The moment you hit the play button, you know where Dil Bechara is headed. It would still be an emotional ride to a routine Indian viewer even if it were to be a Fast & Furious-styled actioner. Mukesh Chhabra’s film makes it further difficult for us. Its much loved leading […]
“Bulbbul”… A feminist period piece which blooms like a fascinating fable!
A scene in Anvita Dutt’s magnificent debut Bulbbul has its leading lady crying next to the fireplace. One that drove in the memory of Elio sobbing his heart out in Call Me By Your Name, she is crying over losing the love of her life. Both Bulbbul and Elio have […]
‘Paheli’: A Picturesque Folk Tale With A Message On Women Empowerment
Amol Palekar directed Paheli. The actor who came to the limelight in the ’70s and ’80s as the young middle-class man in bustling Indian metropolises, one would identify him as the poster boy of everydayness. He was seen in stories devoid of extra colours, those with messy relationships, and in […]
“Gulabo Sitabo”… Story of a shaky mansion that screams for a firmer foundation!
Gulabo Sitabo is a strange title for a film. It does not mean anything in isolation. However, it is catchy enough to pique some interest in an otherwise drab looking film. As the opening credits roll, we see a puppeteer showcasing his twin puppets, “Gulabo fights, Sitabo fights,” The quarrel […]
“Bunty Aur Babli”… High on energy, chemistry and delicious Bollywood spice!
Released in Summer 2005, it is a mystery how a Hindi feature like Shaad Ali Sahgal’s Bunty Aur Babli would become a major commercial success. Small town stories might be the toast of the town on this date but the early 2000s were known for NRI themes and urban coming-of-age […]
“Maska”… Manisha Koirala spreads sunshine in a syrupy & predictable film!
There are films that examine ambitions and asks us to follow them with all our might. They confidently sell The Alchemist philosophy, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Clearly, fantasies do have a strong selling point. Those narratives talk about lives that […]
“Baaghi 3″… Tiger Shroff defying physics and logic for world peace is a recipe nobody asked for!
Let me put it in simple terms. All external artifices aside, Baaghi 3 is the most well-intentioned Hindi film of the year, so far. Clearly, if Panga had a heart of gold, this Tiger Shroff film has one handcrafted in platinum. Naysayers may allege the makers for their kindergarten level […]
“Thappad”… A cinematic marvel that tells us to re-evaluate the way we treat our women!
By now, we are all aware that Anubhav Sinha’s Thappad has its turning point in a despicable act of impulse. A young man slaps his wife. As it rightly turns out, the film is not singularly about a slap that provokes a woman to ask her way out of the […]
“Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan”… High on empathy, low on entertainment!
India is not yet ready for a Call Me By Your Name where queer folks would express love with gay abandon. But the country has also walked past the grotesque Dostana phase which shamelessly treated the LGBTQIA community as second-hand citizens. We are certainly over the insensitivity of Chanthupottu and […]
“Love Aaj Kal”… Jab ‘oblivious writing’ met ‘atrocious acting’!
What happens when a filmmaker becomes vastly distant from the ways of the world? We witnessed this phenomenon hit Aditya Chopra hard when he attempted to showcase things that he perceived to be the actual issues of today’s youth in his 2016 caper Befikre. The stakes are even higher for […]