, since Dev does not arrest him though he was present at a site of a bomb blast - and this was after he had already been arrested once. He realises that Dev is impartial and compassionate.
Farhaan, Dev and Tej are manipulated by the CM ; his aide, who is a Hindu fundamentalist ; a Muslim leader and his sidekick. To the politicians, the people are only a means to the end of obtaining power and this is clearly seen in the interactions between the CM, his aide and also the leader.
Dev clearly identifies the CM's aide as a person who was responsible for the riots, using the FIR filed by Aliya (Kareena Kapoor, looking like a Muslim middle class girl that she plays). Dev later also places the blame squarely on Tej when the aide sets a building on fire, with the inmates locked in. Tej merely stood and did nothing and Dev reports this.
The CM tells Tej to ensure that the report does not become public. Tej arranges to handicap Dev but unfortunately Dev is killed in the melee. A remorseful Tej kills himself, later. However, the picture ends on an optimistic note with Farhaan, Aliya and Bharati joining forces and Farhaan donning the robes of a lawyer with Dev's final report entering the halls of justice.
I like the picture for a few important viewpoints that it brings : first, not all Muslims are evil ! Secondly, not all Hindus are right wing Hindu fundamentalists ! Third, it is easy to generalise and therefore become prejudiced. Fourth, in a democracy there are institutions that still work :-) The judiciary and police may be criticised for a lot of shortcomings, but they do serve useful purposes. "Last but not the least", violence is no answer to any problem : it just ends up in a spiralling circle that keeps on growing worse and worse !
As I said earlier, I found parallels in real life to the story in the film. Gujarat, Godhra, Best Bakery come to mind immediately. To every thinking Indian who would like to see a balanced viewpoint on communalism, I will recommend this picture.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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