This is my first official blog if you know why this blogger account was meant to be. And if you can ignore the poor english and writing. So finally I decide not to write on 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy' and eventually watch a movie 42 days later. Yes I have moved on. I have moved on from the Bengali people to the Mumbaikars. That was real difficult. Getting over Dibakar Banerjee's masterpiece has been a real tiring life for me.
Anurag Kashyap's 'Bombay Velvet' is finally out. Go watch it. Shockingly, its released here in Chennai and with less censorship issues but much hype. And fortunately I get to watch it the very fast day. Wow! I have finally managed to have a bunch of friends who can accompany me in any movie I watch, no matter however they hate watching it (forget the after-movie Maben gaalis). Its the first time I'm watching a Anurag Kashyap film on big screen. The expectation is more when you have only watched his 'Black Friday', just a decade after its release. Thanks to the makers who also managed to produce seperate music videos, so we don't have to murmer the soundtracks which aren't even lip-synced.
Right from the start you have the sepia filters doing the work and you see a completely different 'Bombay' which was never seen before. Though a similar backdrop has been attempted many a times, providing this much detail was never done.
(Johnny) Balraj, who is already a big shot wants to become a bigger BIG SHOT just when Karan Johar's manly eyes sees the lengthy dick the Balraj's got, therby seeing the potential of him being the biggest big shot the 'Bombay' have ever had. And just like every other movie (or person), our hero loves a person who doesn't understands his love and the inverse, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER MOVIE. But what's different is, here it's more rugged and natural, when the primary disturbance is still 'trust'.
There are so many unusual angles created which is a very good sign of knowing it's a Kashyap film but what's not the same this time is the timing. Its like you bump into a speedbreaker even when the girl is holding you, and then she stops holding you, coz' boy you did it wrong. So in the very first half you get to see most of the double-faces and on the other half you see it again. The biggest disappointment however in 'Bombay Velvet' is the RUN-TIME. Too many side angles and back-stabbing is necessary but, at the right time. And 'Bombay Velvet's second half is a mere continuation of the first half and never really anything in it (if you can not consider the climax).
Characters appear unforced and they keep increasing just like that and you also start knowing them, enjoying them, every single character. This is some great casting from the 'Phantom', if you look at the screen time and the right amount of intensity every single character brings in when appeared. And when you're looking at a new character helping one ruin 'Bombay' there is this fine music which also comes along the gore which is so soothing for a film. Amit Trivedi's music gradually starts occupying you and at one point you even forget if its even mixed (or added), it's just so apt for any film. I liked this particular movie's music than any of his previous films and clearly one of the best seen in bollywood.
Every scene that ends brings in an even intense scene and the rough quotient keeps increasing. Note the finishing and starting part of the sequences and you'll know why I always anticipate better work when a foreign technician is responsible for it. If at all I have to name three people who had taken the film to a level which cannot even be imagined for a crime genre it had be Thelma Schoonmaker (co-editor), after Anurag Kashyap and Amit Trivedi.
Ranbir is contuining to be the only STAR actor who is not just choosing scripts that come from an acclaimed director's table but also making sure if they're different enough in itself. I felt the same thing watching 'Roy', though it was not good at the box-office, I liked the actor's dare in choosing a script from someone who had not directed before. I guess with his couple of films releasing - with one from Imtiaz, it would be real tough to actually call him a Star Actor or Underrated as only people like Sushant Singh Rajput and Rajkummar Rao are supposed to do such roles, not him.
Anushka Sharma has given 'Bombay Velvet' what even Ranbir could not. The importance of the female character in this film is so much, as that's the only woman that is invloved throughout the film among so many men and she does it superbly well. Karan Johar, Well, I thought its some cameo or less violent role but never a Full-Fledged Ugly Villain. What more can you ask for a maiden performance? Main Negative Role In A Anurag Kashyap Film. This is some kind of a performance and I really wish if he can go on to sign many such projects.
The film is neatly edited with the sequences ending and beginning shot with much intelligence. The film may not win the Filmfare or the National awards but it has the 'feels' level close to any English film. If you know Anurag you'll know how much he had compromised for a wider audience to reach and like. Plot twist: The extended run-time is only for a certain audience to be very clear about the movie and it could have easily been cut in any other Anurag film. If you can watch a film for the director going a step ahead of his level, here is a director who had lowered his standards and risked his film run-time just to see a few more people clap and whistle for his work. And if at all the 8 years of hardwork gets some attention, there is a success right there for any filmmakers and audience.
