As good as a book...
Every once in a while comes a book or a movie that captivates me. (The frequency and number of such creations are getting progressively lower, but I think that's more a function of ‘my age’ than ‘the times we live in’!) As a medium, a book has a greater opportunity to be deep and intricate. It also has an almost infinite scope for the imagination of the reader. Every reader visualizes each character, object and situation differently. Whereas being an audio-visual medium, a movie has a lesser scope for imagination. A book has the luxury to spend time and effort on building and establishing every character and situation, make it as nuanced as it wants. A movie is more limited in that department. And hence very rarely we get a movie that is as good as the book...
My expectations from a movie are different from those from a book. I have a very high bar for liking a book. Books require more time and effort and hence their impact is more long lasting. I get more emotionally involved in books than in movies. I invest more in the characters of a book because I know them more intimately. Books are more a source of thoughts and ideas than just entertainment for me. (Although I have to admit a few of my favorite books are absolutely frothy and shallow!) I am less exacting with my movie expectations. Ideally a movie should make me think about it days after I have watched it. But I still enjoy movies that hold my attention while I am watching them, even though they may not enter my mind the next day. Movies have more of an immediate impact, a shock value. With most movies, this impact is rather temporary. And yet I watched a movie that was as good as a book…
“Kapoor & Sons (since 1921)” could easily have been a book. A story of a dysfunctional family set in picturesque Coonoor has all the elements of a good movie AND a good book.
The ‘old marriage’ comfort in the continual discord between the older married couple (Harsh and Sunita), the strained relationship of the two brothers (Rahul & Arjun), the ‘prop’sque, almost centenarian grandfather, the pretty, vivacious young neighbor (Tia) - things are exactly as they look and yet they are not. The marriage is obviously beyond repair but it is not going to break, hanging on with the tenacity of a typical Indian marriage of that generation, there’s open hostility from the younger brother towards the older yet there are moments of tenderness and companionship, the girl while impulsively attracted to one brother genuinely likes the other. All the characters are nuanced. (Except for the grandfather. His character is surprisingly uni-dimensional. I feel the director overcompensated for the lack of depth of this character with more focus on his appearance and styling.) The supporting and peripheral characters like Arjun’s best friend - Wasim, Anu - with her Rebecca-like presence in the household, Harsh’s younger brother and his family, Timmi - whom we never get to see on screen but plays a significant part in the story, Kishore - Tia’s househelp and even Tia’s friend, Bunkoo - all add to the dimension of the film and contribute to the drama. The interpersonal relationships between the characters and the unveiling, more like peeling the layers, of their secrets and deceit is done so beautifully and organically!
The reaction of the family on learning Arjun’s baggage is ‘lost’ by the airlines is very telling of the dynamics and the characters of the family members. It is much later that the true significance of the delayed baggage comes forth. The scene with the plumber is hilarious without trying to be funny. My most favorite scene is the one when Rahul is posing in front of the car he has damaged and Harsh’s outburst over it, till he finds out that Rahul is responsible for the damage and his sudden change in tone. The camaraderie between the brothers is always underlying, coming forth in such scenes. I simply loved the relationship between the brothers. Despite the repressed anger and resentment there is love.The casual courtship in the cemetery is reflective of the relationships these days (this makes me feel so old!). The outburst at the birthday party is very sudden and shocking. You should have seen it coming a long time, but you get so used to the disharmony between the characters that you are lulled into a false sense of comfort. The family reunion has the warmth of an old, well worn sweater. But the best piece of drama is when all the secrets tumble out one after the other. The build-up to the final showdown is agonizingly slow and hence effective. The lines between the betrayed and the betrayer keep on getting blurred. You think that the drama is over now that all the ‘truths’ are out. And then there is the final blow! The grieving is also beautifully shown. Everybody is grieving for their own loss. The end is not exactly happily-ever-after, but it is as happy as this family can possibly get and probably deserves to be.
The casting is PERFECT! All strong actors matching each other’s prowess. (The weakest actor happens to be the most good-looking in the movie, thus all is forgiven!) Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah are fabulous as the acrimonious couple. Fawad Khan as the perfect Rahul is, well, perfect. Siddharth Malhotra is probably the weakest actor amongst them all but suits the character of Arjun and the fact that he is quite the hottie helps his case. Alia Bhatt is good as usual. Her breakdown scene is very touching. Rishi Kapoor is the best character actor we have today. There isn’t much scope for acting here, but he does it really well. He provides the perfect foil to the underlying tension between the various members of the family. The supporting cast does its job well. I liked the guy playing Wasim. He has a good presence.
The real winner, though, is the director! Shakun Batra has written and directed a great film. It is difficult to keep a viewer engaged with a story where on the surface of it nothing is really happening. The nuances and the layers of the characters and situations is what is so compelling about this movie. I have already watched it three times. Every time I watch it from a different character’s perspective and every time I find something new in the movie. I am sure I am not done yet.
‘Kapoor & Sons’ is not a typically happy movie. But it is not a morose movie either. There is no lesson to be learnt or an epiphany to be had. It’s just a slice of life movie. But it is the first movie I have watched that made me think this would make a great book - it makes for a great read!
My expectations from a movie are different from those from a book. I have a very high bar for liking a book. Books require more time and effort and hence their impact is more long lasting. I get more emotionally involved in books than in movies. I invest more in the characters of a book because I know them more intimately. Books are more a source of thoughts and ideas than just entertainment for me. (Although I have to admit a few of my favorite books are absolutely frothy and shallow!) I am less exacting with my movie expectations. Ideally a movie should make me think about it days after I have watched it. But I still enjoy movies that hold my attention while I am watching them, even though they may not enter my mind the next day. Movies have more of an immediate impact, a shock value. With most movies, this impact is rather temporary. And yet I watched a movie that was as good as a book…
“Kapoor & Sons (since 1921)” could easily have been a book. A story of a dysfunctional family set in picturesque Coonoor has all the elements of a good movie AND a good book.
The ‘old marriage’ comfort in the continual discord between the older married couple (Harsh and Sunita), the strained relationship of the two brothers (Rahul & Arjun), the ‘prop’sque, almost centenarian grandfather, the pretty, vivacious young neighbor (Tia) - things are exactly as they look and yet they are not. The marriage is obviously beyond repair but it is not going to break, hanging on with the tenacity of a typical Indian marriage of that generation, there’s open hostility from the younger brother towards the older yet there are moments of tenderness and companionship, the girl while impulsively attracted to one brother genuinely likes the other. All the characters are nuanced. (Except for the grandfather. His character is surprisingly uni-dimensional. I feel the director overcompensated for the lack of depth of this character with more focus on his appearance and styling.) The supporting and peripheral characters like Arjun’s best friend - Wasim, Anu - with her Rebecca-like presence in the household, Harsh’s younger brother and his family, Timmi - whom we never get to see on screen but plays a significant part in the story, Kishore - Tia’s househelp and even Tia’s friend, Bunkoo - all add to the dimension of the film and contribute to the drama. The interpersonal relationships between the characters and the unveiling, more like peeling the layers, of their secrets and deceit is done so beautifully and organically!
The reaction of the family on learning Arjun’s baggage is ‘lost’ by the airlines is very telling of the dynamics and the characters of the family members. It is much later that the true significance of the delayed baggage comes forth. The scene with the plumber is hilarious without trying to be funny. My most favorite scene is the one when Rahul is posing in front of the car he has damaged and Harsh’s outburst over it, till he finds out that Rahul is responsible for the damage and his sudden change in tone. The camaraderie between the brothers is always underlying, coming forth in such scenes. I simply loved the relationship between the brothers. Despite the repressed anger and resentment there is love.The casual courtship in the cemetery is reflective of the relationships these days (this makes me feel so old!). The outburst at the birthday party is very sudden and shocking. You should have seen it coming a long time, but you get so used to the disharmony between the characters that you are lulled into a false sense of comfort. The family reunion has the warmth of an old, well worn sweater. But the best piece of drama is when all the secrets tumble out one after the other. The build-up to the final showdown is agonizingly slow and hence effective. The lines between the betrayed and the betrayer keep on getting blurred. You think that the drama is over now that all the ‘truths’ are out. And then there is the final blow! The grieving is also beautifully shown. Everybody is grieving for their own loss. The end is not exactly happily-ever-after, but it is as happy as this family can possibly get and probably deserves to be.
The casting is PERFECT! All strong actors matching each other’s prowess. (The weakest actor happens to be the most good-looking in the movie, thus all is forgiven!) Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah are fabulous as the acrimonious couple. Fawad Khan as the perfect Rahul is, well, perfect. Siddharth Malhotra is probably the weakest actor amongst them all but suits the character of Arjun and the fact that he is quite the hottie helps his case. Alia Bhatt is good as usual. Her breakdown scene is very touching. Rishi Kapoor is the best character actor we have today. There isn’t much scope for acting here, but he does it really well. He provides the perfect foil to the underlying tension between the various members of the family. The supporting cast does its job well. I liked the guy playing Wasim. He has a good presence.
The real winner, though, is the director! Shakun Batra has written and directed a great film. It is difficult to keep a viewer engaged with a story where on the surface of it nothing is really happening. The nuances and the layers of the characters and situations is what is so compelling about this movie. I have already watched it three times. Every time I watch it from a different character’s perspective and every time I find something new in the movie. I am sure I am not done yet.
‘Kapoor & Sons’ is not a typically happy movie. But it is not a morose movie either. There is no lesson to be learnt or an epiphany to be had. It’s just a slice of life movie. But it is the first movie I have watched that made me think this would make a great book - it makes for a great read!
posted by Ila @ 9:41 AM
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