Choona (Lime)

 Movie Review (Hindi)

This web series is a mix of a political drama, comedy and a thriller and it revolves around revenge and a heist. With the combination of all these elements, it is impossible to take a break from watching the episodes. More so because the actors are spot on with their characters.

I am an admirer of Jimmy Shergill and kudos to him for carrying the role of Shukla so beautifully. His obsession with astrology and vastu which prove to be his undoing builds upon the interesting plot. The story cleverly spins VFX into the scheme of things and this stands out in sharp contrast to astrology and faith healers.

Pushpendranath Misra as director and writer (besides Shristi Dubey and Mugdhaa Ranade) has hit the right spot and made this web series worthy of our time.

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. 

Two to Tango, Three to Jive

A comedy by Saurabh Shukla - These five words should say it all if you know the genius of Shukla. Nevertheless, it is worth writing a few lines about this play in Two Acts which was staged at the Turf Club, Pune, India on 21 Sept 2013.

Middle-aged Parminder Sethi wants to have an affair, and so three women come into his life. The three women are quite interesting and quite different from each other. The rendezvous is Sethi's mother's house in her absence. Unfortunately, the much needed affair never happens, but in the process of trying to have one, a lot of other things happen.

The comedy deserves mention because of its witty dialogue, perfect comic timing, great acting and thought provoking premise. Saurabh Shukla, Achint Kaur, Sadia Siddiqui and Preiti Mamgain have showcased their acting skills, no doubt. Also the country music playing in the background was well selected keeping in mind the perky name of the play.

I only wish the venue was a better one (a real auditorium, I mean). At times I had to crane my neck or twist my body to catch a glimpse of what was happening on stage, as two very tall people sat right in my line of vision!!

The President is Coming - the Movie

The President is Coming is a hilarious and fresh spoof on the art of commercialization of each and everything in today’s world. George Bush visited India and so this incident was made full use of. He wants to shake hands with the most deserving face of India and promptly this is converted into a game show in the lines of Big Boss! So these six contestants, chosen from the best of different categories under the age of 30 yrs, get together and all hell breaks loose. Each one tries to outdo the other in whichever way possible including the two ladies judging the entire affair. The end is very slick, well thought out. Let’s hope there are many more such comedies on the way.