Movie Reviews | Trailer Reviews | Opinion posts | Critique

This is a critique of the movie "Call me by your name". It has a few plot details that may be spoilers, if you have not seen the movie.  On the same weekend when my city of birth, Mumbai, was observing the Annual LGBT Pride, I happened to watch "Call me by your name". Interesting coincidince: while the pride represents the struggle for a legal, dignified status for the gay community of my motherland India, the film is the epitome of mainstream celebration of the acknowledgement, awareness and acceptance at a global level. While I was convincing my buddies on watching this movie, a new American friend, corrected me that I mustn't call it a "Gay" love story, but a love story. Touché! Heteronormativity is either the curse of ignorance or a scared man's camouflage. This intrinsic need to outrightly dismiss any alternative viewpoint on intimate matters of sexuality today is as absurd as those who once laughed at the thought of the earth bein...

Spoiler alert! More than a movie review, this is a critique and has several plot details that you may want to avoid if you would so choose. Let us all agree that at some point in a good movie, content should take over the form. No, it's not fair to say Padmaavat lacks story. In fact, there is a fairly detailed story with a couple of side plots too. But the film maker continues to wow us with his trademark visual wizardry where story somehow is on the back burner.  It’s almost like Sanjay Leela Bhansali assumes that his audience cares more about slow mo sequences like that of a king being dressed for war by his (unblinking) wife than about characters, background and context. This kind of narcissistic commitment to treatment puts this potentially masterful director in the same league as Rohit Shetty (who thinks audiences only want to see cars topple) or David Dhawan (who loves cheap thrills) or Abbas-Mastan (who’re all about WTF twists and turns in the plot). I almost w...

Still frames, pensive silences and two open windows constitute the soul of Khidkee ,  a masterful short film by Mumbai based director, Rohan Kanawade. If you have lived in a crowded city, you are very familiar with spaces that are not exactly private - homes that awkwardly peek into one another, offering enough glimpses to spark your imagination about the people who might live there, but never enough to offer any insight - personal or real. This voyeuristic side of Mumbai's urban middle class lifestyle builds  Khidkee's tense narrative that teases, and tempts the characters and audience alike. Who are these men that visit her so often? Why does a scruffy young man drink all day? What are silhouettes telling you and what are they hiding? The characters yearn and the audience learns. As a viewer, you hear both sides of the story and wish you could step in and clarify, or help. The tension, the anxiety, the uneasiness, engulfs you to a very potent climax ably held toge...

You've been there. A wonderful first date. An experience you want to relive again and again. You think it can't get better and the date ends with the line, let's meet again. Soon. And then the wait begins. Waiting for Bahubali 2 has been like waiting for that date.  As I waited, I relived the film many times. My eyes sparkled every time I remembered the larger than life waterfall, the breathtaking visuals, the sheer opulence. Will the second film be just as great? Will it have the same level of music, action and drama? Will it make me want to whistle, woot and scream, "Jai Mahishmati!"   The second film, much like the second date, in my opinion, was weighed down by the greatness of the first one. Yes, in a single word, this is no comparison to the first film. So unlike the first date, I haven't come back feeling I've found something special. And in a way, I'm glad there's no part 3.  Don't get me wrong! Let's call a spade a...

(Spoiler alert.)  Presenting the ae dil hai mushkil story loop: Boy meets girl  Boy loves girl  Girl doesn't love boy  Boy demands love  Girl Denies Go back to step one In  the NRI (private jet owning NRI) world that Karan Johar weaves his stories in, there is little novelty in the content. "Pya dosti hai!", cooed a caricatured character Mrs. Briganza in the directors debut Kuch Kuch Hota hai . And here we are two decades and a handful of similar movies by the director later: the lead characters of Ae dil hai mushkil alizeh (Anushka Sharma) and Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) argue exactly the same line, in a non caricature mode. That is perhaps the director's real personal achievement and growth on his own bio data - that while the subject hasn't changed , the intensity, passion, lust and love has all become more mature. It's not about cheerleaders going "rahul aur anjali ka jhagda" but middle fingers being shown to a bride. And tujhe yaad na m...

So I am no expert on Marathi movies. Haven't seen many classics to be sure of my cinematic references, but like everyone else, can tell a good film from a bad film. In the past few years I've loved a number of Marathi movies. My favorites have been Balak Palak, Jogwa, Natrang, Mumbai-pune-Mumbai; and more recently Katyar kaaljat ghusali and Court . By that list, you probably know that I don't follow the industry so closely, but whenever a movie gets critical or mass acclaimed, I end up wanting to watch it.  Sairat - had acclaim from both masses and critics. Why last weekend I couldn't reach the box office to get tickets for another Hindi movie in time simply because the queue for this movie so long! So there, I was geared to watch what will unfold.  With very little background I went in and what I experienced is so diverse that a small post wouldn't do justice. So a blogpost it is: Sairat navigates from a satire on rural Maharashtra to a cute teena...

So in the incredibly awesome Jab We Met , a phoney station master opines, " Zindagi ek rail ki patri hai. Ek inch ka bend, aur meelon ki doori.. "  Funny, but apt. And Ki and Ka visually keeps reminding us of how relationships are like train journeys.. Two tracks that must support a huge vehicle called marriage. Two tracks that are separate yet act as one.. A great thought and a nice premise to make a film on.  Ki and Ka - if not completely novel, is certainly a full blown attempt at role reversals. A guy runs the house so his wife can follow her career aspirations. That's a great idea and that's the best thing about the film. The rest is somewhat incidental and an almost diametrically opposite version of age old stereotypes, that end up making the caricatures - except with genders reversed. Ki and Ka is lost between trying to make a strong point about gender roles one hand and trying to still be funny (and almost gimmicky) on the other. Eventually it is a romc...

After Piku and Dil Dhadakne Do , now Kapoor & Sons cements the fact that dysfunctional families have arrived in our mainstream cinema. This is far from sugar coated Hum Aapke Hai kaun, where gaudily dressed bunch of men n women are plotting how to camouflage shoes in a box of sweets. Here an angry wife literally throws biscuits on her husband because she can't stand the thought of him being with another woman - she's not shy or subtle about her rage in a so called family gathering. That this should come from the same banner who once famously told us, "it's all about loving your family", is a fitting testimony to how far Bollywood has come within a few decades. Bravo! (Alternate title: Hum Aapke kyu hain ?) Rishi Kapoor, the eldest Kapoor is the grandfather admittedly awaiting his death, why, even rehearsing it. He has but only one small last wish.  He wants his family to be photographed and to read, Kapoor & sons, since 1921. But nothing is simple ...

When I walked out of the theatre, moved and somewhat speechless, my friend added, "It's almost like we don't know our real life heroes." That's what makes a film like Neerja both amazing and important. Amazing because as a film, it is a worthy gripping story that keeps your attention and hope held until the very end.  And important, because it is a humble reminder to Bollywood that there is so much content that we haven't even thought about. Stories like that of Neerja must be told! In times like today, where nationalism and patriotism (and dare I say jingoism) is the name of the game, Neerja's heroism is a shining beacon of duty, courage and most importantly, humanity. It's a story that not just the youth, but even some of our leaders must look to draw from.  Back to the film itself:  It must be said that the story is the winner here. It would take special talent to not make a good film on this subject. But director Ram Madhvani d...

Bhansali ne Bajirao pe film banayi hai; Documentary Nahi!  I want to start my review with those lines simply to act as a disclaimer (much like the movie) to confirm that my views are of this movie as a movie and not as a piece of historic documentation of a much loved and respected character or a review of how well the film recreates the details of an era, which even historians agree isn't well documented. So then..  Everyone has a weakness and mine is mainstream Bollywood.. Every time a big budget multi starrer is in the making, I'm busy following up on it and eagerly awaiting the release. Add to it an A-list cast, appetising promos and interesting music, and I can't wait any more. Obviously, I was looking forward to Bajirao Mastani - a magnum opus by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is arguably the most gifted visualiser of our times - love them or hate them, you can't ignore that with every movie Bhansali has made, he has created unforgettable images. And who d...

Remember the diabetically sweet family in a Rajshree film which brimmed with motherly, fatherly, brotherly, sisterly, inlawsly (outlawsly) TRUE  love. And even the dog has extra sensory powers?  Dil Dhadakne Do is THE OPPOSITE. It's all about hating your parents - kabhi sad kabhi glum - sab kuch locha hai... You get the drift? It's a mildly humorous tale of a family that has put image above feelings.  Meet the Mehras - family of four, where the parents - Kamal and Neelam (Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah( hide their marital displeasure behind make up . Their kids ayesha and kabir (Priyanka and Ranveer) are mostly playing their part in  facade that their parents have constructed - one lie at a time. While one parent hides an eating disorder the other must pop anti anxiety pills to live through parties and meetings alike.  This is one dysfunctional rich family - the business empire is collapsing, the daughter wants a divorce, the son doesn't know what he wants...

In one of the opening scenes of the movie, Piku snubs her father’s irrational fears of dying a bowel death by saying, “No one has ever died of constipation.” Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the movie. This one surely is death by Constipation. No, not bad at all, in fact it has an original, interesting premise – an irate, widowed, old man Bhaskar ( Bhashkor essayed by Amitabh) lives in his own world on his own terms. He is that verbose vociferous vintage caricature who thinks he knows it all and wants to control everyone/everything around him, but there is one thing that literally escapes him – his bowel movements. I am personally not a fan of potty humor, but let’s face it – it is an interesting premise for the film to start with. And with actors like Amitabh Bachhan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan in the mix, you can only expect this to be really entertaining. Piku is a slice-of-life story of an eccentric father and his empathetic daughter, who invite y...

Vishal Bhardwaj and Shahid Kapur need to take a bow. The former for delivering an out and out commercial film full of authentic art and the latter for giving the best performance of his life. For many who ask and wonder what great film making is about. And want to understand where the 'craft' actually lies, Kaminey is a textbook, of how to rewrite the rules of Commercial cinema, and yet make a film that is sure to be a hit. Warning: It aint a lovey dovey cosy film (although some trailers gave that impression.. esp the romantic slow song and the raat ke dhai baje promo). This one is a dark film. Literally as well as in its subject. The screenplay is the first of the many pluses this film has to its merit. The recent Hollywood Comedy Hangover, showed how a film becomes funnier, only because of a non-linear plot, this one is a reply from the Hindi Film Industry. Agreed, it takes a while before you understand what really is happening here, the jigsaw in fact takes upto the interva...

‘And we Twist’ the simple tale of love? The point was made well. And well in advance. It was clear that Rishi (playing a Sardar Coffee shop owner in a phoren land) was trying to explain to Jai (an aspiring Khulla sand in his early/late twenties) what love is all about and how the Generation 2.0 cares not of the real thing – the pyaar, ishq mohobbat types. Now that was that. But why make an entire film trying to prove that point? So there you have a couple a year into a relationship (Saif and Deepika) throwing a ‘breakup party’ to the surprise of their friends. They separate and decide to keep in touch like bosom pals. Giving dating tips, criticizing fashion sense and all that they couldn’t do as a ‘couple’. But when the warning of commitment lurks, the two find themselves helpless. A love too deep never confessed, is harder to reveal than to hide. And the ho hum drags along, with each of them taking their own sweet time to realize yehi pyaar hota hai and all that! The point is, the fil...