Saturday, 22 June 2019

Crowdfunded Cinema.

There have been various kinds of movies that have to be told but face problems when they have to do not find any producers willing to invest money. Such stories with a desire to be a feature film turn to crowdfund for raising capital for production.

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As evident from its name, crowdfunding is a practice adopted by a lot of indie filmmakers to gather fund for their films. Not only provide funds, but crowdfunding also permits the public to be familiar with the film and its cast (one of the biggest positives when the box office is concerned). Not only that, as per an investor, "Many independent film producers view crowdfunding as an excellent way to raise funds to cover production costs. Film producers are able to start to accumulate an interesting audience for their movie while raising money to make it."  

A few examples of crowd-funded movies is Rajat Kapoor's national award-winning movie 'Raghu Romeo', which won critical acclaim but failed to generate much of the numbers at the box office.
This led to a crisis for him to find investors for his next movie, "Mixed Doubles". It shall not be wrong to say that crowdfunding a successful method of raising capital for content and meaningful cinema around the world which has failed to gather momentum in India simply due to the risks of loss associated with it. 

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With another crowdfunded movie, "The Great Indian Escape" up for release this 24th of June, deals with real life incidence of a prison break of 3 officers of the Indian Air Force, one of the most outrageous prison breaks ever to happen in the history of defence services. An interesting and honest tale that deserves our attention. A real-life story which otherwise shall have not made it to the big screen if not for crowdfunding. 

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Therefore, to know the real life incidence of the real heroes of the country, it is our turn as the audience to support this movie and also inspire filmmakers to go the crowdfunding route if they have a story like "The Great Indian Escape" to be told.

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Sunday, 9 June 2019

Cake (Netflix) Review: A cake one shall love to order again and again.

'Cake' is a Pakistani movie that released on Netflix recently stars Sanam Saeed, Amaina Sheikh and Adnan Malik in the lead roles. It is directed by debutante director Asim Abbasi. The film deals with a dysfunctional family where the illnesses of their ageing parents amidst their personal turbulence as the kids gather together for their parents.

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What's Good: Acting: Some fabulous acting is done by the exceptional leads and supporting cast. Story: Absolutely not on the same as Kapoor and Sons, there is a difference about this Pakistani drama. Chemistry: The chemistry where expected is sparkling and crackling. Message: A message common to all Pakistani movies, is the importance of staying together is depicted with absolute subtility here. Ode to 90s Music: The amazing background score reminisces us about old Bollywood music. 
The Best thing about Cake: They are the family next door!
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What's Bad: Sub Stories: The sub-stories in the main story might be tough to follow. Length: The movie ends in just 125 minutes. 
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If you are on Netflix and do not watch 'Cake', then I can confidently say that THIS SHOULD BE YOUR NEXT WATCH. Pure raw emotions, minimal melodrama, intriguing storyline, top-notch performances. I am going with 4 stars for this beautiful piece from Neighbouring Cinema!!

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P.S. Do watch it. Might just turn out to be your 'movie of the year'!

Friday, 7 June 2019

Bharat Review: "Ye Naya India hai." Salman should realize that!


This week  saw the release of 2019’s biggest summer release, the Salman ‘Bhai’ Khan starrer ‘Bharat’, based on the Korean film, “An Ode to my Father”. The movie has an outstanding supporting cast that includes names like Ayesha Raza, Kumud Mishra, Sunil Grover, Shashank Arora etc. Post watching Bharat, it can surely be said that Salman Khan still has commitment issues.
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What’s Good: Acting(yes, acting!): With such an amazing supporting cast, the acting is pitch perfect. Even Katrina Kaif manages to act well. It’s ‘Bharat’ aka Bhai who lets us down (like always).  Music: Vishal Shekhar’s music is one of the better things about this movie. The Aunt-Nephew connection: The subtle undertones of the relation are pretty decent. Cinematography: The cinematography is pretty decently done.
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What’s Bad: Length: At approximately 167 minutes, the movie highly overstays its welcome, drags a lot in the first half. Direction: Ali Abbas Zafar’s direction is one of the biggest problems of the movie. He decides to borrow the main storyline but forgets to add emotions to the movie. Forced Patriotism: The patriotism is forced. Absolutely unnecessary. Various shades of Salman: Salman is super highly unconvincing as his timeline spans over 70 years pass. Not only that, Salman practically becomes invincible in this drama. 
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Bharat is not good, not average. It is an above average watch that too only suited for single screen and not the multiplex. I am going with 2.0 stars for this Salman starrer. At least, it is one of the better Salman Khan movies to have released.

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P.S. So glad that Priyanka Chopra walked out of this drama.

Sushant Singh Rajput: An Inspiration and a Legend!

It has been 42 days since Sushant Singh Rajput left for his heavenly abode on the 14th of June, 2020. In this write-up, The Bollywood Elepha...