SecondShow: classic/drama

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hi people I hope everyone are getting ready to have fun on Makara Sankranthi, any Indian festival is meant for good/rich food associated with a unique ambiance. As I am not in India,this day looks very normal to me with no breakfast, no idea about lunch & dinner....but with disk full of movies! From past few days my work is getting tougher and tougher day-by-day and as you all know the only thing which refreshes my mind in these situations is some mind blowing/bending movies! And the first movie that touched both my heart and mind and questioned me...who I am? what I am? where I am? is none other than our own sculpture called "Adi Shankaracharya".

It all started a couple of months back where I am having fun with my childhood friend Ashok at his residence...in a conversation with his dad the topic diverted to spirituality and philosophy and it gave goose bumps when he revealed that our religion (Hinduism) and customs were under threat by Buddhism and Jainism some hundred's of years back. And that's when Adi Shankaracharya has taken the ownership of promoting the greatness of our culture with his philosophy as Advaita Vedanta...and thus he conquered the four corners of the country with his debates and thus Buddhism and Jainism was routed to other countries, though they have founded/started here in India. It took some days for me to believe what Ashok's father has said...but it also increased the curiosity in me to know about this Guru Adi Shankaracharya and in my conquest I came to know about this movie...which was made by G.V.Iyer approx 30 years back with funding from NFDC.

Ok...lets get into the story...

Adi Shankaracharya is born to Orthodox Brahmin couple in Kerala..from the childhood itself our guru has a different view on life. And he believed the only two things which will always be associated with human being is Death and Wisdom. Certain situations makes him understand that our whole wisdom which is built on Vedas is under threat with masses opting for new religions like Buddhism and Jainism. So, he wants to know more about our Vedas and thus educating masses about the importance of Vedas and their true meaning towards our daily life. And he can achieve all this only through becoming a sanyasi. Though his mother rejects the idea intially but in an avoidable situation she will accept it..thus making the way clear for our Guru.

The rest of the story is how our boy shankara becomes Adi Shankaracharya by conquering four corners of our country not with the swords but with his words of wisdom.

As per Vish:- I strongly believe this movie has the ability to show the essence of Indian cinema on global screen. Not that it is technically brilliant but with the knowledge only we have attained through our DNA. Just take the example of early Chinese movies of Bruce Lee which met with over whelming responses by the western audience thus clearing the way for Chinese Cinema. And take the recent example of Korean movies..which are making millions by showing the sensitivity in their romantic movies and uniqueness in their crime-story telling. And you all know about the success of Akira Kurasova movies which met with standing ovation by the world audience. All the above industries represented their culture and uniqueness in their cinema, that is why they have attained a place in Hollywood. No body other than Chinese knew the meaning of 'martial arts' till Enter the Dragon struck hollywood, and thus Bruce Lee achieved success by promoting his country's treasure. No body knew that a love story can be made with out a smooch till Kwak Jae-yong made "My Sassy Girl"...and with the budget less than 5% of Titanic My sassy girl achieved equal amount of success with the world lovers..I mean movie lovers!

So, if we want to really present our cinema on world screen then we have to include our culture as the central point in the story..because it is our trasure. After all who expects burger from an Indian restaurant!!

And coming to this movie..it takes guts to make a movie on a guru like Adi Shankaracharya with so many orthodox people ready to pin-point the mistakes..and that too it is presented completely in Sanskrit language. The movie really haunts me till date and in future with its exceptional explanation of human body with the 5 elements of universe and the way the director showed the presence of Death and Wisdom as the friends of Adi Shankaracharya. Watch it... watch it... watch it and have a happy sankranti :)

Directed by:- G. V. Iyer

You can watch this movie @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ePzneq-Wnk

The Graduate

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Hi people I hope you all enjoyed reading Bridget Jone's Diary! I mean watching ! lol Today I am bringing you 21 year old graduate 'Ben Braddock' life which has some interesting facts. So lets open his diary too...

21-year-old Ben Braddock shortly after earning his bachelor's degree from an unnamed college in the Northeast. The school is widely believed to be Williams College, Webb's Alma Mater (in the opening sequence of the movie, Dustin Hoffman, playing Benjamin Braddock, is wearing a Williams College tie).

The movie begins at a party celebrating his graduation at his parents' house in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles. Benjamin is visibly uncomfortable at the party attended by his parents' friends. He remains aloof while his parents deliver accolades and neighborhood friends ask him about his future plans. Benjamin escapes from each person who comes to congratulate him, exposing his seeming embarrassment at all the honors he had won at college. Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, asks Benjamin to drive her home, which he reluctantly does. We never learn Mrs. Robinson's first name (or, indeed, the first names of any of Benjamin's and Elaine's parents) during the course of the film (in the novel, we are told that the initial of Mrs. Robinson's first name is G).

Arriving at her home, she pleads for him to come inside, saying that she doesn't like to enter a dark house. Once inside, she forces a drink on him, and later exposes herself to him offering to have an affair with him. This scene, known as the "Mrs. Robinson, you are trying to seduce me" scene, as said by Benjamin, is said to be one of the most iconic scenes in the film. Initially flustered, he is immediately shocked by her advances and flees. A few days later he calls her and their affair begins.

Benjamin is clearly uncomfortable with sexuality, but he is drawn into the affair with the older, but still attractive, Mrs. Robinson. Their affair appears to last most of the summer. All of their scenes pass in a musically-backed montage, showing the endless pass of time. One scene is edited so that it appears Benjamin is walking directly from his parents' dining room into the hotel room he shares with Mrs. Robinson. This seems to accent the separation of him and his parents, though they still live under the same roof.

Meanwhile Benjamin is hounded by his father to select a graduate school to attend. Benjamin, clearly not interested in pursuing his studies, shrugs off his father's wishes and spends his time lounging and sleeping with Mrs. Robinson. His affair may serve as an escape from his lack of direction or ambition, and his fear and anxiety of his impending future. Mr. Robinson, unaware of his wife's budding affair, encourages Benjamin to call on his daughter, Elaine. Benjamin's parents also repeatedly encourage him to date her. During one liaison, Mrs. Robinson forces a promise from Ben to never date Elaine. Whether out of fear of Mrs. Robinson, or sensing that getting involved with the daughter of his lover could be disastrous, he tries to avoid it. However, because of the three parents' persistent intervention, he is essentially forced to date her. Therefore, he tries to ensure his date with her will be a disaster so she would not want to pursue a relationship with him. He drives recklessly, practically ignoring Elaine, and then takes her to a strip club where she is openly humiliated and silently begins to cry.

After she storms out of the establishment, he is overcome with guilt and pursues her, apologizes, and then kisses her. What follows is a relationship with the younger Robinson, exactly what Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson were trying to avoid.

hmmmm that is what you call a sexy twist! so what happens next! will he marry younger Robinson or her mother...will he ever dare to tell Elaine about his relationship with his mother....is the remaining classic story.

As per vish: No doubt one of the too different movie you can ever imagine. Though we cant expect these kind of relationships in our day to day life the director and actors convinced us with their work. Kudos to 'Dustin Hoffman'.

Directed by: Mike Nichols
Running time: 105 min