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. 

Pagglait (Crazy)

 

Movie Review (Hindi)

Sanya Malhotra is an actress who seems to be open to trying out a variety of roles. So I watched this movie to see what she would be up to this time.  

Writer Director Umesh Bist has cleverly woven the story around an event where emotions run high and skeletons often pop out of cupboards. In this case, this skeleton turned out to be a photograph that pulls the story forward.

Pagglait a light hearted comedy even though the premise is built around a death in the family. Sanya as a wife of five months-turned-widow plays her part effortlessly. The cast couldn’t get any better than this with Raghubir Yadav, Ashutosh Rana, Sayani Gupta and Sheeba Chaddha leading the pack. 

The music by Arijit Singh is like a breath of fresh air and this is his first venture as a music composer. Waiting for great work from him!

Newton

Movie Review (Hindi)

Yes, I am really glad that this is the movie nominated for the Oscars from India. I am also really surprised that such a good film came into being!! We all know that the so called Indian Democracy is falling apart at the seams. The total disintegration of that democracy is picturised beautifully in the elections held at the Dandakaranya forests in Chattisgarh. This area has seen a lot of violence between the security forces and the Maoists. No wonder then that the people of this region couldn't care less about elections.

When well meaning public servants want to do a good job and go about their duties, they face life threatening obstacles, not by the so-called enemy but by people apparently on our side. One such public servant is Nutan Kumar turned Newton Kumar, who has questions which no one wants to answer. The casting couldn't have been better. Along with Rajkumar Rao as Newton, we have such stalwarts as Raghubir Yadav and Pankaj Tripathi.

I felt like an invisible character moving around with the motley group of superbly etched characters each outdoing the other in enacting their roles. It has the feel of a docu-drama. The screenplay and dialogue simply pushed up the bar of the movie. 

Amit Masurkar, thank you for reinstating my faith in Indian cinema. Looking forward to more such gems...