Desicritics Author: Ankur Bhatia

Indian Cricket - Wear Red Underwear to Win?

Ankur Bhatia — Tue, 3 Mar 2009 05:10:21 EST

Sky Blue or Deep Blue? Does it really matter? After a long time the Indian Team 'looks' good on the field and its all thanks to Nike who have managed to create a kick ass jersey which is striking and stylish. The new deep blue jersey was in the making for about 18 months and it was made keeping in mind the requests of the players to keep it light and well ventilated. But apart from it these advantages (and of course it being less prone to dirt like Dhoni said) does it really make any other difference.

Team India lost the first two matches that it played with the new jersey but it is just absurd to blame the new jersey for it. And the media is primarily to blame for it. They are the ones who brought this rubbish thought out in the open. I mean India lost the first match and suddenly the media were looking for someone to blame. Why? because our team is just about to become no. 1 in the world and that's why they can't play badly. So it has to be the new Jersey. And its even more absurd to have colour therapists sitting in the studios of news channels discussing the ill effects of the deep blue colour. " It is a dark colour which brings down your pulse rate and you stop becoming aggressive, they should wear a colour which increases the pulse rate and makes them aggressive" Hello? We lost the match because we were over aggressive. And the icing on the cake was the therapist asking the Indian Team to wear Red Underwear as it will make them aggressive. Yes, Its true and I saw this myself.

Just going by pure facts, the sky blue Indian Team didn't even make it to the second round of the 2007 world cup, the dark blue Sri Lankan team won the 1996 World Cup and the New Zealand team for years had the All Black Jersey. South Africa for years has been wearing a darker shade of green, and even Pakistan shifted from their light green of 1992 world cup to a darker Green. And to think, the media would have all these stats memorized.

Another thought that can be taken is, If India had won the two Twenty-20 matches, would the media have credited the New Jersey for it? I mean if the colour of a Jersey was gonna dictate how the team performed then why bother playing?

Who ever has the better Jersey, Wins.

Irrfan 'The Mindblowing' Khan

Ankur Bhatia — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:06:50 EST

Irrfan Khan is not your regular hero but he is one of the rare breed of actors who can kick some serious butt even if he is pitted against your typical hero in his very own backyard. But he hasn’t reached such a stature overnight. It’s taken years of TV serials, numerous passable films and a lot of hard work. He got his first break in films with Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay but unfortunately his scene was deleted before the release. He went on to play the role of Senapati in the famous Chankya on TV and was also seen in the award winning film Ek Doctor Ki Maut in 1991. Still, it wasn’t until 2003 that he was really noticed in India even though he did The Warrior which won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film.

In 2003 came Haasil, a gem of a film based in Allahabad about student politics and love which got Irrfan his first Filmfare award for the negative role as Ranvijay Singh. This was what his career needed and he hasn’t looked back since then. Over the past 6 years he has done films across various genres and played so many memorable characters. His performance in films like Maqbool, Life…In a Metro and Mumbai Meri Jaan speaks volumes about his range and talent. It was because of such performances that he got films like The Namesake and the Angelina Jolie starrer A Mighty Heart which got him rave reviews in Hollywood.

The Namesake in particular was a special performance by the man who just expresses so much by his body language that he doesn’t even need dialogues. He makes you live his character along with him which is something that can only be said for the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro etc.

If people were wondering what more can this man offer, he has given us another unforgettable performance as Billu. He captured the helplessness and simplicity of Billu perfectly and did it so naturally that it was hard to believe he had ever been anybody else but Billu. Hats off to this fine actor who, in spite of not having the personality of a star continues to inspire and amaze. He is a complete superstar in my book and I hope we see many such performances.

Movie Review : Dev D, Cult To The Core

Ankur Bhatia — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:03:10 EST

Its not often that one comes across a cult film, one that becomes a benchmark for film makers for years to come. But the funny thing about such movies is that they very rarely appeal to the masses. Dev D is one such film which a lot of people just could not stand and others fell in love with it, including me. Its just a question of whether the sensibilities of such a film hit the right spot in your mind or not.

Dev D for me is a beautiful film, one that is a modern age classic. Every frame, every sec, every dialogue, every song of the film is poetry in motion. I am not going to get into the story since everyone knows what it is. But there are a lot of differences from the original Devdas as Dev in this film is not as a big a loser as described in the book, and this becomes clear by the end of the movie.

Mahi, who plays Paro is top notch as the girl who is madly in love with Dev and would do anything to make him happy, even if it means going to a different city to get her nude photo developed or getting a mattress into the fields to have sex. Kalki is also good but her inexperience shows in crucial scenes which hold them from reaching their full potential. Evidently Abhay Deol puts in a scintillating performance as Dev. He underplays effectively with the help of subtle gestures with his eyes and gives a new dimension to this Devdas.

But all this does not make it a classic (though it plays a part), it reaches that benchmark because of the treatment given by Anurag Kashyap in adapting this saga into a modern age version. The picturization of songs is there to be seen, admired and fall in love with, specially <i>Pardesi</i>. And the songs are not in there for the heck of it. All of them enhance the mood of the film and their timing is just perfect, specially <i>Emotional Atyachaar's</i> Rock version with the timing of its scream. The camera work is another one of its highlights. From the underwater shots to the shot of a completely drunk Dev getting up with a shaky camera, all of it is fantabulous.

If you like Dev D, you wont be able to forget it. It will stay with you and make you feel as if you are in a trans.One that you don't wanna get out of.

Slumdog Millionaire - A Millionaire for sure but an Oscar?

Ankur Bhatia — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:30:23 EST

I don't want to get into the habit of pulling down the expectations of everyone but i don't even want to praise something just because its got an Oscar nomination. Having said that Slumdog by no means is a bad film. In fact its a superb film, one that takes you on a ride which is fast, crisp and exhilarating. The cast is fantastic specially the small kid who plays Jamal(junior most) along with Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor who plays the two faced host with perfection. Even the others like Irfaan Khan and Saurabh Shukla fit in very well. Also there are some scenes that will stay with you forever like the young Jamal running covered in shit to take the Big B's autograph or the eye popping beggar scene followed by a heart wrenching chase.

However the most fantastic thing about the move is its screenplay which moves between present and past with such ease and purpose. Simon Beaufoy surely deserves the Oscar nomination and so does Chris Dickens the editor of the film for such sharp work.

Also if there is something else that is Oscar worthy it is the score by A.R. Rahman which complements the happenings of the movie phenomenally well, be it O.... Saya, Paper Planes or even Jai Ho. Its funky, peppy and very apt. A special mention for the brilliant cinematography (Oscar nominated) by Anthony Dod Mantle who captures the slum streets and brothels with utmost honesty.

So now the big question, Oscar? No. Not now, not ever. The only reason that it has reached such heights is because apart from being a good film it is directed by Danny Boyle and not Ashutosh Gowarikar or Rakesh Om Praksah Mehra. I see no reason why Slumdog can be nominated and Taare Zameen Par, Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho... can't be.

One very important point. There is a scene where a driver beats up Jamal Junior for stealing something and Jamal tells the American couple that this is what real India is, and the American Couple say " We will show you what real America is like" and hand over some cash. What does Danny want to prove here? That we Indians only know how to beat up and don't have feelings? Or that Americans are so better of than Indians when it comes to forgiving someone? I really don't know but i sure would like to ask him that.