Hot Words, Cold Sweat
Why on earth would a few cusswords give anyone a cold sweat? Okay, this is a truly awful review, but fine, the reviewer is entitled to his opinion about the film. What I don’t understand is this kind of statement:
A film set in Mumbai, with generous doses of Mumbaiya lingo, appeals more in Mumbai/Maharashtra than in Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar or Rajasthan. Similarly, the U.P. dialect, the setting, the ambience, even the expletives would find tremendous identification from U.P. and Bihar, not at other regions.By that reasoning a film set in Australia would appeal more in Australia, a film set in New York would appeal more in the Big Apple, a film set in Canada would - flop? Wtf?
And the generous usage of expletives [MCs, BCs, Cs] and dialogues [sample: Teri aur meri kismet gadhe ke *@!# se likhi gayee hain] could give you a cold sweat.And then there’s this:
Also, since the film follows an unconventional route, it tends to get dark and disturbing at times.(Italics mine)
Hello - are we talking about the same film? This plot is based on Othello, not Fun with Dick and Jane. It’s going to get dark and disturbing.
The bloodshed and violent slant is also not something that would hold universal acceptance.Yeah, except in real life I guess. (Funny, a film like Gadar never had a problem being popular, hmmm?)
In fact, it wouldn’t be erroneous to state that every sequence in the film bears the stamp of a genius and most importantly, someone who knows how to adapt an English play into a 2-hour Hindi film.Wow, that must be really something. Not only genius, but ALSO the ability to adapt an English play into a 2-hour Hindi film!
But on the other hand, OMKARA tends to get too realistic at times.Yeah, just when they ought to zip off to Mount Titlis for an Anu Malik song they start jumping on trains and shooting people instead. Such meanies.
The director and his team of writers… could’ve toned down the expletives in the film… Dialogues are natural to the core, but, again, the expletives in the dialogues make you uncomfortable at times.I agree. We’ve never heard the word ch***a before! The audience was getting conniptions! I tell you!
Also, the tense-filled moments get too heavy after a point and would work only for those who appreciate realistic cinema.On the other hand, if Omi Bhaiyya and Dolly Bhabhi would only come to Bombay, go to Australia, play some football… or basketball, maybe, like that cute K2H2 song with Kajol and SRK?
How can something be too realistic? And even then, what is wrong with it?
Comment by Nithya — August 6, 2006 @ 9:41 pm
The Canadians are crushed by your cold, cruel logic.
And when they say “tense-filled moments”, did they mean the moments are filled with past, present and future moments?
Comment by km — August 7, 2006 @ 1:21 am
Among the many problems with that statement, only an ignorant person would say that expletives should find readier identification in Bihar than other places. My experience has been quite the opposite, and in fact *any* of the other states mentioned (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan) is far more strongly identified in my mind with common use of expletives than is Bihar. Additionally, the expletives that *are* used in Bihar are often different from the standard words that have become familiar in UP, MP, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Mumbai, or at least that was the case when I was growing up.
Comment by Apu — August 7, 2006 @ 2:01 am
I don’t understand what is your problem with people getting offended by expletives? All this I-am-too-realistic attitude in this post is very subjective. I don’t know what company you keep but it is true to that I (a man) and many in my family and relations - while aware of existence of MCs/BCs - don’t hear them years in the row. This would be typical of most of middle/upper class, I guess.
Comment by Ashish Gupta — August 7, 2006 @ 11:16 pm
Uma: I think you are not too familiar with Taran Adarsh’s reviews. Plot spoilers, contradictions, arbit opinion mongering, classification (”mass” vs “class”) are all Taran Adars hallmarks. Class, research and restraint sadly are not.
For example, here are his words from his review of Yuva dated May 21 2004 - A.R. Rahman’s music is a mixed bag. While ‘Ae Khuda’ and ‘Fanaa’ are hummable [both are well shot], the remaining tracks are just about okay.
Flashback to just 2 months or so before that, here is the opening passage in his review of Yuva’s music - ..the soundtrack of YUVA more than proves the fact, living up to the humungous hype and expectations surrounding it.
In fact that music review was titled - ‘Yuva’ Music: A Winner!
People have fisked his reviews so much that nothing new can be said!
Comment by anantha — August 8, 2006 @ 1:04 am
I don’t know what company you keep
Ashish, the “company I keep” is: people who don’t need to resort to personal insinuation to make an argument.
Comment by Uma — August 8, 2006 @ 2:24 am
Nithya, km, lol!
Apu: yes, it’s a silly generalisation - and Adarsh doesn’t take into account that UP and Bihar are different places, western and eastern UP are very different…
Anantha, I’ve always avoided TA’s “reviews”, but this time I was particularly irritated.. LOL at that bit about his (inconsistent) take on Yuva’s music!
Comment by Uma — August 8, 2006 @ 2:30 am
Ashish, the “company I keep� is: people who don’t need to resort to personal insinuation to make an argument.
Oh, well. I guess dodging the main point of argument on the pretext of “personal insinuation” on one way to handle critisim - never mind so many personal insuations you made in your post regarding other audiences and your readers.
Comment by Ashish Gupta — August 8, 2006 @ 2:50 pm
Okay, Ashish, since you take back the personal insinuation (oh, you don’t? never mind) - let me point out that there’s not much of an argument to speak of.
The milieu and the characterisation needed this kind of rough language. It’s as simple as that. I don’t consider the language an issue at all. I think the dialogues were very well done, in fact.
And I don’t have a problem with people in the audience getting “offended” - though why the same people don’t get offended with so-called family comedies based on polygamy, lewd songs, etc is beyond me. If they’ve paid money just to have a “good” time, Omkara may not be their version of a good time. (I’d like to say, though, that I’ve seen the film twice, both times in full halls, and I didn’t see anyone walk out).
I do however disagree with the so-called “reviewer” (and I’m not interested in splitting hairs about whether TA is a reviewer or an “analyst” - as far as I’m concerned it’s a review, because that’s what the page calls it). If a “review” is going to judge the film based less on its artistic merits than on the kind of language it uses, I have a problem with that.
P.S. Care to point out where I’ve made personal insinuations?
Comment by Uma — August 8, 2006 @ 3:50 pm
Its nice to be here!
Comment by Pavan — August 23, 2006 @ 12:33 am