Review: Nishabd ALL REVIEWS HERE ONLY - Page 2

'Nishabd' - Spellbinding

By Naresh Kumar Deoshi
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Damn the convention. And damn the cheesy, escapist cinema of Bollywood in which heroes deliver lofty dialogues and talk of ideals that sound good only on the screen and not in real life. Ram Gopal Varma's film 'Nishabd', with all its strength and shortcomings, is a piece of quality cinema that talks openly and unabashedly about things and emotions that many would prefer to be swept under the carpet.

A film like 'Nishabd' is certainly not for the laity. Masses and box office will not be kind to this film. After all, it has no songs, no items, no moral preaching, no action and no heroism. Moreover, there are some jerks in editing. And the print quality of certain scenes is below par. Yet I say that 'Nishabd' is a piece of good cinema because a few flaws in the form can never undermine the strength of content, which 'Nishabd' abounds with.

You can make a technically topnotch film, but what's the point if it has a fragile soul. 'Nishabd' has a soul, and a soul that cannot be spelt (pun intended). It has to be seen with an open frame of mind. Only then can one appreciate a film like 'Nishabd', despite some of its technical flaws.

And – now coming to the main point – if you want to see Amitabh Bachchan the superactor, rather than the superstar, then 'Nishabd' is the film. But I will speak more on that later. First a brief glimpse into what the film is about.

Bodies age, feelings don't. 'Nishabd' is the story of a 60-year-old photographer (Amitabh Bachchan) who gets attracted to an 18-year-old girl (Jiah Khan) who is a friend of his daughter. It is the story of mutual love between two people with a huge age gap between them. It is a moving tale of a man torn between his emotions and rationality, between his heart and his mind. The man listens to his heart, concedes to the girl that he is in love with her. He admits to his wife (Revathy) that he has developed feelings for a girl the age of his daughter. And by doing so he loses the respect of his wife and his daughter.

'Nishabd' is a film about loss: about loss of love and loss of purpose in life. It is about the inexplicable desire to reclaim youth when one is in the sunset of one's life. This is the rationale presented by the movie's 60-year-old protagonist while explaining his attraction towards a teenager. This attraction, though not uncommon, is seldom expressed in real life. And those who express it mostly end up like the protagonist of 'Nishabd'.

The movie rests solely on the dependable shoulders of Amitabh Bachchan. If not for him, 'Nishabd' would have ended up as a mediocre product.

It is a popular notion in Bollywood that acting is about speaking punchy dialogues, shedding tears, delivering monologues and giving intense facial expressions. Performances are often not distinguished from roles. If a role is strong, the performance (be it good or bad) automatically gets appreciated.

Here, I want to draw a fine dividing line between Mr. Bachchan's role and performance. In 'Nishabd' he is not the typical hero. On the contrary, he plays a character who cannot resist the desire and temptation for a young girl. So the Bollywood convention would have him labeled a 'weak' character.

This is where Mr. Bachchan's performance stands out. His dialogues in the film are pretty plain, but it is the way he delivers them that lends the impact. Many things about his character remain vocally unsaid, but it is his expressions and his glances that make them explicit. Mr. Bachchan even speaks through his silences in the film. He brings out the inner conflict of his character in his body language, his eyes and his expressions. In a nutshell, it is a performance worth saluting.

Jiah Khan is perfectly suited to her role of a girl quite careless about the way she is dressed. There is a sexual undertone to her character in the film and her performance of it is not bad for a first timer.

Revathy's acting is natural. Nasser (as her brother in the film) is effective.

'Nishabd' goes to prove that Ram Gopal Varma has not lost his magic touch. The maverick filmmaker is truly the master of his craft. From the opening reels to the conclusion, Varma unspools the story at a rhythmic pace. The cinematography and the camera angles are superb. The editing, though jerky at times, is slick. And never does the elegance of form overpower the movie's main content.

For all the lovers of good quality cinema, 'Nishabd' is strongly recommended. The film has a riveting plot and Mr. Bachchan at his best.

To hell with convention. I give this film four stars out of five.

Rating: * * * *

Nishabd Review- Great watch for all Bachchan fans

By Ashok Nayak

USER MOVIE REVIEW-NISHABD

By jony roy, March 2, 2007 - 13:29 IST

owsome movie.i liked that movie very much.it is bachchans best acting till date.jiah is also good.rgv is also good.very good.

What I liked about the movie:
everything and big bs song

What I didn't like about the movie:
nothing

Favorite Scene:
all

Would you recommend this movie to your friend: Yes

User Movie Rating: 5

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By jignesh kamdar, March 2, 2007 - 09:47 IST

fabulous Cinematography,superb background,big b's grt performance,above all jiah khan(like she was made 4 this role).u'll never know how 1'st half passed,but 2'nd one is too tenced n slow.poison ivy n lolita the movie has bit of both.not routine viewer's cup of tea.jogger's park was better to express this theme.

What I liked about the movie:
jiah ali khan,cinematography.

What I didn't like about the movie:
2'nd (too much tenced) half

Favorite Scene:
big b n jiah 2gather(all of them)

Would you recommend this movie to your friend: Yes

User Movie Rating:2.5

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By Vinu sharma, March 2, 2007 - 09:38 IST
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Superb film One of the best ever made. Dont go by Taran Aadarsh's review. He gives 4 and half for horrible KANK while this film Nishabd deserves and 5 stars hands down. Brilliant direction, super cinematography, locations, backgroud score and fabulous acting. Amitabh's best till date!

What I liked about the movie:
Amitabh's acting was the best!

What I didn't like about the movie:
nothing

Would you recommend this movie to your friend: Yes

User Movie Rating:5

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By PARTHA GOSWAMI, March 2, 2007 - 08:18 IST
5 of 6 people found this review helpful

mega hit ...very good movie ...rgv rulezzzzzzzzzzzzzz

What I liked about the movie:
storyline

What I didn't like about the movie:
nothin

Favorite Scene:
when amitab get scolded by his own wife

Would you recommend this movie to your friend: Yes

User Movie Rating:5

By GaRaM

Movie Review-Nishabd

Nishabd means wordless. But the film gets as verbose as possible. In fact it's difficult to believe that Nishabd is directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The filmmaker known for his hard-hitting realistic antics, ventures into Bhansali's sublime romantic territory with his not so conventional pairing.

He is 60. She is 18. Reminds of the Zandu Kesari Jeevan advertisement. 60 saal ke budhe ya saath saal ke jawan. Ok, sad jokes apart (the film has plenty of them in the initial reels) it's a love story between the two and how his family reacts to it. That sums up for the synopsis of the entire film. Ramu goes much beyond the screenplay and interprets each of the scenes with a lot of passion. And passion here doesn't imply some sizzling chemistry between Bachchan and Jiah Khan, but Ramu's obsession with the art.

In fact Ramu who usually uses a lot of brains in his films, puts in a lot of heart this time. Nishabd makes it apparent that Ramu hasn't made this film with any pre-defined box office considerations but just out of his desire to narrate a story through his fervent vision. A vision that might not be approved or acknowledged by many! But then Varma doesn't show any regards for a particular target audience in this film. The last time he did this was for Naach, a film he confesses he made for himself. In fact in one of the dialogues of Nishabd, Bachchan says, "Whether its photography or poetry ? we should only be concerned with those who understand us". Perhaps RGV was trying to convey his mind through that dialogue of being concerned with only those who can apprehend his vision.

In fact Nishabd is an amalgamation of photography and poetry. Amitabh clicks pictures. Jiah writes poems. Ram Gopal Varma does both. He captures each moment of the film in a lyrical manner. It's not about 'what' will happen next in the film. That is predictable. But 'how' will it happen isn't obvious. Each scene is beautifully shot by the gyrating camera and slickly cut in the RGV School of editing. Add to it a riveting background score that elevates the experience. The director exploits silent moments to the optimum using the piercing intensity of the eyes of the characters.

Of course the pace is justifiably slow but with just six characters in the film and the entire setting not moving beyond the tea field estate, the visuals tends to get monotonous and repetitive after a point of time. And expectedly, like any other Ram Gopal Varma film that starts on a promising note but falters due to a weak climax, Nishabd too makes a capable start but ends up even before a climax. In fact the film essentially lacks a climax. The ending is simply unanticipated.

In the last line of the film Bachchan exclaims, "Aisa nahi ke main marne se darr gaya, parr socha ke uske yaadon ke saath kuch din aur jee lu" (Not that I am scared of dying, but then I thought I could live a little more with her memories). Same applies to the film. While on one hand it gets predictable and makes you lose interest, on the other hand you want to stay back just to get a little more of Amitabh Bachchan, can't get enough of him.

Nishabd is a film where the script demands characters. You can't get a sexy sexagenarian than Bachchan with whom a teenager can convincingly fall in love. The scene wherein he sings Jiah Jale Jaan Jale and another one where he cannot control his laughter even in mid-night are so unconventional yet so slice-of-life scenes. A case of fine writing and finer acting! In fact Bachchan raise much above the script to add life to his character of Vijay. We have known him as the angry young Vijay but here he is the sexy old one.

And all those who are of the opinion that Jiah will only add to the glamour quotient of the film; well she knows the grammar of performing as well. She is not just a seductress but a promising actress as well. The debutante girl commands a towering screen presence even in front of Amitabh Bachchan and exudes some razor sharp attitude. Her body language is impeccable and charm is endearingly natural.

The film can be summed up with its tagline that reads 'Some love stories are never meant to be understood'. Nishabd is beyond understanding. It's just a momentary experience you live with.

NISHABD-REVIEW

Directed by: Ram Gopal Verma
Produced by: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah, Revathy, Nasir, Shradha Arya, Aftab Shivdasani
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj, Amar Mohile
Lyrics: Munna Dhiman, Farhad, Sajid
Cinematographer: Amit Roy

Varma's flick Nishabd is a passionate and intense love story which is based on the theme 'Attraction between two people can exist, irrespective of age'. This concept has been dealt in many other Hindi films, some of them being EK CHHOTI SI LOVE STORY, JOGGERS PARK and DIL CHAHTA HAI. Attraction between two people is natural, despite an age difference. This project has been adapted from Vladimir Nakobov's timeless novel Lolita.

The filmmaker known for his hard-hitting realistic antics, ventures into Bhansali's sublime romantic territory with his not so conventional pairing. In fact Ramu who usually uses a lot of brains in his films, puts in a lot of heart this time. Nishabd makes it apparent that Ramu hasn't made this film with any pre-defined box office considerations but just out of his desire to narrate a story through his fervent vision. A vision that might not be approved or acknowledged by many! But then Varma doesn't show any regards for a particular target audience in this film.

The film revolves around a 60 year old married man Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) who falls in love with an 18 year old girl Jiah (Jiah Khan). Vijay is a wild life photographer who lives with his family in a Hill station. Jiah is his daughter Ritu's (Shraddha Arya) friend. Jiah visits the hill station to spend her holidays with the family. Vijay on his regular tour is out admiring the nature and taking pictures. His focus is captivated by the young n fresh looking Jiah all drenched up. This harmless photo session changes his feelings towards her. It's a love story between the two and how his family reacts to it.
The writing is not crisp as it shows on screen throughout the bold flick. Jiah is attracted to her best friend's father and falls in love with him. Her behavior is defiant and aggressive. She woos him openly, even though she's sharing the roof with the man's wife and daughter. Now that's a bit difficult to absorb. Also, Jiah walks around in the skimpiest of outfits, making you wonder what her true intentions are. Does she need him to fulfill her physical needs? A vision that might not be approved or acknowledged by many! But then Varma doesn't show any regards for a particular target audience in this film.

Each scene is beautifully shot by the gyrating camera and slickly edited. Add to it a riveting background score that elevates the experience. The director exploits silent moments to the optimum using the piercing intensity of the eyes of the characters.
Also as a story teller RGV fails to hold on to your interest in the second half of the movie. Something which was expected, after a good first hour.

The visuals tends to get monotonous and repetitive after a point of time. And expectedly, like any other Ram Gopal Varma film that starts on a promising note but falters due to a weak climax. The ending is simply unanticipated.

While on one hand it gets predictable and makes you lose interest, on the other hand you want to stay back just to get a little more of Amitabh Bachchan, can't get enough of him. ! In fact Bachchan raise much above the script to add life to his character of Vijay. We have known him as the angry young Vijay but here he is the sexy old one.

The debutante girl Jiah Khan commands a towering screen presence even in front of Amitabh Bachchan and exudes some razor sharp attitude. Her body language is impeccable and charm is endearingly natural.

Revathy excels yet again. Shraddha Arya is good. Aftab Shivdasani in a special appearance has nothing much to do. Shraddha Arya is good.
The music is good and the background score adds a lot of spice in the slow paced story. The cinematography is immaculate. The Hill station is so beautifully shot that you feel like spending your next holiday at the Munnar Hill station.

NISHABD will meet with diverse reactions thanks to its bold theme. If the maverick film-maker needs a pat for swimming against the tide and choosing a bold subject, he also needs to know that certain subjects are taboo as far as Indian moviegoers are concerned. Only the 'class' audience may appreciate the effort as the masses will not relate to the unconventional theme. The film has got a good opening, thanks to its verbal publicity but this will not last long.

RS Ratings: 4/10

Topic of the movie is too controversial. Specially, when Ram Gopal Verma is portraying Amitabh Bacchan as 60 years old man falling in love with 18 years girl.

If you don't know, meaning of Nishabd is wordless. I'm sure, Indian audience must be wordless after watching it.

Good one time watch!!