I am back to my preaching mode.

You must have noted in my previous posts, I have advocated against piracy. Well, now let us dig a little deeper.

Reason 1:

Quite a few people argue that reasons to resort to pirated copies of Audio, Video or Software (let us call it AVS now on for convenience sake) is because they are way too expensive.

Now it is like saying I can’t afford a Plasma TV, but I want it so what will I do? I will steal it. That’s exactly what piracy is.

Can’t afford, then you have open source for software, video rental for movies and as far as audio is concerned go for FM or Worldspace.

Reason 2:

“Want them but can’t find them where I live”. This applies mostly to the Non-Residents and is fuel for all these online music and movie download sites. I agree that all of us need entertainment but many times we might not find what we need in the countries we reside. Resolution?

• Thankfully sites like iTunes, Amazon and many other MP3 sellers now sell Indian Music.
• Quite a few websites now ship to locations abroad when you buy Music and Videos from them.
• Ask your friends who travel to get you your favorite DVD or two.
• Are any of your friends running a business? Piggy back on their business courier accounts to get music CDs etc shipped at lower costs.
• And many other ways, rather than resorting to piracy.

One or two don’t hurt any one

Everyone thinks the same, but remembers every time a download happens, somewhere someone’s earning is hit. Music/Film/Software Industry and thereby government would suffer losses in millions due to piracy.

Why bother paying when you get for free or less?

There are a few places where brand new films get sold on DVDs for as less as a £1. People buy such DVDs in bulk and watch them at home. Many others visit these online movie sites either view them online or download them. Rest get movies and music on Torrents.

Why do you think you get these for free or less? Well here’s why. Most of the money made through these illegal sales is unaccounted for or in simple terms “Black”. The websites which host free movies have lots of add as you may have noticed. The ad revenue generated by these is also used anonymously. Torrents send their kind of uninvited guests to your system to track personal information and are basically after your money.

This is the kind of money that is used by anti-social elements in ways that are not good (don’t want to use the T word) for World’s well being.

Choice

Like Morpheus says in Matrix, “I can only show you the way, it is you who has to make a choice.” (However there is only one legitimate choice here ;-p). While there are a lot of organized effort to bring down piracy, it is up to each one of us to contribute to drive this menace off.

Know more

http://www.indianmi.org/

Image Credit: IndiaSpecial

Popularity: 13%

So folks, you must be thinking what am I upto? Reviewing Satya (1998) which released about a decade ago? Well, let me clarify that I am starting this new series to write about some classic Indian hit movies. You are welcome to comment and remind us about any classics that you think our readers would love to “Re-View”. So here we start.

Satya – The Other side of the truth

The earlier caption for the movie was “Love story of a lie” which was changed later as the producers must have thought nobody perceived it as a love story . If one were to list India’s all time greatest movies, Satya would definitely find a mention in that. Talk about the narrative, technical aspects, background score, direction it scores in all segments.

Satya proved once again that script is king in a movie. With no notable stars other than Urmila Matondkar, it left an outstanding impression on the audience who wondered if they have seen a Hindi movie or something else. With a big time flop like Daud, Ramgopal Varma found a much needed come back in Satya (well it is a different matter where he is nowadays)

The Story

The story of Satya is simple, a transformation of a nondescript person into a gangster and thereafter. Satya arrives in Mumbai, happens to stumble into some goons who work for different underworld gangs. He is jailed in one of his tussle with a gangster, Jagga  and that is where he meets Bhiku Matrey. Bhiku runs a gang for Bhav Thakurdas Jhawle, a gangster turned politician. Guru Narayan, is another gangster who works for Bhav and is estranged friend of Bhiku.

Satya kills Jagga and Guru wants a revenge and attacks Satya and his gang. Bhiku assumes, Guru is after his life and plots to kill him. Bhav intervenes to calm down the situation as these could cause him trouble in upcoming election. Bhav promises Guru that he can kill Satya but should not fight Bhiku. Satya influences Bhiku to go against Bhav’s will to kill Guru and they do so a thrilling chase. While all this is happening, Satya develops a love interest in his neighbour, Vidya.

In the meanwhile a new police commissioner for Mumbai starts a clean up of underworld and starts eliminating gangsters in encounters. One of Satya’s aide gets killed in one of these and Satya persuades his gang to assassinate the commisioner and teach police a lesson.

What happens next is a exciting turn of events which lead to the culmination of the story. The penultimate 30 minutes are some exceptional piece of cinema that you would have ever witnessed in a Hindi movie.

Performances 

Each character in the movie leaves a solid impression on the minds of viewer. Every actor in the movie came up with brilliant performances, that grow on you every time you watch the movie. Cine viewers stood up and took notice of Manoj Bajpai’s performance, which created a lasting impression on everyone. Satya played by Chakravarthy described what method acting is to many of the actors in the industry. Urmila, shed her image of glamour girl and very easily slipped into a role of girl next door.

Technical aspects

Only one word, phenomenal. Sandeep Chowta’s background score gives the dark mood to the movie. Editing by Bhanodaya and Apoorva was slick. Cinematography and sound effects match Hollywood standards. Top marks to Ramgopal Varma, who was in full form and delivered this gritty, hard-hitting gangster movie which paved way for a new Genre in Hindi cinema.

Rating

****1/2

It is human tendency to believe nothing is perfect . If you think I have persuaded you enough, then go grab a DVD and watch it now! You can buy a DVD from your nearest music store or rent it on DVD rentals such as Big Flix. But don’t go hunting for this on any online movie sites. Stop Piracy!

Enjoy!

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