Monday, March 19, 2012

Murder by criticism

Okay, this is completely random and inconsequential, but it’s been interfering with my sleep for over a week now – so I thought I’d put it up here and get it over with.

Exhibit 1: Bob Biswas, the cuddly hitman from Kahaani






Exhibit 2: the young Roger Ebert





24 comments:

  1. I have taken the liberty of tweeting the link to Roger... Hope you won't mind. :P

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  2. Hehe, that's spot on, and adds to Ebert's reputation.

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  3. Isn't 'Murder by Criticism' a misnomer? I thought it should be something like "Strange Co-incidence"?

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  4. The two Biswas photos here aren't completely representative though...you probably need to have seen Kahaani to really get the reference. It first hit me when I saw him in that creepy stairway scene, just before he kills Agnes.

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  5. I was thinking that I've seen this man somewhere from the time I spotted him on the screen. Thanks for pointing it out.

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  6. ha ha... this one's very funny. since someone said they have tweeted to the great man himself, im waiting to see what he says on the matter. will he be encouraged to watch the film, you think?

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  7. Thanks for sharing this. I have not laughed this hard in two days! :) Hope you had a good night's sleep!

    Bob Biswas had earlier reminded me of Jatin Kanakia from Shrimaan Shrimati.

    And if I may allow my imagination to wander, Arnav Goswami in a few years might just look like Bob Biswas.

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  8. H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S

    Now I am waiting for "Murder by Criticism" 2 , wherein someone comes up with a similar representation on you , finding a hitman/spirit/murderer/zombie/Godzilla... who is just like you :D.
    (Now I need to stop commenting any further and get back to my work!)

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  9. Prashila: I've been told I have an uncanny resemblance to Michael Myers, the dashing lad from the Halloween franchise - especially when he has his mask on.

    Arnav Goswami in a few years might just look like Bob Biswas.

    This may be the single most terrifying thought ever to have been expressed on the Internet.

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  10. Anyone remembers Hulohot from Dan Brown's Digital Fortress?

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  11. Hilarious! actually quite ingenious on your part to draw out a parallel. I had also thought that Bob Biswas resembles someone. In my case I thought he resembles some DD newscaster from the times gone by. (Bored, sleepy most of the times)

    On another note Roger Ebert rarely murders any movie by criticism unless its really trashy. I like his approach of writing a review with many open questions. His reviews can challenge his readers to introspect and arrive at their own conclusions.

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  12. Shwet: nothing ingenious about it - it was the first thing that occurred to me when I saw Bob Biswas on screen.

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  13. The young Roger Ebert also resembles Rajesh Kumar - who played Roshesh Sarabhai - and Cody Kasch who played Zach Young in Desperate Housewives (rather, they resemble him).

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  14. LOL!! They both look equally creepy :-)

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  15. Also, check out Jatin Kanakia, the great comedian.

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  16. I'm just impressed with the impact 'Kahani' seems to have made across India and people's minds so that we're all still thinking/discussing it still. I wonder if any other movie has inspired 2 blogs ( apart from the obvious classics, of course). And it's given a fresh impetus to Rabindranath Tagore as well - hope someone from Penguin is listening..

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  17. On another note Roger Ebert rarely murders any movie by criticism unless its really trashy

    I used to like him at one point. But I've been annoyed many times since. His review of Shadow of a Doubt is one of the most disappointing I've ever read. I'm not sure he appreciates termite art enough.

    And ofcourse there is his latter-day claim that a masterpiece like Rebel without a Cause is dated!!! Just goes to show he is not a fan of movies that are cheesy on the surface but are extremely complex and thought-provoking if one bothers to delve into the surface.

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  18. By the way, this Biswas chap you've shown bears a greater resemblance to a young Peter Lorre than Roger Ebert!

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  19. As Shrikanth said, I thought of M immediately when I saw Bob Biswas... Peter Lorre, it is!

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  20. Shrikanth: the glasses are a big part of it, so - no. Though I concede that in his last scene when he's running scared, Biswas is in a situation similar to Lorre's murderer.

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  21. @Jai Another doppelganger of Bob Bishwas http://econ.la.psu.edu/people/biographies/chatterjee_bio.shtml

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  22. On a different note, I like the use of a (moto) RAZR by Mr. Biswas. An IPhone/GTAB user would hardly look menacing/convincing ;)

    -- an ardent RAZR fan

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  23. Maybe slightly irrelevant, but I suppose I should post this: http://ovshake.blogspot.in/2012/03/making.html

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