Mitrajit Chatterjee

Dil Bechara: The only thing inevitable in life is Death. This unabashed morbid fact has been dealt with such sensitivity in this movie that it actually feels poetic! This is an adaption of "The Fault in our Stars" and a brilliant one at that. Despite the protagonist being terminally ill and in face of imminent death there is absolutely no melodrama or melancholy in the narrative. The intermittent desperation from the near and dear ones hence feel so real. In fact, surreal. Sanjana Sanghi in her debut is as fresh as dew. Her girlish charm and subdued desperation makes you fall in love with her. She is innocence personified yet so matured in her mindset. Sashwata as the endearing yet helpless father is superlative. There are emotive moments where you get to see this genius at the pinnacle of his craft. Swastika plays the quintessential Bengali Mom to perfection. Her portrayal of being perpetually worried by, and eternally perplexed at, her daughter's behavior is a class act. Director Mukesh Chhabra's casting prowess is in full display here. Script is warm and the narrative lovely without a single moment of dullness. Given that this is a slice of life saga, it is pretty fast paced, as these otherwise tend to be glacial in pace. AR Rahman showcases his melodious masterclass yet again! His music lends narrative fluidity at crucial junctures in the movie. Yet somewhere maybe a emotional crescendo has been missed at the end, but that is more of nitpicking rather than observation. Now coming to Sushant. Spooky - that his last film was this one. You need to watch this to understand what I mean. Unbelievable - that both of his last films (This and Chichhore) deal with the topic of death in such a postive manner, yet.. yet! I felt like shouting out WHY Sushant a 100 times in these 101 minutes! He is brilliant, convincing, sweet, endearing and seemed so at peace with himself in the role. The tribute to Sushant in the opening credits and in his own words felt so eerie. It was like a smile on my lips fighting a lump in my throat. I am sure the dialogue writer must still get goosebumps at few lines he penned! I loved Sushant so much in this movie that I am even more angry at him. WHY? Lovely movie. Lovely tribute. Please watch it. PS: Google is wrong. This movie doesn't have Javed Jaffrey and Milind Gunaji. Don't trust all that you read on the net. #DilBechara #Seri #LoveYouSushant

Andhadhun: Sriram Raghavan boasts of an extremely interesting Filmography with the likes of Ek Hasina Thi, Johny Gaddar, Badlapur and now Andhadhun. His narrative style is uncommon and usage of fast edited scenes juxtaposed into others makes viewing a delight - much like the works of Christopher Nolan. Andhadhun is another gem from this master. The concepts of Hero & Villian always gets mixed up in plots directed by Raghavan and this time too it ain't any different. First half was superlative and the second, despite being awesome, was a bit flat in comparison. Nostalgia, retro songs, affairs, love, lust, money, clandestine business, fame, dreams, greed, revenge and inspiration - all aspects have been punched brilliantly into this 2 hours ride. Ayushman, Radhika and Tabu are pivotal and deliver aptly. A brief cameo by yesteryear hero Anil Dhawan is refreshing. Zakir Hussain and Ashwini are awesome in their brief stints too. It was lovely to see The Maestro Franco Waz playing his namesake but alas there were no percussion routine to spice up his presence. (Pancham fans will know what I mean by the above). No matter how many thrillers you have seen, the Director still surprises you with the twists here. Several sighs around the theatre was testament of this fact that the audience weren't expecting what they saw. Humor usage has been brilliant too, much like an Antacid during a spicy meal. The screenplay is taut and well rounded off. All loose and meaningless scenes get tied up at the end to present the whole. Riveting and must watch.