The Indian Predator - Season 3 - Murder in a Courthouse.

                                    

Though Indian Predator Season 1 and 2 were interesting, the experience of  Season 3 will be etched in our minds for a long time as one of the most unique shows. Everything about this series is originally Indian. The premise, the story, the narration, and even the direction.  The series is based on real life story of Aku Yadav who was lynched in a Nagpur courtroom by a mob of women. If that’s not interesting then I don’t now what is. I have watched many murder thrillers and psychological mysteries, mostly international. But this Indian story goes to show the wealth of content available in our culture that is yet to be explored.

It is a firsthand narrative of the victims who suffered 4 years of trauma by a rapist and murderer who preyed on lower caste, poor and oppressed residents of a slum dwelling in Nagpur. The audacious atrocity of a single man on an entire colony of Dalits goes to show the social tyranny of the scheduled castes and tribes. What made it worse is the support of the police and administration enjoyed by the predator leaving absolutely no hope for these people. With no food and water to live the victims were also in constant threat of violation of their dignity and life. The spine-chilling stories of helpless women giving a detailed account of every incident will shake the audience. To be constantly anxious for your life, to not know when you will be raped and cut like a piece of meat, is worse than hell itself.

In a land where goddesses are worshipped, sometimes even more than gods, with pomp and fervor, how is it that their women are raped, molested, and butchered like animals? But it is these same stories of Durga and Kali that inspire our women to attain the goddess’s avatars and end the atrocity. When the going got tough a whole community was enraged with vengeance. They came together to finish a Ravan who would never be punished in the decayed rotten justice system.  The bloodthirsty women ended the tyranny of a demon in a way that befitted his karma. The story narrates the account given by people on both sides. And the horrendous presence of the misogynist that lives in the Indian male’s mind is clearly depicted. In the end faith, for whatever its worth, was restored, leaving a glimmer of hope for the administration.

Rating – 4 / 5

Kanthara (Kannada)

We are often called a country of soothsayers and snake charmers. Our culture is known to be deeply influenced by spirituality, folklore, superstitions, and traditions arising from these beliefs. But no one realizes the richness and grandeur of the rituals and traditions emanating from those fables and folklore. And they are understood only by Indians because we grow up listening and experiencing them as they are embedded in our daily rituals, habits, and events. Kantara brings the story of such a mystic and ancient fable believed by tribals living in the deep dense forests of coastal Karnataka.

The legend of the Kanthara (meaning forest) happens in the deep, dense green forests of  Tulunadu, Karnataka. Marinated in the thick foliage and intoxicating misty thickets where a mystic ancient folklore of Bhoot Kola took birth and lives on. This story revolves around the regional deity "Panjurli" known by the indigenous tribals living there as "Daiva". The lives and homes of people on these lands are sacred and the people inhabiting them worship Daiva who offers them protection from evil forces that threaten to drive them away. The folklore says that whoever believes in the deity will be protected by him an avatar of Vishnu, one of the Hindu trinities.

To the present day, the protector and the evil both live on and the age-old tussle between the two continues for the rightful claim of the land. The deity is waiting to take its form in the protagonist Shiva who is a Kambala champion and darling of the village. His father who would be possessed by Daiva in a once-a-year "Kola" ritual has disappeared into the forest. It starts out with the legend of a king who donates the land to the tribals and leaves it under the protection of their Daiva. The story builds up with different characters playing their role representing all the human characteristics of humility, pride, humor, idiocy, treachery, self-service, deceit, manipulation, friendship, love, and belonging; each in different proportions. The richness of the culture expressed in the vibrant traditions, relationships, social and economic differences, caste differences, and hierarchies make for a very interesting and thoughtful experience. The complexities of the village ecosystem - the government, the indigenous people and their hero, and the manipulative, wealthy, and powerful fiend, that any Indian story has are all there and how !

It is a bold move made by Rishab Shetty to present a unique mystic story to an audience plagued by digital dominance with a short attention span. The elements of the story will seem boring to those deeply influenced by the western or cliched Punjabi and north Indian backdrops we are so used to. But the elements are original and rich so the audience tends to get interested and engrossed. For me, this film has the same effect that my father's narration of short clips from Ramayana and Mahabharata had on me as a child. The exoticism embedded deeply in divinity and spirituality is engrossing and entertaining.

The last scene will leave you enthralled and enraptured at the sheer theatrics and spectacular talent of Rishabh in a captivating performance. It is no less than the best Yakshagana you might have or will ever have the fortune to witness. Daiva's avatar is waiting to be unleashed and explodes to give a fitting closure to an epic film. Kannada films have finally arrived with original flavors and taste that they do not need to mimic other film industries anymore. Watching the film in Kannada made it a richer experience than a dubbed version. 

Rating : 4.3 / 5

#Kantara #kantarareview #rishabhshetty 

Runway 34

Runway 34 is based on a true story that happened on Aug 18th, 2015 when Jet Airways flight bound for Cochin from Doha had to make a blind landing amidst a storm. The Aviation disciplinary committee initiated action against the pilots for declaring a May Day (a life-threatening situation) in flight, which created controversy in the media. Ajay Devgan is an action hero and often his dialogues are in the form of kicks and punches. He is used to delivering suave one-liners with machismo and bravado - his typical characterizations in most of the films. Its not surprising that his film is an extension of his performing style.  

The first half is gripping since it has all of the action scenes with intense visuals and sound effects. The special effects quality is of international standards and gives a great experience of the real-time situation of the blind landing that happened. Ajay Devgan, expressionless, stoic, macho, uber confident, and the stallion, is at his best. With bare minimum dialogues and intense eyes, he plays the role of the protector captain perfectly. The flight has taken off successfully for the audience so far and the film is gripping.

The aftermath which is mainly the investigation of the pilots for the May Day declaration has been done poorly. Devgan has overplayed on AB's grandeur and screen presence. The entire attention seems to be on his body language and few enunciations of the minimal hollow dialogues. With an overemphasis on character building, the narrative is gone for a toss. By far the biggest disappointment lies in the fact that there is hardly any discussion (explanation) of what happened that fateful morning. There is no background, no argument, no scientific facts, and total disconnectedness. So much more could have been done in that investigating chamber. Boman Irani does lip service as a cunning billionaire. Immature, childish, and vacant, the second half is a tragic crash of the film.

Rating - 3 / 5

The Kashmir Files

The Kashmir Files is based on true events as narrated by displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990 exodus (genocide) - claims the disclaimer at the start of the film. The cinematography creates a hostile, snowy, bitter cold and melancholic mood throughout. The passionate, almost aggressive story, narrates the barbaric massacre of thousands of docile Kashmiri pandits in 1990. The film's ambition is to give a voice to the Kashmiri pandit women and children who were raped and butchered like animals. The satanic and demonic avatar of Pakistani militants celebrating the brutal bloodshed mania sends a chill through the viewer's spine. The narrative connects the freedom movement of Kashmir instigated by Pakistani source, to the anti-establishment, agenda-driven, woke communist propaganda brewing deep within the walls of JNU in Delhi. Under the rhetoric of repression and victimhood, the story claims that extremists have a vitriolic propaganda to capture Kashmir via religious superiority. The apathy and silence of the then ruling government is the final nail in the coffins of the thousands of pandits who lost their homes forever. It also is said to have under-reported the number of deaths.

The narrative is deeply moving and poignant.  The character build-up of Krishna, a young pandit is intense. He is trying to find the truth about his parents who are lost during the exodus during which his emotions are played about by ideologies; ideologies that are trying hard to cover up his parent's slaughter. In his final revelation of truth, his speech describing the barbarism of Islamic tyrants slaughtering Hindu clergy to gain communal dominance will boil any Indian's patriotic blood.   The last scene shook the audience in the cinema hall by its core and the stillness was as if a bomb had just exploded. I won't forget this experience. Anupam Kher is a class act as the pivot of the film at the center of events. He is the unrelenting voice of the filmmaker.

Rating :- 4 / 5

Jhund

One word that comes to my mind after watching this film is 'threshold'. The dictionary meaning of 'threshold' is :

Threshold: The magnitude or intensity that must be exceeded for a certain reaction, phenomenon, result, or condition to occur to be manifested. 

The trailer gives away the essence of the story. If you have watched it you will see that it is about a bunch of underprivileged kids prone to crime due to their circumstances. A sports teacher (#Amitabh Bachan) finds a way to channel their energies into something more productive, like football. The devil that had its roots deep into the troubled, impoverished, and depressed minds, was slowly thrown out root and stem. The once idle minds were now basking in the more positive light of sports and competition that ignited the machines of its workshop with purpose, meaning, and an outlet for youthful energies. We have seen several films in Hollywood with the same storyline. An influential kind teacher changes the lives of the impoverished through lessons of life to be good and creates positivity so they cross their threshold of negativity and emerge as heroes. Here too, like Gandalf from Lord of The Rings, Mr Bachan's enigma as Vijay Borade creates magic that turns devils to sportsmen. 

The first half is very predictable and one wonders if there is anything else the film can offer other than funny one-liners in tapori language and gunda gardi. But the second half changes seriously. It is the real struggle of these kids desperately breaking the chains that hold them back to cross their threshold. To overcome limits set not just by circmstances but also the ones that society heavily weighing them down. They fight to emerge from their misery in the downtrodden bastis and scavenging lives. And its not the story of kids from just one basti. The revolution spreads on all over the country engaging talent in basti football tournament. 

Nagraj Manjule created Jhund in his true style engaging a non-filmy cast to play real and authentic roles peeling away layers of pretense, stardom, and glamour. But has he overdone it this time ? The film edges on becoming a documentary as some parts lose the mainsteam cinematic sheen. In Sairat, he managed to strike a perfect balance between hardcore village dynamics with cinematic mastery; in Jhund there are a few gaps.  Ankush Gedam's performance as 'Don'/Ankush is the most noteworthy aspect of the film and we can see a star being born. I hope justice is done to his talent and performance.

A good family watch. 

Rating  3.5 / 5

Gangubai Kathiawadi

#Gangubai Kathiwadi is a biopic based on the life of a brothel owner and leader from the 1960s. It celebrates the bravado and badassery of Ganga who became #Gangubai in Kamatipura, Mumbai. This famous red light area has gained popularity in Bollywood as the mecca of Mumbai's underbelly.  In the quintessential Sanjay Leela Bhansali style the sets, costumes, and the grandiose of Kamatipura, catch your attention and stay on till the last frame. The subdued backgrounds from the 1960s are in sync with the tone of the depressing lives of prostitutes then. And #AliaBhatt in white is the shining glimmer of hope, the grand hero of the film dominating every dark frame in spotless white saree. The film revolves around Gangubai and her grandiose, over two hours, making her the Amitabh Bachan of Kamatipura.

The film depicts the depressing lives of prostitutes in the 1960's who faced exploitation, abuse and were shunned by society at large. Gangubai rises like a phoenix to fight it, giving sex workers an identity and claim. She fights for their safety and dignity as their leader and champions for their civil rights. Why should a woman who is stripped of her dignity and respect withhold her tongue? Why should a woman who relieves a man of his lust be ashamed of what she does when he isn't? Why should she carry the burden of morality when it is actually the men who are losing it ? Fearless and unabashed, Gangubai makes men dance to her music, beating them in their own game with cocky one-liners; kicks, and punches even.  The dialogues and their delivery are the cornerstones in the entire story, delivered by the godmother of thousands of sex workers.

 The single obsession with Gangubai can be a drag but there is some respite in Alia's performance. I was convinced that choosing Alia for Gangubai was a big mistake. How can someone so pretty and clean justify the role of a harsh, tough sex worker? But she has proved to not just give a striking performance but also fill up the gaps and inconsistencies in the story. 

Rating ; 3.5 / 5

Panghrun

#Panghrun means a blanket in Marathi, symbolically used at the end of the film that changes everyone's lives. Laxmi is a child widow who loves ballet and wants to marry a British officer in his shining uniform. Alas, she is remarried to an elderly widower priest so she can take care of his daughters.  Set in a small village in Konkan Maharashtra during pre-independance period this film is a poignant narration of the desires of a young girl suppressed and asphyxiated by #misogyny and #patriarchy.  She is supposed to be happy for being remarried and have her hair intact (widow's heads were shaven). It didn't matter that her older husband was still mourning his dead wife and showed no interest in Laxmi.

In such a scenario discussing the carnal desires of a woman is unthinkable. Is she supposed to suppress her desires and emotions?  Shouldn't a woman desire a man, her own husband in fact, as much as any man who desires a woman? And what will the consequences be when she can't control her urges ? 

#Panghrun deals with these dense, complicated (man-made) issues beautifully through slow-paced heavy narration. Every scene carries a heavy burden of the intense conflict between desire and morality. Adorned by meaningful kirtans, carrying a message for every incident, the film carries a soulful and ethereal tone throughout. Though it may seem slow to most of us living in the digital age, every scene and frame carries so many dimensions to it conveyed perfectly by radiant acting and picturization. I have never experienced such burden within the undertones of every scene in any film. It had to be slow to be able to absorb all of it frame by frame and dialogue by dialogue. Gauri Ingavle's performance has left me speechless. She has conveyed Laxmi's turmoil creatively, while Rohit Phalke does great justice to his role. The dramatic ending made me very emotional. One can expect this only from a #Marathi film. 

Rating - 4 / 5

Badhai Do

 

Badhai Do is another valiant effort for acceptance of the LGBTQIA++ community by cis het folk.  This film is based on the concept of Marraige of Convinience often considered as a means of hoodwinking the hetero society to escape homophobia and the gross discrimination and hate that follows it. A queer man and a woman decide to get married to satisfy the socio-cultural hetero norms to please their family, community, and society outside their bedrooms. They live their seperate homosexual lives so as to create this "win-win" situation so all parties are happy. 

In this premise, Badhai Do uses the unusual arrangement and the events that occur within it to create humor and entertainment. The film makes most of the situation by bringing out difficult details of two individuals with different mindsets trying to make it work for everyone outside their lives but themselves. The conflicting gender based roles within the construct of a hetero family, the sharing of expenses, answers to be given to the society at large for their partners, and the pretense of being a couple to look "normal" and be accepted: it's all there.

 No doubt the script is sharp with perfect dialogues timed immaculately. But personally, I felt a strange sense of melancholy throughout the film. Issues like the effort, mental and psychological trauma, the acting and pretense, and denial to be oneself of the two gay people are just not taken into account. Both the lead actors are straight, obviously, so that sense of deprivation, suffocation and suffering is just not being realised. It's as if a straight guy and straight girl are sharing an apartment. This is deeply disturbing because the film uses humor at the expense of two lives that are not really living and breathing as they should. Also, even in such an arrangement, somehow, god knows how, but somehow, the woman is suffering more than the man. Though both of them are queer, patriarchy will not let go no matter what the circmstance is.

I dont see why there is such a monumental effort,yet again, in another queer hindi film, to beg for acceptance. The arguments of commercial viability and social entertainment seem important. But will a straight man live and pretend to be gay and stay with another straight man ? Will two cis het women be able to do it ? If that can't even be imagined, then how is it possible for two queer individuals ? Exactly when is this toxic nonsense going to end ? And the grand ending of acceptance and happily ever after is infuriating.

Good effort by the cast and bla bla bla .............Whatever.....No Badhaai here..... 

Its high time India knows everything it has to about LGBTQIA++ and moves on to live and let live. They don't get the luxury of getting convinced. Enough time and effort has gone into this. ENOUGH.