His performance in Shahid floored me. Keaton's characters desire acceptance, recognition, romance and stature in the real world, and try to adapt to conditions; Chaplin's characters are perpetual outsiders who rigidly repeat the same strategies and reactions often the gags come from how inappropriately the Tramp behaves. We have all seen bad times, the degree might vary. Their intention of doing what they do remains untarnished by the outside world. Deepak Singh Rao comes to Mumbai from Rajasthan with his wife Rakhi Patralekhaa and daughter Mahi. So we have good well written songs, long emotional sequences, tense revolting scenes featuring the underdog and bedroom insertions too as usual. When press kept questioning about the lead actress, the filmmakers dismissed the question.
There are only two actors from the current crop who I yearn to watch on screen. Citylights is an official adaptation of British film Metro Manila - a fact reiterated six times during the opening credits. Steady, affecting and heart-wrenching, hers is a performance that merits unstinted applause. Patraleka's Rakhi is an excellent counterbalance. Watch this Amazing Video from City Lights. I have seldom heard such cheering.
Advertisement Chaplin and Keaton are the giants of silent comedy, and in recent years the pendulum of fashion has swung between them. There is a supporting actor called Manav Kaul. Quite a rarity from the Bhatt banner. Then the senior blackmails him saying that a previously stolen box is currently kept in Deepak's house. I think I shouldn't have gotten up from the floor, because he does it yet again. It is our boogeyman - that thing in the closet waiting for us if we stop moving. In articulating the aspirations and disappointments of the two protagonists, Mehta does not resort to gratuitous melodrama.
If not for Rajkummar and Patralekha, I would have said he steals the show from them. Deepak Singh played by Rajkummar, leaves his village in Rajasthan and moves to Mumbai. I would personally urge them to continue this feat and deliver some more of this cinematic brilliance. Possibly make it an annual thing. Patralekha shines in her debut performance.
He is ably supported by debutante Patralekhaa, who does not allow her lack of experience in this league to get in the way at any point. Alongside, the cinematography is wonderful. His wife meets an escort working at a night bar who provides them an unconstructed flat for time being and convinces her to be a bar dancer till Deepak becomes stable. The film was presented by in association with and. This is both a strength and drawback for this remarkable film. CityLights is based on the life of a farmer in Rajasthan who comes to the City of Mumbai with his wife and daughter in hope of a better life.
If ever anyone asks her if she can act, she could simply show that particular scene and walk away in slow motion. He is aware of the reality but he tells stories about characters we want to root for. Advertisement Chaplin and the other silent filmmakers knew no national boundaries. There is a lot of mumbling chatter around realistic cinema. That's what makes his relationship with the flower girl so poignant; does she accept and treasure him only because she can't see what he looks like? An interview scene recalls Satyajit Ray's Pratidwandi while Citylights seems to acknowledge other masterful takes, from Dibakar Banerjee to Madhur Bhandarkar, on life in India's toughest town. After Rajkummar Rao and Hansal Mehta made Shahid, which happened to be my second favorite film of 2013, they deliver another winner. But what annoys you is the over-polished presentation of the subject wherein neither the poverty makes you feel for the couple nor the city comes out as a cruel part of the film like a major character.
Rakhi and Mahi return to the village with Rakhi lost in memory of Deepak and their happy past. The pace returns with the dance-bar scene and when the male protagonist manages to find a job in a security firm along with a great song. His shabby appearance sets him apart and cues people to avoid and stereotype him; a tramp is not. Among the supporting actors, Manav Kaul stands tall as the male protagonist? However sadly the post intermission film disappoints mostly due to its various downers such as a few deliberately added songs, a long avoidable but well-acted dramatic scene, a heist scheme mystery revealed too early, the missing logic in the proceedings, a lifeless background score, all seen before feel and a muddled unexciting climax with many sudden twists ruining the overall impact of its exceptional performances. Advertisement There was perfect logic here: Speech was not how the Tramp really expressed himself.
Both filmmakers based their work on their fictional personalities, but took opposite approaches. Yet, some riders are necessary. They may not be heroes beating up the villain and taking away the bride but they are heroic in everything they do. Hope dies quickly in the city as the harsh daily grind to make ends meet hits the young family hard, compelling the couple to resort to desperate measures. They are not just a work, but a place. Keaton's movements are smooth and effortless; Chaplin's odd little lopsided gait looks almost arthritic.