How good is Mukul Anand as a Director
shr...@imap1.asu.edu
I have seen a few films which have been directed by Mukul Anand.
He is touted as a very good director by our Media and a few good
filmstars who have acted in his movies like the Big B himself.
Now, the films which i have seen which have been directed by
Mukul Anand are
1)Agneepath
2)Hum
3)Khuda Gawah
I might have seen his other films the names of which i can't
remember now and it will be of help if somebody can point them out.
From what i gather after having seen this films atleast twice is that Mukul Anand leaves
no stones unturned as far as getting the technical things in his movies
correct/perfect.A few examples being
1) The goat-chasing scene in Khuda Gawah at the end of which Sridevi as
Benazir is introduced in the film. According to me, the scene was done amazingly
well and also in the whole movie the atmosphere in afghanistan was portrayed
with some very good technical realities.
2)Another scene is one in Agneepath when Amitabh is enjoying the occasion of
Ganesh Chaturthi and a song is being sung with the crowds and all, and at the same time
Danny is freed of all charges against him and the final scene in the song when the
gang members raid the beach where the Ganesh idol is being immersed. I think
the seriousness of the whole scene before and after the gangs
invade was captured pretty well with the whole crowd singing and it showed
especially on amitabh's face(which was superb).Technically, it
was amazing.
But i wonder whether all this technical glitz shown by Mukul Anand serves him any good
as far as the overall movie quality is concerned.In my opinion, all the above
movies were pretty lame in overall direction and save for Amitabh's superlative
performance in all of them especially Agneepath and Khuda Gawah would
have been total disasters.I think that what Mukul lacks as a director
foremost is a good script-sensical direction.Like in Khuda Gawah, we have
Kiran Kumar screaming on a cell phone from a mountain to Nagarjuna
which was very unbeleivable.Also, Sridevi(the young one) arrives
in India from Afghanistan and suddenly a series of events happen and finally
she is rescued by Nagarjuna but the whole series of events were pretty
confusing and ugly to watch.If only he had portrayed Kiran Kumar in a
more sensible and restrained manner, the villian character in the movie
would have had some good effect on the audience. Also, in the end as a final
resort, Amitabh comes with a sword in his hand and beats everybody who comes to
him; i found the scene to be pretty stupid.I think Mukul needs to show the events
in his film in a more organized manner and not haphazardly and if only he
could order the different scenes in his film in a more studious and artistic manner
as related to the script of the movie, his movies could have more effect.
I haven't watched Trimurti but from what i have heard it is the same story
with Mukul anand ie. good effects technical-wise but slipshod direction
angular to the script.
I would like your comments on the above and some poiints as to how Mukul
could improve as a director.
Shridhar.
r_kr...@hotmail.com
shr...@imap1.asu.edu wrote:
> I have seen a few films which have been directed by Mukul Anand.
> He is touted as a very good director by our Media and a few good
> filmstars who have acted in his movies like the Big B himself.
> Now, the films which i have seen which have been directed by
> Mukul Anand are
< rest of the article deleted for brevity >
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Good analysis of Mukul Anand as a director. IMO as a director he is
sub standard , though a superb technician. His films have a non existant
story line and it's losses it's pace after some time. Like the first half
of Hum was pretty OK , the second half was boring.
Talking about films of MA , the list is:-
(a) Some film with Suresh Obreoi. I think it had name like kanoon ...
(b) Aitbaar ( scene to scene copy of Dial M for murder)
(c) Sultanant
(d) Main Balwan
(e) Insaaf ( the come back movie of Vinod Khanaa)
(f) Maha Sangram
(g) Agni Path
(h) Hum
(i) Khuda Gawah
(j) Trimurti
I think I am missing some more films.
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Vikas Gupta
shr...@imap1.asu.edu wrote:
<snip>
: I would like your comments on the above and some poiints as to how Mukul
: could improve as a director.
: Shridhar.
to a large extent i agree too. in khuda gawah, i felt he got carried away with
putting up elaborate sets and locations. In Agneepath, which I felt was
the best of the three, he lacked continuity. In a particular scene, when
Amitabh learns that his wife is pregnant, and wants an abortion, and
confronts her, there's a lame scene to shift the focus of the film to
the village of old. What I felt in all his films is, he gets carried away
with whichever scene he is shooting, and makes things unmanageable when the
film comes to the editing table.
also, almost all his films had distinct cut-and-starts. Things go smoothly
for some time, with all the trivial things happening, and all of a sudden
all the lost characters and memories come back for the climax.
as for direction, there was one scene in Hum, which I felt was pretty stupid
on his part. Govinda and Rajneekant are in some disco bar
arm wrestling or something. In the background you can see some people
standing in the dark -- not exactly visible, but certainly discernible.
And all of a sudden one tall shadow starts walking and happens to be
Amitabh who "just came there to take his brothers back home"....
All in all, technical aspects aside, I too feel he does make things go
awry in many places. I wonder why Subhash Ghai opted for Mukul Anand
to direct Trimurti? Anyone know?
-vikas
--
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see http://www.wnx.com/~cry/
Ashok Viswanathan
> But i wonder whether all this technical glitz shown by Mukul Anand serves him any good
> as far as the overall movie quality is concerned.In my opinion, all the above
> movies were pretty lame in overall direction and save for Amitabh's superlative
> performance in all of them especially Agneepath and Khuda Gawah would
> have been total disasters.
Shridhar,
What I think is very important for a director to have in
mind, esp. in hindi-masala movies is never to digress from the main
script, I mean the continuity in the story. The point may seem
very moot and inconsequential for hindi movies but if you think about
it, was that silly dance with Neelam and Mithun required at all in
Agneepath. just an example....again the double-role of Kader-Khan in
HUM..was it to please Kader-Khan...
You could argue that you need a song-dance, some light moments etc.
etc. but it leaves the audience aghast(atleast me).
After portraying the tense and rigidness in "Vijay Chauhan-Agneepath"
("Vijay Dinanath Chauhan - pura naam") you have Mithun and Neelam's
dance. Mithun could fit that role for which he received the due
recognition too.... but that is the actor's might.
But again, was not screenplay&direction of Rajni,Deepa Sahi, Govinda,
Amitabh all well coordinated...each having his part.... his moments..
I think that is not easy to handle esp. with the towering figure of
Amitabh around...So we have both pros and cons in Mukul Anand's
direction...
I would say that Mukul Anand is great in creating the mightyness
in Vijay or Tiger....and handling so many top-stars in the same screen,
a Subhash-Ghai like quality, so he is a good director and not a lame
one - but he wants to fit in some moments in the film that maybe he
thinks is necessary and fails considerably.....
--Ashok
vax2.concordia.ca
>I have seen a few films which have been directed by Mukul Anand.
>He is touted as a very good director by our Media and a few good
>filmstars who have acted in his movies like the Big B himself.
>Now, the films which i have seen which have been directed by
>Mukul Anand are
>2)Hum
>3)Khuda Gawah
>I might have seen his other films the names of which i can't
>remember now and it will be of help if somebody can point them out.
Some of Mukal Anand's earlier films are :
AITBAAR (Raj Babbar, Dimple Kapadia, Suresh Oberoi & Danny)
a re-make of DIAL M FOR MURDER
KANOON KYA KAREAGA (Suresh Oberoi, Danny)
a re-make of CAPE FEAR
SULTANAT (Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Sridevi, Karan Kapoor, Juhi Chawla)
a big-budget film that couldn't recover its cost.
INSAAF (Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia)
Mukal Anand's first major hit and the comeback film of Vinod Khanna
that brought him back in a big way in 1987.
>From what i gather after having seen this films atleast twice is that Mukul Anand leaves
>no stones unturned as far as getting the technical things in his movies
>correct/perfect.A few examples being
>
>1) The goat-chasing scene in Khuda Gawah at the end of which Sridevi as
>Benazir is introduced in the film. According to me, the scene was done amazingly
>well and also in the whole movie the atmosphere in afghanistan was portrayed
>with some very good technical realities.
>
>2)Another scene is one in Agneepath when Amitabh is enjoying the occasion of
>Ganesh Chaturthi and a song is being sung with the crowds and all, and at the same time
>Danny is freed of all charges against him and the final scene in the song when the
>gang members raid the beach where the Ganesh idol is being immersed. I think
>the seriousness of the whole scene before and after the gangs
>invade was captured pretty well with the whole crowd singing and it showed
>especially on amitabh's face(which was superb).Technically, it
>was amazing.
Another brilliant scene in AGNEEPATH was when Neelam is kidnapped by
the rival gang and Mithun Chakraborty goes to rescue her. Mithun gives
one of his best performances in that scene as he confronts the gang leader.
The scene then cuts to Amitabh who is devastated to learn that his sister
is kidnapped. These scenes had nice camerawork blended with an amazing
music score. AGNEEPATH is perhaps the best directorial effort of Mukal
Anand.
>But i wonder whether all this technical glitz shown by Mukul Anand serves him any good
>as far as the overall movie quality is concerned.In my opinion, all the above
>movies were pretty lame in overall direction and save for Amitabh's superlative
>performance in all of them especially Agneepath and Khuda Gawah would
>have been total disasters.I think that what Mukul lacks as a director
>foremost is a good script-sensical direction.
This has always been the criticism with Mukal Anand. Everyone says that
his films have fine production values but lack in story content. It
would help if he wrote his own stories like Rajkumar Santoshi, Mehul Kumar
and Subhash Ghai.
>I haven't watched Trimurti but from what i have heard it is the same story
>with Mukul anand ie. good effects technical-wise but slipshod direction
>angular to the script.
In an interview, before TRIMURTI was released, Ghai made the criticism
that Mukal Anand lacks a good script-sense. He added that with TRIMURTI,
he is providing the best technicians; cinematographer Ashok Mehta, dance
director Saroj Khan, Dolby sound, an all-star cast with Anil Kapoor,
Jackie Shroff and Shahrukh Khan. But Subhash Ghai is to be blamed for the
film's failure because it was his re-hashed story from RAM LAKHAN, KHAL-
NAYAK etc. that was rejected by the audience.
>I would like your comments on the above and some points as to how Mukul
>could improve as a director.
>Shridhar.
Mukal Anand has to be more careful in selecting scripts since he is not
a writer himself. Despite some of his flaws, his films are better than
most of the others and are always eagerly awaited. Lets hope his forth-
coming 20 crore film DUS with Sanjay Dutt (who replaced Shahrukh Khan)
and Salman Khan has a good script. The film is supposed to be an all-
out action film with action co-ordinators from Hollywood brought in to
make the scenes more effective along with his MAD productions computerized
special-effects. Mukal Anand also added that the film is different from
previous Hindi films and strays and avoids the usual cliches.
Ashok Singh
Faez Nasrudin Kaiser
shr...@imap1.asu.edu wrote:
: I have seen a few films which have been directed by Mukul Anand.
: He is touted as a very good director by our Media and a few good
: filmstars who have acted in his movies like the Big B himself.
Overall, Mukul Anand is a sub-standard director. He is capable of putting
together some good scenes can't carry this throughout a film. Personally,
I have found his films, including the much touted "Agneepath", major
disappointments. His films seem to lack a central theme and are a
collection of glossy scenes rather than a coherent story.
I suppose the most damning indictment of his status in the industry is the
fate of his last film "Trimurti". Subhash Ghai was one person who was
willing to give him a final chance, but after the massive failure of the
film, I suppose it is back to directing ads for Mukul.
Regards,
Faez
--
Faez Kaiser nasr...@glue.umd.edu
Electrical Engineering http://www.ee.umd.edu/~nasrudin
University of Maryland at College Park
Peeyush Ranjan
shr...@imap1.asu.edu wrote:
>
> I have seen a few films which have been directed by Mukul Anand.
> He is touted as a very good director by our Media and a few good
> filmstars who have acted in his movies like the Big B himself.
> Mukul Anand are
>
> 1)Agneepath
> 2)Hum
> 3)Khuda Gawah
Wasnt Hum directed by Dinesh Gandhi??
--
- Peeyush
Thought for the mail:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are
the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with
Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether --
whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A
fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any
more about the matter than the others.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
94ikramm
shr...@imap1.asu.edu wrote:
>
> I have seen a few films which have been directed by Mukul Anand.
> He is touted as a very good director by our Media and a few good
> filmstars who have acted in his movies like the Big B himself.
> Now, the films which i have seen which have been directed by
> Mukul Anand are
>
> 1)Agneepath
> 2)Hum
> 3)Khuda Gawah
>
> remember now and it will be of help if somebody can point them out.
>
> no stones unturned as far as getting the technical things in his movies
> correct/perfect.A few examples being
>
> 1) The goat-chasing scene in Khuda Gawah at the end of which Sridevi as
> Benazir is introduced in the film. According to me, the scene was done amazingly
> well and also in the whole movie the atmosphere in afghanistan was portrayed
> with some very good technical realities.
>
> 2)Another scene is one in Agneepath when Amitabh is enjoying the occasion of
> Ganesh Chaturthi and a song is being sung with the crowds and all, and at the same time
> Danny is freed of all charges against him and the final scene in the song when the
> gang members raid the beach where the Ganesh idol is being immersed. I think
> the seriousness of the whole scene before and after the gangs
> invade was captured pretty well with the whole crowd singing and it showed
> especially on amitabh's face(which was superb).Technically, it
> was amazing.
>
> as far as the overall movie quality is concerned.In my opinion, all the above
> movies were pretty lame in overall direction and save for Amitabh's superlative
> performance in all of them especially Agneepath and Khuda Gawah would
> have been total disasters.I think that what Mukul lacks as a director
> Kiran Kumar screaming on a cell phone from a mountain to Nagarjuna
> which was very unbeleivable.Also, Sridevi(the young one) arrives
> in India from Afghanistan and suddenly a series of events happen and finally
> she is rescued by Nagarjuna but the whole series of events were pretty
> confusing and ugly to watch.If only he had portrayed Kiran Kumar in a
> more sensible and restrained manner, the villian character in the movie
> would have had some good effect on the audience. Also, in the end as a final
> resort, Amitabh comes with a sword in his hand and beats everybody who comes to
> him; i found the scene to be pretty stupid.I think Mukul needs to show the events
> in his film in a more organized manner and not haphazardly and if only he
> could order the different scenes in his film in a more studious and artistic manner
> as related to the script of the movie, his movies could have more effect.
>
> with Mukul anand ie. good effects technical-wise but slipshod direction
> angular to the script.
>
> could improve as a director.
>
have been:
1) Aitbaar
2) Khoon Ka Karz
3) Maha-Sangram
4) Insaaf (starring Vinod Khanna and Dimple)
It is nice for you to point out the faults in his films, but you're
forgetting one important thing. These films are commercial masala films
relying heavily on grandeur and exagerration like other Bollywood
flicks. Mukul, despite criticism, is an amazing director (Trimurti
nothwithstanding) and he has many fans, myself included. If you would
care to note, his film Khuda Gawah had a theatrical run in the U.S. as
'God as My Witness' and was appreciated by many American critics and
viewers. It was even included in several top ten films of the year
lists by American journalists.
Please give credit where it is due. Mukul may not be a terribly
successful director, but most of his films are better than successful
banalities like Raja, and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi.
Ali Ikram.