Once in a rare blue moon, kabhie kabhie… Indian movie buffs get a chance to revel and rejoice in a truly brilliant all encompassing cinematic experience so brilliant that it takes your breath away. Reams and reams have been written about ‘Piku’, ‘Gabbar’ and ‘Bombay Velvet’ and how they are the best films of 2015. But its time everyone in Bollywood goes and watches George Miller’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’! Made at a whopping USD 140 million (Rs. 840 crore plus), it has already crossed the Rs. 1,000 crore mark in box office collections just in America.
A truly exceptional film, the experience of watching ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ made us realize what some old Indian movie buffs must have experienced when they first saw ‘Sholay’. And like what happened then, word of mouth will spread far and wide and make everyone want to watch this film again and again. And the similarities are compelling. The chases and action sequences make the viewer part and parcel of the proceedings.
For two hours plus, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ rivets you to your seat gasping for more. An extremely focused action film, it just doesn’t stray from what it starts off with. Action is reduced to an art form (ballet-like visual aesthetics in action) or perhaps the most creative expressions ever seen on the big screen. The kind of action sequences seen in the film is what will eventually acquire ‘cult’ status. It is a cinematic embodiment of the Ms in Tantra – Mithya (anger), Maasa (flesh), Mithuna (sex), Madira (addiction), Metal Music and Madness galore. And this deep-rooted premise will have the audiences across the world begging for more!
In the midst of intense action, there is a magnificent undercurrent of social messages that are so subtly delivered that one can actually miss them. Human beings are destroying natural resources and will eventually lose all greenery to the desert. Drinking water is so scarce that it should be preserved very carefully. Nature is always stronger than humans and will overcome them in time. Love need not be expressed but it can be felt straight through the heart without any need to express it boisterously. When true love happens, you don’t need to capture it and preserve it for ever – you can let go of it and the love will still remain. Love is relative. Treating mortals as immortals and elevating them to deities will lead to nowhere but disillusionment. The claims of going to heaven or Nirvana as promised by religious or spiritual leaders is a myth. And as Charlize Theron discovered, there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – and when one realises that there is nothing at the destination, one has to come back to one’s Karmabhoomi and fight ones battles. Underdogs always get a chance to rebound and fell the mighty giants. You cannot run away from your past nightmares – they keep coming back with insights and intuition to help you move forward.
The main protagonist Furiosa (heroine) of the film Charlize Theron is shown as having only one hand. She is deglamourized to the core and surrounded by a bevy of genetically superior younger breeding beauties. Yet she towers above all of them in terms of sex appeal. She towers over the men too in her quest to escape from being the prisoners that evil men have made out of women. Women too can be underdogs. Beauties can also have brains and can garner up their instincts to survive in not so ideal or perfect situations. She displays terrific leadership skills.
Tom Hardy’s Max adds another feather to his cap of illustrious characters (remember Bain from Batman). Max is truly the man of 2015 as he respects women and treats them as equals. And Hardy shows that he can act from his heart and showcase his emotions brilliantly without saying a word. He displays terrific leadership skills and is not afraid to lead from the front when the chips are down.
This film elevates you to experience the divine. And makes you realize that the garbage that Bollywood has been feeding us is demoniac! Hats off to 70-year old George Miller – you have created an absolute masterpiece and created your footprints on the sands of time. You have shown that mayhem can also be precise and razor-sharp. This indeed is the best film of 2015 and perhaps in a long long time…