Monthly Archives: October 2013

1-By Laksh, ET, Movies

‘Body Heat’: Slow poison…

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The writer-director Lawrence Kasden of  ‘Body Heat’  takes his sweet time to introduce the two main characters, specially that of Ned Racine (William Hurt), but the subsequent proceedings make it worth a wait.  The humid coastal town of Florida becomes the backdrop and the open windows in the apartments, open-air theaters, convertibles, buzzing cafeterias, smoggy roads, ringing chimes on the balconies etc convey the town’s hot n’ sultry atmosphere, which in a way mirrors the main character’s feelings.

William Hurt gives a terrific performance as the guy who internalizes all the emotions and manages a poker face for most of the time. As an audience you empathize with him very early on, and stay with him even when he pursues the path of damnation. He gives the impression of ‘what-else-can-anyone-do-when-beauty-and-love-strike-together’ and blends that helplessness and with a sense of purposefulness to great effect.

Kathleen Turner’s debut performance as Matty Walker–the temptress–compliments William Hurt’s inner feelings. When the two initially get together as two lost and lonely souls, it is this difference that side tracks audience and leads them on. As the two get to know each other and Matty becomes more emotional, Ned is his usual self and gives nothing away.

The other two important characters in the film played by Ted Danson and J.A.Preston (he played the judge in the movie ‘A few good men’ ), lend their support to act three where the cookie crumbles. Ted Danson deserves a special mention as the friend with Joie de vivre attitude, who hates when his duty has to take precedence before friendship.

Lawrence Kasden  delivers a cult film that inspired several such films that spawned quite a few B-films around this theme (Hindi film ‘Jism’ is one).  Everything about the movie is A-class including cinematography and editing.  And no words for the John Barry’s musical score, except a big WoW!

All in all, ‘Body Heat’ is a  must watch for discerning movie lovers.

Here’s an aside. Director Brian De Palma who is a big fan of Hitchcock suspense films, uses the address 1634 ‘Racine’ for Malone played by Sean Connery 🙂

 

Etc., Spirituality

The Poor Man’s Taj

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Then again, there’s little about Manjhi’s life that is ordinary. For 22 years, he spent every day single-handedly cutting a path through a mountain, a one-man public works department who managed to connect his village with the neighbouring town. Initially dismissed by fellow villagers as a madman, his relentless efforts made him a folk hero. A number of documentaries have been made about him; he has been featured on Aamir Khan’s Satyameva Jayate. Now director Ketan Mehta is planning a biopic, The Mountain Man, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, to be released later this year. “In these cynical times,” says Mehta, “this is an amazing story of the poorest of the poor achieving the impossible.”

Click here for complete article at Tehelka (http://www.tehelka.com/the-poor-mans-taj/)

Etc.

DTH readies for final assault on cable business

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Ten years after Dish TV’s entry, DTH has become a force to reckon with. With over 40 million active subscribers (as of March 2013), it has grown tenfold from just 4 million customers six years ago. And it is no longer a rural phenomenon: 60 per cent of its subscribers are in the country’s top 20 cities. Its share of the total satellite (cable and DTH) homes has gone up from 23 per cent in 2009-10 to 30 per cent now. Industry analysts say that by 2017-18, it will control over 36 per cent of the total subscriber base. That is why private equity funds like India Opportunities Fund (which has invested in Tata Sky) and a whole host of others like KKR and Bain Capital (it is in talks with Airtel DTH) are keen to invest in the sector.

The reasonwhy they are bullish is that DTH is adding over 8.5 million subscribers a year, while cable is growing at a fourth of that number. The phenomenal growth is backed by huge investments: the seven DTH operators have together put in over $4 billion to make it happen. So, what explains the magic of DTH? Obviously, the key is its high-quality signal, especially for those consumers who were used to analog TV. Also, it has provided customers the choice to see what they want rather than being at the mercy of the cable operator.

Read more at Business Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/dth-readies-for-final-assault-on-cable-business-113100101283_1.html)