Cinema at its very best

This week, romance is in the air, as director Anurag Basu of Murder, Gangster and the soon to be released Metro fame, turns to the classic, 1942 Oscar winning Casablanca, set in the backdrop of the World War II. It is a coveted DVD across the home movie market today. Basu is as spellbound by the film which was an immediate hit, as by Humphrey Bogart. Here's why, Basu who has seen it, along with each person he has recommended it to, joins the film fans across the globe to cheer the classic and strongly recommends it for weekend viewing.

As I grew up in a small town, Billai, part of Madhya Pradesh those days, I missed watching most of the classics. The DVD revolution has changed all of that and around six or seven years ago, I went out and purchased a whole lot of classics. Casablanca was one of them. Ever since, it is one of my favourites. Also, it is a movie which has influenced me as a director. The witty screenplay has had a lot of effect on my screenplays which is easy to see in both Murder and Gangster.

The structure of the screenplay, the way the story is told, the way each character is weaved in is what held me and has influenced my writing as well. Cinematically, the use of flashbacks has also influenced me greatly as can be seen in Murder and Gangster.

While both Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are charismatic performers, for me it was Bogart who worked the most and held me spellbound because of the way he underplays his character throughout the movie. The chemistry between the two leads, the depth of characterisation all work towards the emotional impact of the film as a whole. Of course the taut direction is critical.

The classic line, "Play it again, Sam" is as legendary as the movie. Though I also love the line, when Bogart sees Bergman enter and says, "Of all the restaurants and bars, she has to walk into mine." The love triangle holds the viewer's interest throughout the movie. It is such a simple story interestingly told. The close-up shot of Bogart at the airport where he is watching Bergman and her husband fly off, remains framed in one's mind.