My Story of a Cinema Going.

How many times have you gone to a theatre to watch a movie? I've gone plenty of times, and probably the list may well have been destroyed beyond recollection. But every now and then one of those movie-going-experience becomes different, memorable. Don't ask how they become memorable, it could be the rush-hush and adventures of getting the ticket, it could be the face of one beautiful girl you came across and it could also be for some disgusting incidents that took place. Here's my little story of going to a cinema some days back.

In this land where names sound more like that of a breaking of plates, getting to talk in English is rare. Even rarer is to watch an English movie in theatres and the rarest of incidents took place this December 1st. The movie My Name is Khan released in China.

Traditionally only 20 foreign language movies are permitted a release in China and this year My Name is Khan was one of those top 20 movies which makes it to the cinema halls in China, and stunningly, 10 months after its real release. The news of the release came out in the first week of November and we happened to know that Shahrukh Khan & Karan Johar would be there in Beijing for the premier of the movie in China. So our initial plans were to fly to Beijing to meet them. Fly to a city 1200 KM away, to meet an actor, and almost during our exam time. Plan dropped!

Then we came to know that the movie is releasing in two malls in Nanjing and we were again excited. Days passed by as exams came and swept us away. Someone had kept a remainder for the 30th of November, reminding the release of My Name is Khan and things were back in minds and plans were to be made again. Anxiousness was the ask of the day even though the movie had been watched a few days after its release in some cheap camera prints and later in crystal clear DVD's.

We will whistle when the titles roll. We will throw paper pieces when SRK makes the intro. We will shout; we will clap; we will create havocs.

Every Indian had a reason to be proud of because no movie of any other friends of ours had come here; none of those Pakistani/Nepali/Srilankan/Indonesian/African movies. God knows if all of them have even a film industry. So this positive energy continued from the classroom to the lunch hall and several friends from other campuses joined us too. The energy followed us through the metro trip to the place, and racing against time, we reached the hall at 2.45 PM and the show was supposed to start at 2.40.

Having reached the ticket counter, there was not many people enquiring or picking up tickets even though the mall had 9 theatres or so. We asked tickets for "My Name is Khan" which they didn't understand in the first go. So the geek among us who ate-drank-and-slept on Chinese language asked the lady in that language and she replied with a mouth full of flourish. "Wo de ming jiao ke an?" and the smile continued. That was incidentally the name of the movie in Chinese which translates to My Name is Khan literaly. So we shouted back "Yeah!!".

Suddenly her smile kind of disappeared and she asked the lady in the next counter, who seemed to know better English and the lady informed us. " Wo de ming jiao ke an mei you yinwen, shi zhong wen"

All our plans were broken down to pieces!! The damn movie was in Chinese and not Hindi/English. All the excitement and preparations only to see a Chinese poster of My Name is Khan.

INCEPTION – A Review! (Guest Post)

This is a guest post by one of my buddies Shivam, an intelligent human being who has a unique way of seeing and reasoning things. His bio in twitter reads

I am an instance i.e. object of my own class, so all those who know me is via this object only; n not all methods n variables are accessible outside the class!

This post is against all the notions of a regular movie review, as this is being published some 2-3 months since the movie release. But then i saw this movie yesterday and having read this awesome review, i can’t resist posting it here. An Excellent review this, my friend! Thanks for allowing me put it up here.

 

It’s not easy to settle one’s mind with resonant and original films these days when no-brainers are dropping in continuously, but imagine what can happen when comes something like INCEPTION! While being not-just-a-mind-flick, it surely does require us to bring a lot of CPU in with some adrenaline and a bit of (p)research is a bonus. Yes, because this is one film of our time which is sure to enthrall us, entertain us, numb us and definitely leave us with something uncomforting yet satisfying. Contradictory? Yes, it is; not that the film is, but the thoughts derived by viewers can be for sure.

After his blockbuster and acclaimed “The Dark Knight”, returns the man, Christopher Nolan, the new age psychogenic sneaker, who has already shown his astonishing skills in ever confusing Memento(2000) and other gems like Insomnia(2002) and The Prestige(2006). Interestingly, Inception being his only original film after his first, Following(1998), bears a lot of similarity with the latter in terms of thought process, but the scale and the range of the film is higher than even its contemporaries.

The core plot of the film sounds and appears tad easy, as Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a subconscious thief, who can steal people’s ideas and secrets from their mind through dreams, while they are asleep, gets a last job of “Incepting” an idea rather than stealing it, which will redeem him from his past and he can go back home to see his children, and hence, he assembles a team of highly skilled “dreamwrokers” which will perform inception on the mind of Robert Fischer Jr.(Cillian Murphy) , heir of his dying father’s empire, so that he subverts it instead of prospering, which will ultimately end rivalry for the tycoon Saito(Ken Watanebe), one who offered this deal to Cobb. Cobb’s team includes Arthur(Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who is the right hand of Cobb; Ariadne(Ellen Page), the newly appointed dream architect; Eames(Tom Hardy), forger in the dreams; Yusuf(Dileep Rao), the sedative expert. Also, there is Mal(Marion Cotillard), the deceased wife of Cobb, who diverts and sometimes spoils the whole process of breaking into dreams by appearing in his subconscious, whose mind still preserves her as a part of active memory. However, it’s the proceedings and the multiple levels of dreams which are there to entangle the audience, much like most of the director’s previous films.

Film runs at a decent pace, including the first half which lays the rules and guidelines of dreams and makes it a little simpler for one to grasp the second half given that one should not dare to blink even once through both. While it is said that Nolan’s films are devoid of the fundamental human emotions, Inception is another reply to that statement involving both psychological aspects of humans, and reasoning with sentiments. A testament of that is abstruse intimacy of Cobb with his wife and children who provide him all reasons to risk his life and are integral part of his emotional subconscious.

Performances by all actors are scenic and come alive together as they all bind together seamlessly, still as the protagonist, Dicaprio takes a leap from others, depicting struggle with reality and dreams as his domains; whereas Levitt sizzles as a strong and subtle support for Cobb and Tom Hardy lives the kick-ass forger very effortlessly. Ellen Page also plays a critical responsibility of connecting Cobb’s own internal upheaval and its resultant effect on his ventures.

Film is packed with astounding visuals, which are no fillers but demand of the realm of dreams with some brilliantly performed chase sequences and gunfights. While the gravity defying scenes are breathtaking, the architectural marvels are worth applause. Special credit goes to cinematographer Wally Pfister for pulling off a lot it with real camera work instead of post CGI. Editing by Lee Smith is another exemplary feature to save it from being uneasy to digest. A word for score by Hans Zimmer is must because it livens up the dreams and extends their limits.

Inception may be regarded as a pure psychological, but it is intended to be received as a Heist Film, so as to function as an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Still, its dialogues are not merely to tell the story, but to describe the philosophy behind dreams and our metaphorical contrasts. Be it “to become old filled with regret” or the reference to “disappointment”, at large the film deals with projecting such expressions into a media to live life with. Totems, used as symbols of individuality and scientifically proven explanation of dreams are some things everyone can relate to.

So, despite the fact that there are many theories to be evolved based on the film (scientifically too) and many more elaborations with debates are expected, it’s a cerebral attempt to uncover the extreme possibility of human brain by the exceptional brain of Nolan himself which without any doubts requires more than one viewing to absorb fully. Nolan sets his own bars higher than the previous but more importantly he enters into subjects which are mostly overlooked or not heeded that well therefore Inception is an essential rendering to try and explore more into the depth of our being.

I can go for 5 on 5 for it, but that is uneasy to explain fully until one gets to experience it on their own just as dreams are experienced themselves.