Thoughts on 'Nathicharami'

Topics such as women embracing their sensuality and talking about their physical needs are considered too bold for mainstream cinema in India. Largely, such issues are not touched often or made with the central theme in a movie because a lot of questions arise. Is a woman who is aware of her sensual needs immoral? Is it only the vamps in the movies that are lecherous and lusty? Does the society draft a moral code of conduct for women and their physical needs? As a character says in the movie, can women from ‘good families’ not satiate their desires without being judged? National Award Winner S Manjunath AKA Mansore’s latest Kannada drama, Nathicharami, propels its audiences to question the moral compass that the society has set for its women. (Spoilers ahead)

A young widow, Gowri Mahesh (played by Sruthi Hariharan), seeks psychiatric help to deal with her lonely life, three years after her beloved husband’s death in an accident. Her life coach/psychiatrist (played by Balaji Manohar), modelled around Shah Rukh Khan’s character from ‘Dear Zindagi’, casually asks her about her sex life after her husband’s demise. She answers that she is loyal to her husband and will remain so. As the camera pans to a dog, a symbol of loyalty, her psychiatrist tells her that carnal desires are as normal as hunger. It is just a bodily need. But in a society, such as ours, can it be called just a need? The audiences are as conflicted as the brilliant Sruthi Hariharan is on-screen. As she puts it in her own words, her heart still belongs to her late husband for whom she brings in flowers every day, while her body desires love. In the times of Tinder and speed-dating, she tries to have a no-strings attached relationship, but, fails. For a woman who cannot stand a temporary fix to a leaking tap, a temporary satiation of her desires will not work either. This brings her back to her conflict – is she being immoral by thinking of becoming emotionally infidel to her husband? Through the stunning shots that linger on her without any dialogues, Sruthi conveys her angst, confusion and pain superbly.

While there are no dearth of predators and people showing unsolicited interest, she stays away from all of them. One of the best scenes in the movie is when she calls out a colleague for behaving inappropriately at workplace. She sets the tone straight – she may be longing for a companion, but, she is not looking for a quick fix. Among all the prying eyes, she finds a friend in a civil engineer she bumps into during her morning walks, Suresh (played by Sanchari Vijay). Suresh, stuck in an unhappy marriage, dislikes his wife since she is from a small town. Suresh acts as a reflection of the society, that detests a woman voicing her urges, but the rules do not apply to the men who seek to douse the same urges from their wives. As a society, we have been conditioned to see women in a certain way, that Suresh’s judgement of Gowri’s morality seems legitimate. One also tends to question her motive behind being involved with a married man, by keeping his wife in the dark. Does this make her evil and a home-wrecker? The name of the movie seems to answer this - Dharmecha Arthecha Kamecha Naathicharami. It is a Hindu wedding vow where the couple promise to stand by their partner in Dharma, Artha and Kama. She keeps her vow to her late husband by staying emotionally loyal to him. Suresh keeps his vows by sobbing in his wife’s arms, conveying his acceptance of his mistakes.

It is a slow, simmering and unsettling movie, because of its uncomfortable topic. It is very difficult to channel agony with ecstasy and Sruthi Hariharan delivers this in a spectacular performance. Her remorseful eyes and pale face convey her anguish louder than the happiness her vibrant clothes show. She succeeds in drawing the audiences towards her emotional turmoil, despite being a character that is very difficult to like, based on our morals and conditioning. Supporting her as a man cheating on his wife, albeit guilt-laden, Sanchari Vijay is effective being the man who has less control on his libido but sets boundaries for women. It is a poignant and painful movie, with a lot of things left unsaid yet beautifully conveyed.

The captivating final shots of Gowri getting rid of her husband’s ash trays and cushions make us wonder if she has decided to move on? Only to be proven wrong, when in the next scene, she walks into her balcony, settles in a chair and lovingly moving her hand over the empty chair next to her. She has kept her promise – Nathicharami!

Rajma Chawal - Movie Review

Delhi, like much of India, has a dichotomous existence. The glass facades and grandeur of New Delhi contrast the congested and modest by-lanes of Purani Dilli. Director Leena Yadav’s Netflix Original, ‘Rajma Chawal’ uses this distinction between Old and New Delhi to set its characters but misses the mark in execution. It is a recipe that had the potential to be the audience’s comfort food but ends up leaving them with a grumbling stomach.

A New Delhi bred musician, Kabir (played by Anirudh Tanwar), along with his father (played by Rishi Kapoor) moves into their old ancestral home in Chandni Chowk. Due to the untimely death of his mother and a remorse-filled gap between the two, Kabir is shown not to be on very good terms with his father. Despite being surrounded by a dozen odd over-friendly relatives and neighbors, Kabir feels disconnected to Chandni Chowk. The son feels his father insulted his mother’s melodious singing by falling asleep when she sang, while the father explains that the music had a calming and relaxing effect on him. The father gorges on the famous parathas of Purani Dilli and Nukkad ki chai, while the son can’t seem to stand these. Father relishes Rajma-Chawal with his hands, while his son asks for a spoon with almost a feeling of contempt. The differences are starkly evident between the two. In a bid to connect with his son, a technologically challenged man joins Facebook and begins chatting with him under a fake alias. Amid grappling with his mother’s death and struggling with his music, he meets Tara (played by Amyra Dastur), a gold-digger and a hairstylist with a funky hairstyle. As one can predict, she acts as the catalyst that brings together the estranged father-son.

The plot sounds interesting and has some good moments as well, which are few and far apart. The biggest problem in the movie is its unconvincing writing by Vivek Anchalia and Leena Yadav. The plot twists seem to happen rather unnaturally – a band is formed over night after a chance meeting of Kabir with random strangers. Though there are subtle hints of various subplots such as Tara’s past and Kabir’s mother’s death, but the pieces do not fall into place seamlessly. It begins to look like a forcefully made jigsaw puzzle, with subplots being the pieces that are forcefully joined to solve the puzzle. Even the actors do not seem completely convinced of the story, which is evident in their superficial acting, only on the surface of it. Rishi Kapoor plays his part decently well, but his character remains on the surface without much explanation. Debutante Anirudh Tanwar is decent, though his range of emotions seem limited. He appears to be a pro at displaying anger but fumbles at emoting other emotions. Amyra Dastur adds some spunk and is easy on the eyes but gets a caricature to play. She plays a stereotypical loud-mouthed girl with weird tattoos and an odd hairstyle, just to prove a point that she has suffered in life and has now become an independent woman. Among the other cast, Aparshakti Khurana and Sheeba Chaddha are good in their small parts and add to the comic relief.

What could have easily been a feel-good movie, is unnecessarily marred by a lot of plot twists in the second half. The first half, even with contrived twists, is enjoyable. It is in the second half, when the movie loses its charm and begins to become monotonous and repetitive. Also, a movie where the lead is a musician deserves much better music. Composer Hitesh Sonik uses similar tunes with different lyrics by Irshad Kamil, with none of the tracks being memorable. Even his wife Sunidhi Chauhan has sung a passable number.

While I watched the movie at Mumbai Film Festival in a theatre, it will have a worldwide release on Netflix. Going by the content, this movie makes for a decent watch on Netflix, if there are no other better options. So, catch it if you have nothing better to watch.

My Rating – 2/5

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota - Movie Review

As kids, all of us have always been fascinated by superheroes in video games and cartoons. From Popeye to Super Mario, these fun characters stayed with us much before Marvel and DC came into our lives. These characters seem to have caught the fancy of writer-director Vasan Bala, who has created a quirky, fun comedy, ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’, basing the premise on childhood superheroes, a rare disease and karate!

Dark humor seems to be finally making its way into India, with Andhadhun last month and this whacky tale now. In what is being called as India’s take on Deadpool, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is a smaller version of a boy stuck with his childhood fantasy of being a vigilante against chain snatchers. Usually, dark comedies work majorly for their quotient of oddity, spunky dialogues and great characters weaved seamlessly into a tight script. Vasan Bala has got all the three perfectly on point, barring a slight drop in the tempo of the screenwriting in the second half. There is a boy (played by Abhimanyu Dassani) with a rare congenital insensitivity to pain, who quite literally, cannot feel any pain! He is the mard jisse dard nahi hota. Then, there his childhood friend and partner-in-crime (played by Radhika Madan), who leads a dual life of Lara Croft outside her home and a submissive girl caged under patriarchy. We also have an endearing yet weird grandfather (Ajoba played by Mahesh Majrekar), who instead of protecting his grandson from harm, teaches him the meaning of ‘pain’, leading to this chaos! Then we have a limping Karate Man (played by Gulshan Devaiah) that the leads look up to, for he can fight 100 men, but crumbles against his bullying and jealous twin-brother. It is these characters and their intertwined lives, that keep you invested, even when the movie slightly falters.

The montage scenes in the beginning are fun – you see a panicking father, an over-enthusiastic grandfather and a naughty child with an odd disorder. It’s endearing to see them teach him what pain means – he learns to say ‘Ouch’ when he is hurt! The boy is raised away from bullies, prying eyes and home-schooled, which leads him to be stuck with the ‘Karate Man’ movie he repeatedly watches on a Video Cassette all through his growing up years. The scenes where a worried Ajoba tries to talk to him about his growth into a man, and he conveniently dodges it, getting back to his fascination with martial arts. But the witty lines and off-beat characters seem lost in the second half, before the climax and that is the problem with the movie. Nonetheless, it picks up steam in the final moments and ends on a high.

Before I talk of the performances, a mention of the praise-worthy cinematography by Jay Patel for creating beautiful frames, slow-motion shots and montages in the first half. The hues of yellows and greys adds to the darkness of this dark comedy genre. Mahesh Majrekar as Ajoba has the wittiest lines and such a warm screen presence, despite not being the central character. Debutante Abhimanyu Dassani is good, though his childlike character has only a limited range of emotions which he displays, and it would be interesting to see how he follows it up in his next movies. Radhika Madan, thankfully makes a transition from the irrational television shows, and delivers a strong performance after a memorable debut in Patakha. It was fun to watch a female lead kick some asses and break those bones! But it is Gulshan Devaiah, who gets the most captivating and entertaining roles as the twin Shetty brothers. From the S P Balasubramnium style parody song to the mention of Matunga Tamilians and references to Rajini vs Kamal – these characters are colorful and Gulshan Devaiah delivers perfectly in both these contrasting roles.

It may not be as twisted and edge-of-the-seat as Andhadhun but is definitely a fun watch. I was lucky enough to catch it before its theatrical release at the Mumbai Film Festival. But make sure you catch it as soon as it is out in the theatres.

My Rating – 3.5/5 (0.5 here is for the sheer wackiness and oddity)

Hello Guru Prema Kosame - Movie Review

One of Tollywood’s favorite genres in the last two decades has been breezy romances with a common template, which has a chocolate boy falling for a modestly dressed college girl, surrounded by other characters who add the drama and create the plot. Director Trinadha Rao’s ‘Hello Guru Premakosame’ is yet another movie on the same lines, with barely anything new, yet, managing to keep the audiences entertained.

At the outset, it is projected as a regular love story and the makers keep the treatment authentic. Sanju (played by Ram Pothineni) is an engineer who moves to Hyderabad for work. He is put up at her mother’s childhood friend (played by Prakash Raj), a wise and helpful man. Expectedly, Sanju falls for his daughter, Anupama (played by Anupama Parmeshwaran), after having a fling with a colleague, Tripti (played by Pranitha Subhash). The movie takes a predictable turn from here and the monotony is broken occasionally by the witty one-liners and the amazing equation between Ram and Prakash Raj. Also, I do not understand why do Telugu writers fancy the clichéd structure of dialogues, involving a mere play of words? Just like the over-bearing dialogues of Arvinda Sameta, the writers here throw dialogues like, “Oka ammayyi no chepte edichevadini lover antaru. Ala edichevaditoh mandu taagi vadine friend antaru”. Though they were not overbearing, it is time we switch to real and conversant language, laced with humor.

Prakash Raj plays a charming and endearing father to Anupama and a confidante to Sanju. He gets to display his comic timing and his scenes with Ram, acting as his ‘friend’, are a delight to watch. The makers included a song, ‘Oi Friendu’, to cash-in on their camaraderie. Anupama Parameshwaran, playing his daughter, keeps a weirdly stoic demeanor and gives dreamy glances in most of her scenes, apart from looking extremely pretty. I wish her character was written better because her conflicts and change of heart do not come out well. Playing her other half in their love story, Ram gets the centerstage and carries the movie on his shoulders. He is charming, looks great and has a suave attitude. His comedy in the first half, especially the ones referring to engineering colleges and software programming, is top-notch and remains in the same form throughout. Despite his love story with Anupama not coming out convincingly, one does not complain much since his antics keep you entertained. The romantic track with Tollywood’s favorite second fiddle, Pranitha Subhash, should have had a better closure. It seemed insensitive and abrupt, something that contradicts the character of Sanju. The rest of the supporting actors were good in their parts, mostly adding to the comic relief.

Looking for great film-making craft and a tightly woven story in a mainstream romantic comedy would not be wise. But thankfully, Hello Guru Prema Kosame, remains majorly real and entertaining. The wafer-thin plot, usual love story and the predictive narrative are balanced by endearing performances, especially by Ram and Prakash Raj. Watch it for fun, without expecting much!

My Rating – 2.5/5

Namaste England - Movie Review

Director Vipul Shah’s second offering in the ‘Namaste’ franchise, ‘Namaste England’, is a baffling example of reputed names coming together to create an extremely insipid and nauseating fare. Writer Ritesh Shah, who has written movies like Pink, Chef and Raid, has co-written this incoherent and disjoined story of Punjab flying to London. Casting director Honey Trehan, whose previous work boasts of casting strong ensembles in movies like Kaminey, Fukrey and Talvar, casts the most disinterested bunch of actors who make Arjun Kapoor’s performance seem Oscar worthy! Even director Vipul Shah’s passable filmography highlights his not so great skills, but some of his previous movies were bearable thanks to its leading cast. Sadly, even they let him down here.

An ambitious Punjabi girl, Jasmeet (played by Parineeti Chopra), aspires to be a jewelry designer but is oppressed by her patriarchal family. She uses her bunch of friends and boyfriend, Param (played by Arjun Kapoor), to get out of her house and work. Upon finding of their daughter’s deceit, they decide to get her married to Param. Due to the ridiculous turn of events, she convinces Param to relocate to London (though she could have relocated to Delhi, Chennai or Timbuktu and it would have made no difference). Now, do not even try looking for logic here because there isn’t any. So, due to yet another ridiculous subplot, Param cannot get a visa and hence, a desperate Jasmeet leaves him and flies to London. Just when you think good riddance, the makers remind you that you are just halfway through this excruciating emotionless saga.

Their lack of conviction or common sense is evidently visible in almost every sequence. Param and Jasmeet exchange besotted looks from Dussera to Diwali to Holi, but Param says, ’Punjab mein pyaar toh doosro ki shaadiyo mein hi hota hai’. So, out of the blue, there is a wedding. How? Don’t ask! A rich, elite, supposed seductress meets a ‘Gabru Punjabi Munda’ and decides the next minute to marry him. How? Don’t ask! A guy sharing a dingy shanty in London and shown to be living in the bathroom there, steps out in perfectly gelled hair and tuxedos, sweeping rich girls off their feet. How? Don’t even ask!! The makers seem to have answered all these with just one phrase – Who cares?! Vipul Shah repeats the same tropes from Namaste London – a smart girl, a lovelorn naïve guy, a patriotic monologue in London and a sad song by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan! But, his poor directorial skills in Namaste London were overshadowed by good performances by the ensemble, especially Katrina Kaif. It remains Katrina Kaif’s only memorable performance as an actor and reprising the same Jasmeet, Parineeti Chopra makes this a poor caricature. While Katrina’s Jasmeet was flawed and shrewd, she still evoked some empathy and connect. Parineeti makes a shoddy caricature of Jasmeet, with a below average performance and awful dialogue delivery in emotional scenes. It is probably her worst performance till date.

Arjun Kapoor does not have a great filmography to boast of, and he adds yet another poorly acted role to the list. Akshay Kumar had a naughty and lustful swag to his character in Namaste London. Here, Arjun repeatedly says ‘Tumhe dekhke mere dil mein aisi aisi feelings aa rahi hai ki kuch ho jaega’ and you still find it hard to believe. The love story between the leads is so poorly developed in the first 10 minutes of the movie, that the audiences do not connect with them at all. There is no sympathy evoked for his difficult journey to London, travelling through half the world. As I mentioned earlier, the rest of the cast is a bunch of novices who have no weight in their characters nor have any acting chops. Aditya Seal and Dijana Dejanovic as the lead’s partners in London look good but get poorly written characters with no scope to perform. As if the main plot was not tiring enough, there are useless subplots talking about illegal immigrants, dark side of patriarchy and over-the-top nationalism – none of them required in the central story line!

A movie that lacks a tight script, good dialogues, abled craft of filmmaking and captivating performances deserves not to be rated at all. At a time when small budget movies are pushing the boundaries with innovative content, this is a major let down. With nothing really working in the movie, except may be the clothes that the leads wear, I do not think it deserves anything on a scale of 1 to 5.

My Rating – 0/5

Badhaai Ho - Movie Review

You know you are in for a good ride when a movie opens in a middle-class household, with a bickering mother-in-law and subtle humor over daily household chores. In ‘Badhai Ho’, debutante director Amit Ravindernath Sharma and his writers Shantanu Srivastava, Akshat Ghildial and Jyoti Kapoor create a funny and believable canvas filled with real characters that are stuck in a supposedly embarrassing, yet hilarious situation – when the middle-aged couple of the family get pregnant!

A young boy from a middle-class family, Nakul Kaushik (played by Ayushmann Khurrana), has a perfect life. A doting family, an understanding girlfriend and a high-flying career. His life seemingly crumbles down when he discovers his middle-aged parents (played by Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta) are expecting a child, 25 years after he was born! What ensues is hilarious ride of children feeling contempt for their parents and the society adding insult to injury. Adding to their woes is the matriarch of the family, Dadi (played by Surekha Sikri), whose taunts leave you in splits. His colleague and girlfriend, Renee (played by Sanya Malhotra) bears the brunt of this commotion and so does her elite IAS mother (played by Sheeba Chaddha).

Firstly, full points to the art director and costume designers for authentically setting up a typical middle-class household, replete with women of the neighborhood bonding over Tambola after a Satsang, crockery neatly stacked in a glass cupboard and the drawing room doubling up as the room for the granny in the house. The makers do not take time in setting up the theme and quickly get to the point, which reflects in the crisp runtime of the movie as well. Director Amit Sharma beautifully exploits his cinematographer, Sanu Varghese, to create frames that come alive on screen. The congested and tiny house becomes the vibrant epicenter of this hysterical entertainer, only because of the brilliant shots. These frames are further lifted by the witty writing by Akshat Ghildial, where humour is mostly understated. Some of the best examples of the brilliant writing are the hilarious scenes where an awkward Gajraj Rao breaks the news at home and the one where Dadi, played stupendously by Surekha Sikri, rebukes her daughter and elder daughter-in-law at a wedding. Also, it was good to see an organic progression of the story, sans major melodrama. The taboo surrounding an elderly couple conceiving a child, despite having a son of marriageable age, is normalized delicately without being over the top.

As is the case with any such content-driven movies, it is the actors who bring these character to life! Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta are perfectly cast as the embarrassed couple, never letting their characters slip into farcical shame. Ayushmann Khurrana, who has become a flagbearer of sorts for this kind of cinema, is in top form and uses his charm and comic timing in equal measures. Supporting him well in a relatively smaller part is Sanya Malhotra and her mother, Sheeba Chaddha, who provide ample support to the narrative. Surekha Sikri as Dadi, is hilarious and one of the most endearing characters for a granny written in Hindi cinema in recent times. Also, it was fun to watch all the characters speak in chaste western UP dialect, adding another dimension to their characters.

Over the last few years, content-driven stories from the small towns or inspired by the middle-class folks have fancied filmmakers in Bollywood. Badhaai Ho takes a similar route as ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’ and picks a taboo topic.  With a similar plot as Steve Martin’s 1995 comedy, ‘Father of the Bride 2’, Badhaai Ho uses a topic perceived as embarrassing and injects comedy in right measures, to create a delectable fare.

My Rating – 3.5/5

Tumbbad - Movie Review

Horror seems to be Bollywood’s new vanilla, which is being blended seamlessly with different genres of cinema acting as other flavors. Recently, horror was blended with comedy in Rajkummar Rao’s, Stree and this week, Sohum Shah Starrer, Tumbad, does this with fantasy. Helmed by three directors - Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi and Adesh Prasad, Tumbad is an off-beat blend of mythology, with a gory and dark narrative.

The three-part narrative opens with a mythological premise of a Goddess, who created Earth and held her evil child, Hastar, in her womb to save the world from his malevolence. In pre-Independence India, in a quaint Tumbbad, a lady with two sons, nurtures an ailing old lady by the day and serves as the mistress to a feudal lord, Sarkar by the night. A folklore says Sarkar’s home has a hidden treasure, which remains unraveled with the sudden demise of Sarkar. Years later, the lady’s elder son, now a young man, Vinayak Rao (played by Sohum Shah), returns to Tumbbad to look for the hidden treasure. His insatiable greed makes him frequently return to Tumbbad, for the prized gold coins hidden in the wada. His greed sees no end and he ends up pulling his teenage son, Raja (Actor’s Name) into this dark, gory and sinful mess.

The cinematography by Pankaj Kumar is painstakingly beautifully and sets the gruesome tone of the movie. The tones are all greys and blacks, interrupted only by the glows of the fire. From crooked trees to the close-up shots of ghastly, decaying bodies, the camerawork is brilliantly used to create a disturbing, yet, consuming narrative. The make-up and prosthetics artists also deserve an applause, for creating the cadaverous characters, like Hastar, who are not inserted in the movie for cheap-thrills, but are regular characters forming the cast. Complementing the dark frames is the gritty background score by Ajay-Atul and Jesper Kyd, that is subtle and never overshadowing the narrative. The movie, though crisp, seems to lose some steam during the second part, but quickly picks up pace in the final part, reaching an intriguing climax. Also, I must admit, it is a rare kind of fantasy thriller seldom seen in Indian cinema.

While the credit for crafting this movie majorly goes to the technicians and its directors, they are blessed with equally good actors. Sohum Shah, as Vinayak, brings in a variety of emotions effortlessly. His love-making scene with his mistress, shows him change rapidly from a lustful man to a man angry at his friend’s betrayal. He is supported amply by Deepak Damle, who plays his teenage son and displays the same greed and lust that his father has, albeit knowing when to control it. The rest of the cast support the narrative well and the lack of any unnecessary subplot is a major plus point.

Tumbbad may not appeal the faint-hearted. But it is a fantasy horror that certainly deserves a chance, for making huge strides in the right direction as far as Indian cinema is concerned.

My Rating – 3.5/5

Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava - Movie Review

While writing this review of director Trvikram Srinivas’s latest outing ‘Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava’ (ASVR), I chanced upon his Wikipedia page. The introduction says, “Regarded as the "wizard of words" Trivikram's craft is known for its high dose of comedy, fast-paced repartee, farcical situations, escapist themes, and comedy thriller plot lines involving action, emotion, courtship, family and marriage.” Except for the farcical situations, he lets down his audiences on every other aspect.

Set against the backdrop of two warring villages in Rayalaseema, ASVR is the story of Veera Raghava Reddy (played by Junior NTR) spearheading his clans fight against Basi Reddy (played by Jagapathi Babu). They call this ‘Aidu rupayala godava’ (5 rupees fight) and hand it over to their progeny, who find it easier to stick swords into each other than solve this dispute for once. But Veera Raghava Reddy, moved by his grandmother’s (played by Supriya Pathak) rants, decides to take on his opponents with non-violence. Now, this is a novel idea, where unlike the usual mass entertainers, the male protagonist is not shown as the macho and masculine savior. A comical version of this theme was seen in S.S Rajamouli’s Marayada Ramanna, where the protagonist does not fight against a bunch of goons.  Trivikram uses his trademark dialogues with rhyme and rhythm, to act as a weapon that Veera Raghava uses to win over his opponents, apart from the generous use of daggers and swords. To trigger his change and affect his conscience, a haughty, arrogant and bubbly Aravinda (played by Pooja Hegde) enters the scene. She casually drops her pearls of wisdom, which Veera Raghava picks up to pave his plan of action ahead. Again, instead of just being the arm-candy or add glamor, this role had a great potential. More recently, Anushka Sharma played a similar support and trigger to the male lead, as Mamta in ‘Sui Dhaaga’. But, again, the writing lets down the character of Aravinda. Despite being the titular role, Aravinda is reduced to just being a caricature, with no weight.

It would be a sin to look for logic in a mass entertainer and we Telugu audiences love them for the lack of it. But, Matala Mantrikudu Trivikram overburdens his audiences with heavy dialogues, filled with puns, alliteration and rhyme. There is a scene where the lead characters converse at a café and I cannot imagine any normal couple conversing in the language that they use. Like in his previous dud, Agnyathavasi, Trivikram overdoes the same trademark dialogues to the extent that it becomes a painful bore! The mood of the movie is set in a very gritty and serious space like Trivikram’s blockbuster ‘Athadu’ or the more recent action drama ‘Rangasthalam’. But, ASVR is not engaging or gripping like either of them. The lack of depth in the characters, along with the over-bearing dialogues, clubbed with a run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, seem like an extremely tiresome experience.

The only saving grace here are the performances. Almost every actor cast in the main and supporting roles, gets the Rayalaseema accent on point. While most of the supporting actors are decent in their roles, a praise-worthy performance comes from Jagapathi Babu, as the main antagonist. Playing a rugged and rustic version of his character from Rangasthalam, Jagapathi Babu uses his menacing eyes and evil face to create a gruesome villain and delivers well. Pooja Hegde, apart from looking pretty and complimenting Junior NTR well, gets some cute moments amid choppy dialogue delivery. Sunil, making a comeback as the sidekick, is utterly wasted, as he neither gets to do comedy nor drama. But, it is Junior NTR, who plays Veera Raghava with such conviction, that you try to remain invested in this otherwise insipid tale. Being able to pull off a mass character with élan is no mean feat, and he is charismatic at that. Using a calm and restrained demeanor, reminiscent of Mahesh Babu from Athadu, his hard-work and efforts are clearly visible in his performance. Unfortunately, he is let down by poor writing, screenplay and dialogues.

From ‘Nuvve Kavali’ to as recently as ‘A Aa’, Trivikram has always been known for his brilliant dialogues, with some of the finest gems in movies like ‘Nuvvu Naaku Nachavu’, ‘Manmadhudu’ and ‘Jalsa’. Watching ASVR reminded me of Srinu Vaitla’s ‘Aagadu’ – another director known for his witty one-liners, who bored his audiences to death with an overdose of bland dialogues. Not sure if it is Trivikram’s complacency or lack of vision, but ASVR looked like a tale from a tired and disinterested story-teller. Trust me, I seem as disinterested in writing this review as he seemed to be while making this movie.

My Rating – 2/5

Andhadhun - Movie Review

One of the least touched genres in Indian cinema has been dark comedy. With the evolving tastes of the audience, over the last few years there have been some experiments in this genre, starting with Delhi Belly in 2011. Seven years later, there seems to be a worthy successor in Sriram Raghavan’s dark comedy, Andhadhun.

To sum it up without any spoilers, Andhadhun captures the intertwined lives of a struggling blind pianist, Akash (played by Ayushmann khurrana) and the wife of an aging superstar, Simi Sinha (played by Tabu). A series of unforeseen events unfold, comprising of a couple of murders, deceit and hilarious double-crossing of each other! The narrative is further enhanced by the vibrant supporting cast -  highlighted by a super-cop, Inspector Mahendra (played by Manav Vij), investigating the murders with his own ulterior motives. A bright and young restauranteur, Sofie (played by Radhika Apte), who not only hosts Akash’s gigs at her restaurant but also develops a liking for him. Then there are other quirky members of the cast who stand out in their small roles – a self-obsessed aging superstar, Pramod Sinha (played by Anil Dhawan), the super-cop’s wife who takes pride in her husband eating ’16 ande’, an over-smart kid who keeps a suspicious eye on Akash, a lottery-ticket seller Maushi and her auto-rickshaw driver brother, Murali. Giving away any other link would mean – SPOILERS!

Director Sriram Raghavan, along with his bunch of writers, creates a music filled narrative, that is not dark and gloomy – a trope used frequently in stereotypical dark comedies. I was reminded of last month’s Tamil comic thriller, Kolamavu Kokila (KoKo), which had a similar layering of comedy with the right amounts of thrills. Much like Koko, Andhadhun works for its brilliant dialogues by Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti and Yogesh Chanderkar. The characters get real lines, filled with wry and subtle humor. Unquestionably, Tabu gets some of the best dialogues and scenes, as the multi-layered star-wife Simi, who is trying to find her own way to stardom. In a recent interview, Tabu spoke about her 10 best-performances till date and this one is easily the eleventh one on the list. She gets to display a variety of emotions from a manipulative wife to a heart-broken victim of her circumstances. The writers do not let her layers come off easily, making her the fire-cracking mystery throughout the movie. Every time you think you have figured her out, she does something whacky in the next scene. Oh boy, only an actor of Tabu’s caliber can pull this role off. She is brilliant!

Matching her strong performance is Ayushmann Khurrana, as a blind pianist present at the wrong place at the wrong time. He keeps his ‘blind-act’ understated and displays the vulnerabilities of a visually challenged man with aplomb. His scenes with Simi are pure fun, especially the one where Simi visits him at his home. Also, whether he is blind or not (which is evidently questioned in the trailer as well), is a device the writers cleverly use multiple times to take the story forward and add humor to it. Manav Vij as Inspector Mahendra is funny as the super cop scared of his overbearing wife, played by Ashwini Kalshekar in a small, yet hilarious role. Radhika Apte gets a less meaty role, but thankfully gets rid of her meme-worthy worried and forlorn look. She is chirpy and adds to the chaos. The casting director deserves due credits for picking up the rest of the actors who fit the bill perfectly in their respective characters. Also, Amit Trivedi’s music is praiseworthy for adding to the drama and thrills. He extensively uses chords and piano, sometimes become a bit too long, but delivers musical pieces according to the mood of the scene. After Manmarziyaan, another well composed soundtrack by him.

The movie is not completely without flaws. While it keeps you invested, the pace could have been a bit faster. The choice of using long shots and a few long-drawn sequences could have resulted in the movie seem a little taxing, especially in the first half. Thankfully, the second half sees a much faster and twists-filled narrative, that pulls you back into the game.

Like most movies of its genre, Andhadhun may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But the dry humor, engaging screenplay, superlative performances and a delightful Tabu deserve your two hours this weekend!

My Rating – 3.5/5

96 - Movie Review

A young class X girl, Janaki AKA Jaanu (played by Gouri Kishan) brings chocolates on her birthday and offers it to her crush, Ramachandran AKA Ram (played by Aadithya Baaskar) who needs to be forcefully held in place by three fellow classmates, because he tends to shy away and faint on seeing Jaanu! It is moments like these - sweet, simple and yet, so poignant - that make writer-director, C Prem Kumar’s debut release, 96, a simmering tale of everlasting love.

Twenty years later, we see a middle-aged renowned travel photographer, Ramachandran (played by Vijay Sethupathi), travelling all alone across the length and the breadth of the country. His nomadic life comes to an end, when he chances upon visiting his hometown, Thanjavur. The nostalgia on visiting his old school makes him reach out to his fellow classmates and meet them at a reunion. While he behaves like a grown-up man, his demeanor changes instantly when he sees his childhood sweetheart, Jaanu (played by Trisha Krishnan). The rest of the story is how these awkward exes meet and the conversations that they take forward, while switching the narrative between the present and their past.

The plot is not something we have not seen or heard. From ‘When Harry met Sally’ to ‘Hum Tum’, we have had movies where two former lovers meet years later. But, the treatment here is extremely poignant and poetic. Director Prem Kumar uses long sequences without dialogues and perfectly uses his actors, their expressions and couples it with the brilliant camerawork by Shanmuga Sundaram. Add the melancholically beautiful background score by Govind Menon (from Thaikkudam bridge) and you have a canvas filled with love and prose! The narrative uses all the right elements that take you back in time – funny conversations that long-lost school friends have on Whatsapp, striking of letters in ‘Flames’ as schoolkids and classroom romances over exchange of notebooks. It is such endearing moments, which are in abundance, that make this movie a heartwarming tale to watch.

The movie leans heavily on its leads – Ramachandran and Janaki, played superbly by Vijay Sethupathi/Aadithya Baaskar and Trisha Krishnan/Gouri Kishan. While the supporting cast comprising of Devadarshini, Janagaraj among others are used in perfectly minimal amounts, it is the leads that keep you captivated even if only the two of them are on the screen for a long time. Playing the younger Ram and Jaanu, Aadithya Baaskar and Gouri Kishan display a strong command on their craft and portray school romances where only a glimpse of your beloved was enough. Aadithya, as an extremely awkward and shy boy, shows his commitment through his love filled eyes. Gouri, apart from looking beautiful, channels the right amounts of childlike innocence and a lady-like charm in her performance. Their scenes together, even without dialogues in some cases, show their palpable love for each other.

It is the grown-up leads, Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan, who further enhance these characters. Vijay Sethupathi, as Ram, gets a nuanced character which could have gone wrong, if not dealt with restraint. His changeover from a bulky and strict photography teacher to a giant schoolkid is endearing and speaks of his histrionics. He displays staunch and unwavering love for a girl for 20 years without even meeting, and never lets his character become an obsessive stalker, like Dhanush’s Kundan in Anand Rai’s Raanjhana. He is madly in love, but respects the distance that has come in between the two. Complementing his heartbreaking performance is Trisha, in a stunningly understated performance. Without any traces of melodrama, she maintains the charm and wit that a 16-year old Jaanu had. Her melodious singing adds another dimension to the character. Her scenes with Vijay Sethupathi are adorable and equally melancholic. From teasing him over his good-boy image, to talking about virginity, they exude an old-world charm and the chemistry comes out beautifully. Two scenes stayed with me in particular – the one where Jaanu narrates an old tale to a bunch of Ram’s students and the one where she sings a song at Ram’s home. Vijay Sathupathi is the scene stealer in both of these, but they kindle a spark of warmth in the viewers hearts as well.

But, audiences beware – this is a hardcore love story, with glacial pace at certain places which sets the mood right. So, if pure romance simmered over slow pace and forlorn music is your cup of tea, then this is a must watch. Avoid it if it isn’t! Thankfully, I fall in the former category.

My Rating – 4/5