That Girl in YELLOW BOOTS

I changed the name of my blog from Absurd to Yellow Boots last year. This was mainly for two reasons: I loved the title of the movie (which was in the making at that time) and it was a sort of a tribute to one my my MOST favorite directors Anurag Kashyap.

I finally went for the movie yesterday, brimming with expectations. The promos had been promising and more importantly, its an Anurag Kashyap film. 15 minutes into the movie, we were introduced to the main character Ruth (played by Kalki Koechlin) and various other characters. I was patient and waiting for interesting events, plot, characters et al to unfold gradually. Next few more minutes into the movie, more characters are introduced and I was still being patient. Half of the movie was over when I started to have my doubts.

The movie falters at various levels. The wishy-washy plot coupled with loopholes deteriorated the condition of the movie. Kashyap gets some of the finest actors on screen and then throws them into a blackhole, never to be retrieved again. Come on, how can you get Piyush Mishra in the movie and give him one dialogue. How can you give a 5 seconds "special appearance" role to Rajat Kapoor. How can you make Naseeruddin Shah's character such a dispensable part to the plot. All these characters' "special appearance" seems like a mere gimmick. Its like Karan Johar using getting Kajol and Rani Mukherjee to make a special appearance in the dance numbers of all his movies! That is still alright. Those are Karan Johar movies but Kashyap doesn't really need to resort to such tactics.

Some really interesting characters emerge but they are so half baked that you feel bad for the awesome actors playing them. Two such characters are Chutiappa (a local gangster) and the massage parlor owner (Don't know her name). Some characters do zilch for the plot or the movie. One such character is the guy who appears twice to collect bribe from Kalki and we are never explained why. Altercations between Kalki and her druggie boyfriend are vague, uninteresting and forced!

On the brighter side, the movie has been shot beautifully. The cinematography is excellent. But somewhere the movie is hollow. At the risk of using a cliché, I would say it definitely lacks the soul. The final twist in the plot does nothing for the movie. Its contrived just for the sake of it. It tries to shock but it doesn't. Nowhere in the movie, the protagonist evokes any kind of emotion (except for making you really irritated with all the above mentioned reasons). She is definitely not strong or riveting as a character and as an actor, for that matter. Overall, a highly disappointed movie from Anurag Kashyap. However, I STILL am a big fan. Can't wait for his next movie.