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Reviews
Mirzapur: Pratishodh (2024)
Slick storyline. Fewer characters,Crisp acring
Cliff hanger of season 2 was which of the identical twins died in gun-fight.
The "survivor" of the duel is shown in the third episode of Season 3 watching the final sequence of "Don" - where the SRK version is a sharp departure from AB version. That, I thought was the most brilliant moment of the season so far.
A lot of characters of first two seasons had served their purpose. That made possible for many others to become forces that drive the story and creat new alliances and rivalries.
The violence is too violent and some repetitions could have been avoided.
Over all a very satisfactory affair.
Mast Mein Rehne Ka (2023)
Decent - could have been better
This is perhaps Jackie Shroff's best work in a career that spans 4 decades. Sadly the movie as a vehicle does not live up to it.
There are two storylines - on that of an elderly middle class couple trying to find love in twilight of life. Another of a poor couple - a poor taylor/burglar and a street-beggar/prostitute trying to find human dignity. The two storylines nearly intersect and characters go through the graph predictably. There in lies the problem. A lot of scenes are so artificial that the actors are forced to overact.
Jackie is truly superb. Nina Gupta does what she does routinely - play her character with authenticity.
Abhishek Chauhan was much better in Main Monica. Here he is monotonous through the movie. Monica Panwar is the most out of depth among all. She cannot pull off a street - beggar with authenticity (street-smart or not). Faisal Malik just does brings his Panchayat character from Phulera to Mumbai. Nothing else.
How many times have we seen hero believe his lover left him and flew away only to find out that she did not after losing any hope of ever seeing her? (Chalte Chalte, Heyy Baby, etc.) When we see that happen with Jackie and Nina, we know that the story was just put together in a hurry - almost as an afterthought.
P.I. Meena (2023)
Decent series and writing with some glaring drawbacks
Virus cannot be seen with light microscope.
A person in coma for 3 years is no longer kept on cardiac monitor.
Any microbiologist would not contaminate his own or someone's clothes with gloves he just used handling a specimen.
Surgeons in India are not MDs. They are MSs.
Once you can get over such inconvenient medical facts, there is a lot to enjoy in this layered and textured tale.
It brings a world of Kolkata and Eastern India to life. Background score and cinematography are decent.
There are several veteran actors in supporting cast but one weak point is the lead, Tanya Maniktala. She reduces the character to perpetually angry and rogue. She is angry at herself because she blames herself for her brother's coma. She is angry at the system. Unfortunately that is all we get out of her. There is no nuance. One can't help wishing that someone like Tridha Chaudhary (Ashram) or Disha Thakur (Main Monica) was cast in that role.
Neeyat (2023)
Prepare to be underwhlemed
A fan of good acting cannot be blamed for getting all worked up with the prospect of seeing Vidya Balan, Neeraj Kabi, Rahul Bose and Ram Kapoor supported by an able ensemble.
Sadly each of them ends us getting reduced to their weakest version in this hodge-podge.
A suspense movie cannot work with these many logical and logistical inconsistencies. Mira Rao Vidya's character once stops a young man from videotaping her because she is "on duty". That same man keeps videotaping through the night and somehow never captures Mira's face even once. A chandelier falls and nearly kills AK before Mira enters the castle but later while solving the mystery, she concludes that the only reason someone will have scissors is if he/she cut the rope holding the chandelier.
All medical "facts" used as plot-twists are wrong too.
Yes the end is a nice twist but even that does not make sense at the end. No matter how smart one is, one cannot single-handedly fool CBI and Scotland yard and predict a storm with a month's notice.
Mostly, though, it is how mechanical the highly gifted actors look that breaks you heart. They seem to go through motions a highly detailed instructions of the director. They are totally dissociated with their characters.
Amateur stage actors move and act like that, not the ones of caliber of Niraj Kabi and Rahul Bose.
Bawaal (2023)
As predictable as a Gujarati eating thepla and chakri
If there is a Gujarati in a Hindi movie, he would talk about and eat thepla, undhiyu and fafda - and eventually will break into a garba routine.
A pair of identical bags will get exchanged accidentally and will each contain the right sized dresses for the wrong person.
If there is a local politician in a movie, he will exert power unfairly to make someone's life miserable.
If a hero's shallowness is exposed by a crisis, he will be made to show he will be given the opportunity to prove his maturity and decency at the end of the movie with that same exact crisis (a fit of epilepsy for example).
A young couple in Europe will face thieves.
Parents will find out of children planning divorce before children are ready to tell them.
All these predictable things happen in a movie that is even more predictable than those subplots.
Witching 15 minutes we know what will happen in rest of the movie and when the lead pair is off to Europe, we predict how that will unfold.
All that is made watchable with some very good performance with two grounded actors supported by a very mature support cast. Writing is decent and comedy and emotional scenes land for the most part.
Juxtaposition with WWII and Holocaust history is a two edged sword. We can see that the intent is respectful but some scenes (especially humor) come across as inappropriate if not indecent.
An uncultured man at a tourist spot asks which channel on audio trout-guide headphone has Badshaah songs.
That would be funny if that tourist spot was not Normandy Beach where tens of thousands of soldiers died within hours.
Bullets (2021)
This is what you watch when you want to hate yourself while watching it
If you ever wondered what a movie or series would be like if Sunny Leone, indeed, the most talented one among all of cast and crew, "Bullets" is the show to watch.
One would think that after 10 years, Bollywood would conclude that they gave it a good whirl - trying to find talent in Sunny Leone - but by golly, they keep making one dud after the other.
One would hope that Kashmira Tanna would have marginally better acting skills than Sunny but she is out there trying to our-Sunny Sunny.
It is made so poorly, only when you hear characters talking about someone dead, you realize that that character died in the previous episode. Logic, reason, continuity, reality - none of them stand a chance.
Likely the worst series I wasted my time watching.
Main Monica (2022)
Bandhe Haath meets Chachi 420 meets Dream Girrl meets Chandnibar
A man with two identities gets accused of killing himself - as one of those identities. (Bandhe Haath, BrijMohan Amar Rahe).
A man desperate for work and out of luck finds work as a woman (Mrs. Doubtfire, Chachi 420).
All horny men fall for that man (Dream Girrl).
All the shady characters and businesses of a cheap Dance bar (Chandani Bar).
Really nothing new except some clever writing and some very good acting.
You have seen everything before but still don't get bored.
Except for Dibyendu, none of the actors are known but they support each other and rather implausible storyline well.
Disha Thakur is the most impressive among all.
Writing is really clever - in terms of screenplay and dialogues.
All in all, worth the time!
Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery (2023)
Sanya Shines, story delivers, end fizzles
Sanya Malhotra has never disappointed - since Dangal but this is finally the movie that does her talent justice. She almost caries the movie singularly on her shoulder - save the fact that the support cast is just as solid and the two veterans Vijay Raz and Rajpal Yadav just claim their stake of admiration.
Rajpal Yadav gives the performance of his lifetime. I have never been impressed by him this much. (That skullcap I could have done without).
Story, screenplay and dialogues have that Coen brother feel of blending absurd, whimsical and wit - with dark.
Last 15 minutes are disappoint anticlimax where too many loose ends get neatly tied in a hurry and almost give a feel of 1970s "parivarik" drama where everything suddenly gets tidied up for a happy ending. An imperfect end would have been a perfect for a story like this - where something was left without a closure.
Sanya - her performance alone is enough though to make me watch the movie again.
Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023)
Yami Gautam's effort wasted once again on a poor script
Script is shoddy and jumping back and forth in chronology is unnecessary and makes is harder to follow and makes the movie less engaging.
Yami Gautam has been around for more than a decade and has been desperate for a movies that allows her to showcase all of her strengthens - but like Thursday, like Ginny weds Sunny, like Bhoot Police, this is not that movie.
It is a predictable plot once the story takes off - literally and figuratively - as most of it takes place on a flight. There is a perfunctory cliffhanger designed to open the door for a sequel (highly optimistic).
There is poor music and loud background score. Forgettable affair.
Gulmohar (2023)
Half baked, confused, pretentious
How is it that a man who just learned two days ago that he is an adopted child looked up his biological father years ago and has been mustering courage to confront him for years?
That is just one of many inconsistencies in this poorly conceived mess of a story. Too many plot lines, too many characters, too many emotional breakthroughs to deliver in last 30 minutes.
When Sharmila ji does a movie after years, one expects her to command the screen like she has for almost 60 years - since Anupama, Amar Prem, Aaradhna, Mausam and Chupke Chupke. In stead she gives a phoned-in performance where she appears to simply read lines written on a white-board. A veteran like Amol Palekar is wasted.
Manoj Bajpai is par for himself but other than that not much in the movie.
Chup (2022)
Very well made thriller.
A beautiful ode to Guru Dutt movies and their music. Sound track made up of tunes of his songs.
Sensitivity. Humor. A cameo of Amitabh Bacchan. Great acting. Witty dialogues "Ab to funeral men bhi dimaag men 100 violins bajani padti hai, tabhi feeling aati hai."
What is not to like?
The fact that a suspense thriller does not have many characters to chose from as the suspect does not matter because the killer is revealed half way and still the second half of the movie is gripping - somewhat far fetched the way the end is brought about but that can be forgiven.
About the only thing I could not stand was the totally gratuitous propaganda prop in form of a wall-decor that says: "Woody Allen is innocent." That takes out two stars from me.
Why would Bollywood bend their sense of decency to get approval of the Western world, I would never fathom.
Dhokha: Round D Corner (2022)
Intolerable at many levels
Terrorist hostage movies are a dime a dozen.
When someone like Madhavan is involved your hopes go up a bit.
However when the writer and director steadfastly refuse to indulge anything creative.
Ever trope of a supposed "psych-thriller" is there: conflicting versions of stories; power struggle between law enforcement and politicians; unscrupulous media practicing yellow journalism; arguments between police and hostage's family; torrential rain to highlight a climax etc...
Things get absurd quickly though - the cop and hostage's husband sitting on kids swing-set to in middle of negotiation with the terrorist to strategize, Aparshakti trying and failing with Kashmiri/Afghan accent; cops running into a building from heavy rain but with dry uniforms....
It is not not hard to figure half way all the betrayals in the story so there is no actual suspense.
Acting is subpar. Darshan Kumar is waning with each new role and Kushali Kumar manages to act without using her face.
Manifest: Touch-and-Go (2022)
Same good content but a hard to recall plot lines after such a long break
I likes how the season 3 picked up and avid watchers remember the plot-lines about the Stone family to pick up exactly where it was left in S3.
However, minor and peripheral characters have faded from memory and difficult to remember where they were when S3 ended - e.g. Angelina, Anna, Eagan, Adrian.
Going back and watching all three seasons again would be too much time to invest to get the context.
I remember nAiden as an opportunist setting up ministry of 828ers and Vance was working behind the scene with 828ers to solve the mystery but cannot recall how Bird's nest was set up or what happened to Aiden before S4.
I wish there was a feature that gave synopsis of each character's arc through the first three seasons.
The Flight Attendant (2020)
As if Chris Bohjalian's books are not woke enough
I was looking forward to this series as I liked the novel and the lead character was written with darker shades. A senses of impending doom was constant in the book for her.
The way Couco portrays her is as if alcohol blackouts are a TBBT running-joke. She does not rise above her sit-com self.
There are other totally unnecessary changes. Cassie's married sister with family becomes a gay brother and FBI agents trailing her have a running race/gender Social Justice tussle - which has no context to the story.
To make us for all that, the eye-candy dead-man keeps coming back every 10 minutes to talk to Cassie.
Darlings (2022)
Great acting, average concept, shoddy execution
The three principles - Alia, Shefali, Vijay - carry the movie like champs. The excellence, the finesse we have come to expect from those three movie after movie, series after series, is paid in full. Even the support of the ensemble made up of super-underrated actors like Rajesh Sharma and Vijay Maurya is very fulfilling. That is where my awe and admiration ends.
The concept of domestic violence and revenge are hardly new.
What broke my heart is shoddy execution because the maker does not know what she wants to make or the fact that what she wants to make is really a mess.
Movie starts as a psychological drama and then becomes an "issue" movie and then a revenge caper and then a comedy-through-revenge story like seen parts of War or Roses or Ram aur Shyam and Sita aur Geeta more than half a century ago - through in the mix the idea of incompetent captors like seen in Ruthless people and Fanney Khan.
Point is that once the characters are established, the movie takes us through a hodgepodge scenarios and themes we have seen in countless movies before.
Of course, then you throw-in super-woke normalization of a man lusting after a woman he calls "khala" - even continues to call her that after they kiss. That is where the movie jumped the shark for me.
Shabaash Mithu (2022)
👍🏽 For Mithali; 🤙🏽 For Tapsee
Even on the "promotion" tour that the two did together on various shows, Mithali and Tapsee obviously lacked chemistry.
Mithali acted like she did not know what she was doing on a movie promotion tour - although the movie was about her. Tapsee was just going through the routine one more time.
The kinship - shared passion - seen between MS and Sushant; Kapil and Ranveer was never obvious.
You see the movie and see why. Many of the themes - neglect of female athletes, male dominance, ragging of new players, racism - etc, we have already seen in a number of sports movies.
It is inspirational to learn the biography of Mithali but one almost wishes that they should have let Inaayat Verma to grow up to play the adult Mithali. Tapsee seems to have peaked with Pink, Mulk and Saandh ki Ankh. One wonders what those movies would have been without Mr. Bacchan, Chinhoji and Bhumi respectively.
Jhund (2022)
Good movie - could have been great
When there is only one recognizable actor in the movie and that actor is none other than AB, it may end up being a one man show or a total disaster. Total credit to entire cast and crew that total unknowns - complete nobodies - share screen with Mr. Bacchan and still make it a match up. Full credit to AB as well to let the complete nobodies shine in his presence - lift them to a level of respectability as actors.
The milieu is captured with total authenticity. Songs - especially "Badal se dosti" and background score is perfect foil to propagate the story.
Why not great though:
1, Poor screen play. Like all David-and-Goliath sports dramas, the movie follows a predictable arc. The ongoing conflict between a well-to-do business man and the lead slum-dog is played out once too many - to the point of being ridiculous. The plight of multiple underprivileged characters struggling to get passport to participate in a tournament plays out for almost 20 minutes before the climax. The first game between slum and college lasts too long with a predictable "nail-biter".
2, Script writer could not resist to include a soaring monologue of Mr. Bacchan picked the worst possible moment in the story to jam it in. In a movie trying so hard to keep it real, AB standing in front of judge and the court to admonish society and legal system, even with his masterclass and sincerity takes us back 35 years to "Andha Kanoon".
3, Some other unreal situations: A girl bringing her own Mercedes to college will not be infatuated by for slum-dweller/petty-criminal no matter how dramatic the circumstances are. A man standing in front of train to kill himself and jumping off the track at the last split second becomes a goal-keeper on the account of his ability to quickly jump sideways.
Hanna (2019)
One more good storyline ruined by good old fashioned America-bashing
Great first season. Good follow through in the second but by the end of second, we get Hollywood's tried and tested "World Good-America Bad" territory.
America, CIA, rich white men with pasty white skin (Hollywood's favorite villains) conspiring to assassinate left-leaning activists, peaceful Muslims, whistleblowers and environmental activists - while day is saved by oppressed girls and women.
The formula has got old. Had they got a bit more creative, may it would have been worthy of better review.
My Client's Wife (2020)
Novel but not impressive
Story is 'different' for sure and the end is not to be guessed.
That said, there are a few flaws that cannot be ignored.
1, From their previous works, I had come to expect more nuanced performances from the three leads: Anjali (Newton, Afsos); Sharib (The Family Man) and Abhimanyu (Gulaal, Mom). The end explains why Anjali looked a bit off and that may be on purpose but could still have been a more subtle effort.
2, The 'suspense' background score is way too loud and is heard way too often. I had to constantly keep changing volume on my device between the 'music' parts and the 'dialogue' parts of the movie. It was counterproductive to it being an immersive experience. It felt as if they tried to emulate Hitchcock trillers to creat tension - except suspense movie scores have evolved over last half a century.
3, This is the 'spoiler' part: When we come to know who the woman in burqa is in the opening sequence - that feels extremely politically correct, an artistic cowardice - to the point of being communal pandering. Why does not Bollywood still not have the courage? Why does the moral rectitude belong to Muslims and why did the adulteress have to be a Hindu woman?
Indoo Ki Jawani (2020)
Decent concept, good acting, some good humor, poor execution
The idea of a story line that is blend of a woman's sexual awakening; a terror plot and Delhi's 'Jay Mata Di' Jagrata culture is interesting although when terrorism is involved in a comedy, you always can predict how it will end.
Kiara has done an amazing job of Indoo and Mallika Dua has good screen presence and comedic timing. Supporting cast including veteran Rakesh Bedi add their share of flavor and humor.
Problem is with execution. In one 15 minutes long sequence, the lead man needs to urinate and is not allowed to. The unfunny situation drags on for 15 minutes and literally a bar graph color-coded upgrade flashes every few minutes to show how full his bladder is. Other such added cartoon icons appear when the friend gives Indoo sexual advice. Scene about women exchanging dating and sex tips and causing traffic jam is contrived to death. Very sophomoric. Jagrata culture is also made mockery of to the point of being insulting - completely insensitive to fact that to many, this is an authentic expression of their spirituality.
Kiara and Mallika are talented and deserve better vehicles than this.
Tribhanga (2021)
Ganesh Gaitonde in lipstick
A life-story told in context of a comatose or a dying person is an age old construct. That the families in these stories will overcome past traumas and will heal together, forgive and accept each other better is also something we have seen countless times.
Even then, three generations of immensely talented actresses makes one look forward to the experience.
What Renuka Sahane went for, in stead, is 'shock-value'; something that is now a dogma of OTT Hindi entertainment - make the dialogues as vulgar as possible.
Kajol has responded by acting like a Disney channel child-star coming of age and talking trash to declare adulthood. She focuses so much on being "comfortable with" trash-talk that she ignores what the movie needs and the audience knows she is, with 3 decades of impressive body of work, absolutely capable of delivering: sensitivity, texture, layered character.
Kajol basically settles for being Ganesh Gaitonde in lipstick. Renuka let's her.
That is the third and final nail in coffin of t a movie that could have been a perfectly told story and a much needed warm and fulfilling beginning of a new year.
Ava (2020)
Redundant and inexplicable
1, I had just see Gemini Man and really there are plenty of movies otherwise of burning out assassins being marked for assassination.
2, There is no rhyme or reason as to how this particular assassination inc. should exist.
3, In the end, there is no rationale for why Simon walks away from Ava knowing that only one of them can live and he has a family to live for.
4, Why would any assassination inc. boss involve their families in such shady work?
Made no sense.
Bandish Bandits (2020)
Music, Ambiance, Story and surprise package: Shreya Chaudhary
Music, locations, ambiance grab you in the first episode itself.
A few more episodes and the story hooks you - especially after Atul Kulkarni enters the frame.
What you cannot get over by the end is how Shreya Chaudhary steals the show from veterans like Naseeruddin Shah and Atul Kulkarni. She is the surprise package.