PAGGLAIT (HINDI) (2021)

This is the story of Sandhya Giri, a young woman widowed within few months after her arranged marriage. To the surprise of those around her, Sandhya is unable to grieve for her deceased husband as she finds that he was little more than a stranger to her. The story unfolds over the days when she along with the extended family go through the motions of last rites and picking up the pieces of their hitherto carefully ordered life. Sandhya embarks on an inner journey of discovery of her husband, his world &  rediscovery of her own self, her priorities and purpose in life.

Despite dealing with a dark and difficult theme, writer-director Umesh Bist succeeds in consistently mining sparkling humour from the morbid moments as well the muddle of the mundane household milieus (like the calling bell tunes) in equal measure and with effortless ease.  Conversations  suffused with sharp wit and impressive art direction create an authentic lived in feel of a house nestled in the bylanes of small town India.

The movie benefits from the abundant talents of a top notch supporting cast consisting of a mix of dependable veterans like Ashutosh Rana, Sheeba Chaddha, Raghuveer Yadav, Rajesh Tailang, Sayani Gupta, Jameel Khan along with the rest of lesser known actors who excel in their respective parts. Ashutosh Rana and Sheeba Chaddha are exceptional as the grieving parents smouldering in sorrow after their catastrophic loss and trying to get a grip on their chaotic reality. 

Nevertheless, the movie belongs to Sanya Malhotra who is spectacular as she gets into the skin of her character of Sandhya Giri and owns it completely. This is a superlative performance as she manages to effortlessly navigate between moments of morose loss and mirth and is sure to establish her as an actor par excellence. 

Umesh Bist's writing strikes a subtle balance at multiple levels  - adding healthy doses of humour while avoiding caricatures; has its share of poignant moments without descending into loud melodrama; manages to capture the complex dynamics of an extended family without creating any evil villains. While Pagglait might share some resonance with Vikas Bahl's Queen, I reckon it is a bigger challenge to pull off and director Umesh Bist deserves kudos for his deft handling of this difficult theme.

MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

OTT - NETFLIX

MASTER (TAMIL) (2021)

An alcoholic professor is forced to teach in a correctional home for young offenders. He is pitted against a dreaded criminal who maintains a strangle hold on the institution and forces the children there to commit violent crimes on his behalf.

After two back to back hits in Maanagaram and Kaithi,  director Lokesh Kanagaraj hits a hat trick as he delivers a major star powered action blockbuster. In Master, Lokesh strikes a sweet spot between making his own kind of film and a star vehicle for a larger than life star like Vijay. 

In the process, he shatters multiple star movie myths and proves that - 

- a star movie can indeed exist without a mandatory hero introduction song or forced duets in exotic locales

- it is indeed possible to write a decent story and place the star at the center of it rather than stringing a series of fanboy servicing moments and call it a BIG movie.

- the antagonist need not be a mere one-note caricature; in fact, if he can be strong(er) and could have a solid backstory, it helps the movie and elevates the hero

- comical moments can be written seamlessly into the narrative and you don't need a separate comedy track with Yogi Babu or Satish or such others

- the hero need not be a macho invincible and could be clueless or could even depend on others to save the day / damsel in distress.

- even a three hour movie could be fairly engaging and not feel too much of a drag.

Lokesh sparkles with his writing in the manner in which he has  created a hero who is both fallible and vulnerable, a villain who is forged in a crucible of crime as well as pain and is not a mere pushover, the way he weaves comical elements seamlessly into the narrative, the references to multiple hit movies from the past including Vijay's and his own earlier hits.  He has a penchant for writing crackling confrontation scenes suffused with tension as well as effective action set pieces. Anirudh's rocking score and peppy songs amp up the energy of key sequences.

Vijay seems to have mastered the art of looking fresher and younger with each passing movie. He owns the character of JD in all its swag as well as failings and he delivers in aces.  Vijay Sethupathi is excellent in radiating effortless evil and menace and mixes it up with his own style of casual and comical banter. 

Lokesh has managed to make his signature style mass movie - a paisa-vasool entertainer - and deserves plaudits for succeeding admirably for the most part.

MASTER BLASTER !!

RATING - 3.5/5

DELHI CRIME (HINDI/ENGLISH) (20200

This web series directed by Richie Mehta recounting the Nirbhaya investigation in a seven part mini series packs a gut punch.

With sharp writing and crisp editing, the series dives right into the action and does not let go till the last episode.

Apt casting and solid performances - especially, Shefali Shah, Rajesh Tailang, Rasika Duggal and Adil Hussain along with a host of supporting cast who put in sincere performances.

Richly deserved the Emmy honours.

A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

PS - Streaming on Netflix

JERSEY (TELUGU) (2019)

Jersey would definitely rank among the notable sports dramas I have enjoyed recently. The entire team has excelled.

Nani is spot on as the cricketer out to prove himself well beyond the conventionally accepted shelf life. He seems to have hit a purple patch with back-to-back good outings with Jersey after Gang Leader. Shraddha Srinath is among the better actresses in the latest crop. She does well in a character which could have been better written.

Director Gowtam Tinnanuri's sophomore effort (after an above average debut with Malli Raavaa) is  sincere and tugs at the heart without being too melodramatic. He is remaking this in Hindi with Shahid Kapoor (🤞🏽).

After, Dear Comrade, this is another commendable cricket based drama from Tollywood which hits most of the right notes.

VERY SATISFYING WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5 

PS - Streaming on Zee5

Mookuthi Amman (Tamil) (2020)

This movie has an intriguing premise that pits a God against a self-proclaimed Godman. 

It has its moments which shine brilliantly. But, those are few and far between; for the most part, it fumbles to hold our attention as it wavers wildly between getting too serious or too silly for its own good.

Nayantara continues to dazzle and gets the Amman role just right. RJ Balaji is competent as an actor, but falls short as a director (co-directed with NJ Saravanan).

What could have been a sharp satire slips into something that is just so-so.

AN AVERAGE FLICK !!

RATING - 2.5/5

PS - Streaming on Disney+Hotstar

SOORARAI POTRU (TAMIL) (2020)

This biopic is inspired by the life of Captain Gopinath and recounts the struggles faced by him to realise his dream of making the common man fly at an affordable cost by establishing a low cost airlines.

Director Sudha Kongara is no stranger to the realm of the triumph of underdog. Her impressive debut, Irudhi Suttru which was set in the world of professional women boxers belonged to the same template. Her narrative here is fairly predictable, loaded with genre cliches, "mass" scenes to service the star and packs very little to set it apart except for the character of Bommi (Aparna Balamurali - a revelation) and her dynamic with Maaran (Suriya). 

 

The film benefits greatly from the exceptional performances from the ever reliable Suriya, Aparna Balamurali who holds her own in a spunky role. GV Prakash Kumar has embellished the narrative with a memorable album filled with superbly penned songs set to catchy tunes.

While the predictable narrative with some noticeable lag in the latter portions and the synthetic massy moments apply brakes to the narrative, the movie remains eminently watchable. It is by far, the best Tamil flick to find direct OTT release till date and cruises along like a turbo-prop in delivering a value-for-money viewing experience.

Alas, it could have easily been a Dreamliner and soared much higher. 

EMINENTLY WATCHABLE !

RATING - 3.5/5

PS - Streaming on Amazon Prime

SCAM 1992 (HINDI) (2020)

The ten part web series directed by Hansal Mehta is easily the best I've seen yet among Indian shows.

Based on a book by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Sahu, this balanced narrative is well acted especially from the lead Pratik Gandhi who lives the role and ably supported by Shreya Dhanwantry, Rajat Kapoor, Anant Mahadevan, Satish Kaushik who are excellently in their own parts; 

The title track from Achint Thakkar is catchy and hooks you immediately; the episodes clock along crisply at a healthy momentum and the series also benefits immensely by staying true to the Gujju roots of its lead characters.

Kudos to the entire team👍🏽

MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5 

PS - Streaming on SonyLiv