ankur-sardana Reviews

Anwar (2007)

The movie starts with a lot of promise, but it fails to live up to the start. It seems that a 'short story' has been elongated too far.

[7/10 · 14 February 2007]

The movie starts with a lot of promise, but it fails to live up to the start. The excellent cinematography is spoiled by some loose performances and poor storyline. It seems that a 'short story' has been elongated too far. The movie still manages to remain with the viewer, even after a long time of watching it. The scenes in slow motion of the peacock feather, the blood in water, the blue earrings, the chase by Krishna are exquisite and haunting. The background music and the songs are also quite nice. What troubles the most is the poor performance of actors like Rajpal Yadav and Pankaj Jha not actually making an impact. Manisha Koirala too does a dumb Barkha Dutt parody. Manish Jha leaves a lot to be desired but also brings the hope of a different powerful 'statement oriented' cinema. I really wish if he could look at the other side of India and Indians for his next movie.

Gia (1998 TV Movie)

Gia remains with you long after the movie is over.

[7/10 · 7 September 2006]

Gia leaves a mark on the viewer. I know nothing about the real Gia (pardon my ignorance) but I could feel her in Jolie. I think she has acted superbly, probably she identified with Gia. The interviews of people who knew Gia actually weren't enacted that well and seemed a little made up. But in Gia, one finds the traces of that wild -tender friend, which I guess we all have. The movie falls into the category (though at a lower rank) of 'Trainspotting' and 'Requiem for a Dream'. The portrayal of the female love and the way Gia wants to be the man is quite nicely shown. I just wish that the movie had no interview format and had let Gia to tell her own story.

Chingaari (2006)

What's the purpose ? Get a national award for Sushmita Sen

[1/10 · 19 February 2006]

I saw the movie yesterday night and i must admit i am not over the shock yet. One could but a night with a prostitute for 1 Rs and then one finds Ila ( Didi )taking three tenners from a customer, the postman reading a letter without address, characters coming in moving out without much reason... though there are clear indications that this movie has a single purpose..Get a national award for Sushmita Sen..and probably send the movie to foreign film festivals..portray India in the manner which no longer exists..and get some more awards.. Sushmita Sen shout screams over acts throws her child around and throws expletives at her ( it helps that the kid is her own adopted child ) ... How can a filmmaker spend so much of money and effort in such a movie ?? Any answers ...

Mammo (1994)

Farida Jalal's best performance

[9/10 · 2 February 2006]

Though I saw Mammo quite a long time back, many scenes of this brilliant movie are still fresh in my memory. Farida Jala puffing the cigarette, her scenes with the police, her interactions with the old nani...it feels sad that she has not been utilized int his manner before. Shyam benegal extracts her best. Though Farida has been doing many 'character roles' for a long time now, only 'Dekh Bhai Dekh', a television series, comes to my mind in her recent avatar and movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, raja Hindustani and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Not having seen much of her earlier acting ( she's been acting for ages, I guess ), she will remain for me 'Mammo', the aunt.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

Does it move you..

[6/10 · 29 January 2006]

I'm not really sure if Mr. Mehra has been successful. I think he almost does an 'Aks' here. In trying to explain that he wants a comparison with the past, he resorts to the most inane and obvious ways of actual super imposition. He did quite a similar thing in 'Aks' where in trying to explain his difficult concept he finally resorts to the obvious. Its time that Mr. Mehra trusts the audience intelligence. Saying that, I really appreciate the conviction and the concepts behind his stories and the acting he is able to extract from his actors. Aamir Khan's crying scene over the death of his friend was extremely natural . I just wish he could continue his first half magic to the second half in the next movie, which I'm sure will be even better.