Mridula Dixit

Dance and sculpture portray several poses.. The inviolate or the Abhanga.. in dance, it is seen as a single curve posture; the perfectly balanced is the Samabhanga; then, there's the violent Atibhanga which attributed to Shiva's Tandav. Somewhere, in between, is the "tedha meda" .. bent at the neck, waist and knees.. the classical Krishna pose.. considered the most sensual, and called "The Tribhanga". Renuka Shanane's, 'Tribhanga', is... alluring and soul searching, with its far from perfect lead characters who violate symmetry.. and yet in that skewed sea of imperfect humanity, you are bound to forge a relationship that will make you smile, laugh, cry and embrace. It delves into the various layers between a mother-child relationship. It lays them bare in front of you... without posturing heroes, victims or martyrs. It displays but doesn't quite go beyond that to a disturbing dissection. Maybe, for another day. But for now, I am just thrilled that such an organic fare is even served. Perfection and gloss was getting stifling. Perhaps, in those classical poses, you will find your own Teda Meda or Tribhanga.. Do watch...

"मुझे प्यार करने के लिए औकात नाही, जिगरा चाहिये!" spouts dear Radhika Apte... & darlings.. 'Raat Akeli Hai' dekhney ke liye.. patience chahiye..& efficient dark adaptation chahiye... Most of the film is shot in low key lighting.. Now, at my age of 50.. Myopia humey dur ka dekhney nahi deta & Presbyopia paas ka blur kar deta hai.. badi affat hai.. almost had to squeeze my eye balls out. The movie centres around an old haveli where its testosterone riddled ageing Thakur, is shot dead.. on his wedding night! Long after.. even when the police have arrived, why was the dear departed Thakur's bride,( all bedecked... with her ghungat intact.. presumably, waiting to be deflowered ..) still sitting demurely on the bed? We shall never know. And why pray, when there are inverters even in the Jhakarkatti slums of Kanpur, is its aristocracy bereft of one, and instead, rushes to light lamps? But the whodunnit begins here.. in the dark. To be fair.. I couldn't correctly pin the murderer ... so, is it a crafty masterpiece?.. No. However, since it's on Netflix, you are armed with the Forward key... use it liberally as you wade through this dark, hazy night. To give you good company is the the bankable Nawaz , provocative Radhika Apte, the enormous Tigmanshu Dhulia and ensemble. Although, I am sure, its the pixie like Ila Arun, who plays Nawazudin's intuitive & playful mother .. that will leave you smiling, in this otherwise somber silhouette.

If you call a multistarer, opulent, magnum opus a "movie", and "cinema" with a flawless script and sleek screenplay, upholds the motto, "God is in the details" , then .. 'DreamGirl' , is neither. We can call it a "picture"! Toh bhai.. "picture" kaisi lagi.. ? Entertaining! Ayushman Khurana has an endearing earnestness that seeps in all his performances and thus, makes all his movie characters lovable. So, nothing new there. But here, he is stellarly matched by a motley cast that makes memorable heart space, even in the limited time and space alloted to each. Some unknown gems have sparkled and deserve a special mention .. Raj Bhansali as Toto, Neela Mulherkar as Dadi, Neha Saraf as Chandrakanta Kirar. Majot Singh, again, does a "Fukrey" bankable. Annu Kapur , Vijay Raaj and Rajesh Sharma ..well, need no introduction and deliver like they always do. Although, we have seen Rajesh Sharma do better. A singular damp squib.. seemed the "leading" lady... all I remember of her are the heavily bleached dental veneers! Not much to chew on that front!

URI Vicky Kaushal fills his uniform well and makes a swell "Man in a maroon beret". As does Mohit Raina. The supporting cast make a fairly good team. Phone crunching Paresh Rawal is himself and Rakesh Bedi carves a cameo caricature ..but ... with inherent craftsmanship. Rajat Kapoor is as stuffy as the character he plays! Swaroop Sampat makes a comeback but is unfortunately as forgettable as the Alzheimer's she portrays. The pretty pollys ... Yami and Kirti are just that. The DOP gives this movie a visual finnese. The screenplay could have been tighter, the direction could have done with the precision of a surgical strike it attempts to showcase. The pace is slow..at least prior to the interval, the movie can't stop itself from being contaminated by bollywood brouhaha, the Pakistanis are comic caricatures and our hero has to do some dhishum dhishum. Uri is guilty on all counts. And yet, this movie attempts to tell a tale that makes us, as a nation - proud. It is a story we wish to be reminded of (never mind the elections). And at the end, when the public stood up and clapped... I realised... sometimes, it is pointless dissecting a work of art ..especially, if it rides on spunk, spirit and sentiment !