Skip to main content

Devgn Drishyam (A view)

Devgn is an actor and plays the protagonist in the Hindi movie titled 'Drishyam'.  It is a remake of a remake which might make it a remakery of what is perhaps an original rendering in Malayalam.

It is a mudder mystery - sort of a thriller without too much high speed action, in fact on the contrary it has two lethargic young girls and their (apparently) slow witted parents as the focus of the movie.

On some levels I found this movie stupid but scintillating at the same time.  It has been a long time since I actually watched an entire Hindi movie. 

Some things in its favor -
  • No songs - although there is a lame attempt to signify the pathos felt by the cast somewhere in the middle of it.
  • Not too many fake chase sequences and clichéd commentary about how upparwala (lord) is going to watch over this family et al although there was ample opp to give upparwala an upper hand.
  • Cast is definitely watchable - although the protagonist tends to have a stone cold face even when happy - what's with that?
  • The police have been shown driving more modern fleet of vehicles and not the stock Willis jeeps that seem to be used in all movies.
  • Plot - well executed overall with a good balance of good cop and bad cop routines.
The things that did not quite make sense -

  • The police seem to have carte blanche on how to handle possible suspects without due warrants and cause.  Of course its cinema and this is India so anything is possible.  If the proceedings (as shown with the family) indeed happens in India then Internal Affairs ought to lock the entire police force and throw away the key.
  • The kids seem retarded.  Not exactly sure if they attend school since all they seem to be doing is hanging out at home with mom and going to picnics.
  • The whole family too borders on being somewhat of their rockers with the mother begging for some attention from the absent husband every time she has to plan an event or go shopping for supplies.
Maybe the director wanted to emphasize the contrast where the family is really a bunch of bumpkins not capable of pulling off a grand illusion as the climax.
I think he took it too far.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

But What If We're Wrong?

I attempted to read this book by author Chuck Klosterman backward to forward but it started hurting my brain so I decided to stop and do it like any other publication in the English language.  Start from page 1 and move to the right. Witty, caustic and thought provoking this is a book you want to read if you believe that the status quo might, just might be wrong. At times bordering on being contrarian about most things around us it tries to zero in on the notion of what makes anything believable and certain in our minds.  The fact that there is a fact itself is ironic.  Something analogous to the idea that you can never predict the future because there is no future. Many books and movies have tried to play on this concept - best that I recollect (I think I am) was 'The Truman Show'.  This book by Klosterman attempts to provoke the reader to at least contemplate that what they think they know may be wrong. He uses examples like concept of gravity, and how it ...
2 comments
Read more

You are important to us

Followed by piano music.   Followed by 'we are experiencing heavier than usual call volume'.  Sounds macabre like bleeding during menstruation or after a ghastly attack with a weapon on a hemophiliac.  Sorry Mrs. Johnson but it appears little Gertrude here has been bleeding heavier than usual what with her night time activities competing with the woodchucks in your neighborhood. Some services even go as far as to pick a random day to say - 'if you were to call us during the Chinese lunar month when the moon is axiomatically hugging the polar star with Jupiter intravenous when call volume is light'.  Well I will be damned.  I thought  I had checked with my astrologer before I placed this well focused call but  I guess this is what you get for listening to a quack. Umph! I am not sure which marketing genius came up with this personal touch concept of informing the caller that you are really a jackass for actually calling the customer serv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Of Jims and Johns

Here is another essay on the subject of first names. As in birth names. Or names provided to an offspring at birth. While the developed world tends to shy away from the exotic like Refrigerator or Coca Cola for their new production there is a plethora of Jims and Johns and Bobs or Robs. Speaking of which I do not think there is a categoric decision point at the time of birth if a child will be hereafter called as Bob. I mean have not yet met a toddler called Bob or Rob for that matter. At some point though the parental instinct to mouth out multiple syllables runs out and they switch from calling the crawler Robert to simply Robbie to Rob. Now speaking of - it is strange that the name sounds like something you would not want Rob to do - i.e. Rob anyone. Then why call someone that? After all Rob Peter to Pay Paul is not exactly a maxim to live a young life? Is it? Perhaps Peter or Paul might want to have a say in it? Then there is this matter of going to the John. Why degrad...
2 comments
Read more