Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar

Movie (Hindi)

I found the name of the movie quite interesting. Pinky (Satinder) was played by Arjun Kapoor and Sandeep (Sandy) was Parineeti Chopra. Besides this, the movie is a fast paced thriller which does not waste time on unnecessary songs and dances. In fact, the edit seems quite ruthless at times, keeping me quite alert.

Director Dibakar Banerjee has always brought something fresh for the audience to mull over. Arjun as a policeman (on the run) and Parineeti as a banker (on the run) have got into the skin of their characters. Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav are the best support cast one could ask for. The shooting at Pithoragarh itself adds authenticity to the plot.

Such movies in Bollywood are a rarity. So when they are released, they should not be missed. 

Movie Review (Hindi)

Byomkesh Bakshi

First, we must remember that the protagonist is a character fairly well known as a Bengali detective. He was quite famous in the forties. 

Second, many other directors have brought him to life with various degrees of success. 

Third, this edition was directed by Dibakar Banerjee.

The film opens into Calcutta of the 1940s with World War II happening in the background. The Japanese are next door trying to gain a foothold here. The British are the masters. The Chinese are smuggling in opium with impunity. The poor Indian might even forget he is in his own motherland. Very skillfully, the movie gets the audience into this milieu and then suddenly, as if in a fast moving roller coaster ride, we zip and zap through so many events and characters and violence and gore that it is hard to breathe. It is hard to dwell on what is going on in the detective’s mind. So, by the end of it, I was almost thankful that it ended. Just like Byomkesh himself, I too, am queasy about too much blood flowing all over.

But, however the director tried to portray his detective and tell his story, Sushant Singh Rajput came away with top honours.