Khayal Dave

Serious Men.2020. Sudhir Mishra Based on the book by “Manu Joseph” of the same name, Serious men deals with the problems of insecurity & timidity of a father for his son. Nawaz brings that uncanny charm to his character as an underprivileged-middle aged Dalit. He has angst against everyone in the society, from the peon to the supervisor. Serious men offers very sharp annotation against racism, casteism, politics, media culture & favoritism with its witty as well as satirical sequences. Sudhir Mishra brings his experience. The film is streaming on Netflix.

Super 30 Anand Kumar’s story is extremely admirable and yes even film worthy (Just like any rags to riches story), but as an audience I’m interested in his journey, conflicts, inner brawls, genius actions to make students crack IIT every time etc. and not his love life, random item song and romantic sequences. Everything looks superficial in this film directed by Vikas Bahl. The film even didn’t attempt to dive into personalities, abilities and environment of those 30 kids. Pre climax Holi song and Hospital scenes are shot extremely caricaturish and lack authenticity in execution to some extent. Quality actors like Pankaj Tripathi, Mrunal Thakur wasted completely. In a nutshell Super 30 is not about 30 but about 1. Hritik Roshan. Disappointed (Not writing anything about Hritik’s kind of counterfeit Bhojpuri accent or his made up dark complexion or him being a result of nepotism(which is complete contradictory to the films basic plot, we have at least 10 actors in Hindi film industry who could have done this part way better, though that’s a different debate all together. ))

Just like the last film from the franchise, Angrezi medium is all about the admirable empathy between Deepak Dobriyal & Irrfan. They have impeccable dialogue timing, vulnerability towards each other and inherent zeal towards their character. Radhika madan is sincere in her role as 17year old visionary girl from Udaipur with excellent dialect & body language. Except the poor & disjoined screenplay and some unnecessary subplots the film will glue you just because of the performances from the lead characters. Emotions look authentic but writing doesn’t. Overall not as commanding as the last one but decent watch.

Kabir Singh Let’s first look this as an Independent film and not a remake of “Telugu” classic “Arjun Reddy”. Extremely well directed, craftily characterization (Only Kabir’s). Great use of background score to escalate the emotions. Few impeccable scenes to display Kabir’s love, negligence and self-destruction. Shahid Kapoor breathes the characters as an Actor and not as a star. His best after Kaminey & Udta Punjab. Kiara was both gorgeous and vulnerable. But sadly she had hardly anything to perform in a screen presence of less than 10 minutes. Many will find the screen length of 175 minutes to be prolonged, but to display intense love, journey and his emotional turmoil, this was needed. It also advances questions on the issues of “Toxic-Masculinity”, “Miso-Gyny”, “Doctor’s ethics and responsibility”. How after bullying, harming, lashing, abusing people he is still portrayed in every scene as an “Aspirational” persona. But let’s keep this as Just a Film. But Vijay Deverakonda in Arjun Reddy was on a different level, Just saying.

Article 15. Brave. Gripping. Pertinent. Ayushmann once again substantiates his mettle here as an IPS office Ayan, who is just one among us. Ignorant, assured, optimist about interior parts in independent India. Neatly written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. No unnecessary songs, plot, scene sequences nothing (except the end credits rap song by slow cheetah). Early morning hazes to portray mystery, tight close ups to make you uncomfortable, cinematographer thrives in making the narrative more attention-grabbing with the help of apt background score. The movie also shines because of its supporting casts like Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Sayani Gupta, Mohd.Zeeshan Ayub and others. Best opening sequence I have observed in a very long time in a Hindi Film. Try to find the connotation and minute details in Article 15 rather than finding only entertainment. Yes, not everyone will relish this one.

Fandry. Marathi. Nagraj Manjule. 2013. Nagraj Manjule revived Marathi cinema with his classic "Sairat", though I strongly believe his first film "Fandry" was way better written, layered and meticulously researched. Fandry is a gut wrenching story of a untouchable(lower caste) "Jabya" and his love for socially superior schoolmate. The movie is filled with Visual metaphors and extremely well written subtexts. The last ten minutes of the film will move you as an audience for Jabya and will question our social hierarchy and dichotomy. If you have watched Article 15 and liked it, this one is more original, nuanced and efficiently acted. Its available on Netflix. Please watch it in one go

A Separation. Persian. Asghar Farhadi Farhadi is revered for his subtle yet effective story setups, long camera takes, observational writing and smooth screenplay direction. In his academy award winner, A Separation : he tries to capture the modern day concerns of an emotionally fractured couple in a restricted country like Iran and their dilemma of choosing between improved lifestyle (future) vs giving precedence to their family. There is not even one scene in the whole film where things go over the top, every minute detail is there to create better character personality which leads the story forward. Background score is almost missing in the film, which makes viewers’ attention towards details in particular frame. Especially the court room scenes will give you an impression of Akira Kuroswa’s 1950’s legendary Roshomon. It is simple, engrossing will surely touch your heart.

Cinema Paradiso. Italian. 1988 Starting my Saturday suggestions from this enormously well-crafted Italian classic by Tornatore. Set in a time after World War II, this movie will make you Nostalgic in every sense. It portrays the camaraderie between a young mischievous Sicilian Salvatore and grumpy projectionist Alfredo attractively. Cinema is an actual inseparable character in the film. The depiction of true emotions, honesty and passion for cinema is what makes this movie set apart. Tornatore has not even in one frame tried to make it look extravagant or unreal, it’s simple, effective and to the point. Everything from background score to characterization and from long pauses to set design. Our next generations will probably not understand the thrill and sentiment attached with watching a movie in single screens. One of the best film made on cinema in last 40 years. Go and watch it, it’s available for free on YouTube.

Children of Heaven. Persian. Majid Majidi. 1999. Recommending rather simple yet powerful Persian movie this Saturday. In his third feature venture one of modern cinema’s greatest director Majid Majidi offers a story of a sibling in Iran, their cordial bonding and their zeal for making the most of limited resources. The film offers very minimal communication through dialogues and focuses more on visual to drive the story forward, which helps the narrative effectively. Some scenes are so real and honest that it will surely tug your heartstring and will take you to your childhood. The film is all about finding that silver lining and small happiness in life.

Kalank. Before anything else, there was no need of this sumptuous budget and scale. They tried to package the mundane story with huge sets, big start cast, extensive promotions. Unnecessary sequences just to flaunt Varun Dhawan’s abs, Grandeur sets, Madhuri’s dance abilities. Everything is superficial in Kalank, from acting to emotions and from verbose dialogues to characterization. Editing could have been much better, this could have been a 130 minutes film with tighter screenplay rather than a stretchy 170 minutes. Watch it for the legendary Binod Pradhan’s cinematography, Excellent Production design and costume design. Every object and character is synchronized according to the color palette. Umbrellas, Kurtas, walls, light sources everything. (Highlight for me as a photographer, though not going with the screenplay) Weakest Alia film I guess after Shaandar and SOTY. Ohk, so let’s not talk about nepotism here.