Blog | Amodini's Movie Reviews

Movie Review : Jersey (2022)

Posted on May 6, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Drama
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Director: Gowtam Tinnanuri
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, Pankaj Kapoor, Ronit Kamra
Kid rating: PG

I think time might be going backwards. Because what else would explain dumb stories like this one actually making it to the silver screen? Now, now, I’m not saying I hated it but hear me out.

First things first: The film is about Arjun (Shahid) a 36 year old ex-cricketer, who wasn’t good enough for the Indian cricket team. For Arjun professional cricket is 10 years in the past. He’s also been let go from his job because of alleged corruption charges, and so he sits at home, unwilling to move on, while his wife runs the household.

One fine day, his little son Kittu (Ronit Kamra) asks him for a cricket jersey costing Rs 500. Arjun doesn’t have that kind of money, and frustration at being unable to even buy a gift for his son propels him to train for professional cricket again. The goal is to remain a “hero” in his son’s eyes.

Jersey then is Arjun’s story of redemption, given his son’s adoration and egged on by his former coach’s enthusiastic support. His wife Vidya isn’t very gung-ho about the whole trying-on-cricket-again thing but Arjun goes about achieving his goal.

As you probably know, this is a copy of the Telugu original helmed by the very same director. It’s also an underdog story, with lot’s of cricket, family-drama, and emotional pathos thrown in. And yes, it works. Because even as I’m shaking my head at the asinine lead character, I’m also engaged by the on-screen theatrics and the father-son bonding.

On the negative side, this is an old-school (gave me an 80s feel) film with a macho character given to violent outbursts (angry young man) and a hankering for “principles”. The female lead, despite being the breadwinner and the one holding together the family, is merely a supportive extra in Arjun’s glorious comeback story.

Director Tinnanuri doesn’t cut corners when it comes to giving his hero his all. There are no nuances to Arjun’s struggle – despite being out of practice and out of shape for the 10 years of non-cricket, Arjun comes out batting hard, hitting the ball for sixers like there’s no tomorrow. There’s also Arjun’s former coach, Baali (Pankaj Kapoor), who despite all Arjun’s missteps remains Arjun’s most stanch supporter.

Arjun’s character checks all the boxes required of a Bollywood hero. He eats, breathes, drives around on a motorbike and gets into skirmishes when someone makes remarks about his lady-love. In Arjun I saw flashes of Kabir Singh – the anger and the goal of maintaining the “hero’s bravado” to the exclusion of all else.

There is much pathos here and much of what I call “false” pathos. True, Arjun is in a bad situation, but what propels him to finally take action is not shame at a wasted life, but how he appears to his young son – never mind the wife who’s selflessly slaving away trying to sustain her family. Bollywood affords heroes a laxity never extended to heroines. While Vidya’s character stretches from amorous lady-love making out with Arjun at his cricketing sessions, to dignified, sari-clad wife and mother making ends meet sans any help from her partner, Arjun merely has to think of himself and his cricket. And get lauded for it.

The troubling thing about films like Jersey is that they portray everyday misogyny (without even knowing that they do?). It was easier to spot in Kabir Singh or The Great Indian Kitchen, but it is in this film too, nonetheless. Arjun loves his wife, and does not abuse her, but her support is taken for granted. Because of course, while he whiles away his life, moaning about lack of money, while not taking good jobs that are offered to him, the selfless woman in his life must slave at her job and her home! While he makes this all about his goals, no one is actually giving a whit about the toll it takes on her.

Jersey, while predictable and too long (3 hours!!!), is watchable. It falls very short of full-throated approval because of it’s dumb hero and his hard-to-root-for actions.

Kidwise: Some kissing, but otherwise clean.

Posted in 2022, drama, New Films, rating-PG, romance, sports | Comments Off

Movie Review : Everything Everywhere All at Once

Posted on April 30, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Sci-fi
Year : 2022
Running time : 2 hours 12 minutes
Director : Dan Kwan, Danielle Scheinart
Cast : Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Kwan
Kid rating : PG-17

Me, I’m a sucker for science fiction. And science fiction involving time travel? Multi-verses? Count me in! Bring it on! You get the idea. Naturally then, on reading the premise for Everything Everywhere All At Once, I was eager to get to the theatre. Ah, and was the excitement warranted? Yes. Deserved? I’m on the fence on that one.

So, here’s the elevator pitch: Evelyn Wang, our protagonist, is a busy, busy woman working on keeping her laundromat afloat. Life is soul-sucking and dreary, and Evelyn’s dreams have been ground down by the monotony of everyday routine. The love she once felt for her husband, a love that had her leave her family for him, has faded with time and disillusionment. Into this placid, nay, lackluster environment comes the future, complete with alternate multiverses and the villain who threatens to bring it all down. Of course (and don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming), Evelyn is our only hope.

I really wanted to like this film. I did too, in patches. The narrative veers between the present and the past and some fantastical imagery. Props for creating visual settings so surreal they jolt you awake. Which means there were some parts which put me to sleep, but hey, do you ever get perfection? The beauty of all this was that it was threaded together so seamlessly, with such balance and nuance. They’re fighting one moment, and the next moment there is a lovely, pathos-filled emotional scene and it all flows so beautifully!

Alas, that the film’s message all boiled down to a pithy aphorism (trying to not be spoiler-ish here). I’m let down. All this for some homily I could have gotten out of a mediocre Hallmark movie? All the science-y gobbledygook for this? Whither the promise of hard science fiction and intricate, mind-bending problems? Color me dismayed!

Michelle Yeoh is a graceful, talented actress and I’m glad she had her lead role here. Ke Huy Kwan who plays her ineffectual husband fits the bill. And Stephanie Tsu as her daughter Joy, who can’t and won’t fit in, is marvelous for this role.

So, should you see it? Yes, if you like science fiction and eccentric family-oriented films. If you have little appetite for the gloriously weird – know that this film is very off the wall and takes you on flights of fancy you might dismiss as nonsense. Now, if only those flights of fancy took you somewhere meaningful, my recommendation would have been a full-throated yes. As it stands though I’d say, it depends.

Kidwise: Slight sexual elements, mostly comedic and some heavily pixelated.

Posted in 2022, hollywood, sci-fi | Comments Off

Movie Review : Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)

Posted on February 26, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2022
Running time : 2 hours 32 minutes
Director : Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast : Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgan, Seema Bhargava, Vijay Raaz, jim Sarbh
Kid rating : PG-17

Gangubai finally released about an year after the teaser came out! And it is not all for nought – a Sanjay Leels Bhansali film after our pandemic drought of decent Hindi films to watch – Gangubai is well-made, watchable film.

Gangubai is based on the real life of Mumbai madam and gangster Ganga Kathiawadi, and shows us her journey from her life as a barrister’s daughter to a prostitute at a Mumbai brothel. With time she comes to own one brothel, then many, and gains power as the “sister” of Mumbai don Karim Lala (played here by surma-laden Ajay Devgan).

The real life Gangubai did work for the upliftment of prostitutes and their children, and pushed for the legalization of prostitution in a meeting with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, but the film paints her in rosier hues. She was apparently influential in the underworld, involved in drug-peddling etc., but the film only shows us her connection to Karim Lala (very sisterly, he’s protecting her and she’s making him sewai on Eid), and the illegal sale of liquor in her brothels in prohibition-era Bombay.

For a biopic this film is pretty interesting. Yes, it does get a little preachy in the second half – a little more chanting of Gangubai’s name and you’d think she was a cousin of Mother Teresa’s. There is no male lead really – Devgan has a minor role – so Alia carries the film. And does it well!

I had reservations when they’d released the trailer because Alia seemed too young and innocent-looking to play the role of a hardened pimp. The heavy, dark make-up alleviates some of that problem. A fantastic performance by Alia though – she brings, energy and pathos to this role. Seema Bhargav and Vijay Raaz as the other major actors in this film are also very good.

Like other Bhansali films Gangubai Kathiawadi also has great attention to detail. The acting, scripting, pacing is well-done. The sets are beautiful; even grimy, red-light areas look beautiful, artistic, earth-toned abodes when viewed through Bhansali’s lens. The music, especially some of the slower, poignant songs are lovely and apt.

As for the flaws – the second half drags a little. The film could easily have been cut short by 30 minutes or more. While this is an interesting look at Gangubai’s life and does offer a few glimpses into her thoughts (like the scene where she is choosing one white saree from among many white sarees), Gangubai’s character still mostly remains at a distance – we know how she is perceived and what she is to others around her, but we are never let into to see what she’s thinking. The film could have had real hold, had Bhansali been a little more exploratory.

Kidwise: Depictions of violence against women, 1 (bloody) fight scene, several scenes showing soliciting/prostitution

Posted in 2021 | Comments Off

Movie Review : Badhaai Do (2022)

Posted on February 20, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2022
Running time : 2 hours 27 minutes
Director : Harshvardhan Kulkarni
Cast : Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Chum Darang, Gulshan Devaiah, Seema Bhargava, Sheeba Chaddha, Nitish Pandey, Loveleen Mishra
Kid rating : PG-17

In 2018 there was Badhaai Ho with the versatile Ayushman Khurana. And now there is Badhaai Do. Both films are around family and strained familial relations but there the similarity ends. Am just as pleased with Badhaai Ho though because it brings a nuanced and forward-thinking perspective to the issues of LGBTQ folks.

Police inspector Shardul Thakur (Rajkummar Rao) meets Suman Singh (Bhumi Pednekar), a Physical Education teacher. Shardul is gay, and Sumi is a lesbian, and their families don’t know this. Harried by family demands to settle down, both decide to enter into a marriage of convenience. Sounds like a win-win – the families will be satisfied, and the two will have the freedom to live their lives they see fit. Or so they think.

The first half of the film introduces us to the meet-and-greet phase, the setup, the marriage etc. In the second half things start to unspool for Shardul and Sumi. What is it they say about best-laid plans?

I loved the fact that Badhaai Do is situated in small towns like Dehradoon and Haldwani. Its characters are people who’ve been brought up in these small towns where everyone knows everyone, and “log kya kahenge” is the mantra you live your life by. Shardul and Sumi’s families are no different – they want them to marry quickly and produce offspring even quicker – all of course while kow-towing to the great Indian sanskars.

I’m actually surprised and impressed with Badhaai Do. This is a film primarily about LGBTQ relationships and about how living in India as openly gay or lesbian is heavily frowned upon, despite the repeal of section 377. Director Harshvardhan Kulkarni takes a liberal, sympathetic view of Shardul and Sumi’s lives. He treats their problem as a human problem, portraying them as people first, with their hopes and aspirations and the need for love and acceptance. You feel for Shardul and Sumi – to have to twist and tangle their lives and live out a complicated lie just, just to appease society and it’s expectations!

The subject is heavy, but the treatment is sound. And presented with a dash of humor. Badhaai Do is fast-moving and lively, filled with familiar-looking characters and people like us. Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar are great in this film, as you knew they would be. The stellar supporting cast – Seema Bhargava as the unforgiving matriarch of Shardul’s family, Sheeba Chaddha as Shardul’s flaky mom, the lovely Chum Darang as Sumi’s girlfriend, the very debonair-looking Gulshan Davaiah as Advocate Guru Narayan, the moun-vrat-dhaari Loveleen Mishra as Sumi’s mom, Nitish Pandey as Sumi’s dad – make this film even better.

Badhaai Do works because it takes a serious issue and portrays it with heart and humor. Badhaai Do is a brave film; I wish there were many more like it.

Go watch!

Kidwise: Might need to be explained conceptually to kids, but generally palatable for older children.

Posted in 2022, bollywood, comedy, directors, drama, Good Hindi Movies To Watch, humor, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, passes Bechdel Test, rating-PG17, recommended, social issues | Comments Off

Movie Review : Gehraiyaan (2022)

Posted on February 13, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2022
Running time : 2 hours 28 minutes
Director : Shakun Batra
Cast : Deepika Padukone, Sidhanth Chaturvedi, Ananya Pandey, Dhairya Karwa, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajat Kapoor
Kid rating : PG-17

From its trailer, Gehraiyaan reminded me of the 2004 American film Closer, which was about messy personal relationships – hard to watch and painful besides. I did not like Closer at all and was prepared to not like Gehraiyaan also. Ergo, low expectations. Surprisingly and thankfully unmet. I did like Gehraiyaan – it starts off as a love story – well kinda, but there are quite a few unexpected twists and turns which make up for the slow start.

Alisha or “Al” (Deepika Padukone) is in a relationship with long-time boyfriend Karan (Dhairya). One day, they meet up with Al’s wealthy cousin Tia (Ananya Pandey) and her wannabe-real-estate-mogul fiance Zain (Sidhanth). While Al, Tia and Karan have known each other since childhood, Zain is an unknown quantity. So when Zain attempts a light flirtation, Al doesn’t take him seriously. But Zain isn’t the type to take no for an answer . .

So, Gehraiyaan starts off a bit slow. 2 couples, very much in love. All hunky-dory. Of course, then – and we are all waiting for it – deception, betrayal. And more. There are also little parallel sub-stories running through – there’s a reason Al and Tia are almost estranged, and a murky past is hinted at. Then there is Al’s thorny relationship with her father (played by the amazing Naseeruddin Shah) and her personal fear of being “stuck” in her life, like her mother was.

Some interesting characterization and casting here. The 4 main leads are believably sketched. Al is our lovely, leggy yoga teacher, paying the bills so struggling writer Karan can hurry up and get his book published. Karan, the writer, has quit his “soul-sucking” day job, and is prone to making self-deprecating jokes about his penury when faced with cousin Tia’s wealth. Then there is poor little rich girl Tia, very much in love with her fiance Zain. And lastly, there is ambitious Zain, who’s trying really, really hard to make it big.

Deepika as Al is quite good. She is a fine actress and has the face for these kinds of roles (remember Tamasha?); even when she smiles there is an undercurrent of sadness. I am quite impressed with Ananya Panday here, although (and am being quite uncharitable here) this role couldn’t have been too taxing – a rich young woman wafting around yachts and expensive homes muttering about caterers who’ve gotten the wrong cheese! Ananya speaks her Hindi like a foreign language, light and breathy, tentative and accented, and that’s sort of her character in the film. Tia is a supportive wallflower, and there is only one scene where she exhibits anything stronger than concern for fiance dearest. I wouldn’t nominate Ananya for any awards just yet, but she’s beginning to show promise.

Sidhanth, who started the year with the disastrous Bunty Aur Babli 2, does well here! I couldn’t quite see why Zain did what he did, but Sachin nailed the character, conflicts and all! Zain is an arrogant go-getter, so there is an air of pomposity in Sidhanth’s gait. There are a few scenes in the film though where the mask of hauteur slips and we see the sincere, down-to-earth young man from Gully Boy – a look that suits him so much better!

A film like Gehraiyaan, so dependent upon the minute change of emotions between four intimately involved people, can go off the rails if the director doesn’t quite know what he’s doing. Thankfully with Shakun Batra that is not the case! Batra builds his character giving them enough emotional leeway to keep us interested in their lives. I have to say though that Gehraiyaan worked for me mainly because of Al’s character since we see her struggle and her vulnerablilities. The other three leads remain distant. We see what they do, but we can’t get a good look inside – so there’s less sympathy for their predicaments.

Gehraiyaan works. Yes, it could have been better, had Batra given all his characters the TLC he gave Al. Then our sympathies might have been split, and given us some real heartburn and a far better film. As is though, Gehraiyaan does pass muster – tumultuous and entertaining, with an adequate sense of closure. All’s well that ends well.

Go forth and watch!

Kidwise: Lot’s of love-making scenes featuring adults in various stages of undress, although nothing explicit is shown.

Posted in 2022, bollywood, directors, drama, Good Hindi Movies To Watch, Good Shows To Watch On Amazon Prime, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Films, rating-PG17, recommended | Tagged twisty | Comments Off

Movie Review : Shershaah (2021)

Posted on August 13, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Running time : 2 hours 15 minutes
Director : Vishnuvardhan
Cast : Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani
Kid rating : PG

Shershaah is based on Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Vikram Batra’s life and valor. So we know what’s about to happen. As such what was needed was an inspiring, energetic film which could bring to screen the passion of the brave, young Captain. Unfortunately, Shershaah is a rather staid affair, even a little boring at times.

Even as a young boy Vikram Batra knows what he wants to be – a soldier in the Indian Army. As a young man Batra is posted at Sopore with the JAK Rifles. There he makes his mark by capturing and killing a dreaded terrorist and then is sent to capture Point 5140 during the Kargil war. After that successful mission he volunteers for the mission to re-capture Point 4875, and is martyred.

Shershaah is not a war movie, it’s a war procedural, laying out before us a flat sequence of events, one after another. It never quite gathers up steam, develops an energy or displays the intensity which a film like this so sorely needs. Yes, Vikram Batra is a brave young man, hungry to defeat the enemy – but we know that by the dialogs only. There is little accompanying fervor to give credibility to that hunger. And as much as I might fault Bollywood for overdone jingoism, this film needed some jingoistic war-cries, some rebel yells, some emotion!

The film starts off with a recounting of events by Vikram’s twin brother. He narrates the events of Vikram’s life and while these fill most of the movie, they are interspersed with some romantic moments. These romantic interludes make the film choppy in the first half, because they interrupt the action, and we can’t quite get the rhythm going. The film does gather some steam with the missions to recapture Point 5140 and 4875, although it’s a little too late to save the film.

Shershaah also suffers from inadequate characterization. Vikram Batra is a hero, so there is a natural empathy and appreciation for his character. The film though cannot humanize him or make him relatable. Yes, we see his interaction with his comrades and his family but it is mostly superficial. His time with his girlfriend is marked by some cheesy, Bollywood style dialogues so that’s no use.

Sidharth Malhotra is miscast as a feisty, young man given to jocular asides. He is an average actor, and while this is fine for depicting suave-young-men-about-town (I quite liked his performance in Kapoor & Sons), Batra’s character needed to be essayed with some heft. Also he can’t quite carry off the comedic overtures. Kiara Advani plays Dimple Cheema, the love interest. Advani is versatile (we recently saw her in Good Newwz) but is hampered by the poor writing. Her character is drawn wafer thin, and brings with it classic Bollywood melodrama we could have done without – the cross-community love opposed by the parents, the sindoor-bhari maang etc.

The only moving part of the film was the scene towards the end, with the traditional Army salute to a fallen soldier, when we see the distraught family mourning the 25 year old Batra, his casket wrapped in the Indian tricolor. It was also hard to see the numerous lives lost in the war.

In summary, while Shershaah does improve marginally towards the second half, it remains flat, an oxymoron: a staid war film.

Kidwise: This is a war film, so violence, involving guns, knives, bombs etc. One brief scene with the couple in bed, although nothing explicit is shown on screen.

Posted in 2021, Amazon Prime, bio-pic, bollywood, drama, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, rating-PG, real-life-based, War Movie | Comments Off

Movie Review : Mimi (2021)

Posted on August 8, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️ 1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Running time : 2 hours 12 minutes
Director : Laxman Utekar
Cast : Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak, Evelyn Edwards, Aidan, Whytock
Kid rating : PG

Mimi (Kriti Sanon) is a poor girl with dreams of becoming a Bollywood heroine. Getting there will be expensive though, and she has no way to pay for all the expenses. So when an American couple, Summer (Evelyn Edwards) and John (Aidan Whytock), approach her to become a surrogate mother for their child, she agrees – the money is good. However a major, unexpected crisis in early pregnancy will truly test her resolve.

I haven’t see the Marathi original so the storyline, to me, was completely unpredictable. That’s the good; unfortunately there was a lot of bad – the gaping plot-holes, the poorly sketched characters, the complete lack of logic. Mimi is about a surrogacy, but deals with the subject in a very shallow manner. I can see where a girl strapped for cash might accept surrogacy, but all the situations surrounding the pregnancy are pretty unrealistically shot.

Mimi, at first repulsed by the idea of surrogacy, warms to it once she realizes the amount of cash involved. Then she accepts it almost gleefully. Her naïveté shows when she asks the doctor about stretch marks and the effect of pregnancy on her figure, and the doctor (who apparently does not live in the same world we do) replies with the most ridiculous unconcern: “Did Shilpa Shetty’s figure get ruined”? Indeed. Because our lives are so similar to Shilpa Shetty’s.

Kriti Sanon is a misfit in this role. She seems too cosmopolitan to play a small-town girl (a problem I’ve pointed out before in Bareilly ki Barfi), and the Rajasthani accent on her seems almost laughable. However since this film can’t make any grand claims to realism anyway, she does pass muster. A greater pity though is the abysmal wastage of actors like Supriya Pathak and Manoj Pahwa. Pathak just appeared in another 2 bit role in Toofaan; it’s a pity that great actors like her can’t land solid, meaty roles.

Pankaj Tripathi plays his character ably, but can’t make the jokes land. I would like to see more of Sai Tamhankar – she plays Mimi’s good friend Shama, and does an excellent job.

Mimi is also very regressive. The all-suffering, self-sacrificing mother trope is trotted out. Abortion is painted as a sin. Mimi wants to keep the baby at all costs, but shows no strength of resolve to take on her conservative parents and society in general. She gives up on her dreams and resigns herself to motherhood – all with copious tears, rending of her beloved movie posters and grief – a true show of powerlessness. Her poorly sketched character is a mix of tearful emotions mixed in with an unreal naïveté and flippancy.

The character of her parents is badly wrought as well. These “good” people have the perspicacity of blind bats. They moan about their Hindu daughter having married a Muslim man, in front of her closest friend Shama, a Muslim woman. And then they turn around and accuse her (Shama) of having broken their trust!

While this film’s characters are portrayed as small-town, simple, golden-hearted people who wouldn’t harm a fly (unless it wasn’t a good, moral, girl-fly), they exhibit pretty bigoted, backward-looking qualities. Their attitudes turn on a dime, one moment they are wailing and beating their chests about the shame and dishonor, the next they’re smiling with acceptance.

On the whole, Mimi is an overwrought, overdone mishmash of unrealistic emotional drama. Substandard scripting, ridiculous dialogs, and the general regressive tone of this caricature of a film makes Mimi a poor watch.

Kidwise: An “item number” with suggestive dancing. Talk of conception/reproduction and 1 scene of a woman in labor, although we only see her face. More damaging that all this was the portrayal of sexism, racism, colorism and women without agency.

Posted in 2021, All Netflix, bollywood, cringe-worthy, drama, Hindi movies on Netflix, New Bollywood Movies, rating-PG, social issues, women | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Bhuj (Aug 13th)

Posted on August 6, 2021 by amodini

Bhuj: The Pride of India is a war movie that hits your TV screens via Disney Hotstar, August 13th. This film is based on real life incidents during the 1971 Indo-Pak war when the Indian Air Force airstrip at Bhuj was destroyed. Then Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, along with local villagers, rebuilt the airstrip in 3 days.

Ajay Devgun plays Vijay Karnik. Also starring: Sanjay Dutt, Pranitha and Sonakshi Sinha. Bhuj is directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya.

Posted in 2021, bollywood, Bollywood Movies on Hotstar, drama, Hotstar, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, Previews, War Movie | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Shershaah (Aug 12th)

Posted on August 2, 2021 by amodini

Shershaah will release on Amazon Prime on August 12th. In this new movie Siddharth Malhotra stars as Param Vir Chakra awardee Indian Army Captain Vikram Batra, who was awarded the honor for his bravery during the Kargil War. Batra earned the nickname “Sher Shah” for his valor.

Kiara Advani, whom we recently saw in Guilty, plays the female lead here. Vishnuvardhan directs this war film. This is his first foray into Bollywood cinema after directing a bunch of movies down South.

Posted in 2021, Amazon Prime, bollywood, drama, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Bollywood Movies, war | Comments Off

Series Review : Ray (2021)

Posted on July 27, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️
Genre : Anthology
Year : 2021
Running Time : 1 hour (per episode)
Director : Srijit Mukherji, Vasan Bala, Abhishek Chaubey
Cast : Ali Fazal, Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Harshvardhan Kapoor, Kaykay Menon
Kid Rating : PG-13

Amazon Prime’s Ray is an anthology or a series of 4 episodes – view it how you like. Each episode is a 1 hour short film directed by one of 3 directors. The 4 films are inspired by Satyajit Ray’s short stories. I have not read them, and I do not know to what degree the films are based on the stories. They seemed dark and grim, philosophical and inward-looking – which is fine. But they are also weak, and I don’t know if that’s because of the stories themselves or the way they were adapted. In short, Ray will not make it to the Best Anthologies of 2021 🙂

My favorite film out of the 4 was the 3rd: Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa. This is based on Satyajit Ray’s short story Barin Bhowmiker Byaram ( Barin Bhowmick’s Ailment). It has 2 main characters – singer Musafir Ali (Manoj Bajpayee) and wrestler turned journalist Aslam Beg (Gajraj Rao). The 2 men meet on a train, sharing a compartment. During the journey, they converse and Musafir Ali remembers that he has met Beig before in not very pleasant circumstances.

Manoj Bajpayee is a wonderful actor and he turns in an immaculate performance, as does Gajraj Rao. The film itself is delicately handled and the nuances come through; we see these fallible men and nod our heads in sympathy. Director Abhishek Chaubey knows what he is doing; you might remember him from his earlier spectacular work – Udta Punjab, Sonchiriya, Ishqiya.

Now, for the rest of the episodes: The first film of the series is Forget Me Not. It is about a technical nerd Ipsit Rama Nair who starts to lose his memory and is unnerved by it. We see him on the brink of success, revered by all, in awe by many, a friend of friends, a dynamic successful go-getter. But then, this uncharacteristic forgetfulness! It starts to gnaw at Ipsit.

Srijit Mukherjee directs Forget Me Not. This films starred Ali Fazal as Ipsit, who is a decent actor, and he does well. The story is about poetic justice, having your chickens come home to roost etc, so it does hold your interest. Also, Mukherji layers the characters nicely; at first we see the outward projection, but gradually Mukherji peels back the layers to reveal the truth. Forget Me Not was passable.

The second film is Bahrupiya and I can only describe this as grotesque. In this story, Indrashish Shah, an office worker with a creative side, is bequeathed an interesting inheritance. His creative, eccentric grandmother, on her death, has left him her treasure trove of tools and books about prosthetics. Indrashish uses these to disguise himself and run a few social experiments of his own.

Kay Kay Menon plays Indrashish and while Kaykay is a fine actor, the disguises obscured his face so you couldn’t really see him emote. His character is obviously a complex and troubled man, but we watch him from afar; the film can’t make him real or relatable.

The fourth film, Spotlight, is about film star Vik (Harshvardhan Kapoor). Vik is losing his USP, his “look”, amid an existential crisis. This is further heightened when he comes across Didi (Radhika Madaan), a religious leader who trumps him in celebrity status. The only good thing about this film was Chandan Roy Sanyal who plays Vik’s manager, Roy Ghosh.

In summary, apart from Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, none of the other stories bring depth to their characters. There is no pleasure in shallow retellings; hence the poor rating.

Kidwise: A few adult situations, talk of prostitution.

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