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?