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

NEWTON

Newton is a story about NutanKumar who is a simple man interested in doing his duty. He gives the highest regard to his work and in his work this plot explores many issues and facets of our great country. The lead is a person of great character and integrity and does not allow the “chalta hai” attitude to get to him. He is not interested in jugaad and gives high regard to time and duty. Rajkumar Rao digests this character to perfection showing his unique creative talent and artistry. One of the best character actors in Hindi cinema right now, or should I say the best actor in Hindi cinema, he is a living example of why good looks and a great body are irrelevant to acting. If only our actors spent more time in the theatre improving their craft instead of pumping mass in the gym. If only our actors fed on good acting instead of protein milk shakes and keto diets, the industry would scale new heights. 

The film has a subtlety about it which is very palpable. Below the stoic surface of plain frames and simple cinematography there is a storm of hidden emotion and unsaid tales. The history of the naxal issue and the stagnant decay of the country’s attitudes shake you as the movie progresses calmly. The dichotomy pivoting between change and old guard, reveal itself in entertaining dialogues and defining statements. Anjali Patil reminded me of Smita Patil whose presence was strong and unflinching yet natural. Pankaj Tripathi is amongst the few who can match Rajkumar on the stage. A typical award winning film with great story telling and unconventional narrative this film should be watched.

Rating 4/5

SIMRAN

So after the AIB video where Kangana is singing “Because I have a vagina re”, after all the crazy atrocities she has endured because “she has a vagina re”, Kangana decided to take the feminist propaganda to a new level.  She became independent in Queen and now she is gone all whacky and ballistic because “she has a vagina” ?? So I am an independent woman so I don’t need men in my life. I “should” be divorced and be proud about it and advertise it. I can be reckless with money and be foolish enough to get caught in a goons trap. I won’t stop at that. I will go around robbing banks in the broad daylight and threatening everyone at gun point. Let us allow this female high on estrogen do her thing just for kicks. Let us try this new avatar for experiments sake. But then comes the script. She is allowed to rob banks in the city of Atlanta at will. That too in the U S of A ! Not once or twice but EVERYDAY ?!? She is mentally unstable and needs help. Or maybe she is just spoilt rotten. I didn’t get the part where her manager is arrested for having something to do with the money. I didn’t understand a lot of things. I didn’t understand this film.

I almost forgot to applaud for she refused to have sex without protection. Well done.

It’s shocking to see Hansal Mehta commit such blasphemy. The director of Aligarh and Citylights seems to have some kind of an intellectual breakdown.  The songs seem as ridiculous as everything else. Somehow all the attention Kanagan has drawn in the past few days seem to make sense. She had to for she knew Simran is going to make her audience run out before the interval. I won’t stop you from watching this film but be warned.

We will probably have Kangana jump out the window and emerge unscathed because, yes you guessed it right, – “she has a vagine re”!

Rating - 1/5

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

                             

                             

From India’s very own wild wild west comes a story of boom boom gun shots and crazy chuthiyapa. A story where women are overdosed with testosterone, you can imagine the condition of the men. This is a film about a contract killer Babu who kills people without blinking an eye. Ruthless, sensationless and egoistic, Babu also takes great pride in his bravado. You know what they say about small people – Tiny men, HUGE EGO. Nawazuddin Siddiqui shows his usual but good cocky craft with dollops of one liners and machismo. 

                      This film is for the young male audience high on adrenaline, who get a hard on thinking about shooting people and fucking everything that has a hole. The theatre was full of them, mind you, and they were trying real hard to engage in a one on one with Babu, the protagonist. All their fantasies have come true with sultry women seducing the gun in their pants and killing contracts seducing the gun in their hands. If only they had guns, I would probably be rotting in some dark corner of the movie hall right now. For they were totally charged and laughed at every chuthiya and bhenchod dialogue that spilt out of men, women, et al in the film. 

                Divya Dutta looks formidable and powerful. A great performance by Bidita Bag, uninhibited and wild. Tahir Bhasin is a strapping stud with a great physique and raw appeal. He shows promise and was a good casting decision. I was expecting a great film of the Omkara and Gangs Of Wasseypur genre. But this film is stupid and moronic. Too many gun shots and too much killing. If only there was some  politics and plotting mixed up, it could have been scrumptious and tasty. The story is nice, but the bloodshed and an over the top ending killed it. I have suddenly lost the value of human life. Boom.

Rating - 2.5 / 5