Sukanto Mukherjee

Nobody does 90s swag like Ayushman - be it the Shah Rukh Khan mimicry or pulling off the sweet 'Phantom cigarettes.' First Dum Laga Ke Haisha and now Bala, even if it's not the central theme of the movie. And his on screen chemistry with Bhumi Pednekar as well as Yami Gautam is also a sure shot winner, as like their previous outings together. Bhumi's blackface is an overkill though, in terms of the medium nearly killing the message. Does one really care if your life partner is bald or dark skinned? Well, our evergreen society, in some parts of the country at least, still does, hence the timing of this film being on point. I can thus surely say that with actors like Ayushman and Bhumi around, Bollywood has finally got the relatability factor right. Add ace performers like Saurabh Shukla and Seema Pahwa to the mix of a small town script - the cash registers as well as the audience are happy. One of the best Indian movies of 2019.

Young, well-educated, city-bred and upright cop gets posted in the hinterland, begins encountering social prejudices and then starts to grapple with the realities of the 'real India.' Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But this is not the familiarity that will breed your contempt (for the movie). Ayushman Khurrana as the IPS officer wades through, literally and metaphorically, through waste that has continued to pile on in India, more than seven decades after independence. Hence, the reference to British rule at one point in the film, while the ambitious assistant to Ayushman's character balances Facebook while knowing which last name matches with which caste. The movie is also a thriller while keeping the social messaging intact. The protagonist keeps the fight within the bureaucratic system, while delivering a short but riveting speech in flawless Hindi in a dank government office. This, as opposed to the usual Robin Hood mode taken by law enforcers - as is usually suspected of Bollywood. Brilliant supporting performances by Sayoni Gupta and the usual suspects of stellar performers like Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra. One of the best Indian films of 2019, surely.

Wake me up the day John Abraham figures out how to deliver dialogues.

I'll start with the same old but friendly reminder to not compare the show with the movie (assuming comparisons with the comic are safely a long shot). Having said that, I can guess a lot of reviews may have been based precisely due to such a comparison, not without merit though. As some reviewers have mentioned, the showrunners themselves have attached the source material while making its own theme as race relations/racism, and that's what may cause the cracks to appear in an otherwise well-created product. Alternate realities are not easy to pull off, and as at the time of viewing (two episodes down), there seems to be some sort of alternate reality nesting (Tulsa vis-a-vis Ozymandias' Country Manor setting). Cops turning into vigilantes while battling white supremacists is as good as it gets in terms of a story pitch in 2019 (Dear Michael Bay, pay attention). Great performances by Regina King and Jeremy Irons can only add to that.

How to royally mess up an origin story, courtesy one of the most prominent Bengali moviemakerd, unfortunately. To be fair, it's not easy making sequels or prequels. Yet, this one is all over the place - bringing the worst output when a director makes movies to fulfill contract obligations and over-enthu/worked writers are made to meet deadlines. Hence the unsubtle attempts at giving up originality. Cliched exposition, more cliched rising action leading up to an all too familiar climax. For all the progressive moves in Bengali cinema over the last few years, plot points like these, along with the tired theme of wronged villain/trigger happy cop, the bad guy almost always not being straight etc set it back a bit. Only the performances of Rwitobroto, Anirban and Parambrata hold it together.

This does to the law enforcer what A Wednesday did to the terror mastermind - making him look relatable. The intelligence agent who has to simultaneously deal with his child's problems at scho while coordinating a vital operation. And who better to play such a role than Manoj Bajpayee! The idea of the relatable cop is not new per se but mainstream screenwriting in India seems to have finally picked it up, with the finesse and slick production values expected from Raj and DK. With its own references of law enforcement overreach/paranoia in the current political scenario to draw from, the show also has its moments of comedy, like Bajpayee chasing a terror suspect by hitching a pillion ride from a stranger. The usual 'bored wife trying an extra marital' makes it predictable yet worth a watch, overall.

This movie may not be much by way of a detective plot per se, but the coming alive of a Bangla woman sleuth as protagonist on celluloid, and that too a character developed by no less than Suchitra Bhattacharya, makes it worth the watch. Good choice of cast.

Father and daughter Set out on new journeys together Story comes up short #reviewinhaiku

A very good watch. The Subarna Sen/Sona da character is a refreshing addition to the cast of sleuths in Bangla movies.

It's relatable in a way, about Indians making do with less, and in this case, it's *not* jugaad. Thus, it's not rocket science only!