12th Fail (2023)

I usually lament about the storytelling in Bollywood biopics, and I didn’t know what to expect when I went to watch ‘12th Fail’. I knew nothing about the storyline, but since Vidhu Vinod Chopra is associated with the movie (and there was strong word-of-mouth recommendation), I took a chance.
I am truly glad I did.

Based on a non-fiction book, 12th Fail is the story of Manoj Kumar Sharma’s life. Hailing from Chambal, he overcame school-level academic failure and poverty to eventually get selected to the Indian Police Service. The movie depicts the struggle of many students appearing for the UPSC (and how it differs from the PSC), and what it takes for some of them to do better than the others. For instance, the command over English is deftly tackled.

There is much to love about the movie’s writing, pace and authentic casting (for example, the UPSC tutor); I was particularly impressed with how some aspects of casteism were addressed. The Brahmin protagonist is shown cleaning toilets and working in an atta chakki to provide for himself as he studies – today, he would be eligible for the EWS quota. He receives ready help from a much richer Brahmin fellow-aspirant – something that eludes the oppressed castes. This friend later disrupts his love life by spreading false rumours to his girlfriend’s parents, but he chooses to forgive him.

Another gorgeous scene is when the rich friend tells a senior aspirant, “Isn’t it only 4 attempts for us?”. The senior aspirant replies with a smile, “You have a problem if we have 6 attempts?” The senior aspirant goes on to play a critical role in ensuring Manoj Kumar Sharma succeeds.

Even though his path to UPSC mains and interview was vastly different from that of Manoj Kumar Sharma, the movie reminded me of my upright father more than once. I was happy to see the UPSC Dholpur house, and I also wept copiously at many scenes.

The EWS quota and the NRI quota (both based on varying degrees of financial stability) get preferential treatment over the SC/ST and OBC quotas, and discussions about “merit” are barely done in the case of the former two. I recollect multiple discussions with my father on this, and am truly grateful for the role he has had in shaping up my views since childhood. He gives full credit to the UPSC and job content as the game changer when it comes to his views on caste.

I racked my brains to check why I found Vikrant Massey (he plays Manoj Kumar Sharma) familiar – I haven’t watched any of his other movies – and finally landed on the Cornetto ice-cream ad that featured him and Alia Bhatt.

Watch the movie. It is a sleeper hit, and I am very happy about that!

The Shape of Water (2017)

When ‘The Shape of Water’ was released, I was intrigued all because of a meme I received from a Bengali friend.

“Shape of water, a film about a human falling in love with a fish is being universally called a cinematic brilliance but when Bengalis do the same thing, suddenly it is ‘stereotypical’ and maccher jhol Bengali pagol”

I couldn’t stop laughing when I received the meme, and as I was slowly recovering from yet another episode, I missed watching the movie. I may have looked up the Wikipedia entry once.

I maintain a list of ‘Best Picture’ from the Oscars and Golden Globes, and recently found the movie on OTT and watched it in 3-4 sittings. I no longer mind watching a movie for a bit and then returning to it when I find the time.

Set in the 1960s in North America during the Cold war, the fantasy movie has a mute female protagonist who communicates fluently via sign language, and gets acquainted with a humanoid amphibian at a laboratory. The Amphibian Man has healing powers and has been forcibly brought in from South America. She feeds him, and slowly forms a romantic, reciprocal bond with him. The development of the bond is beautiful to watch as the Amphibian Man also cannot speak, and both rely on their body language to communicate. She understands him, and doesn’t react with anger (for instance) when she finds him devouring a cat of her closeted gay neighbour. This neighbour plays a pivotal role in helping her rescue the Amphibian Man, and in her happy-ever-after ending.

What I also found beautiful is the portrayal of disability, and how it doesn’t prevent her from leading a normal life. She has a close friend at work who is unconditionally supportive, she opposes harassment – the harasser’s portrayal is particularly convincing - and she stands up for what she believes in.

The movie has many nude scenes, and while initially it seemed completely out of context and unnecessary, as the story builds on, they start to make more sense. I wonder if the scenes were retained when the movie was released in India. 

I still think ‘Lady Bird’ is a better movie from 2017, but it is good to see fantasy rewarded by the Oscars.

Jawan (2023)

In 2023, I have visited theatres multiple times and had watched the trailer of ‘Jawan’. I couldn’t make out the storyline, but I liked the presence of a woman-gang around SRK and the usage of the song ‘Bekarar Karke Hamein Yun Na Jaaiye’. SRK’s move into a full-time action hero means long-time fans like my mother don’t relate to his recent movies, and I hope he considers them as well when he makes future movie choices.

To watch ‘Jawan’, I had a colleague's company - it was great fun watching a SRK movie with a fellow fan! I went for a late-night show after years, and it felt very good. The audience was clapping for SRK more than once, and it was wonderful to be part of this experience.

For a change, let me start with what didn’t work for me. Unless it is ‘Chennai Express’, I can’t watch train sequences set in India without getting triggered – they remind me of blasts and more. The sudden introduction of songs, Nayanthara’s character development, dramatic scenes at a women’s prison, the intense violence from all corners – all of this left me a bit disoriented even if I admired Nayanthara’s spot-on body language during fight sequences. I kept hoping the violence would deescalate, and it didn’t happen. Given how the movie ends, a sequel can be expected, and I am not sure if I will be able to stomach this level of violence again.

Let’s get to the better parts now. Bridging the North-South divide with astuteness, treating women characters well and spreading awareness around social issues without being preachy is something SRK is really good at, and I have deeper appreciation for this as I age. The movie draws deft attention to villagers living in areas closer to borders, treatment of women prisoners, farmer suicides, public medical treatment facilities, corruption in Armed Forces, awarding of death penalties, faulty EVMs, and the behaviour of the average voter. Each time when it looked like a rape sequence would be introduced and I slowly started getting triggered, the women uniformly resorted to self-defence that left me proud of seeing it on the big screen. Reality was shown when without exception, these women who resort to violent self-defence are jailed.

As for the performances, I particularly liked three of them. I got a chance to watch Vijay Sethupathi finally – I loved his acting, how he captured the Vijay Mallya look, and the authentic dialogue delivery with accent. Even if I couldn’t relate to her action sequences, I liked Sanya Malhotra’s portrayal of the Government doctor Eeram – her character may have been based on Dr. Kafeel Khan, and I love that genders have been flipped, something I noticed in ‘Ghoomer’ as well. The surprise package for me was Deepika Padukone – her character had been given more thought, and the way she portrayed a single mother was way better than Nayanthara’s portrayal of the same.

The movie’s release has been timed well, right before the General Elections in 2024. If it inspires more people to exercise their voice and vote, it has truly done its job.

Ghoomer (2023)

In the past, I have enjoyed the interesting portrayals of women in R Balki’s movies (Cheeni Kum, Paa, English Vinglish). Across age groups, the women have a mind of their own, are decisive and experimental in their relationship status. So, the minute I saw the poster of ‘Ghoomer’, I knew I wanted to watch it. The sports link was evident, and to my delight the portrayal of disability too.

During illness episodes, one after another, I used to mention words that sounded similar, or words that meant more than 1 thing (remember paryayvachi shabd?) This time, Ghoomer reminded me of the song ‘Ghoomar’ from Padmaavat. Watch the movie to see why Ghoomer has a significant role to play.

Ghoomer has sought inspiration from the life of Karoly Takacs, the Olympic medal-winning shooter. Like him, the budding cricketer Anina played by Saiyami Kher loses her right hand in a freak road accident and must give up her dream of representing India as a batter. An older cricketer past his prime, played by Abhishek Bachchan, gives her career a new life by encouraging her to become a bowler instead. Like all good coaches portrayed in media, he makes things difficult for her initially, helps her build strength in her left hand, and eventually she becomes so good at bowling that she gets another chance to represent India, and goes on to win glory.

There are two other strong women in the movie – Anina’s paternal grandmother played by the fantastic Shabana Azmi (may everyone be blessed with considerate paternal grandmothers like the ones she has portrayed in 2023) and the trans woman Rasika played by Ivanka Das. Witty, observant and helpful, these women light up the screen when they appear.

Balki’s movies, however well-written, have a few moments of unbelievable drama that leave me flabbergasted, but the overall taste is so good that I am willing to let them fly by. I haven’t been tracking cricket for years now, but enjoyed the scenes featuring cricket and can see why women’s cricket is gaining popularity. I was happy to see more attention given to bowlers (finally!) and the references to Physics.

Finally, the real reason that I wanted to watch the movie – Anina is a person with disability (PwD). I liked the scenes featuring other PwDs who rejoice at her bowling spell, the looks given by her team members when the scoreline is against them and they miss having an extra batter, and I read that the DCCI (Differently-Abled Cricket Council of India) hosted a special screening of the movie for 50 paraplegic cricketers. So far, all good. What’s not good? Yet again, a PwD has been shown as a super-achiever and hugely inspirational figure, instead of remaining human with flaws like any other. The other option would have been to portray the PwD as an object of pity – disability portrayal offers only these two extremes – so this was better to that extent.

While I was a bit sad to see how quick Anina is to forgive the male driver who leaves her disabled and her childhood friend who gives her the idea to hand signal while driving, I wasn’t surprised. Forgiveness is expected of women, irrespective of the harm meted out by men. The only silver lining is that the male driver is repentant and tries to make amends. As for the childhood friend, he loves her.

Watch the movie. You’d be happy after doing so!

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023)

When I watched the trailer of ‘Rocky Aur Rani’, it reminded me of ‘Vicky Donor’ – the male protagonist is Punjabi and female protagonist is Bengali. One focuses on brawn, the other on brain. Needless to say, opposites attract and the rest is sexual chemistry. Oops, history.

I wanted to watch ‘Rocky Aur Rani’ with my mother, and she agreed to come along. She is a fan of typical Bollywood (minus the violence), and was happy to watch Bengalis on screen. Mentions of Bengalis triggers pleasant childhood memories in her.

I was mildly shocked to see the nepotism at play right in the beginning of the movie, when the song “Heart Throb” featured Varun Dhawan, Ananya Pandey, Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor. It distracted me from the rather delightful storytelling (with a voiceover by Ranveer Singh) about the Punjabi Randhawa family. The matriarch Dhanalakshmi, played by Jaya Bachchan in a manner reminiscent of the patriarch Amitabh Bachchan in K3G, is a self-made, successful businesswoman who treats her DIL in the same manner as how her MIL treated her. Rather shabbily, mildly put. The matriarch’s milder poet husband Kanwal (played by Dharmendra) suffers a fall early in their marriage, has partial amnesia and is unable to walk or care for himself. It is the tougher matriarch who provides for the family. She isolates her son from her husband and grooms him to be her arrogant successor. Now, she wants her grandson Rocky (played by Ranveer Singh) to take on the family business.

It was interesting to see how Rocky isn’t averse to working with her, even though she rules with fear. His passion for dancing remains hidden from the family, and he is unable to stand up for his mother or sister. Or himself, for that matter. He is well-behaved for the most part, perhaps a credit to his mother.

In a rather ‘tharki’ turn, Kanwal exclaims the name Jamini (after forcibly kissing a much younger woman who isn’t bothered by it) and the family doctor advises that they must find out who Jamini is. Jamini (played by Shabana Azmi) is Rani’s (played by Alia Bhatt) paternal grandmother, who had a brief extra-marital affair with Kanwal. As Karan Johar’s movies emphasise, rich people in unhappy marriages find empathetic soulmates in affairs (remember Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna?), but family always comes first. So, Dhanalakshmi continues to remain lonely, unhappily married and provides for her ailing husband and remainder of the family – something that’s ignored by the affair partners, and every other character.

Rani (a famous TV anchor who is educated in Delhi University and Colombia) agrees to help Rocky make their grandparents meet. While doing so, Rocky and Rani too fall in love. Watch the movie to see how both love stories end.

While I wasn’t thrilled with the casting of the parents on both sides (much like in Hindi TV serials, they looked of the same age as the lead characters), the casting of the grandparents was fantastic. The delightful usage of old Hindi film music, especially while flirting, was welcome too.

The movie touches upon a host of issues – impact of misogyny, assertive feminism, extra-marital affairs, domestic violence, objectification, fat-shaming, men who enjoy classical dancing (and people who oppose this), how education and lack of English skills don’t matter when it comes to matters of the heart, cancel culture (and how mild rich young men are affected by it – I am laughing as I type this), how DILs can bond with their MILs and SILs with their FILs. 

In K3G, the female protagonist (played by Kajol) was loud in dressing, under-educated and non-English speaking. Here, it is Rocky who is all of this, with one vital difference. He is rich. Super rich, in fact. This is the commonality that both families are bound by, and hence nobody needs to worry about marriage expenses or real differences in lifestyle or what happens if both Rocky and Rani give up their jobs. Perhaps the boondi laddoos will save all of them (Rani gets the recipe!), much like the matriarch did.

Oppenheimer (2023)

A few months ago, when I got to know that Oppenheimer was going to be released in 2023, I had mixed feelings. I did not want to see a movie that showed the “other side” regarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are others who felt the same way as me – the Japanese have delayed the movie from being screened in Japan. Yet, I remained curious, particularly since I knew about Albert Einstein and his pacifist ideas. Perhaps I could learn something from this movie too about some of the greatest physicists the world has known.

And I did learn. More from Christopher Nolan, i.e. His storytelling is compelling and engaging as ever, and I hope to read “American Prometheus”, the book on which the movie is based.

The cast is fantastic – I particularly liked Robert Downey Jr, Josh Hartnett (such a delight that he was in ‘Pearl Harbour’ too) and yes Matt Damon – all big names. Cillian Murphy worried me in parts with his thin frame. I wasn’t surprised to learn that Oppenheimer is a patient of depression and schizophrenia, and was grateful that Nolan showed this aspect in a physical sense too. I almost expected stills from J. Edgar featuring Leonardo Di Caprio to be shown in this movie. That would have been interesting to see!

“Genius is no guarantee of wisdom. How could this man who saw so much be so blind?”

The Manhattan Project is an amalgamation of what happens when Physics, Armed Forces and Politics come together. The usual call to violence – some lives lost are better than more lives being lost – is opposed by Physicists who signed the Szilard petition including David Hill (Rami Malik in a persuasive role), and they are expectedly ignored.

“You drop a bomb, and it falls on the just and the unjust. I don't wish the culmination of three centuries of physics to be a weapon of mass destruction”

It was interesting to see the portrayal of women and womanising in the movie, and how sexism is prevalent in Science and Academia. Nolan doesn’t demonise the mistress nor places the wife on a particularly high pedestal – something that other moviemakers mirroring societal norms tend to do.

“Well, a fool or an adolescent presumes to know someone else's relationship, and you're neither, Lloyd.”

In 2023, Oppenheimer is the movie I have liked the most. I was happy to see Picasso’s painting ‘Woman sitting with crossed arms’ appear in the movie. I wonder what the world would have been like if a majority group of women Physicists had worked on the Manhattan Project.

I hope my father can watch it sometime - Physics always reminds me of him. If any of you like Science and politics come together, don’t miss it! 

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

As always, I was eager to watch Tom Cruise in the latest Mission: Impossible movie, particularly after seeing videos where he rides a motorcycle off a cliff and skydives. My jaw dropped while watching them.

When the movie released on July 12 and I couldn’t go to watch it in the same week, I thought my chance was gone. Over 3 weeks later, I achieved my personal mission impossible and went to the theatre – it turned out to be a great experience at Insignia.

 
As Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) wryly explains, IMF is not the International Monetary Fund but the Impossible Missions Force, and it takes on tasks that are classified as impossible by legitimate intelligence forces. This time, I found more than a touch of humour in the movie – the theatre burst into laughter at the scene when the 1957 yellow Fiat 500 appeared.

The plot is the usual – bad people have access to destructive power, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team take fascinating, improbable steps and prevent the destruction from being unleased. Each time, there is hope that Ethan will survive the mission and he does so. Unfortunately, the heroines are mostly not so lucky. I was genuinely disappointed to see Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) being eliminated.

I loved the scene where Ethan Hunt’s old id card is displayed. I am glad he has taken to aging well and we have authentic cinematic moments like this one. I also liked the implausible scene where he tells Grace (Hayley Atwell) that he will hold her life as more important than his own.

Ethan Hunt: [to Grace] I swear your life will always matter more to me than my own.
Grace: You don't even know me.
Ethan Hunt: What difference does *that* make?

Post this series, I am waiting to see how Tom Cruise guides the rest of his career. I hope he gets back to doing movies like ‘Rainman’ and ‘Jerry Maguire’. And yes, I hope he gets an Oscar one day!

Barbie (2023)

After watching the movie today, when I looked up ‘Barbie’ on Google, I was delighted to find my mobile screen turn pink. There were pink sparkles followed by a baby pink shade on the webpages. It was delightful and unexpected, and a marketing idea that I liked. Go ahead, do search!

Like many girls, I too have childhood memories of playing with a Barbie doll; in my case, they are hazy memories. Between the sibling, my mother and me, we could piece together the relationship. The sibling and I had bought the doll with our pocket money – I could recollect we had to pool around Rs. 300 to do this – and later we gave her away to someone in the extended family. She – the family member - is of my age, so I can’t fathom why we did this. Barbie didn’t exactly influence me though. I liked how well the clothes fit her, and I remember more than one outfit. I also remember her being blonde, and well-endowed. I didn’t know about the stereotypes associated with either factor. In fact, even as a teenager when I heard 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua, the stereotypes remained unknown.

When ‘Barbie’ released, I knew I wanted to watch it for two reasons – Greta Gerwig and Ryan Gosling. I stayed away from watching the trailer, reading reviews and was happy to see that the movie was being touted as a feminist take – something I have come to expect from Greta.

The movie is set in ‘Barbie-land’ where different versions of Barbie live along with their boyfriend Ken. In the matriarchal world, Barbie calls the shots. She has her own place, spends nights with girlfriends and doesn’t get physical with Ken. Ken is a suitable bachelor, but Barbie isn’t interested in taking things ahead. What she does believe is this – “It is the best day ever. So was yesterday. And so is tomorrow and every day from now until forever.”

The Barbie version leading the story is the stereotypical Barbie, and when she suddenly finds herself talking about death and cellulite, she is asked to visit Weird Barbie. She gets to know that one of the girls who owns her is causing this distress, and she needs to visit the Real World to know why.

Accompanied by Ken – well, he insists on being there – she visits and to her shock, discovers how patriarchy works. Ken, to his utter delight, discovers how patriarchy works. Watch the movie to know what happens post that.

The overall casting and narration is perfect and I loved how Gosling played Ken. There is music (Dua Lipa!) and choreographed dance, and I love that he likes being part of such set-ups – it reminded me of ‘La La Land’. I have believed matriarchy too has ills, and the movie touches upon this idea. The women are wonderful and closely knit and somehow racially sensitive, and yet don’t hesitate in isolating the older Weird Barbie. Depressed Barbie left me with myriad thoughts – how did she find the energy to watch TV?

:)

The theatre had more school-going girls than usual, and I found it sweet to see one of them accompanied by only her father. Perhaps they chatted about the movie on their way back. The movie made me curious about Mattel’s financials, and whether the movie will have a positive impact on them. It was also good to know a bit more about the creator of Barbie, the doll.

Watch the movie. It is a delight, and I hope it does well at the Golden Globes – Musical or Comedy section.

Air (2023)

Last weekend, I wanted to watch one of ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ or ‘Before Midnight’, and found that while they were both available on OTTs, they weren’t available in India. I was very disappointed, but started going through the list of movies on Prime, and landed on ‘Air’.

‘Air’s cast intrigued me, and as I am a fan of Matt Damon, I decided to watch the movie without looking it up on Wikipedia first. To my utter surprise, I had landed on a sports drama – I love watching the ones made by Hollywood – and I carried on.

5 years ago, I had read ‘Shoe Dog’ and got to know a little bit more about Nike and Phil Knight. ‘Air’ presented another opportunity – I got to see how the marketing deal had been struck with a young Michael Jordon led by baseball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (played by Matt Damon), who had identified his greatness very early on. It was fascinating to see how Matt Damon captured the body language of an earnest middle-aged man in reasonably poor physical shape. However, I liked Viola Davis the best in the movie – she plays Deloris Jordan, Michael’s mother.

There are many lines that made me smile, and I loved this one.

“Everyone at this table will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up - except for you. You're gonna be remembered forever, because some things are eternal. You're Michael Jordan, and your story is gonna make us want to fly.”

After watching the movie, I read a bit more about Air Jordan, Michael Jordan, and his family. His father was shot dead in 1993 and Michael decided to retire from the NBA for the first time. His sister has indicated that she was sexually abused by their father, and I might read ‘In My Family’s Shadow’ written by her.

Similar to Jordan, there was expectation that Roger Federer would sign a lifetime deal with Nike, and that didn’t go through in 2018. I’ll not forget the “Advantage, Nadal” campaign in 2022 with Nike hailing him as the GOAT.

As an aside, Nike has been in the news for sexual harassment lawsuits, and I am waiting to see how it all ends. For now, watch ‘Air’.

Sanju (2018)

Since the early 90s, I have watched Sanjay Dutt’s movies and read about him in film magazines. I found him more realistic in ‘Khalnayak’ than ‘Saajan’, though I watched both mainly for Madhuri Dixit-Nene and in 2019, I went to see their pairing in ‘Kalank’.

As for Sunil Dutt, Sanjay’s father, I was happy to see him feature in the remixed song with Deepika Padukone in ‘Om Shanti Om’. My main memory of him is associated with ‘Mera Saaya’.

Watching ‘Sanju’ was difficult, mainly because it brought back so many memories. All those years ago, despite attempts by multiple film directors, I could clearly say, “I don’t understand anti-heroes” and didn’t spend time on knowing why a terrorist takes to arms, why drug addicts take to drugs, why people reconcile with lawbreakers many years later or why evidence is the cornerstone of justice. Simpler times, where one could effortlessly move on from one song to another, one movie to another. There was no question of watching the movie again, unless Doordarshan miraculously obliged.

While ‘Sanju’ has performed really well at the box-office and won accolades for Ranbir Kapoor, watching it left me feeling unsettled. I am experiencing fatigue related to jail scenes, police atrocity and underworld presence, and this movie had all of this. The movie does a good job of clarifying why Sanjay Dutt isn’t a terrorist, how stress can trigger episodes of drug abuse, how parents can bring up their children well and yet lose them to outside influences, how wives can be understanding and supportive of philandering husbands. Lots of fictional characters have found their way into the movie, and I stopped looking for reality once I realized this. 

Movie-watchers are from all age-groups, and I think about the children who would have had access to ‘Sanju’, much like me with ‘Saajan’ all those years ago. I have more admiration for ‘Saajan’ now – an orphaned disabled poet found a happy ending. Social media suggests Sanjay Dutt has found his happy ending too.

Drishyam (2013) and Drishyam 2 (2022)

Last year, a colleague kept recommending ‘Drishyam 2’ to me and said the Malayalam original is even better. Still recovering from the barely-watched ‘Tanhaji’ in 2020, I didn’t want to watch the Ajay Devgn starrer anytime soon and forgot all about it.

This year, I got reminded of the movie and started watching it one night on Amazon Prime. The movie gripped me, and even as I was piecing the story together over multiple weekends, I kept wondering why Shriya Saran was cast as the wife and Ishita Dutta as the elder daughter – in real life, they have an 8-year age gap and they didn’t come across as mother-daughter at all.

That’s the only grouse I have against the movie. The rest of the movie is well-paced, well-written and I was happy to see the crucial role played by the manuscript of a book. The interplay of everyday settings, law, law enforcement and trauma portrayal delighted me, and I felt sad for both Ajay Devgn and Tabu’s characters. Tabu resigns from her powerful job in addition to dealing with personal loss.

PTSD and neurological impact of trauma is strongly associated with men from Defense Services, and I was happy to see how well it was woven into the story and portrayed by the civilian elder daughter. There is far more awareness required regarding PTSD in women, particularly related to voyeurism and self-defence.

I then decided to watch ‘Drishyam’ in Malayalam – I am familiar with both Mohanlal and Meena, and I read that Asha Sharath had done a good job. My first attempt flopped. I found a version on YouTube and the subtitles couldn’t be turned on. I watched for a bit, understood a bit, but knew that I couldn’t continue doing both. I then took a mobile subscription to Disney Hotstar.

I kept thinking how old Mohanlal is, but surprisingly he and Meena didn’t look mismatched and the child stars were excellent. I liked how casually sex talk was woven into the script – as one example, the lines around villagers being normal as they watched adult movies on cable TV made me smile. I didn’t smile at the sexist references related to kitchens, vessels and shopping.

One can be right and have no evidence to prove it - Asha Sharath’s character showcases this unhappy situation well. One can be ethical, make grave mistakes and have family support – the elder daughter showcases this well.  

The male protagonist played by Mohanlal / Ajay Devgn is hugely inspired by movies, and it is sad to see that ‘Drishyam’ has inspired more than one murder in the country. I am not sure what ‘Drishyam 3’ has in store, but I am more likely to watch it in Malayalam as I liked Meena way more than Shriya Saran.

Vikram Vedha (2022)

 

Even though the Tamil original of 'Vikram Vedha' received better reviews and performed well at the box office, I went ahead and watched the Hindi remake. While watching the trailer, I couldn't understand Madhavan's dialogue delivery clearly and felt I'd understand the Hindi version better. Vijay Sethupathi caught my eye, and I hope to watch one of his movies soon.

After many stylistic elements, I was glad to see the story settle into a nice rhythm. The inherent violence in encounter killings is well captured, and much like in Quentin Tarantino movies, the usage of music (Raj Kapoor songs in this case) is interesting.

I felt happy that the honest cop is helped by the gangster - when his department lets him down - and liked the portrayal of moral dilemmas right through. The way the movie ends - in a standoff - a sequel could well follow, though the box office performance might prevent it from being made. At the same time, I'd be interested in watching the role of law and the lawyer after this stage :)

I watched the movie mainly for Hrithik Roshan, and wasn't disappointed. I did think about how Saif Ali Khan would have played the gangster - the UP setting reminded me of his portrayal in 'Omkara'. I understand greys well, but life is certainly easier in black and white. Or is it? 

Kantara (2022)

In search of stories different from the ones I have been exposed to, I landed on ‘Kantara’. I had read that it featured the ‘Kambala’ – an annual buffalo race held in Tulu Nadu, Karnataka – and that the movie was high grossing. I was eager to know more about the buffalo race, and decided to watch the original Kannada version with English subtitles – I am happy when I can understand some words from other languages, and the music seems more relatable too.

The movie offered much more. I got to know about ‘Buta Kola’, the ritualistic dance performance similar to ‘Theyyam’ of Kerala, the Varaha Avathar (Panjurli Daiva) and Guliga Daiva, how young boys are initiated into the dance performance, and the role it plays in mediating disputes in villages. I first read about ‘Theyyam’ in ‘Nine Lives’ by William Dalrymple, and know about the role of caste in these dance performances. The movie touched upon casteism – the landlord asks for the house to be ‘purified’ after the Kambala athlete touches him.

I loved how the story focused on an upright forest officer who is tasked with converting villagers’ land into a forest reserve, and how the villagers react to this. Morals and loyalty are questioned more than once, and the story’s love angle is the one between the Kambala athlete and a lady forest guard who hails from the same community. The love angle is set in 1990s – more than 30 years from today – and the intersectionality of patriarchy and casteism can be seen. The long-suffering wife of the landlord could have been given some more dialogues.

After seeing the depiction of widespread consumption of alcohol among male characters, I read that the earlier Karnataka government (2023 elections are done!) considered lowering the legal age of alcohol consumption from 21 to 18. I will look up alcohol consumption patterns sometime.

A sequel is expected, and I hope to watch that too.

A Man Called Otto (2022)

Photo courtesy www.imdb.com

Warning: mentions of suicide

When I read that Tom Hanks was playing an aging widower in ‘A Man Called Otto’, I got interested in watching the movie. I love actors who play age-appropriate roles – the depth they lend to characters by their sheer presence is immense. And this is Tom Hanks, after all, so expectations were high.

Otto is a widower who is seriously contemplating suicide post his wife’s demise. He tries multiple ways to end his life, but all his attempts are thwarted by other people – who don’t know he is thinking of ending his life. His character is a contrast from the character played by Robert De Niro in ‘The Intern’ – Niro’s character accepted his wife’s demise and leads his life well.

Otto’s loneliness, grief and suicidal thinking is captured in an authentic manner, and reminded me of some days from my past. Otto struggles through daily life, missing his wife constantly. He keeps her clothes around, gets angry when someone tries to touch her stuff, and visits her grave and talks to her. He lost his parents early – we don’t know anything about his wife Sonya’s family – has no children, has severed connections with his neighbours and has accepted a retirement package from his company. The scene where the cake printed with his image is cut is poignant – I am now clear that I won’t get photographs of any person printed on cakes!

His life turns around when a pregnant mother of Mexican origin moves as his neighbour, along with her husband and 2 daughters. My exposure to Hispanics is only via movies, and she doesn’t disappoint – she is warm, chatty, straightforward and a great cook. She slowly draws Otto out from his shell – he reminds her of her father who is no more. He enjoys her cooking without being patronising.

I like movies in simpler, everyday settings that focus on how people interact with each other. The movie touches upon the treatment of transgender persons (a trans man has been cast in the role), men who are effeminate, interracial friendships. Added to this is the interactions with neighbourhood animals.

The book on which the movie is based in set in Sweden, and I am keen on reading it as it features an Iranian immigrant.

Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar (2023)

After watching movies featuring Ranbir Kapoor regularly, I somehow lost interest and missed watching many of them. When “Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar” was going to be released, I had no idea that Arijit Singh has done playback singing for Ranbir many times over. The songs looked good to me – even if they reminded me of “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani”, released a decade ago.

It piqued my interest when I read that Shraddha Kapoor’s character was a bit different, and in search of something light to watch, I decided to go for this movie. I had the sibling's company as well.

Firstly, it was wonderful to see Gurugram and generally happy, flirty Punjabi characters again – they remind me of some great times in my life. Shades of “Hitch” made me smile – it is now much easier to appreciate the easy-going break-ups rather than dramatic ones!

It was interesting to see how the joint family was portrayed differently for both Ranbir and Shraddha, with Ranbir enjoying the warmth and general camaraderie and Shraddha struggling with not having space to just be and watching her educated mother give up her dreams. I loved the dialogue delivery of both Dimple Kapadia and Hasleen Kaur, who play Ranbir’s mother and sister. The ease with which they portrayed the healthy family unit was lovely. Ranbir’s sister spends plenty of time at her maternal home along with her daughter – and this was also a nice touch. I heartily laughed at the sequences shot during the car ride and airport featuring the nonstop banter in Ranbir’s side of the family.

Now come the tougher observations. In the fight that takes place on the day of their engagement, even if Ranbir’s character wants to make it easier for Shraddha’s character (watch the movie to know why), the way he asks her if she is fucking dumb and how she should have asked him before applying to a job in a different city left much to be desired.

Shraddha’s character makes it clear that she wishes to lead her life in a nuclear family unit, and as movies would have it, the warmth of the joint family wins her over and she gets happily married and settled into her life in one – in short, the hero “rescues” her, with her MIL even helping her after a drunken night and not expecting her to do any housework. What happens to her independent streak and fractured equation with her side of the family is left completely unaddressed – her mother makes an appearance only in the last scene when Shraddha has a baby.

Earlier, Shraddha does indicate that Ranbir’s life wouldn’t change post marriage. Later, she happily takes to playing golf with him – as if adapting to his hobbies isn’t a change by itself. She likes to run – he is not shown as having taken to it! It so happens his best friend is married to her best friend - else I would have liked to know who she spends more time with.

Dimple is shown as an undemanding, genial MIL – I wonder what it would be like to see the story from her side, where she takes care of everything for her son and DIL and spares them all labour. Also, when she repeatedly slaps her adult 30+ year old son (even post his wedding, even after he says it is abusive) and his best friend, it isn’t clear why she wouldn’t do the same to the women in her family.

By no means are relationships all fun and frolic – routine life and responsibilities do take over. In midst of this, sparing some time to look at structural inequity and patriarchal expectations is necessary. And yes, pyaar hota kayi baar hai! 

The Elephant Whisperers (2022)

Place: Mumbai
Date: January 2023
Mode: Netflix

I am not a regular viewer of content on OTT platforms, and hence am out of most conversations regarding content, but I have slowly developed a taste for listening to others talking about content. I like to see their animated faces when they discuss something they have watched.

Oscar 2023 season is here, and I have watched 2 movies that have garnered nominations – ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. I have also watched the Oscar nominated poignant documentary on Netflix – ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, set in Mudumalai National Park, India. I didn’t understand the dialect fully, but could follow it quite a bit. The documentary is well edited and captures the grandeur of nature and tribal customs beautifully.

A tribal couple Bomman and Belli take care of an orphaned elephant Raghu, and later Ammu, and make them part of their family. Belli lost her first husband to a tiger attack that left her enveloped in fear. Unfortunately, she also lost her daughter post that and is the caretaker to her young granddaughter.

Bomman and Belli spend time together to take care of Raghu and Ammu, and become close. When they have to give up Raghu, the couple is distraught, but has no choice. Ammu’s presence makes the parting more bearable, and Raghu continues to recognise them once he grows up. I found myself cheer for Raghu and Ammu’s recovery, and for the couple as well. Belli eventually overcomes her fear for staying out at night. This is my idea of posttraumatic growth. 

The binding force of love – between humans and elephants, elephants and nature, humans and nature, and finally between humans – is delightful to watch. This is my idea of romance.

Pathaan (2023)

Place: Mumbai
Date: February 2023
Mode: Theatre

I last watched Shah Rukh Khan in the theatre in ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ in 2017. I was in midst of a psychotic episode, and back then, my family and I didn’t know that mental stimulation must be kept to a minimum. My parents felt watching a movie will keep me away from being online, so we went to a nearby theatre. Post the movie, I resumed writing incoherently – this time, including references from the movie!

I am glad that I went back to the same theatre to watch Shah Rukh in ‘Pathaan’. I have been his fan since childhood, mainly because his characters (and dance moves) seemed to treat women with more kindness, humour and respect when compared to other heroes of his generation. Also, whether intentional or not, there is intelligence that found its way into his dialogues.

All of this continues in ‘Pathaan’ as well. I liked how geopolitics found mention, and was surprised to see that songs were kept to a minimum. Shah Rukh has slowed down in his dance moves – age doesn’t spare anyone – and I am glad that his character doesn’t turn rogue.

I laughed at some of the dialogues, and could hear myself laugh in the fairly empty theatre. Shah Rukh still gets me to laugh, and this is a precious tie to my childhood. The highlight of the movie for me was watching Shah Rukh and Salman share screen space, and banter. Both are 57 years old, and are still able to attract audiences to theatres. I saw children at the 8:15 p.m. show, so younger audience is also familiar with them. I am also happy that an older woman (Dimple Kapadia) had a pivotal role– it reminded me of Judi Dench in James Bond films.

Deepika Padukone’s character could have been fleshed out better and given better action sequences. I feel Aishwarya Rai does a much better job with action sequences – her movement is fantastic, so perhaps a friendly chat can help. For her personal stance and experience with #BoycottBollywood, Deepika seems made of stern stuff.