Change Your Image
BiswajitSince2005
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
My Sweet Housewife (2023)
Movie Review by Biswajit Tripathy
"When Pritiraj and Naina attended BCE business meeting to promote their movie, "My Sweet Housewife," it initially appeared as like just another casual gathering. However, when Anshu Tripathy extended an invitation to the premiere of the film, curiosity prompted me to attend. I also received a personal invitation from Pritiraj, further fueling my anticipation. On November 3rd at 1:30 PM, I found myself at Maharaja Hall, ready to experience the movie. After writing more than 100 movie reviews in other languages, here I am, writing my first ever review of an Odia movie that touched my heart. I am glad that I got the opportunity to watch "My Sweet Housewife" which forced me to change my opinion about Odia movies.
Traditionally, housewives were often taken for granted, relegated to the role of managing household chores like cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other domestic duties. They are supposed to stay within the confines of the home. However, the traditional concept of a housewife is no longer the sole or expected role for women, with diverse family structures and gender roles now being more widely accepted. Currently the term has been more accepted as a homemaker.
"My Sweet Housewife," an Odia film directed by Sisir Kumar Sahu and Peenakee Singh, explores the role and transformation of the conventional definition of a housewife. The film follows the story of Rudra (played by Pritiraj), a government employee, and his wife Aparna (played by Naina), a quintessential housewife. Rudra is an extremely possessive husband who insists that his wife remain within the home and avoid interacting with people outside. He believes a wife's rightful place is inside the home. Aparna sacrifices her passion for singing and playing harmonium to conform to Rudra's vision of the ideal housewife. She willingly sacrifices her own happiness to ensure her husband's well-being. However, there sometimes comes a moment when even the most selfless individuals revolt when their ambitions and happiness are suppressed. Aparna's turning point occurs when she receives an invitation to an old school reunion, only to have Rudra vehemently deny her the opportunity to attend, citing concerns for her safety.
Watching this movie, one can deeply resonate with it, as it masterfully captures moments that seem to be drawn from real-life experiences. Several scenes exude authenticity, such as the one where Aparna discovers her bindi on Rudra's face upon waking up. This simple gesture reflects the intimacy and shared connection between a husband and wife. The joy she finds in discovering loose changes before washing Rudra's pants evokes the lives of many middle-class family housewives. Another memorable scene is the one where Rudra grants Aparna permission to visit the astrologer on Saturdays. Aparna's joyful dance is a reminder of the simple pleasures that can bring us joy in life. Her ringing bells to let her husband know that she is in home doing Pooja while she is partying with friends will make you fall in love with Aparna.
"My Sweet Housewife" beautifully illustrates how seemingly inconsequential events can leave a lasting imprint on our lives, emphasizing the profound impact of simple yet powerful concepts. The film boasts commendable music and benefits from the exceptional direction by Sisir Kumar Sahu and Peenakee Singh. However, it is the narrative crafted by the writer that truly captivates the audience. Viewers are likely to develop a genuine fondness for the characters Rudra and Aparna, brilliantly portrayed by Naina and Pritiraj, respectively.
Naina, an established actress with a diverse portfolio encompassing movies and television, shines in her role as Aparna (Apu). She adeptly captures the intricacies of a housewife striving to preserve her identity and individuality within the confines of a patriarchal marriage.
Pritiraj, who has built a strong career with a variety of roles over the past 14 years, delivers a compelling performance as Rudra. He convincingly portrays a possessive and controlling husband who is oblivious to the emotional impact of his actions on his wife.
"My Sweet Housewife" is a must-watch for enthusiasts of quality cinema. The film delves into the evolving role of women in society, offering food for thought and emphasizing the significance of communication and mutual respect in relationships. In sum, "My Sweet Housewife" stands as one of the finest Odia movies in recent memory, a film that lingers in your heart long after the credits roll."
Pihu (2016)
Myra is a Born actress
Pihu is the story of a two-year-old girl who has been trapped inside a home when her father went on a tour to Kolkata and her mother committed suicide after a night long fight with her husband.
This is supposedly inspired from a real-life story authenticity of which I am not sure of. It has been seen that the kitchen tap is running, iron switch is ON and there has been constant power cut all day long. With limited foods and no access to outside, Pihu is in for a day long ordeal. Myra who has played Pihu played very natural Infront of the camera. The entire movie revolves around this two-year-old played by the six-year-old Myra and her emotions. While you will be on the edge of your seat all along, you also won't be able to breathe properly until you finish watching the movie. The movie has so much disturbing moments that would make you say one thing, "I'll take care of my child". I must say, Vinod Kapri has done a tremendous job.
Trapped (2016)
fight to survive
A man is trapped in a desolate building and how he deals with the situation makes the story. It should be as simple as that, but it isn't as simple as it looks. The real narrative is much more than this.
Trapped is a movie whose director is the same who directed the epic movie Lootera & Udaan. Vikramaditya Motwane has chosen the ideal character Rajkummar Rao as the protagonist of the movie which was released in 17th Mar'17 and gathered rave reviews across the world.
Saurya (Rajkummar Rao) is in love with Noorie(Geetanjali Thapa) whose wedding is already fixed. So they plan to run away and get married. Since Saurya lives in a bachelor's hostel, he plans to take a flat where he can stay with Noorie. In a hurry to find an inexpensive accommodation, he shifts to a newly built high-rise which has some legal issues and hence has remained desolate. The security guard of the building is oblivious of his shifting to the building and even Noorie has no idea of his new address. Next morning while getting late to office, Saurya inadvertently locks himself inside the apartment with the key hanging outside the door. Few attempts to open the door fails and since the building has no electrical connection, his phone conks of and he is totally disconnected from outer world. But he doesn't want to give up. The zeal to live drives his enthusiasm to think out of the box from among those normal household items in the house. He makes posters for help from cardboard and toothpaste and throws them out for somebody to notice. He puts his clothes on fire in the night for people to notice. But no one did really, his voice doesn't reach people more than 100 feet below, his posters doesn't reach the right place.
With no food, water or electricity, it is a fight for unrelenting survival for Saurya. With passing days, he becomes claustrophobic and with nothing to eat, he starts surviving on cockroaches, ants, and pigeons and started talking to the lone rat in the house. One fine day, as a respite it rains heavily and he collected as much water as he can in all empty containers in the house and survives on them for some time. But with passing time, his psychological and physical health deteriorates.
As a last option, he starts cutting the balcony window with a metal sheet that he found in the house and after days of cutting he finally succeeds. He climbs down through the windows for next five floors where he finds a balcony with no gates or doors and enters the floor to climb down the stairs and escapes the building. A few steps away from the building he faints due to weakness and is rushed to the hospital by locals. The story ends with some twists and turns. Whether the struggle he went through to come out of the house was worth? How do the people around him react?
Vikramditya Motwane has the absolute brilliance to turn a one line story into a 105 minute tour de force. The one man army Rajkumar Rao makes the movie run on his own shoulder with his despair to escape from the flat and show his ordeal so effortlessly. It takes nerve to sit through the 105 minutes of the movie living with his hallucination. You will feel sorry for him when you see his hunger is turning him into a beast and a completely Vegan guy doesn't hesitate to eat pigeons. You will feel a part of yourself along with the plot when with each sunset you get impatient along with him, how you feel imprisoned in the flat along with him. Not just inside the flat where he was stuck, but was fighting many demons with the outside world too. Like numerous people staying in Mumbai, he was fighting a battle to marry his girlfriend with his hand to mouth income.
The director has taken very little things into accountability too. The 35+ floor apartment's name is Swarg where the protagonist is stuck for more than a week. The very minute details have been taken care of when Saurya walks out of home and the guard gives him the typical look that those in Mumbai would give to any stranger.
Coming out of the theater if you stop by a roadside eatery to have something, I am sure you will remember Saurya. You will know his vulnerability; but you will never understand how he survived unless you have the kind of guts and survival instinct in yourself. You need tonnes of courage to watch this movie. As for me, this is the best survival thriller I have watched yet. Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted are the most terrible poverty and scariest experience ever. When you come out of the theatre, am sure you will feel a part of your soul left inside the theatre.
Hindi Medium (2017)
The unstoppable Irrfan Khan
So many reviews on this movie have previously been written. So why another review? Well, it's because I couldn't resist from scripting few lines about this movie. Hindi Medium isn't really a movie. This is real; the real story of today's elite parents who think studying in an English Medium school can promise a good life for their children.
The Story: Mita and Raj Batra, a rich cloth merchant from Chandni Chowk, are struggling to get their daughter admitted to an English Medium School. The obstacle is their language which is playing a barrier in getting their kid admitted. The school admits kids of only those parents who can speak good English which they aren't. The plot of the movie is the series of incidents that follow when they want to get their kid admitted by hook or crook. Some humour, some satire and some reality make the plot very poignant.
My Review: Story flows on how the English language divides our nation into various parts with the English Spoken few makes the elites of them all. The desi spoken ones; however rich are being considered to be pariah. Great Story, great comic timing, and great acting by Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjana Sanghi. Deepak Dobriyal steals your heart apart, Saba Qamar in her debut Hindi movie acts so effortlessly but it is Irrfan Khan who has nailed it like a Super Hero.
What makes it more striking is, the family in Hindi Medium is a happy go lucky family, living their life in their own terms, a happy wife, a sweet kid and a rich cloth merchant. All was going on well until they realize the difficulty they have to face when they want to admit their kid in an English Medium School. Even a Prime Minister's office can't assure admission.
For the sake of their kid, they move to posh Vasant Vihar which has the elite people of Delhi living in. For social recognition, they want to get their kid admitted in an English Medium School. Even a consulting firm who specializes in getting kids admitted to English Medium school couldn't help. The consultant played by Tilottoma Shome advised them to play a poor family since as per Right to Education Act, some percentage of seats are reserved for poor people. So Batras shift to a Basti temporarily informing their neighbours that they are going to Paris. They visit a photo studio to click pictures with Paris scenes in background so as to post them in Social Networking site to convince their neighbours.
Chemistry between Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar is par excellence. Cinematography, songs, editing are average. The film hasn't gone stereotype and rather looks very different than all those movies you see these days. Saket Chaudhary's Hindi Medium deserves all the compliments it gets because of the inimitable storytelling and presentation. Amrita Singh is wasted in a miniscule character.
If the movie is at all watchable, there are so many factors to it. The unstoppable Irrfan Khan, the debutante Saba Qamar, the superlative acting by Deepak Dobriyal, the simple yet beautiful storyline, the comic timings of all the actors. Everything about the movie is just awesome.
There are few drawbacks as well but I won't mention them because the perfection is much better and scores more than the drawbacks.
Hindi medium is enormously charming; light hearted romantic comedy, and a socio political satire on education system and the elite class's charm for English Medium Schools. So, if you still haven't watched the movie, don't miss it. Once you are out of the theatre, I am sure, you can relate to Mithu, and her husband Raj and they are going to stay in your heart for a longer time than usual.
Anaarkali of Aarah (2017)
Can we respect women who perform item numbers
You barely find a movie in bollywood where someone works hard to make their ends meet, and is treated like filth when the time comes to grant him/her the honour to live respectfully in their due time. Bollywood rarely makes films on marginalised community. In parts of UP and Bihar you will find a lot of people who sing and dance to make their ends meet and being treated like prostitutes. I am not sure if anybody has made any effort to showcase their story until Anarkali of Arrah happened. Anarkali of Arrah is a perfect "Seeti Maar" movie.
Avinash Das's effort is an audacious move for anyone as a debutante director. Only brave ones can try to tell such a story on their maiden attempt. The movie throw into light the nexus between police, politicians to torment the lower class people who struggle hard to earn some respect in society.
Anarkali like her mother, takes over the reign as a performer or erotic dancer in a small remote village in Arrah. Her mother was shot dead by a drunk neta who flaunt his rifle as she pirouetted on stage. As a true daughter, she learned all the right art from her mother and took over where her mother left. Unlike her mother, she is unyielding, brave and would dare anyone who takes panga with her. She isn't rich but she is brave and bold. She lives her life in her own terms. Rangeela who is from her troupe is always by her side no matter what happens. In fact, he is the one who hails the morale of Anarkali.
Story takes a turn when a corrupt Vice Chancellor of a local University stakes claim to Anarkali's body and sexuality. With money, power and politicians in his side, he doesn't like to take a NO from anyone. But Anarkali isn't one to coerce too. When he tries to apply force on Anarkali she shoves him off curtly.
Like the earlier movie "Pink", this is also about NO. Anarkali doesn't want to get involved with anyone because she wants business in her own terms. She doesn't want to be ruled by others. Just because Anarkali sings and dances raunchy numbers, does that give anyone the right to take her for a ride? The lilting songs and coarse lyrics attract the attention. The bucolic scenes and dialogs plays an vital part of the movie. Swara Bhaskar has got a role of lifetime after "Nil Baatey Sanata" where the entire movie runs on her shoulder. She has flawlessly amazed & warranted her character; Pankaj Tripathi has Rangeela plays the ideal associate to her but knowing his talent he could have been utilized much better.
What stands out in the story isn't just one, not two but many factors. Swara Bhaskar holds the rhythm of audience till the end of the movie. Sanjay Mishra holds his citadel securely. Pankaj Tripathi plays just perfect. Anwar, the young actor who has a crush on Anarkali is equally good. Music, sound & cinematography, dialogs have been given remarkable thought into. But more than all these, Anarkali of Arrah showcases a woman who is fearless enough not to shed tears when the world falls apart around her, she fights back, she fights back all alone against all odds. She shows how a woman stands for her rights all alone to hold their dignity in place. She shows that there can be heroes among women too.
The question remains unanswered however at the end of narrative. Can we ever respect women who work all their way on streets to make their ends meet? Can we respect women who perform item numbers?
Dear Maya (2017)
a life of misery
Made with passion, debutante director Sunaina Bhatnagar's "Dear Maya" is a very subtle movie. After the debut movie of Avinash Das's "Änarkali of Arrah", this is one more movie which is deeply engrossing.
The movie resembles Manisha Koirala's recent life closely since Manisha tried to come out of her illness while Maya is trying to come back to a new life after all her childhood ordeal. Only Manisha but no one else could have depicted the character so well.
The ever beautiful Manisha Koirala returns to small screen after a very long break and fight against ovarian cancer detected in 2012. Playing the protagonist as Maya, Manisha Koirala has given a superlative performance in the movie.
Maya, an old and forlorn 40 something woman is living an ominous life with misery filled all around her periphery. World in her eyes is a distrusting and miserable place to live in. She has shut herself inside her spacious Shimla house with her trusted maid of few decades. Two prying school girls Ira and Anna, played by Madiha Imam and Shreya Chaudhary who had heard a lot about this reclusive neighbour, decide to add colour to her droning life. They start writing secret love letters to Maya with a fabricated character named Ved (who never exist). This part is similar to a movie we saw earlier Sirf Tum which was again inspired by a hollywood movie "You've Got Mail". As in "Sirf Tum", she sets up for Delhi to hunt for the man she has never met but who has revitalized her fervour to live a better life.
Two stories run concurrently in the movie. One story is about Maya, her accidental discovery of love and the power of love to arouse energy to a secluded woman of two decades. The other focuses on camaraderie between Anna and Ira, who have got nothing in common. Their friendship is put into test when Maya leaves Shimla in search of her mysterious lover. Anna's parents when found out about this sent her to Delhi to keep her away from Ira who they thought is a bad influence to their little girl. Concerned about Maya, Anna continues her search for Maya even though she has been drifted away from Ira and has lost all connection with her dear friend.
Pre interval, the movie is entirely dominated by Maya who plays the role of a woman in solitude so well that you feel a part of her misery. Almost all of the second part is devoted to Anna's life in Delhi and her search for Maya by putting a "Missing" posters all around Delhi and her reunion with Ira and their joint effort is locating Maya.
Manisha Koirala speaks very less but her expression makes up for everything else. Her transformation from a black dagger dangling from her waist to a gorgeous confident woman in her red saree enjoying her life is radiating enough to give Manisha a roaring appreciation. A brilliant story told with such grace that will relish your mood and lift your spirits up. Manisha's make up, the creepy house gives a perfect sense to the character she plays.
Her change in mood and transformation is presented so perfectly in the attire she wears, from all black to elegant & colourful saris. Manisha shines so brilliantly that the two lovely teenage school girls seem like dwarf in acting department. They seem like no patch to her character.
Island City (2015)
Island city is an anthology of three narratives from Mumbai
Island city is an anthology of three narratives from Mumbai. Three different storylines about discontented people, discontented life. The name island city depicts to people who have become isolated within themselves like an Island. Island City is a movie about depression, touching emotions, driving sentiments, sarcastic, funny and moreover a tragic end to all three stories. Even though the story is based in Mumbai, but people across all places can connect to the stories told here.
Released in Sept'15, directed & screenplay by debutante director Ruchika Oberoi, produced by NFDC, the movie won FEDORA prize for the Best Young Director at Venice Film Festival where it was released and showcased for the first time.
"Fun Committee" written by Ruchika Oberoi revolves around a earnest Corporate Employee Suyash Chaturvedi played by Vinay Pathak. He lives a perfunctory life like many of those people living in metropolitan cities. He wakes up, eats, gets ready for office, comes back, sleeps to repeat the routine next day. His life looks monotonous and purposeless. A newly designed Fun Committee decides to reward their star employees a day of fun to de-stress them; only that the fun is forced on them even if they don't want it. Vinay Pathak when declared as the Star employee of the month is awarded certain coupons and tasks which has to be completed by 6pm of the day after which he has to report back to office for the final task. While he is being given royal treatment across all places that he is going, but his look clearly shows him appearing like a machine following commands. All those working in Corporate can relate to this story.
"The Ghost in the machine written by Ruchika Oberoi" is a heart warming story of a housewife played by Amruta Subhash, who heaves a sigh of relief when her husband is admitted in hospital after a coma attack. The ever abusing husband is a major irritant to the entire family. For a change, she understands her self-worth after her husband is admitted in hospital. The housewife believes that brining a TV to their home will bring some delight to their home. The TV reaches home, and the entire family gets addicted to a soap called "Purushhotam Jee" which tells the story of a virtuous son and the story of his family. Amruta Subhash who plays the role of housewife connects to the soap very much since she feels the story is the dream she ever saw for her family.
The Final Story, "Contact written by Siddharth Sharma", is the story of those women who have always been told by their parents that they won't get their prince charming because of the way they look. Ruchika played by Tannishtha Chatterjee helps you find your inner voice with her powerful performance. Jignesh played by Chandan Roy Sanyal is a foul mouthed mechanic who wants to marry Aarti played by Tanishtha who works in a printing press. Aarti's life changed when she received a pink letter from a secret admirer which tells her about her inner desires. She falls head over heels on the letter writer and learnt to smile for the first time in her life. Many letters are exchanged between them through an unknown PO Box number. But she has absolutely no idea where this will lead to. She gets the courage to refuse marrying Jignesh in the hope of marrying the letter writer.
All the three stories dig out your inner grief that lurks in some innermost corner of your heart. A must watch for the brilliant way, love, loneliness and depression is depicted. All the stories are inter connected with very thin lines which makes it look little simulated except for the first and third story. But that can be ignored with the way the entire setup has been presented. All the three stories are connected by a Company called "Systematic Statistics" where Suyash (Fun Committee) works. The common points in all stories are the dominant men in all the stories, the dissatisfied people, anxiety, and depression.
Each of the stories has an appalling end that gives a brilliant twist to the story which is beyond imagination. While you smile at the amusing incidents, you also empathize with the characters; you sob in their pain, you sense your loneliness with theirs. Amruta Subhash who has just one movie to her credit as the sister of Nawazuddin in Raman Raghav 2.0, has been brilliant and even overshadowed an actress of the calibre Tannishtha Chatterjee.
Mrs. Scooter (2015)
a scooter, a housewife...
A government clerk gets married and brings home his attractive bride Aashima (Anjali Patil) and a scooter in dowry. The very next day he dies in a train mishap leaving his two most prized possessions behind. The movie very skilfully showed the narrative of the woman and the scooter whose story is so analogous to each other. The scooter parked in a private parking abandoned is being raped every day by unscrupulous elements and slowly the parts are being removed and sold one by one until one day when the engine is removed and sold too. The story is no different for the beautiful bride too. People living around her are aware that she is lonely and tries to take advantage of her lonesomeness.
Almost when both their life was going to be compromised, the scooter and Aashima are reunited by the fate of destiny. A enthralling love story of Western UP, the songs, hilarity, and sentiments are what we see in actuality.
Debutante filmmaker Shiladitya Moulik's movie "Mrs Scooter" was the official choice at New York Film Festival and was presented by Abhay Deol. The story was inspired from a beautiful incident. When the maker was looking for a strong idea for his movie, he chanced upon a scooter which was parked in a parking in Delhi on which a peculiar sticker was pasted which said, "I hope to meet you soon". That sticker gave him the idea of this very beautiful realistic film, "Mrs Scooter".
The movie doesn't brag of a very huge star cast as the maker didn't have enough funds for it. And the story demanded a fresh strong talent too. Anjali Patil, a national award winning actress played the lead role of Aashima. All of the actors from the movie are NSD pass outs. The complete movie was shot in Aligarh within a span of one month only. Watching the movie is pretty gloomy. With the kind of situation she is in, it's difficult for anyone to think of any way for her to come out of her tragic condition.
The best part of the movie is when Aashima receives call regarding the death of her husband. Not a single dialog is spoken during the next three minutes but her blank and expressive shows the pain she is going through from inside. But then every story has a happy ending, and Mrs. Scooter is one of those movie too.
Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016)
Four women, Four stories
Four women, Four stories, and all of them are linked by desires, craving for affection, breaking free from social norms, the battle within to achieve bliss. Co-written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, Lipstick Under My Burkha, a black comedy; presents what it means to be a woman in a small town which is subjugated by males. A city on edge of getting modernised but mindset of the people isn't too willing to adjust. Produced by Prakash Jha, the movie premiered in Tokyo and Mumbai Film Festivals, where it won the Spirit of Asia Prize and the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality.
Shireen Aslam (Konkana Sen Sharma), a Muslim woman works as a door to door sales woman without the knowledge of her husband. Rahim her husband is sexually dictating, and is interested only in sex while Shireen craves for his affection and care.
Leela, a Hindu woman (Aahana Kumra), owns a beauty parlour and isn't content with her work and has a different business plan with her Muslim boyfriend with whom she has sexual relations too and planning to escape at the first chance. She wishes to travel around the world with her boyfriend Arshad who runs a photo studio. She regularly arranges meetings with destination wedding planners with the expectation for a free world tour.
Rehana Abidi (Plabita Borthakur) is a college student fascinated over Milley Cyrus, stitches burkhas for her family store. She shoplifts from malls for makeups to to wear at college, shoplifts from malls and changes to her ultra modern dresses which she hides in her backpack on way to college, all this hidden from her parents.
55 year old Usha Parmar (Ratna Pathak Shah), a respected Buaji in the area runs her family business loves to read erotic fictions at nights. She falls in love with a swimming instructor and indulges in phone sex with him through a fictional character called Rosy who becomes the main protagonist in the movie. Rosy becomes the symbol for everything that the four woman ever wanted to have.
The charming story has been carefully narrated by the writer with a lot of tenderness, sadness and sexual truthfulness with hilarity. All four women are staying in same environs and share an silent bond of fighting a never ending battle to be happy in their life. All of them want to break free, breaking free from their conservative families and from a sexist society that forces them to toe the line.
The writer/director Alankrita Shrivastava has very carefully shown sexuality without a bit of impropriety. The cast she has chosen is the best she could have. Even the newer actors like Plabita Borthakur and Aahana Kumra have excelled in their respective performances against veterans like Ratna Pathak Shah and Konkona Sen Sharma. The Burkha that is mentioned in the movie is actually the stigmas associated with religions and all the four women in the movie have been trying to shed it off, whether material, emotional or cultural. The movie ends in a very honest note where it has been shown that nurturing dreams is an offence for women in small towns even today.
Secret Superstar (2017)
One of the most underrated movie....
The first reason why you should watch Secret Superstar is because Aamir Khan has backed the child star Zaira Wasim from his previous release Dangal which is very unlike from him. The second reason is Aamir himself. Unlike other Khans, Aamir doesn't make too many movies; but whenever he does, they became blockbuster magic. His last 3 movies Dhoom 3, Dangal and PK made with a collective budget of 270 Crores have made a business worth 3400 Crores. That speaks a lot about why his movies are watchable. Made on a humble budget of 50 Cr including all expenses, the movie has collected 115 Crores as yet. Unlike others, his movies mostly are sparkling, sophisticated and family movies; those you can watch with entire family.
While Zaira Wasim is bang on and takes on the role with matchless performance, Aamir Khan, as a fanatical music composer is quite a rebel. One of the finest movies made by debutante director Advait Chandan, this movie will make you laugh, cry and also shows the sacrifice a mother makes for her daughter.
Somewhere in a middle class home in Baroda, a mother and daughter lives with their adult earning member, the master of the house. The master of the house is an archetypal master who is evil, dominating, chauvinistic and regressive. He doesn't want the women of the house to step out of home unless and otherwise he wishes so. The only time the family heaves sigh of relief when the father goes out on a long work trip. Raj Arjun who plays Farooq, the aggressive father has done justice to his role and suits the character perfectly.
Insiya (Zaira Wasim), a wannabe singer, wants to be a lead singer and get away from the abusive home and save her mother from her father's cruelty and oppression. She lives with her dotted young brother and grandmother along with her father and mother. She jots down the lyrics in her notebook and plans to make her voice heard by the entire world. Insiya's mother encourages her daughter and they watch singing reality shows in TV and discuss music whenever they have time together.
The fifteen year old Insiya needs permission to take part in a musical reality show in the hope of winning a laptop and an internet connection which otherwise isn't allowed in their home. But when her father lashes out at her mother for not adding proper salt in the dinner, she knows her aspiration isn't going to be fulfilled. But her mother sells her necklace and gifts a laptop to Insiya which changes her life forever. Now she has a belief that her music career can flourish with help of laptop and Internet connection. Encouraged by her mother, Insiya records her first song under a Burkha and uploads it in You Tube under the channel name "Secret Superstar". In a twist of fate, her video goes viral and overnight she becomes a YouTube Sensation. Viewers and media channels are besieged by her simplistic songs and fascinated by the enigma behind the "Secret Superstar".
Somewhere in Mumbai, a singer-composer struggling with his disastrous career, trapped between new-age remixes and altered identity of the celebrity life, spots a star in Insiya. Shakti Kumar (Aamir Khna), is a victim of perceived image against the real persona and is the only hope for Insiya. From outside he looks like a narcissistic and misunderstood music composer who becomes a mentor to Insiya who was initially apprehensive of taking him as her mentor. Insiya finds rock solid support with her friend Chintan (Tirth Sharma) who is in love with her and can do anything for her. During all this time, when Insiya struggles to take off her singing career all hidden from her father, Chintan plays the role of her de-facto manager who stands by her choice and career.
We have seen so many parent and child movie, Daddy talked about how a daughter brings up her father. Tare Zameen Par showed the beautiful relationship between a teacher and his student. Dangal showed the aspiration of a daughter to gift a gold medal to her father. Secret Superstar shows the beauty of a mother-daughter relationship and the aspiration of a daughter to stand on her own feet so that she can bring out her mother from oppression.
The commendable performance by Zaira Wasim after her award winning performance in Dangal, this movie is a must watch. Her journey of emotions from her dream of becoming a star until winning the best singer award will make you fall in love with her character. The best moment of the movie was the scene in which Najma decides to stand up for her daughter against her abusive husband's wish and walks away from him was the scene to remember. The following moment where she wins the best playback singer award will leave a knot in your stomache.
For those who don't know, the cheap dance move of "Sexy Baliye" has been choreographed by her other daughter in Dangal, Sanya Malhotra.
October (2018)
a very mature love story.
October is a movie that time travels you into a series of emotions to a world that has been barely exposed in modern day Hindi Cinema. A month of autumn "October" is more than a motif in the movie but it covers an era; bringing evocative images, inducing pains and tears, makes you neurotic and leaves you void while you walk out of the theatre. For a very long time, you would be struggling with emotions and you will be still a part of the movie in your subconscious mind. After a while, it won't be a movie anymore - but like your story, that you were a part of since last 115 minutes.
The movie speaks volumes without having much conversation. The characters communicate more in their eyes through the array of emotions they carry in their heart. It is a very different kind of love story that travels from one season to another until October arrives. A love story that shows the unadulterated heart of Dan (Varun Dhawan) and Silent and stoic stares of Shiuli (Banita Sandhu). There are neither any powerful dialogues, nor any strong music but the beauty of the movie is shown in expressions of tranquillity.
Dan is a hotel Intern at a Delhi Hotel, seditious in nature but affable by heart. Wanting to be a chef but being trained as a room cleaner; he isn't very content with the job he is doing. Out of exasperation, he does something or other to get even. Shiuli is one among those all other trainees, friends with Dan but barely ever interacted with him. The movie actually starts when Shiuli falls down from the third floor of the hotel one night and goes into Coma. Like everyone else, Dan is concerned about her but then can't move on with his life unlike those all others. And it happens because of a very simple naive question of Shiuli "Where is Dan". Thereafter he embarks on a heart-rending journey of questions and answers and looking for love in the strangest of circumstances. After the mishap, Dan is drawn to her excruciating and frozen world feeling strongly for her. IS IT LOVE, MAYBE YES..... Dan is affected mostly by the mishap when he comes to know that Shiuli was questioning about his absence just before the accident.
The movie progresses at a slow pace but then such cadence of life cannot be shown in fast forward. There is a life in every character, and hope in every eye. There are times when you wholly run in sync with the movie and forget that you are watching a movie rather feel like being a part of it and experiencing the pain yourself. There is a scene in the hospital when Shiuli is in the bed and Dan standing beside her where Shiuli acknowledges the love of Dan in her own way and it has been directed so marvellously. The scene is so full of emotions that bring tears and smile at the same time. The film has few instance of hilarity and they have been so flawlessly integrated into the plot. Screenplay is poetic, the few dialogues that the movie has; have been expressed so beautifully that makes the movie beats scene after scene. Not a moment of interest is wasted. Most beautiful moments of the movie are not those with dialogues but those with silence that leaves space for you to read between the lines. Avik Mukhopadhyay's cinematography is at par with global movies like The Notebook or Serendipity. It leaves a mundane charisma to the beautiful landscapes and the hotel interiors. Shantanu Moitra's soft scores touch the cord too.
Varun Dhawan drops his archetypal image to show the most discreet side of him after Badlapur. This in fact could be the best movie of his career for times to come. Debutante Banita Sandhu's uses her beautiful eyes to communicate the best possible emotions she can ever do. It isn't easy being in the frame for almost 90 minutes with hardly 9 minutes of dialogue. She has used her eyes and facial expressions effectively. Gitanjali Rao as Shiuli's mother and Professor in IIT, Delhi excels in her role too. She portrays the pain of a woman who doesn't know what's right for her daughter. But she acknowledges the power of love that Dan has for Shiuli. One the most heart-rending scenes of the movie where she shares screen space with Dan's mother (Rachika Oswal), where they speak about their children's errands and how they mean different to people in different conditions. The bond they share on their very first meeting leaves a lot of thoughts for the viewers.
The parts that are worth appreciation are the story, cinematography, narration, and the sensible acting by each and every character in the movie. But the credit goes to the story which has been written very sensibly.
October is not just a love story; it's a battle; a battle of how far you can go for things that you believe in. October is about emotions, the kind of emotion that you feel when you have to take a leisurely walk in a winter morning, the kind of emotion when you observe the tranquillity of a city in early morning; the innocent gape of sunset during your childhood. October is about a lot of such moments. When the entire world is becoming practical, standing for something you believe in; risking your job, family and career isn't something that's very usual these days. While Shiuli is suffering in Coma, Dan is suffering in silence. Many of us, who has someone in their family who has undergone a surgery can relate to the pain very well. Those times, we simply don't know anything other than being just optimistic.
Varun Dhawan's humour is mature and worth a applause. He is aptly supported by Banita Sandhu and Geetanjali Rao. All three of them speak more through their eyes that pierced through our hearts.
Memories in March (2010)
"If I have to go away, can I leave a little bit of me with you?"
"If I have to go away, can I leave a little bit of me with you?"
I had heard about this movie long before and was pending to be watched by me for a very long time. For some reason or other it kept on pending even though I had recorded it in my DTH box. I watched it when I went through back to back losses of family members recently and was going through a tough time and was glad I did watch it and connected too instantly.
'Memories in March' is a brilliant film by debutante Director Sanjoy Nag where a bereaved mother is shown to come to terms with his son's sexual identity. Without going into much detail into the plot I would rather prefer to narrate some scenes which are worth mentioning.
There is one particular sequence where Deepti Naval (Arati) expresses her wish to visit his son's office and take away some of his stuffs as souvenirs. The scene is shown in great length and detailing with incalculably striking visuals. When his son's boss dubs her actions too melodramatic, distressed she dashes off from the office.
While considering her Divorce from her hubby as the worst day of her life, she has to learn to acknowledge the death of her son in a road accident. Storming off to Kolkata and accompanied by her son's co-worker Sahana Choudhury who escorted her to crematorium for the last rites of her son. After the cremation is over, she is taken to the Guest House where her son used to live. Sahana narrates her how her son had consumed a lot of alcohol and insisted on driving back to Guest House when he had the fatal accident. Upset with above incidents, she blames her co-workers to drive him to death but she had more shocks in Store when she learns that her son has been living in with Arnob, his co-worker and boss in office. She is upset and blames Arnob of seducing her son but slowly she accepts the truth and accepts that it was her son's predilection to be with Arnob. She develops a bond with Arnob over the common loss they had.
There is a scene where she is browsing her son's phone where her son Siddharth had composed a message to her about his relationship with Arnob but never sent it because he was afraid of upsetting her.
"Memories in March" is about the wreckage that people leave behind after their demise. It makes you question on "this is what relationships are" and "this is what they should be." This is a film worth watching for its pragmatic and susceptible portrayal of a relationship that is sadly even today considered outside norm. For many homosexuals who are still forced to hide from what they are, but thankfully change is happening. Films like this should be made more and more so that it forces the society to recognize homosexuals as no different from them. The theme is not a stranger to hindi movie industry but leaving apart barely a few movies like Aligarh or Dear Dad, rest mostly make fun of the same.
One of the most underrated movie which has stellar performances from Dipti Naval as the mother who has lost his son in a mishap and Rituparno Ghosh who plays the partner of his son. Showing a receptive topic to the next level with performances at par with international standard, this is one of the best movies I have seen in recent times. Deepti Naval and Rituparno Ghosh have done a laudable acting capturing the sentiments brilliantly and deserve applause. Deepti Naval is so pervasive, so repressed; it's only her eyes that say the depth of her pain.
There are some of the movies that are a "Must Watch Before you die". Memories in March is one such movie and a must watch movie for everyone who loves good movie.
Joker (2019)
Come, fall in love with him...
"I just hope my death makes more sense than my life," the tormented Joker, Arthur Fleck confesses in his old journal. This psychological thriller, directed by Todd Phillips is based on the popular DC Comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. The origin of Joker dates back to 1981, the film follows Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime and commotion in Gotham City.
This movie got eight minutes standing ovation at Venice International Film Festival at the Premier of the movie, where it won a Golden Lion.
In very few mainstream movies, you fall in love with the negative character. This movie is one such and more so because it shows in great length, why the character turns dark; why he chooses the path he had chosen. Dark is a very carefully crafted word defined by movie makers and use it depending on what kind of audience they want to reach out to. The brutality in this movie is meant to shock you and it does the job immaculately.
Arthur Fleck is a regular guy who is a clown by day and a stand-up comedian at night. But nobody laughs at his comic stuffs other than himself. He has a condition that causes him to laugh at inappropriate times.
In most of the joker movies, character is usually presented with bleached skins and hairs, warped mouth. This adaptation has nothing such rather the city he lives in is the inexorable silo.
Arthur sinks in the apathy of the fellow citizens to him. He is a victim of brutality and torment of fellow citizens of the city. The people around him are so wretched; they would queue to beat him up. Ignored in public, he would like to make people smile around him, whether by taking a gun to a children's hospital or by pestering his gorgeous black neighbour. On the other side, he is psychologically sick and socially ignored guy who would snap his mouth to an unsettling fake smile, or a sudden flip of eyes to look at the camera which would shake you. You would close your eyes in shock and dismay.
His improved self-confidence after the first attack shows in his elegant dance on the street. He finally fights back after the third attack and shoots the three bankers who attacked him inside the train. He admits, "I killed those guys, because they were awful".
After the subway shooting, an eyewitness draws an outline image of Arthur Fleck and there begins a movement. The subjugated people of Gotham rise up against the rich. Fleck became a cult star much to his amazement. The city is inundated by rebels in clown makeup and masks.
His mom, a poor woman writes letter to Thomas Wayne a business tycoon to help her out in their livelihood and somehow Arthur reads one of those letters, learns something very upsetting. He approaches Wayne from where he had to return shamed as usual. Completely flustered, he kills his mother.
His comedy show same night goes badly, as he laughs hysterically and finds difficulty delivering jokes. Talk show host Murray (Robert De Nero) mocks him by showing those clips on his show. He is invited to appear on Murray's show due to unanticipated popularity of that clip. Before the show goes live, Arthur requests Murray to introduce him as Joker with reference to his previous mockery. He walks in to a rousing welcome from the audience but begins telling gloomy jokes and admits of killing those three men in train, and rants about how society discards the oppressed and how he was mocked by Murray. Thereafter, he kills Murray live on television and is detained as riots break out all across Gotham. One of the rioters corners Thomas Wayne, kills him and his wife but leaves alone his son. Rioters also free Arthur Fleck from the police van and he dances to the cheers of the crowd and paints a smile on his face with his own blood when the movie draws to a close.
Arthur Fleck's character isn't actually amusing as the name says, but it's gauche, the kind of fidgety, people shy away from in public because of his inconsistent behaviour. It's easy for the viewers to empathize with the character, his craving to be accepted. When he says he feels unseen or invisible, you can clearly realize why. He's the kind of person people would love to overlook out of apathy or uneasiness.
Joker is deliberately made dreadful, visually, and psychologically. The movie is grimmer and more distressing than other marvel movies. It gives the audience a power to believe from being powerlessness to powerful. It shows him dancing wildly in public, weeping alone by him when he is oppressed. It shows his sufferings, but at the end it has been shown what he went through was necessary to bring him the power and recognition that he deserved.
Simran (2017)
Ja Simran Ja
Ever since DDLJ released sometime in end'1995, the name Simran has been synonymous with a woman who wants to be unconventional, a woman who wants to break free & live blissfully. "Ja Simran Ja" has been the most preferred word for girls who want to be freed from the social disgrace. Those who know Kangana will agree to me that she is one among those Simran in the scintillating showbiz; daring, impenitent and sizzling.
Simran or Praful Patel is the real narrative of a Punjabi girl from US Sandeep Kaur who robbed several banks of US over a period of two months. She was rechristened as "Bombshell Bandit" by FBI. She used to surf YouTube videos to find inimitable ways to rob banks. Her modus operandi was very simple. She used to walk in to the bank, pass on a hastily written note that read; "TICK TOCK. I HAVE A BOMB." Currently she is serving her jail terms in the Iron County Jail in Cedar City, Utah while selling the rights of the movie for $50,000.
The movie has been a little twisted to hold on to Indian sentiments. Praful Patel is a 30 something divorcée living in Atlanta who is leading a very complex life. Her character has been so well defined and written – a divorcée, job, complicated family life, and over everything else, she is ambitious. She has her own imperfections and admits to them too. She is weird & has been trying her best to make her life perfect but in vein. Simran is not the Queen you saw in 2014, she is neither the Manu you saw in 2015, she is one woman who wants to live life in her own terms without being nagged for marriage or other trivial things.
The best thing about Simran is that Kangana is endearing as the lively Praful, has no guilty conscience about drinking and walking down to a man in the bar and starting up picky lines like 'Are you tired? Because you are running in my mind' or telling off impending bed partners off with 'You are a cute guy, but not a decent guy. No protection, no sex, my friend.' She lives life in her own terms and rules. She jumps into any kind of escapade without thinking of the consequences.
Since last few years, various directors have churned out women oriented movies like Pink, Mardani, Akira, Parched, Noor, Anarkali of Arrah, Indu Sarkar, and now it is Simran from Hanslal Mehta. Even though there is no supporting star cast to give her a stand, Kangana makes us watch her; with her plain stark face, she comes across as a genuine, solid woman; someone you can identify with. The movie might not have been a runaway success but Kangana shines all the way through.
biswajittripathy.wordpress.com/2017/09/22/296/
Dhanak (2015)
Wonderful Sibling love...
Two wonderful kids, Hetal Gada as Pari and Krrish Chhabria as Chhotu walks a wonderful journey of life to give us one superb movie called Dhanak.
Pari's only wish from life is to gift the vision to her loving brother Chhotu on his ninth birthday. The kids stay with their Chacha and Chachi and when their wicked Chachi refuse to pay for his surgery, she along with her brother starts a journey to meet Shahrukh Khan (shooting in a nearby place) who they believe will pay for the surgery.
What happens in the journey makes the synopsis of the movie. Pari is a fan of Shahrukh while Chhotu is a fan of Salman. Their cute quarrel about who is a better actor gives some nice moments to the movie. The chemistry between both the kids would make you believe that they are real siblings. A female bandit on the way, an about to be wedded family, a gang wanting to kidnap Pari and sale her off, a truck driver who gives them lift, a foreigner who is walking for world peace are the various characters you meet for a short duration on their journey.
The story line is so real, the kids are so lively, the scenes from picturesque Rajasthan makes it a wonderful show piece. Above everything, it's the kids to watch out for.
Kukunoor came back after a wonderful Laxmi with this movie and with a star in Pari (Hetal Gada). She is the heart and soul of the movie even though Chhotu (Krrish Chhabria) keeps the rhythm going.
And if such a cute movie doesn't have a happy ending, nothing else would.
Parched (2015)
Four women, four different stories, each of them struggle in their own life connected to each other by hope.
Four women, four different stories, each of them struggle in their own life connected to each other by hope. At the end of the day, they are left along to fight their own demons, and stage their own personal wars. Parched is a hard hitting story of four Rajasthan women, who live in a tightly controlled male subjugated society, hemmed in by custom. They unrepentantly talk about love, sex, their dreams and struggles in their day-to-day life.
Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee), a 30 something widow lives in a rural Rajasthan village with her 17 year old son Gulab (Riddhi Sen). She herself, married as a child, struggles against her 17 year old son's dowry and marriage to Jaanki (Lehar Khan), a neighbor's daughter who is hardly 15. Gulab is in the midst of a wrong crowd in the village who don't believe in women's education or development and are more interested in prostitutes & booze.
Rani's best friend Lajjo (Radhika Apte), is thrilled that her best friend's son is getting married and that she will become grand mom soon. She herself has been made to believe by her alcoholic husband (Mahesh Balraj) that she can't conceive a child and is subjected to torture by her husband regularly. Lajjo is also a skilled seamstress. She and Rani, along with other women, work for a local entrepreneur Kishan (Sumeet Vyas) and are saving for the village to finally get a satellite and television—their first real connection to the outside world.
Bijli (Surveen Chawla) who is a close friend of both these women is an erotic dancer in a performing troupe and also a prostitute who entertains clients made weak by desire.
Jaanki, who has been disowned by her husband Gulab dreams of completing her education and standing on her own feet. She is subjected to torture from Rani briefly before being married off by her to a young man from her village at the tail end of the story.
Life moves like an interminable cycle of soreness and small delights when it all breaks down into pieces. Rani found out that Jaanki's hair has been cut off, dishonoring her in her village. That results in Gulab rejecting her and going after wrong women and booze. Manoj's cruelty towards Lajjo grows more and more severe. Bijli finds out a new girl might substitute her.
A rural village where decade old traditions are fast changing but women are still being treated shabbily and fiercely. The Director Leena Yadav has made an honest attempt to show something unusual and a movie which is made for festive circuits not the regular Indian audience. Keeping pace with all the four stories while keeping in sync with the connecting characters is a wearisome task which the Director has handled very delicately. Almost all the men in the movie play villain barring Kishan who has played a compassionate character. But the cruelty goes undeterred and he is brutally killed for trying to bring change to village and making the women empowered.
Even though the male characters play villains in the movie, the women are not much better mainly Rani, Lajjo and Bijli. Lajjo though subjected to torture by her husband frequently, lives for his approval all the time. Rani is fully aware of her dark days when she was agonized by her husband and mother-in-law still treats Jaanki with disdain and neglect. Bijli seems open-minded but can't find a way to free herself for a life without a man. All three women are parched for everything; for passion, for love, for sex, for freedom but don't have the audacity to liberate themselves for the life they are so in quest of.
These conflicts of minds keep the movie appealing and startling. Russell Carpenter's ("Titanic") cinematography makes the village garishly alive and full of color. The movie has music, sex but more than that it sincerely shows the strength of the four beautiful women of a remote village who are smart, articulate, skillful, who make the dry land like one ringed in beauty.
Based on a completely illusory story, Parched written and directed by Leena Yadav shows forced child marriages, financial difficulties, spousal and familial rape, physical and emotional abuse by alcoholic husbands. All drawn from real life incidents of rural Rajasthan when she travelled to Rajasthan and spoke to the women there to find their story. This is her effort to show how these women desire to live regardless of being bound by the tradition, mental and physical abuse.
Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho (2015)
This story needed to be told.
Miss Tanakpur Hazir ho is a satire stressing on the bogus cases being filed in various lower courts. Vinod Capri, the director claims that the story is motivated by true events which can't be denied as this particular case was highlighted so much by media once upon a time. It is a movie where politicians use state machinery to extract personal revenge against people.
Annu Kapoor playing the role of Sualaal is the head of a village married very late to a young Maya (Hrishita Bhatt) almost half of his age. Unable to be satisfied by her husband, Maya is attracted to Arjun (Rahul Bagga) who she meets in absence of Sualaal. Sualaal suspects his wife but unable to prove anything in absence of any evidence. Once one of his accomplishes spots both of them together and thrashes Arjun left and right. On the day of his sister's wedding, when everyone is in home, he sneaks to Sualaal's home to meet Maya. Sualaal finds out and thrashes Arjun with help of his accomplishes. One of his cronies tells him that if he creates more chaos, people would get to know about his wife's affair and that would bring ill-repute to him. So Sualaal decides to frame Arjun in a fake rape case of his buffalo "Miss Tanakpur". He bribes everyone from police to doctor and forges evidence and get the case registered. Arjun is arrested and sent to jail. His sister's marriage is broken and his father dies in the process of a hunger strike. The case is opened in court where the lawyer argues to punish him for raping a holy buffalo.
On the next hearing on way to Court, the buffalo meets up with an accident and severely injured. While everyone is apathetic towards her, Arjun takes care of the buffalo. On the next hearing, when Miss Tanakpur is brought to court, it is found that this is not the real Miss Tanakpur. The judge is upset and orders to get the real Miss Tanakpur to court. Later Sualaal admits that he sold of Miss Tanakpur because she was injured and needed treatment and he wasn't willing to spend money on her. With great difficulty they manage to locate Miss Tanakpur and bring her back to Police Station. Sualaal however isn't very happy with the way court proceeding is going on and hence decides to get Miss Tanakpur marry Arjun to bring insult to his family. Sualaal borrows Miss Tanakpur for one night to get her married to Arjun however, Miss Tanakpur ran away from the home and no one was able to trace her. On the next hearing learning about all this, judge orders suspension of the investigating Police Officer (Om Puri) who reveals the truth and Sualaal and his accomplishes are sent to Jail. Arjun is acquitted from the case and let off.
During the 135 minutes of the movie, you can see the hypocrisy that passes of as rituals in the village; false police cases to harass poor villagers. The movie trailer crossed million views on Youtube within just three days of its launch. With such a small budget, Miss Tanakpur Hazir Ho tried to retain the uniqueness it attempted to show on its script. The movie could have been better but the story needed to be told by someone sooner or later.
Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015)
Maanjhi - an epic love story.
"Shandaar, Zabardast, Zindabad", this dialogue from the movie is ideal to describe the movie in three words. More than anything, this movie revolves around a soul touching love story of Dashrath and Faguniya. Shahjahan got Tajmahal built in memory of Mumtaz while Dasrath Manjhi built a passage all by himself through a rocky mountain for his wife with help of just a chisel and hammer.
Cutting through a mountain with a hammer and a chisel is like flawless catching of raindrops in one hand. A native of Gelhaur village near Gaya in Bihar, Dashrath Manjhi manages this almost impractical task against all odds, proving the age old adage "where there is a will, there is way".
It takes nerve to make a biopic of a not so famous person who broke through the rocky mountain in around 22 years. The story is inspired by his life and how he went through all the odds to break through the mountain a small road that would reduce the distance to the nearest village from 26km to 2km. Because he couldn't save his wife from dying for which he blamed the mountain and he promised to his dying wife that, he will break through a road in between that mountain.
Bihar in 60's was mostly dominated by caste system and the lowest of lower class was Musahar in caste pyramid. They were being humiliated and disgraced for petty reasons.Horseshoes were nailed to their soles if they dare to rise above their station and try to wear even shoes. Women were carried off and raped as per the whims of the upper caste. No laws or rights ever existed for those people.
The soul touching chemistry between Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte, the transformation from loyal husband to obsessed old man and the well-executed climax scene stole the thunder.
In this transfixing plot, there are numerous situations that make you sit tight and take notice at the way the plot is moving. In the end, it isn't half as amazing as Dashrath Manjhi was in actuality.
Maanjhi – the mountain man is worth watching thanks to the astounding performances by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, marvelous direction and astounding background score.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)
The Method that works.
Bollywood and Salman have mostly been associated with method films that guarantees success and fame almost always. But with Kabir Khan it is not same, even his perfect method films aren't really those typical ones you see every other day.
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan", this year's big Eid release, is a perfect emotional movie and makes for a perfect viewing. A god-fearing, Hanuman worshiping earnest Bajrangi who thinks even eating meat is a sin and entering mosque is taboo. The child actor Harshali Malhotra plays a mute six-year-old Pakistani citizen who accidentally strays into India and it's her character that brings out the best from Salman Khan or Pavan as he is addressed in the movie. Lost, hungry and lonely, Munni aka Shahida sticks to Pavan and unable to shake her off, Pavan takes her home not knowing anything about her. The mute one communicates all her feelings through her poignant eyes.
Their bond is charming and their chemistry is mind-blowing. The innocent face of Harshali and vibrant expressions while leading him to India are some of the best moments of the movie.
As the movie progresses and Pavan starts looking for her parents and while he greets the crowd with Adaab instead of Jai Shri Rama while entering the Indian soil towards the end of movie, each of the moment are soul-touching. There are few moments where the peace angle is shown, the romance between Pavan and her school teacher Rasika. But the movie mostly focuses on the relationship between Pavan and the mute child Munni. You can sit back and let the plot take you for a ride into an area in world whose existence Indians don't even acknowledge, POK. As Om Puri, playing a wise 'maulana' in the film, tells the hero: 'thoda sa Kashmir hamaare paas bhi hai'.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the Pakistani TV scribe nearly steals the show with his story on the little girl lost in border. Flashes of Gaddar shows when Bajrangi decides to unite Munni with her parents across the border. This was highlighted much before the release of the movie. There is nothing really in the first half, the film starts in the second half when the character enters across the border. At 2 hours and 20 odd minutes, the picture is cool and entertaining. Climax is a bit stretched but the reasoning is logical and go with the flow. The movie has heart, its winsome, the picturesque scene based on POK are way too good.
O Teri (2014)
Jane bhi do doston..
Two jokers can't replace veterans like Ravi Vaswani and Naseeruddin Shah. Putting Salman's name in a movie, doesn't make it a masterpiece. Remaking a classic like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron to a C-grade movie like O-Teri doesn't guarantee you a hit.
When you are remaking a cult classic like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, you must keep in mind who all you are remaking. The movie that made Aziz Mirza a household name can not make Atul Agnihotri one, if he doesn't stick to the basics of film making.
Honestly, O Teri is a complete disaster and a simply O Teri for cinegoers who went to see it. Nothing in the movie is worth watching and it s a complete time waste.
Addicted to Love (1997)
A Simple Love Story.
Meg Ryan has always been my favorite actress for her spontaneous acting. The best of hers was always "You Have got mail", and "Sleepless in Seattle". But "Addicted to Love" sets a new standard about her.
This is the story about two pairs of lovers played by Maggie-Anton and Sam-Linda. Story starts with both of them being dropped by their respective partners for each other.
Both Sam and Maggie have been dropped by their respective partners for each other. And they must work together to reunite with their respective partners. Both of them tried to ruin Anton's life who is the ex boy friend of Maggie so that they can separate the couple. But while doing so, unknowingly they fall for each other.
A plain and simple love story presented so well that it can be watched again and again. A romantic comedy about obsession, possessiveness. Both Sam played by Matthew Broderick and Maggie played by Meg Ryan have done justice to their role. However, Anton played by Tcheky Karyo has done a tremendous role too.
Aiyyaa (2012)
Nice Attempt Wasted
This is supposed to be Rani Mukheji's comeback movie after a few flops. Story concentrated only to show only Rani. Nice attempt has been made to make a great movie. Presented very differently but may be the viewers are not ready to accept this kind of movie. I won't say that I didn't like the movie but not everyone will like this kind of movie and this can go down in history as a very nice experiment gone wrong.
Just one song is worth humming and it had topped all charts during that time too. It was a craze among the kids. Rani has done pretty well. Rani's brother played by Amey Wagh; The role of Madhav played by Subodh Bhave is exceedingly real and played his character very well. Maina played by Anita Date looks as nasty as she was supposed to be.
In all a one time watch.
Aarakshan (2011)
A Masterpiece from Prakash Jha
Aarakshan is a well made movie from Prakash Jha on the subject of reservation based on caste.
Dr. Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan) is the Principal of a very well known college and his request for approval for reservation is rejected by standing committee of the institute he works for. So he resigns from his job. The new Principal Mithilesh Singh operates a parallel coaching institute. Story takes a different turn when Prabhakar Anand is thrown out from his home by Mithilesh Singh and he goes and stays in a Tabela and starts his own free coaching institute for everyone. His role has been borrowed from mathematician Anand from Patna who is running Super 30 and his coaching institute is named as Super Tabela rhyming with the Super 30 of Anand Kumar.
The climax is very poor with entry of a Hema Malini whose only role is for just 5 minutes and story ends as if there was no issues at all. Bad acting & presence by Hema destroys the climax else the movie is well made. Saif, Amitabh & Deepika including Manoj Bajpayee have done justice to their role.
Prakash Jha has written a very nice story with a very weak climax otherwise which the story is much better. Sachin's cinematography and Shankar's music makes it a memorable experience. A must watch for everyone.
Shaitan (2011)
A very different movie.
A NRI family shifts to Mumbai and the daughter Kalki makes friend with some spoilt brats who believe in one thing; life is to enjoy, minus rules. Gang includes a drug peddler, a model, and an idle guy.
While they start enjoying their life, a hit & run accident in which the victim dies on spot takes the story to a complete new turn. The investigating officer finds out the truth & starts blackmailing them for paying him up a huge amount of money. The gang mutually decides to plot a fake kidnapping of Kalki and ask ransom from her parents. Inspector Rajiv Khandelwal who was suspended for throwing a politician from 1st floor of his building was asked to investigate the case. Everything goes wrong after that with distrust among gang, & a series of rape, murder, blast follows.
Awesome cinematography by R Madhi, Kunal Sharma's sound design, Sreekar Prasad's editing, & a very beautiful director in Bejoy Nambiar. A beautifully made movie from the house of Anurag Kasyap. Some nice background scores makes this film a must watch.
Phir Kabhi (2008)
Once More...
I bought this DVD few weeks back but then wasn't too keen to watch it in a hurry because I knew to watch these kind of movies, I need to watch it with body and mind in it. In between, read the review of the movie and realized that the movie has not been ever released in any cinema halls as there were no takers.
This is a love story of the senior citizens where Hari Singh (Mithun) is married for 40 years to Lakshmi (Rati Agnihotri) and is very happy with her. It is after a sudden death of his wife that he has started feeling lonely when he gets a letter from Ganga (Dimple) who was her first love. They were in love during their schools and couldn't marry because of his fear of his father. He starts exchanging letters with Ganga and even starts visiting her. But then her daughter-in-law (Kitu Gidwani) believes that this relationship will never be accepted in the society and it could set a bad example to her grown up daughter. She refuses Hari Singh to meet Ganga. But when she discusses this with her husband, she realized that Ganga is meant only for Hari Singh. Both Son and Daughter-in-Law decides to unite them.
Mithun has set an example by giving one of the best performance of his career with equally strong performances by Dimple and Rati Agnihotri. Rimoh Mithun Chakraborty as the young Mithun and Neha Jhulka as Mithun's grand daughter are impressive too.
I must admit that this movie is a must watch.