Movie Review of an award winning Tamil short film "Aasai" (Hope)

         On 6^th September we have celebrated Teacher’s day in our Department of English. Almost twenty students have participated and our juniors have also taken lecture in our class. +Megha Trivedi is studying in semester 1 and she has taken “Reading of a short film – ‘Aasai’ as her topic of teaching.

Here are the photographs of Teacher’s day – Click Here

      

         In this blog I have added some points of her teaching and included my observation.

Director - Sam

Editor – Shivamathi

Cinematography – Manush.P.S.Nandan

        

Here is the film: 

           This is an award winning short film. Selvam, a little boy who works in a grocery shop is fond of Telephones. His aspiration was to speak in Telephone to his mother who is at Tirunelveli (district in Tamilnadu) that too from his hard earned money. Near b y STD booth lady helps him to find out how much money is needed for Selvam to speak to his mother for five minutes. Selvam practices what all he wishes to speak to his mother within that five minutes by speaking with him. (Source – Youtube)

         

          In the very first scene we could see that there is a box of glossary items and the little boy Selvam is delivering that to the customer, and in the very next scene the boy is driving his cycle near the play ground, one can observe that the little boy should also be there in playground but he was working. The concept of child labour is there. The boy is alone in a city and mother is far away in another district, her mother has left her little child for working; poverty is reflected here.

        

         The boy is enough educated to read and write and he is very fond of telephones. He wanted to talk with his mother and was collecting the money for that by tip he gets from customer and his master. He has collected enough money but unfortunately his money was wasted and he could not talk with his mother and again he starts collecting money.

Symbolism:

1)      Telephone is a major symbol in this film, it reflects the effect upon the little child’s mind and it is also helpful in communication. Another employ is misusing the telephone which suggests that it is up to us that how we use technology.

2)    Clock is another symbol which shows the importance of time.

3)    Box of glossary items shows that Selvam has not those things which he is delivering to customers daily, but he is fond of telephones.

4)    Rajanikanth’s photograph also symbolizes Tamilnadu, and use of photoshop.

        In this film the director has used Humour to show the tragic situation of child labourer Selvam. It reminds us the technique of Charles Dickens in most of his novels, especially in “Oliver Twist”. The happy ending is also there in the film that the boy is still in hope to talk with his mother that he doesn’t lose his hope and starts collecting money again.

Book review of "The Old Curiosity Shop" by Charles Dickens

Here I have shared my views about “The Old Curicity Shop” by Charles Dickens, I have issued this book from the central library of University during our monthly library visit arranged by library committee.

Here are the photographs of visit: Click here

The Old Curiosity Shop

-          Charles Dickens

              “The Old Curiosity Shop” is written by Charles Dickens, the famous novelist of Victorian era. Dickens has wrote his most of works as a series in magazines and this “The Old Curiosity Shop” was also serialized in Master Humphrey’s Clock between 1840 to 1841 and as a novel it was published in 1841. His suffering in his childhood is mostly reflacted in his works, in Oliver Twist also there is a journey and suffering of a child.

         

             The plot is full of adventures like all the novels of Dickens, we can read the adventures journey of the protagonist Nell, a fourteen year old girl who stays with her grandfather, the owner of ‘The Old Curiosity Shop”. Grandfather wants to give the good lifestyle to Nell and for this he chooses the wrong way of gambling and lost his everything. Nell and her Grandfather both were started their journey from London to west England and they met many kind-hearted people, but because of grandfather’s habit of gambling, they were not able to settle anywhere and at the end, because of all these suffering and pain Nell died and soon after that her grandfather also died.

          

             The characters in the novel are having different psyches; readers can sense the mindset of characters. Nell is only fourteen years old but with enough maturity. Grandfather is worried about the future of Nell and starts gambling to come out of poverty, here Dickens focused upon two major social evils, poverty and gambling. The character like Quilp, a wicked and hunchbacked dwarf, he described ugly, which represents his inner qualities. He was interested in the shop of Grandfather and by financing money for gambling, he took the shop from them.

        

            The reference of river Thames comes in novel as Quilp falls into the river at night because of fogg and he died, but it also believed that it was suicide. The connection of Quilp’s death can be connected with Narcissus, in Ovid’s version of Narcissus’s myth he committed suicide. Quilp was also self obsessed and having hatred for every person around him, he used to beat his wife and tourtured her, he was also having hatred towards Kit and grandfather of Nell. At the end Nell died, which obviously suggests the tragic end of the novel and social reality also. The death of a child during suffering effects the readers because she was the only innocent character in the novel and she has paid the price of everyone’s sins. The villain and the protagonist both have died at the end, Dickens has shown the reality by the death; if novel would have been ended happily it would not create much effect upon the readers.

“Heaven be thanked, I love its light and feel the cheerfulness

it sheds upon the earth, as much as any creature living”

Review of a Documentary “Rivers and Tides” by Andy Goldsworthy

“Rivers and Tides” by Andy Goldsworthy

        

           On 22^nd August 2016, all the students of Department of English have attended a movie screening of “Rivers and Tide”.

Here I have shared my views regarding this film.

         

         In this documentary, Andy Goldsworthy makes different shapes by natural elements and creates his art works. The documentary is directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer and released in 2001. It very much connected with life and our nature that how we imitates the nature in different way. When we watch this documentary, it goes monotonously and the artist is doing the same work repeatedly until he gets the perfection.

  

        The very first artwork was shaping ice in the design of river, and we can observe that when he has completed his work the sun rises and ice started melting which shows the transience nature of human life. We always try to find something from nothingness and though if we get something it is not permanent, but the process of finding gives pleasure. Goldsworthy has said in his documentary that,

“My all efforts are trying to make something that is effortless”

  

        His another work was from stones, he was arranging stones in a shape of a big egg, four times it happened that when he is very near to complete it has collapsed he got disappointed too but on next day he started again and he has completed it. He has expressed his feelings that an artist is connected with his art piece, he said that,

“I am very much connected with the stones”

    

       He has used earth, air and water for his art work. He has used nature as canvas as well as colours and brush to express his ideas. 

"To The Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf - blog task

This blog is a part of my blog task activity for the novel "To The Light house" by Virginia Woolf in Modernist literature

Here is the given task : click here

Here is my response :

2) Do you agree: "The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay"? Can we read Mrs. R in context of the idea of Ideal Indian Woman - ( Karyeshu dasi, Karaneshu manthri; Bhojeshu mata, Shayaneshu rambha; Kshamayeshu dharithri, Roopeshu lakshmi; Satkarma yukta, Kuladharma pathni. )

> Yes, we can say that the novel is a tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay, because from the very beginning of the novel we can observe her character that she is very caring and kind hearted housewife and mother but when we see Mrs Ramsay with the perspective of Lily Brisco we can say that her good behaviour is not natural. She has considered as an ideal woman because she fits in frame of patriarchal mindset. In the painting of Lily we can see that Mrs Ramsay is at the centre of the painting and summer house but she is knitting (ideal housewife) and guiding her child (ideal mother), Mrs Ramsay's character goes downward from controlling position to a mere housewife.
Yes we can read Mrs. R in context of the idea of Ideal Indian Woman as she follows all the rules of wife which has designed by patriarchy.

7) comparison of the 'beginning' and the 'ending' of the novel and the film adaptation of the novel.
 Do you think that the novel is more poignant than the movie? If yes, do you ascribe the fact that the power of words is much greater than that of the screen / visuals?

> When we read the beginning of the novel it has effective start like we enter in the mind of characters one by one and in the film it has differently begun with the introduction of the characters. At the end, the confusion of Brisco has very well described by the narration and in the film it has described by the visual effects of light and sound. Both are effective but we can say that novel has long narration of Lily's dilemma and her vision.

8) How do you interpret the last line of the novel with reference to the ending of the film?

 > The ending of the novel is connected with the title of the novel, finally all characters reached to the light house. In the novel Lily Brisco said :

" she looked at her canvas; it was blurred. With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, in the centre. It was done; it was finished. Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision"

In the novel Lily saw the painting of Mrs Ramsay, she saw an ideal housewife and mother and her confusion of being ideal woman has solved, her blurred vision (Mrs Ramsay as an ideal woman) was clear.

In the film :
 "Closed doors, open windows" - lies on the bed and with some sort of satisfaction utters: "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool"

In the film we can observe Lily's confusion that she was trying to think like Mrs Ramsay but when she completed painting she thought that the way Mrs Ramsay is in painting (sitting on chair and knitting and guiding James) she cannot do that, she uttered the dialogue of Mrs Ramsay 'Closed doors, open windows" and considered herself fool to think on a perticular way.

If we connect both the dialogue, we can understand it more clearly:
"Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool, I have had my vision"

10) Why did Virginia give such prominence to the tale of the “Fisherman’s Wife”? 

> The tale of "Fisherman’s Wife is connected with the character of Mrs. Ramsay as well as Mr. Ramsay, because Woolf is subverting the misogyny of fairytale for example the male characters are behaving like fisherman's wife, they have wishes which are not fulfilled in a way they wants and that unsatisfied desires leads them towards failure. Mrs Ramsay is more successful in her work than Mr. Ramsay and Lily Brisco is better in her profession than Charles Tansley. Fairytale shows the dangers of male willfulness and desires.

Movie review of Sardar (1993 film)

On 15^th August, after flag hoisting, we have arranged a screening of movie “Sardar”  in our Department of English in Maharaja Krishnakumar Sinhji Bhavnagar University.

Here is the link of photoghaphs: Yeshabhattfbprofile

Sardar (1993 film)

Director – Ketan Mehta

Producers – H. M. Patel

   Writer –Vijay Tendulkar

        Starring – Paresh Raval, Annu Kapoor, H. M. Patel,Benjamin Gilani

         The film has used flashback and documentary techniques with real footages and newspaper articles, it can be consider as a biopic on the life of Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel. All evidence related to the events is there. In the film viewer can observe the larger than life image of Sardar Patel, and all other characters like Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi are downplayed.

  

        The starting of the movie is very significant, the very first scene is of an office of press, where the reporters are discussing about the condition of nation after Independence; where people wanted old days of Britishraj back, and thinking that whatever freedom fighters have done is of no use. In another scene we can see that the photographs of Sardar Patel are shattered on the floor and they are collecting the photographs as if they are collecting the old memories and their lost identity among people and they decides to make film on Sardar Patel.

       

         All the movements of freedom fighting related with Sardar is there in the movie, the awakening efforts by freedom fighters are there, one of that is by singing songs of freedom in native language,

“Don’t tolerate injustice, wake up o people”

     

         By watching the film we come to know about various fact of Sardar and how he was a person and as a freedom fighter. We can see two different personalities of him, as a person he was against Gandhi before he met him and abusing him but after one meeting with Gandhi he became follower of Gandhi.

    

       Sardar Patel was very much in favour nonviolence, but when Muslim and Jinnah has started direct action plan, he quit the idea of being non violent and sufferer. Sardar can be considered more practical man in comparison of Gandhi and Nehru. Very effective convincing power we can observe in Sardar, the way he convince Gandhi by saying that,

“You are Mahatma, only you can think like this, we are just human beings”

  

       He also merged 562 princely states in one country and also solved the matter of Sikhs and Muslims.

There is good use of various symbols in the movie:

     

       The very first symbol is portrait of “Bharatmata” the bounded Bharatmata’s portrait in the office of Gandhiji, on which camera focuses again and again.

      

      The shattered photographs of Sardar and dust on it, that is also a significant symbol of lost memories of Sardar.

      

       In the scene of violence towards Hindus in direct action plan by Jinha we can observe that there were fire all around and in the centre of it there were Sardar and victims of this action plan were craving for help towards Sardar, so we can say that country was burning and only hope was Sardar. Even after the independence most of party members have selected Sardar as the prime minister but because of Jawaharlal Nehru Sardar Patel has taken his foot back and allowed Nehru to be the prime minister.

    

      The Symbolism of three monkeys has shown in the film as a deep psyche of Sardar and Nehru and its effect on Gandhi. In the scenes of conversations of Gandhi with Sardar and Nehru we could see the focus of Camera is first upon white statues of three monkeys and when there are arguments between these three characters we could see the colour of statue is black. It is a deep archetypal symbolism of colour.

     

      At the end of the movie when Gandhiji died, his dead body becomes a symbol of friendship or we can say reunion of sardar and Nehru and at the end, after plan crash Sardar is sitting in free India from Kashmir to Kanya kumari.

Movie Review - "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" directed by Mira Niar

Movie Review - The Reluctant Fundamentalist

This blog is a part of my classroom activity of Postcolonial Studies: Film Screening: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Here is the blog of a given task: Click Here

Director – Mira Niar

Screenplay – William Wheeler

        Writer – Javed Akhtar (eulogy in

              Urdu) Mohsin Hamid (Screen

               Story and Novel) Ami Boghani

        (Screen story)

       Starring – Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson,

           Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland

           The movie “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” focuses upon the theme of racism and an American Dream of a young man Changez Khan and his journey of becoming a reluctant fundamentalist. There are two meanings of fundamentals have been used, first in business and another is in terrorism. The word has same meaning but in different context.

     

          The life journey of Changez Khan is the plot of film which switches between past and present. Boby Lincon takes an interview of Changez Khan, he come to know the whole story of 9/11 attack with the view of a “Pakistani human”.

   

         Post colonial aspects can be seen in many scenes of the movie, there are two perspectives which go parallel, first is the view of Boby Lincon and his views about Changez and another is of Changez Khan and his views about Americans. 

        The American colleague of Changez Khan has been kidnapped and the main suspect of this kidnapping was Changez because he was a Muslim tutor. He tells his story to the interviewer. 

        Changez Khan was an ambitious man and when he went for an interview, first Jim (the owner of Underwood Samson) makes fun of Changez which defines that the mentality of white people towards Indians or Pakistani.

   

        When Changez was talking with Erica about his feelings towards the painting, she said that,

“Would I have to wear burkha?”

which suggests the point of view of an American woman about Pakistani women.

    

       After 9/11 the life of Changez has been changed and everyone from his colleague and other American looking towards him differently, and Changez has also changed in his perception towards people. There are many scenes which suggests that people are having a strong mindset that every Muslim and Pakistani is involved in 9/11 attack.

     

       For the first time Changez felt that he is an outsider and a Muslim in America when police has treated him as a terrorist, and in that scene we can see that there is a reflection of Changez on glass and WTC tower is blasting, which suggests the blast of an American dream of Changez.

       Changez was also having love with America but when he felt that Americans are showing their patriotism by hating and hurting Islamic population of America he felt very inferior and also he confesses this when one White man calls him “Osama”, Changez said,

 “What was soft inside me fell away, what was hard became harder”

       

      The feeling of being “Other” in an America becaming stronger for Changez, as his beard has became his identity of being Muslim. Before 9/11 he was a clean shaved guy, but when everyone make him feel that he is a Muslim, he started keeping beard, maybe he was also showing a kind of patriotism towards his country as Americans were showing.

          Changez quit himself from America when his beloved has also called him Pakistani. The perspective of Changez towards the Pakistani has changes from the national identity to terroristic identity. Whenever he identified as a Pakistani he felt that he is being objectify as a terrorist. This was his mental colonialism which has dragged him into the college of Lahore as professor. There he come to know that the rationality and fundamentals of American business and the rational fundamentals of “Mujahir” of being terrorist was similar, to use people for one’s own purpose and Changez was comparing American Dream with Pakistani Dream, ultimately he stop dreaming and accepted the present.

      

        There is a good use of music and songs as per situations, in the kidnapping of the white professor Rainier there was a loud Sufi music, and in the meeting of Changez and Erica, where Changez tries to convince Erica to forget everything, the lyrics of background songs matches very well, “I want you to be..”.  When Changez was upset with the way he was treated in America and when he came back he had an arguments with his parents, and the background song was, “you say thing to burn the heart, yet I must smile” (Dil jala ne ki baat krte ho, fir bhi muskurane ko kehte ho) it defines the condition of Changez.  When Changez left the job, there was so much contradiction was in mind, and the song was reflecting it well, “All I want is a grain of respect”.

       The movie is worth watching with the perspective of post colonialism, terrorism and how racism takes place in the mind of people. The music and songs also gives enough justice to the situations.