Ramesh Ramakrishnan Iyer

This film is very interesting and can be looked at in several layers. The power of a hero , intent of the super power acquired, the context and the situations and the various small diversions the film takes to narrate the story. The core of the film, is the idea of 'super heroes' and how their own desires and motivations play a role, despite how they get the "power". Set in a small Christian village rural Kerala, two people are struck by lightning and begin developing extraordinary strength. Jaison a tailor is very interested to migrate to the USA and is struggling to get his passport and other things organised. Shibu who works in a tea shop, who did not express his love to a school sweet-heart, is filled with regret and uses his powers to extract revenge. Basil Joseph has done an incredible job setting up this film in a small town and plays on the audience perceptions of how the super hero films work. It is along film with many small incidents all of them adding up to the final battle between good and evil and - doing good and taking revenge. Unfortunately it does not work well for Shibu ( he becomes the baddie) and he loses his girl friend ( who is now a widow with a small child) in a fire. Basil Joseph has shown immense poise and intention to navigate a popular idea and creative expressions by setting the story in a simple village - but uses the same ploy as the films like Superman and Spiderman. I loved the photography but the sound effects and the mixing was terrible. Many places the music and the background score were cheap, unnecessarily loud and interfered with he dialogue. well but towards the end of the film he over extends the idea and stretches the story to many small intricate corners and feels like he is struggling to close and loop all the threads. The back story for Jaison, is one layer that is indeed interesting but there was no need to rub that in so many times. It is also a social critique of the police, society, the dreams of youth, and the authorities in India which has been repeated in many films. Ultimately Basis Joseph wants us to appreciate " the goodness" and the way the plot of super heroes is so transferable to many situations. He is also pointing a finger to us the audience and how we all have enjoyed the unrealistic super hero flicks from land of dreams - Hollywood and the the studios.

Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai is a film that tries with the idea of choking you with so many characters and tropes and in the end lives up to the name choked. While there is an attempt to scrutinize and show bare the relationship issues the Shining Star contestant S is having with her family amidst the chaos of working in a bank through the de-monetization times, a desperate middle class existence in Mumbai in an apartment complex with many characters who flow in and out and creating scenarios for her to act on the cinema just chokes in the end under its own mesh and weight of the several complex issues it raises. Acted very well by Saiyami Kher as Sarita Pillai, who is struggling to make ends meet and living and working under the squalor that is Mumbai, ends up finding dirty money packets in her drain and "keeps things to herself". The script is very demanding has too many elements and a challenging task ... probably a 2 or 3 episode version show will give enough room for all the messy dirtiness to clear up. Choked fails as short movie.The director could have prioritized on a few events and brought the movie to shocking close just at the bank kidnap and getting rid of several extraneous elements that is not core to the main story. It is a tough call to satisfy everyone and that is what happens eventually - Choked. One could argue though that is what the director intended in these demonic times.

Real. Powerful. Intimate. Dark at times. Makes you think. Will see it again. I didn't think much about the music though. Well researched.

Inhuman ressources is an interesting show. It is quite gripping after you get through the initial hesitation of what is going to happen. I watched the whole thing in 3 lots partly because of the boredom due to the coronavirus lockdown situation. The show takes on a complex situation and goes beyond the usual idea of of narrative of a struggling unemployed man played excellently by Eric Cantona. The plot thickens considerably after the first 2 episodes and goes really deep into many social ills of the current money driven western society. I particularly liked the way in which the commentary and talking head narrator approach guides you along the story. The suspense elements in the story is handles very well. The real bonus for me was a philosophical reading into the ideas emerging from the social contract theories and theories of Michel Foucault on prisons - what is moral and justified and how these rules and conventions comes in and out of focus inside the narrative. I wonder though, how many will see this in this reflective manner. The show also exposes and forces the viewer to see the unfolding narrative as a form of moral judgement in a subtle way. The appearance and disappearances of the several characters the protagonist deals with or forced to interact has been filmed with the right proportion and dose. It does make the viewer empathize well with the situations The title itself could be seen as a give away into what is expected from it but the director has moved the story along quite forcefully to an unusual ending.

It's very interesting film and quite thrilling to watch. The director has paid attention to developing a strong story and created attention which is quite meaningful. The individual characters with their background stories are well developed but he fails to close several of the open threads ... Stopping the movie at the blind person voting for the election is an interesting way to end the film and makes you think about the motives and the various intentions of the characters and the politics in India.

This show is a fantastic show dealing with very contemporary issues , yet has the power of a traditional psycho-legal drama from the past. The casting is perfect and the characters are well developed and intriguing - right from the start. The show has a good dose of whodunit and the suspense is very cleverly cleaved into the narrative. The locations and the courtroom scenes are a visual treat to watch and the emotions displayed are very balanced. The way they have edited the episodes is perfect - you are left with a feeling of going to the next phase of the story. Socially the story-line is very relevant and the focus on the women careers and lives are pertinent.