Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Tim Burton’s new rendition of Lewis Carroll’s famous fairy tale is a fresh perspective on the Wonderland and on Alice herself. Alice has now grown up but remembers nothing about her visit to Wonderland in her childhood. Her second coming however sees that Wonderland is in distress under the reign of the Red Queen. At first, she is a little apprehensive of the characters and creatures she meets there but then, on Frabjous Day, rises to the occasion and delivers Wonderland to the White Queen. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and the voice of Alan Rickman as Absolem - the Caterpillar will enthrall you in Burton’s dark treatment of a children’s classic.
Anand (1971)
Although a tragedy, this Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan starrer is one of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s finest films. Rajesh Khanna plays Anand who is terminally ill but wishes to drink from the glass of life until its last drop. A melodrama that makes you weep your heart out, Anand, through the eyes of his physician and friend Dr Bhaskar (Amitabh), tells the story of a dying man who appears cheerful and spreads happiness to everyone he comes across. Anand refers to his Bengali doctor as Babu Moshai whilst making profound philosophical observations on life. The final lesson, left in a pre-recorded tape, makes Babu Moshai reach the conclusion that Anand kabhi marta nahi (happiness never dies). With Gulzar’s dialogues and Salil Choudhury’s heart warming music, this film, like its protagonist, leaves you with a hope to live.
Bheja Fry (2007)
Probably the most odd film in this list, but Sagar Ballary’s laugh-your-ass-off comedy drama has a lesson if you read between the lines. Ranjit Thadani (Rajat Kapoor) lives an up-market life with his singer wife Sheetal (Sarika). He manages a music company and loves to ridicule the below par talent. But the evening he invites Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak) to his house for one of his TGI Fridays, he turns his insecure, pretentious world upside down. Ranjeet, suffering from severe back ache, is made to confront a nymphomaniac ex-girlfriend, his friend turned foe Anant Ghoshal (Milind Soman) and an annoying pest of an income tax officer Asif Merchant (Ranvir Shorey). But, at the end of an eventful night, Ranjeet’s life problems are resolved thanks to the catalyst in Bharat Bhushan.
Invictus (2009)
Morgan Freeman plays a character he was born to play – Nelson Mandela. Set in the post-apartheid South Africa, this Oscar-nominated film directed by Clint Eastwood, tells one aspect of the story of how the father of the nation built the Rainbow nation. In his first term as the country’s president, Mandela initiates a unique venture to unite a nation divided by race. The idea is for its Rugby team – the Springboks to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, captain of the team, shares a close relation with the president. He is Mandela’s agent in the team that eventually, against odds, wins the trophy to emerge on the world stage for the first the time as one nation. The vision of one man to unite the entire nation and the belief he has in his people is captured very intensely by Clint Eastwood. The African sound and music bring the film closer to the audience.
Hugo (2011)
Martin Scorsese’s latest entry to the Oscars, Hugo is the story of an orphan who lives inside the railway station and loves to fix broken gadgets. Set in the 1930s in Paris, it is more than just a metaphor for how broken things can be fixed. The orphan comes across a great filmmaker Georges Melies, who now lives in oblivion, and tries to find out more about him with the help of his god-daughter (Chloe Grace Moretz). Hugo’s life ambition is to fix the mechanical man which is the last memento of his father. But the mechanical man, which actually belongs to Melies himself, gets fixed like everything else that is broken,including the leg of the rigorous station inspector (Sacha BaronCohen). Hugo (Asa Butterfield) is the agent that binds all the elements and is the reason behind Melies getting recognised, the guard getting his leg fixed as well as the mechanical man being made functional.
Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on September 21, 2012
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