Secret Superstar

This is a story about a girl from a small town in India who is a very passionate and ambitious singer. A great tale of how she battles against all odds with only one strong motive. She wants to be an award-winning singer. It’s this great gut instinct and passion that the story depicts as she battles every struggle to reach her goal. She has practically everything against her including an abusive, orthodox almost Talibanic father. And it is her strong urge to achieve that finds a solution through every barrier. She finds great strength in her mother who sees to it that her daughter fulfills her destiny. This film has a very strong narrative and great story telling. It is a long film. But never was I bored or felt stretched while watching it. It is interesting to observe the great melting pot of opposing philosophies, emotions, attitudes and motives.  It explores the relationship of the mother and daughter like never before. A very sweet teenage puppy romance adds to the overall touch and feel of the film. The film has a very medium pace with occasional hard-hitting scenes to jolt you. Though the ending was a bit too dramatic, I guess it was essential to make the narrative look big. The film has melodious songs with beautiful composition. 

A weird, quirky Aamir Khan brings in the required humor into a very serious tale. Though Zaira Wasim has a mild, subtle presence about her on screen, she gives a passionate performance and completes the character of Insiya convincingly. Meher Vij can easily win an award for the best supporting role. Overall a film that one can watch more than once in the theatre. The story, the characters and the events of the film are very real and relatable. I am definitely taking my mom to watch it. Soon.

Rating – 4.25 /5 

Tu Hai Mera Sunday

This review has come a little late but then it is also an interesting one. This film is like a sweet melody that lifts you up and puts you in a good mood. No heavy stuff. No intense scenes. Very real, natural story, it’s as if your life has been shot and made into a movie. It’s a story of 5 guys who escape their daily grind when they play football together. They come from different backgrounds, cultures and parts of India but are united in Mumbai. Every Sunday is waited for when they actually live a little before getting back to 6 more days of torture. Torture of the obsessive gujju family, a worried aged mother, the bastard of a boss, loneliness and other tortures we all are so well aware of. They are not complaining ! But the Sunday football is as essential as the daily job that puts bread in the table. And then the tiny escape is taken away and they struggle for space. In a city where getting space is more difficult than finding an oasis in the dessert, these guys are desperate. A trip to Goa presents itself as a solution and turns out to be a real revelation. All’s well that ends well. Tired of getting sucked into a whirlwind of situations our 5 friends decide to take a stand and get back their space on Juhu beach to play their beloved football. A very soothing film that will entertain just enough, even the romance is delicate and light. It will make you smile and feel bad but you wont cry or laugh hard. Simple narrative and easy dialogues like how we speak with our friends, make it easy on the viewer. All actors give a charming performance. It reminds me of Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies that had an easy way about them with light humor that complimented the frivolity of life itself. It makes you realize how inconsequential life and existence actually are. 

Rating – 4.25 / 5