Ventilator (Marathi)

An emotionally charged film, Ventilator, at the heart of it, is a film about the father and son relationship. And over that relationship are the rest of the relationships wound as extensions, which happens in most Indian families. The typical nuances and behavior of the near, distant, urban, rural, close and estranged relatives of us Indians has been brought to fore in a light, comical and entertaining fashion. The characters are fully developed and matured giving each actor a complete script to perform to her best. Rajesh Mapuskar has written a great story digging deep into the thought, emotions and behavior of any Indian family. Men in our or any culture, for that matter, do not express their fondness for each other. This complicates the father and son relationship to a point of suffering for which, many times, both of them are responsible. This film is able to expose that underlying tension, misunderstandings and wordlessness of this relationship in a way that will leave you emotional and tearful. And this entire baggage that most of us carry throughout our lives, attains nirvana when either of them is on the verge of being lost or already lost. The feelings and emotions drain you out in those difficult moments and relax you after the tide has passed.  Death in the family often transforms you in a way to maturity and wisdom. And with the blessings of Lord Ganesh this film will surely move you and hopefully encourage you to tell your father that you love him. A must watch film with brilliant performances by each and every actor especially Jitendra Joshi and Satish Aalekar who stood out.

Rock On 2

I wasn’t sure if I will watch this film and still can’t believe I watched it. A senseless film trying very hard to cash on its previous success, which I believe was a failure in the first place. The makers are living in a bubble thinking that it was a cult film and that anything to do with rock music can be a revolution of sorts. Are they trying to capitalize on the hippie movement of the 70’s which signified freedom pf thought and expression through the most creative rock n roll music ? If so then where is the effing music ? There are hardly any songs or music, let alone rock music. A remote lead on the guitar in some corner of a miserable song is supposed to be rock music to which the dumb kids are shown to be grooving?  IS it about a social cause that music is helping to revive? Is it about a dead man who committed suicide because his talent was not recognized? Is it about a group of musicians trying to get back to doing what they love to do the most? Is it about a girl whose father is denying her self-expression? What is this film about? I did not quite get it. Whatever happened to the dialogues? There is no script. Arjun Rampal is repulsive.

Nonsense! Don’t waste your time. 

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Interesting ! Karan Johar’s obsession with love and friendship offers a new twist. His philosophy of love being another form of friendship has assumed a different personality, allowing friendship its unique identity, separating it from love. The story shows imagination to steer away from the KJo’s usual narrative offering a different experience. Is it good ? Anything new is entertaining for sure, I leave the judgment to you. In all of the new films this year which present realistic stories and unique ideas, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil celebrates love.  It reminds us of the passionate and intense emotion of love and where ever there is passion,  Ranbir Kapoor has to be around. Though repetitive in his craft, Ranbir does pull off a decent performance. For a change the European locales and the oomphness of phoren cities does not dominate the experience. The story overtakes even the beauty of Aishwarya Rai. Aishwarya has finally got a role that suits her element of the untouchable beauty and international stylishness. Beautiful was never so beautiful as she shocks your visual senses to leave a permanent impression and be reminisced with the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.

I don’t know how Karan did it but you will be clean bowled by the raw beauty, one of those freaks of nature. The first half has KJo stamped all over it with the branding of his previous films and songs in case you have forgotten them, nevertheless, it is fun and frolic. The entire film plays in the second half treading a new path of a unique characteristic and personality.  Definitely unexpected of KJo, this is film should be watched at least once to enjoy catchy songs like Break up. How can I forget Anoushka ?  She has spoken the most in the film and kind of has the strongest presence. The typical character she usually gets to play, she is bold, confident and superbly natural.

Rating – 3.5 / 5

M.S.Dhoni - The Untold Story

More of a documentary film, M S DHoni – The Untold Story, does not inspire strong emotions or reactions from the audience.  The life of a cricketer cannot be as difficult as of say a tennis player, in India. The game is a religion in India and the slightest talent will attract enough attention for the player to get enough opportunities. This fact probably translates into the film’s making as it lacks passion and fire. Slight changes or deviations from the player’s actual life to infuse some life and jolt the audience wouldn’t have hurt. A book about the cricketer’s life merely depicting the events would have been sufficient. Or a collection of reports from the media would have sufficed if the reporting of sportsman’s life was the intention. Two beautiful actresses and the effect of one scene, holds your attention from drifting off into deep sleep in this 3 hour film. Sushant Singh has done a great job but his capabilities have been wasted. The emotions of the Indian family, friendships and close connections with who you share a professional relationship, are soothing and give you the flavor of the social life in small town India. However Pandeyji could have spiced it up, added some twists punches movers and shakers to make it interesting. I am sure the cricketer’s life must have had bigger and harder falls from where he would have bounced back to be the great captain he is. Only that they haven’t been played out. But we know that anything will work in India if its remotely connected to cricket to generate a full house and make the money. We have greater icons who have fought bigger battles in the sport. Maybe the wrong sportsman was selected.

No offense to cricket lovers. This film can be passed.

Rating 3/5

Parched

The mother of all realistic films, it doesn’t get more “real” than this.  The film literally takes you inside the houses of rural Rajasthan, into the lives of oppressed women and their tragic existence. Brutal blows and punches into the delicate faces and fragile bodies make you cringe with pain. The pain was unbearable as I watched three women bear physical, emotional, mental trauma day after day. An existence so depressing and archaic, that you will wonder if you are living in the real world or living a dream. The behavior of the men and the patriarchal systems seem unreal and unfathomable.  Leena Yadav gives it to you in your face, the life of women, women made of steel for no man has the endurance to bear what she bears. Radhika Apte glorifies her role and goes beyond what the script would expect of her marking the strong character of this artwork.

Equally fulfilling are the performances of Tannishtha and Surveen who do not let go of the soul of Rani and Bijli. Rural uneducated women with no access to information in the digital world decide to fight back and recognize their identity to fulfill their existence. A rapid transition and transformation seen in Hindi cinema in the past couple of years “Parched” goes to the next step in taking the issue of feminist movement to the heart of hinterland in rural Rajasthan. The war cry has been called. The stage is set, for mythololgy to repeat itself as Kali and Durga. The scripts have the right ending. Will it come into our lives, our everyday lives cutting across geographies, castes, economics and household walls  and end this blasphemy of suppression, oppression and regression?

PINK

I have never acknowledged Amitabh Bachan’s greatness as an actor. The consensus of people of India about his greatness as a performer never appealed to me. After watching many of his films I always thought of him as an average to good actor with a powerful personality and charisma. After watching “Pink” I have developed great admiration for him as an artist. He has single handedly molded the film to give it the shape, character and infused life and power  into the story. The brilliance of this film lies in the dissection of an average Indians thought process and prejudice.  Mr Bacchan plays the role of lawyer Deepak Sanyal who peels the layers of hypocritical standards of morality and ethos we Indians pride ourselves with as “Indian culture”. The lawyer answers the elephant in the room by boldly bringing out the real issues to the fore exposing the intolerable sexist face of our society. Similar to what Denzel Washington did in Philadelphia, Amitabh gives a candid performance in the courtroom with some serious arguments and follows a serious code of conduct eliminating the dramatics we usually see in Hindi cinema. A brilliant script and screenplay inspiring direction that pounds into you the gravity of the issue of rape and molestation and the even more dreadful aftermath that takes place almost every day. The callousness and jingoism of the system fuelling the hyper masculinity and feudal pomp of the cold blooded indian male shakes your tolerating life in this country.  Moments of brilliance pushing the victim to be fearless by uncovering her head while walking on the street as people give accusing glances to her for standing up for herself, complete this film. “We need to save our boys and not our girls” says Amitabh. From the evil that resides in his head fortified by strong walls of patriarchy and permission to suppress. The film ends with astounding and poignant verses in hindi giving out a strong message to the society. It stops becoming a film and graduates to become much more than just a piece of art. It is a message to be played in the crowded Connaught place in Delhi on a large screen and every other crowded place in India.  Sensational performances by the girls, calling all girls to watch this film immediately, urgently.

Rating – 4.5/5

Rustom

The best part of this film is presentation of the strong presence of the Parsi community in 1950’s South Bombay. The sets present the deserted Fort area, the vintage cars, old money and the British hangover convincingly. European attires of the playboy Vikram Makheja and seductive deep neck dresses of his sister Preeti, stand out. Art direction and cinematography are worth watching. Apart from that the film is mediocre at best.  The real life story of Captain Rustom Pavri must have been a tad more serious. The courtroom scenes were childish and immature with audiences clapping and responding loudly to the court proceedings. The scenes drag with pathetic jokes and weird dialogues of the judge. It was more like reading the reports in a newspaper than watching the film. The characters seem exclusive and separate and do not blend into the story to make a médley. Akshay Kumar does his best as Rustom and weaves an interesting story around the death of Vikram. He looks good in the navy uniform but could have changed it while in jail. Arjan Bajwa looks suave but could have been more flamboyant in playing the wealthy lustful character of Vikram Makheja. Esha looks gorgeous as she bathes in the aura of wealth and the power that’ comes with it. Elleana looks beautiful as the innocent doll seduced by the cunning wolf.  

Rating  2/5