film styles

Satyajit Ray

Bengali motion-picture director, writer, and illustrator who brought the Indian cinema to world recognition with Pather Panchali (1955; The Song of the Road) and its two sequels, known as the Apu Trilogy. As a director Ray was noted for his humanism, his versatility, and his detailed control over his films and their music. He was one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century.

neorealism:- bollywood, similary to hollywood are more about the narrative and stars rather than how realistic they are

It must be said that neorealist style, like most styles, does not have an inherent political message. The most common attribute of neorealism is location shooting and the dubbing of dialogue. The dubbing allowed for filmmakers to move in a more open miss-en-scene. Principal characters would be portrayed mostly by trained actors while supporting members (and sometimes principals) would be non-actors. The idea was to create a greater sense of realism through the use of real people rather than all seasoned actors. The rigidity of non-actors gave the scenes more authentic power. This sense of realism made Italian neorealism more than an artistic stance, it came to embody an attitude toward life.

http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~jriggs/film1301/notes10.htm

Where am i at with the study

So far i have done textual analysis (at the moment the t.a for 2 films is on paper which i will be transfering onto the blog soon) and collected institutional data for all three films. I have also collected and commented on popular criticism for the three films using on-line reviews and YouTube user comments.
In terms of academic criticism, i have aquired information from the book 'Bollywood- sociology goes to the movie', which is summarised on the blog, also from 'Bollywood- the cinema story' (which is yet to be typed up). I have also got some articles about the bollywood industry from The Times website which i thought might be useful for a wider understanding of my study.
I will now be trying to find film theories in general.

Rang de basanti- popular criticism

Review by Jaspreet Pandohar on the BBC Movies website:
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2006/01/27/rang_de_basanti_2006_review.shtml)

The review is extremely positive, commending the actors for their performances and the director/writer Rakesh Mehra for his ‘smart writing and direction’ that is said to engage the audience into the ‘absorbing plot’. The reviewer believes that the success of the film is also largely due to the fact that it breaks the conventions of the average Bollywood film and goes beyond ‘the standard musical melodrama’, with its balanced mix of ‘romance, history and social commentary’. The reviewer comments on the way the film is divided into two parts in terms of the attitudes and ideologies of the characters, which move from a mentality submerged in western culture (‘Beer, babes and US visas seem to be more important to the MTV generation than their country's colonial past’) to an internal revolution to patriotic beliefs.


YouTube user comments:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL7iq3CVuac&feature=PlayList&p=2C2BA7A9FA578695&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=29)
Due to themes in film, it managed to get a much more serious (and political, and deep) discussion running on you tube. In a way it worked in awakening Indian youth to question about their own heritage/ ‘colonial past’ (e.g. Gandhi’s policy and the British raj)

hemantmehndi:
The main idea of the movie is right. Indians today are a bunch of cowards and are still serving westerners ..only for cheaper salaries now. We'e achieved nothing. India needs revolutionaries. After independence Indians have grown desperate for sex and cowardice has climbed to the max. Everybody tries to copy Americans. Something is wrong. Gandhi didn't do crap my friends. British left by their own will, if they wanted to they would still be in India.

abhinavdhere1993
Reply to hemantmehndi: Also I wish to remind you that British had to leave because due to the war, they were not in a condition to suppress the mass struggle for a long period.Another thing is that Gandhiji was a very brilliant & brave person.His policies were situation specific and normally tough to understand for common people.He suggested non-violence because at that time, Britain was 1 of world's biggest military powers and it is next to impossible to defeat them by violence

MsAmplified
Such a beautiful, beautiful movie. So awakening, and so moving. I cried, I laughed, and truly enjoyed this. Superb performances by the actors. Wanna say thank you to the kind person who uploaded this. Thank you. Also, to all the youths of the world, we gotta stand up man. It's about time. I don know how, but its time. Have a rockin day, everyone. Cheers, Gaya (from Singapore)
dramygirl2510
Very touching movie...its great..hmm

chanugaya
one of the best movies iv ever watched,superb casting...no one can replace neone...

sharzcv
I luv d title track...I love my country...
(maybe diaspora don’t need western values to be shown in indian films, they’re comitted to their own culture and watch bollywood films precisely to get that cultural experience)

Gurleen29
haha me too, India Is Home Sweet Home!

singh792730293
lol aamir rulessssssssss, hes the est khan in bollywood by far SRK nothing compared to him AAMIR DOESNT GET ENOUGH CREDIT LIKE SRK DOES BUT AAMIR MUCH BETTER ACTOR BY FAR!

ungore18
It's not Bollywood. It's something more, I think. But I like Bollywood ;)
(in agreement with bbc reviewer that the film is outside of the Bollywood conventions)

Luckycooly
This much better than SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. The only thing that was good in that was MUSIC
(there’s always comparison with western movies, showing how they are available worldwide and have an impact on how indian films are viewed by audiences)

Kal ho na ho- Popular criticism

Review:
http://mrbrownmovies.com/movierpt04-01.html#khnh

Like many reviews, this one also includes a plot summary of the film at the beginning, once the critic has declared his/her love for the film. The review is largely positive, commending not only the narrative of the film- which is regarded as a successful version of a conventional story-line but with “further complications”- but also the cinematography and the “Tinseltown-level of production polish”, which are considered to be progressive for the Indian film industry. The unconventionally long review means that the critic also comments on specific filming techniques like the traditional "day one," "day two” labels denoting the passing of time, being delivered verbally directly to the camera by “passing extras”.


You tube comments:
MillionareGal
hehe, he is an angel! XD lol Sharukhan is the perfect actor for this movie, i bawled

achug1996
i love this movie its sooo aawweessoommee

vudulaydi
i love all the different ethnicities at the street party!!

draga88
its funny hw all da americans der can speak indian lol dis film is awsome

marko1na2eks
the best film i'ever seen

babyvlova09
saif: *crying*
srk: wat happend to u?
saif: i miss papa
srk: im sorri wen did he die?
saif: HIS ALIVE!!! cant i miss him
srk: oh
lol i was lmaol

CelebLover786
Staying Alive Loool. Thats So Funny!

wazildhum12
the sadest classic in bollywood.sharuk is timeless.i think we should have more movie slike this.


Due to the nature of the website, the comments are closely focused on the narrative of the film rather than the any filming techniques used or any background information. The viewers leave positive comments mainly about the performance of the actors and the effects the film has on them personally ( a lot of people commented for example that the film made them cry excessively). Since the comments are an example of audience criticism, it is interesting to see how they respond to the characterisations in the film. Responses such as “i juz hate their dadi” show the extent to which the construction of certain characters by the writer/director has been successful.

Don- popular criticism continued

YouTube user comments
(http://www.youtube.com/watchv=W4_pwGwiIZE&feature=PlayList&p=9B7062A2869580F2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=43)
dilipkul: don is cooler than any hollywood movie.
(immediately someone attempts to compare the film to a hollywood movie, showing the extent to which bollywood films face competition from western films and thus the directors perhaps try to imitate them in order to satisfy their audience)

ZainUddinKhan: hmmm greatest movie ever:)
Luv u srkK
keep rocking

bhavnasood: fantastic movie

dilipkul: clothing background score music everything is cool.

imeshsk: This is very best. we cant expect whats happening in the end until we watch the complete movie.. Briliant Acting by Sharukh khan.. he is the king of Cinema. he has nominated to the best Actor in 2006 for this movie.. every movies he is doing becomes a Super hit. King khan we respect you. - Indians and the rest of the world are lucky to have him. he is a uniqe Diamond.
(Judging by many of these comments it seems as if one of the main reasons behind the success of the film is the success of the actor)

linmaya21165: wow..i love the martial art...watcaaa......
(once again martial arts is an element associated with films produced outside of India, and yet people seem to be familiar with it and actually 'love' it)

marathiman1: main tumhe alvida kehna aaya hoon. ramesh have a nice life. that was really cool

XxXCilginKizXxX :
we all love srk and his films too...
no matter how bad they are....
I love the film phir bi dil hai hindustani although not as successful...

kkoolgurl16:
i luv this movie the amitabh version is BORIIIIIING...............SRK is the best
(the 1978 version is condemned as being 'BORIIIIIING' perhaps because the lack of special effects and glamour do not appeal to the young generation of today)

Arsh7777777: I wouldn't say that amitabh bachchan one is boring. I would say people didn't appreciate this one as much because the legendary don is in their minds.
BUT I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!! I like the Amitabh Bachchan version too though.

niharjhatn: kya crazy movie hai yaar :)

Don- popular criticism

Don:
Reviewed by Aparajita Ghosh on www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20061021-2.html

"Twenty-eight years after Chandra Barot’s hit movie Don (1978) with Amitabh Bachchan in the role of Don, Farhan Akhtar comes up with a sleek and stylish tribute to the original. This ‘Don’ is certainly bigger and bombastic. Whether it is better, is debatable.

Barot’s ‘Don’ was quite modern for its times. So is Akhtar’s. The story of new ‘Don’ is set in the cityscape of Kuala Lumpur, Paris and India (few portions). The don in the film operates on an international level. He uses state-of-the-art technology, fights like a martial arts expert and has a zany taste in fashion. He is like an Indian James Bond, but obviously on the wrong side of law.

In a nutshell, Farhan Akhtar does succeed in giving a just tribute to the timeless ‘Don’ starring Amitabh Bachchan. But Farhan relies too heavily on style rather than substance."

Conclusion: The main aspect of the film that audience seem to be impressed by are the special effects and the action. The plot has been criticised to lack 'substance'. It is worth noticing that even audiences compare the films to hollywood counterparts like Bond, indicating that there is an international level set by Western films that is used for comparison of indian films.


http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/reviews/2006/don-221006.html

Film theories

Auteur theory

The view that a director's films reflect that director's personal creative vision, as if he were the primary "Auteur" (the French word for "author"). In some cases, film producers are considered to have a similar "Auteur" role for films that they have produced.

In law the Auteur is the creator of a film as a work of art, and is the original copyright holder. Under European Union law the film director shall always be considered the author or one of the authors of a film. [1]

Auteur theory has had a major impact on film criticism ever since it was advocated by film director and film critic François Truffaut in 1954. "Auteurism" is the method of analyzing films based on this theory or, alternately, the characteristics of a director's work that makes him an Auteur. Both the Auteur theory and the Auteurism method of film analysis are frequently associated with the French New Wave and the film critics who wrote for the influential French film review periodical Cahiers du cinéma.


Italian neorealism

Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors. Italian neorealist films mostly contend with the difficult economical and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, reflecting the changes in the Italian psyche and the conditions of everyday life: poverty and desperation.