Dir.: Mira Nair
Cast: Shiney Ahuja
Raima Sen
Irrfan Khan
Sameera Reddy
Vijay Raaz
It is a very noble gesture on the part of these 4 well-known directors to educate people about HIV and AIDS, more so because people ,still, have a lot of misconceptions about these topics. But when you set out to make a film, the plot should be something that the viewer can identify with, or atleast relate to. The plot goes for a major toss in Migration, and the end product is plain ridiculous.
Migration sets out to inform the audience that AIDS is not an 'urban' disease; it affects people from all strata of the society, be it rural or urban. Shiney Ahuja and Raima Sen are a married couple living in poverty in their village. To gain that extra buck, Shiney comes to Mumbai to work as a labourer. One such assignment sees him getting sexually entangled with the lady(Sameera Reddy) of the house where he works, whose husband(Irrfan Khan) is homosexual. How that one lusty moment turns a nightmare for both Sameera and Shiney forms the plot.
The plot tries to put every social taboo into one film, which is to last only 20 minutes. Everything from homosexuality to infidelity is dealt with in this film. This is where the film falters. Had it been just a single track storyline, the viewer could've easily concentrated on one point. What happens is the viewer is confused what exactly is the issue that the film addresses (or does it even address an issue). Another flaw, and, according to me, the most ridiculous one , is when the worker and the lady have that sexual encounter. How can you ever buy that???!!!... this is the most unreal and the most incredible thing in the movie. After that the film just nose-dives. In the end, you have no sympathy for any of the characters because you realize midway that these things are unimaginably fictitious and can happen only in films.What comes out is completely bland and vapid, and hardly does anything to convey the message. Absolutely not what you expect when Mira Nair's name is associated with such a project.
Performance-wise, all the actors were adequate for their parts, getting more or less, equal screen-time, though Irrfan Khan performed a notch above the rest.
Overall, deeply disappointed. The weakest short film of the quartet.
My Rating: **
Watch it here: http://www.jaman.com/movie/Migration/0mPGmGr2oVoU/
4. PRARAMBHA(The Beginning) (Kannada)
Dir.: Santosh Sivan
Cast: Prabhu Deva
This one's a dream come true for me. My first review for a South-Indian film, in its true form, unspoiled by the incongruous dubbing in Hindi( the subtitles helped me there).
Prarambha, directed by Santosh Sivan, tells the story of Kittu, a 6 or 7 year old boy, going to Mysore, in search of his mother, who had abandoned him to live with his grandmother. He hitchhikes a ride in Puttuswamy Gowda's (Prabhu Deva) truck, following an interesting encounter, and Gowda takes it upon himself to make the little boy meet his mother. On reaching Mysore, he is shocked to find out that Kittu's mother is in a hospital, on the last stage of AIDS, and also that, Kittu also has contracted AIDS during his birth. Kittu further reveals that he is shunned by his schoolmates and expelled from school, because their parents are scared that their kids may contract the disease from him. Gowda,then, sets out to clear the prejudices among the parents and the teachers and re-admit Kittu.
Southie movies have always been more colourful and a bit louder than their Mumbai-made counterparts. But therein lies their charm. Prarambha is the most commercial out the four movies in the quartet, because it has that outgoing character in itself; a character which people (atleast down South) can easily identify with and relate to. Once that relationship is established, the message is conveyed effectively without being too preachy.
Santosh Sivan is an ace cinematographer. But this film showcases his directorial skills too. He is well-known to extract excellent performances from children in his films, be it Halo or Tahaan. He again succeeds in building a character like Kittu and then extracting an extremely endearing performance from the child actor.
The script and the execution is very simple yet effective. The tension factor, which was prevalent in the other 3 movies, is, thankfully, not present here. The entire movie has a feeling of joie de vivre, and doesn't tax your mind one bit. But, the script is not without its share of flaws. The entire issue of AIDS awareness is handled so effortlessly by a truck-driver, that it looks very unreal. Then, again, how quickly, the parents and teachers rid their misconceptions is also very questionable. The ease with which Gowda accomplishes his task, does inject that feeling of fiction in the movie. But you tend to forgive the script-writer and overlook these errors, as the movie culminates, leaving a smile on your face.
Prabhudeva is absolutely delightful in the role of Puttuswamy Gowda. But the show belongs to the child actor who plays the role of Kittu. He is just brilliant. His mannerisms and expressions (especially his confused look when Gowda calls him his 'son') are perfect. Not for a moment does he give you an impression that he is acting. All the other actors adequately perform their portions.
Overall, a nice, breezy film with a wonderful message, told in the most friendly and amiable way.
My Rating: ***
Watch it here: http://www.jaman.com/movie/Prarambha-Beginning/0PAwG7iB4je0/
If I were to rank the movies according to their content and style of story-telling, and their overall impact, my list would be:
1. Positive
2. Prarambha- The Beginning
3. Blood Brothers
4. Migration
This one's a dream come true for me. My first review for a South-Indian film, in its true form, unspoiled by the incongruous dubbing in Hindi( the subtitles helped me there).
Prarambha, directed by Santosh Sivan, tells the story of Kittu, a 6 or 7 year old boy, going to Mysore, in search of his mother, who had abandoned him to live with his grandmother. He hitchhikes a ride in Puttuswamy Gowda's (Prabhu Deva) truck, following an interesting encounter, and Gowda takes it upon himself to make the little boy meet his mother. On reaching Mysore, he is shocked to find out that Kittu's mother is in a hospital, on the last stage of AIDS, and also that, Kittu also has contracted AIDS during his birth. Kittu further reveals that he is shunned by his schoolmates and expelled from school, because their parents are scared that their kids may contract the disease from him. Gowda,then, sets out to clear the prejudices among the parents and the teachers and re-admit Kittu.
Southie movies have always been more colourful and a bit louder than their Mumbai-made counterparts. But therein lies their charm. Prarambha is the most commercial out the four movies in the quartet, because it has that outgoing character in itself; a character which people (atleast down South) can easily identify with and relate to. Once that relationship is established, the message is conveyed effectively without being too preachy.
Santosh Sivan is an ace cinematographer. But this film showcases his directorial skills too. He is well-known to extract excellent performances from children in his films, be it Halo or Tahaan. He again succeeds in building a character like Kittu and then extracting an extremely endearing performance from the child actor.
The script and the execution is very simple yet effective. The tension factor, which was prevalent in the other 3 movies, is, thankfully, not present here. The entire movie has a feeling of joie de vivre, and doesn't tax your mind one bit. But, the script is not without its share of flaws. The entire issue of AIDS awareness is handled so effortlessly by a truck-driver, that it looks very unreal. Then, again, how quickly, the parents and teachers rid their misconceptions is also very questionable. The ease with which Gowda accomplishes his task, does inject that feeling of fiction in the movie. But you tend to forgive the script-writer and overlook these errors, as the movie culminates, leaving a smile on your face.
Prabhudeva is absolutely delightful in the role of Puttuswamy Gowda. But the show belongs to the child actor who plays the role of Kittu. He is just brilliant. His mannerisms and expressions (especially his confused look when Gowda calls him his 'son') are perfect. Not for a moment does he give you an impression that he is acting. All the other actors adequately perform their portions.
Overall, a nice, breezy film with a wonderful message, told in the most friendly and amiable way.
My Rating: ***
Watch it here: http://www.jaman.com/movie/Prarambha-Beginning/0PAwG7iB4je0/
If I were to rank the movies according to their content and style of story-telling, and their overall impact, my list would be:
1. Positive
2. Prarambha- The Beginning
3. Blood Brothers
4. Migration
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