JAWAAN (2023) : review

-
Image
And finally the much hyped, much awaited Jawaan saw light of the day ! Big stars, big budget( humongous budget actually), big music composer, everything super large. But does it meet the expectations of the average viewer? No it goes not. Read on.  A decorated jawan locks horns with a criminal called Kaali, this is in 1986 ( the year movies like Aakhri Raasta released, just for reference). Kaali gets him eliminated and send the pregnant wife to jail. The baby born in jail grows up to become the hero (look alike of the father) and decides to avenge the misdeeds done to his innocent patriotic parents. Well, isn’t it a masaaledaar full on Bollywood- Tollywood drama subject ?  And then the director Atlee also borrows ideas and references from various retro movies, some idea from Sholay (1975) as the hero assembled a gang of jailed Qaidis in order to form a team to nab the villain, then there’s an entire episode borrowed from Dhartiputra (1993), and the basic theme is copy pasted ...
Post a Comment

AAPLA MANUS

-
AAPLA MANUS (2018)

Directed by: Satish Rajwade 

It is quite pleasant to see Marathi cinema coming of age and invading territories which have been very rarely experimented with, “Aapla Manus” might appear like a boring tear jerker family drama because of that title but it’s actually a psychological thriller playing on the psyche of the viewers as well as the characters therein. 

The movie begins on a stormy night when an old man is found fallen off the balcony of his flat in a high rise apartment. A tough disciplined investigating cop Maruti Nagargoje ( Nana Patekar) is assigned the task to crack the mystery behind this fall, besides his quest to uncover the truth whether it was an accident, suicide or murder the movie also delves deep into today’s urban lifestyles adapted by sophisticated ambitious youngsters who tend to neglect older parents in a bid to flourish their own careers. 

Director Rajwade has attempted a novel concept based on a play titled Katkon Trikon but his direction isn’t flawless, whilst directing a mystery genre film you can’t ignore certain technicalities that can actually enhance the overall impact for instance the background music is weak and so is the screenplay which tends to lose grip. Most sequences are shot within the Flat which can give a claustrophobic feeling to the viewers and being a crime thriller there is very little liberty available to the director. Something related to this genre was last adapted in Marathi films in Ratra Arambh (1998). 

Nana Patekar is fantastic in his performance, his dialogue delivery takes the cake here. He has laughed heartily & cried bitterly wherever required & he is most definitely the highlight of this thriller. To his credit Patekar hasn’t gone over the top neither has he tried to dominate the film. Sumeet Raghavan & Iravati Harshe as the Upper class couple who get embroiled in the web of deceit and are the major suspects play their respective roles sincerely. Ashish Kulkarni as the couple’s friend & Savita Malpekar as the inquisitive maid have very limited screen time. 

While watching the film it’s very clear that the director as well as the earnest producer ( Bollywood star Ajay Devgun) were relying confidently on the strong shoulders of Patekar to carry the film. There is no doubt Patekar has done a splendid job and delivers a flawless act but both the direction & production values have questionable loopholes which ultimately lead to a brilliant concept weighed down by few technical hiccups. Overall a must watch for Patekar Fans & if you like the psychological crime thriller genre. 
⭐️⭐️

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FLASHBACK# An Affair To Remember ?

-
Image
Asha Bhosle and Dada Kondke? Seriously ? I’ll be dubbed insane to link these two veterans. But it’s one little known, never discussed, lost in clandestine Bollywood history romance (?) which was described in detail by the late actor in his controversial autobiography “Ekata Jeev” which was posthumously published.  In the biography there is a special chapter titled “Asha Nirasha” wherein Kondke has gone at length discussing about his tumultuous affair with the greatest songstress of all times. Kondke still a rising upcoming film actor at that time (1972) with only one hit to his credit was taken under her wings by the number two playback singer of Bollywood Asha Bhosle. Bhosle was at that time nursing a broken heart freshly wounded after a fourteen year long relationship with music maestro OP Nayyar had bitterly ended.  It is alleged Bhosle was depressed and found the right anchor in Kondke who in her eyes was the perfect jester to bring joy and happiness in her phase of rebou...
Read more

An uncut diamond called SARIKA

-
Image
There must surely be a really long list of artists in Bollywood who are termed underrated and under-utilised. One such actor is yesteryear’s sex symbol and more commonly known as Kamal Hasan’s ex Sarika ! It’s so unfortunate she’s labelled either of those two undeserving tags. Not that being referred to as a sex symbol is bad, but then she was much more than that.  Sarika was born in 1960 in a maharashtrian ‘Thakur’ family. Apparently the ‘father’ was conspicuous by his absence hence she was pushed into earning bread and butter at the age of six. When girls her age played with dolls, Sarika did the studio rounds as ‘Moppet Suraj’ mostly playing a little boy. From 1967-1975 through her transition from a child to a teenager she acted in notable films like Humraaz (1967), Aashirwad(1969), Khushboo(1975) and became a leading lady at 16 with Geet Gata Chal(1976) a surprise hit. Unfortunately her succeeding lead roles didn’t set the box office on fire, she was cast in a dozen disasters ...
Read more

Flashback# WHERE IS NEETA MEHTA?

-
Image
A tall, benign sophisticated woman clad in gerua robes, a picture of peace, epitome of spirituality, soft spoken and mature, nobody would guess this spiritually awakened yogini was once a glamorous Bollywood star! That’s 70s and 80s glamour girl Neeta Mehta who’s metamorphosed into a spiritual guru Maa with a new name Swami Nityanand Giri.  Neeta during a modelling shoot (1976)  Neeta Mehta was born in 1956 in an academically effluent Gujarati family. Not inclined towards academics she enrolled at FTII Pune acting course when she was only 16 and soon entered the glamorous Make belief world of Hindi cinema. Her debut Ponga Pandit(1975) opposite Randhir Kapoor was a runaway hit but success didn’t come knocking at Neeta’s door that easily. While her contemporaries were flooded with a dozen offers at one go, Neeta wasn’t exactly PR savvy and lagged behind in the rat race.  In a still from Ponga Pandit(1975) with Danny Dengzongpa and Prema Narayan.  She moved at a snail’...
Read more