Serious men

Based on a book of the same name by Manu Joseph, latest Hindi film Serious men traverses through Ayyan mani(Nawazudeen sididique), a tamil dalit man working in Mumbai as PA to Aravind(Nasser) a scientist.He isn’t happy about the way Aravind treats him. He decides to make his son a child genius so that his son won’t suffer like him due to his caste. This film justifies him and shows the consequences of his decision.


Script basically contains 2 subplots: How society uses the fame status of Ayyan’s son Adi and the subplot of Aravind trying to research on space microbes in stratosphere. Though the focus is on making Adi , a child prodigy ,writers keen on the other aspects also.
Ayyan has a depressing past. He says it in a scene when he was asked ‘What type of people you are?’ during his son’s admission.He describes to Arvind about a photograph and that scene was just fabulous.Director Sudhir mishra took the satirical path to narrate the story and the emotional scenes were narrated intensively.
The transformation from satire to subtle drama was so organic.


Nawazudeen sidique puts up an amazing show as the aggressive Ayyan. Nasser does his part well.Aakshit das as Adi, Ayyan’s son got to perform the emotional struggle of the character towards the end and he nailed those scenes. Special mention to the combo scenes with Nawazudeen sidique.
Cuts were fine enough. Dialogues were spot on and catchy ,let be the 2G ,3G one or primitive mind one.
The only drawback was that the climax lacked the clarity in execution.
Don’t expect a Pariyerum perumal or Fandry in this movie.Serious men is engaging,relevant and can surely be given a try.

Watch link: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81086997?preventIntent=true

Cargo

The premise of this movie is so fascinating. Cargo refers to those who arrives to a spaceship for post death procedures as per the peace treaty between demons and humans.
Director gives an overview about the space where the story unreveals and then drives us to an ‘International loneliness detective’ .Soon, we move to the procedures ,come across a lot of emotional stories and occasional dark humour.Then, we realize that the detective is one of those cargo that carries a story.
One of the lead character,Prahastha has been working in the spaceship for 75 years and awaiting a retirement call. He asks his superior for a male assistant instead of a female assistant. He uses Old model screens, write letters but never sends any(These facts show that he has been there for 75 years.Special mention to production design and cinematography). Assistant Yuvishka is just opposite to him. She listens loud music, post video vlogs etc…
(Names of Characters too are interesting: Mandakini, Ghatotkach).


Though this isn’t a performance oriented movie, Vikrant Massey and Shwetha Tripathi really performed exquisitely in their respective well etched characters to make their emotions authentic.
The only negative I found was the lag due to the repetition of certain procedural instances. Script could have been more focused to their personal life.
Cargo , beyond the exciting element in the premise underline a lot of statements.This movie will give you a different experience.Let this movie open more possibilities and acceptance to indian Sci-Fi films.

Netflix watch link: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81297470?source=35&preventIntent=true

Pareeksha

There could be films that have a recurring premise, one that never surprise you in the beginning but at the end of the film, it surprises you with the way it create scenes that intensifies the emotions of the characters. Pareeksha is one such.

Buchchi (Adil Hussain) , a rikshawala struggle to bring up his child Bulbul and bring more opportunities in education.For that, he decides to changes his son from government school to a famous private school (Sapphire).But what matters him the most in his and his wife’s income.

Script doesn’t offer major surprises as it traverses through the struggling of Buchchi, shows that his son is brilliant (Few scenes are designed for that), shows the standard of the Saphhire school and answers whether Bulbul scores high marks in his 10th grade or not.

What makes us forget the predictability and the lack of freshness factors is the emotionally touching narration. For instance, the scene where Buchchi meets the principal of Sapphire school for admission really conveys the pain of the father.Similarly, there are few pick out scenes that stay with you after watching.Scenes after the entry of SP character were so endearing and inspiring.

Director had a clear idea of what he need to convey through this film. In a scene,SP character says it to a local politician.(I’m not revealing it as it may be a spoiler).

Adil Hussain puts up an engrossing performance and puts up the right mix of regret, anger and pain in his performance. The scene where Bulbul requests the school management members to admit him for board exam and the jail conversation scene worked completely because of the performance of the boy and Adil husain.

Background score complemented the narrative well.Cuts were decent enough.

Watch Pareeksha on Zee5 for the honest and endearing narrative of a simple story and strong performances.

Movie watch link: https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/pareeksha/0-0-188032

Uma maheshwara Ugra rupasya

I decided to watch this film as the director’s previous venture C/O kancharapalem was a laudable take on rural people and their lives.Here also, Director Maha venkatesh keeps up his quality.

Uma maheshwara is a simple and beautiful story of a photographer Mahesh (Satyadev) and his revenge when he got beaten in a fight.
Though the opening scene felt similar to the original , Director  hasn’t tried to make a carbon copy.There are few changes made.
Following the opening scene , we witness Vijay yesudas’ song featuring the city (as Idukki song in Maheshinte prathikaram).Though the song doesn’t give goosebumps moments, the film gives it often.
Satyadev puts his style in performing innocent Mahesh(I’m not gonna compare him to Fahad).
He was awesome in humour sequences (Especially interval block) and fight sequences towards the end. Suhas, whom I saw last in Agent Sai sreenivasa athreya got a role beyond the Hero’s sidekick. Naresh too fits the bill as Babuji.
Bijibal recreated his magic with gentle bgm here as well. Cuts maintained the flow mostly though this film may be slow for a section of audience.
Dialogs were good enough though there aren’t so much to remember after the movie. Few lines said by Raghavan’s character were on target.
I felt very few scenes where the humour essence in original lost via translation.For instance ,In original, Jana gana mana scene was so funny and the way the scene was implemented itself carried humour along with the actors. Here it was missing.
Most of the scenes worked out well .Most importantly, it’s difficult to maintain the charm of the original in a remake and that’s what makes this movie refreshing though you have watched the original.
Uma maheshwara ugra roopasya is a grounded and faithful remake of Maheshinte prathikaram. Watch it on Netflix for the lead performance and the beautiful narration of simple incidents.

Dil Bechara

Well  it has now been a while since I uploaded a review. It’s because the quality of the movies I watched recently weren’t up to the mark for suggestions.

Dil bechara narrates the love story of Manny alias Emmanuel rajkumar junior and Kizie basu, both having Cancer and the attitude to live their lives.

The film starts with Sanjana sanghi’s Kizie returning to her home. Writer initializes her character as one who doesn’t need to be bold but need to be normal.Her life changes as she meets Manny and Manny proposes her. Manny becomes the reason for her to live as she says towards the end.

Dialogues will be the  first positive to mention.Most of the dialogues were spot-on.Though the plot felt familiar, dialogs and frames (especially the beauty of Paris) gave a refreshing feel to the movie.

We see Rajni references here and there.

No doubt , Sushanth steals the show with his immense screen presence. Words can’t describe how wonderfully he carries the film.Sanjana too performed really well as Kizie.Saif ali Khan’s character Psycho type character was funny as well. Special mention to actor who played Kezie’s father.The breakdown scene of Manny with Kezie’s father was so touching.

AR Rehman stands out as the third hero.His tracks enhanced the intensity in totality (Track towards the climax will make you emotional for sure).

Rarely we see a scene where emotion isn’t conveyed much enough.

Dil bechara had blown up me emotionally and is sure to blow you as well. Don’t miss it.You will get more reasons to love this movie than complain about.

Verdict: Close to heart

PANCHAYAT

Last week, I watched a predictable but touching award-winning film I am kalam on Amazon prime. But after watching the latest Hindi prime web series Panchayath, I think it can change the perspective about web series for a section of audience and thus made the recommendation of the week.

Normally, a section of audience may feel that watching a web-series give them a tiring experience. Panchayath Season 1 contains 8 episodes, each around 30 minutes, packed up with social satire enough to make the audience think about the situations.

First episode introduces the protagonist Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra kumar), Pradhanji-in charge(Raghuvir yadav) , his wife Manju devi (Neena gupta) who is the ‘Real’ pradhan of the panchayath. Abhishek is an engineering graduate preparing to clear CAT exam to get an MBA admission but get stuck as he got appointed as the secretary of a panchayath in UP.

Second episode traverses through a haunted tree .Abhishek go in search of the truth why villagers fear to go near the tree. Song and background score maintained the feel of satire element and the twist towards the end was hilarious. This episode reflects the nature of rural people where they blindly believe each other.

Third episode talks about a cushion chair, in-charge Pradhanji’s ego and a wedding ceremony conducting in the panchayath office with the complete coordination of the villagers. The scene where groom searches a word and fights with Abhishek brings laugh for sure and it shows how villagers develop a small issue and react to it.

Fourth episode deals with the problem of a slogan and its meaning. It shows how Abhishek manages the problem of protest against the slogan and the order from his higher officials. Look out for the final surprise twist.

Fifth episode covers a stolen monitor in the panchayath office and investigation related to it. This episode gives more importance to the emotions of the protagonist. Director conveys his pain of loneliness and the performances in that scene intensifies the situation. This episode also depicts satirically how police in that village responds to a complaint.

In sixth episode, director tries a goon spoof and succeeds in it without over-mimicking the characters. This episode deals with 2 terms specified by Abhishek’s assistant: ego and self-respect. A small issue occurs when Abhishek and his assistant went out to take a photo in a studio for his CAT exam. This episode highlights the unity of villagers and their peculiar way of conversation. Special mention to energetic background score that spreads through the characters.

Seventh episode deals with a name change issue, questions of the in-charge pradhanji and finding alternative solutions to name change problem.

Eighth episode focuses on Manju as she tries to learn National anthem and host the flag on Republic day. Though predictable, this episode engages with Neena gupta’s terrific performance and the depiction of the villagers accepting a ‘Woman pradhan’. This episode ends with a door open for the audience to think about the plot for the next season.

Dialogs written mostly seemed like local Hindi. For instance, the word ‘kya’ isn’t used anywhere and instead; they say ‘ka’ (It may be mix of Marathi).Cuts were in sync with the mood of each story except the third episode.One of the key reasons that Panchayath works for you is the chemistry among the 4 key characters in most scenes.

In short,Panchayath is beyond the humor it offers throughout.

JOJO RABBIT

When I though of single detailed recommendation for this weekend, 3 films came to my mind: Rahul riji nair’s State award winning winning Ottamuri velicham( JIO CINEMA-MALAYALAM) that brutally and subtly depicts domestic violence,Killa(NETFLIX-MARATHI), a delicate light-hearted story of the re-discovery of a boy,Court(MARATHI) makes you ponder on the situations of dalits and freedom denied for artists to express their views in their performances.But Jojo rabbit(ENGLISH) outperformed the other 3 and thus became my recommendation of the week.

Jojo is a German boy who blindly follows Hitler and his anti-jew principles. He got to find that his mother hides a jew girl.He tries to kill her at times but he couldn’t do it.He slowly understands her situation and finds an emotional connect with her.

Script focuses more on how children are getting affected by war.10 year children are asked to carry knife always,given gun and grenades. Imaginative hitler even gives cigarette to the 10-year old jojo.

Director puts forward an imaginative character of Hitler who advises him not to defy from any rules.Director himself portrays the role of Hitler (just look at his expressions) who insists him to decide whether he need to die for his country or die without any trace.In the end,Joe stamps him out of the window and that states that Humanity is more important.

Roman griffin Davis is awesome as jojo and the scenes in which he scares,hugs his hang mother’s body,interact with the girl and friend are a treat to watch. Director exhibits his craft in various scenes especially in a scene where few incidents after grenade scene are shown from Jojo’s perspective.Background score though minimal enough keeps us stay with the film(bgm when jojo cries in a scene makes us too emotional).Special mention for the art work (beautiful house and old cars).This story is shown around 1945 2nd world war and the portrayal of war seemed authentic.

Jojo rabbit offered me a moving  experience I haven’t had before and I think that’s its USP.

FINAL SET -MOVIE SUGGESTIONS OF THE WEEK

I hope my suggestions are getting useful anywhere in my readers .With that note, i am continuing my suggestion chain. For a change, I shift my selection strategy in this list and concentrate more on films in languages other than Malayalam.

  1. TUMBBAD (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO-HINDI):This unbelievably unique periodic fantasy tale of greedy men is stunning with brilliant script, terrifying bgm,nice frames, art direction and performance(especially the child actors).Recommended for an experimental watch.
  2.  OTTAL (NETFLIX-MALAYALAM): I have read the short story Vanka by Anton Chekhov after watching Ottal.I was surprised how master class Jayaraj is to explore the possibility of a film in this 2 page short story. Kuttappayi, a child and his grandfather lives in village with his friend.Kuttipayi isn’t able to continue his studies. After few years, Kuttappayi writes a letter to his grandfather about his pain on a Christmas Eve day. Try not to miss this authentic beautiful village story.
  3. THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND (NETFLIX-ENGLISH & CHEWA): Trywell and his family lives with farming. After flood and famine, they are in trouble. Trywell’s 13 years old son Williams is thrown out of his school as his family can’t afford to pay fees. How William lends his hand to support his family forms the story. Director succeeded in portraying the hardships of the family. The scenes involving chief were hard hitting. William’s scenes with dog were lovely. “We have food for 1 meal/day. Decide when to have it“. William’s father’s dialogues really convey their fight to live.
  4. . SECTION 375(AMAZON PRIME VIDEO-HINDI):Section 375 is a bold courtroom drama that revolves around a film director stands accused in a case of raping his costume designer assistant. It turned out to be an out-of-box movie towards the 2nd half and  writer Manish gupta narrates a possibility of misusing law.However, things on paper towards climax could have been made more effective on screen especially the major twist.(felt hurried ).Still this film says us to think from the other side of perspective for any case (even though case can be one sided at a glance) to retain justice.I don’t know how many will accept the climax.
  5. KD ENGIRA KARUPPU DURAI (NETFLIX-TAMIL): A charming small movie about the relationship between brave Kutty and solely Karuppu durai (later he names him KD).Madhumita places beautifully designed scenes to make the journey smooth. The scenes where they discuss and finishes all wish list will be truly a treat to watch and it stays with you. KD is just pure joy. Catch it and Watch it.
  6. MERKU THODARCHI MALAI (NETFLIX-TAMIL): Vijay Sethupathi’s production and Lenin bharathi’s directional debut is about the Cardamom plantation workers in Theni district (mix of Malayalam and Tamil) and the efforts of a man who wishes to own land. The, happiness of that man after getting the land, life of people climbing the hill and the politics related to the problems of  the working men carries the intensity and ensures a quality watch.
  7. HICHKI (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO-HINDI): Hichki is about Naina mathur(Rani mukherjee) with Tourette syndrome choosing a teaching job and the difficulties she undergo in teaching 9F, a class that the school  itself never mind. Will she triumphs in the challenge?.Watch the movie to find out.Director Sidharth malhotra turns a predictable and template plot to an emotional and fresh ride.”There are no bad students, only bad teachers”, says Naina. This is a tribute to all teachers who finds a hope in a hopeless student. This is a must watch for teachers to find new ways of teaching and fully understand a student.
  8. OTTAYALPATHA (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO-MALAYALAM): Akhil, a graduate is in search of a way to convince his father of his journey with his girlfriend to Bangalore for job. His father has contradicting nature: He says that his son is trying to kill him by increasing insulin count and at the same time, reminds of beautiful moments with his son from his past. This film is just having 6 characters and is about the conversation between Father and son. Look out for Kaladharan’s (Father) performance in terrace scene and the scene where he recalls his Bangalore days. It’s slow mood film and surely not every one’s cup of tea.                                                   From next week, my suggestion list will be stopped and I’m getting back to single detailed review due to several reasons.My next pick will be Assamese film Aamis(can be downloaded from telegram channels).As Aamis is suggested to be watched without knowing the plot, review will not be updated.      Let’s meet next week.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WEEK

Well, Lock-down continues, so as my recommendation list. As soon as my recommendation list tends to end, I keep on adding new gems to the list. I think real talent has no value and that’s why we have a list of underrated films. This week, I have 5 films (3 Malayalam,1 Tamil  and 1 Hindi) and 1 web-series in the line-up.

1. PIRAVI (YOUTUBE): In a small village, elderly Chakyar (Premji) awaits his son Raghu’s arrival for the celebration of his daughter’s (Archana) engagement. Chakyar goes to bus stop, waits there but can’t find his son. What happened to him and who are responsible for it? Who tells the truth and who lies?

No more spoilers. Just watch the movie to see the Shaji N Karun magic. Let the film speak for itself than my words.

2.LUNCHBOX(NETFLIX-HINDI):  Fernandez (Irfan khan), living a tiring lonely life gets a delicious lunch after dabbawals accidently exchanged  Tiffin carriers and that incident brings light of hope and happiness to his dark life. Lunchbox is a box of beautiful stories. The story of Fernandez, wife who wants his husband to complement the food she cooks and interacts with Fernades and Fernandez’ assistant (Nawasudin Sidique) who doesn’t worry much about being orphan. While watching, if your mind says ‘Is it possible to repeat the same mistake by a Tiffin carrier service multiple time and reach the same person?’ kick the thought out and watch this light-hearted authentic treat.

3. SAIVAM( HOTSTAR-TAMIL): Kathiresan (Nasser) decides to bring a family get together to do the ritual of slaughtering a rooster to solve family problems.But  his grand-daughter Tamizh selvi(Sara Arjun)had other ideas. Director AL Vijay has added equal amount of humour and emotion to the plot to make the viewer thoroughly engaged. Special mention to GV Prakash kumar’s background score (that aptly sets the film’s mood) and all actors(especially the children). Saivam really has an  innocence as its central character and will be  a stress-buster for the viewer.

4. AKASHATHINTE NIRAM (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO): A burglar (Indrajith), in a bid to rob an old man (Nedumudi Venu), gets stranded on an island. He only finds a boy and a dumb girl as helpers to that old man. They seldom talk to the burglar. They don’t react when he gets angry or shouts at them. He can’t find a way to get out of the island. But the island and the people around him change his life. With soothing visuals, minimal dialogues and background score, Akashithinte niram fits best for a one-time watch.

5. CR NO: 89 (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO): A mechanic, two men travelling in a jeep and a guy whose marriage is fixed Unite in a conflict. 2 men have contrasting characters: One short tempered (actor’s performance not up to the mark) and the other one Cool (He loses his temper only once in this movie), mechanic who doesn’t change his decision to help them and the naive guy getting trapped in between. Director Sudevan tried to establish different characters (without revealing much backdrop) individually and brought an interesting conflict to unite each other. But, the quality of theme needs to be maintained in the sub-plots and the technical side (Slow lengthy scenes) to make it more intriguing. Give it a try. I believe that it won’t be a waste of time.

WEB-SERIES: Among the trending ones like Money heist, Asur, The family man etc… , it is difficult to find an underrated one. Queen is one such available for free.

6. QUEEN (MX PLAYER-TAMIL/TELUGU/HINDI): follows the life of Sakthi seshadri, a school topper turned actress through an interview session. This web series consist of 11 seasons: Initial seasons narrate the school days of Sakthi, shows us how brilliant she was. The scene that shattered her dreams (her mother insists her to act in films) and the way Anikha performs really conveys the emotions of the character .Another beautiful sub-plot is the scenes with her friend Pinky. Soon, Shakthi turns to an established actress and her meeting with a politician cum actor GMR changed her life. GVM‘s making really is a big positive for this web series. Each episode is around 40-50 minutes but it won’t be boring for sure.

I hope I can bring you another set of even more quality recommendations next week.

 

5 UNDERRATED SHORT FILMS TO WATCH DURING LOCKDOWN PERIOD

Short films are a greater choice of interest for majority audience due to the free availability, running time and quality it provides compared to feature films. It’s also disappointing that Rubbish short films are getting millions of views and beautiful short films aren’t getting the deserving views and support. Here is a list of 5 remarkable Malayalam short films available on YouTube for free.

  1. VELI: is an interpretation of a group of Children’s rehearsal of Ramayana drama. Veli mainly revolves around Ravanan. The Drama director’s mother humiliates the caste of the boy who plays Ravanan and questions the racism (Steel glass and the other glass).This short’s climax (Special mention to the Ravana’s eye extreme close shots) is the Director Vineeth Vasudevan answer for the kind of attitude.
  2. MAZHACHILLUKAL: What is the role of an umbrella between a Father and a Son relationship? Mazhachillukal will give you the answer. This short is about a boy Abhi losing his Spider man umbrellas quite often that his father isn’t able to afford to buy every time. What he does to resolve forms the story. This short gives you the nostalgia of village life and very relatable incidents (may drive you back to your past).Special mention to the emotional touch that the climax offers,
  3. INTERROGATION: Totally different from the above mentioned shorts, Interrogation is social satire with inner meaning.4 brothers are questioned for the killing of their Father: Guneshan(main Culprit),Prasanth(not interested to cooperate with the investigation team),Adersh(who says that ‘njan ayalde makanalle, enne thavid koduth medichathanu) and Dineshan(main witness whose words enough to punish Guneshan).The interrogation goes interestingly and alternatively.The song that Guneshan and his advocate sings forms the message of this short.
  4. COLORFUL HANDS: Edited ,produced and directed by Advait Jayasurya,The colorful Hands tells the story of efforts of 4 friends to clean their locality when 1 of them got affected by Malaria. Art work is commendable (so as the frames) and background gives the motivation to act. This short film delivers its message without preachy.
  5. GRACE VILLA: Mathews, a buyer (Rajesh Hebbar) meets the owner of a Villa(Mala Parvathy) via a broker(Kochupreman).With 3 familiar faces in the list, Director Binoy raveendran follows a non-linear pattern to narrate a revenge story and climax offers an unexpected twist and thrilling experience(credits to the bgm too). Director has given yellowish shade of the scenes in most scenes.

SPECIAL MENTION-OTHER LANGUAGES: If time lets you, try the given shorts too. It won’t disappoint you.

  1. VIDHAI (TAMIL): A 12TH State topper opting to study agriculture. It may sound strange to a society expecting her to choose Engineer or Doctor. It’s easy when you are a state topper. This short film questions the attitude of majority that courses like Agriculture are for the students with average or below average learning capability. But, Director Stays to focus more on using Tiktok mania and start a go green challenge (also criticize Bottle cap challenge).That’ the only problem with this short.
  2. REACH (ENGLISH): This short is based on mental health awareness. It is the story of an IT employee with not so good background. She is all alone and isn’t able to concentrate on her work. This short focuses on anxiety, fear and depression. Her cry towards the end is heart-wrenching.