Indian Movie DVDs

[venkatcr]

Some time ago, we had huge arguments in HFV on the quality of DVDs made in India. Though Moser Baer has brought the prices down, the quality of their DVDs is quite questionable.

In the recent past I had the opportunity to watch some new movies by various distribution companies. This included:

Kurbaan - UTV
Aakrosh - Shemaroo
Game - Eros

I must say that the DVDs are quite an improvement in all aspects. The packaging is world class, and the quality of audio is really good.

In Kurbaan, the audio was able to deliver the impression of travelling by underground trains quite impressively. The gunshots and bomb explosions were taught and powerful. Dialogues were extremely clear, and the overall video was top notch.

Aakrosh is a movie I love, and I saw it yesterday for the third time. The audio was simply fabulous though the gain in the media was surprisingly low. In video, the dust and noise of Jhanjar comes across very well. You can clearly hear small noises of cycling, metal on metal elsewhere, and the noise of the market well. In the scene where Bipasha Basu is lying in hospital after being beaten, her raspy breathing into the oxygen mask is very telling.

Similarly in the scene where Sidhant Chaturvedi and Pratap Kumar are being chased on bicycles, you can hear the tinkles of the cycles and, at the same time, hear the sounds of the jungle around you. In another scene where they are chasing a van and following a dust cloud, you really feel like wiping your face.

The video failed in one or two places. In once scene, Bipasha Basu and Ajay Devgun are walking inside a temple. As the camera pans, the temple columns jerk instead of moving smoothly. They kind of shimmer, disappear, and reappear. Similarly, in the cycle chase, the leaves of the plants are not clearly visible and tend to blur. I am reminded of The Incredibles where, in a similar chase scene, the foliage move smoothly and are always in focus. I feel that Indian cinematographers have not yet gained the expertise to keep multiple object in focus during movement. In Aakrosh, in still shots where the camera is stationary, the colour, contrast and, slow movements are superb. I was also impressed by the absolute black of backgrounds.

I am praying that we keep getting tended to like this with near world class DVDs at 199 and 299. Certainly worth the price.

Cheers

 

[jitubisht]

I agree on the Aakrosh part, havent seen the other two DVDs. Superb movie and the the sound was good.
The only problem, if any, that I had was with the 'Shemaroo' watermark at the bottom right corner of the screen.

 

[venkatcr]

In between biting my nails at CSK's poor beginning, I managed to take a second look at Kurbaan. Again a impressive transfer. I could find very few faults. Compared to Aakrosh, there were very few chase sequences, so the movements were smooth and clear. The editors have managed to mix songs, background music, and collateral noise well without one suppressing the other. Spoken whispers were clear and audible.

In audio, the editors have been wanting in a few places. Gunshot sounds were not that immersive, and neither were the two major explosions in stations. Though the visuals were superb, the audio did not match to create a major impression. In the last scene where Ehsaan Khan shoots himself inside a coach, the gunshot sound was piddly. Immediately afterwards, when the camera focusses on Kareena's face, she look positively ugly. I felt the camera lingered for too long on her face.

In all the background sound was mute. A little extra gain would be created a different impression on the audience.

These were though issues with the editor. In terms of quality of transfer, the DVD was impressive.

Shall re-watch Game tonight with a critical eye.

Cheers

 

[srinisundar]

So you missed the CSK winning moments

 

[venkatcr]

When KKR was initially getting thrashed today, I managed to see 'Game' for the second time.

In all the quality of the DVD is top notch. The cinematography is really good, and the transfer into DVD is superb. I could not find any fault in the video excepting one. In the scene where Kabir Malhotra (Anupam Kher) is talking to Tisha Khanna (Shahana Goswami), Kabir is standing just inside the doorway, with the open door to his left. As the camera pans between the back of Tisha and on to the face of Kabir, the door keeps jerking irritatingly. This surprised me as the video was superb in all other places. I played the scene a few times, and came to a surprising conclusion. The back of Tisha and the scene of Kabir near the door were filmed separately and knitted together. OR, the doorway and door were both a stock scene that was used as a background. The jerking could not have happened if the scene was shot by a single camera.

The audio was also very good throughout the movie. In some places I felt the dialogues were not recorded properly or were recorded by two different mikes and recording equipment. Unfortunately the transfer was good enough to push the subtle differences in tone and other aspects of voices into your ears.

I will be seeing a few more movies over the next few days and shall report back to you guys.

Cheers