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Manichitrathazhu: In retrospect.

Flipping through channels on TV is a ritual that’s being seriously threatened by the arrival of binge watching and I was honoring this time old tradition the other day when the sight Mohanlal, Thilakan, Innocent and Nedumudi in a single frame made me stop and put the remote down. Manichitrathazhu was playing on Asianet, for the umpteenth time but I didn’t find myself complaining, rather was only too happy to sit back and watch though the film was almost close to its ending. The fear of ghosts and darkness I had outgrown as a kid, when I realized that the living were far more sinister and dangerous but Manichitrathazhu managed to stir up my fears of the unknown every time I watched it, especially the scenes where Nagavalli starts making her presence felt. I can’t decide if it’s just the visuals or the background music, maybe bit of both, in fact I’ve been told that the makers researched raagas that invoked fear for the haunting BGM that has attained cult status today.

The film needs no introduction and it has been remade in all the major regional languages but the original remains a class apart, the fact that the best minds in the Malayalam film industry came together behind and in front of the camera, being just one of the reasons why. Manichithrathazhu is what happens when a Malayali filmmaker sets his mind on making a horror-thriller for a Malayali audience, that is to just say, a thinking man’s horror film. You could rightly debate that the film is a psychological thriller and not a horror film in the true sense but then again, you didn’t know that until the end credits had rolled.

While even the most celebrated Hollywood horror movies have resorted to demonic possessions and supernatural presence to send a chill down the viewers spine, Manichitrathazhu delves into the complexities of the human psyche with a subtlety and realism that is indeed the hallmark of malayalam movies our times, notwithstanding the fact the protagonist does break into a song at the most crucial of moments in the film, but thats just our way of telling a story and I wouldn’t want it any other way either.

The movie does not attack the customs and traditions of the largely patriarchal community against the backdrop of which the story unfolds, rather it chooses an inclusive narrative, treading a middle ground where scientific methods and cultural symbols find equal footing in the progression and culmination of the tale. That the film successfully managed to scare the living daylights out of the viewers without any special effects sequences speaks volumes of the skills of Madhu Muttam, the reclusive script writer and Fazil the director, though the movie is also known for the collaborative efforts of the most successful filmmakers of the time.

Rectify : The Best Series That You’ve Never Heard Of.

If all of life’s experiences of an individual and of the people around him, their hopes and dreams, their disappointments, fears, tragedies and losses could be written down in so many words, captured in the most poignant of frames, performed and enabled earnestly by artists at the pinnacle of their crafts, to a level of perfection that seldom presents itself in any form of art, that’s Rectify for you.

I used to think that Breaking Bad and Bryan Cranston were the best things to happen to television, until Aden Young simmered onto the screen with Rectify.And its not just Young, every actor who’s part of the series leaves a lasting impression on the viewer and these are hitherto unknown actors too, at least to me, which makes one think about the celebrated stars of tinsel towns around the world.Here’s a bunch of artists, living their roles with endearing performances,backed by some of the most honest and soulful screenwriting you would ever come across in the medium, and getting little or no recognition in terms of accolades and leaves their work to speak for itself.

The show moves at its own pace,is not eager to impress,does not slip into the trappings of any genre and stays true to its soul, to the very last frame.Rectify is not just the best show to ever hit the screen that you have never heard of, its art at its finest.The fact that it didn’t win any of the most known television awards is ironically a reflection of the very theme of the show, i think, something very wrong and unfair, that cannot be rectified, like most things in life.Aden Young proved that he is one of the best out there when he literally breathed life into Daniel Holden for three magnificent seasons and here he explains why you shouldn’t watch Rectify and in case you choose to disagree with him, do watch out, rather listen out for some of the best sound mixing works to ever hit the small screen and thats just one of the many bests one could associate with the series.

 

Logan : The Review.

Logan is to the X-Men film franchise, what the “The Dark Knight” is to the Batman films. James Mangold has an impressive resume already and he has delivered a Marvel movie which doesn’t look or feel like a Marvel movie and this film without doubt would definitely be counted amongst his best works. I would go so far as to say that this has to be the best X-Men movie to ever hit the screens, in fact it is one of the best superhero movies ever made, indeed.
It’s a welcome change from the mind numbing CGI action mayhem that has been fed to us of late by Marvel and DC. Of course this movie features some of the bloodiest and most gruesome action sequences I have ever seen in any superhero film but it plays out like a gritty action drama and not once do you feel that it’s an X-Men franchise film that you’re watching, well I may have exaggerated a bit there, but you’ll know what I meant when you go watch the film, yourself.

Logan is disturbing, dark and brooding not just for the sake of it and is a classic example of what good writing and visionary filmmaking can do to the most exhausted of themes. Mangold engages the viewer successfully and has managed to connect to an audience outside the cult fan base for the X-Men franchise here, I felt. There are quite a few lighter moments too which doesn’t feel forced at all and here again the credit goes to the writing.
Hugh Jackman plays “Old Man Logan” to the T while Patrick Stewart gets to play a Professor X who’s quite out of character, pun intended. The film does feature child artists in some extremely violent scenes and I wouldn’t be surprised if it does raise a few eyebrows, but why should movies be any different in a world where children are bombed in their homes and wash up ashore lifeless. I couldn’t help wondering if Mangold was silently delivering a message too with this film, presenting a “dystopian” future not too far ahead of our times, telling us where we are headed. The self driving trucks were the most obvious of indicators of how close we are to Logan’s world, at least to me.#logan

Split : The Review.

Manoj Night Shyamalan is back to doing what he does best in Split.He gave us a glimpse of the Shyamalan of yore in The Visit and here he assures us that he has got his groove back. Made on a budget of 9 million USD, Split has already raked in ten times that figure. The Visit was noticed for the fact that it cost 5 million and earned almost a 100 million at the box office. Has to be the Indian in him,i‘m tempted to say, considering the fact that his country of origin recently managed to launch a space probe successfully,to orbit the Mars on a budget lesser than what Hollywood spent on a movie set in space. It’s also a fact that the writer-director faltered more than once when he worked on bigger budgets.
The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs had established Shyamalan as a thinking man’s filmmaker but the mediocre stuff that he churned out for almost a decade and half since those films gave us an impression that the critics who were only too eager to write him off had a point indeed. Shylamalan finally has let his craft do the talking, proving his detractors wrong , with Split. While this film may not entirely win over his critics, it will definitely wake them up to the fact that the man hasn’t lost his touch entirely.

James McAvoy owns the screen in this film about a man with 23 personalities and the only two other actors who gets to share screen space with him, almost make up the entire cast of the film. Betty Buckley and Anya Taylor-Joy, who it seems is turning into permanent fixture in anything horror deliver gripping performances too. The tension and suspense that Shyamalan builds in a simple therapy session scene is worthy of Hitchcock, I would say and Shyamalan does indulge in his fascination with the supernatural, to a limited extent,here too. At a time when every other movie is about a Marvel or DC superhero and their “Universe”, Shyamalan hints at building his own universe in Split.Before Sam Raimi and Nolan kicked off the superhero origin story trend, it was indeed Shyamalan who gave us the thinking man’s superhero with Unbreakable, I think. And it’s anyones guess why Bruce Willis is a frequent collaborator, Shyamalan was 18 when Die Hard was released.

Dangal : The Review.

Game over Hollywood,authentic,rousing sports movies are no longer just your forte, there is a new contender in the ring, so to speak.I’d decided that i wouldn’t write anything about this film even before i watched it simply because as a viewer you know already that Aamir Khan wouldn’t disappoint you ,being the perfectionist he is and to even try and dissect a movie with those kind of standards would be something that’s beyond me.I honestly can’t recall the last time when an Aamir Khan movie turned out to be a disappointment.But now that I’ve watched the film, i have to share my thoughts on this movie.There it seems ,is no other go.

Sports to us is mostly just cricket and with the kind of space and encouragement rest of the sports gets in the country, its hardly any surprise that we don’t have many genuine sports movies either,except for a Chak De or a Bhaag Milkha or a Lagaan ,to an extent.This Aamir Khan movie where he delivers the restrained performance the character demands to the T, is not just about him and every character you see on screen leaves an impression on you, in fact Aamir Khan is absent from the frame in the most riveting moments of the film.If the child actors carry the film in the first half not just with their charm but with the sheer physicality of their roles, the older girls deliver an endearing performance in the second half.Yes, there are the customary song and dance sequences that Bollywood can’t live without but trust me once the film is done with you, you wouldn’t want it any other way.

The film has two Commonwealth wrestling bout sequences and these scenes are so perfectly choreographed, shot and performed that the viewers end up forgetting for those last thirty minutes that its a movie and not the actual Commonwealth wrestling match of 2012 thats unfolding before them.The scenes are truly world class and i can’t think of a movie from any other part of the world where a contact sporting event was so authentically filmed.Dangal’s wrestling sequences are in the same league of perfection as the F1 racing scenes in Rush.It is a highly fictionalized account of the true story and cinematic liberties have been taken, obviously but this movie is indeed a milestone and it does justice to story of the struggle and triumph of the Phogats.The first thing i did after the movie was to lookup Geeta Phogat’s 2012 Commonwealth wrestling match on YouTube and I know I’m not the only one who must’ve done that. #Dangal

Just Stand Up Already.

Us Indians have been conditioned to listen,not listened to ,all through our formative years.From parents to teachers to elders to peers, we constantly learned what we were supposed to do in what ultimately turned out to be an eternal quest for “what’s best for you” and we were only too happy to oblige too.In fact most of us are thankful for all that.There’s no telling where we would have ended up if it wasn’t for that timely rap on the knuckles.You did not choose the school you went to, you never got to pick the subjects that you were taught and there were occasions even where we were told who to be friends with.
We took this conditioning with us beyond our years of growth physically, when we set out on our own into the big bad world.Even when it comes to decisions like marriages a total stranger doing the kind of calculations on a wooden board that would have left George Boole perplexed, tells us if its a make or a break.Basically you have the whole system telling you what’s best for you,round the clock.Even better, by now you know what’s best for your family and your friends too.Yes you’re already passing around the mantle that was passed on to you recently.

This is why i fail to understand why some of us shift uncomfortably in our chairs when we are told that we are required to stand up when the national anthem is played in the movie halls.You are only being asked to do what you’ve done all throughout your life, doing as you’re told that is.Yes ,you’re absolutely obliged to prove your love for the country to every other person who’s in there with you.Its not up to you to ask if the anthem is played every time a cabinet of ministers or a court of law is in session.All you need to be is that brick in the wall.Thats your sole purpose in life.So quit acting as if you just got off a Volkswagen Type 2 on you way back home from Woodstock and just go ahead and stand up wherever you are asked to, already.

Aey Dil Hai Mushkil: Not a Review.

This is not a review simply because I haven’t watched the movie ADHM yet, for various reasons, but the fact that i love to hate Karan Johar like a fair number of my compatriots out there is not one of them. Karan Johar movies do not excite me anymore. They are the Bollywood versions of the Terminator series these days I’d say, at least to me.

I have my own reasons for “hating” him, i have never quite gotten over what he did to me back in 1998 with KKHH to start with, thats Kuch Kuch Hota Hai by the way for those who came in late. I was leaving school and ready to join a college when he simply did me in with this story about one guy and two girls where the guy has a hard time choosing one as a friend and the other as a lover and ends up marrying one after the other too. And when you watch this movie in a packed hall with people your age, there are greater chances of ending up with dreams about life in college and I’m not even going to start about how that one turned out now. ‘Tum “Pass” Aaye’ as it turned out was all about an ordeal between me and the University, literally.

Johar was still not done with me, I realized when he returned with Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam. K3G they called it, yeah I admit that’s when I started seeing Kareena in a different light, if you know what I’m talking about. The heavy dose of melodrama did not deter a part of me from seeing myself jumping out of a chopper and running home, in the near future. These thoughts may not come to you if you were watching these movies in other parts of Kerala, for me it always had to be a full house Sreepadmanabha in Trivandrum, Crown in Calicut also has those vibes I’d say. K3G was the last KJo movie that i watched in a theater but the Karan Johar school of filmmaking was always lurking around the corner with the most alluring of tales.
I came closest to being taken on a ride again with Kal Ho Na Ho, to the point where his camp almost had me convinced that chronic heart disease is what it takes to find a girl ,no wait a minute, two of them. That’s where this story ends for me and the Karan Johar phenomenon at the box office too I’d say.

His movies grew older just the way I did, rather they matured in the themes they handled though I wouldn’t say the same about myself, not in the conventional sense of the term. The trend is evident, from Kuch Kuch Hota Hain to Kabhi Alvida to Aey Dil. I understand that he tried his tricks again with the adolescents of this generation in Student of the Year but I’m not sure how many of them did he successfully manage to dupe this time around. Kids these days are smarter, I guess or should i say not as dumb as I was. And what’s a Karan Johar movie worth at the end of the day if it doesn’t have SRK spreading his arms out in it.

കേട്ടറിവിനേക്കാൾ വലുതാണ് മുരുഗൻ എന്ന സത്യം.സത്യം.

ഇത് വരെ ഒരു മലയാളം സിനിമക്കും കാണാത്ത അഡ്വാൻസ് ബുക്കിംഗ് ഓപ്പണിങ് ആയിരുന്നു പുലിമുരുകന്റേത് ,നവംബർ 3rd റിലീസ് ഡേറ്റ് ഉള്ള പടത്തിനു ഒക്ടോബർ 16നു നോവോ സിനിമാസ് ബുക്കിംഗ് തുടങ്ങി.സാധാരണ വീക്കെൻഡ് മാത്രം സിനിമയ്ക്ക് പോകുന്ന കൊണ്ട് വ്യാഴാച്ചയോ അതോ വെള്ളിയാഴ്ച്ച രാവിലെയോ ആണ് ബുക്ക് ചെയുന്നത്.ടിക്കറ്റ് കിട്ടാത്ത അവസ്ഥ ഉണ്ടായിട്ടില്ല.പ്രേമത്തിനഉം കബാലിക്കും പോലും രണ്ടു ദിവസം മുന്നെയാണ് ബുക്ക് ചെയ്‌തത്‌.
ഒപ്പം കണ്ടതിന്റെ ഹാങ്ങോവറിൽ ആയിട്ടു പോലും ഇടയ്ക്കു ചില വിമർശകരെ “ഫാൻസ്‌ ” ഓൺലൈൻ കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്‌ത രീതിയും പിന്നെ ഇവമ്മാരുടെ ഒക്കെ മാത്രം ആണ് മോഹൻലാൽ എന്ന “ഫാസിസ്റ്റു” സമീപനവും ഒക്കെ കൊണ്ടു മടുത്തിട്ടു ആണെന്ന് തോന്നുന്നു ആദ്യത്തെ ആവേശം ഒക്കെ കെട്ടു അടങ്ങിയിരുന്നു.ഇന്ന് വൈകിട്ടു വരെ ബുക്കിംഗ് പേജിൽ കേറി നോക്കിട്ടു പോലും ഇല്ലാരുന്നു.ടിക്കറ്റ് കിട്ടും കിട്ടാതെ എവിടെ പോകാൻ എന്ന ചിന്തയും.ഓഫീസിൽ നിന്ന് വന്നിട്ടു പേജിൽ കേറി നോക്കിയപ്പോ വീക്കെൻഡ് ഷോസ് ഒക്കെ ഏകദേശം ഫുൾ.ടിക്കറ്റ് ഉള്ളത് ഒന്നും രണ്ടും ഒക്കെ മുന്നിലത്തെ വരികളിൽ.വ്യാഴവും വെള്ളിയും ശനിയും ഇത് തന്നെ അവസ്ഥ .ഒരു ഭാഗ്യ പരീക്ഷണം നടത്തിയപ്പോ വെള്ളിയാഴ്ച ഉച്ചക്ക് ഒരു ഷോയ്‌ക്ക്‌ ഏറ്റവും പിന്നിലെ “എഡ്ജ്” റോയിൽ രണ്ടു സീറ്റ് ,സന്തോഷമായി ഗോപിയേട്ടാ.അതോടെ എന്റെ ഉള്ളിലെ ഗാംബ്ലർ ഉണർന്നു.വീണ്ടും ഓരോ ഷോയിൽ കേറി നോക്കി.ഒന്നും നടക്കാതെ തിരിച്ചു വന്നു നോക്കിയപ്പോ നേരത്തെ കണ്ട ഷോയിൽ ടിക്കറ്റ് ഒന്നും കാണുന്നില്ല.അതിന്റെ ഇടയ്ക്കു ആരോ കേറി പണിതു എന്ന് തോന്നുന്നു…പിന്നെ ഒരു ഭ്രാന്തനെ പോലെ ആരും സഞ്ചരിക്കാത്ത വഴികളിലൂടെ ഞാൻ സഞ്ചരിച്ചു…ഐ ബ്രോക്ക് ഓൾ ദി റൂൾസ് ഓഫ് കോൺവെൻഷനൽ ടിക്കറ്റ്‌ ബുക്കിംഗ്.

നോവോ ബുക്കിംഗ് പേജ് ഇടക്ക് മിസ്റബിഹേവ് ചെയാറുണ്ട് എന്ന് മുൻ അനുഭവങ്ങൾ ഉള്ളത് കൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ രണ്ടു ടിക്കറ്റിനു പകരം ഒരു ടിക്കറ്റ് നോക്കി.അപ്പൊ ദേ കിടക്കുന്നു നേരത്തെ കണ്ട രണ്ടു സീറ്റുകൾ.രണ്ടു സീറ്റിനായി ബുക്കിംഗ് ഓപ്‌ഷൻ കൊടുത്താൽ ഷോ ഫുൾ എന്നും കാണിക്കുന്നു.മലയാളീടെ അടുത്ത് കളിക്കാൻ ഒരു ബുക്കിംഗ് സൈറ്റോ എന്ന് ഞാൻ.ഓരോ ടിക്കറ്റ് ആയി ബുക്ക് ചെയ്യാൻ തീരുമാനിച്ചു ആദ്യത്തെ സീറ്റ് ബുക്ക് ചെയ്തു അടുത്തത് അടിച്ചപ്പോ നീ മൂ…ഡനായി എന്ന് സൈറ്റ് എഴുതി കാണിക്കുന്നു.ഷോ വീണ്ടും ഫുൾ.ഒറ്റക്കു പോയി കാണൽ നടക്കില്ല, ഓൺലൈൻ ക്യാൻസലിങ്ങും ,അത് കൊണ്ട് നേരിട്ടു മൾട്ടിപ്ലെക്സിൽ പോയി ബുക്കിംഗ് രണ്ടു സീറ്റ് ഉള്ള ഏതേലും ദിവസത്തെ ഷോയ്ക്കു റീഷെഡ്യൂൾ ചെയാം എന്ന് തീരുമാനിച്ചു .ബുക്ക് ചെയ്ത മോൾ നടക്കാൻ ഉള്ള ദൂരത്താണ്.ഓരോരോ പണിയേ.

സഹാറ സെന്റർ നോവോയിൽ ചെന്നപ്പോ ഡെസ്കിലെ ഫിലിപ്പിനോ പെണ്ണ് പറഞ്ഞു ക്യാന്സലേഷൻ നടക്കില്ല റീഷെഡ്യൂൾ ചെയാം എന്ന്.ലീവ് നോ സ്റ്റോൺ അൺടേൺഡ് എന്നാണല്ലോ, ആ ലാസ്‌റ് സീറ്റ് ഉണ്ടോന്നു സിസ്റ്റത്തിൽ നോക്കാൻ ഞാൻ.അതെ, ആ സീറ്റ് അവൈലബിൾ ആയിരുന്നു.ബുക്ക് ചെയ്തു മറിക്കാൻ ഞാൻ പറഞ്ഞു.വിചാരിച്ച പോലെ തന്നെ രണ്ടു സീറ്റ് , അതും ലാസ്‌റ് റോയിൽ.പേ ചെയ്തു കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ഒരു ടിക്കറ്റ് പ്രിന്റ് ചെയ്തു തന്നിട്ട് അവൾ എന്നോട് പറയുവാ ഓൺലൈൻ ബുക്ക് ചെയ്തതും പ്രിന്റ് ചെയ്യട്ടെ എന്ന് …. ഞാൻ പിന്നെ ഓക്കേ എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു.രണ്ടു ടിക്കറ്റും ഇട്ടിരുന്ന ലോ വേസ്റ്റ് ജീൻസിന്റെ ബാക്ക് പോക്കറ്റിൽ വെച്ചിട്ടു ഞാൻ തിരിച്ചു നടന്നു.മോളിൽ നിന്ന് വെളിയിൽ ഇറങ്ങി റോഡ് കടക്കാൻ ഉള്ള ഓവർപാസ്സ്‌ കേറി അപ്പുറത്തു എത്തിയപോ ഇത്ര കഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട് ടിക്കറ്റ് എടുത്ത കാര്യം ഫിറോസിനേം ശ്രീനാഥിനേയും അറിയിച്ചേക്കാം എന്ന് കരുതി മെസ്സേജ് ചെയ്‌തു.അതിനെ കുറിച്ചു ഒരു പോസ്റ്റ് ഇട്ടേക്കാം എന്നും.

ഫ്ലാറ്റിലേക്ക് തിരിച്ചു നടക്കുന്ന വഴിക്കുള്ള പുതിയതായി തുടങ്ങിയ റെസ്റ്റോറന്റിന്റെ മുന്നിൽ എത്തിയപ്പോ ഷവർമ നിന്ന് കറങ്ങുന്നു.രണ്ടെണ്ണം ഓർഡർ ചെയ്‌തു.സാധാരണ എടുക്കുന്നതിലും കൂടുതൽസമയം അവർ എടുത്തു ഇന്ന്.ഇടക്ക് വന്നു രണ്ടു സോറിയും.ഏകദേശം ഇരുപതു മിനിറ്റു കഴിഞ്ഞു ആണ് സാധനം കിട്ടിയത്.വീട്ടിലേക്കു നടക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങി ചുമ്മാ പോക്കറ്റിൽ കൈ ഇട്ടു നോക്കിയപ്പോ ടിക്കറ്റില്ല്ല! എല്ലാ പോക്കറ്റിലും തപ്പി.രക്ഷയില്ല.കഷ്ടകാലം പിടിച്ചവൻ മൊട്ട അടിച്ചപ്പോ കല്ല് മഴ എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞ പോലെ.തിരിച്ചു നടന്നപ്പോൾ ഓവർ പാസ്സ് വരെ വഴിയിൽ ഒന്നും കണ്ടില്ല.ഏതേലും മലയാളിക്കു രണ്ടു പുലി മുരുഗൻ ടിക്കറ്റ് വഴിൽ കിടന്നു കിട്ടിയാൽ ഉള്ള പ്രതികരണം എന്തായിരിക്കും ,അതിനു കാരണക്കാരൻ ഞാൻ ആണല്ലോ മുരുഗാ എന്ന ചിന്ത എന്നെ പരിഭ്രാന്തനാക്കി.ഓവർ പാസിൽ ലിഫ്റ്റ് ഞാൻ ഉപയോഗിച്ചില്ലായിരുന്നു.അത് കൊണ്ട് സ്റ്റെയർ വഴി തന്നെ തിരിച്ചു കേറി.ആദ്യത്തെ ലാൻഡിങ്ങിൽ എത്തിയപ്പോ അതെ,അതാ കിടക്കുന്നു ആ രണ്ടു ടിക്കറ്റുകൾ.കേട്ടറിവിനേക്കാൾ വലുതാണ് മുരുഗൻ എന്ന സത്യം എന്ന് ഞാൻ അനുഭവിച്ചറിഞ്ഞു.മാപ്പാക്കണം മൂപ്പാ.

Continental Drift and Cinema

They looked at the fossils to prove the continental drift theory, if people are still not convinced they could just start watching world cinema to help drive home the fact that differences in looks and outlooks notwithstanding, all of us started out from that one place, originally. Cinema is rightly called the universal language and it reminds us that the basic human condition and experience is the more or less the same, all around the world. The twitch of a brow or the curl of a lip on a Korean,Spanish,French or Iranian face on the screen stir the same emotions in audiences irrespective of their countries of origin. Cannes, Venice and Berlin have been proof enough for decades now and our own IFFK too.

The Magnificent Seven: The Review.

Few other movies have inspired filmmakers the world over the way Kurosawa’s Seven Samuari and Coppola’s The Godfather did, to come up with their own versions and continue to do so even today.Kurosawa’s timeless classic found its perfect setting in the wild west of John Sturges’s Magnificent Seven and the source material was duly credited in the titles too.

Indian film industry also had its versions, Sholay notably, though Feroz Khan had his curry western Khotey Sikkey out an year ahead where he even wore a black shirt throughout, playing the Indian Yul Brynner.The plot was revisited by Rajkumar Santoshi later in China Gate with a bunch of veteran “character actors”, as they are labelled in our cinema.It’s when you watch these versions that you realise that they are all remakes of The Magnificent Seven and have little in common with Seven Samurai, the original except for the plot.

Denzel Washington dons the black shirt in Antoine Fuqua’s version of the Seven and he even spins and holster the gun exactly the way Brynner did too, if you care to notice.The western, as a genre lost its charm a while back and it’s been over two decades since even Clint Eastwood, the quintessential American cowboy hung up his boots and moved on.Fuqua relies on the action element heavily to keep the movie afloat and he borrows more than one dialogue from the original too.

Chris Pratt is supposed to fill the shoes of Steve McQueen in this movie, one gets a feeling and when Fuqua is looking for his seven, Ethan Hawke would be an obvious choice for sure.Vincent D’Onofrio plays a hairier version of his Daredevil role here.For the sake the diversity there’s a Korean actor, none other than Byung-hun Lee playing a “Chinaman” and giving him company is an Indian warrior and a Mexican outlaw.Finding replacement for the likes of Bronson and Coburn is not an easy task, one would agree.Peter Skarsgard’s crazed violence is hardly a match for Eli Wallach’s Calvera.But It’s not everyday that you get to see Denzel drawing a quick one atop a galloping horse which was reason enough for me to go watch The Magnificent Seven, i admit.