Varun's Word

Ok. So what if I told you I am not writing this review. What if I told you it was Christopher Nolan who decided I will write this review. That too some 40 years ago. Infact this movie itself was Nolan’s own will some 124 years ago?

What Interstellar does apart from leaving you shell shocked on your seats is that it makes Gravity movie look like a mini episode or a commercial break. Interstellar has so much to offer compared to any other space fiction movies.

It is very difficult to understand the Astro physics concepts while you are trying really hard in the two dimensional way. Nolan comes up with 3 hour length movie to make us ‘Laymen’ understand the mysteries and secrets of TIME slippage. The darkness and amazing possibilities of a Black Hole. Only Nolan reserves the right to say “Science can be fun too”.Infact he also reserves the right to say “Science can be thrilling, entertaining, mystical, visual, logical, infinite…. “. The list goes on.

The script is placed way ahead of current time. Its not about finding another planet to survive. It is about HOW they go about finding another planet to survive. Movies like Oblivion, Wall-E, After Earth emphasized on life in space, whereas Interstellar goes on to tell just how difficult it is to space travel and establish an alternate earth like planet.

Apart from constantly gripping and entertaining the audience, Nolan is travelling on thin ice here trying to educate the audiences while moving the script ahead. Of course we will be reminded of his style of narration. For example, the Dark knight like endings where we feel a lot of adrenalin rush. There is so much left to explore in the space. The explorers travelling tend to live longer on their explorations than the mission that sent them there ! There is time travel too!

Mathew McConaughey landed the best movie of his career but not necessarily the best performance. He is there just because there is a family connect in the script. Family connect is crucial for his survival instincts up there in space. This is a thrilling role not a performance role and he does more than justice to it.

Anne Hathaway does a neat job. Watch her when she explains how Love transcends through Time and Space. She looks quite dumb naturally in that scene.

Matt Damon is a surprise casting and he does what he does best. Infact his role justifies Murphy’s Law -“What has to happen will happen”

Please don’t watch Anupama Chopra’s stupid review and rating on NDTV. Ofcourse she is bored because she is thrilled by dumb masala movies.

5 on 5 is my take for this spectacle with zero flaws ! As I said, flawless because Nolan had already watched this entire movie from a BlackHole up there in space somewhere.! ! !

As a commuter on city roads, you would first notice that the city/ town roads are more regulated. The roads in city have parking lanes, they have no-parking boards, they have red lights, they have green lights, they have street lights, they have pedestrian crossings at every signal. The city roads have speed breakers, the city roads are polluted with smoke and noise. The city roads have no trees.

Cross the city limits, the roads are as free as your blank-mind is. Step out of the city and you’ll see that you rule the roads. You can pee anywhere, stop anywhere for a tea, stop anywhere and sleep off. Take a bath in the open, run around, shout and still no one cares. In Highways you only look forward during nights, you don’t look back because it will be pitch dark. There are no rules. Your true self comes out in no time.

A R Rahman proves why he is the Mozart of the east. Hit the roads with the songs that he has produced for this movie and slap me if you are not moved by the emotions. These are not feel good songs like Dil Chahta Hai title song but it will still disturb you. That’s the dark side of this movie. Patakha Guddi is undoubtedly the best song of the movie, both female version and AR Rahman version.

The only visible flaw I see in this movie is that Randeep Hooda speaks too much in village Hindi or some other language that sounds like Hindi but one is unable to understand the important verses in those dialogues. Watch him cry the only time in the movie, towards the end, if your tear glands are not working at their peak you can go ahead and ask for your refund!!

Oh Man you wait for that frame when you can see a little smile on Randeep Hooda’s face. He was the most understated actor since his debut in Ram Gopal Verma’s D movie where he plays an aspiring professional gangster. He has come a long way since then. This movie could be termed his best performance till date.

Imtiyaz has produced some of the unforgettable movies in modern hindi cinema. He has done his homework very well. “AAOO CHALE” is the slogan on the door of the mini van. It may sound and look like slapstick comedy, but it provides the much needed comic relief in this intense movie.

Alia Bhat who reminds of Jaden smith in expressions and looks (prominent nostrils, semi crescent eyes) has outlived all her performances till date. She excels as the innocent, talkative city girl who realises her true self and her true passion only after she gets abducted and hits the HIGHWAY. Watch her in the scenes where Randeep Hooda breaks down emotionally. Also the scenes where she protests against her parents. The scene where she sits on a rock in the midst of flushing Ganges river in Himachal Pradesh and talks to herself, doubtful if she should smile or cry, is truly unforgettable. Filmfare award for sure for this sweet girl.

Cinematography rocks. Highways are born free in true spirit. That’s what makes them different from the city roads ! You choose if you wanna be restricted like the city ones or be unleashed like the country ones???

—Varun Mannava Gowtham

Hustle in local slang means to earn a living through illicit or unethical means. It is surprising that two movies nominated to Oscars in 2013 were movies on unethical earning. The common American janta is perfectly fine if a fictional movie like American Hustle is based on a con-couple who make their money by cheating the general public at large. However if Marty makes a real life depiction of the Wolf of Wall street they make a lot of noise. How can they like one kind of fraud and not the other ? Maybe because Wolf was a real person. But the movies made on these real people don’t loot your money, instead they give value for your money spent on the movie. Every cent!

Moving away from my obsession on the Wolf, I would write a few lines on American Hustle. The movie portrays the early 60’s – 70’s life in New Jersey where corruption and gangsters play a large role in everyday life. The movie is fast paced in few frames but is painfully slow in some frames too. There is no retiring conman stories of one last and big robbery and then moving on in life. The leading con couple play in the hands of federal agents for a while and then they buy their permanent immunity in the end but ultimately conning the FBI itself ! This scene is worth watching.

It definitely has a gripping storyline and keeps you glued to your seats till the end. But 10 Oscar nominations is a bit too much.

Christian Bale getting nominated for best actor is definitely justified. He plays Irving who even wears a wig to cover his bald head. Amy Adams plays his lady love while Jennifer Lawrence plays his wife. The way he adjusts his spectacles, the way he walks, the way he talks everything works. His dressing sense too. He is not pushing too hard to get the girls but his confidence plays a big role in getting the girls and also getting the money when he is conning around.

Amy Adams looks hot and plays convincingly well. She is a strong contender for the best actress award. What surprises me is that why Jennifer Lawrence is undoubtedly the darling of the academy. Her role is pretty funny and she plays it with ease but that’s not academy award material.

Bradley cooper extends his Hangover performance where he looks lost most of the time. He is the ambitious federal agent who does not mind bad mouthing his boss and even attacking him if he tries to stop his progress. The party scene where he enacts his boss is the funniest.

Overall watch this Hustle if you want a few lessons in conning people. Good job David O Russell you seem to understand the pulse of the Academy awards. Silver linings playbook also got nominated in 2012 but Life of pi took away the best direction award. Maybe the Academy is conning you into this?

–Varun Gowtham Mannava.