Journal of Indian Cinema

Author: Dipsikha Bhagawati

  • Super Deluxe sweeps film critics’ awards in India

    Super Deluxe sweeps film critics’ awards in India

    Super Deluxe is the winner of the Best Movie of the Year at the 2nd Critics Choice Film Awards, instituted by the  [highlight background=”#f79126″ color=”#ffffff”]Film Critics Guild[/highlight]; it also picked up awards for the Best Tamil Actor, Best Tamil Screenplay, Best Tamil Director, and Best Tamil Film.

    Much earlier in the year, Super Deluxe had been adjudged the Best Indian Film censored in 2019, or uncensored and publicly exhibited anywhere in the world in 2019, at the 5th annual  [highlight background=”#f79126″ color=”#ffffff”]Film Critics Circle of India[/highlight] Award, at which 33 film critics from all over India cast their votes.

    Super Deluxe is presently also in the final nomination list for the [highlight background=”#f79126″ color=”#ffffff”]FIPRESCI-India[/highlight] Award for the Best Film of 2019.

     

    Review — Super Deluxe

    We really never know how much strength we embody until and unless we are left with no options. Every pain has a span, however vicious it is. Time transforms them into memory. Thiagarajan Kumararajan’s Super Deluxe, like life itself, is an unpredictable circle filled with unrelated sets of characters whose lives are so interlinked with the circumstantial and the situational components or the happenings; lives take such turns from time to time that nothing can be established as an absolute.

    Some of what we loathe holds the power to transform us for the better and often all it takes to put us on a different path is a forced change due to unexpected circumstances. Life has plans in store for us that we cannot even dream of. An incident happens that would forever radically alter the decaying marital status of Mugill (Fahaad Fassil) and Vaembu (Samantha). From the moment they contemplate divorce, their personal interaction takes a dramatic turn. If in their former situation they were compelled to hold back their resentments, in this newly gained liberation they are permitted to explode into each other’s faces. This brings out all their hidden words, bitterness and negatives that had been bottled up dangerously for years. The realisation that the pressure of impressing each other wouldn’t be needed any more places them in a comfortable zone to expose themselves to each other. This in turn allows them to clearly see their own faults, realise that no one is perfect and be more adjustive, and thus spark a proximity between them that had for long been submerged. Acceptance and adjustment make all the difference in a relationship. It can be tough to have a marriage or a spouse of own choice, and it can be tougher to leave a created bonding. And often it is better to recreate or modify one’s own self than to give up. With understanding, many emotions can be worked out, and life can continue smoother than before. The depth of sweetness is never fully realised till the bitter is tasted.

    Love is something that exists in any condition. There can be no term as real love, because what is not real, what is fake, cannot be love itself. The choice of Manickam (Vijay Sethupathi) to change his gender and become Shilpa is an exercise of individual and constitutional freedom, but for that decision he is emotionally tortured and turned into a laughing stock. A society is degenerate that refuses to accept anything or anyone unusual or unique, that demands individuals to fall in line with the crowd, and that has no tolerance towards personal choice of lifestyle. Ironically, it is a child, Rasukutty (Master Ashwanth Ashokkumar), who demonstrates matureness by being open and by accepting his father for the way he is. The cruel hostility of society ensures that Shilpa feel like an out-of-the box creature, an object, an IT, who is not even human. The transgender in Super Deluxe is established as a pure human entity, an independent character, unlike the stereotype clownish one that is commonly seen in most Indian films; the notable exception being Mahesh Bhat’s Sadak (1991), starring Paresh Rawal, who plays a dotting human being, a father. Shilpa too is treated as one possessing beautiful human emotions, a loving and caring heart, and a humane warmth; this contrasts well with the meanness of the two socially-accepted “normal genders”. The primary difference in the two is that one was born a transgender while the other chose to transform.

    The existence of God and beliefs are questioned in Super Deluxe. Human action and efforts are projected to be more powerful than idle prayers. The lucky ones go through an illogically violent phase before finally returning to their senses. Dhanasekaran /Arputham (Mysskin), who was once saved in a tsunami, assumed that human industry is worthless and that it is only divine powers that matter. What appear as miracles might provide rich entertainment, but it would be folly to treat them as examples to live by. Karma is the only truth. It is not bogus miracles but the results of our deeds that guide our future. While a mother wishes to appeal to medical science to save her son, a priest insists instead on fervently chanting prayers. It is such blind dependence on the non-existent that prevent people from taking charge of their destiny.

    For the crime of entertaining others, a female performer, Leela (Ramya Krishnan), is condemned. There is always an audience for every drama in this world. Entertainment is created for the masses, who in turn ensure the survival of the industry. If consumers of porn are blameless, then it would be a double standard to condemn the role players in a porn film. For, it is a profession like all others, and deserves as much respect. Absolute badness is as much a myth as absolute goodness. Neither exists in this world. No perceived truth is absolute; everything is relative. Says a character, “When we say it is day, we must remember that there is another half of the world that lie in utter darkness”. Conservative society confers the fraternity of mothers with a specific status, attributing to them the symbol of sacrifice and love. But their status is conditional; they are required to love and care for their offspring at the cost of their own dreams and desires. Leela, who had acted in a porn film, is thus revered as a mother but reviled for her choice of profession. Being a mother is a biological status and being of a particular profession by choice is individual freedom, which often is denied. Audiences of porn are thrilled by their porn stars as long as these stars aren’t from their own family or social circle.

    Though all the characters present in the various threads of this film have varied histories and situations, they are finely interwoven, and presented with a balanced clarity. The abuse of power is shown through the actions of a pervert cop, Berlin (Bagavathi Perumal). The dilemma, restlessness, enthusiasm, sexual urge, and inner innocence of adolescence is touched upon. And two characters enact the voice of human conscience—the issue and importance of love, loyalty, and desire is displayed through an alien (Mrinalini Ravi); and Ramasamy (Ramana), though a follower of Arputham, speaks rationality.

    Along with the suggestive exploitation of spontaneous, messy, hazardous sounds of street vendors to explain the natural flow of life, music arranger Yuvan Shankar Raja scatters Ilaiyaraaja classics from old films at strategic points in Super Deluxe. The high-spirited ‘I am a Disco Dancer’ track plays twice. The first time we hear it is when a person is about to die at the peak of his happiness, emphasising the unpredictability, the fragility, and the irony of life. The next time it appears is towards the end of the film, as if alluding to Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”

    Fraternized as a dark comedy, this Super Deluxe thriller screams volumes. One can lie and cheat the whole world, but one can never lie to oneself without escaping the sufferance of guilt. It is in the control of human beings how they can manage desire and addiction against all odds to be loyal to love. Many a times, human actions are determined by situation rather than by will. Character is destiny. And our actions are so interconnected with our society and surroundings that they create a ripple. Life is a butterfly canvas and all the colours, be it dark or dazzling, display their own flavours in due course. Every colour is needed to live life, and when all these are perfectly blended, they turn to one in unison—black, the colour of life, love, acceptance, and neutrality. And this precisely is how ideally human judgement ought to be—neutral.

     

  • Of tea and coffee house culture, and cinema

    Of tea and coffee house culture, and cinema

    The basement of the Grand Café, Paris, in 1895, served as the pioneer film screening hall; ten short films were exhibited by the Lumière brothers. Long, long before that historic moment, the tea rooms and cafés of Europe attracted artists and thinkers, who would gather to read out their ideas, and engage in long, often heated, conversations. This intellectual culture would spread rapidly to other parts of the world.

    In Los Angeles, the iconic Mussos and Frank Grills used to be a favorite destination of the likes of Chaplin and Hitchcock. By situating the characters of his ‘Once upon a Time in Hollywood’ in this quaint old place, Quentin Tarantino throws the focus on the coffee house culture of Hollywood in the golden age. He turns this 100-year-old joint into a character. This isn’t anything new, though. The wayside tea shops play a prominent role in quite a few of the old Malayalam film classics.

    Here in India too, the coffee/tea houses have been a central meeting point of artists. “In traditional Indian villages, tea shops played a vital role in the social connection of the community. The tea shops were the meeting place for villagers, and a place to share all their emotions, happiness, and problems. Understanding their role is an important part of learning the ways of natural social unity.”1

    In Bengal, we have the renowned ‘addas’. There is no literal translation for the word as such. It roughly translates to ‘a long, heated conversation with ever-changing topics, over cups of coffee.’ Filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak frequented the Calcutta Coffee House, “making it a breeding ground for the inception of many political and cultural movements of the country. The charm of the coffee house laid in the conversations that flowed and the ideas that were exchanged.”2

    The literature and cinema of Assam in the previous century too owes much to these joints. Madhumita was a favourite haunt of Hemanta Das. Noted litterateur Lakhyodhor Choudhury has familiarized his readers with the ‘addas’ at Noor’s Shop in Uzanbazar, Guwahati. “A similar tattle existed at Panbazar’s Delight Coffee House. A symbol of aristocracy, the place attracted the who’s who of the book and film worlds, and shaped the thoughts and ideas of many a potent mind. Brojen Baruah, Nirod Choudhury, and Hiren Bhattacharya were its ardent aficionados, and the impact is often echoed in their respective works.”3

    Mumbai used to be famous for its string of Irani cafés. One of them, the erstwhile Brabourne Café, was co-owned by film critic Rashid Irani, who reminisces, “I think what distinguished these Irani cafes was you could sit on a table with just one cup of tea and read the newspaper for hours on end, and you could be sure that you would never be asked to leave—that was one of the great things, so they became a kind of meeting point for a lot of people—there’d be innocuous debates to the more kind of intellectual discourses.”4 Prithvi café, which sits just outside Prithvi Theatre, has a nice, rustic ambiance. Mocha too used a be a chilled out place, till it shut down at its peak around a decade ago; what it rightly ought to be remembered for is its jampacked monthly short film screenings.

    The wayside tea shops of Kerala is unique in that it “offers an opportunity to every person who otherwise does not get a chance to express their opinions in the public sphere… People from various sections of the society come and sit in tea shops. Anything under the sun can become a matter of discussion for them. They discuss and even indulge in a verbal duel to prove their points.”5 “In serving as a space for free interaction of individuals who come from diverse social backgrounds, a tea-shop is no different from a cinema theatre.”6

     

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    1Rasa Gurukul. “Experience Traditional Indian Life: Teashop Session.” Accessed February 29, 2020.

    2Mukherjee, Anushka. “A Look at Kolkata’s Iconic Coffee House: Chai, Adda, Revolution and More.” April 21, 2019.

    3Lahkar, Bhuban. “Xex Xondhiar Xoor”. Assam.

    4Carter, Bruce. “Irani Chai, Mumbai. Remembering the Irani Cafes of Bombay/Mumbai.” May 12, 2008.

    5“Tea Shops in Malayalam Cinema. Cultural Hubs Where Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary: a Journey Through Tea Shops in Select Malayalam Movies.” June 20, 2014.

    6Venkiteswaran, CS “Tea Shops in Malayalam Cinema.” Translated by Sherrif, KM. Archived. Accessed February 29, 2020.

     

  • Hrid Majhare

    Hrid Majhare

    The Shakespearean spark — Hrid Majhare
    Language: Bengali
    Writer-director: Ranjan Ghosh

    Destiny, love, and jealousy walk side by side in Ranjan Ghosh’s directorial debut, Hrid Majhare. The storyline and the script belong exclusively to him, but a variety of Shakespearean themes spark spontaneously from time to time. The film adapts the stroke of ineludible destiny, precisely, the pithy maxim “character is destiny” effectuated by Shakespeare. It is a credible collage visual  adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and most decidedly, Othello.

    On a lonely, drizzling Kolkata night, a charming math professor, Abhijit (Abir Mukherjee) encounters a feisty and beautiful cardiologist, Debjani (Raima Sen). Cupid immediately strikes, and forcefully.

    The twisted narrative leads from one thing to the other and the protagonist’s settled life soon stares at traumatic fragmentation. When logic seems to bow its head to the power of fate, these two vulnerable souls fight hardhanded against the inescapable. Sempiternal love gets catechised, trust glimmers, and jealousy raises its vile head, making them victims of their own choices. The ambiance of the very first as well as the very last time the couple meet is identical — a dark, rainy night. The difference between the two lies in the contrast of the situations; one sparks hot love, the other, frigid death.

    Abir Mukherjee as Abhijit is at first a picture of confidence and wears the cocky posture of a man well in charge of things, but gradually the contours of his face begins to exhibit a life of tragic sequences. Raima Sen is only required to do her stereotyped roll plays in legion urban films.

    Similar to the limbo state of mind of the titular character of Hamlet, in Hrid Majhare too, the protagonist destroys himself by overthinking and indecisiveness. He adopts Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ dilemma and begins to question himself on the value of life and whether it is efficacious to hang on. If in Macbeth, three witches make a prophecy, in Hrid Majhare, it is a soothsayer who sounds a stern warning ‘to stay away from love’. Distinct traces of the Othello character too is found; the protagonist is required to undertake a journey, and is consumed by suspicion and a situational crime.

     

     

    Hrid Majhare, considered by the critics as one of the top ten adaptations on Shakespeare in Indian Cinema since 1949, is the first Shakespearean inspiration in Bengali. In addition to receiving several laurels internationally, the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA examination board has included Hrid Majhare as additional resource in their respective ‘A level Drama and Theatre’ courses.