Two Movies and a Web series

 Review

Dahaad, Kathal and Bheed

Watch all the three and then thank me. 

The three have something in common - the protagonist in each of them is a police officer belonging to a lower caste (as per the Indian caste system still followed by many). Two of them are unmarried women.

Dahaad (Roar) is a thriller web-series. You will be binging on this. Sonakshi Sinha has done a wonderful job as a protagonist. She plays a police officer carrying the burden of two curses - being an unmarried woman in a man’s world and belonging to a lower caste. I mention this because these themes flow through the series like an undercurrent, making you constantly aware of them.

But hats off to the psychopath serial killer played by Vijay Verma. I think he has fine-tuned his ability to portray such characters.

That the story has been told impeccably and it portrays a strong woman comes as no surprise because Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti are the creators.

Looking forward to more such stories from this genre.

Kathal (Jackfruit) as a satirical comedy, shines. Sanya Malhotra plays the police officer, unmarried in a man’s world, also belonging to a lower caste, has really honed her acting skills. It’s a joy to watch her smile and catch criminals and carry the movie on her shoulders.

An aside on the story: A fact that it is almost impossible for a woman to marry someone above her caste even if she is a police officer. This officer makes sure that the constable boyfriend gets promoted to a sub-inspector so that the professional gap isn’t too huge. However, the inspector is saddened by the fact that she has been promoted to DSP!!

The movie revolves delightfully around the disappearance of two jackfruits (of a very high quality, or so it seems) from a politician’s garden and trying to locate them and at no point does the movie’s plot seem banal. So who stole the jackfruits and why were so many girls disappearing?

Bheed (Crowd) is in black and white and one of the reasons why it hits the senses hard. Yes, the lack of colour makes the story more poignant. Rajkumar Rao plays the role of a policeman who (yes you guessed it!) belongs to the lower caste. With a strong cast including Rajkumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Ashutosh Rana, the movie delivers its message well and clear. The COVID times are not easily forgotten. The pain and the helplessness of those walking on the roads for days trying to reach Home and are shut out at the border by an unfeeling administration is portrayed expertly so that it hits the audience hard.

Anubhav Sinha has done a wonderful job trying to bring out the layers of human emotions and drama when faced with the question of survival. 

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!

Photograph

Movie Review (Hindi)

Two very different worlds collide and there is no eruption of any form, just a slow melt. That is the story of Photograph. The technique the director, Ritesh Batra, uses is tricky. His story unfolds slowly without any hurry but most importantly, without any ups or downs. Throughout the movie I waited for the moment of crisis and it never came, making me feel cheated. The movie ended as strangely and left me feeling a little lost.

Miloni, played by Sanya Malhotra, is a young, intelligent and pretty woman. But she hardly talks or smiles. Rafi, played by Nawazuddin, is also not much of a talker. But then Nawazuddin makes every character his own and is at ease.

Thank god we had Rafi’s grandmother, played by Farrukh Jaffer, coming in who brings some life on screen, managing to ignite some reaction from the other two.

The cinematography was wonderful because it was easy to be a part of Mumbai going through its streets, chawls, cinema halls, teashops and the Gateway of India. This last one is where it all began with the photograph taken by Rafi, one of several professional photographers at the Gateway who coerce you to get clicked. Miloni gets clicked but then vanishes without paying and the copy remains with Rafi. He uses this photo to introduces her as his fiancée to his grandmother. 

Batra’s earlier movie, Lunch box was also slow moving but the story was gripping. Looking forward to more movies from Ritesh, only I need something to hold on to.

Badhaai Ho (Congratulations)

Movie Review (Hindi)

There are some things in life which the younger generation take for granted. For example – Parents are there primarily to fulfill the needs of children or the household. That they are two individuals who are human beings with the same sense and sensibilities as them does not seem logical to them.

So when a middle aged couple, (played expertly by Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao) expect another child after 16/17 years, there is a negative eruption in the house and bad jokes and rib poking float around among friends, relatives and acquaintances.

The movie deals with this subject and deals with it expertly. The elder son of the couple, Nakul (played by Ayushmann Khurrana) is working and has a girlfriend (played by Sanya Malhotra), his younger brother is in class XII and both become butts of jokes. Strangely, it is only when Nakul’s girlfriend Renee’s mother talks about the embarrassment that the older couple has caused, that Nakul speaks out for his parents and is able to see things in proper light.

Funnily enough, this kind of a situation, (late pregnancy), was a common occurrence just two generations ago.

Though the film is not a big budget one, meaning there are no huge stars in it, the actors are the best in the business. The person who simply stands out with her act is Nakul’s Granny, played by Surekha Sikri. She cantankerous, very annoyed with her daughter in law at all times, furious that the son and daughter- in-law should indulge in love making at their age but also standing up for them when society makes fun of them.
These are the kind of films that will rule the roost because they hit closer to home. It is primarily our story that we see on screen and we love to watch it from the outside watching how things unravel and then fall into place.