tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post4003425233391876186..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Love across dimensions - on Vikramaditya Motwane's LooteraJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-23561161007417635952013-07-26T07:49:05.204+05:302013-07-26T07:49:05.204+05:30What 'evidence' can there be for their bei...<i>What 'evidence' can there be for their being in love! That is something the actors must convince you of...</i><br /><br />Anon: that's exactly what I meant - that the actors (and the writing) didn't convince me. Have spelled that out in the para you quoted from.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-49303753003220013532013-07-26T00:20:44.275+05:302013-07-26T00:20:44.275+05:30"Too often, I felt I was being simply told by..."Too often, I felt I was being simply told by the script to accept that these two people are intensely in love, without much actual evidence" <br />What 'evidence' can there be for their being in love! That is something the actors must convince you of, and I think they did it, with the help of the director, writer and cinematographer of course.<br /><br />For me, Pakhi & Varun's story did not have any false notes. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-39935985215268877482013-07-10T22:09:36.058+05:302013-07-10T22:09:36.058+05:30I see his act of the last leaf as an attempt to ma...<i> I see his act of the last leaf as an attempt to make sense of his life</i><br /><br />Rahul: possibly, and I don't usually like to argue with someone's interpretation of character motivation etc. But if this was in fact the case, I'd say the film made a little too much of the love story - trying to convince us that these two people are in this deep romantic bond, and that's what it is really all about. Or possibly I'm bringing my own expectations of Hindi-movie romantic love to a story that was meant to have a slightly different focus.<br /><br />Either way, I do feel like I need to see the film again.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-4318447536556214512013-07-10T21:22:58.161+05:302013-07-10T21:22:58.161+05:30Jai, I had misgivings about Ranveer's performa...Jai, I had misgivings about Ranveer's performance too - but thinking back about the film and his character, I think it kind of ties in with the script. Varun has lived a very controlled life - he does not have strong convictions about anything.He is a wishy washy,shallow character. He falls in love with Pakhi, but still goes along with the robbery plan. He thinks he has wronged Pakhi, but still lashes out at her when he thinks she may have called the cops. In the end, he realizes that the two anchors from his life - his friend and his uncle- are gone. He also knows that he is not going to get out of the house alive. So, I see his act of the last leaf as an attempt to make sense of his life - he wants to do something with conviction before he dies.<br />In fact, Varun's character graph is also congruous with the non committal pace of the film.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-33660985455573170762013-07-10T12:17:50.617+05:302013-07-10T12:17:50.617+05:30I am seeing positive "must see classic" ...I am seeing positive "must see classic" reviews about Lootera from all and sundry. <br /><br><br />I remember another Hindi film extolled like this in the recent times "KAMINEY".<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-40134097211488497912013-07-08T08:56:44.429+05:302013-07-08T08:56:44.429+05:30Vanya: that's an interesting take. The more I ...Vanya: that's an interesting take. The more I think about it, the more I feel that my dissatisfaction is related to Ranveer's performance, which felt just a little too callow (or at least inscrutable) in some of the key scenes. Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-41996625487940594782013-07-08T00:18:20.033+05:302013-07-08T00:18:20.033+05:30"In its ending not totally different from Rom..."In its ending not totally different from Romeo and Juliet, whose love is consummated but can't resolve into anything ordinary and ongoing."<br /><br />Couldn't have put it better! Although, that statement would hold true for most "epic love stories" -- Titanic or End of the affair, for example.Vanyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-74808464976421743642013-07-07T22:27:32.489+05:302013-07-07T22:27:32.489+05:30A correction to the taxation figures I mentioned i...A correction to the taxation figures I mentioned in the last comment (where I incorrectly compared Land revenue from Mughal era with total taxes of all kinds during British raj).<br /><br />Here's a more valid comparison.<br />Net annual land revenue raised by Mughal Empire (avg from 1655 to 1761) : 32 million pounds.<br /><br />Net land revenue raised by British govt over a much larger territory (avg from 1869-1879) : 18 million pounds!<br /><br />Interesting! We are not taught these things in school. Because it is politically incorrect.<br /><br />Our netas want us to grow up thinking that the British set up an extortionist tax regime while in reality it was far lighter than the Mughal tax regime.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-76066356267860519552013-07-07T21:59:30.464+05:302013-07-07T21:59:30.464+05:30@ Shrikanth - That's a funny comment on Rai :)...@ Shrikanth - That's a funny comment on Rai :) Yeah, I agree I am placing too much premium on authenticity.Pessimist Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057153008708242962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-79339405635568200972013-07-07T21:43:20.515+05:302013-07-07T21:43:20.515+05:30Vanya - I like your take on things! I'm going ...Vanya - I like your take on things! I'm going to see it again tonight, I miss some stuff always for language reasons - but I took the final scenes pretty much as you did, including the idea that they got what they could out of each other; I'd also say there was some kind of completion or [with apologies for language] "closure" for her. <br /><br />In its ending not totally different from Romeo and Juliet, whose love is consummated but can't resolve into anything ordinary and ongoing.Virginia Kelleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-33184806939222908862013-07-07T20:15:28.381+05:302013-07-07T20:15:28.381+05:30So happy to see you start off praising Barun Chand...So happy to see you start off praising Barun Chanda, I was so taken with him and his presence at the beginning of the film. If I think about it -- by embodying his role so beautifully he contributed so much to telling us about the world in which we begin: his love for his daughter is his life, he had been able to express it by providing her a secure and beautiful life, which includes culture and freedoms; his suffering about her illness points up her vulnerability in spite of his devotion as father, and so on.Virginia Kelleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-67080071553257974222013-07-07T19:42:57.303+05:302013-07-07T19:42:57.303+05:30Jai, I didn't see the movie so much as an epic...Jai, I didn't see the movie so much as an epic love story. The Last Leaf always made me wonder what motivated the painter to make such an enormous sacrifice, and seems to me Motwane built this backstory to address exactly that. Varun seemed driven by guilt more than anything else (for his actions towards Pakhi as well as her father). Plus there are signs that their relationship was too damaged at this point for their story to have a conventionally-happy ending (rather than taking responsibility for it, he blames her for Deb's death; everything she says to him is laced with snark). Spending a day or two pretending the outside world doesn't exist is about as much as they were going to get out of each other.<br /><br />(From a long-time lurker turned commenter.)Vanyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-91936002266451787952013-07-07T19:14:48.487+05:302013-07-07T19:14:48.487+05:30I had similar problems with Choker Bali. It was to...<i>I had similar problems with Choker Bali. It was tough to believe that Aishwarya Rai is a Bengali</i><br /><br />I find it tough to believe that Aishwarya Rai is a Kannadiga!! Tough to believe she is an Indian!<br /><br />I think you're placing too big a premium on authenticity. Back in 1939, Selznick made a film (I forget its name) set in the Deep South of America where both the heroines as well as one of the male leads were English! The film was a big success with uniformly excellent performances. Not for a moment was I bothered by the fact that 3 of the 4 lead actors were British (though they didn't really convince me that they were in fact Americans from the Deep South)shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-2807823270060764932013-07-07T18:57:15.937+05:302013-07-07T18:57:15.937+05:30The East India Company stole riches from the count...<i>The East India Company stole riches from the country and distributed them to the zamindars once</i><br /><br />As an aside I am not sure if this is an accurate statement.<br /><br />The Zamindars predate the East India company. He was a creation of the Muhammedan rulers, unknown to the early Hindu land systems. The Mughals designated the zamindar as the tax collector, obliged to pay a lump-sum to the emperor for the country assigned to him.<br /><br />With the coming of the British, the major change was that the zamindar was transformed from being a tax collector into a proper land lord with proprietary rights.<br /><br />This wasn't looting. It was a change in the system. Was it a good thing? Maybe not. <br /><br />Was the new landlord (circa 19th cen) more oppressive than the powerful tax-collector of the 16th-17th centuries? I am not very sure!<br /><br />Currently reading <i>Indan Empire</i> - a monumental work by WW Hunter, the distinguished Raj Era historian. He openly admits that the Raj is not as efficient at collecting revenues as the Mughal empire! (the book was written in the 1880s)<br />A couple of numbers - <br /><br />Total Land revenue of Aurangazeb in 1697 : 38.6 MM pounds<br />Total taxation of British India in 1869-70 : 35.1 MM pounds!<br /><br />I know this is dicey territory what with problems in quantifying revenues in pounds for two years separated by nearly 200 years. But still!<br /><br />PS : This is not relevant to your review but couldn't resist sharing as I found it very revealing!<br /><br />The book is highly recommended!shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-15534749707177069782013-07-07T18:35:02.788+05:302013-07-07T18:35:02.788+05:30Jai - lol, a lot of people have told me so (that, ...Jai - lol, a lot of people have told me so (that, I am a hard man to please). So, I am a bit on defensive, when people say so :) I agree that this was a film, where putting too much premium on getting details right was perhaps not such an important thing. It was somewhere like a fantasy - an old world thing. I also felt that the emotional graph was to an extent not sketched well by script and not portrayed well by leads to an extent. That getting deeper into love and getting deeper into bitterness needed to be a lot more nuanced or/and elaborated. But, yeah, I am still grappling with what he could have done to make it a more complete film....only thing, I can say is better actors could have embodied under-written characters slightly more...Pessimist Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057153008708242962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-47408752651687287302013-07-07T18:13:21.418+05:302013-07-07T18:13:21.418+05:30Pessimist Fool: All I'll say is, you're a ...Pessimist Fool: All I'll say is, you're a hard man to please! Even if I agreed with all your points, I don't think any of them would have been a deal-breaker in my enjoyment of the film. But I do agree about the scene where Varun shouts at Pakhi about his friend - very little credible emotion there.<br /><br />Anon: didn't really feel the post needed one, given the title of the film and the fact that the "twist", such as it is, is telegraphed quite far ahead. Also, I figured this post would only be read - if at all - by people who have already seen the film.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-84681836593187302922013-07-07T17:00:00.895+05:302013-07-07T17:00:00.895+05:30spoiler alert? spoiler alert? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-47612058386481252352013-07-07T16:47:54.476+05:302013-07-07T16:47:54.476+05:30I felt this film was unreal. However, this was not...I felt this film was unreal. However, this was not a film where one would put too much premium on "realism". But, like they say, there has to be a suspension of belief<br /><br />a) The costumes of lead were just bought from show-room. They seemed to be starched. In a harsh weather like India, it is tough to spot people with such neat clothes<br /><br />b) The haveli is so clean. And, this is supposed to be of a zamindar who is going to lose his zamindari<br /><br />c) Sonakshi Sinha does not come very close a typical Bengali woman (again in my limited view). There is a Bengali sensuality, which Ray so very well captured in Charulata. And given that this was a period film, it was much required. I had similar problems with Choker Bali. It was tough to believe that Aishwarya Rai is a Bengali<br /><br />d) That chase sequence in Dalhousie was done in very artificial way. There was not a single door/window open. There was not a single human being or even animal like dogs and cats apart from the police and the thieves. <br /><br />I also felt that the acting left a lot to be desired. In the scene, when Ranveer shouts at her, when she thinks he has murdered his friend, his limitation as an actor are at display. To me, even the music did not work. It had nothing, which would remind one of those days (again, I have limited exposure to music)Pessimist Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057153008708242962noreply@blogger.com