Tikdam

Movie starts with the protagonist Prakash’s (Amit Sial) boss announcing a shocker to the workers in her hotel. It is all about the changes reflecting in the lives of his loved ones.

Initially, director takes the viewers to the world of Prakash: a girl who talks some unknown language and Samay, his son. There is a specific scene to highlight the naivety of Prakash. As the movie progress, we get to know about his children and their cousin. We know what the conflict is and we know how it will end up. Still, writing excels in the portraying the range of thinking and the teamwork of the children, without trying to make it over-the-top or including mass moments, like few of the so called kid’s movies recently . Humor also works really well in the process (For instance: conversation with a government official). Instead of flashback sequences, Director opted to use montage visuals and narration to help viewers feel the emotions of the characters and that worked out really well. Background score brings in the energy needed to convey the efforts of the children. Cuts were nice as the detailing scenes featuring Prakash’s family background gelled well with the main narrative.

Dialogues play a key role too, especially Father-Son conversations. In a scene, Grandfather says to Samay like, ‘Sometimes false hope is better than having no hope’. Few lines like these leave a lasting impact on the viewers.

Hindi cinema rarely explore the struggles of a single parent from a man’s perspective. Amit Sial puts up a seasoned performance as Prakash, who struggle to handle the conflict between family and job. Scene where he says to his boss ‘I don’t have a choice’ shows the helplessness of the character. Big shout out to the boy who played Samay for effectively bringing the fight of the character. For instance: the scene where he plans to quit the mission after getting caught in 2 minds or the conversations with his grandfather. Actor who did role of grandfather did justice to his role, particularly while narrating his past. Grandma character gets bit more emotional towards the end and the actress made the scene memorable.

Predictability may be problem for a section of viewers. Samay’s friend character had the scope to be explored further but got sidelined . But these aren’t reasons to skip this movie

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To sum it up, Tikdam is a simple heartwarming drama that wins you over with the Father-Children bonding, carrying rooted emotions and the genuine efforts of the children to bring a change.

Watch link: https://www.jiocinema.com/movies/tikdam/4008201

Do Gubbare

Do Gubbare revolves around Rohan, an IT guy who shifts from Indore to Pune and how he creates a strong bond with his colleagues and Ajoba, the landlord of the house where he stays.

Writer pretty much knows that this story doesn’t contain much surprise or twist in it. So, he focused more on building relatable characters (Though the count is less) and making memorable scenes. For instance: Radha who is less of a maid and more of a family member, Coimbatore based colleague, Kid who loves fish, Friend character or the ever energetic old man character Ajoba. Even viewers could recollect the moments involving the tea shop owner.

Initially, we see Ajoba as a bit of a strict landlord. Director Varun takes us through how Ajoba helps Rohit in exploring the unknown place. Varun also manages to succeed in merging the subplots to the core plot. The way of portraying the final surprise through the reactions of every character really shows the quality of the director.
Dialogues were very important in the initial set up of the plot and thus further convey the intensity of situations. In a scene when Rohit asks regarding Ajoba’s friendship, Ajoba says ‘I don’t know the number of years of our friendship. It was strong enough to forget to count’. Background score gave the pleasant feel throughout the episodes. Score helps the narration in conveying the pain within Ajoba when he starts telling about his past.

Radha’s character had the fun element in her dialogues and the jovial performance of the actress made sure that her scenes were enjoyable and spread the charisma to the viewers also. Actor who did the role of Ajoba really carries the energy of the character. He gives a standout performance in the emotional breakdown scenes as well. It is delight to watch Rohit, especially in combinational scenes with Ajoba. Actor who played that role too deserve the credit.

The 5th episode had a very key conflict where Ajoba’s family members plan to stay with him permanently and how Rohit handles it. Writers seemed to miss the opportunity in building the conflict. That episode felt more like it stretched too far unlike the other episodes.
Apart from the dull moments in the fifth episode and the predictability, Do Gubbare is a simple heartwarming tale of bonding between 2 individuals in different generations.

Watch link: https://www.jiocinema.com/tv-shows/do-gubbare/3784534

Me Vasanth rao

This movie is available on Jio cinema with subtitles. Hope jio cinema improves their support to the regional contents.

Me Vasant Rao is about the journey of Vasanth rao from normal clerk who loves music to a renowned singer whom people admire.

This movie starts with the birth of Vasanth rao and shows the conflict leading to the separation of Vasant’s mother from his father. We got to see the fight of the single parent in raising him and the way he is raised up. We then get to see multiple people that he meets and learns various lessons from them.

There are few other recent movies (Disciple, Qala) that narrates the lives of hindustani musicians. This movie is different in the way of portrayal of the protagonist. He is someone who keeps his identity in music without imitating others.He never believed in defining rules in music.He sings solely for happiness and takes his music to his heart. That’s why he was able to make a change in the mind of audience. Writer successfully create an emotional connect well enough to understand the character.

Supporting characters were written well enough to support the protagonist at crucial situations(Begum character, Friend, Mother character). Director uses optimal use of music to uplift the narration. Some of the terms related to hindustani music were new to me. (For instance: Gharana, Lavani). Happy that I got introduced to these terms.

Songs were so soothing to hear, especially Shreya ghoshal song. No wonder Rahul Despande earned national award for one of the song. Art team made the time period look authentic(Riot scene involving train). After point of time (Specifically after Vasanth met a woman and sang Lavani song), story moves slowly. Cuts could have been better to help the viewer keep engaged.

Coming to the performances, Rahul Despande did an excellent job in portraying the hardships of Vasanth rao. He portrayed the conflict of being a responsible family man and passionate singer, with atmost perfection. Special mention to the actor who portrayed the childhood of Vasanth and mother character (I have seen her in Vaalvi movie previously. Watch out for an interaction scene with Vasanth when he goes back to work). Amey did notable performance as Deenath Mangeshkar, one of the life changing person for Vasanth. There is a scene where he says, “When you want to sing and don’t get audience, that too is poverty”. That dialog shows his passion towards music.

Other than the tiring length, main drawback was that father character wasn’t having much screen space as expected.

Me Vasanth rao is a memorable ode biopic of an artist who shows his talent without trying to please people or looking for acclaim. Most recommended for someone who knows Marathi music culture .

Cliché statement to add: Not Everyone’s cup of tea.

Watch link: https://www.jiocinema.com/movies/me-vasantrao-marathi/3751217/watch

Mimi

I saw many reviews referring that Mimi is disappointing, rarely feels believable, wastes the talent of actors and many more. But, after watching Mimi, I would disagree with this degrading kind of reviews. Same happened to a Tamil webseries ‘November Story’ as well. Both aren’t flawless but not worthless. While November story is a slow burning crime thriller, Mimi is a predictable emotional drama.

Mimi revolves around the titular character Mimi who aspires to become an actress. Her life changes upside down when she takes an important decision for it. Film narrates about the consequences of the decision.

Though Mimi is remake, it never gives the feel of watching a remake.In the opening scene ,we are introduced to an American couple John and Summer, who are searching for healthy girl for surrogacy. Execution focuses more on humourous side and gives a light-hearted feel to the scenes. Scene where Mimi reveals an important decision to her parents is a great example of blending humour to a serious situation.

Writer and director Laxman Uthrekar succeeded to explore the possibilities of humour in the situation, create an emotional connect with the key characters and convey the intended message. Though Mimi is the central character, director considers to portay the perspective of Summer.

Kriti sanon managed to add authenticity to the struggle of Mimi. Look out for her performance in scenes with the American couple. Bhanu is just a cakewalk for Pankaj tripathi for the caliber that he possesses. The ease in his performance is a key reason that many humour scenes worked.

Dialogues too were notable. For instance: Bhanu says in a situation,”I’m driver. Whatever problem I faced, it’s my responsibility to drop my passengers to their destination”. It conveys the mindset of the character. Background score adapted aptly to the mood swings of the movie. Songs were placed well enough as suitable to the situation.

Mimi isn’t without drawbacks. The particular statement she says regarding aborting the child is contrary to that in Sara’s movie. Writer could have added a better justification for that.

Mimi is an engaging sentimental drama that portrayed the emotional conflicts of the main characters without being too verbal or melodrama.

Verdict: Worth a watch

Netflix watch link: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81267360?preventIntent=true