Pink Review

DIRECTOR: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
STARRING: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Piyush Mishra
RATING: 4 stars

Let me start with a confession. I have been staring at my screen for  last half an hour, writing, deleting, writing and deleting again and feeling inadequate to come up with a review that would do justice to this film.

A crime is committed against three independent working women in Delhi but they are on a trial as the men who committed the crime are from a strong, well-connected political family.

The best thing about the film is its telling, its narrative. The film (right till the end) doesn’t show the actual sexual assault on women yet manages the viewers to empathize with them. The film never titillates, neither does it use disturbing visuals to cajole sympathy out of its viewers and it’s this non manipulative treatment of the film that makes it a class apart.

Little things in the movie stand out like the strong bond the three female protagonists share. There is a quotable quote in their house that reads, ‘What I love the most about this house is who I share it with.’

The first half, though slightly slow, shows the chain of events as is, without ever taking sides or preaching. It creates just the right build-up for the brilliant courtroom drama in the second half. Insightful questions are asked in the court room that expose the rather regressive mindset of us as a nation and how we have created such different rules for our women.

We as a nation keep telling our women to behave a certain way, dress a certain way, to even talk a certain way so that they are not misread or misunderstood, that they should be smart in order to be safe. They shouldn’t do anything that’s misread as ‘asking for it.’

There is such a simple yet effective scene where the lawyer asks Rajbir (Angad Bedi) about the hints that the accused lady (Taapsee) was giving him that made him conclude that she was ‘asking for it’ and he says, ‘She was smiling, laughing and touching me casually while talking.’ The lawyer keeps silent. That three-second silence shows the very absurdity of his answer and hypocrisy of our society. As a viewer, we shift in our seats, feeling guilty for briefly agreeing with Rajbir.

In fact, the lawyer makes a guide to women’s safety listing out bizarre rules for our women that they must follow to protect themselves. That’s sheer gold.

The film also subtly mentions how we treat Indians from the Northeast as second class citizens. Ritesh Shah has done a fine job with simple, effective dialogues.

There are just a few things I couldn’t get in the film. It’s not established who that lady in the hospital is who doesn’t lend much to the story. Also, there is a moment when Amitabh Bachchan calls a lady cop superwoman, a reference slightly far fetched.

The film packs powerful performances. Besides the lead cast, Vijay Verma as Rajbir’s friend is deliciously wicked and menacing. A special mention for Angad Bedi who emotes just right to bring out the deep-rooted misogyny of the Indian men.

There is a scene where Kirti Kulhari breaks down in the court. She starts screaming and confesses the crime through convulsive sobs and gasps, losing patience and voice. She is so convincing in the scene that I could feel every bit of her frustration.

So let me end on a personal note. We do have different rules for women and men. And I am not even talking about gender equality at work or in marriage. That’s a far cry. We deprive our women of the simplest, most innocent pleasures. I remember as kids we would go to our grandmother’s house during summer holidays. Every evening to beat the heat, all the boys would gather in the backyard, open the tap, fill buckets, use the hosepipe, bathe, shower and create a happy festive ruckus. All my female cousins no matter 3 or 13, would stand in one corner and just watch, fighting the temptation to join in and have fun.

You know we live in such confusing times. On one hand, the feminist in me will never want to tell my daughter, my niece how to dress, sit, talk, behave. I would never want to tell her anything that breaks her spirit or mars her natural behavior. But at the same time, we want to protect them. There is feminism but there is context as well. Till the time we achieve the utopian egalitarian world we need to choose our battles smartly. Maybe. Maybe not. But in such a dilemma comes a film that talks about how we must train our boys, not girls and ends with a simple two letter word that encapsulates the powerful message of the film.

Go with your families. With your kids. With your girls and your boys. It’s a film not to be missed. AT ALL.

This is my weekly review on Masala! For all my movie reviews, scroll down or click here- http://www.masala.com/movies/reviews

THE RATINGS MEAN:

5 stars: Loved it. (This could make to top ten movies you must watch before you die!)
4 stars: Liked it. Recommend it. (This will help you sound intellectual and give you stuff to add at water cooler conversations.)
3 stars: Didn’t hurt. Watch it once.
2 stars: It put me to sleep. Watch it if you are an insomniac or a newly wedded couple. Winks!
1 star: Do I even need to explain this?

Baar Baar Dekho Review

My very dearest Sid & Katrina,

I might not be Amitabh Bachchan and you, not my grandchildren, but since an open letter is the flavour of the season, so I thought I might as well.

You both carry a very valuable legacy on your tender shoulders — Sid, the legacy of your uncle Karan Johar, and Katrina, the legacy of your uncle, I mean…godfather…no, sorry… friend. Yes, friend! Salman Khan.

Both of you maybe a Malhotra or a Kaif, but you are also girls…oops I mean actors. Or so you would like to believe.

Sometimes people will make fun of your accent, Katrina. Don’t be bothered. You will have many people who would cast you in films anyway and justify that. Like in Baar Baar Dekho. You are not only born in England but to an English lady. See your bad Hindi is justified. Yet again.

And because you are good-looking, people will force their thinking on you, call you bad actors. They might be right. But ignore them. I think you both were brilliant in the film. Especially you, Katrina. There was a scene when you said and I quote, ”I feel nothing.” I believed you.

Don’t let anyone make you believe that the length of your skirt is a measure of your talent. You both have none. You have only skirts, so use them.

Don’t let big names affect your choices in films. Silly critics like me will tell you to read the script first. Ignore them. A film likeBaar Baar Dekho can go back and forth in time and confuse anyone. And don’t get me wrong. It’s not the screenplay that bogged my mind but the wigs. Every character’s wig was so weird, that in some parallel world, Medusa had a hearty laugh.

Don’t let anyone preach you about the inconsequential things like the depth in characters, their growth, and sundry. Jai can turn around and call Diya domineering. So what if she is not? So what if it looks contrived? At least it makes for a grave accusation to create some tension in their relationship. People like me will tell you to watch the amazing bathroom confrontation scene in Break Ke Baad. Don’t listen to them. They are Deepika fans. Hmpf.

Don’t let anyone sell you the importance of logic in a film. You can brush your teeth without toothpaste, neither on your brush, nor in your mouth. But it’s okay. You are allowed, you are gorgeous. Your director will create genuine crisis in a movie and slip into a romantic song the next moment. People will call it silly. Pay no attention. They don’t understand the importance of Thailand Darshan. Cambridge Darshan. London Darshan. Creating cities’ brochures in designer clothes is not child’s play. So revel in it.

At the end of the day, your director might not have any idea about modern-day relationships, the dilemma of personal and professional lives. All she would suggest is focus on small things. Don’t listen to her. Show her Break Ke Baad, first half. Love Aaj Kal, first half again. Keep her away from Yeh Jawaani Hain Deewani.

Katrina – the privilege your ex-boyfriends offer you will not protect you from the difficulties you will face. You know why? Because they are, well, ex.

Sid — by the time you see and understand this, I may well not be around. Your fans would have killed me on Twitter.  But I think what I am saying today will never be relevant. But I will keep saying it anyway.

It will be my honour to be known not as Lokesh Dharmani, the movie reviewer. The one who called out the lack of depth in your film, the superficial treatment, the half-baked characters and a climax, one could see from a mile. I would rather be known as your grandfather…er …a pained viewer who spent 30 precious five dirhams on your movie.

Your… dada…nana…actually no one. Just a viewer. And a reviewer.

Akira Review

Akira

Director- AR Murugadoss

Starring- Sonakshi Sinha

Rating- Blah!

Sonakshi Sinha has abandoned her “Saree ke faall’ sa act and she aint scared of thappad  or pyar or anything in between. Full points to her for trying something new, alas; there is nothing new in Akira that we haven’t seen. It’s almost like they replaced Sunny in Ghayal with Sonakshi in Akira.

Don’t get me wrong. The film was gripping in the first half. There is nothing sexier than a woman kicking some serious butts, but it slips intoSingham mode way too easily and way too quickly. You applaud the fight sequences for the first time, cheer for her the second time, get bored soon and feel like kuch bhi dot com towards the end of it.

 

Akira is an interesting story about a young, feisty woman who lands in a sticky situation. The first half shows slight potential and we hope it to lead to a spectacular second half where the bone crushing Akira would come face to face with the badass ACP Rana (Anurag Kashyap) and the popcorn in my bucket will become crunchier and crispier. Alas, I cried at the improbability of the second half so badly that tears rolled down into my popcorn adding more NaCl to the snack and making them soggier. Tch. Tch.

 

There are so many things that happen in Akira, things that look grave, demand all your attention but are forgotten conveniently. Bhai yeh Akira hain ya Ghajini.

 

A man with 800 million rupees dies in a car accident. And he was an important man. Damn importance. He had money, crazy stash of cash. Nobody seems to bother.

 

A woman dies in an apartment and there are no follow ups.

 

Then I wondered why they celebrated world disabled day? Why would a family disown a daughter because some random doctor suggested mental disorder in fancy jargon? And why was Konkana Sen Sharma’s character pregnant? What is the connection bro?

 

Their idea of clever scenes begins with lines like, “Main Jodhpur chod ke nahi jaungi.” Cut to Sonakshi Sinha slipping into JodhpuriChappals. Jodhpur….Jodhpuri…geddit geddit?

 

And then the clichés. Oh man the clichés. In every Ghayal, Damini kind of film, we need to have a bechari ma, an upright papa, an honest professor, some college goons and some deo-deprived policemen!! And guys, no bullets in my gun at a crucial moment is so 1980s. Like really!?

 

Paaapaa I feel so bad for Sonakshi. I mean here she is trying hard to break the ghagra-choli image and all she gets are these scenes where she has to give ‘the look’. You know the typical Bollywood serious look where curly locks hide your angry face and your droopy eyes turn red in the name of Bollywood intensity. She looks more like the Undertaker in Fab India. And then she stumbles her way, because all people under sedation can’t walk straight. Yes and all people under sedation can beat an entire army of police to a frigging pulp with much precision and alertness. Yes, that makes sense, sure!

 

Anurag Kashyap as the mean cop looks menacing and evokes disgust. His introductory scene of him rolling a joint looks like an ode to his own film Dev D.

The best thing about Akria is that she can fight. She could be sedated, bleeding, sleeping, dying, but she single handedly beats everyone to a pulp because, hey, she is shown learning Karate in school, for two days. Well, when bhai can train for 2 hours and win an Olympic gold in Sultan, why can’t our women achieve the impossible. I am just happy. The film ended. And the weekend started.

This is my weekly review in Masala! http://www.masala.com/movie-review-akira-223294.html