timsy agarwal

The movie review - Shimla Mirch The movie belongs to rom - com genre. It is a light - hearted flick but fails to meet the expectations of the audiences because of its weak storyline and direction, especially from a stalwart director, Ramesh Sippy. The only USP of the movie is good performances by the leading actors like, Rajkumar Rao, Rakul Preet Singh and Hema Malini. As the name suggests, the movie is based in the backdrop of Shimla. It showcases small town romance where the actor Rajkumar Rao tries to woo the leading lady, Rakul Preet Singh through hand written letters but instead her mom receives the letters through her daughter and eventually plays the third angle in the love triangle. The role of the mom is played by Hema Malini who is in the process of seeking divorce from her unfaithful husband. The exchange of the letters create the confusion which eventually gets resolved at the end. The movie is quite predictable with a weak climax and it has an average music and screeplay. The two hour low budget flick has a bland and insipid flavour which is unable to keep the audiences glued to the screen and therefore, fails to impress.

The movie review - The breadwinner The breadwinner is an intense, emotional, thought - provoking and a dark movie. It illustrates the war - torn era of 2001 in Afghanistan which was then ruled by Taliban. The movie delivers a poignant message and portrays an indomitable courage of an eleven year old, Parwana, who is forced to disguise like a boy inorder to earn bread for the family after a whimsical arrest of her father. She works at a marketplace to keep her family, sickly mother, elder sister and baby brother, from starving. The movie exhibits the gravity of crime against women under Taliban rule. She shows how patriarchy and mansplaining has made the life of women helpless, petrified and miserable. She often narrated a concocted story of courage and hope to her baby brother and herself drew inspiration from it. The art of story - telling which she learnt from her father kept them entertained and motivated. The one and half hour movie is visually appealing and has a soothing audio portraying the different moods of the movie. It narrates heart - wrenching tale of a young girl who tries to unite her family in the dilapidated and devastated war - torn country of Afghanistan.

The movie review - The Japanese Wife This Bengali art movie is a visual adaptation of a book called ' The Japanese Wife' by the writer, Kunal Basu. The movie depicts a subtle but a strong bond of love, loyalty and devotion. It essays a long distance relationship between a Bengali school teacher and his Japanese wife. The relation which started with a stroke of a pen was kept alive with the exchange of letters for seventeen long years, till death. They both lived a life of allegiance without any obligation or expectation from each other. The commitment and consistency shown by 'pen - spouses' who never met, is difficult to describe and rarest to find. The movie moves at a relaxed pace and keeps its audiences captivated by excellent performances by Rahul Bose, Maushmi Chatterjee, Rimi Sen and Chingusa Takaku, who played the Japanese wife. Aparna Sen, the director of the movie is known for her meaningful cinema and rich characterization. The 2 hour movie has a lucid flow and it gives us a taste of simplicity in love showcasing the most innocent form of romance.

Movie Review - Killa 'Killa' is a marathi drama film which resolves around mother and son duo played by Amruta Shekhar and Archit Deodhar. The movie has an easy breezy feel. It shows that how a child copes up with his father's death and his new surroundings where they shift after her mother gets transferred from Pune. The child tries to settle down in the new school environment of a small town. Initially, he finds it difficult but later he tries to make friends by falling in with their ways and means and coping with coming of age transformation. The movie flows beautifully, portraying the evolving emotions in the young boy as he discovers things around while discovering himself. The movie also shows various issues faced by a single mother at home and at workplace, as she was transferred yet again towards the end of the movie. The 2 hour watch portrays beautifully intertwined bond between mother and her son. The movie is aesthetically appealing and has a feel good factor to it.

Movie review - Liftboy The protagonist of the movie, Raju Tawde played by Moin Khan is a work-shy and indolent 24 year old boy. The movie is an Indian family drama revolving around 3 major characters. Raju, the protagonist fails to clear an exam to pass his engineering year after year for 6 years. As the movie progresses and the story unfolds, the father of Raju played by Nyla Masood gets a heart attack becasue of which Raju fills in his shoes and gets employed as a 'liftboy' in a posh residential complex of Mumbai. There were later, turn of events where Mrs. D'Souza who generously and selflessly helps Raju to sail through his exams. The movie is crisp, concise and has a feel good factor. It is for those who believe in good and for those who don't. The unsophisticated sweetness of the young lad will keep you interested for 2 hours. It shows, how the altruism of an affluent elderly woman comes to the rescue of a young boy giving us a message to toil and persevere to achieve anything desired.

Movie review - Manjhi The movie 'Manjhi - the mountain man' is based out of Gehlaur village of Gaya district in Bihar. The movie is a biography based on events and life of 'Dasrath Manjhi' , the mountain man. Dasrath Manjhi, played by Niwazuddin Siddique was a low caste labourer having a family of three, his wife and his son. His village was bordered by a huge mountain which needs to be crossed to access any medical facility. Once, while bringing him his daily lunch, his pregnant wife slipped, fell from the mountain and eventually died, giving birth to their daughter. Infuriated by the turn of events and out of sheer love for his wife, Manjhi set out to carve a road through mammoth peak, only with his hammer and chisel! Armed with his absolute devotion and steel determination, he continued his pursue for 22 years even after being termed lunatic by the rest of the villagers. The movie displays the power of true love which has literally helped him 'move' the mountain. The passing years only strengthened his resolve who later fought with the government for making a pucca travelled road in the path carved out by him. It took the government 52 years after he started breaking the mountain and 4 years after he died to make a metal road in Gehlaur. The 2 hours biopic is engrossing and involving. It has defined LOVE in an entirely new manner. Not only this, the illeterate, low caste labourer has portrayed the strength of his resolve by illustrating that the mind is limitless and it is we who defined the boundaries and set limits for ourselves, else the 'sky is the only limit'.

Movie review - Pagglait The movie Pagglait is a social drama which depicts the happenings in a middle class set up who grieves at the loss of their son, Astik. A widowed soon after marriage character played by Sanya Malhotra as Sandhya is unable to feel the remorse, instead feels caught up in the whole process. The storyline covers the period between the cremation and tehrvi of her late husband, Astik. The story ensembles quirky relatives, the 'crazy' side of the protagonist, her morally conflicting in-laws and startling discoveries about her late husband, which keeps the audiences engrossed till the finish. It has an easy breezy feel with a strong message where a women is carrying the burden of a loveless relation and discovering the process to love and to be loved in marriage. The movie raises few questions as it unfolds. It has elements of islamophobia, mansplaining, portraying the patriarchal nature of the society, sticking to the age old adage - 'log kya kahenge' which is ironically portrayed. This 2 hour social drama is involving, realistic and no pretence movie, where the protagonist carries the whole movie on her shoulders. It has a fresh set up with a poignant message for the audiences.