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Reviews
Phullu (2017)
Phullu Dares To Go Where No Other Man Has Gone Before by Suhel Johar
Films on social issues and female issues are often taken as a subject to create awareness or convey a message. But a natural and regular phenomenon that every girl on the planet goes through 'the menstrual cycle' or in simpler words ' monthly periods' has never been considered as a topic of discussion let alone making a film on it. In the country where such topics are still considered taboo, a film based on it was something beyond imagination. In that sense the team of Phullu deserves a pat on their back for daring to pick up an untold taboo topic and give us our very first film that openly talks about the women issues related to menses.
Directed by Abhishek Saxena, who marks his Hindi films directorial debut, the subject of Phullu, has an unlikely but determined man at the centre of the action. Based on the life of an uneducated man named Phullu, who stays with his mother and sister in a small town and is famous for not doing any work other than helping the women of his village by getting them things from the city. Phullu runs several errands for women in the village including his wife. In one dialogue, Phullu says, 'If I leave the village, who will take care of ladies of my village? '. This dialogue is the representation of Phullu's personality, a man who empathises with a woman's daily struggles.
An event during one of his many journeys makes him realize the issues women go through during their menstruation. Phullu attempts to create awareness as well as affordable sanitary napkins for women in rural areas.
Despite below par cinematography the film manages to beautifully capture the world of a remote village where modernity is yet to knock its door.
The tone of the film is a bit melodramatic. It also sounds preachy at times. It would have helped if the film's tone was more light-hearted and humorous. In the absence of the required humour quotient, Phullu turns out to be a more of a social drama, preaching about another problem? At points, the story gets too self involved from Phullu's perspective. Also, the lack of a coherent script and fluidity in the screenplay leads to a half baked attempt. The film might seem stretched in the first half and the screenplay could easily have been better, but it isn't bad either and successfully touches the right chords. But the execution of the larger picture falls short at a few places, pulling the film down a bit. Due to which at places the film gives you the impression of a docu feature.
The transition from being a good for nothing fellow to a man with a cause seems a tad too hurried and unexplained. But you do want to see this man, putting all the obstacles behind him, make that climb, and you share his delight when he reaches that goal. The film ends on that note and you wish that we were shown what Phullu does next to achieve his dream after meeting his goal.
Phullu ticks most of the boxes, and touches upon crucial issues that define the period. But the links are weak, and the subplots episodic. But the director is able to make his point and the message the film has tried to convey gets delivered.
Phullu has been ridden by controversies for having a plot similar to the Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor starrer Padman which is still under production. It is sad how a small film like Phullu is a victim of lobbying. Even the Censor Board gave an A-certificate to the film which is absolutely an injustice to the film like this. How can personal hygiene and menstrual cycle of women be an adult content? If that is something really adult and bad then why allow television channels to carry sanitary pads commercials? The news was doing the rounds that the team of the latter film has suppressed the promotions of Phullu but every film has its own fate.
The director of the film Abhishek Saxena makes an above average debut with the film. He does falter at times but regains lost ground soon. What sets him apart and makes him a director to watch out for is his ability to choose a totally unconventional subject that few would have wanted to touch.
The writing by Shaheen Iqbal shines in parts and his dialogues though could have been better. Cinematography by Simarjit Singh Suman is below average especially in the scenes where the hand-held camera is used. Rohit Mhatre's editing could have been crisper.
Music by Vickky Agarwal is good and an asset to the film. Chukar Tujhe and Bhunoor Bhunoor are the pick of the lot. Background score by Troy Arif is effective.
Sharib Hashmi has nailed it with his top notch performance as Phullu. He is the backbone of the film and carries the film on his shoulders. Jyoti Sethi as his wife does an excellent job. The chemistry between Sharib and Jyoti is endearing. Nutan Surya does full justice to her role as Phullu's mother. Namya Saxena perfect job of an annoyed helpless mother. Trisha Kale as Phullu's sister is good. Namya Saxena and the rest of the cast are effective in their respective roles. Inaam Ul Haq makes his presence felt with his comedy act in a cameo.
On the whole, Phullu is a good example of unconventional cinema due to its bold theme that educates and entertains. A must watch film for women and young girls irrespective of whether they belong to rural or urban India.
Dear Maya (2017)
Dear Maya Is A Feel Good Film About Finding Love At Unexpected Times, And Of Friendship.
Sunaina Bhatnagar's debut feature Dear Maya, which she has also written, deftly uses 1990s star Manisha Koirala's charming presence to tell her story. In the first half, she sports a de-glam look and nails it. She looks aged, ugly and is almost unrecognizable. In the second half, she is spotted in her beautiful avatar. Apart from Manisha Koirala, newcomers Madiha Imam and Shreya Chaudhary are also seen in lead roles. A protégé of director Imtiaz Ali, Sunaina Bhatnagar assisted her mentor on films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, and Rockstar. The film follows the life of a middle-aged lonely woman from the hill town of Shimla, Maya Devi (Manisha Koirala), who stays alone in a huge bungalow with her two dogs and cages full of birds in Shimla. She leads a desolate existence and never steps out of her courtyard, and spends time making depressing dolls. Her intriguing lifestyle catches the eye of her 16-year old neighbour, Ana (Madiha Imam), and her mischievous bestie, Ira (Shreya Chaudhary). When they learn that Maya has never experienced the love of a man, thanks to the trauma she suffered in the past, Ira convinces Ana to spice her life up by writing love letters in the name of Ved, a fictitious admirer from Maya's past. Reluctant at first, Ana finally caves in and starts writing beautiful letters to Maya. She feels more encouraged when Maya begins to respond to them positively and starts coming out of her shell. However, due to Ira's mistake, one of Maya's letters accidentally features an address from Delhi, making her sell everything and leave for the capital to be with her 'secret lover.' Ana is horrified and wants to go to Maya Devi and confess, but Ira refuses. Guilt-stricken over this, Ana confesses to her parents, who pack her off to a boarding school and she also breaks off her friendship with Ira in the process. Six years later, they, however, reunite to search for Maya, who could or could not be dead by then. Dear Maya is a kind of genre we don't pretty much see in Bollywood these days – a moving human drama that doesn't involve huge twists or shockers, but delves into human relationships and dynamics, without resorting to a Badshah song to spice things up. There are quite a few places in the first half of the film that remind you of Vishal Bharadwaj's 2002 film, Makdee. However, Dear Maya has to be appreciated for the fact that it doesn't stray too much from its subject, and only has a handful of characters for us to think about in the film. There are several interesting moments in the film especially when it shows Maya rediscovering life through the letters, and later through the city. Though Maya lends an air of mysticism to the initial portions of the film, it's when she rediscovers life is where Manisha shines the best. Too bad, the film does not give her appropriate screen time. In fact, more than this being Maya's story, Dear Maya is actually about the two girls revaluating their friendship through the repercussions of their prank on an unsuspecting victim. Not a bad idea, per se. But the problem is we don't feel much for their friendship thanks to some very average writing in these portions. So those moments, when they fight and later reconcile, do not touch you with the same effect as Maya enjoying a sweet dish after many years. Some of their actions also don't make any sense. Like Ana is shown frantically searching for Maya for six years; she calls up radio stations and pastes posters of Maya's everywhere. But at no point, does she even think of visiting a police station, until someone reminds her of doing so. Dear Maya may have an interesting story to tell, but the pace of the narrative is cumbersome and yawn-inducing, and will put you off the movie at several places. The first part of the film seemed a little stretched while the second half of the film is quite scattered. The narration should have been crisper to make the film more interesting. The end of the film could have been even better. As a debutante director Sunaina shows promise and maturity as far as directorial skills are concerned but she needs to hone up on her script writing skills. She succeeds as a director but her screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. Sanjeev Dutta's dialogues are effective. Sayak Bhattacharya's cinematography is amazing. Aarti Bajaj's editing is below average and fails to deliver. Music and background score of the film by Anupam Roy is good and so are Irshad Kamil's lyrics. Though underutilised Manisha Koirala delivers a fine nuanced performance and deserved more screen time then she has been given in the film. Madiha Imam and Shreya Chaudhary, the two newcomers are convincing in their roles. Iravati Harshe, as Ana's mother, is good. The rest of the cast do as required.
On the whole, you may watch Dear Maya for Manisha Koirala's enthralling performance.
Dobaara: See Your Evil (2017)
Dobaara: See Your Evil Is A Horror Film That Does Not Scare You.
Despite 100 years of Indian cinema horror is sadly one of the most overlooked genres in Bollywood with most films on offer consisting of whatever forgetful or ridiculous plot line the Bhatts (during the 70s and 80s it used to be the Ramsays who were associated with the genre) have cooked up that week. Prawaal Raman's Dobaara: See Your Evil, an official remake of Mike Flanagan's acclaimed Oculus, is not any better than those. Incidentally, the film is part of a three-picture deal between Relativity Media, B&U Television Network, and Balaji Telefilms, which also includes remakes of the films The Best Of Me and 3 Days To Kill along with Oculus.
Dobaara: See Your Evil is set in England and as the story goes Natasha Alex Merchant(Huma Qureshi) and Kabir Alex Merchant(Saqib Saleem ) are siblings who live a separated life due to a tragedy that has happened in the past. She recalls her childhood with her family with her father Alex Merchant (Adil Hussain) and her mother Lisa (Lisa Ray) and their pet Rambo. Things are hunky-dory till the father brings home a mirror which is said to be haunted. One fine day in a rage of fear, Adil shoots Lisa and in turn Saqib shoots Adil. Natasha strongly believes that it is the mirror which was responsible for all happenings. The brother-sister duo reunite after a decade to destroy the haunted mirror but the mirror is well prepared in advance and knows how to protect itself.
The film is ineptly executed and the purpose of making the film remains unfathomable. The film is set in England, and has not a single Indian reference point that connects it with our experiences. No social or cultural adaptation has been attempted.
Dobaara: See Your Evil does have an interesting first half however it is not at all scary as projected in the trailer. The performances by the lead actors make the film interesting however the film lacks engaging narration in some aspects. Some of the interesting episodes have been badly presented. One couldn't initially make out if Alex Merchant was possessed or schizophrenic. The post interval episodes convince you that the film is a psychological thriller.
The second half of the film too has been loosely executed and will leave the audience confused. Many of the interesting episodes have been clearly ignored and the major plot has been sidelined. The performances by the lead actors drive the film completely. The pre-climax events make the film interesting and the climax is completely predictable.
Writer-director Prawaal Raman fails to make Dobaara: See Your Evil into an interesting horror film as the film lacks scary content. In fact, Dobaara: See Your Evil can be called a thriller instead of a horror film. The story of the film is interesting and well written but Raman's screenplay looks loose while his dialogues are okay. Cinematography by Anuj Dhawan is a major asset of the film. Editing by Hakeem Azeez and Nipun Gupta is decent. Arko Pravo Mukherjee's music is okay. Baxkground score by Avedis Ohanian and Aditya Trivedi is effective but the decibel levels of the background score needed to checked at several places.
Performance wise Adil Hussain has been exceptional in the film, almost flawless. Lisa Ray has been decent and apt for the role. Saqib Salem is impressive. Huma Qureshi is just about average. Madalina Bellariu is convincing as the spirit of the mirror, Anna. All the other actors do as required.
On the whole, Dobaara: See Your Evil is dull, exhausting and just forgettable.