#PANCHAYAT my TV pick this week

Blog Posted:
4th April 2020 Calcutta

You unpretentious little gem. #Panchayat #TVF’s web series for #AmazonPrime Video starring #JitendraKumar (Jeetu Bhaiyya as I call him fondly) as a reluctant public servant ... is a find. This one takes you back to your DD days in a time warp ... with familiar faces, old world dialogues, life and times that seem not too distant. From a past when India was very easy going, de-stressed, un-satellite TV’d and simple.

Thank you baby for recommending this one. It is such a brilliant, in your face, honest to god, series. #DipakKumarMishra you genius!

It’s delightful to see a narrative sticking so close to just how real this “real-India” can get for a regular CAT aspiring, urban, cynical, irritable, bored, weekend seeking, educated, demotivated “Isssnooogood”. Jeetu does a rather slow but steady journey from being an annoyed, completely lost and disillusioned soul to a heartwarmingly brave and rather efficient village level bureaucrat!
Panchayat has the unique distinction of going from hilarious to hardcore in minutes. The frames are done so disarmingly, keeping the village life, the disconnect between the urban and rural, from expressions to characters- so effective and untainted. The lines they spout are light, effortless, not trying too hard.

The warmth radiates in all directions and infects every human of Phulera. Pradhan Brij Bhushan’s lackey Prahlad (Faisal Malik) has a gentle giant air about him, while (Jeetu) Abhishek’s assistant Vikas (Chandan Roy) is unfailingly loyal and mild mannered despite flaring tempers all around despite being talked down by his boss at most cross-ends.
Every single shot is seamless, making the edits... so effing tight. It’s how TV ought’ be with new age tech. Clever and sharp.

The dialogues are witty, tugging at your heart strings, ever so gently. The humour... is loud and subtle. It’s hearty like wet mud after a bout of rain and light as the breeze that blows after the rain washes all the mud away.
The storyline doesn’t mess with your brain, but picks on the most elementary of life events and makes them so much larger than life and yet so innocent that you fall in line like a child... episode after episode...unaware of just when you stopped being all “city” and started enjoying the sights and sounds of this back of beyond village Phulera.

The crew that has put this series together, has really done its homework. They have made sure that the “days in the life of Sachiv Babu” of gram panchayat come alive for you, in so so many unusual and delightful ways.
How does one say this... it’s so utterly rural, that it’s almost urban in its nonchalance. It’s written to make you chuckle. And feel bad. And happy. And sorry. And tempted. And silly. And funny in all sorts of old time ways.

Add to that the joy of watching #RaghubirYadav as (Faux) Pradhan and his chimta wielding firm as a firewall wife #NeenaGupta share screen space once more. That in itself transmogrified me into my good old childhood state.
So earnest and definitively honest, this village saga, that I am forced to binge watch, despite more pressing, hungry and somewhat holier domestic duty calls. 🤓
Just Do yourselves a favour ... stop reading this blog and start watching the damn series! You can thank my post later.

#aDarkNudge

Blog Posted 20.03.20
Calcutta #Facebook #WHO #COVID19

Did you feel it? The slow, ever so gentle flexing of the planet’s muscles? The yawn. The lazy reminder of who’s *Boss*?

People. Your planet just Nudged you, with a microscopic suicide bomber and your best defence is a mask. The planet must be chuckling in utter glee at this moment.
Chances of you, in your recent preoccupation of hoarding sanitizers and tissues, having missed this “earth moving” experiment, are rather high.

Be rest assured, the planet is being polite in its reminder. It is a mild tempered hibernating bored sort of giant. (Watch the time lapse video of the planet from a weather satellite on #Youtube- it’s a living breathing ball of pure green and blue).
And it’s pissed off beyond measure. And we should be worried. This is just a dry-run if I may say so.

It’s going to get a lot worse before she accepts our apology: remember the #PinkFloyd track #takeitback? Someday.

Well, that day is almost here I think: correct me for exaggerating.
In a precursor - letting us know just how casual the next wave of *extinction level* episode might be ... the planet (she) has unleashed an exceptional condition. A social condition to be precise, that ensures, You Me and Us are 3 unique words - & standalone.
This is raw power. Packed with proteins & RNA. And it has wrought,
Socially Distanced Humans. 
And so we must remain for a considerable amount of time in the future - for humans to brood. To come to terms with the fact that we have abused the power that came with uniquely sitting on top of a food chain, we didn’t create in the first place.

Yes, a lot of you have theorised on #bioterror, some on induced global #pandemics, the apparent medical and health policy failure by governments, falling standards in hygiene emanating from Asia - but how many, I ask you today, have sat back and pondered the “Whatsnext” in this chapter?
Do you realise just how effectively the planet has re-evaluated our domain of ops? Nothing is as was.

This is the new normal. And nothing is normal about it. It’s bats and pigs and things we touch and eat and drink and breathe.
It’s almost a silent revenge for those bespoke but extinct species - a minute of global silence - for all that we have slayed and removed - with our profiteering industrial blade.

Scientists are debating whether Earth is now in the midst of a sixth mass extinction. If so, it may be the fastest one ever with a rate of 1,000 to 10,000 times the baseline extinction rate of one to five species per year. Humans are largely responsible for the striking trend. Scientists believe that pollution, land clearing, and overfishing might drive half of the planet’s existing land and marine species to extinction by 2100.
But who’s the Dodo now?!!

These #Gretathunberg #Nationalgeographic #PlanetEarth Greenpeace India David Attenborough voices have implored you, repeatedly, begged you, at will, over time. Sit up!
The world as we know it, is telling us a few things. For the last time perhaps, before this ball shakes loose and restores balance once and for all. It’s telling us “Things” we simply won’t listen to unless it kills us not to. It’s simple. Really.
Stop. Development. As you know it. 🛑! We don't need to grow at this pace. We simply can't afford to. Rather the planet cannot and will not allow it.

Stop. Mass production:
Isolate need. Industry must grind to a halt.
Take a long look at the weatherbeaten planet, before you plunge deep inside its chest and rip it’s heart out this time. Do it, before retracing your pathetic steps back into your GDP restoring assembly lines.

Reckless Consumption will kill more than this virus.
This larger Pandemic of greed, of I, me, you and Us. Too few have too much, and it's been this way for far too long ...

And the planet knows. It knows that the old and the children won’t survive this greed. The planet simply wants corrective action. This time onwards it is going to simply let Darwin do the math. Yes, your money might be your next roll of toilet paper - good luck.

It amazes me every day just to sit back and realise that it is taking a freak strain of common influenza - a blinging precise century after the Spanish flu - to let us know - that it’s time for a fresh act - a renaissance- an overhaul of thought.
What is the virus about? It’s a little microdot that makes sure you and I pause. We stop. Before we act: it’s giving us precious time, which no economy was willing to give it’s people and policy makers - to hit “reset”.

So Earth did what it does. It pressed the little red button. Not the big one. Not yet. This one is a test. A test of how many of us wake up and smell the flowers and how many must perish because too many didn’t count Nature as a worthy opponent.

For perish we will: and no, it’s not going to be enough just washing our hands off this matter, cometh the next 18 months - if we do not reconsider what we have become in the past 100 years.
- a Parasite the planet wants to weed out.

#Thappad. A Film Review

#Thappad. A Film Review
Blog Posted Thursday 5th March 2020



This film is a dare.

A test of your ability to come to terms with the breaking of every day norms. Norms unsaid but preset, to condition your relevance in a contract. A breaking that threatens to smudge the line that labels you within our crisp and critical society. And basing it all on one *teeny tiny almost forgettable, nearly forgiveable and yet incrementally huge* Incident.


It, the script by #MrunmayeeLagoo #AnubhavSinhaa and she #TaapseePannu, try you. They question your base instinct... to either squirm a little in your chair at each passing, flowing, seamlessly parallel narrative... or throw your hands up in despair and proclaim "hey that girl, she's just intent on watching it all burn. #WTF."


A lot of us will opt for the latter. It is after all an entire 2.5 hours of your life spent mentally arguing in favour of a woman, unmeasureably happy with her choice of life & life partner, now opting to fling it all out, baby and bathwater, over what looks like an involuntary movement of the right arm, in a moment of duress, in front of a room full of people.

However. If you were those that squirmed, thank you. I am happy for you, you have remained open to evolution.

This movie is not just about a slap. Or physical abuse in marriages or the mental trauma of being controlled, or of being a residue, an ant in the line production of the family industry...or sustained marital rape, among other forms of intimidation.


This is larger, more twisted, if you ask me. It is about the small stuff.

I think the Director #AnubhavSinhaa understood the nature of the tricky sands he was treading when he opted to make this film revolve around the social network of what is considered a *Privilege*. The genesis of it. And most importantly, how it is perpetuated by women at almost every level.

Let's forget the slap. It is almost irrelevant if you ask me. And he isn't in this for the finger pointing. Not once does the film hold a sustained rap on the knuckles for any of the males in the frame. Actor #PavailGulati who plays Vikram, isn't subject to your anger, but let's you breathe this one out. Shit happens.
And yet, of all the men I know, the impact of what occurs, was made plenty clear through the tautness of expressions, the unapologetic punchlines and a very tight script.

It poked all the right holes in all the right places, in the fabric of the *Perfect* institution. Nestled warmly in our #Facebook'd lives and #Instagram lies. Especially the final hesitant despair of #RatnaPathakShah Sandhyaki (Amrita's Mother) with her near-angelic husband #KumudMishra, when she brings to life his gentle crime, of letting it all pass.


It is in the lives that surround #TaapseePannu in the film...those fragile threads, that were woven with great attention to detail, I found some answers. Let's pick at those.

 

One falls in love with the eloquent wisdoms of #DiaMirza who plays the successful merc-driving-she-neighbour with such elegance and a perfectly curated wardrobe, and who admittedly married a near perfect man. She nails the single-mother tagline with such precision, it leaves you smiling. Happy in the knowledge that life can be good with and without.


#TanviAzmi aka the mother-in-law manages to portray so much with so little. Her pain is almost embellished, much like the dark pouches that hang like insults under her eyes and mask her pain, hiding behind a rising sugar level, a missing marriage and meaningless chores. Her response to the series of unfortunate events is classic, nothing out of the ordinary and understandably, depressing.


Let's bring the lawyers in for a bit. #RamKapoor representing the male argument and pitted against the sassy, up and coming #MayaSarao (Amrita’s divorce lawyer) are very adept at their roles. Ram keeps it stoic and real, manly, very legal, patronising and precise in his screentime.

Maya's blunt reality check for the "one slap argument" in court, runs uniquely parallel to Maya's own crises and the shadow it casts on her representing this case, for the finality she finds in the flimsy nature of the argument. This woman holds her own rather well.

 #GeetikaVidyaOhlyan (Amrita’s house help) is a revelation surely. Her mad lust for life, her compromise with it and her deep, gradual coming to terms with what made her man, just a man like any other... is a louder slap than the one you see rip across the main character's face. Her choices throughout the film, her words, her silences and her final comeback, created a lot of static in my head.

Of the younger ones in the script like #NailaGrewal (Amrita's future sister-in-law) who make room for expectations, engage you in quick, short bursts of how much room society is willing to make for her idea of a life-partner.

#MangeshDhakde doesn't overwhelm you with sound. His music is simple and it stays, much like the missing rights of a woman, in the background, like an underscore, a garnish that one uses to season a damn good salad.

This film, is complicated. It will be uncomfortable for many, to watch and to admit. Of being party to the lesser, subtler forms of chauvinism that we Women accept and sanctify with impunity.

Simply because one act, held in solation, lacked critical mass for any of us to call it out for what it was, some good ol' Patriarchy. It will take a while for us Indians, to come to terms with this dare, this growing need, that a woman, can and should, by her own good offices, determine and exact, legally, what is and is not, a "Privilege" she may choose to grant the men in her life.

And yes, just one slap, could be reason enough.

Murshidabad - মুর্শিদাবাদ: Bari Kothi #Sheherwali #ExperiencerareIndia

#Bari Kothi #Sheherwali #Experience #RareIndia
Posted: 20th February 2020

This photo essay on my tour to Murshidabad over the weekend I dedicate to Bari Kothi and it’s team for immaculately executing this road trip to Paradise & back. It’s a warm note of gratitude and love to owner proprietor #DarshanDudhoria for being the most exceptional host at this venue of #RareIndia where #heritage comes alive each morning.



#TheBariKothiexperience will stay with me for a very long time... embedded like a pearl in an ocean bed, deep, resilient, magnificent, untouched by milling crowds and waves of crashing tourists. This one is for the connoisseurs.

From the elegant red and white Sare’e clad, impeccably trained, ever smiling ladies who greet you on the redrafted steps to the extraordinarily delicious vegetarian *Jain meals* hand crafted by the in-house master chef Maharaj from the most Puritan of Jain Kitchens in India...



This almost fantasmorgically transformed property of the Dudhoria’s lets you live a night of dreams in their palace, their home of centuries, that has seen a glorious time of plenty, in gold and stone, a forgotten past, when this erstwhile capital of Bengal alone, accounted for 5% of the World’s GDP through trade in silks and spices.



 
Thanks Darshan for the delightful and dreamy stories ... the hand-me-downs from an oral history, that you shared so seamlessly over your resplendent beard and moustache, chasing one ghost to the next to the many untold tales of loot and midnight robberies, of underground tunnels and cursed nobilities like #JagatSeth and his lost fortunes...all shared over raised glasses of dry and delicious red wine sitting alongside the perfectly curated labeled lunches and dinners held within a hall the size you possibly stared at in awe during the screening of The King & I, in your childhood!






You exclaim in utter glee as you enter the bedrooms, all clad in muted shades and silken drapes and arches ins tone, skylights made of painted glasswork and four poster beds inlaid with Mother of Pearl...each with its own fairytale name, like my very own “Chota Kiran Mahal”.

This night I assure you my friends is set right out of the film sets of #shatranjkekhiladi ... every single detail about Bari Kothi is so uniquely designed, so exquisitely restored, upscaled, reused and delicately managed, but for me most importantly, so well secured for modern times and with such clockwork precision, that one heaves a sigh of relief for old built heritage in private hands.

The Sheherwali’s have a lot to thank You for, Darshan, for not simply bringing back such a nostalgic tryst with the bygones but for restoring faith in a riverine economy and its simple agrarian people, who have so much to gain from such initiatives of young landlords like you and the very determined, erudite and charming Mr #SandipNowlakha who have taken the road less travelled. Your home on the river Bhagirathi made the journey up the river to #Hazarduari #BadaImambara #phutimasjid #KatraMosque and the #Kathgolapalace a trip of a lifetime.






It was perhaps the closest to a #SatyajitRay film one can get when one steps on your thickly paddled, wooden, cushioned steam and serviced Barge, to follow the currents of a wily river that sees villagers, boatmen and fishermen, tourist and trespassers all play their parts to perfection, against the most furiously angry orange setting sun.



I must confess the name #MaghanlalMeghraj did creep into my head more than once going upstream!!



 


And the early morning heritage walk, down your trail to the terracotta ruins along the banks... with Jain, Bengali, Mughal, and British influences was simply spectacular and I can safely say, the high point of the trip.

  


This is my note of thanks, in the hope that such reconstructed heritage projects keep finding fresh leases of life through you, your dedicated footsoldiers, your silk story team and initiatives like those being taken by the Department of Tourism GoWB.

Until the time we meet again, you have our memories on digital. Au revoir my friend.
Warmly,
Anjita

*Rozaana with Rozario* : An Ode to a Food Maestro

*Rozaana with Rozario* 

Chef Joseph Pradip Rozario
20th February 2020, Calcutta
#KKsFusion

 

This is not a food blog. This is not a fan mail. This is just my personal note to Joseph Pradip Rozario for being the intensely benevolent *Food God* in the lives of one Anjita & two, Saakya for the past year...and making our tastebuds and our simple lives come alive, cometh every odd evening and filling them with recipes and surprises hand delivered by soft spoken team members, of what can best be summed up as World class handmade platters of godsent delight. NuffSaid.

O, What a MasterChef you are!!!
 
There are many ways in which people touch your lives. People you are born to, people you build relationships on contract with, people you work or study with ... give birth to.


And then there is JP Rozario. Truth be told, we have barely ever met. Once perhaps, our lives may have intersected briefly, at a fascinating edition of Good France, where he possibly shook hands with me in formal greeting. A fleeting memory of a chance encounter. I wish it had been more, he is afterall my son's Godfather. And Santa Claus. And Gordon Ramsey. We are still working on this one.

You see, Chef chose to *Foodopt* me and my son a year ago.

 
This culinary master made the unique exception of extending the delicacies of KK's Fusion to my home, come rain or thunder, we ate...off multitude of platters, of gourmet food made with love and such attention to detail, across exquisite recipes that lingered on our palettes long after they had been devoured shamelessly by mother & son alike.




The KK's Grill, Oven and heart has forever been lit for my humble evenings, and then there are those exceptional cakes and bakes and crumbles & pies that came each time I felt life had so little to offer. Ya right! I quit saying that a fairly long time back, when the Chocolate walnut cake arrived.

& No, I didn't share that one. 😀

 

Very few people in this universe reach out to strangers the way this soul has. He writes, he reads, he chats, he works, he endures, he offers and he smiles...and he inspires me to write. O and he Cooks. And Today, as he sets sail far west, I talk about his devilry with World Degustation!

So, here goes.

One evening I arrive from work to see in front of me eyes, in my humble *Salvation army hand me down* home, a parcel lying harmlessly on the glass table...these are sealed pre plated edifices of happiness, covered with aluminium foil.
x

Hiding within, a world of beauty, these plates are simple elegant whites right under. Held within these folds were piping hot, freshly braided, hand rolled, hommade, richly spiced and cleverly mixed, craft Pork sausages.

The platter came with instructions of course. That's how discreet chef is. 🙂
*Kindly get some Indian Dal made with white Rice and Salad. Break Sausage with hands and mix into rice to best enjoy the Indianness of this delicacy. Add lime to mix*

Whoa, what?!! Rice, Dal?
Seriously... it was an et Voila moment for me! 


I have never been more stumped nor stupefied by such a precise idea of what Pork sausages must be done with. And we did as we were told, Children of Gastronomy, we!

And what a delight. What an absolutely, insanely flamboyant mix of masala and meat this man had pulled together on my plate.

The richness of the Pork held the rice and dal together while the caramelised onions and spices which made the sausage whole, made this rice dish, turn into a Near- Columbian discovery.


It was almost as if a Paati Bheyto Baangali had married a guitar strumming hot Anglo Indian (pardon my stereotyping here) on a plate and they lived happily ever after.

But the story never ends there with Chef. Never ever ever ever.

See now, there is the Son, and his tastebuds must not be trifled with according to Joseph.
*Ergo.

Enter the world's coolest looking, deliciously aromatic, ready to gobble, honey glazed, home delivered, platter of Pork chops with saute'ed veggies and crusty breads.

The boy nearly lost a jawline that day, oggling with the entire length of his 12YO grin he greeted this creation. With some effort, he struggled up, shed a cough and fever, being a tad under the weather, from his upturned bed to shout out in joy, plunging merrily, fork and all, into the carved artistic world of Pigs and pleasantries.

I add here of course...the meat was falling off the bones, the juices spilling onto his chin and the vegetables, alas were being tossed by me into his mouth, because (and i pause here for effect), he is a pre teenager...!

What mad genius created such food? This was heaven and the Pig (bless his gut, snout and soul) died for a noble cause indeed. The Tabasco and honey laced the animal fat in exact precision and the tenderness of the meat, rendered delicatedly, was not too thick, the grease stuck like melted chocolate to the sides of the sticky and tender ribs. Let's just call it divine, ya? 


I must however, bring to your attention a small but significant matter of the potatoes. The Potato is something no one ever gives much importance too, but here the mash that outlined this neatly laid series of chops made the child in me sit up and note the disarming comfort of rosemary and butter cream come through...so British the taste, that you make noises not very appropriate for a blog, when you do commence on destroying this work of art with your knife.


I could go on about all those evenings, when Chef Joseph Pradip Rozario has brought my family, my friends and my soul into order. Given us peace. Told me ever so calmly, to just let it be, you just eat, then spend time with your son... don't get worried about anything in life. Life will sort itself out. Bless you.

And I haven't. I simply sit now, smiling to myself, plate in hand, counting my blessings, as I watch my son, chugging along spoon in hand, through his moment of pure sin and feel an immense sense gratitude for a man, I hardly ever met.

Thank you Chef. Bon Voyage & Bon Courage, to heartier shores and newer adventures with your spatula and spices. I end here today, but your *food therapy* and love sealed in KK packets and hot boxes will remain, with me & Saakya forever.

Warmly, always.
Anjita

#FordVFerrari, A review. #imdb IMDb

#FordVFerrari
A review. #imdb IMDb

For some people, like me, going to the movies is usually for reasons that are rather personal. And for me this weekend “Needed” urgent redemption. And so I went alone.

I am a decently huge #christianbale and #Mattdamon follower. Exceptional men with an eclectic career chequered with high points and lows. Added to the mix was the fact that I was a Motörhead for a while before domestic life and breadwinning won my days.

So. #Ford. Not a name we have ever drunk to for speed or sheer love of the machine. Crafted for numbers and sold for those who need to go from point a to point b in one single attempt at the wheel. And Eventually get there.

Pit that against the mad genius that was Enzo. His work, his life, his search for perfection never really ended. His hunt went beyond the wheel and the seat covers lined in fine leather. He wanted his babies to talk to the winds. And god knows the #Ferraris...they did! And yes I am and shall always be a #Schumacher and #AyrtonSenna fan, that being said... let’s race you through this season on what made the life of #kenmiles played by an understated and very delightfully American Christian Bale so unique and eloquent as a story.

Note: At some point it almost hurt when they made the Italian car maker feel almost like the “big bad daddy of car racing”... before you are allowed to identify and admire quietly, his one true love, as his goggled eyes trace his red beasts along the track, even as you watched a margin loving Ford Jr II take off in a fancy chopper for a fancy dinner bang in the middle of #lemans ... now Enzo, this guy owned the sport. It was a touching and deeply historic moment watching Ken and the Italian papa doff their hats to each other in acknowledgment.

Luckily, the film stays true to what history will only underline... without Enzo the race track would have been so so boring, so slow, so lifeless and so lacking in Adrenaline! Becos He be da man.

Bale, I marvel at his choices. His oeuvre is so unpretentious and yet so versatile. He never hesitates to let you know what lies under that Batman suit and those incredibly Dracula teeth. He makes you smile and weep in turns. It’s a story lined by many stories...simple life stories. When fate robs you, redeems you, loves you back and then destroys you. He gets every single turn on this gruelling lap of life perfectly and brings it home. A gentle soul with a very gentle touch with machines. You will fall in love with his #kenmiles.

#JoshLucas take a bow for the mealymouth you managed to be without losing that charming smile that had us all weakkneed back in your prime. You did Leo Beebe to perfection. Without you the bad guy would have stayed so typically monied and blah. You made it personal and that’s what this sport has always been! Too damn personal.

For Matt Damon who lives out the life of one #CarollShelby - best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, he makes this role look easy but it couldn’t have been. To be the man to give up his own passion only to stand by a very difficult friend for life ... battling the Ford way to try and find meaning in the machine. Slow clap. It was done with class and old school style. You can feel his pain. And that’s not the only good thing about this narrative.

The one scene where the movie takes you out of your seat and right behind the wheel, is the spin Matty does for Ford Jr at a speed that only a racer can secure without shitting his pants. That weeping of joy and terror mixed on #TracyLetts face, makes it all too real.

The endurance of the sport tested timelessly at #lemans. The sheer courage it takes to remain on the road when the world fades away, when at 7000 rpm you ask yourself the only question that matters, and this film does. Over and over.

Who are we and what are we here for? One does find this film answering that in layers. Your friendships, your bonds, your affections and your soul. Every single time Ken shares a moment with his son, played by a very UnAmerican unspoilt and adorable #NoahJupe or clangs a beer with his devoted wife the gorgeous #CatrionaBalfe playing Mollie Miles, the point is made. Emphatically.

You are here for redemption and this film is all about finding that through pure love for something you are lucky enough to be good at. Finding purpose in what you do. Because like all things beautiful and trippy this too must come to an end, after 2.5 hours of hard motoring and gear shifting. It ends well. Too Painfully well.

One thanks #JamesMangold and Motörheads like him for loving the skills and the brilliance of Ken Miles enough to honour his dream, his skills, and love for the car, because, left to the industry and it’s two faced middlemen - the man behind the wheel would have met a nameless end, way before his time.

Joker the Movie

A Review. No spoilers.
Posted 2nd October 2019
#imdb IMDb

It is one of those movies you cannot begin dissecting without going back in time. #HeathLedger made sure of that. The character, its ashen whiteness, the dark coal of burning eyelids, the unblurred version of pure evil flicking like pupils in it and the idea of why would someone be that person, may have left all of us at some point wondering ... how did the Joker get this far out?

The latest from the timeline of the Batman saga ... unfair to say that it was anything less than what I expected... but then I am an unfair sort of reviewer. So bear with me.

For me, just me, the joker (articulately and deftly handled by a maniacal and tragicomic #joachinphoenix) was everything and more. It has pain like you haven’t felt in a while. A stab, a gangrenous wound a burning bullet hole.

But then came the preaching, the soothing sad telling, the narrative makes you weep for the good guy talking, the uncelebrated idea of “feel bad for me because god knows I was wronged”. That just didn’t sit well with me.

Call me cynical but for me the joker was best unapologetic for trying to be the divine artistic balance to the insanely plotted goodness of the Batman ilk. I do not for a moment feel that his character needed to be justified.

I wanted to know that for once evil was unprecedented. Mad. Pure. Thorough. That god sends a measure of everything to this godforsaken planet because that’s the way I wanted it. The menace the extended red grin that spread across ledger’s face was not of a man from a history of sorrow. It was a man who did not believe in any system at all. It was his system and no other. And yes, he did like to watch the world burn.

How good is the acting you ask. Don’t. It’s superlative. It’s an ode to a man who died too soon ... his craft unfulfilled by drugs and depression. And Phoenix rises to the calling, to this role like a bird risen from the ashes. He reenchants it, he recrafts it, he reboots it, to suit the script with such unaffected crystal perfection.

There are moments when you feel the editing, especially the ending, could have ended 3 edits sooner, but then I edit for a living and chopping is what I like best.

Extra pounds didn’t add meat to this story: but what a story. It reminds you of the graphic novel “the killing joke” at every turn of the camera and yet I longed for more, for more sin, more insanity, more lust for the wrong - yes it is true, I found the film falling short of making me feel horrible about the joker, because that’s what I wanted to feel. I didn’t want to feel bad for him. He has been the one connoisseur of darkness i found unparalleled in any depiction on celluloid and I wanted to keep it that way.

What the movie has managed is that tiny tiny slit between the lids, the difference that marks a brilliant film from a good film. This one is somewhere in between. It’s brilliant in its performances and good in its storytelling. I wish I could say more, but then I can’t expect you to feel what I feel, given I secured the first day first show. Buy that ticket and celebrate these two greats - Heath Ledge will forever rule this kingdom but Joachin Phoenix is for sure the only other man he would have liked to take his throne.

Because.
This joker is moulded in pure love. Pure unrequited love. In horrors that only bring laughter that is but a “medical condition”. Because we are all Jokers at the end of the day... and one must ask at the end of every such screening... “why so serious?”