Just like its not-so-unique title*, the plot of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai is not anything we haven’t seen before: a gangster film. Inspired by real-life events, the film’s plot unfolds through the eyes of police officer, Agnel Wilson (Randeep Hooda), whose failed attempts at thwarting the rise of the city’s underworld continue to gnaw at him 18 years later. He tells the story of Sultan Mirza (Ajay Devgan), a smuggler whose longtime black activities on sea routes, undying allegiance to the poor, and shrewd strategizing among his peers once earned him the reputation of the most influential and untouchable gangster around—until he took in young and ambitious newbie Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi) as part of his crew; with larger-than-life dreams and no moral compass to speak of, Shoaib’s desire to rule the entire city soon surpassed his loyalty to Sultan, threatening not only their relationship, but the entire dynamic of power in Mumbai.
Director Milan Luthria’s film has opened to mostly rave reviews that tout it as part of producer Ekta Kapoor’s triumphant comeback to Bollywood, so perhaps those of us who came away underwhelmed are missing something? Not that it’s some kind of unwatchable nightmare, but I wouldn’t go around enthusiastically espousing it to everyone I meet, either. Instead, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai lands firmly in middle ground—numerous aspects could have made it great, but eventually don't deliver to the fullest, producing a film that is just—there’s no other word for it—“meh".
For instance, Rajat Arora’s dialogue has its moments of ingenuity, especially during the blossoming romance between Sultan and his arm-toy Rehana (Kangana Raunat), but after about halfway into the film, slips into “over the top” territory—think a lot of characters entering rooms and delivering melodramatic one-liners with all the macho energy as they can muster before turning on their heels and making their exit with equal gusto. Music director Pritam puts together a number of mellow, melodious numbers; yet they are quickly forgotten due to a throbbing background score which, though apt for the genre, was used so repetitively that it ended up featuring in my dream last night.
As far as cast is concerned, Ajay Devgan is the only one who truly soars in yet another effortlessly convincing performance as head honcho Sultan; Hooda as Agnel and Emraan Hashmi as Shoaib are just adequate in their roles as the dejected police officer and aspiring don, respectively. And as gangster films typically leave little room for substantial female characters, Kangana and Prachi Desai predictably have little to do in roles that were probably only created to provide that all-important eye candy.
The film can take pride in its recreation of a decade that many younger audiences are unfamiliar with. Whether it is the nature of underworld operations or the culture and fashion inspired by Bollywood’s emerging “masala film” era, the set design, costumes, and general “look” of OUATIM provide an intriguing glimpse into 1970s Mumbai.
However, the film’s eventual downfall is its pace, which starts off steadily enough, but post-intermission seems to decelerate to a depressingly dragging tempo. The result: a product that is at least half an hour too long, filled with excessive drunken outbursts and unnecessary, incomplete side-plots.
Ultimately, Once Upon a Time…'s lengthiness and overall mediocrity hardly makes it the best tale ever told; for now, we’ll take comfort in the fact that it is just one of the inexhaustible, multitude of stories that Mumbai has to offer.
*Once Upon a Time in China. Once Upon a Time in America. Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Once Upon a Time in the West. Apparently, all the cool kids have done it.
**No joke, there’s an angry little musical refrain that showed up every. two. minutes. Those of you who have seen the film already, you have got to know what I’m talking about.
Courtesy of IndieWire
By Kim Adelman
The scene at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival. Photo by Kim Adelman.
Kicking off with an “it can only get better” rallying speech from indie film guru Ted Hope and concluding with cautionary “budget for P&A” advice from “Bass Ackwards” producer Thomas Woodrow, the Los Angeles Film Festival presented an extremely insightful marketing and distribution symposium over the weekend. Those independent filmmakers lucky enough to be one of the 200 people seated in the Grammy Museum auditorium heard innumerable words of wisdom from heavy hitters such as Jon Reiss, Peter Broderick, and Kickstarter’s Yancey Stickler. Here are ten things that particularly resonated.
1. “The world we’re living in is worse than what we’re moving forward to.” - Ted Hope
In his opening remarks, Ted Hope said people in the independent film business are still nervous about what the future landscape is going to be. But there is no reason to fear the future. We are entering the age of the artist/entrepreneur. “For the first time, we have the potential to establish a broad middle class of creative individuals who support themselves through their art, aligning and collaborating with specifically defined audiences, and not having to conform to the limited dictates of the mass marketplace and its controllers.”
Hope raced through his power point presentation, which he promised to put online at some point in the future. Two other notes from his speech:
2. “We are no longer in the business of one-offs.”
Hope clarified, “You cannot afford to rebuild the wheel with each project. Focus on the ongoing conversation with your audience. You won’t be delivering a single product anymore. You will be delivering many products in many formats in many variations.”
3. “It will be to your advantage to have a previously aggregated audience base.”
Audience building before production even begins was a key part of many speaker’s presentations. Hope’s advice was to collect 5,000 fans prior to seeking financing, then gain 500 fans per month during prep, prod, and post.
4. Re: projects raising funds on Kickstarter, “If a project reaches 25% of its goal, 92% of the time it will get funded.” - Yancey Stickler
Kickstarter cofounder Yancey Stickler rattled off stats and advice regarding how to use Kickstarter successfully to raise money. The majority of film projects using Kickstarter are documentaries and webseries. Features have a harder time raising money than documentaries because there isn’t a core group interested in the subject, so you’re selling yourself. It’s very rare that a film’s full budget is raised, most common is finishing funds. A shorter time period for raising funds is better than longer - 30 days seems optimal, with $8,000 the average amount raised for film projects.
5. “Personal experience between those who create the film and those who enjoy the film gives the viewer a history with the film and a connection.” Cory McAbee
Filmmaker/musician Cory McAbee of “The American Astronaut” and “Stringray Sam” fame skyped in to have a conversation with Jon Reiss, author of “Thinking Outside of the Box Office.” Sharing his experiences touring with his films, McAbee pointed out that filmmaker appearances are an important part of the film’s life, so make sure you have in the initial production budget “a small stipend to cover rent” for at least a year of touring your film.
Peter Broderick at the seminar. Photo by Kim Adelman.
6. “The secret to social media is storytelling” - Sean Percival
In discussing social media tools, MySpace Director of Content Socialization Sean Percival reinforced that social media is just another way of continuing your film’s narrative. “You’re telling the story of your movie - your successes, your failures, bring your characters to life… You need to adapt your knowledge of storytelling to these new platforms. Get people on the hook and keep giving them stuff that they enjoy.”
7. “In the final analysis, it’s all about audience” - Peter Broderick
Having recently spent weeks thinking about crowdfunding, consultant Peter Broderick presented his thoughts on the importance of finding audiences, reaching out to them, engaging them, and harnessing their power.
Broderick reminded us that in “old world” thinking, the audience is the last part of the equation. In the new world, the audience comes onboard very early in the process - by financing the film via crowdfunding. In the old world, there were barriers between you and your audience - filmmakers were not interacting directly with audiences. Previously, the audience was anonymous; now we know them/have their emails. In the old world, the audiences were passive. Now we must engage them. Previously they were just consumers. Now we need them to be evangelists and patrons that you can take with you to other projects.
8. “A stunt is no substitute for actual P&A” - Thomas Woodrow
When asked his best advice for filmmakers, “Bass Ackwards” producer Thomas Woodrow immediately responded, “Budget for P&A. It’s obligatory with these small films. You’ll be so much happier and you’ll insure release for a film you worked so hard on.”
9. “Film is a face-to-face business. A filmmaker is the best sales person of the film.” - Mynette Louie
Producer of “Children of Invention” Mynette Louie warned that DIY distribution will suck up a lot of your time and your other projects will be neglected.
10. “No one knows enough. You are as much the authority on how to market and distribute your film as anyone. Ask around within your community. You will find out information from your peers. Read Truly Free. Read indieWIRE.” Nolan Gallagher, Gravitas Ventures
‘Nuff said
As if we didn’t already have enough Ramayan adaptations in the world, Mani Ratnam decides to join in on the fun. Raavan, as the title unashamedly gives away, is the acclaimed director’s take on the epic, with a few plot and character twists thrown in—you know, to be “different” and all.
Known for thwarting power in favor of the poverty-stricken, tribal leader Beera Munda (Abhishek Bachchan) is revered by villagers yet resented by local authorities. Consistently evading capture and arrest, he has gradually grown to unofficially rule the small town of Lal Maati.
Enter Dev Pratap Sharma (Vikram), an accomplished and highly-respected inspector, called upon to rid Lal Maati of the roguish likes of Beera once and for all. With a few strategic attacks on Beera’s world, Dev is at his commanding best—until he learns that his own wife, Ragini (Aishwariya Rai), is the kidnapped victim of Beera’s revenge.
Led by the goofy-but-wise forest guard Sanjeevani* (Govinda—a casting choice I can only explain as a weak effort to simultaneously fulfill the need for a “Hanuman” as well as some comic relief), Dev and his band of trusty colleagues set forth into Beera’s jungle to rescue Ragini. Meanwhile, as Ragini increasingly interacts with her captor and learns of her husband’s hand in his painful past, sides of him emerge that contradict his image as a demonic villain.
I can see where Ratnam might have been going with this. Beera has been endowed with Robin Hood-like qualities and a rather tragic backstory, while it is occasionally the supposedly-heroic Dev whose intentions appear morally questionable. In so doing, Ratnam allows each of them a realistic and relatable, rather than symbolic, function. While this certainly makes for greater character dimensionality, it remains to be seen whether Indian audiences will buy these more sensitized depictions—will they accept such loose interpretations of religious figures, or resent them, arguing that because Ram and Raavan’s mere existence is to signify the battle between virtue and evil, to humanize them would defeat their purpose? Perhaps if the film hadn’t been so blatantly touted as a modern-day Ramayan, and therefore hadn’t weighed itself down with the pressure of adhering to the tropes of the original, the blurring of the lines and somewhat unresolved ending would have worked more favorably.
As for the acting, lackluster performances abound. You already know how I feel about Govinda. The others aren’t much better. Abhishek often appears to be channeling his inner Joker with manic grins and fits of psychotic rage; yet where he truly shines is during Beera’s rare betrayals of vulnerability. Aishwarya has little to do besides emit the occasional shrill shriek and feature in an oddly placed, if not completely unnecessary, song and dance number. It is entirely possible that this production was probably an excuse to get the Bachchans onscreen together again because let’s face it, they’re an unavoidable package deal now.
At 138 minutes, the film is simply too long, especially when one considers that a good half hour could have been saved just by eliminating the excessive shots of Ash peering through dew-laced lashes at her surroundings in slow motion. If you must go, go for music—the score’s unique syncopations and catchy rhythms ooze classic A.R Rahman—and stay for the cinematography. Save for the aforementioned slo-mos, Santosh Sivan puts forth a visually stunning display that not only showcases his mastery of his craft, but justifies watching the film on a big screen, assuring us that despite our misgivings about any narrative gray areas, Raavan is unmistakably a true beauty to watch.
