FILM

AMIT

June 2, 2022

“Those who choose differently must suffer the consequences. They must take the pain their decisions bring.”
Sachin Kundalkar, Cobalt Blue

The above quote is from the brilliant book that I had read years back – Cobalt Blue written by Sachin Kundalkar. It was originally written in Marathi which was then translated in English by Jerry Pinto.

The reason I am taking about this book because it was recently adapted for a movie by Netflix starring Prateik Babbar, Dr. Neelay Mehendale, Anjali Sivaraman, Neil Bhoopalam and Geetanjali Kulkarni amongst others.

The story is about a pair of brother-sister both whom fall in love with one man: their unnamed paying guest – A painter, a vagabond but most importantly someone whose loyalty lies only to himself. There is no betrayal but a genuine forged relationship that helps his lovers i.e. the brother and sister understand and face their inner truth and face their demons.

While watching this film I couldn’t help but go back to the character played by Prateik Babbar that of Amit in the 2008 rom-com Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na. Amit is a loner who always has a bone to pick with the boyfriend of his sister. He is an introvert with a quirky lifestyle having a mouse as a pet. Pratiek Babbar had received a special mention by the Filmfare Awards for acting in this film which was incidentally his debut performance too.

In the movie Cobalt Blue the unnamed paying guest is the sure-footed confident man with no family who moves from town to town on projects/visits. Prateik Babbar brilliantly essays both these roles seamlessly.

I strongly believe that if the character Amit from Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na had a story of its own then Cobalt Blue is perfect extension to that and helps us getting behind his motives and behavior.

I believe this is how the story of Amit goes …..

The reason he is a loner with a quirky lifestyle can be attributed to the fact he is still coming to terms with his sexuality. Over the next few years over numerous sexual interactions and failed relationships he finally comes to terms that he is someone who is attracted to both the genders and is a bisexual man. Having loved and lost he has a difficulty forging permanent relationships and always has an escape plan ready to move on, for fear of getting attached.

This very lifestyle takes him away from his immediate family, moving from one city to another monetizing his painting skills and doing customized job works. Hell bent on hiding his history and family behind a façade of fake narrative so as not to have a permanency and attachment to one place or person.

In Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na he wants nothing but the best for his sister and in Cobalt Blue he ensures that his lovers Tanay & Anuja are able to burn the bridges and move on to greater things in life. He helps them understand themselves thru him.

The story of Amit is something that is waiting to be remade as a series or a film. Amit is flawed character that is waiting to be heard and seen.

DEATH & GRIEF

May 3, 2022

Over the past two years the world has seen so much death and miniscule are those whose family has remained untouched by this pandemic. We all have lost a relative, a friend or even an acquaintance.

Alas life moves on for some and for some it comes to a complete halt with loss of one’s bearings but in either case what remains are the memories.

The moot question is how do we grieve?

George Bernard Shaw in The Doctor’s Dilemma: A Tragedy had said,
“Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.”

So when we laugh or smile, do we ever stop grieving or has it just been pushed aside for the time being?

Is grief quantifiable?

Is shedding tears a true barometer of one’s grief?

A cousin of mine visited a salon immediately after her father’s passing away, for her hair needed some touch-ups in order to look ‘decent’ for the condolence meeting. Did she stop mourning because of this or her grief any less?

Is grief directly proportional to emotional and financial needs?

How long do we grieve or what should be the mourning period?

Are those 13 days enough for one to stop mourning?

Do the dead keep living in our memories forever?

If yes then how long before it just remains a faded memory?

While we mourn the dead, do we forgive them too?

Personally for me each time I look back at some dead people, their evil deeds eclipses whatever good memories I may have had of them.

Nothing explains these questions better than the below mentioned three movies that deals with the topic of losing a family member and how each one reacts to it:

PAGLAIT

This is a film about a young widow who is indifferent to the death of her husband and unable to grieve on her loss. On the other hand are her in-laws who can’t get over the loss of their son and sole bread winner.

RAMPRASAD KI TEHRVI

This one is about siblings arriving at their ancestral homes on the death of their father. Each one trying to ascertain their financial gains, supremacy and it’s the grieving mother who is left alone to decide her future and legacy.

KARKHANISANCHI WAARI

This one is a Marathi film about a family who undertake a road trip to bury the ashes of the family patriarch and the custodian of their family land. How each is on this trip for their own gains mostly financial while the wife of the patriarch gets no time to mourn as she soon realizes the patriarch has a mistress tucked away somewhere.

Each of these movies showcases death and mourning thru a typical Indian point of view wherein entire immediate and extended family huddle together to comfort the mourning family. But it’s also the time skeletons tumbles out of the closet, relationships redefined, some new ones forged and some old healed wounds scratched opened.

Dealing with death is never easy but it is always there, staring right across our faces – ALWAYS FOR EACH LIVING SECOND OF OUR LIFE.

Bollywood

September 9, 2020

Most of you who know me personally or follow me on social media would know my love for films.

I have thrived on watching films over the 4 decades of my being. This love affair that started with Hindi Films aka Bollywood and has taken me to Hollywood to Regional Cinema and to World Cinema thanks to the advent of sub-titles.

Hindi Films i.e. Bollywood shall forever remain my first love. For they have made me happy and sad, made me question and also made me hate, all with equal measures. Their music is the only one that I can comprehend for they tap into each emotion and occasion.

Besides the movies the people that light up the silver screen and those who enable them have been inspired entire generations. They have been there to serve the nation: the case in point being actors who have gone to the frontiers to boast the morale of our Jawans amongst others.

However my heart pains when some sections of the media goes on to paint the entire industry as the den of all vices. The industry has some issues but isn’t these matters that plague our society irrespective of the industry. The film industry is an easy target and scapegoat, for there is too much money and lives at stake. One bad weekend can be death knell for a film. Targeting films and their actors makes for good politics and that’s what we are seeing these days.

Sensationalising news on Film Industry makes for good TRP’s. Look what has happened to a particular news network that have been garnering substantial eyeballs and thus filling in their coffers. Like in all other matters they are the Prosectutor, Judge and Jury all rolled in to one.

Well sorry for using the “roll” word, for Rhea has been put in jail for rolling things she shouldn’t have and for that matter no middle-class person should have, after all these are things only the rich and famous do and not us.

For the Film Industry I hope this crisis gives you time to put your house in order or what the hell, Wait !!

People have very–very short memories they are going to come back to watch movies of the very people who are now being shamed and disliked. Till that short time work on good scripts and take us back to the magic of a dark Cinema Halls and lit-up Silver Screens !!

रुक जाना नहीं तू कहीं हार के, काँटों पे चलके मिलेंगे साये बहार के…..

Suicide

June 15, 2020

Yesterday we all were left shell-shocked with the news of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide: From a small-town and making a successful transition from TV to Films, his was a success few others have been able to replicate.

According to media reports he was suffering from depression and this is what made him take his own life.

But can we ever know what goes inside someone’s brains?? When do those billions of neurons in the brains start malfunctioning? Who are we to judge and offer solutions?

Are suicidal thoughts a pre-cursor to an attempt to suicide and is attempt to suicide a step towards that last fatal one? When staying positive and strong does not help what do we do? How do we seek help?

Not everyone is blessed with family/friends to take care of one’s mental health even they are sometimes ill-equipped to handle these matters. Seeking help of a psychiatrist conjures up all kind of reactions and reluctances.

Every other day we read stories about suicide for one reason or another, how does one start the journey on the ardours road? I have an aunt who is known to have luckily unsuccessfully attempted this thrice and each time she has managed to have her way and come out stronger. She has been lucky that her family was there to support and listen to her but not everyone has fate on their side.

These are the beautiful lines from a song of Ghazal Maestro Jagjit Singh’s album Someone Somewhere that he released after the death of his young son in 1990 that encapsulates the feeling beautifully.

फ़ुर्सत किसे थी जो मेरे हालात पूछता, हर शख़्स अपने बारे में कुछ सोचता मिला

उसने तो ख़ैर अपनों से मोड़ा था मुँह, मैंने ये क्या किया के मैं ग़ैरों से जा मिला ….

THAPPAD

March 5, 2020

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Usually when I write a movie review it’s mostly the same day or maximum it gets posted the very next day, however this time it’s been 4-5 days since I saw THAPPAD at the cinema and the review is coming out now!! The reason being this movie confused me, made me ask some uncomfortable questions and also it was hard to judge it.

So the plot is about a young corporate Guy living with his wife and mother, all is hunky dory till in the moment of fury and frustration he slaps his wife and how things starts unravelling thereafter. Each relationship is bought to the table for scrutiny, introspection and re-evaluation.

Tapsee Pannu who plays the wife cannot get over the fact that she has been slapped by her husband she moves to her parents place, gets a lawyer and demands a fair redress to her rights. She does get coaxed by her family, even her lawyer to forget it after all its just one थप्पड़ and move on but she digs her heel in!!

This becomes the precursor of unravelling / setting a new dynamic to people who are associated with her be it her parents, her lawyer, her brother and his Girlfriend, her mother-in-law and even her domestic help.

Some of us have been conditioned to accept and ignore physical violence in marriages, I am sure we know couples who face this and the wives continues to bear the brunt of her husband’s abuse for fear of family name , her security but we carry on ignoring. I mean don’t the husband realise its wrong. Most of us still live in a society where the roles are pre-determined, thousands of years of patriarchy is something जो जाते से ही जायेगी!!!

Coming back to this movie – Premise is good, the star cast bang on, the long silences work in the movie but in the second half I wanted a remote control in my hand to Fast Forward some sequences. I really liked the opening sequence where the inconsequential Orange Candy Bar (maybe a metaphor for love), sets the relationship dynamics between the different couples in the movie.

Did I see myself in the movie? Most definitely (before you jump to conclusion I am not Physical abusive) !!

Am I a practicing patriarch?? Well YES, but I like to believe I am a little emancipated

It is too late for my movie review to make you want to watch this in theater near you or wait for it to get released on some OTT Platform, either way it will definitely make you question certain things !!

JUDGEMENTALL HAI KYA

July 27, 2019

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The title of this film initially was Mental Hai Kya before they changed it to Judgementall Hai Kya. This was done to pacify and be political correct after the Psychiatrists took offence. So I shall follow the latter title and be Judgy as hell, which I am usually is!!

This film is about a little girl Bobby (Kangana Ranaut) who loses her parents to freak accident and thereby develops a mental condition, so I am made to infer by the filmmakers. She grows up to become a dubbing artist, a wannabe actress with her own mental issues. A pair of young couple comes to live with as tenants in her house and in which eventually the wife is burned and killed. The suspect is both the Bobby and the victims husband (Rajkumar Rao) and they both accuse each other for this crime, however both eventually gets the clean chit from the cops.

Post interval Bobby meets this guy again who is now married to her cousin living in London and what follows is the doubts and accusations towards each other. They both are wary of each other and try gathering dirt from each ones past to strengthen their case. This being a murder and a Psychological thriller I am not going to reveal anything more.

So being Judgemental AF this is what I think:

What Works:

The Brilliant Kangana Ranaut, she aces at playing these roles. Unhinged and unafraid to play such a character.
Some of the jokes and the characters work in the first half, especially the cops and her doormat of a boyfriend.
Rajkumar Rao is again someone who always lifts up any character he plays.
I like the take on Sita ji and the use of chaupai from Ramcharita Manas.

What Fails:

Despite it being just 121 minutes long, it feels long which means sometimes it is not going anywhere.
The second half is such a slog just wanted to fast-forward to the end.
The climax is overlong and it takes forever to come.
I do not really understand the symptoms of Bobby’s mental illness wish they could have elaborated that to, maybe know her better.

To deliver my closing remarks in the Judgement of this film: The Ayes get drowned in the din of the Nos.

समझे ?? नहीं ??

400 शब्दों की एक बात इस को आप मेरे हिसाब से skip कर सकते हैं !!

SOTY2

May 14, 2019

After the disastrous movie outing last week for Avengers : Endgame last nite it was for another movie franchise i.e. Student of The Year 2 !!

The first edition of Student of the Year was irreverent, cool and enjoyable. It had great music and launched three actors that continue to blaze in the Indian Film Industry ever since. They were raw then but definitely on the threshold of leaving a mark for themselves. It had a great supporting cast with the super funny gay principal played with ease by Rishi Kapoor who had feeling for his sports teacher The competitions in the race to the coveted Student of the Year trophy were stupid, foolish but were definitely fun to watch. . It was about 2 boys and a girl and had super gloss and sheen!!

On the another hand SOTY 2 is about getting a director from the Dharma Production stable to match up to his bosses version. The story is what u get when mix SOTY with Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar in a blender and you end up making a unpalatable blend. SOTY2 launches three new actors: Aditya Seal, Ananya Pandey and Tara Sutaria. None of them have the oomph and screen presence of the previous lead actors. Ok a little points can be given to Ananya Pandey but that’s it and then we have The Tiger Shroff- whose body, his dancing skills and his Parkour expertise have been on display in previous movies too. Confession time: this is my first Tiger Shroff movie ever.

I am like: ठीक है नाच लिए, कपडे उतार दिए, कूद लिए लेकिन थोडा एंटरटेनमेंट भी करा तो इस ढाई घंटों में, which was nowhere in sight. Dharma Productions is now all about LGBT rights and characters but इतने cliché character डालने ज़रोरी हैं क्या ?? Gul Panag as a Lesbian Sports Teacher is completely waster. I am sure Dharma Productions can do better and Samir Soni as the Principal !! क्यूँ पर क्यूँ ?? कम बजट में बनाने को बोला होगा लेकिन डायरेक्टर साब थोड़े तो better actors ले लेते ??

This film franchise is about coolness and youth but having Kabbadi is like catering to the least common denominator. इतनी कबड्डी ऐसे prestigious competition के लिए कौन खिलाता है?? और एक बात बताना तो भूल गया मैं, पूरी फिल्म में सिर्फ एक ही गाना अच्छा है वोह भी पंचमदा के सौजन्य से !!

So you have read my complaints and if you still watch this film then I do not know you !!

BADLA

March 14, 2019

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This movie is about a woman who wakes up to find a mystery murder of a man in her hotel room which is locked from inside and no trace of any other person entering the room.

Thus begins the movie and the beginning of the whodunit: finding motives, culprits and the innocent by the woman framed and her lawyer and the people involved.

The Framed Woman is Tapsee Pannu.

The Lawyer is The Amitabh Bachchan

The People involved are mainly Amrita Singh.

They have set the movie in gloomy snowing winter England which frankly could have been set anywhere. The location hardly does anything unlike the director Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahani wherein Kolkatta played an integral part of the film. It was more the case of की producer के पास पैसा है उसे कैसे दिखाएं जनता को ?

We all are now well aware of the acting prowess of Mr. Bachchan and also that of Tapsee Pannu, so they bring what they are supposed to in the movie i.e. brilliant acting. However what is the surprise element is Amrita Singh who is back after a long brake.

The movie is engaging but gets but lacks the punch of movies like Kahani, you kind of know the killer but the time the filmmakers take to get there takes too long even for a 2 hour long movie. However some of the analogies of Mahabharata does offer interesting insights.

What also surprises me is the lack of investigation / inefficiency of the London Police and how easy it seems to buy witness, proofs and find fake proofs of innocence. इस मामले में तो इस मूवी ने भारतीय पुलिस को भी पीछे छोड़ दिया.

Sadly the sum total of all the individual talent of the producer, director and the actors of this film is less than what it should have been.

So एक बार देख लीजियेगा, वैसे भी सस्पेंस वाली फिल्में एक बार ही अच्छी लगती है.

LUKA CHUPPI

March 2, 2019

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This film is set in the small town of Gwalior and Vrindavan and the whole premise hinges on the “Modern Concept” of LIVE-IN.

The hero is TV News Anchor on a Local News Network where the heroine also starts interning after graduating from Delhi. Her father is a right-wing neta, dead against Live-In relationships and is the protector of Bhartiya Sanskriti. The pair fall in love and the only condition by the heroine is the she wants to live-in before they take the final plunge.

And this very demand takes them to Gwalior, pestered by nosy aunty and sneaky neighbours before being caught by the hero’s relatives and the confusion ensues. From the falsehood about their marriage to the failed attempts in actually getting married with each other haggled on by their relatives.

The star cast starting from Karthik Aaryaan, Kirti Sanon, to the colourfully dressed Pankaj Tripathi, to the Neta/Father Vinay Pathak and the side kick of the hero Aparshakti Khurana play their parts well. So does the ensemble of actors playing the relatives. The songs in the first half seemed forced and unnecessary. And the real peppy song like Coca-Cola gets wasted in the end credits and Poster Chapwa wasn’t there only. That’s certainly unfair.

Movies set in small towns seem to be flavour of the season for Bollywood. So like this genre there is situational comedy, relatives with their own quirkiness, use of local dialect, shot on real location etc. These movies are like the millennium versions of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chaterjee’s films.

What works for me in the movie is the lead pair and their easiness and some of the scenes are really funny. The movie doesn’t real offer anything new what the movies from this genre haven’t offered earlier. But it doesn’t disappoint either.

One of the sadhus when asked about his take on LIVE-IN says “प्रेम है तो सब पवित्र है”, and in another there is this line “मुस्लिम हूँ एलियन नहीं”, with some interesting writing this one is light-breezy film, fulfilling the entertainment quotient for the weekend.

Gully Boy

February 17, 2019

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A story of a slum dweller who refuses to give up on his dreams in spite of all his hardships with a little push from his mother, his over possessive girlfriend, his questionable neighbourhood friends and a Tiger Mentor – This is Gully Boy for you when the sum total of all this adds up into a perfect weekend watch.

I have a confession here that I am tone deaf, do not understand English Songs and only Baba Sehgal comes to my mind when I think of Rap but this film has already made me read about the artists involved in its music, for the film’s music genre is something that no filmmaker has tried exploring and that also so brilliantly.

There are 4 major stand outs apart from the music for me :

Ranveer Singh – As the underdog who refuses to give up on his dreams, this is like never before Ranveer Singh. The last movie he portrayed such a calm character was in the boring film Lootera. He is shy, non-confident but with the fire simmering within and his eyes speaking volumes. With a shade darker of his skin and bereft of any flamboyance he is the perfect Gully Boy.

Alia Bhat – She portrays the possessive Girlfriend who has no inhibitions fights for and with her man. Belonging to a conservative Muslim family but who has her own ambitions, desires and dreams which she isn’t ready to give up for anyone. Like someone recently said that she is truly the Meryl Streep of India. She slays it with her performance.

Mumbai – This is a film that shows where actually Mumbai lives and how it commutes. Living in the slums travelling in the locals, the BEST Buses, sweating it out to survive in this City of Dreams. Some living after suffocating dreams, while others living to make their dreams a reality. One can actually smell the garbage, the sweat, the hot and humid Mumbai. The Mumbai lingo is pitch perfect.

Zoya Akhtar – She is the perfect example of parents passing on their genes to the kids. All her three previous films have been different and brilliant. If nepotism gives us filmmakers like her and I am all for that. Long Live Nepotism !! More Power and Glory to you.

My verdict is very easy on this one – There can’t be anything better to do this weekend than catch up on Gully Boy unless you are going to go one a date with the leading pair of this film. You can select any one according to your preferences for Iove is gender neutral.However considering this scenario is highly unlikely considering their current relationship status : GO WATCH IT !!