Paanch

There is may be.. not may be but definitely wrong with me or with the censor board who did not given certification to this movie,though i just finished watching the preview copy of this movie after downloading from torrent.i don't know why i took that much time or years... to watch this movie but never the less this movie still got it freshness after 9 years.

so what went wrong why this movie did got released and question remain unanswered even after that time period or so. while watching this movie it reminds me of another exceptionally well picture which recently released called shaitan because that movie shaitan has a shadow of this paanch really i find the glimpse of that in that paanch so when shaitan can get a certification why not this one.

about paanch what can i say. Kay Kay menon rocks man! and so the other star cast really they all together pulled out the great job.and after seeing this one can really say that why anurag kashyap is been known as the one of the most talented director of recent times because he given one of the best work almost 9 or 10 years ago and still its not been appreciated or given credit for masterpiece which hes has created long ago.

as far as songs are concerned Vishal bhardwaj and abbas done once again they have know for uniqueness and freshness because still this kind of work is very rare though there are few like amit trivedi in Dev.d but again there is anurag kashyap again..

editing and cinematography are also the strong parts of the movie and which in whole this movies is truly or nearly a masterpiece......

I feel good i have seen a such kind work before it get theatrical released but on the other had i feel sorry the movie lovers for not got chance to see. and to be honest censor board is been biased to this movie.

Saw Paanch at Osian's at Siri Fort Audi no 4 in 2003..hop and skip distance from my erstwhile home.I,along with others in the Audi witnessed something that could and should have changed the landscape of Indian cinema had it released in its stipulated period.Period!

As the opening credits rolled I started to feel overwhelmed by the visuals..expectation began to rise.It had been a long time that so much of effort had gone into the start of a movie.It sets the tone for what is to come.This movie is real and still not in your face.The characters,dialogues and scheme of things are so spontaneous that you start to think yourself being a part of the film/scheme/plot as a mute character/spectator.

Lets talk about the characters/actors:

Luke(K.K. Menon): I have no words to describe him.One actually can see the Devil/Lucifer/Belial in him in certain scenes (Esp Bus and Conductor).He manages to do it so much panache.That fleeting madness in Luke makes you gawk at him with sheer disbelief.Murgi(Aditya Shrivastav):Brilliant silent performance.He talks away the cake at times from KK and Vijay Maurya(Pondi).Such restrained performance is hard to find.What talent!!Pondi(Vijay MAurya): Amazing timing.I am actually tired of eulogizing every actor and character but cannot help but they are so frigggin good.Joy(Joy Augustine) has his own style and does bring a different dimension to the movie with his presence.I like Shiuli's role (Tejaswini)..very strong character portrayal.

This movie deserves to be seen by all.It should see light of the day!! Had the movie been made at this day and age,we could have witnessed mayhem,carnage,silence,evil,ideology,mania,spontaneity,reality...in best ever celluloid form till date.

Must Watch(8.5/10)

There are hardly any films that stand the test of a year these days, let alone 8 years. Paanch was shot in 2000, but has yet to see a mainstream release in India due to strange business problems (which continue complicating the world rather than simplifying it). There may be cinematic moments in Paanch that have been replicated in later (and far lesser) films, but the whole here is far greater than the sum of its parts. And that whole is driven by a tone of seething intensity that is too individual, too real, to not be the author's personal voice. Films with personal voices are rare in these times, and that is what makes the film special. Whether Paanch is seen now, or 10 years later, it is this tone that will always give it a distinctive voice.

Despite not having a remarkable plot or even a thought-provoking narrative thrust, and despite a few (no doubt, forced) nods to commercial viability, the film's visceral energy still gives it a very compelling quality. The performances are almost uniformly excellent, and the "realness" of atmosphere can make you smell and taste the time and place – qualities Hindi cinema badly needs to incorporate in its thought process.

This is not a film about music or musicians, but about dark mindsets in people who happen to be musicians. The music (with very distinctive Indian rock songs – Vishal Bharadwaj and Abbas Tyrewala at their best) is just a backdrop but it has a force that makes you forget that it is just a small plot point in the overall scheme of things.

The director of Paanch – Anurag Kashyap, has moved on with a highly accomplished film (Black Friday) and a very personal one (No Smoking), but Paanch will always be special for the new voice that emerged in 2000. Whenever the film is seen.

I saw Anurag Kashyap's Paanch at the Cinefan Film Festival, 2002. It was clearly one of the best movies of the festival, on par with movies like Hero and Osama.

The story depicts what ambition, immorality, greed and angst, unmistakably the products of urban life, can do to an ordinary person. A little mischief for the sake of success leads a group of 5 wannabe rock stars to get entangled in a gory web of murder and betrayal.

What follows is a shocking thriller of a story, supported aptly by some great performances, the best coming from Kay Kay Menon and Tejaswini Kolhapure. The movie has a great musical score by Vishal Bhardwaj. The songs, most of which Kashyap interestingly uses up in the first 15 minutes, are brilliant. So is the background music. Another high point of the movie is the cinematography, which impresses upon the viewer an aura of fast-paced urbanity juxtaposed with dark, ruthless bloodshed. If there's a low point in the movie, it is the few minutes after the interval where which seem ineffective and dragged. However, they are easily outweighed by the compelling tension and gloom that permeate the movie.

Clever, brilliant, yet utterly pessimistic, Paanch is strongly recommended.

7.5/10

Saw it finally, after a long long wait. It is an engaging piece but not a path breaking, shattering one as I found in some other reviews before the Internet preview release.

My points, Cinematography and Art direction right from credits to last frame (i would combine these as they gave the whole feeling) are splendid capturing the entire feel of youth's agony, their ambitions, their fear and the entire feeling of being locked up in a room or a garage or in a police station (claustrophobic feeling). The outdoors are though minimal and not extravagant, they are done with finesse. No green scenery's here and no sunset sunrise scenes. Yet they are captivating enough to endear, enthrall and to transform into the world of these characters.

Editing, nope that's one thing I felt is not up to the mark, the reason may be that its the director's and editor's first movie and a sharper scissor was needed. The scenes I would like to cut are 1) The end song in which the girl sings same one as she has sung earlier 2) The scene in which Luke strangles Nikhil's father (this was later communicated in dialogue) 3) The scene where Pondy and Joy are shown as being taken to Jail (this was later communicated in dialogue). Thus felt like these were like spoon feeding. Acting of Kay Kay as Luke Morrison is just awesome and equally appreciable is that of Vijay Maurya as Pondy. I did not like the acting of Tejaswini, I felt she just sleep walked. Background music is apt 3 songs are great. Main Khuda, Baith Jaa, Akhiyan. Vishal Bharadwaj gave an awesome sound track and thanks to him.

Now, the thing to writing, the dialogues are wonderful "Aye Pondy Chaai Piyega, Chal Mere Liye Ek Banaa" reveals the domineering attitude of Luke and so is each dialogue relevant to the characterization.

The script has made me ask some questions to myself and some questions to the writer director Anurag, 1) If the entire confession in police station was about money then police at any point did not seem to be interested in where the money that was stolen was kept and all they were interested is why were the murder's that took place happen. 2) Was it necessary for Joy to have the other guys waiting outside Nikhil's house after they stole the money they wanted? He was just eating and these guys went in and when they found that Nikhil's father was there, they just strangled him. Without this also it would have been done as how the police came to know about murder of Nikhil's father and kidnap of Nikhil was not shown anyways and that was not the point of movie also. 3) The most disappointing thing was that Luke who was shown as if he was drowned just comes alive. This seemed to be a twist and this made the movie predictable as to who shall have the final laugh. And there in lay the antagonist of a wonderful script.

Direction no doubt is superb. But what started as a very very interesting and psychological thing with each shade of a character being revealed poignantly. What started as a very interesting and psychological movie turned out to be a thriller kind where the ending was predictable and so called commercial. Yet its one thing that should be watched out to know what a angry young man does (for KAY KAY).

Watch it for KAY KAY 3/5