Thursday, September 23, 2010

Ebaro Baro

This had been not so favourite of my Ray collections and though I had forgotten much of the storylines but my subconscious self revolted quite surprisingly whenever it came near my hand.
The content runs as
  1. Sadhanbabur Sandeha
  2. Manpatra
  3. Spotlight
  4. Dhappa
  5. Mackenzie Fruit
  6. Anka Sir, Golapibabu Aar Tipu
  7. Apadartha
  8. First Class Kamra
  9. Gagan Chowdhuryr Studio
  10. Bahuroopi
  11. Ambar Sen Antardhan Rahasya
  12. Jehangirer Swarnamudra
The first story is the best portraying the always doubting Sadhanbabu whose behaviour caused many woes on his part. Next is an emotional piece on a long forgotten artist followed by a humorous piece of a mischivous elder. The fourth one has got the classic Ray touch and will be remembered for times by the readers but again the fifth seemed to lose pupose near its completion. The sixth one mixes fantasy with real world all too well and the seventh, though nothing remarkable, still can be considered a good read. The eighth and ninth are again revival of Rays' magic that is both spine chilling and immensely entertaining. Again the mood is held in the same level by the tenth piece though, barring its finish, it seemed a bit lengthy. Feluda, with Topshe and Jatayu enters in the eleventh though it is a bit dissapointing when the mystery is resolved. But the twelfth in the line is the best of the two Feluda stories and mixes the mystery, Jatayu's comic, Topshe aka the reader's confusion all too well.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Avatar: Special 3D

Avatar - the incarnation of movie and its viewers in the same dimension! When technology defines entertainment, then what we get is Avatar, the ultimate thrill that sweeps past the confines of the screen and takes the viewers to a joy ride through a visual recitation. The 3D viewing from the very start mesmerizes the senses and when excitement runs high, we forget the fictitious projections and it was not once that found me shaking head lest the stones and water and leaves rustle my face.
The actual story is not so high ended concept but the clash of civilizations with one aiming to protect existence and the other to advance technology, seems a paradox to the entire presentation but the win of good over evil satisfies all.
It is the year 2154AD, RDA corporation is mining a valuable mineral unobtainium on Pandora, inhabited by 10ft tall Na'vi, sapient humanoids who harmonizes with nature and worships the Mother Goddess Eywa. To explore the civilization and its ambience scientists develops Na'vi-human hybrid avatars that are operated by mental links of geneticaly matched humans. Thus Jake Sully, a paraplegic former Marine, to replace his murdered brother who had been a scientist turned avatar operator, was introduced to this programme. He was considered no better than a bodyguard by the head, Dr. Grace Augustine. But Col. Miles Quatrich, head of the Sec-Ops, private security force of RDA had other ideas. He tried using Sully to learn about the Na'vi resources and habitats so that it would be easier to secure them when time comes. But as Jake comes closer to the Na'vi population it becomes increasingly difficult for him not to sympathize with them. He becomes intimate to Neytiri, daughter of Eytukan, leader of the clan that he is introduced into. There, her mother and the clan's spiritual leader Mo'at, orders Neytiri to teach Sully the ways of the tribe. As he grew more and more acuinted with her, Sully fell in love with her and was tortured beyond agony as he understood that his intel will just destroy the natural habitat and almost the whole tribe of the Na'vi that had so tenderly adopted him.
Thus began the new chapter of Sully where he confessed of his attempted betrayal to Eytukan and was condemned for the purpose. But then, to regain the trust that the tribe had earlier possessed of him, he tamed the flying predator Toruk and earned the title of Toruk Maktu (tamer of Toruk), a distinction held by only five of the Na've previous to him. This also earned him trust from the tribe and his future actions agains the evil Earthmen got him his desired brotherhood to Na'vi. Thus began the revolution that united the entire Pandoran Na'vi that rose against the technologically advanced humans.
The rest is a fierce yet detailed battle between the two cultures and the audience will be spellbound at the display of high paced action.
This James Cameron directed classic with its 9 min of extra graphical excitement in the special edition is a celebration of technology and of colours that unfolds its brilliant shades in a classic manner. Sam Worthington as Jack Sully was a wonderful choice as the new face matched well with the new genre of film making. Stephen Lang as Miles Quatrich also carried on the cruel character just correctly. Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine) carried on her part of the curt yet humane scientist to perfection. Zoe Saldana as Neyitiri played her part of the coarse yet sympathetic Na'vi with zeal. Wes Study as Eytukan was also a wonderful choice whose stature was just right for the leader of the tribe. But C.C.H Pounder was the best as Mo'at whose composed expressions derived a revered personality from her wild form.
Mauro Fiore's cinematogrpahy is another treasure that complemented the graphics both in detail and in excellence.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Byomkesh Bakshi

Based on Saradindu Bandyopadhyay's 'Adim Ripu', Anjan Dutta presents the dhoti clad crime buster to the mystery lovers in his premiere endeavour of 'Byomkesh Bakshi'. The mystery interspersed with the racial riots in the Calcutta of the 60's and the viewers glimpsed the atrocities bordering savagery in the name of religion. Though the period is shifted some decades forward than that in the actual story but the mood remains the same. Without going into the details of the story which the Byomkesh fans might know by heart, let me analyse the presentation.
First of all, the casting was excellent though Saswata Chatterjee as Ajit outshone Abir Chatterjee as the sleuth but the latter was also a superb selection. Abir's demeanor was crisp and intelligent though a bit more maturity was due in the character. Swagata Mukherjee's portraiture of Nanibala Das was though different from that in the novel but she superbly played the character in an entirely new dimension. Biswajit Chakraborty as the obstinate and arrogant Anadi Babu maintained the pace of the character with excellence and Kalyan Chatterjee contrasted him well with his characterization of the alcoholic in Keshtababu. Pradip Chakrabarty was fascinatingly perfect in his character of the Hotel owner but the major setback seems to come from Rudraneel, whose meek portrayal of Prabhat was way off his normal self. But surely the best part of the show comes from Chandan Sen as B(n)atul whose appearance itself was a relief though his clever acting never compromised on the importance of the character.
Anjan Dutta's sentiments for Bengal and Calcutta was touching but constant repetition of the synonymous phrases and a more than necessary visual of the riots did not do justice to the emotions. Also each time the protagonists were inside a rioting area, they were curiously unharmed by the insane rioters.
One of the revelations of the film was the composed way music was presented by Neel under the direction of Anjan Dutta that was just appropriately used that went well with the temper that was due to a suspense movie. This restraint, considering that both the father and son are noted for their passion for melody, deserves all the more praise as in today's commercial endeavours, songs are seen to be given priority without caring for its effect in diluting the actual plot.
Now coming to another disappointment in the script of the character Ajit as he more than once proclaims his authorship on the adventures that was never necessary.
The pace of the movie was just correct with the pace set by Arghya Kamal Mitra's editing and the superb art direction of Gautam Basu went hand-in-hand in with Indraneel Mukherjee's excellent cinematography but the ending was rather drab when compared with the rest of this thrilling two hour.
Another very important point that stares hard at the face is the dialect and certain mannerisms that did not do justice to the period that this movie is projected into - Ajit asking Satyabati to 'hold' the telephone line is one such example. Also, Byomkesh and Ajit sharing a cigarette that too produced from pack rather than tin, seems way off the sentiments of the time as well as their respective age.
Barring this the movie is a entertainer and is a must watch for lovers of whodunit with one of the mystery remaining unanswered as to the rational for the crowd of Chatterjees in the production, - is Dutta superstitious about surnames!! just kidding folks.

Monday, September 06, 2010

Tintorettor Jishu

The style that Satyajit started in Hatyapuri is repeated here with the preamble shoving the readers to a new perspective than from which Feluda views the case. Infact Feluda stumbled across the case on his way to an astrologer accompanying Jatayu for his latest book release. On the way they met Nabakumar Neogi with his car broken down midway on his way to Baimunthapur. As Jatayu asked Haripadababu to help, the travellers began to get acquainted with each other. It was then that Feluda queried Nabakumar about a famous painting in possession of the Neogi family. Though the painting had been referred to in one of the recent articles in a magazine but the full identity of the painting was never revealed there. So it was Feluda's interest and a curious murder of the pet dog Thumri at Neogi residence that attracted him to the painting that was actually a masterpiece of a famous Italian Renaissance painter Tintorretto. There he found, among the others, one Rudrasekhar, claiming to be son of Chandrasekhar Neogi, the real owner of the painting and another person, Robin Choudhury who was interested in writing Chandrasekhar's biography. Feluda also met Soumyasekhar, Nabakumar's father and learnt about his other son Nandakumar who was out of family ties for a pretty long time. He further learnt that another person in the name of Hiralal Somani, a corrupt art dealer, was also interested in selling the painting to a foreign collector Krikorian. As Feluda started on the trail of the rightful owner of the painting a series of events takes place. It starts with a murder in the Neogi house, then Rudrasekhar goes missing and finally Feluda discovers that the valuable painting is replaced by a fake one. This forced his principled soul to rescue the painting and thus started an adventure that took them to Hong Kong, fulfilling Jatayu's age old hope of touring a foreign country and utilizing the passport that had been left useless ling enough. To know what happened and who was the criminal mastermind behind the murder and the theft you have to surely go throuth the narrative that promises an enjoyable read throughout.