|
||
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Astrology
Chat
Cityscape
Classifieds
Entertainment
Health
Matrimonial |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cast: Shweta Prasad (Chunni and Munni), Alaap (Mughal-e-Aazam), Shabana Azmi (Makdee Chudail), Makarand Deshpande (Kallu) Direction: Vishal Bhardwaj Music: Vishal Bhardwaj Lyrics: Gulzar Story:
The movie begins with a scene in which Kallu (Makarand Deshpande) the village butcher chases a boy who was stealing his hens. The other villagers join the chase. The chase ends when the boy enters the eerie house in which a chudail (witch, played by Shabana Azmi) lives. The villagers entreat the boy to come out. The boy does not listen and enters the house. He is trapped there by the witch and turned into an animal. The villagers are shocked. The policemen are afraid to enter the house themselves despite the entreaties of the villagers. Thereafter, there are some funny and typical village scenes, including the ones in the village school. The school teacher always tells the students that there is a scientific explanation for all superstitions including witches and ghosts. Of course, no one believes him. One day, due to a prank of Chunni, Munni is chased by Kallu and she ends up entering the house of the witch. Chunni, when hearing about this, entreats the villagers to help her (her father has gone away for a few days). No one believes her (the cry wolf syndrome) and she summons up courage to enter the house alone. She encounters the witch who tells her that she has changed Munni into a hen. She demands a hen every day for 100 days because she has been hungry for 100 years. The school teacher volunteers to go into the house but he too disappears and the witch tells Chunni that she has changed him into a dog. How Chunni, with the help of Mughal-e-Aazam and finally Kallu himself, rescues the missing children including Munni and also the school teacher and proves that the witch is not really a witch is the rest of the story. Meeting Shweta:
When I asked her whether she was scared seeing Shabana Azmi as a witch, she said she had seen Shabana Aunty while the make up was being applied on her and she didn't get scared. She enjoyed making the movie though and looked very thrilled about the adulation she was receiving. Awards and nominations: Makdee won the second best Film award in the Live-Action Feature Film or Video category at Chicago International Film Festival, the junior academy awards really. It was also nominated at the renowned Lucas 2002 International Children's Film Festival, at the Cairo Film Festival, the and Roshd -- the International Children’s Film Festival held at Tehran. Review:
Makdee is a very worthwhile and creditable effort of Vishal Bhardwaj. Vishal is the man who gave us that lilting music in "Maachis". His first major feature film (he had made a couple of short video films earlier) has already won him accolades and made waves across the world. What a debut! The first thing you will love about Makdee is its length. Just 88 minutes. It is the right time-frame for a movie of this kind, in fact for movies of most kind. Unless they are classics like "Ben Hur" or "Titanic". Or terrific films like "Lord of the Rings" or "Harry Potter". The first ten minutes scared me. The camera work was jerky and the acting a little contrived. Very quickly, however, the film picked itself up from the borderline of obscurity and transformed into a very entertaining movie with excellent performances, great music and some very good camera work. Shweta Prasad (Chunni and Munni) is outstanding. She excels in her role as the naughty prankster Chunni. As Munni she does not have much to do. She goes through her frames with great aplomb and assurance. Of course, due to commercial trappings, the movie was advertised in India with Shabana Azmi getting top billing. Shweta is already beginning to get recognized round the country, neigh, the world though. She has a tremendous sense of fun and her flair for comedy is already visible at her young age. Great potential. Shabana Azmi as Makdee the Witch simply did not get the opportunity in this film that her great talent deserves. Shabana has delivered some of the greatest performances in Indian films. In Makdee, however, her role is limited and she has to hide behind that hideous make-up throughout the movie. Yet, only she could have carried off that role so well. Most actresses would have plunged that role into silliness and buffoonery. Makarand Deshpande as Kallu, the village butcher has in fact got a meatier role and done a marvellous job of it. His incessant battles against Chunni and his own adopted kid, Alaap (as Mughal-e-Aazam) are hilarious and he never descends to stupid silliness either.
The two cops were the only sore points in this movie that otherwise had outstanding performances (including the school teacher). They were the typical Indian movie cops, buffoons and stupid. Vishal Bhardwaj has produced good music and the main song is still ringing in my ears. The lyrics are by that great master, Gulzar. A wonderful, feel-good film, specially made for children, at last. A must see. Final Score: Three out of four stars.
Sameer Khanwalker
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
Chunni and Munni (twin sisters played by Shweta) are living in a small village. Chunni is a typical naughty kid, playing pranks on everyone in the village while Munni is the honest and calm girl. 
I was pleasantly surprised to see the heroine of the movie, Shweta Prasad come to the movie herself at Fame Adlabs in Mumbai (a great cinema house no doubt, but a very public place in the end) with her parents. She turned out to be a very very down-to-earth girl. In fact, people didn't seem to recognize her until I went up and congratulated and spoke to her. Thereafter she was surrounded by the kids and she was very cool. She spoke to all of them, very gracefully accepted their kudos and didn't display any hang-ups or haughtiness. 
Just when I was lamenting about the total apathy of the Indian film industry towards children, along comes Makdee. Like I have said before, it is the exceptions that keep the Indian film industry alive.
