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. 

Chandigarh Kare Ishq

 

Abhishek Kapoor takes a huge risk in making an in-your-face film. The story is about the life of male-to- female transgender in a highly misogynistic and patriarchal region of India. Moreover, the lead male is a bodybuilder, which is a testosterone-driven, macho, and chauvinistic profession. The film plays out in these circumstances and situations giving the maker a lot to work with. Manu (Ayushmann) has two sisters who are big advocates of patriarchy, and for the first time, women who are visciously heteronormative.

In my personal experience, North India is seriously homophobic. The fear and anxiety related to flexibility of gender and sexual orientation are very deep compared to the southern regions of India. And this can be witnessed throughout the film. The film does an amazing job of bringing this out in the open and creating awareness about gender dysmorphia and gender/sexual fluidity. Though Manu's character lived up to its expectations, Manvi's character seemed somewhat inconfident and tepid. The deadly pounding of masculine chauvinistic punches could have been fought back with equal aggression. This could've sent a strong message balancing the guilt-driven psyche of transgenderism. 

Ayushmann knows his niche and strong suit extremely well and uses it in film after film. He is industry's  most intelligent strategist and actor in the way he chooses roles and scripts. Kudos to Vaani in looking, playing and being the part of Manvi - the cast director has hit the bull's eye. The film had to end in a dramatic way as it is a hindi film which was not really necessary. A simlpe sweet thoghtful ending would have continued the main tone of the film. A film important for Indians, especially the law makers. 

Rating  3.5 / 5

Beyto (2020)

This film is about "Beyto" a young swimmer whose family has immigrated to Switzerland from Turkey. A hard working computer science student and a professional swimmer, Beyto is the quintessential"perfect" son any parent would want. But as always, perfect sons are more often than not ....? You are right - gay. And his parents are as orthodox as they come, for they don't want to benefit the country they migrated to. They are loyal to their own country even though they have left it to enjoy greener pastures. And you can only imagine the fate of Beyto. The fact that they trick their own prodigal son after knowing that he is gay is proof enough of the deep dense prejudice and homophobia. Like a pig for slaughter, Beyto becomes a victim of a dupe planned by his own parents. 

What follows is gut wrenching, heart wrenching and edgy as we witness acute hatred for gays in the Arabic world.  Burak Ates will not only make you mad with desire but will make you fall in love with Beyto as he gives a controlled and complete performance. 

The film has a unique and satisfying ending that will surely appease the audience.