Dangal

Dangal

picture credits:wikipedia.org

Director : NItesh Tiwari

Writer : Nitesh Tiwari,Piyush Gupta,Shreyas Jain,Nikhil Meharotra

Stars : Amir Khan,Sakshi Tanwar,Sanya Malhotra,Fatima Sana Shaikh,Zaira Wasim,Suhani Bhatnagar,Aparshakti Khurana,Girish Kulkarni


In the opening scene,a typical government office suddenly converts into an akhada where Mahavir Singh Phogat (Amir Khan)and random colleague in office (Vivan Bhatena) play kushti and Mahavir defeats him.That colleague says:

Dum hai tujh mein, state level champion Ko haraya hai”

Mahavir replies, “ Dil chota mat kar, national level champion se hara hai tu”

Dangal is a biography of Geeta and Babita Phogat and their father Mahavir Singh Phogat,of course!Their journey from girls next door to becoming international level wrestling champions is truly inspiring.It only proves if you have stromg determination,readiness for hard work and a focused guidance,you can achieve anything.Story at its best,acting at its best!!Aamir Khan,as usual,at his bestest!!!The weight transformation he has gone through will astonish you!!Hats off to him and the roles played by the girls as the young and grown up Phogat sisters (Zaira Wasim,Suhani Bhatnagar ,Sanya Malhotra,Fatima Sana Shaikh.)One more special highlight of the movie is,entire story is narrated by the phogat sisters' cousin played by Aparshakti Khurana  which is,as far as I know,an altogether new experiment in such movies!!And which has worked perfectly!!He is very natural at his dialog delivery.And his character puts some lighter moments in the story.

Take away of the movie is high respect for Phogat sisters,Mahavir singh Phogat!!The determination with which he trained his daughters to become whatever they are today.The challenges he has faced which did not stop him from achieving what he has decided.The dedication with which the sisters train themselves and put the hardwork in, under their fathers guidance, is truly commendable.

"Mhari chhoriyan,chhoron se kam hai ke" does not mean that girls are superior to boys but both are equal,always!!

Madaari

Madaari

Picture Credits :wikipedia.org

Director:

 Nishikant Kamat

Writers:

 Shailja Kejriwal (story), Ritesh Shah (screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

 Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Sheirgill, Vishesh Bansal,Tushar Dalvi

बाज़  चूजे  पे  झपटा ..उड़ा  ले  गया . कहानी  सच्ची  लगती  है  लेकिन  अच्छी  नहीं  लगती ,
बाज़  पे  पलटवार  हुआ . कहानी  सच्ची  नहीं  लगती
लेकिन  ख़ुदा  कसम  बहुत  अच्छी  लगती  है "

These lines says it all!!We have got so much used to the system's loopholes that we have forgotten that our bloody vote has been invested in them!!They owe an answer to our every question!! We have the right to raise our voice!!And what happens when a COMMON MAN does it??Watch Madaari!!

A common man loses his son in an accident which occured due to negligence of the government.And,as expected,his pleas are unheard,no one cares to give any explanation to him on the incident.He seeks answers from the concerned people who simply ignore him.He decides to take revenge by kidnapping a minister's son and put forth his demands in front of administration and forces them to fulfill the same.

Nice plot with well direction.Star is of course Irrfan Khan who mesmerises us with his acting.He is very convincing,as usual!

PINK

PINK

Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

Writers : Ritesh Shah,Shoojit Sircar,Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

Stars : Amitabh Bachchan,Taapsee Pannu,Kirti Kulhari,Andria Tariang,Vijay Varma,Angad Bedi,Piyush Mishra.

Picture Credits : wikipedia

A girl hurt your ego?Did she challenge your masculinity?Oh Nooo..She said NO to you!!???You must take revenge..right??What can be done??Very simple!!!Prove how bad her character is by questioning the way she dresses,the way she lives,on her habits!!!Still she is shamelessly holding her head high??What Next??Again..this time is more simpler...Sabak sikhao ***** ko!!kidnap her,molest her,rape her!!Now u win man!!How easy it is to teach her a lesson!!How easy it is to shut her mouth!!But this time she's gonna protest..She's gonna show you when she says NO ,its a NO!!

PINK revolves around 'NO' which is not just a word but a complete sentence in itself!!Highlight is of course,The Amitabh Bacchan and his epic dialogues!!Tapsee pannu and other actresses too have beautifully portrayed their respective roles!!Each n every character has its own set of expressions which leaves a long lasting impression on ur heart!!After watching the movie you will get blown away,devastated,disturbed and u cant let go off it from ur mind!!

Everyone should think about it,""These boys must realise that No ka matlab No hota hai. Use bolne wali ladki koi parichit ho, friend ho, girlfriend ho, koi sex worker ho ya aapki apni biwi hi kyu na ho. ‘No’ means no and when someone says No, you STOP.""

Dear Zindagi..

Dear Zindagi

Director : Gauri Shinde

Writer : Gauri Shinde

Stars : Alia Bhatt,Shahrukh Khan

Picture Credits : thehindu.com

Dear Zindagi...These two simple words say a lot!!!This is not a typical bollywood film,in fact,it does not even have any story!!But one thing is for sure...While the movie progresses,one more movie of memories n flashback of ur own life starts running in ur mind!!Your childhood,your connection with your parents,siblings,your friends ,your relationships!!And there you start connecting with the characters.Complicated life fundas simplified in such a beautiful manner..."Agar hum itni kursiyan dekhte hain,ek lene se pehle,fir apna life partner choose karne se pehle options dekhne me kya problem hai!!!"

Alia Bhatt is at her best n needless to say The Shahrukh Khan is as usual effortless in his role!

There is nothing preachy,but you will definitely have some take aways with you after coming out of cinema hall...
1.Express yourself as much freely as possible
2.Do not unnecessarily complicate things
3.It is OK to try multiple kursis in life!!
4.Respect every profession.Pleasee!!
Last but not the least,I could relate this beautiful Mirza Ghalib's Shayari with Dear Zindagi...
"Kuch iss tarah se maine zindagi ko asaan kar diya,
Kissi se maafi maang li,kisi ko maaf kar diya!!"

Lipstick Under My Burkha

Lip Stick Under MY Burkha

There are so many things that are supposed to be said (I am still finding that person who wrote this rule)only in the closed rooms or behind the closed doors or just in your mind!!What if these unsaid/whispered/ things,wild thoughts break the rule and come out of your mind and freely present themselves in front of the society?

Story of four middle class women who seem to be living a normal life like any other woman but their closed-door thoughts are not allowing them to be silent and lead a normal life though.

If I go into details,I will surely sound like a pakka feminist or some will call me an activist!(I am neither of them).I will close my review here with some free ka gyan!LipStick Under My Burkha shows you the other side of the coin!Other side of your own mind!Ratna Pathak Shah proves how a seasoned actor should be!Other actresses have done justice to their roles too!Throughout the film a different style of narration runs in the backdrop by Ratna Pathak shah,which is uniquely experimented.

After watching this movie many questions popup in my mind.Are there really any validated rule books(for women)that define How to live in this society?Dos and Don'ts?If yes,who wrote it and who authorized it?Why there is no equilibrium in these rules for both men and women?And what happens when someone decides,"Meko yeh rules follow karne hi nahi hai bhai!!"..Then happens Lipstick Under My Burkha!!!

One more question,"Ache ghar ki ladkiyan aise nahi baithti,aise nahi khati,aise nahi chalti,itna uncha nahi bolti,awaz nahi uthati,Aise saans nahi leti! etc etc etc"..Sorry,But I would prefer to become a "Bure ghar ki ladki" then!!

A Billion Color Story

A Billion Color Story

Whenever I get a chance to watch the TV I usually surf through movie channels and especially stop at Star Gold Select as there, as the name says, we truly find selected films which are not commercially hit but will surely hit your mind and heart very hard!

One of such movies i watched today was A Billion Colour Story directed by Padmakumar Narsimhamurty. Movie revolves around the world of a 10 year old boy named Hari Aziz whose parents Parvati and Imran left Australia and got settled in India for the love of their country!

Imran and Parvi have a blind faith in people of India that they will not be judged by their names or that they will easily become one of them! they believe in India which is diversified but still united by all means!

They start realizing the other side of their beloved country when they sell their house to finance their film project.They are denied a flat in a society as Muslims are not allowed to stay there! Parvati is being questioned on her short dress saying, 'hamari auratein aise kapde nahi pehenti' !! When Imran stands up as a witness in murder of a hindu film maker, social worker, his son is killed!! As Hari Aziz narrates the story, he says 'I do not know the reason of my death, whether it was communal or something else'!

This story has billion colors if we wish to see them! While we are heading towards a progressive path, why it is still difficult for us to accept a Hari Aziz and let him be a part of society as you and me are! When will we stop judging each others on names, colors, surnames!!Why can't we be just humans as nature has made us and let others be so!!

Can we have this thought as our new year's resolution?

HIchki

Hichki

Same story, new dictation!But, sometimes we like to see the same story, if presented in a little different way. While watching Hichki we get this feeling.Many marathi movies like 10vi fa, Aayna ka bayna and many others had more or less same plot.Few parts may seem practically unfeasible but as an audience, if we can digest the dancing Bajirao or kashibai, we can neglect some fantasized things of any other normal movie.

Group of adolescents admitted in school through RTE. As expected, they are not good in studies, they do not respect teachers and are mischievous to the fullest!But why are they like this?Nobody takes efforts to find the reason.But One teacher with tourette syndrome goes out of the way and tries to empathize with them.Which is, of course, not easy. But she takes the challenge!May be,because she has faced similar problems as a child or some people around her were not able to understand her, when she badly needed them to.

Rani Mukerji is at her best!I will not say there couldn't be a better comeback for her, but definitely she will be remembered for her unusual role! All other characters portrayed have done their job nicely.

My takeaway from the movie is, each and every kid has some special qualities of their own.They only need someone to help them identify it.Children do not have any extraordinary expectations, they just want a little support from us.After parents the person that we trust or have faith on is our teacher. Somewhere we look upon them for inspiration.Last but not the least, one of the best dialogues, "There are no bad students, but there may be bad teachers!"

Kabir Singh

#MovieReview
#KabirSingh
#TheLongestPostAlert

For last few days I came across range of reviews of Kabir Singh and articles on Anger Management, Masculinity,misogyny having inspired(instigated) by this movie.And all these bits were contradicting the movie box office collection,positive mouth publicity it was garnering since its release. It was never in my i-must-watch-it list but this contradictory reviews made me curious to spend 300(+250 papkhaarn n khok) bucks and go and see by myself ' थोडा अपने दिमाग से भी सोचते हैं आखिर Kabir Singh है क्या ! '
Before shouting feminism, Masculinity, misogyny, Addiction etc lets highlight some good things about movie:
1.Shahid Kapoor is soo convincing in his character, so immersed into his role, at one point one starts believing kabir singh to be real! His efforts are visible. Only one thing which you will carry out of theatre is Shahid Kapoor's outstanding acting!Completely immersed into the role! Truly commendable!
2.Supporting cast has Soham Majumdar who has a very good timing and is spontaneous.He reminds us of Dipak Dobriyal of Tanu Weds Manu.Adil Hussain with small yet decent role and its pleasant to watch Kamini Kaushal whose experience speaks more in her acting.Also Kiara Advani is ok in her supporting role! (What? Lead actress? Who told you?)

Now the point of discussion :
1.If Kabir Singh was originally invented in Hindi it would have been shock for movie lovers who like realistic movies, with some connect with the society and current social scenario.But to our least relief this movie is remake of a Tollywood film where 90% movies are male centric, heroine is just for the sake of dancing, singing, luring the hero and being the reason for his fights with villians. She is always portrayed as someone whose identity is nothing without a male in her life, it could be her father, brother, boyfriend anyone!(Actually, review ends here itself!)

2.Anyways! We, as audience, still would have accepted this story if it were in the range of 1950s to 1990s as, then, it was acceptable heroine being submissive,singing 'तुम ही मेरे मंदिर , तुम ही मेरी पूजा or आपकी नज़रों ने समझा प्यार के क़ाबिल ' types song. Or hero full on 'piche padoing' of heroine to force her to accept his proposal singing and sort of 'dhamkofying', 'रुसवा तुझे मै कर जाऊँगा , खाके जहर अब मर जाऊँगा '! But this is 2019.(I am not saying this, hero informs his heroine, Preeti this is 2019!!) Then, why the hell this story is happening!

3.It is declared in very first or second scene, Kabir Singh(Shahid Kapoor) has Anger Management issues! Audience, acept it! But (Kiara Advani) Preeti, apparently, the lead actress is completely normal! Then why did she fall for such whimsical person? So,Plot of the story, completely illogical!

4. 'ये मेरी बंदी है! ', Imagine, some guy saying this to a girl and that girl quietly accepting it! Directly, going into the class, taking her out to teach her medical topics! Going to her hostel, keeping head on her lap and sleeping, she doesn't say anything, in fact, she asks her friend to get blanket for him! And she is studying whole night on that bench and 'तेरा भाई 'sleeping peacefully!!( Please note, she hardly knows him)

5.Heroine is hurt,is not able to walk, So, she is shifted to his boys hostel room so that he can take care of her! She does not find anything wrong with it! Cool!! No offense at all, its your life!But when, later, she justifies her decision of not going with kabir Preeti says, 'Kabir, लड़कियों को घर पे restrictions होते है '!! Really!?

6.'Preeti, चुन्नी ठिक करो !'.. Preeti immediately acts and asks, 'अब ठिक है !?'
(Again i remind myself, this is 2019!!)

7.The most funny moment is last scene! now, somewhere, kabir is trying to get out of Preeti phase, suddenly she comes in front of him from no where and he discovers she is pregnant.Kabir is again trying to get back preeti, saying that unborn is still her flesh and blood, he is ready to fight her husband as well. Preeti says, she left house on 3rd day of marriage, was practicing in some clinic, did not allow her husband to touch her, not even her finger!!(She is chaste, in short, untouched!!Pure!!)And this is Kabir's baby! Woww!! Applause! Claps! Reunion!Happy Ending is must after all!!

8.Story has pitfalls which keeps us wondering why didnt she refuse to marry with other guy and leave her parents house for Kabir then and there!(Ultimately, 'घर तो तुने छोड़ना ही था!) 'Though, they had a fight, argument but still they loved each other!! And how come her parents kept quiet for these many days and didn't take efforts to find her and get her back to home!

All in all, lose plot, illogical story, unreal lead characters with socially unacceptable behavior!But Shahid Kapoor shines!!

P. S. :Kiara Advani is icing on the cake for this blunt character called Preeti who has no personal views, no understanding of right or wrong! Kiara Advani has not delivered even whatever minimal was expected! Her screen time is already less, with hardly 15 20 dialogues, which she could have made effective but she makes no efforts at all.We are clueless, if preeti is confused, if she is scared of Kabir, if she really loves him or she doesn't have any say at all!!

Girlfriend movie(Marathi) Review

#MovieReview
#Girlfriend
#Marathi

A Not-so-complicated yet unusual story.It has a basic formula of boy-next-door who is single and (unfortunately) his birthday falls on Valentines Day.His friends tease him to get a girlfriend, suggests him to do something atleast this birthday! His parents gift him a marriage bureau form. Brother gives him a condom packet gift wrapped nicely and asks him to utilize it this year!! So, overall, Nachiket(Amey Wagh) is frustrated, irritated and challenges himself in the mirror that 'मी girlfriend पटवणार!'.

How Nachiket finds his 'Girlfriend', will she accept his 'loveship' is the entire story with sweet little twists and ultimately leading to a Happy Ending!

 As mentioned earlier, the story line is simple. And when this is the case,its a challenge for director as it must engage the audience throughout those 2, two n half hours without losing the pace.That speed should be maintained till the last scene. Otherwise, we get bored and lose the connect with the entire movie!And here is the real crux of 'Girlfriend'. Not a single scene feels like unnecessarily adjusted. We are on a journey with Nachiket and his 'girlfriend' and unknowingly we get involved in the story. It reminded me of Rajkumar Hirani's movies like Munnabhai series, 3 idiots etc. Director Upendra Sidhaye has succeeded fully in engaging the audience.

Now coming to acting part, Amey Wagh is as usual effortless. His Nachiket is completely convincing. Saee Tamhankar  does not have much serious dialogues or something which will explain her character 'Alisha/Payal'. But she acts more with her eyes and body language through which we can guage what kind of person she is! I liked her in this movie after सनई चौघडे '.She has come out of her Duniyadari, Pyaar wali love story kind characters and done something different!!Supporting cast is also utilized nicely. Kavita Lad and Yatin Karyekar have small yet effective roles.After these seasoned actors,a must mention supporting role is of Suyog Gorhe annd Sagar Deshmukh.Whatever screen time they are given, they definitely make an impact.

All in all, 'Girlfriend' will be a good option to watch with family, friends and make your mood light.

P. S. : Two things I noticed which might be my personal view but would like to mention:
1.Social approval has become way too important in our life.Nobody wishes Nachiket on fb (with some 200 or 300 friends) or whatsapp, he is unhappy! When he declares his relationship on social media, he gets comments on fb, 25 missed calls, messages on whatsapp. He feels soo proud!! And he has only 2 friends in real!All the struggle is for that social recognition which is virtual and has no significance in real life!!
2.How an ideal family should be is beautifully portrayed in the movie. May it be younger brother gifting condom to the elder one in front of his father and father smiling silently behind news paper!Or After finding about his girlfriend, Nachiket's brother jokes with father, 'बाबा, दादाचे shake hand करायचे दिवस संपले.'When you are comfortable at this level, you can discuss any issues with parents which can solve all those problems arised usually because of lack of communication at home!

Article 15 Review

#MovieReview
#Article15

Article 15 (1) and (2) prohibit the state from discriminating any citizen on ground of any religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.

Theme of the movie is based on the above 2 lines.Many will not be able to relate with it,rather,many will feel where the hell does this happen these days?No body discriminates on the grounds of caste!But if we go into interior of India,in the villages,small towns,caste discrimination is still there to be seen.

A sophisticated Officer Ayan Ranjan(Ayushmann Khurrana) is posted in a small village of UP.He is shocked to see how person to person is differentiated on the basis of caste.And everyone is OK with it.No one feels offended!His first case is of three girls of which two are raped and hanged and third is still missing.And other staff of his police station does not find any big deal in it.They are trying to convince him how the case is just another,a simple open & shut kind.One of his subordinates tells him,"Sir Aap to transfer leke chale jaoge,humein to yahi rehna hai!!"Everyone is so much used to the system that no crime is big for them and that too of a lower caste,they do not even bother to file a FIR!!

How Ayan solves the case,how he is being removed from it at the peak of his search,still he manages to find the culprit and in this entire process he comes across many horrible truths which he was unawre of.And ,at the same time,it forces the audience to think from the other side as well.How the weak is suppressed,how their voice is unheard,basically they are not given any importance.
Manoj Pahwa will be seen playing an altogether different role which will surprise audience.But,as usual,he is brilliant in his job!Zeeshan Ayyub Khan has a small yet effective part.He is effortless in his role.Sayani Gupta says it all with her eyes.She is very much convincing in her character.Kumud MIshra has done fabulous job!In fact,all the supporting roles have pulled the movie well more than the lead actor.Ayushmann Khurrana is,of course,the best.But,Looking at his previous record,he plays any character brilliantly but this time he disappoints a little.He could have portryaed it more strongly but he did not!That agression ,fierce look is missing somewhere.But still he is commendable!
It is not possible to wrap this movie's review in a page or two!It has many layers to every scene,every character.All of the characters has their own perspective and one can study it from different point of views.Bottom line is,Article 15 will unmask the harsh reality of our society,brutal things happening around us but sometimes we are unaware of it ,many times we don't want to face it or conveniently ignore it.

In a scene,a man is lowered into a manhole which is full of filth!No dialogues,no expressions but that scene haunts us for pretty long time.The cruel reality is flashed in those few seconds!when Ayushmaan Khuranna raises questions on this discrimination,caste hierarchy,like why it all is needed?One of his subordinates says,"Hamar maai kehti thi Sir,sabhi ek saman ho gaye to raja koun banega?"Answer is ,"Raja chahiye hi kyun!" Or "Fark bohot kar liya,Ab fark layenge!!"

Last but not the least ,"मै और तुम इन्हे दिखाई ही नही देते… हम कभी हरिजन हो जाते है, कभी बहुजन हो जाते हैं बस जन नही बन पा रहे हैं… के जन गण मन मे हमारी भी गिनती हो जाये!"And when this dialogue comes from Zeeshan Ayub Khan ,it penetrates your heart and mind!!