Shaitan

Since the trailers were first out I have been waiting for the film. The song Bali, suits the trailer best. I did miss the first day first show and a few more days and shows consequently, but today I finally got a chance. Shaitan starts with Anurag Kashyap giving a social message. Yes the 'lazy ass ranter', starts the film telling youngsters that alcohol, drugs, cigarettes etc., are bad for them. While if the dialog was start taking drugs, start life, the quote 'well begun is half done' would have been so apt. The scenes from the asylum give us a hint that the movie is on the insane end of brain, like most of Anurag's films are. Then again we have typical scenes, fast introductions, normal 'I hate my parents' people and alcohol and drugs and a lot of drugs. After wild parties, cranky dialogs and a couple of kisses, you reach the scene which has created the hype. The accident scene. And yes, the scene lives up to the hype, it is a great milestone in Hindi cinema. But just a few moment more and you'll have the moment. The moment you'll scream , "What the f***, this is the story of Paanch" and that would sure turn you off, completely! But as the film proceeds you do notice remarkable differences and slowly it attracts your interest. Then the fast paced action, the haunting music, Rajeev Khandelwal's grit and Kalki's neurotic expressions when she is high, makes you want to forgive all the negative aspects of the movie and makes you an instant fan. Remarkable scenes :- When KC asks Amy to open a 'joint account', the accident scene(of course), the crashing of the beer bottle and a TV set, by KC and Dash respectively, on the heads of two guys who were 'teasing' and 'more than teasing' their girls, Khoya Khoya Chand(thats already a rage), the shot where Inspector Arvind Mathur flashes from behind a bed and kills a junkie(though you can't possibly save yourself from machine gun fires with a mattress) and Amy's hallucinations of her mom when she is high in the 'Church'(thats Anurag Kashyap). The weak points of the movie were :- Obviously the script, it could have been better. The director was confused whether he was making a thriller or a black comedy. Too much time wasted on the camera work and special effects. The German girl wasn't really German. The good points were :- The camera work, indeed. Cinematography. The music, especially Bali and Fareeda. The acting – all of the actors have done a very very good job, but special credits to Rajeev Khandelwal and Kalki. In the end, Shaitan is a good film. It is definitely not great! And if you do think otherwise, watch Paanch. You'll know what Bollywood really needs. You'll know who Anurag Kashyap really is!

The movie as I guessed earlier, is a revamped version of Anurag Kashyap directorial debut (which is still in the claws of Indian Censor Board) "Paanch" starring Kay Kay Menon.And now after almost a decade of his first yet unreleased movie, Anurag Kashyap producing this movie and getting it through the censor board without any cuts is a good slam to the Indian Censor Board. Clearly the movie is more intense and dark than Paanch. The movie is a way more profane with mild to severe abuses, implicit sex and nudity, and explicit violent scenes. And yet the movie has passed without a cut (showing a fact that censorship has improved a lot).

The movie is almost perfect on cinematic aspects. Casting and Direction is flawless.Cinematography is something best I have seen so far. Every scene is shot in the ultra stylish way leading to a brilliant story telling.Music and background score adds a new dimension to the movie.

First half of the movie is extremely engaging and entertaining, the second half lacks a bit by predictable turns and twists.

All the subplots of the movie like their characters are very strong take it as subtle love story of Rajeev Khandelwal (So graceful on the screen) or the one with Amy's mother, every character has its own story to tell and they tell it in their own ultra stylish way.

The "Shubhu" cameo (By someone who has done commendable job in AK's last produced movie) and Nikhil Chinnapa add the surprise factor to the movie.

Yet again a brilliant piece of cinema by Anurag Kashyap Production and kudos to Bijoy Nambiar.

A yellow Hummer speeding down the road with five youths and an Audi speeds past them almost in a 'catch me if you can" style.Then begins the race.One of the guys in hummer making a video of the race on his mobile to capture the moment of winning,Others cheering him,after sometime Audi quits the race accepting its defeat,turns left on a roundabout.The guy driving Hummer, starts circling the roundabout with a triumphant joy,others cheering him again.Then suddenly they stop to a screeching halt ,everyone tumbles over.They get down to see something which gives them the horror of their lives and sets the plot for the rest of the film.

'Shaitan' looks straight into the face of the reluctant,not-so-eager Indian viewer and shakes him out of the slumber by introducing him to his own dark reality.People get used to complacency and are satisfied that what they are being served is what they only deserve, but when a filmmaker like Anurag Kashyap takes up the cause,he makes sure we get nothing but the best.

The film is about a bunch of kids(as they are supposed to be attending schools) who are rich and carry a devil-may-care attitude.A 'rebel without a clue', 'KC' ,who has a rich god-fearing dad,doesn't mind stealing his mom's jewellery when he and his friends are in trouble and need money.Amy an NRI joins the 'gang' later ,has a destructive mentality because she lost her mother at an early age and holds everyone in her family responsible for that.Tanya,a forced model who does a saree ad because her sister wants her to.Dash is the guy we know least about and 'Zubin' played by neil bhoopalam an ex channel 'v' video jockey a gadget geek who sheepishly smiles when he gets caught by his mom giving himself a hand-job and finally Rajeev Khandelwal as Inspector Mathur who impresses again as 'tough as nail' cop who would rather kick an auto-driver than arguing when he refuses to go to a certain place .

First time director Bejoy seems to have done his homework well and impresses with innovative camera techniques . There's a shot through a beer bottle during a song and the introduction of Insepector Mathur which is done in POV camera style.Producer Anurag kashyap is a prolific director himself and some of the scenes in the film seem like they've been lifted straight from his previous films like there's a scene in the film where a 'good cop' (Rajeev Khandelwal) chases a 'bad cop' through the narrow by-lanes of Bombay slums a la the 'great chase' sequence in his own movie 'Black Friday'.Producer further indulges himself by recreating another scene from his own film 'Paanch' which got shelved after a controversial face-off with the censor-board because of its violent and drug related scenes and still seem like too much for our iron-clad society even after more than 10 years of its making.

'Shaitan' scores some extra points when it shows some real gory and bloody scenes and creates a feeling of horror in the viewer who by so far was enjoying good music and trying to relive his own college days by watching the gang's juvenile antics.This film does, what 'Dil chahta hai' and 'Rang de basanti' did for the decade just went by,which is, showing another facade of the youth which can be all fun-loving at times but has the potential for being the most turbulent when its expected to be at its best.

I feel more films like 'Shaitan' should come out as these films are not made to send a message across but to make one feel that anyone can have an alternative side which he's not aware of and can wreck a havoc if not timely tamed.

Shaitan, when i first heard of the title i thought it was was weird. Anurag, the producer has always been associated with different cinema, some great (Udaan), some quite bad (No Smoking) and some weird (Dev D). I thought that this would also be in the later category of weird. But I was curious, I wanted to check it out. Some subconscious inside me was telling me that this is gonna be good. Well my subconscious was spot on. This is one film that is not to be missed. To all my international friends who think bollywood is all about song and dance will sit up to this movie. On the downside this movie is not for everyone. The old and the still not adult category may not like it. It has some disturbing shots but are actually a piece of art. This is what cinema is all about, The ART. The film excels in all the departments, both on and off the camera. screenplay and direction are of the highest quality, cinematography and editing is breathtaking, background score is superb and the music is in sync with the film. The film has an ensemble cast and each and every character shines in their respective roles. Very good characterization also helps in their performance. This film like Udaan has a long long way to go. Everuone like it or not, But do WATCH IT

Ohh.. What a day yesterday, I had few tight sales meetings with the customers and was running between locals, auto and taxis across Mumbai. Also, it was raining heavily and I regretted not carrying an umbrella as I got drenched in rain and reached home by 9.30 pm. Back home , I badly wanted to refresh my mind from the day's events and decided to go for Shaitan, night 10.15 show and it turned out to be a perfect decision to wind myself from work and enjoy the time. Well, Shaitan opens up with Kalki Koechlin as Amy meeting Gulshan Devaiya as KC in a party. KC is a rich industrialist son and have 3 other friends – a struggling actress played by Kirti Kulhari , a sex obsessed computer geek Parsi played by Neil Bhopalam and a restaurant waiter cum drug peddler played by Shiv Pandit. Amy who had a tough childhood and has traits of mental disturbance becomes friends with these four characters and here starts the event of being naughty, being evil, being wrong but right in their own terms Their adventures and mischief's finally lands them in a trouble one fine Mumbai night when they accidentally run their Hummer over two scooter riders while flying high on speed and drugs. They try to forget it when a corrupt cop approaches them and asks them for 25 Lacs bribe to shut the case. These young kids don't want to go to their parents for certain reasons and plans the fake kidnapping of Amy. This brings in the entry of an honest but a very aggressive police officer Rajeev Khandelwal who is given the charge to solve this high profile kidnapping case and rest is what follows is a series of gripping incidents. The direction by debutant Bejoy Nambiar is really good. The way the events are created in the movie matching with real life incidents are the some of the best moments of the movie. There is one shot of gun fight battle between the cop and underworld agents in a chawl amidst the attempted rape of one of the friends and a dead body of a German tourist with "Khoya Khoya Chand" remixed version being played in the background. This scene is so well crafted and the screen play is mind boggling and is one the finest shots in the recent Hindi cinema. The song "Fareeda" which often plays in the background after the second half gives the pace to the movie and keeps you on your seats, if ever you feel too much violence and dark events. The only time the movie makes you feel boring is few sequences when Amy remembers her mother quite often. Rajeev Khandelwal as a tough cop makes his statement that he is such a fine actor and his talent is still unutilized by the industry. All the other actors have also played their role well. I can say that this is an out and out a Director's cut and kudos the debutant Bejoy Nambiar , who had assisted Maniratnam in Guru as he lives up to the expectations from an Anurag Kashyap's production. Go and watch Shaitan because it's dark and bitter but yet gripping and you will like it if you are not only an emotional drama lover and like watching different genre.