Upperstall.com - A Better View of Indian Cinema - UPDATE

What's new with this update...

----------------------------
RE-REVIEWS
----------------------------

Khuda Kay Liye
Khuda Kay Liye is unlike anything that typical Pakistani cinema has come out
with. It is a brave effort to be commended but admittedly the film works
more when one thinks how difficult this film must have been to make in
Pakistan especially considering the sensitive issues the film has looked at
rather than in terms of actual filmmaking.
http://www.upperstall.com/khuda-kay-liye.html

Race
The real hero is not Saif or Anil or Akshaye, nor Katrina, Bipasha or
Sameera. Nor the director, writer (??) or anyone else involved with the
film. It’s serendipity. Coincidence. Chance. That’s what makes the plot and
the characters of Race work, that’s what takes the film forward. And that is
simply not good enough.
http://www.upperstall.com/race.html

Black & White
Subash Ghai's claim to move to “real-to-life cinema from larger-to-life
cinema” is clearly based on making a film that looks like a low-budget
independent film. He chooses a difficult and vitally important topic to
tackle, making his venture that much more complicated. Unfortunately,
aspirations do not a film make. Black & White falters, and falters badly, in
trying to make its point.
http://www.upperstall.com/black-and-white.html

Roudram (Malayalam)
Renji Panicker’s Mammootty starrer Roudram is a film that literally ‘says’
it all. It is a film that shouts its way to the end, with each character
breathlessly hollering to each other and to us. At the end of it all, one
feels that it was all a performance, meant only to entertain us for the
evening.
http://www.upperstall.com/roudram.html

16mm (Malayalam) - Memories, Movement and a Machine
K R Manoj's documentary 16 mm – Memories, Movement and a Machine is a
journey at two levels: on the one are the first person narratives of those
who were part of the film society movement historyin Kerala: film society
organizers, activists, members, critics, filmmakers etc. On the other are
images that try to capture the enigma of this cultural interface, a machine
entering the lives of a generation of young people and changing their lives
for ever.
http://www.upperstall.com/16mm.html

---------------------------
FEATURES
---------------------------

Lakshmi and Me
Lakshmi, a 21-year-old housemaid in Mumbai, works ten hours a day, seven
days a week. One of her employers is Nishtha Jain, who begins to make a
documentary that explores their relationship. And, in the process, she
explores their relationship with each other and reflects on the whole gamut
of attitudes and issues between servants and employers.
http://www.upperstall.com/lakshmi-and-me.html

RIP - Swarnalata
Old time film heroine of the 1940s and 1950s Swarnalata passed away in
Lahore in Pakistan on February 8, 2008. Swarnalata was already an
established heroine in Hindi cinema before she opted to migrate to Pakistan
following the partition of India. Swarnalata enjoyed a successful career in
Pakistan as well proving to be a popular leading lady in both Urdu and
Punjabi films across the border.
http://www.upperstall.com/swarnalata.html

-------------------------------
CLASSIC FILMS
-------------------------------
Last time we featured Bimal Roy's first adaptation of a Sarat Chandra
classic, Parineeta (1953). This time we feature his other two Sarat Chandra
adaptations - Biraj Bahu (1954) and Devdas (1955).

Biraj Bahu
In retrospect, more than five decades after it was made, Bimal Roy's Biraj
Bahu would appear to be thematically passé, sentimental to an extreme and
overly melodramatic. But in terms of cinematic expression, it still stands
tall among all celluloid interpretations/transpositions of Sarat Chandra
classics made in any language.
http://www.upperstall.com/films/biraj-bahu.html

Devdas
PC Barua's Devdas (1935) was photographed by a new young cameraman at New
Theatres. In course of time, this cameraman became a producer and director
in Mumbai and directed the same film, this time in Hindi, under his own
production banner, 20 years later. This version of Devdas stands independent
of its inspiration and carries the typical signature of its new maker,
producer and director - Bimal Roy.
http://www.upperstall.com/films/devdas-1955.html

----------------------------
ARCHIVES
----------------------------

Previous Articles
If you missed it, its here. All our previous features.
http://www.upperstall.com/particles.html


------------------------------
FORUM
-----------------------------

Next time you log on to Upperstall.com make sure you check out our new
FORUMS (http://www.upperstall.com/forums/Default.aspx). It's a one time sign
up, but it's totally worth it. Design your own polls, debate to your heart's
content and do much more with our latest, state-of-the-art forums. Feel free
to send in suggestions for charting a way towards a better Upperstall.com!


----------------------------
EXTRAS
----------------------------

Online Promotion for your film
Have you just finished your film? Promote it on Upperstall and get your
independent own web site. http://www.upperstall.com/onlinepromotion.html

Please continue giving us your feedback and suggestions about the site by
writing to us at info@....

If you feel you can contribute to the content of upperstall, please write to
us at submissions@...

Upperstall.com - A Better View of Indian Cinema

© Copyright upperstall.com 2000 - 2008