Animation film
Directed by: John Musker & Ron Clements
Rating: ** ½
There is much to be said about innocence in art, specially in this day and age when 4-year old children gets sexually violated by their uncles(see this week’s other far more significant film Kahaani 2).
Moana celebrates the other side of darkness. It radiates a kind of infectious warmth that only an animation film , and that too one with the optimum faith in the power of love to heal and restore our broken humanism, can muster.
Moana is masterly in mustering sunshine and optimism. But it scores less resoundingly in making us believe that the ocean is actually filled with friendly creatures. We saw what the ocean do to a young girl in The Shallows.
In a giddying swirl of oceanic ecstacy Moana goes the other way. It is the story of a bright spunky pretty and pert young Polynesian girl Moana who must set off on voyage to find a demi-god who can save her island and people.
Ah, ecological preservation amidst Nature’s bounty….Well done, Disney, Well done. The film’s deeply swanky production design capturing the azure grace of the ocean and the quaint captivating bustle of a Polynesian island , thrives on stereotypical homages to the spirit of untarnished innocence.The film populates its precocity with characters who are so noble and kind-hearted, they make Nature look unnaturally bleached and natural.
The Polynesian populace is constantly singing dancing and breaking coconuts.Beyond a point you could break some too,on these vacuously blissful character’s heads. The sassy Moana’s kin seem to believe in the power of innocence to the extent that film obliterates all signs of mean-spiritedness from the oceanic universe.
As Moana journeys into the sea she has for company the “demi God” Maui. The obese giant’s character, though powered by Dwayne Johnson’s swaggering self-deprecating machismo, is defeated by its lack of dignity .
No, you really can’t have a ‘demi God’ who behaves like a dummy God, cracking awful jokes, talking to his multi-tattoos(yes Maui has an ongoing conversation with his body imprints, try that for self-obsession) getting into unheroic situations with enemies in the water who surge forth with the fury of high-powered animation effects, and banters with Moana .
The quip-controlled conversations between the two unlikely co-voyagers as they sail to Tahiti brims with a dimestore wisdom and a designer gusto that would impress those who believe Disney is the domain of fortune-cookie wisdom and electioneering humour.
Some sections of the global viewership would probably love Moana’s domineering attitude towards the godly hulk as the sail together. She treats the bulky Maui with a mixture of childlike infection and a collateral contempt. This barrage of at-sea banter is engaging for starters. But soon gets tiresome as you realize that the co-directors are merely holding back the inevitable finale where family values and ecological equilibrium are magically restored.
This is a film that is constantly looking for approval.
We can all applaud the film’s dazzling display of oceanic spectacle, and the voiced lucidity of Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho (who speaks for Moana). But we’ve seen it all too many times in Hindi films—the singing, dancing, family partings and reunions,even the bonding with the grandmother —to be impressed beyond a point.
Yes, the one thing that I was truly impressed by was the frequent bursts into lip-sync songs.There is some spirited singing by Louise Bush.It’s a Bollywood tradition tragically on the wane in Hindi cinema. Funny, how we love bouts of Bollywood in American cinema even as our own cinema rejects all Bollywood tradition for a more European and American approach to singing and other dramatic devices .
Moana is a well-intended captivatingly crafted animation film with impeccable spatial harmony .What it lacks is a darker edge to underpin the eye-blazing sunshine that sweeps across the film. Imagine if in real life a young beautiful girl was really thrown into the ocean with a man who resembles a Sumo wrestler and behaves like a fidgety mentally unbalanced primitive cave-man from the stone age who has just discovered that those balloons he has been blowing are actually condoms.

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Why On Earth Is Sushmita Sen Smoking A Cigar In Aarya’s First Look?

Season 3 of Aarya is being shot as you read this, and naturally Sushmita Sen is super-kicked about it, so kicked that she has put out a video where she is seen in the best Lady Boss version of herself.
Alarmingly, she is seen puffing away at a cigar, to complete her Badass Lady Boss image.
There was a time when women smoking cigarettes in Hindi cinema signaled vampishness. If a female actor was shown smoking it meant she had evil designs over the hero, and life in general.
Sushmita being Sushmita, a cigarette won’t do. A cigar it is, to go with her formidable image. The last Bollywood actor I saw smoking a cigar on screen was Premnath in the 1970s. Back then so many people didn’t die of cancer by smoking.
These are different far more dangerous and deadly times.
Sushmita is an iconic actor.She needs to be more careful about the image she projects . Smoking a cigar doesn’t enhance a woman’s(or a man’s) muscle power. Nor does it make her look cool.
About shooting for the third season of Aarya Sushmita says, “Aarya is synonymous with my name. I have lived as Aarya for two whole seasons and the love received by the audiences has only encouraged me to do more. Walking on the sets of Aarya Season 3 makes me feel at home and gives me a sense of empowerment. I’m grateful to the entire team at Disney+ Hotstar, Ram Madhvani Films and Endemol Shine India for the vision of creating Aarya and taking it to newer heights with every season.”
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Shah Rukh, Deepika, John Will Meet The Media On Monday At 4 pm(But There’s A Catch)

Pathaan has effectually discredited the efficacy of media interactions to promote a film. The film’s lead actors Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham did not conduct any press or portal interviews to promote the film.
And yet Pathaan is a blockbuster.
This weekend the Pathaan producer Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films took a call on behalf of the Pathaan team to do one media meet at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai on Monday January 30 at 4 pm.
The three principal actors and director Siddharth Malhotra will address the media.
But here’s the catch: the media will not be allowed to ask any questions. There will be no Q& A s or one-on-one interactions.This basically means that the Pathaan team will have an opportunity to say what it wants to the media. But the media will have no say.
Make what you will of this one-way traffic.
A source close to Yash Raj informs me that this is the pattern regarding the media that Yash Raj will follow for future releases: no press meets no promotional engagements.
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Fake Projects of Pathaan Director Being Planted In Media

Siddharth Anand Denies Considering Any Project With Deepak Mukut
A word of caution to those marketing and publicity wizkids who think it’s okay to plant fake stories on (fake) projects with the Pathaan director.
It is not.
Such baseless announcements are meant only to raise the equity of the producers with whom Siddharth Anand’s name is linked. One such producer whose name has cropped up after the spectacular success of Pathaan is Deepak Mukut.
There were reports everywhere that Siddharth Anand’s next would be with Mukut.
Turned out to be a false rumour.
A source in the know informs, “Siddharth now has to complete Fighter starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone for Yash Raj.Then he is committed to direct the sequel to War 2 for Yash Raj films. They will then start work on the next film in the Pathaan franchise. There is no scope or room for any outside projects for Siddharth Anand. So every announcement that you read of a new film to be directed by Siddharth Anand for an outside producer is likely to be a hundred percent fake.”
When I asked Siddharth Anand about the supposed project with producer Deepak Mukut he promptly replied, “NOT AT ALL.”
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Pink Director’s Next Featuring Yami As A Crime Reporter To Stream From February 16

Anniruddha Roy Chowdhury whose Pink featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu was one of the most important films of 2016, is all set to release his next Hindi film.
Entitled Lost, Anniruddha’s film , based on true events, will see Yami Gautam Dhar(that’s what the actress calls herself after her marriage) as a crime journalist. LOST is an emotional social thriller that represents a higher quest, a search for lost values of empathy and integrity.
Inspired by true events, Lost is a story of a bright young woman crime reporter in her relentless search for the truth behind the sudden disappearance of a young theatre activist.

Lost
Says Aniruddha “The shoot of LOST has been an incredible journey. I have been eager for the release of our hard-worked venture. The film is a realistic highlight of media in a social context and I am sure that it will give the audience a compelling watch. I am curious about its release and see the responses it shall get. I hope they will welcome it with open hearts.”
Yami Gautam Dhar who plays the lead of the crime reporter says, “I can’t be happier and more proud of the film’s selection for the opening night at CSAFF. I feel like its one that the people will connect to and will be the one that you cannot miss, especially in the current age and time. I have loved playing this role because it was such a special experience, it allowed me to explore so many layers of emotions as an actor and the entire team has worked really hard on it. I genuinely cannot wait for the film’s release, especially to see the reactions of the audience to it.”
The crime investigation drama boasts a stellar cast. Along with Yami, the film will feature Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and an ensemble of younger talent, including Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpai, and Tushar Pandey, in pivotal roles.
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