Gulabo Sitabo

Movie Review (Hindi)

I have grown to enjoy all the movies that Amitabh Bachchan has acted in lately, meaning as an older man rather than the angry action hero. I am also a huge follower of Ayushmann Khurrana's movies. And when both are present in the same movie, of course I do not give it a miss!

So I had to watch Gulabo Sitabo and as expected it was an amazingly well made engrossing movie. 

The protagonists, Mirza and Baanke, played by Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann respectively, have a lot of competition for screen space. Not only with the other characters but with the huge Haveli, known as Fatima Haveli, located in the old part of Lucknow, the sprawling palatial home of his wife, which  Mirza wants to own more than anything else.

With Juhi Chaturvedi as the screenplay writer and Soojit Sarkar directing, there were bound to be some takeaways. So lawyers, builders and archeologists (this was a first!) descended on the haveli owner (by proxy) and the tenants, and it was holy mayhem! 

What also stood out for me was the woman power. Be it Begum, the owner of Fatima Mahal, played by Farrukh Jaffar, or Guddo, Baanke's sister, played by Srishti Srivastava.
The cinematography beautifully brought the crumbling Fatima Mahal to life with the lives of the tenants and landlord intertwining and playing out in different ways.

Thappad (Slap)

Movie Review (Hindi)

Nothing prepared me for the resounding slap! I knew it was coming but when it came it sent shock waves through me. Somehow it signaled the death of something beautiful.

Someone commented, “A slap is too little a thing to break up a marriage.” The slap, in fact, broke the dream of that ideal marriage. What is important in a married woman’s life?  A wealthy husband who looks at his wife as someone to look after his needs? A downright cruel husband who blatantly shows his physical power over his wife? How many slaps before one can call it cruel?

The movie was really thought provoking. The slap was merely a symbol for various other resounding hurtful slaps which the characters in the movie learn to live with.

Amrita the protagonist, played by Taapsee Pannu, delivers a hard message squarely in your face. The other women, mother played by Ratna Pathak Shah and the mother-in-law played by Tanvi Azmi have made peace with domesticity and its compromises. Amrita’s lawyer Nethra, played by Maya Sarao hesitates to fight her domestic battles and gets courage from Amrita’s demand of being respected and living a truly happy life. The woman next door, Shivani played by Dia Mirza, who lives with her teenage daughter, might seem alone, but is happy to live with the memories of her loving husband. The maid Sunita, played by Geetika Vidya, fights her wife-battering husband and emerges victorious.

Taapsee has been doing some good work in movies like Pink and Mulk. She along with the director, Anubhav Sinha, known for movies like Article 15 and Mulk, have nailed it in Thappad. Each character’s story weaves into one another seamlessly making it more hard hitting.

The early morning tea with lemongrass and ginger which is sipped at various points in the movie tells its own story. Its fresh fragrance lingers on as the movie signals a new beginning for all the characters.

Little Women

Movie Review (English)

When an excellent director along with a host of excellent actors make a movie based on a book which was a runaway success in its time, you do get an excellent movie.

Many, many years ago when I had read the book, Little Women, I had taken time and allowed the four sisters and their mother to make themselves at home within me. The movie does not have that advantage. It has to move at a brisk pace and make changes wherever required. So, in that sense I felt like a stranger in the March household in the movie. But I did enjoy myself. 

I am glad the movie was directed and written by Greta Gerwig. She has done so with all the sensibilities required to bring alive the spirit of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I loved the powerful cinematography and the thought out edits. The constant movement back and forth into the past and the present was wonderfully done. Somehow the colours of the past seem much brighter and the characters more lively.

Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet and all the others, thanks for bringing the book and its characters to life so beautifully!!

Chhapaak

Movie Review (Hindi)

Chhapaak, a splashing sound (made by acid thrown on someone’s face, in the context of the movie)

Acid attack survivors who are women, have somehow not been in the limelight for whatever reasons. But these women live each day of their lives reminded every moment of how difficult it is to live a normal life. Not only do they see themselves as someone they cannot recognize but so does society, which often looks upon them as freaks.

I am happy Meghna Gulzar selected this topic to direct which, not surprisingly, has not been a topic for commercial movies. I was pleasantly surprised at the treatment of the film. There was a documentary feel to this movie, based on a real life acid attack survivor, which made the pain stand out.

Deepika Padukone playing Malti, made a point in opting to do this movie and it is a risk as she is seen as an acid attack victim with a face quite unlike hers. She is growing as an actress no doubt but she needed to be more than a giggly school going girl. Vikrant Massey, who plays Amol, shines in every role he does as he brings a certain truth to his work.
Hopefully, this movie will create enough ripples in the corridors of power to take a relook at the laws that should give justice to those who suffer. It is also necessary to create a social environment where acid attack survivors feel safe and cared for.
 

Knives Out

Movie Review (English)

As a huge fan of Hercule Poirot, I was pleasantly surprised to watch Knives Out. Even though the demeanor of the investigator in the movie was very different from Poirot, the brain ticking away trying to put the puzzle pieces together was a joy to watch.

The story was interesting as was the atmosphere. The writer/director Rian Johnson has fitted in several elements that one expects in a murder mystery so there was no slacking at all. With the best actors in the business holding fort, there was scarcely any scope for the story to falter. The funny thing was that the death of the patriarch was not the mystery.

Seeing Daniel Craig in a very different avatar from James Bond as Detective Benoit Blanc was a delight as he takes on the case not knowing who enlisted him to investigate!

Hopefully, this is the beginning of many mysteries being solved by Detective Blanc.

Bala

Movie Review (Hindi)

I do try to catch up on movies that star Ayushmann Khurrana and I have not been disappointed. He takes on movies and roles that make sense even if the movie is mainstream Bollywood. After Andhadhun and Article 15, I watched Bala. I might have missed a couple in between but hope to see those sometime soon.

The movie Bala has a weakness and that is its meandering script. There are times when I zoned out from what was happening on screen. Missed the tightness in editing. Loved the music by Sachin-Jigar. 

Ayushmann was quite convincing as a young man struggling with his receding hairline. Having Saurabh Shukla and Seema Pahwa as parents only adds to the fun in watching. Though Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar are good actresses, they could not shine on screen. Their characters did not get the scope to grow.

Carry on Ayushmann! I am sure you will not disappoint us with your choice of movies.

The Sky is Pink

Movie Review (Hindi)

There are three reasons why the movie stands out -----   

This protagonist is an 18-year-old girl full of life, suffering from a rare disorder of the immune system   

The movie is based on a real story   

         The main protagonist and narrator is already dead when the movie starts
 All the actors, Priyanka Chopra, Fahan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim and Rohit Saraf have done a commendable job. Thanks to director Shonali Bose for telling this story in a moving yet positive way. Though the passing away of Aisha is heart-wrenching, the narration by Aisha herself is perky, funny and witty.
 The years from the parents’ courtship, till they lose Aisha, is portrayed in a manner that bypasses the monotony of linear storytelling.

 I will now go through the pages of My Little Epiphanies but this time with more awareness, as if Aisha was telling me what and why she doodled and penned these thoughts.