Bishorjon (Immersion)

Movie Review (Bengali)

I am thankful that on a very short trip to Kolkata I was able to watch this movie. I can understand why it has received the National Award for the best Bengali movie this year.

Director and actor Kaushik Ganguly has captured the essence of the title Bishorjon, beginning the movie with the Bishorjon all Bengalis are familiar with – the immersion of the goddess Durga on Vijaya Dashami, the last day of the pujas. The celebration dissolves the borders between India and Bangladesh as W.Bengal and Bangladesh together immerse their idols in the Icchhamati river.

The story takes off from here and ends with the symbolic immersion of Padma, the widow, played by Joya Ahsan.

The movie has some poignant moments – the lonely widow inhaling the cigarette smoke exhaled by Nasir, the Indian, from behind the door, reminding her of her late husband; Padma coaching Nasir, (played by Abir Chatterjee), to be a Hindu Bangladeshi and, of course, the entire immersion ceremony. The music is worth mentioning.

Hats off to the director for coming across as an accomplished actor, in a comic role. He is Ganesh Mondal, the rich man in the village deeply in love with the widow.

Also the end was left to our interpretation. Do the Border Guards Bangladesh shoot Nasir down or allow him to leave for India? Did Ganesh Mondal bribe the guard to kill him or protect him? 

Phillauri

Movie Review (Hindi)

Let's look at the main characters in this movie - A young man about to be married who is not quite ready for the knot, his fiancee who is besotted with him and a pretty ghost.
The idea of weaving a love story set during the turbulent times of India's independence with a modern day love story is indeed novel. Especially so when one of the most successful actresses, Anushka Sharma, takes on the role of a ghost. This ghost again has a back story -A girl from the village, Phillaur, who is a poet and is in love with a singer. Her love story, of course, has a tragic ending leading her to be a ghost.
Suraj Sharma who plays the character of the bridegroom-to-be, has nightmares about marriage and then he finds himself a ghost bride!! 

It does make me wonder if it isn't a great idea for intelligent actresses to turn producers. Looking forward to many more such offbeat refreshing movies...

Badrinath ki Dulhaniya

Movie Review (Hindi)

I avoid movies starring Varun Dhawan, but this movie came as a pleasant surprise. Though the movie was embellished with ridiculous songs and dance sequences, the story itself had a good message and knowing our audience, such movies are an excellent way of reaching out to the public.

In middle class households with a conservative upbringing, it is difficult for girls to fight for a better life. The entire town seems to conspire against you. And here is Alia Bhatt's character who becomes a runaway bride and chooses to fly, literally.
And not just that, Varun's character, called Badri, follows her all the way to Singapore to get her back and extract revenge. But seeing her and her ambitions, he is a changed man. It all turns very bollywoodish, but the message is clear - Listen to your daughters and do not kill their dreams. 

La La Land

Movie review (English)

Why La La Land? Were the dreams of the two protagonists really impossible ones? They do achieve their goals in the end, though I suppose not exactly the way the audience might have wanted.
That Damien Chazelle has had the courage to give the audience an out and out musical is worth applauding. The movie was a musical but did not cater to the latest pop surge in the arena. It was done so beautifully that the fact that it was a musical made no difference at all. (Learning that it was a musical, made many hesitate to watch it.)
I think the casting was flawless. Ryan Gosling as a jazz musician and Emma Stone as an actress excelled at their struggling stages. I suppose their own struggles added to the genuineness. Whatever the reason, the director was lucky to have got these two brilliant actors.
Loved the twist at the end and the flash forward of a life together and the last shared smile. There is an entire story in that!!

Raees

Movie Review (Hindi)

I am happy to write that I enjoyed this movie. Seeing the last few duds, barring Dear Zindagi, I was a little nervous. But Shah Rukh did well. A bootlegger with a heart of gold who ultimately has to pay for his crimes.... Shah Rukh aces at playing grey characters. Again he is not the typical Raj but matures into a man who knows his mind. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, his nemesis, fits his role beautifully as he does every role. 

There was no let up in the story telling and that pleased me. The songs as usual were placed there for whatever reasons, known only to the director, Rahul Dholakia. Mahira looks pretty, though I hope to see her showing off her acting prowess sometime soon. 

Hoping to see more of movies packing punch.

Movie Review (Hindi)

Haraamkhor (Unfaithful)

I was truly impressed with the movie. Not just the story which needed to be shown but the acting, the direction and the camera. There was no slickness about the movie and that was precisely what made it so real. Hats off to Nawazuddin for taking on the role of a village teacher which gave it added credence.

So many relationships were touched upon with such a lot of truth:
Sapna (played by Shweta Tripathi) comes from a broken family. Her father has been a single parent for a long time and has been in a relationship.
Sapna is in love/infatuated with her married teacher. The teacher takes advantage of this and carries on an affair with her.
A class friend is in love with Sapna and looks upon the teacher as a rival. He is helped and guided by another friend. These two young lads are our eyes and ears most of the time.
Sadly the movie ends on a tragic note. Sapna, however, comes to terms with her new mother.

Thanks to the producers for going ahead and making this movie. I do hope director Shlok Sharma continues to direct movies based on relevant themes with such rawness so as to make the audience uncomfortable.

Dear Zindagi

Movie Review (Hindi)

I know I am a little late in catching this movie but I had been waiting. Somehow I knew I wouldn't be let down and when I finally watched, I wasn't. Let down, that is.
Shah Rukh Khan apparently played an extended cameo. Whatever that means. But he shone in it. I think he does a good job of playing characters close to his age. Patients are bound to fall in love with this psychologist.

Alia Bhatt plays a young talented cinematographer with aplomb. Her independence, ambitions and her relationship issues come out beautifully. Director Gauri Shinde indeed has the pulse of today's youth.

So we see broken relationships with parents and boy friends, single woman roughing it out in a big city, looking for good job opportunities, living a bohemian lifestyle, relying on a close circle of friends. These are what most young women face in today's world.
If only solutions could come in the form of the handsome and humorous Jehangir Khan!!

Just a small question --- Why this title?

Looking forward to Gauri's next...
BTW thanks to the producers for backing this movie!!