Good Night Good Morning (2010)

Waste of time

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

*ALL good reviews which you have ssen on Top are written by Sudish himself and he accepted that in one article at IBN*True review:Director Susdish Kamath should stop making Plagiarized movies,wonder such films must be banned,awful direction i think this man doesn't know anything about making movies bad looking actors n that guy sen is worst ever.if someone from the film is reading it please stop making such stupid films.such films are embarrassment for India.our cinema is reaching new heights but you are making fun of it.awful movie i want my money and time back..worst is also a good in front of this movie. some of the guys in this movie write movie reviews this movie shows creativity of your mind..please stop writing reviews now and die in shame somewhere you have no right to cheat actors,Indian audience.actually cant rate less than 1 otherwise 0/10 will be justice to this movie.

Making rounds of several national plus International film festivals, Sudhish Kamath's (co- written with Shilpa Rathnam) Good Night | Good Morning is an independent film about an all- night phone call between two strangers. Sudhish, an expert movie critic; fabulous host on a chat show (Hands up), goes behind the camera for the second time, with this 80 odd-minutes film. New Years Eve in New York City, Turiya (Manu Narayan), out at a pub with his bunch of boys JC (Raja Sen), Hussein (Vasanth Santosham) plus another inebriated guy (though I'm unsure why he was needed) spot an unaccompanied Moira (Seema Rahmani). Even though the group is shunned by Moira when they approach her at the pub; upon leaving the place, Turiya (who is road-travelling with his lads) calls Moira (who is back at her hotel room). What starts as smart talk between strangers soon turns into a candid tête-à-tête about love, relationships, life and the fancy things that go with it.The lead pair does an exceptionally competent job of enacting their director's vision to the 'T'. They are compelling, maintain consistent body languages and exude great screen presence to reach out to the audiences. Even though the characters are merely connected over phone, their chemistry shines throughout. It takes lesser time for the audience to be charmed by the duo, than it does for them to eventually fall for each other. Manu's 'Turiya' is the quintessential urbane boy - tries to say the right things, is dumbfounded when he quite often has his foot-in-his-mouth moments and turns to pals endlessly for prompts on the trickier questions. He constantly finds himself swinging between safe humor and measured clever talk, ensuring he maintains the right balance to impress (or rather not offend) the girl. Seema's 'Moira' is so relatable that I kept thinking this is EXACTLY what I would have said/done. She's confident but vulnerable, liberal but conformist. She wants to trust the guy, but remains guarded; slams him the first time he tries to make small-talk as a stranger, but almost instantly calls him back probably realizing he isn't a creep with weird fetish. Holds onto her identity, weighs her words, and flirts cautiously so as to not be perceived as easy. She goes through the same emotional roller-coaster that most of us single, new-age feminists do, secretly craving attention but being wary of any guy approaching us, thinking he is a chauvinist just like the rest, which (I quote from HITCH) "life experiences has taught, is a virtual certainty". The cameos are excellent as screen fillers, but sadly the quirks and one- liners are comparatively disappointing.Sudhish had me bowled over at the opening credits when he decided to use jazz music score, it served the perfect momentum for the rest of the film. Without getting into much technical details, black & white scheme works perfectly to lend an old-world mystique of romances, split screen technique of showing Turiya's and Moira's settings is apt as it ensures we get to simultaneously see the reactions of both characters to a particular situation. Bingo!The screenplay is the undisputed USP of the film. It's the usual boy-meets-girl premise but with an expertly drafted account of the varied stages of a relationship. Minute scene detailing, its backdrops, have been wonderfully thought about. My favorite bit about the movie is that it consciously restrains itself from resorting to clichés. Eg: Despite Moira's failed past, it does not put her off men completely. Even though she says she doesn't believe in love, she isn't averse to the feeling or the possibility that she could fall in love someday. When she professes that she's optimistic, makers give us reason to believe her. Another major comfort is the unabashed individuality the film maintains, taking us far away from Bollywood's brain- dead romances in which oversmart-confused boy is right, but secure-levelheaded girl is proved wrong. Apart from being delightfully entertaining, the film encourages to think - about new beginnings, 'the end', commitments, re-bound, holding up and letting go, forgiving, forgetting, the 'happily-ever-after'. In short, there is a little bit for everyone.Reason 3 (and the most important) that made me fall in love with GNGM are the dialogues. For me personally, the headiest stimulant there ever can be, is being part of a witty, sharp conversation. GNGM gets full marks for not only keeping it absolutely real, but more so for never letting it slip away. The dialogues hold true to the vocabulary of the day, are supremely effective because they never come across as scripted, rather flow on naturally. Background score fills in nicely without being distractive, cinematography in general but in specific opening credits which briefly familiarizes trademark New York, is impressive.Very few times do we come across a cinema that consumes you in a way that you're delighted, awed and indulged in a single shot. GN|GM is the very kind of cinema that tugs the heart for its earnest intentions and unadulterated cinematic treat. I found myself watching and re-watching some splendid scenes, from the initial awkwardness, subdued seductions, and unspoken confessions. It all feels wonderfully real that I am almost tempted to pick up the phone and have one such rendezvous of my own. Clocking at close to 77mins, Good Night | Good Morning successfully brings alive on celluloid one of my favorite sayings, 'If you won't let go of old memories, there won't be room for new ones'. For those who haven't had a chance to watch it yet, make sure you do not miss this one. Highly Recommended. - Pooja Rao, Bollyspice

I've always had a soft spot for Richard Linklater, one of the few Hollywood directors who makes talky films. You might assume I'm talking about Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset, which are the most overtly talkative of the bunch. But Linklater has always been fascinated by words and their possibilities, from the rambling monologues of his breakthrough feature Slacker to the stoned, proud declarations by the teens in Dazed and Confused. Time and time again, Linklater gives his characters enough time to ramble, realise they're rambling and steer the conversation back to safer ground (though some of them just go on talking).This freedom to not make sense all the time lends Good Night Good Morning, which recently showed at the Habitat Film Festival, a bracing authenticity that's perfectly in line with its subject matter. It's been directed by Sudhish Kamath, and stars Manu Narayan as Turiya (The Love Guru) and Seema Rahmani, whom some may remember rising above average material in The Loins of Punjab, as Moira. The movie name-drops Before Sunrise early on and it soon becomes clear why: the movie is an extended conversation (on phone) between two almost strangers. It beings with Turiya drunk-dialing Moira from a car; he'd met her briefly at a party in NYC a couple of hours ago. She hangs up on him, then realises she can't sleep and calls him back. You could argue that stuff like this don't happen in real life. Or you could recall the times similar things have happened and you've said "Man, this is just like in the movies…"Turiya and Moira proceed to talk the night away. They flirt, discuss their past loves, their mistakes and future plans. Since it's their first meeting, there's also an inevitable sizing up, followed by a subtle, ever-present struggle for the upper hand. The great triumph is in the way Kamath ensures that their lines never sound like a movie conversation. These two don't have the nonchalance to look act when they say something witty – instead, they do what normal people do, and look extremely pleased with themselves. It takes great skill to write something that sounds this off-the-cuff. Too clever, and the viewer beings to question the likelihood of two strangers spitting out one-liner after one-liner at three in the morning; go too far in the other direction, and it becomes commonplace, and not worth watching. Kamath told the Habitat audience that when the movie was being scripted, he's asked his friends to do what Turiya does – dial a stranger and speak to them. He said that what they spoke didn't turn out to be important as the way their conversations unfolded, jumping from one topic to another. The dialogue in Good Night Good Morning has this same quality of leaping without looking. It's that rare screenplay which sounds like it's unscripted.The movie's shot in black and white, though I'm not sure I can see a reason why (I can't see a reason why not, either). The leads had to be charming for it to work, and they are, Narayan with his timid overtures, Rahmani playfully knowing. The only off-note is Raja Sen as Turiya's crass buddy J.C., providing comic relief in a film that doesn't require it. The film is split- screen almost throughout, except for the flashback sequences (absent from the MAMI screening, but wisely inserted back). The actors in these sequences are always Narayan and Rahmani, no matters who the characters in question are. You could argue that the director uses this as a device to garner easy laughs. It's also possible that this is his way of indicating how potential loves always have to measure up to past ones in the beginning. In the same vein, I must return again to the reference made in the movie to Before Sunrise. Once that title was out there, it would always be a question – maybe in the back of people's minds, but there nonetheless – of whether Good Morning Good Night would measure up to it. I'm happy to say it does. - By A Fan Apart

"To call Good Night | Good Morning good cinema is understatement; it's beyond good… It's original, engrossing and entertaining. But what it does most is make you think. You find yourself pondering over old relationships, realizing the need to forgo and let go and more than anything, GN|GM reinforces your faith in love… it's a conversation you'll never forget," Roshni Mulchandani, BollySpice, wrote in her review of Good Night | Good Morning after the New York screening."Very few times do we come across a cinema that consumes you in a way that you're delighted, awed and indulged in a single shot. GN|GM is the very kind of cinema that tugs the heart for its earnest intentions and unadulterated cinematic treat. I found myself watching and re-watching some splendid scenes, from the initial awkwardness, subdued seductions, and unspoken confessions. It all feels wonderfully real that I am almost tempted to pick up the phone and have one such rendezvous of my own," Pooja Rao, BollySpice, wrote in her review of Good Night | Good Morning after the Delhi screening."Special mention to Sudhish Kamath's 'Good Night | Good Morning' which is in the 'Before Sunrise' space. The script by Kamath and Shilpa Rathnam is mint fresh with some great dialogues.," Harneet Singh, Indian Express, wrote in her review of the Mumbai Film Festival that played over 200 films over a span of a week between October 21 and 28. "Good Night Good Morning is lovely. Good mood, sharp lines, super acting and that jazz," she had also tweeted after the screening."The standout Indian efforts were Srinivas Sunderrajan's The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project, a film on filmmaking, made on Rs 40,000; Sudhish Kamath's Good Night, Good Morning, a romantic film about a phone talk between two strangers; and Girish Kasaravalli's Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Riding the Stallion of a Dream), a tale of a grave-digger's loss of faith in the power of his dreams," Namrata Joshi, Outlook Magazine wrote in her review of the Mumbai Film Festival."I liked Sudhish Kamath's Good Night Good Morning. Touching sophisticated film with Manu Narayan, Seema Rahmani and a very cool Raja Sen," journalist Aseem Chhabra tweeted after catching the film at the South Asian International Film Festival and said on camera that it was very rare to see a film like this come out of India."Good Night Good Morning by Sudhish Kamath is an arresting watch. Slick shots and crisp writing," film critic Mihir Fadnavis tweeted after watching the film at the Mumbai Film Festival."It is touching, heart breaking and drives you down the memory lane. I can easily say this is the most daring movie ever made. It's a must-watch. I am going with 4/5," blogger Naveen Varadarajan writes on BehindWoods."It takes great skill to write something that sounds this off-the-cuff. Too clever, and the viewer beings to question the likelihood of two strangers spitting out one-liner after one- liner at three in the morning; go too far in the other direction, and it becomes commonplace, and not worth watching… The leads had to be charming for it to work, and they are, Narayan with his timid overtures, Rahmani playfully knowing," a movie buff called A Fan Apart blogged after the screening at the Habitat Film Festival in Delhi."If Woody Allen had wanted to make a conversation film based on two Americans of Indian origin, it would look like Good Night|Good morning," movie-buff Sai Prasad Narendran blogged in his review of the film, and rated it 9.3/10!