27 February 2006
UPDATE: Filmfare Awards
23 February 2006
Blog Tweak
Disebabkan oleh proxy server, kebanyakan site aku dah takleh masuk disebabkan URL site tu ada dalam blacklist library proxy server. Ini termasuk semua Fotopages, mp3 sites dan yg paling aku tensen sekali.., torrent sites yg aku biasa download movies dan music albums. Farkkk.
BTW, aku dah ada tagboard baru sbb yg lama dulu dh kena block ngan proxy server. Thanks to oggix.com. Added a site counter, a site tracker and a link tracker. Added a few links too, so feel free to check it out.
*sigh*... Fark.
21 February 2006
BLACK : New Indian Cinema at it's best
But I still remember when I was doing my matriculation, this 'little' movie called Kuch Kuch Hota Hai exploded into
But the resurrection of Indian cinema certainly has some good points. The most notable point is the emergence of the new wave directors who has taken the unconventional path of moviemaking. These directors try to break new ground with their movies. They stayed away from the typical sappy stroryline and create a new look of Indian cinema. Mira Nair, Nagesh Kukunoor, Madhur Bhandarkar, Gurinder Chadha, Mani Ratnam, Shekhar Kapoor and Ashutosh Gowariker are few of those directors who has picked up where Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy and V. Shantaram has left off. They resurrected the new 'New Indian Cinema'.
One director that is leading these batch of talented directors is my personal favourite, Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Khamoshi The Musical, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas). Although considering the fact that his films are being classified as an 'art film' in
Black is an enchanting movie despite the dark theme surrounding it. Rarely I could see a film of such sensitivity, precision and elegance that has came out from the cinematic world of
Black spans almost fifty years of the life of Michelle McNally (portrayed as a child by Ayesha Kapoor and as a woman by Rani Mukerji) who is born deaf and blind. Like other children she wants to play and be mischievous but cannot express herself or understand what is being communicated to her, thus releasing her frustrations in violent tantrums. In her life enters a teacher for the blind and deaf, Debraj Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan). He is an alcoholic who has never been able to attain the success he wants in training blind and deaf children. His initial triumphs in teaching the uncouth Michelle inspire him to take the girl by the hand and make her a productive and proactive person and contributor to society-he wants her to go college, a college for the general public, and get her a Bachelor's in Arts degree. But life plays a peculiar game with Michelle and Debraj, with Debraj losing his entire memory to Alzheimer's disease and Michelle taking it upon herself to teach him all that he ever taught her.
Where does one begin when discussing Black? To what previous Bollywood ventures can one make a parallel? In terms of story, I don't think one really can compare this movie to any other. Sure there have been a host of movies that deal with the disabled, but they have been about mental disabilities. Indian cinema and the Indian status quo have a stereotype as to what a disability 'should' be. Some mannerisms of Mukerji and many of Kapoor mimic characters who suffer from mental disabilities, but Bhansali explicates the differences. Just because people with mental disadvantages and people with impaired senses might act the same, doesn't mean they are to be treated the same.
Being set in an Anglo-Indian environment in what seems to be the post-independence era, Black has a fair dosage of English (which will repel those with limited comfort with the language). Moreover, the movie is real to a fault. Without indulging too much into details, Black denotes every aspect of Michelle's character, and one scene in particular might not please the audience. The taming of the young Michelle is immensely intriguing, but saddening and disturbing as well. I'm not sure whether some audiences are ready for something so real but bleak. But it is the realism that keeps you glued to the screen as you relish each dialogue, each sign-spoken word, each facial expression-everything about Black is enthralling! The sets and colours may seem a bit emphasised, but the costumes and casting are all ingeniously authentic.
As a director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has perfected his best work, Khamoshi. He even tells the story as a flashback, showing childhood and adulthood of his main character. But the resemblances end here. He lends himself to the demands of the story and does not get caught in a wave of nostalgia by recreating a similar movie. Each scene is given the utmost sincerity and each character is etched with the finest characterisation. The one thing I noticed throughout the movie was the use of paintings as a backdrop to crucial scenes. I cannot explain it in details but you have to see it to understand. The screenplay is a factor that I can see being subject to debate. Personally, I found it appropriately paced (but some might find it slow and dragging) and nothing seemed to be out of place-except for one thing: the character of Sara, Michelle's younger sister, played by Nandana Sen. Her presence seems forced into the screenplay and caters to the cliche of jealousy of the disadvantaged sibling. Sara's wedding leads up to the best scene of the movie, but I feel that could have been achieved through other means-but perhaps it might not have had the same affect. Sara's character could stand for the social obstacles faced by those in Michelle's situation, and is thus an important part of the film.
The great thing about Black is that it's difficult to determine a definite 'lead' role of the film. Yes, the movie is told from the point of view of Michelle and is about her fulfilling her goals, but what about the achievements of Debraj and that Michelle getting her degree is his dream, too? Therefore, as essentially equal contributors to the film, Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan give their career-best performances. I have fell in love with Rani Mukerji since I first saw her with Aamir Khan in Ghulam. She is not only super beautiful but very talented as well. Those sweet smile, sparkling eyes and that unique voice of her is a joy to watch/hear. She is the epitome of a Bollywood Queen. In Black, whatever Mukherji says is the subconscious of Michelle. She doesn't actually mouth any lines in Black, but has never been more expressive. Her body language, particularly her walk, is spectacular. She could have easily gone over the top but manages to restrain herself. She strays from the lost look most actors give such characters. She didn't wore any make-up in this movie but she has never looked so beautiful. A pure beauty. This is not the Rani Mukerji of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Hum Tum, or Veer-Zaara. This is a side to Rani Mukerji that I was unaware of. I was thinking throughout the movie, what other actresses could have portrayed Michelle McNally with the same grace? I couldn't seem to find the answer to that question.
Amitabh Bachchan is just brilliant. Damn brilliant. Everyone knows that Amitabh Bachan is a superb actor and one of the greatest actor of all-time, but this movie certainly justifies that statement. Honestly, before Black, I have never seen Amitabh Bachan act his heart out. His character demanded eccentricity and he delivers! As Michelle's pillar of support, Bachchan's depiction of Debraj Sahai compliment's Rani Mukerji perfectly. The gradual dominance of Alzheimer's disease is most natural and the scenes in which Debraj is taken over by the disease show the real talent within the Big B. Honestly, you're at a loss for superlatives to compliment his work. And watch out for the scene where Amitabh Bachan teaches us how to do sign language for the word 'bullshit'. Brilliant.
The suppporting cast also boast some of the greatest talents in
My favourite scene in the movie is when during a very dramatic scene, Amitabh Bachan's character says, "... you know, I feel like singing and dancing right now, but as you and I know, I'm hopeless". That dialogue, although very tongue-in-cheek, explains it all. Most Hindi movies, during that particular scene, will definitely break into this humongous dance and musical sequences complete with backup dancers and multiple costume changes. But this is not another Hindi movie. It is not stereotypical. It's magical. If you hated 'mainstream' Hindi movies and if there's only one Indian movie you would see this year, make sure it's Black.
09 February 2006
Puteri Gunung Ledang : Pengalaman Muzikal Yang Tidak Boleh Dilupakan
Sampai tepat pada masa ia bermula, aku seperti tidak bersedia dengan apa yang bakal aku saksikan. Memang aku akui, aku meletakkan harapan yang agak tinggi terhadap pementasan ini. Ini semua mungkin because of all the hype and buzz surrounding PGLTM membuatkan aku menjadi begitu teruja dengan pementasan ini. Dan bermula dari not muzik yang pertama yang dimainkan, aku telah terpukau dan terpaku.
Ada beberapa perkara yang aku suka tentang PGLTM:
- Muzik - Apa erti sebuah teater muzikal jika muziknya tidak menarik. Kolaborasi Roslan Aziz dan Dick Lee terbukti berkesan dengan lagu-lagu yang sangat majestic dan indah. Setiap bibit lagu merupakan cerita yang yang disampaikan secara bermelodi. Irama lagu tersebut mencerminkan perasaan setiap karakter yang menyanyikannya. Mata aku kadang-kadang tersasar dari pentas disebabkan aku asyik melihat pemain gendang di bahagian depan pentas. Pukulan gendang mereka memukau dan membangkitkan emosi penonton.. Memang jelas, pemuzik-pemuziknya begitu ekspresif dalam memberi penghayatan kepada cerita yang hendak disampaikan. Pengarahan muzik yang sangat teliti. Hebat, memang hebat.
- Lakonan - Tak perlu dipersoalkan lagi bakat-bakat lakonan yang terlibat dalam PGLTM ini. Tiara Jacquelina mencurahkan hati dan perasaannya di atas pentas (..with her dearest husband in the audience). Jelas sekali dia mengeluarkan sepenuh tenaga dan usaha ke atas pementasan ini. Dia merupakan nadi PGLTM. Aku juga kagum dengan Stephen-Rahman Hughes kerana aku tak menyangka dia boleh menyanyikan lagu Melayu dengan begitu baik. Cuma aku merasakan terdapat beberapa bahagian di mana dia kurang emosi dan salah intonasi semasa menuturkan dialog. Tapi secara keseluruhan aku rasa wajar jika dia dipuji kerana bukan senang untuk menghayati lakonan dan nyanyian dalam sesebuah bahasa yang memang agak asing baginya. Jelas sekali dia merupakan seorang pelakon yang mempunyai daya usaha yang tinggi and quite frankly, he pull it off. Seorang lagi pelakon yang membuatkan aku angkat topi ialah AC Mizal. Sekarang barulah aku mengerti mengapa Tiara memberi pujian melambung ke atas lakonan dan usaha AC Mizal di dalam TV baru-baru ini. Bukan senang untuk menggantikan tempat yang ditinggalkan Alex Komang, tetapi ternyata AC Mizal menyahut cabaran tersebut dengan jayanya. Adlin Aman Ramlie, Sukania Venugopal dan Yalal Chin tidak dinafikan lagi memang tergolong dalam kategori 'theater heavyweights'. Gerak-geri, ekspresi dan lontaran suara mereka ternyata bersahaja dalam memberikan lakonan yang mantap. Aku paling menyukai segmen di mana Adlin Aman Ramlie menari dan menyanyi sebagai seorang Sultan Melaka yang angkuh. Ternyata segmen tersebut mendapat tepukan yang sangat gemuruh daripada penonton. Siapa sangka dia boleh menari dan menyanyi dengan baik?
- Tarian - Pujian juga harus diberikan pada penari-penari PGLTM yang menghiburkan penonton dengan koreografi yang sangat mengasyikkan terutama sekali tarian Jawa semasa pembukaan pementasan. Penari-penari memikul tanggungjawab berat untuk berkomunikasi dengan penonton hanya melalui ekspresi dalam tarian dan mereka berjaya membuatkan penonton memahami apa yang mereka hendak sampaikan dalam tarian mereka. Tahniah kepada Pat Ibrahim.
- Set - Simple yet effective. Direkabentuk oleh production designer hebat Raja Malek, set utama yang digunakan merupakan timbunan-timbunan kayu yang diubah-ubah oleh pembantu pentas mengikut segmen dan lagu. Timbunan-timbunan kayu ini disusun mengikut rekabentuk Candi Borubudur, seperti tangga dan apabila dicantumkan akan membentuk 'Gunung Ledang' yang sangat tinggi dan boleh didaki. Risau juga aku melihat Tiara dan Stephen 'mendaki' Gunung Ledang takut-takut kalau terjatuh. Ditambah pula dengan elevated stage di Istana Budaya yang bergerak mengikut setiap segmen, arahan seni Zahim Albakri dan Adlin Aman Ramlie tampak begitu kreatif dan mempersonakan. Transition daripada satu segmen ke segmen yang lain sangat lancar dan sempurna. Aku menyukai penggunaan kain putih sebagai air terjun semasa segmen Nenek Kebayan bertukar rupa kembali kepada Gusti Putri. Begitu juga dengan ukiran kayu yang indah pada set pintu istana Sultan Mahmud yang besar agam.
- Tatacahaya - Ramai yang kurang sedar, penataan cahaya memainkan peranan yang penting dalam menimbulkan mood sesuatu adegan. Penataan cahaya PGLTM memang bertaraf dunia dan wajar diberikan pujian. Limpahan lampu-lampu di sekeliling IB membangkitkan feel yang sesuai dengan lagu-lagu yang didendangkan. Contohnya bila watak AC Mizal timbul, terdapat resonans warna merah menyala yang menyinari pentas. Atau ketika Gusti Putri menari di hadapan Sultan Melaka, lampu spotlight difokuskan kepada watak Gusti Putri dan Hang Tuah. Aku paling suka kesan cahaya semasa watak Sukania Venugopal mati yang berjaya membawa penonton menghayati adegan sayu tersebut.
- Kostum - Period drama seharusnya mempunyai kostum yang extravaganza. Keindahan dan kesenian kostum dalam PGLTM tampak indah dan berseri-seri tanpa memaksa untuk go over the top. Jelas sekali perhatian yang teliti diberikan kepada aspek pakaian terutama sekali pakaian rakyat Majapahit dan Melaka.
- Nyanyian - Seperti yang aku nyatakan, nyanyian dalam PGLTM ini memang impressive. Aku terpaku seketika mendengar Stephen-Rahman Hughes menyanyikan lagu solonya dengan penuh penghayatan dan perasaan. Begitu juga dengan Adlin Aman Ramlie yang mempunyai suara yang 'boleh jual'. Pujian juga harus diberikan kepada penyanyi-penyanyi latar di bawah pentas yang tak henti menyanyi sepanjang pementasan dijalankan.
- Skrip dan cerita - Di tangan Adlin Aman Ramlie dan Zahim Albakri pengolahan cerita PGLTM ternyata hebat. Teater muzikal mempunyai kecenderungan untuk menjadi hambar dan terlalu meleret tetapi penceritaan dalam PGLTM bergerak secara lancar dan teratur tanpa membosankan penonton. Aku menyukai skrip dalam cerita dan lagu di mana ianya memberikan pemahaman kepada penonton yang tidak pernah menonton filem Puteri Gunung Ledang. Bahasa yang digunakan indah, penuh beremosi dan straight to the point.
- Terdapat sedikit technical glitch dalam pementasan ini di mana mikrofon Tiara tidak berfungsi just when she was about to sing a solo song. Aku dapat lihat dengan jelas kepanikan wajah Tiara walaupun daripada jauh. Dia kelihatan seperti ingin keluar ke sisi pentas tetapi teragak-agak kerana masih terlibat dalam adegan yang sedang berjalan. Mujurlah pengalaman Sukania Venugopal dalam dunia teater menyalamatkan keadaan. Dengan tenang beliau membuat improvasi dengan menyuruh Gusti Putri '...ke tepi sebentar' dan mengalihkan perhatian penonton kembali ke pentas sementara Tiara menukarkan mikrofon di belakang pentas. Ada juga beberapa kali, mikrofon pelakon seperti tenggelam timbul dan sedikit sebanyak mencacatkan kelancaran pengucapan dialog mereka. Seharusnya perkara seperti ini harus diberikan perhatian.
- Sarikata Bahasa Inggeris yang dipaparkan pada electronic board di bahagian atas pentas tidak selaras dengan adegan dan segmen yang sedang dipertontonkan. Ada waktu sarikata tersebut keluar terlalu awal, ada waktu terlalu lambat, ada waktu terlalu lama, ada waktu terlalu sekejap. Bagi penonton-penonton yang tidak mahir berbahasa Melayu (..agak ramai penonton berbangsa Cina, India, Inggeris dll.) sarikata tersebut sangat penting untuk mereka memahami penceritaan PGLTM. Sedikit sebanyak perkara ini mencacatkan pementasan yang sedan berlangsung. Lebih baik jika tidak disediakan sarikata jika motifnya untuk memberi pemahaman kepada penonton tidak sampai.
- Aku berasa sedikit hairan dengan kebanyakan penonton teater/filem Malaysia. Perlukah kita ketawa apabila pelakon tiba-tiba menyanyi semasa dalam adegan genting? Perlukah kita ketawa semasa dialog cinta diucapkan semasa adegan klimaks di puncak Gunung Ledang? Perlukah kita ketawa semasa pelakon menari? It's a MUSICAL THEATER..!! What do u guys expect?? The actors are supposed to over act. The dialog are supposed to be over the top. People are supposed to be breaking into songs here and there because it is a freakin' musical! Dan ada 4-5 orang budak-budak sekolah di depan aku yang asyik bercakap sepanjang pementasan. Aku pun tak paham kenapa. Mungkin itu cara penonton Malaysia memberikan reaksi dan maklumbalas kepada pelakon di atas pentas.
PGLTM certainly exceed my expectation. Ini pengalaman pertama aku menonton teater muzikal secara live dan sememangnya menonton secara live lebih menarik. Perasaan yang timbul tidak sama dengan perasaan menonton teater muzikal West End dan Broadway di kaca TV. Aku juga sangat bangga melihatkan hasil kerja orang Malaysia ditontoni oleh semua golongan masyarakat dan pelbagai kaum. Apa yang ditunggu lagi? Mungkin inilah satu-satunya peluang untuk kita menonton teater muzikal hebat bertaraf dunia (..plus masa intermission 15 minit, ada jamuan disediakan! First time ever! Hehehe..) Aku memberikan jaminan sesiapa sahaja yang menonton akan pasti terhibur.
Halwa telinga dan mata yang sangat memukau, mengasyikkan dan mengkagumkan. Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical menjanjikan satu pengalaman menonton teater yang tiada tandingan di Malaysia ini. Epic and Majestic. World class calibre entertainment. Go see it to believe it.. u won't be dissapointed.