Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Rising 'yes', Rousing 'no'
“Rising was like a case of erectile dysfunction. Ketan Mehta got it to rise, but failed to keep it up,” a friend quipped.
Mehta also managed to raise quite a few eyebrows, thanks to the gratuitous display of skin in the film. It seems Mehta has a mammary fixation. When he got wife Deepa Sahi to go topless in Maya Memsaab, one thought he was bowing to the dictates of the script, but what made him pack in such a lot of titillation in a “historical” film like Rising?
Early in the film he gets in a scene where an Indian ayah is shown breast-feeding her English charge a la Mandakini in Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Then he gets Kirron Kher (that’s how she is spelling her name nowadays) to let it all hang out. Okay, one could argue that she was a kothewali, but then what about the “item” number complete with bosom-heaving banjaras later in the film?
Rising has all the elements of a good movie, but Mehta fails to get it all together. So you have impressive art direction (a Raj-era officer’s bungalow is reproduced with an immaculate eye for detail) but a faulty script (amid rising tension as Indian sepoys plan the mutiny everybody suddenly bursts into a Holi song). Excellent acting (not considering Amisha Patel) is marred by the fact that the Hindi spoken by the English actors is so heavily accented that half of it is incomprehensible. Also, while Rising is not jingoistic like Gadar neither is it rousing like Lagaan. Which is why, Shyam Benegal’s Junoon still remains, in my opinion, the best film ever made on India’s First War of Independence.
“Rising was like a case of erectile dysfunction. Ketan Mehta got it to rise, but failed to keep it up,” a friend quipped.
Mehta also managed to raise quite a few eyebrows, thanks to the gratuitous display of skin in the film. It seems Mehta has a mammary fixation. When he got wife Deepa Sahi to go topless in Maya Memsaab, one thought he was bowing to the dictates of the script, but what made him pack in such a lot of titillation in a “historical” film like Rising?
Early in the film he gets in a scene where an Indian ayah is shown breast-feeding her English charge a la Mandakini in Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Then he gets Kirron Kher (that’s how she is spelling her name nowadays) to let it all hang out. Okay, one could argue that she was a kothewali, but then what about the “item” number complete with bosom-heaving banjaras later in the film?
Rising has all the elements of a good movie, but Mehta fails to get it all together. So you have impressive art direction (a Raj-era officer’s bungalow is reproduced with an immaculate eye for detail) but a faulty script (amid rising tension as Indian sepoys plan the mutiny everybody suddenly bursts into a Holi song). Excellent acting (not considering Amisha Patel) is marred by the fact that the Hindi spoken by the English actors is so heavily accented that half of it is incomprehensible. Also, while Rising is not jingoistic like Gadar neither is it rousing like Lagaan. Which is why, Shyam Benegal’s Junoon still remains, in my opinion, the best film ever made on India’s First War of Independence.
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LOL. About the cleavage show in the film, I think what Mehta wanted to do was make the film raw and robust. Bring in an element of sexuality into freedom fighter territory, because in most other films, freedom fighters have been shown to be celibate, selfless, asexual beings.
The more probable explanation is that Mehta is a pervert. Undoubtedly.
The more probable explanation is that Mehta is a pervert. Undoubtedly.
And you know why Amisha Patel was included in the cast? For comic relief, of course! The scene in which she trips over the doorstep with a glass of milk in her hand and then clutches her white lord and master's sleeve and tells him 'yeh apshagun hai' in a tear-laden voice and trying to look like a lost little lamb... har har har. Am still ROTFWL.
Dude! This is a family blog! What's with the "failed to keep it up" talk? :)
And ref. "what made him pack in such a lot of titillation in a “historical” film like Rising"...why? Mammaries have heaved throughout human history, they didn't begin with Raj Kapoor films you know...
And ref. "what made him pack in such a lot of titillation in a “historical” film like Rising"...why? Mammaries have heaved throughout human history, they didn't begin with Raj Kapoor films you know...
Somebody talked about Amisha Patel's acting prowess. Must have missed the drop of tear rolling down her cheek. That was sublime. The only real scene in the film. Amisha must have got a "real" kick while making "reel" love to a gora sahib. After all, its not often that she will get such a chance. So, she made the most of it and cried tears of ecstasy/disbelief.
# posted by 
: 12:22 PM
: 12:22 PM
1. I would beg to differ with jabberwork on the issue - agreed skin shows have been on since a long time but its the context which I think Tridip is talking about. The show was totally unnecessary in such a movie. According to me, the skin shows totally diluted the movie.
2. As a friend of mine put it, "okay" movie which lacks "punch." One doesn't "feel" for the main protagonist!
3. But good eye on details.
4. Good one-time watch.
2. As a friend of mine put it, "okay" movie which lacks "punch." One doesn't "feel" for the main protagonist!
3. But good eye on details.
4. Good one-time watch.
# posted by : 12:24 PM
: 12:24 PM
And Saptak, by the looks of it, cleavage exposition has not evolved much. Rani and the husky come-hither banjarans matched the Bacardi babes for every goddamned inch.
# posted by : 12:26 PM
: 12:26 PM
True blogisite!! And if the Bacardi babes are any indication, the evolution has gone negative!!!
# posted by : 12:31 PM
: 12:31 PM
I really was not looking forward to watch the film but hey looks like its gonna be real intresting.....that was a good one bro..
Romit: was making attempt to write meaninglessly funny sentence, not to be taken seriously etc...but okay, whatever you say.
Now that I have my opionion posted I can read everybody else's. And you raised a good point.
There are two different planes on which we can talk about Rising.. From the Ketan Mehta perspective and from the Aamir Khan perspective.
The movie is still good despite Ketan Mehta and movie is not great inspite of Aamir....
There are two different planes on which we can talk about Rising.. From the Ketan Mehta perspective and from the Aamir Khan perspective.
The movie is still good despite Ketan Mehta and movie is not great inspite of Aamir....
So what's the bottom line? Should we pay to see the film or not?
In passing - I really feel good that 'HMS Ulysses' is one of your favourite books. The Kapok Kid going tap tap tap ... Jai should write about how cinematic that can be. (How about the most cinematic moments that never made it to the screen?)
But Salma Agha .. SALMA AGHA in that august group of your musical likes?
J.A.P.
In passing - I really feel good that 'HMS Ulysses' is one of your favourite books. The Kapok Kid going tap tap tap ... Jai should write about how cinematic that can be. (How about the most cinematic moments that never made it to the screen?)
But Salma Agha .. SALMA AGHA in that august group of your musical likes?
J.A.P.
JAP: Pay to see the film, by all means. Better still, get someone else to pay for your ticket. It's one of those films one has to watch, if only to see how the director botched it up.
J.A.P. Honoured by your august presence here. The Marauder, I see, has adequately answered your first question. About Salma Agha, all I can say is that it has to do with the nasal element in her singing. Even Nazia Hassan shares this quality. But, I abhor this in male playbacks, especially in this certain Mr Shanu (or should I say "Hanu", speaking with my mouth shut and chanelling the sound through my nostrils). Anyway, could relate wholeheartedly to your "air guitaring" to Knopfler!
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