Movie Reviews and More ...

The Girl on the train (2021) directed by Ribhu Dasgupta Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Kirti Kulhari, Avinash Tiwary, Aditi Rao Hydari and Tota Roy Chowdhary.  So how does one ruin a best selling novel in its Indian cinematic adaptation? Hmm let me think, the direction is first rate, the screenplay-editing- technically everything is fine then how? Simple, just cast an incompetent artist in the titular role, goal accomplished. Story ruined, perfect case of imperfect casting. Can you imagine Neetu Singh as Umrao Jaan or Jaya Bhaduri in Satyam Shivam Sundaram or maybe Sonam Kapoor in Tumhari Sulu? Add Miss Chopra to that list.  The story is full of intrigue, for any mystery genre lover this is without a doubt a scrumptious buffet spread to binge on. A young woman battling alcoholism and amnesia along with recent miscarriage, divorce and an in active job finds solace in an voyeuristic obsession that turns complicated after an unexpected murder!  Now she has to not only prove her ow...

ASUR (2020) directed by Oni Sen  Cast: Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Riddhi Dogra, Anupriya Goenka, Sharib Hashmi, Pawan Chopra, Amey Wagh, Gaurav Arora, Vishesh Bansal, Deepak Qazir, Nishank Verma, Sunil Raghuvanshi, Kailash Pal, Ekta Tiwari, and others.  Bingo! If one sits through the seven episodes of this web-series you’ll get the feeling it’s a masterpiece in Indian history of crime thrillers, perfect blending of science and mythology! Beautifully delved deep into the mystical world of ancient myth and connected with forensic science. And then you watch the finale and feel like shaking up the makers and ask why the hell did you end it like this? Yup, the climax is a major let down.   Set in present day Delhi it’s a gripping edge of the seat tale of a psychopath serial killer on a murderous streak who seems to be killing victims at random leaving behind the ‘Asur’ mask to take undue credit for the crime committed. Two forensic officers from the CBI team try solving the ...

DRISHYAM 2 (2021) directed by: Jeetu Joseph Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Siddiqui, Asha Sarath, Ansiba, Esther, Murali Gopi, Dinesh Prabhakar, Anjali Nair, Joy Mathew, Ajith Kothhatukulum, Anish Menon, Antony Premabavur, Ganesh Kumar & others.  The prequel was remade in multiple languages and a major hit almost in all, the Hindi version even resulted in hilarious memes at that time, this sequel is by far one of the best executed thriller scoring high in impeccably perfect continuity.  Malayalam cinema has certainly spread its creative wings and risen much above its other counterparts in the country by delving Deep into complex subjects specially in the mystery genre. While Drishyam had an super impressive crime premise, the sequel deals with the aftermath, the story progresses six years further dealing with the undercover investigation hunting the missing boy’s body/skeleton and the investigating officer’s relentless trials to put Georgekutty (Mohanlal) behind the bars.  ...

A SIMPLE MURDER (2020) directed by Sachin Pathak  Cast- Mohammed Z Ayub, Amit Sial, Sushant Singh, Priya Anand, Ayaaz Khan, Gopal Dutt, Vikram Kochhar, Yashpal Sharma and others.  Warning: In case you cannot comprehend black comedies you need to skip this, this is an out and out black or as they call it nowadays dark comedy. So the proceedings may be undigestible for certain viewers. Streaming on Sonyliv  The story is infused with comical coincidences including mice that create humorous errors leading to complicated yet entertaining repercussions. A young guy high on debt is erroneously assigned the deadly job of assassinating a politician’s daughter who has eloped with a Muslim boyfriend. He ends up killing the wrong girl, the victim’s partner is a retired contract killer who’s now on a mission to nab the killer, and wait there are some more interesting characters. The young man’s wife is cheating on him with her virile boss who in turn was having a scandalous affair wi...

GULLAK (2020-2021) directed by Amrit Raj Gupta  Cast- Jameel Khan, Geetanjali, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Harsh Mayar, Sunita Rajawar and others.  This slice of life web-series has two seasons streaming on SonyLiv and is an TVF original presentation. Must watch.  Simple, relatable, down to earth, not describing a prospective bride or groom, these are the attributes for this slice of life web series titled Gullak, it could’ve been a real life story happening in your own home or the neighbourhood. Set in a middle class North Indian family of the Mishra’s it deals with their daily humorous as well as emotional situations (mostly arising out of comical goof ups) that’ll undeniably touch the emotional chord of viewers.  You could well be transported back to the memorable Doordarshan days when we had family comedies like Wagle Ki Duniya(1988) and Yeh Duniya Ghazab Ki(1990) and so many others bereft of television glamour and high on content. Gullak has that nostalgic feel to it. T...

The eternal ice maiden of Hindi cinema, gorgeous, talented, beautiful Meenakshi Sheshadri , when one thinks of her it’s her ice cold Meenu Mausi image that pops up instantly, but she did have an unusually untapped Indian sex appeal which impressed a certain fan base and film makers such as Raj Kumar Santoshi. Looking back at five roles that Meenu almost missed playing, trivia provided;  She was crowned Miss India in 1981 at age 21 and became a top league star in the 80s Bollywood. Her first major movie with the reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan was Tinnu Anand’s Shahenshah (1988) but she was not the first or even second choice for the role. Sridevi was being desperately pursued for the role, she declined as she wanted a role parallel to Bachchan’s. Second choice Dimple happily signed the movie but was dropped for unknown reasons, it is alleged she did not even return the fifty thousand worth signing amount. So Meenu Mausi was the third and final choice for this role. Tinnu Anand...

Scam 1992(2020) directed by Hansal Mehta  Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Rajat Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, Ananth Mahadevan, Shreya Dhanwantari, Shadaab Khan, Nikhil Dwivedi, Mamik Harmeet, K K Raina, Lalit Parimoo, and others.  Ten episodes long , averaging 52 minutes each episode, what would be your reaction at the end? Exhausted? Not in this case. It’s a fulfilling experience to relish these longish episodes and feel hungry for more after it ends. By far the most perfect web series made in India.  Adapted from the book “The Scam” authored by renowned journalist Sucheta Dalal, it’s a biographical account of one of the most intriguing and influential personalities in the history of Indian financial scams, Harshad Mehta! Chronicling his rise from a chawl to high rise Bombay lifestyle, it showcases the intricate details of how he as a common man with an uncommon grit and intellectual manipulated the stock market in the 80s and early 90s leading to the expose of the infamous scam 1992....

JL50 (2020)  Directed by: Shailendra Vyas  Cast: Pankaj Kapur, Abhay Deol, Piyush Mishra, Ritika Anand, Rajesh Singh and others.  Sonyliv has been streaming some amazing series from the past one year with Scam 1992 topping the favourite charts almost everywhere. JL50 is an sci-fi series. Considering the four episodes with each averaging to about 35 mins each it can well be a feature film converted to web-series.  In 2019 a plane crashes into a valley, it’s got mysterious undertones considering the plane had departed for its journey way back in 1984 and had mysteriously disappeared into thin air. The sudden emergence of this lost plane after 35 years causes a sudden psychological tremor for the investigators.  With all the crew members and passengers dead and only two survivors who luckily survived because they were in the cockpit that crashed atop a hill, one the pilot and other, a strange and mysterious man with murderous eyes. The pilot claims she belongs to ...

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...

Circa 1993- the entire film industry was flabbergasted by the highly provocative song Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai from Subhash Ghai’s magnum opus Khalnayak(1993). The suggestive lyrics were labelled crass, vulgar and demeaning. The dance steps were adjudged below the belt and a universal ban was suggested strongly by some industry insiders, Mahila morchas and certain “progressive” parties of the time.  Subhash Ghai known as the showman of the film industry was already a veteran by 1993 and defended the song with points like; 1. The situation demanded a song like that where the heroine is seducing the villain.  2. The song begins with Choli Ke peeche kya hai but is answered with choli Mein dil hai Mera. So no vulgarity.  3. Lyricist like Anand Bakshi and music composers Laxmikant Pyarelal being veterans wouldn’t stoop low Ghai’s defence wasn’t accepted by the protestors who demanded the song being scrapped at any cost. While Ghai was adamant that the song was an integral part...