Gulabjaam

Film Review :

Foodgasmic ! This film is about the love for food and cooking. It is about the emotions and passion that one feels for food and cooking. It was a very emotional experience for me since food is my first love. I have always dreamt of owning a restaurant and maybe I will someday. But my relationship with food is one of passion and deep love. If God asked me for one reason to be alive, it would be food. The sensations of exhilaration and satisfaction that comes with every morsel of tasty food cannot be experienced by anything else. A sense of satisfaction and greed at the same time; leaving you nourished and excited after the meal, food is one of the greatest gifts of God to mankind. All these thoughts and sensations come to life as you watch this film. There are other films too based on food and cooking. But this film will be special because I am from Mumbai and have grown up on Maharashtrian cuisine. Even though I am south Indian, my palette is more accustomed to Marathi cuisine. Of course, South Indian food is a different and wonderful story in itself. 

But this film is about traditional Maharashtrian food and two beautiful stories about people who love food. Aditya and Radha are two souls lost in their journeys are brought together by food. Aditya’s story is the cliché MBA grad wanting to answer the call for a creative career. Radha’s past has left her scared and resentful. They find themselves through each other as they cook to forge strong bonds of friendship. Sensuous cinematography comes alive as we witness these two souls cut, shape, fry and boil. A medley of delicious food in front of eyes with emotions playing over the screen at the same time, this film is a great teaser for your senses. One can savor every frame which has a hundred different items on the banana leaf making the traditional meal. The twists and turns in the story add to the lovely sensations the visuals of the food produce. Sonali Kulkarni gives an exemplary performance outshining Siddharth. Though Siddharth gives a natural and easy performance, he cannot match Sonali’s craft. This is one of those rare films which you can watch many times and never get enough of it. Slurrp Slurrrp.  

Rating - 4.5 / 5 

Aiyaari

I feel a little lost after watching this film. I still don’t understand what exactly the film was about. I mean yes, it is about the Adarsh Housing Society scam. The building in the posh south Mumbai area on a plot reserved for the families of defense martyrs. But, there are many lose ends to the story. There is an element of surprise at the end which is very difficult to understand.  Is it about a mentor and his protege facing off though they seem to be on the same side ? Was this a plot by a secretive team of highly specialized defense personnel? Or is it all about wearing masks and changing disguise to remain camouflaged? 

The story is way too haphazard and random. There is this whole effort to give the film a Jason Bourne, Mission Impossible look and feel. The weapons and the high-end technology show off to make it impressive is childish. The 3 D projection technology of weapons is like a useless ornament usually worn to cover up something ugly. But without the story and acting it is useless.  

What makes it worse is when you cast an expressionless and stony actor like Siddharth Malhotra. You are definitely driving in the last nail in the coffin. Good looks and toned physique do not a good actor make. The only interesting part that kind of holds you till the end is Manoj Bajpai’s acting and intensity. It’s because of him that you might be able to make some sense out of this confusing crazy knotty mess. The film needed a lot more suspense and intensity. Neeraj Pandey could have built up the story with more action and movement and give the story depth.

All those weapons and hunky guys could’ve engaged in serious combat with the goras. A little more boom and bang would’ve added to the impact making the hidden aspects more interesting when revealed. Anupam Kher is completely wasted I don’t understand who he exactly was and what he is doing in the film. I don’t understand the role of Adil Husain. He barely has any dialogue. It is a great story with a good plot but the elements haven’t been given a thought and are laid out haphazardly.

Rating : 2 / 5 

Pad Man

Padman is a biopic film based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham who is a social entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. He is known for invention of machines that can make sanitary pads at one third the cost making it available for women at cheap rates. This film is a documentary film that followed all the rules of Bollywood commercial film making. With dollops of emotion and a great narrative Pad Man is less of entertainment and more of celebration of a legend; a legend who understood the extent to which a woman’s life is in danger due to poor sanitation.  The physical pain a woman goes through every month is nothing compared to the excruciating pain she has to face due to the taboo and stigma associated with mensuration; especially in rural and semi-rural India. It’s the story of a man who took upon the challenge of fighting strong prejudice and a narrow mindset to address a very important issue of sanitation. He did not give up in spite of being uneducated and fought his way through bigotry and social stigma. 

The film’s narrative is interlaced with strong emotions indigenous to India and Indian culture. This film makes a strong connect with most of Indian audience making it a memorable watch. Though long and typical of a biopic, this film blends the characters into the story easily. There are no shocks, twists or turns in the story proving great direction and a meaningful script. 

Akshay Kumar gives a sweet performance and wins your heart with his speech at the UN in the film. Radhika Apte proves her mettle once again with superb character acting. She completes the story of a society that harbors shame, guilt and contempt successfully. Sonam Kapoor has an oblivious presence in the film. Director Balki has taken the risk of making a long film in order to showcase all aspects of the life of lead character Laxmi Prasad Chauhan. That risk has paid off. The triumph after the turmoil is poignant and dramatic. It was surprising to see many young people watching and enjoying the film. This is a story that Indians will like.

Rating – 3.5 / 5

PADMAVAT

A magnanimous presentation of drama through symbolism and personification, Padmavat is brand Bhansali overdone.  Sajay Leela Bhansali is the only director in Hindi cinema that seems to be fanatic about the opulence of ancient Indian royalty and romanticizes it on celluloid boundlessly. Padmavat is a long film of humongous extrapolations of a directors imagination and artistry. It showcases the great opulence of the famous Rajput royalty and finer nuances of the culture and sensibilities. It sketches the director’s imagination of the evil and good on the screen. The story, dialogue and narrative are pictorial and visual. He does these with extreme symbolism for the two sides. Symbolism in the form of colors, costumes, get up and presentation of the characters and their surroundings in every frame. The behavior and rituals of these characters strongly attach to good and evil. The long bearded, evil looking Allaudin Khilji is shown to be eating meat all the time and murdering innocents. A womanizer who is always wearing black and silver, speaking in the language of barbarians which are not that royal even though he is a king. His ways and methods are treacherous and wicked. Hopelessly selfish and bloodthirsty he is a menacing villain. His songs and dance moves are pirate like and the only thing lacking was a chain made of skulls around his neck. But it is replaced with the black get up and shiny jewelry. One cannot miss the desperately trying to be effeminate character speaking Hindi in a strange accent. It is sad that queer is associated with the evil and his character in the film is contemptuous and scoffed at.

On the other hand we had the Indian royalty shining in gold and red. The characters of Padmavati and Rawal Ratan Singh display oodles of poise, grace and dignity. In their actions and dialogues they convey the godly goodness and behavior is royal blue. The fort, court rooms, verandas, temples and bright red sarees covering women’s faces, all symbolize everything that can be good and pious. The costumes and jewelry are a treat to the eyes.

Ranvir Singh gives a good performance as he acts out the frivolity and madness of the evil side and does it alone. Deepika shows great poise and understanding of the royalty and eminence of a queen famous for her beauty. A lot of effort has been invested to make her look beautiful. I personally liked Shahid because of his consistency and strong expression. This is a film that can be watched once, and because you are watching it for the first time you will endure the dreariness.  I have promised to take my mother for this film but I don’t think I have the strength to go through that drama which is too much even on the large screen.  A one-time watch for its larger than all our lives experience. SLB should give us 5 years before his next film so we can wear out this one.

The coincidence of the drama before the release of the film with the drama IN the film is uncanny.

Rating - 3/5

Tumhari Sulu

SPIRIT ! One word to describe this film would be Spirit. And spirit is always adorable. A spirited friend, your spirited dog or a toddler who jumps up and down in high spirits. It lifts you up. Gives you a kick, a sort of sweet high and lives with you for some time. A long time.  This film is all about that spirit. The first half is adorable, funny and simply heart melting. The tiny details and dialogues, the small things that make life juicy and worthy, all captured beautifully. It has a sweet, docile husband who acts like a cute sticky puppy with his wife and the wife always cracking jokes and pulling his legs which he rather enjoys. The naked uninhibited thoughts of wonder or worry expressed to the partner at night once the bedroom lights are turned off. The cute and lively spirit of the wife who dotes on her husband and child. Her spirit to do something in her life and enjoy doing it. The spirit to take up a challenge and have the confidence to deliver. Even if it is that of a radio jockey with a seductive voice entertaining men of all ages and  intentions. 

This film has a special story and great performances by all the characters. The film is almost predictable. But the beauty of the film is in the narrative and detailing which makes it engrossing and entertaining.  Vidya Balan floors you with her tactile and emotional performance. Manav Kaul is as good if not better, in his role as the doting husband. Neha Dhupia is all sass and sexy. A well rounded story with a strong script and extraordinary direction, Suresh Triveni definitely deserves an award. The first half had me roaring with laughter and second half had me in tears.  Vidya Balan is a shining example of the fact that you need not be skinny and toned to act. She is a true actor with great understanding of her characters. She is talented to make the writer’s imagination come true. She gives yet another off beat performance in another great film. A must watch.

Rating – 4.5 / 5 

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