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

The story of things

It’s not common that horror or supernatural dramas offer surprise package to the audience. SonyLiv original Tamil anthology series ‘The story of things’ contains 5 short about how old or replaced things communicates with a person.

First episode ‘Weighing scale’ highlights the journey of a struggling actor and problems happening after an incident.Writer really well portrays the conflict between success and guilt.Background score along with the compelling performance of Bharath helps in building tense moments. The only concern was the unnecessary focus on horror part of the episode title though some of them works well.

Second episode ‘Cellular phone’ revolves around Vannamayil (or VM) and her bonding with her mother. Writer initially establishes the conservative nature of mother character and how Vannamayil got adapted to a scheduled life. Dialogues including a story narration in different scenes smartly adds nuances to the narration. For instance: the tale of a dog fallen in a well. Though the horror element is not very nerve chilling, the director maintains the supernatural ambience really well. The Final emotional breakdown was really touching. Aditi balan did justice to her role as the overthinking ‘VM’.

Probably weaker compared to the others, third episode ‘Compressor’ is about the weird incidents happening for a couple when they buy an old model AC. Director maintains the supernatural element throughout by utilizing silence and the sound of the AC as required. Background score manages to create scary moments and effectively bring in the conflict between the interactions of the couple.Main drawback was that the writer never tried to explain those weird incidents unlike the previous 2. Climax remained wanting more for a finish. Slow burning style may not be acceptable for everyone.

Fourth episode ‘Car’ focuses on ‘Brito’ who experiences incidents similar to his childhood memories and shows why travels back to his old house after years. The main similarity of 2nd and this story is that both portray wrong parenting.Siddique nails his role as the strict and abusive father. Shanthanu Bhagyaraj lends equally good support as Britto who carries the trauma and is scared of cars because of his daunting past His performance adds authenticity to the transformation of the character.Unlike the 3rd one, the Director manages to make a clear indication of the hallucination and supernatural elements in the narration.Climax revelation was smart enough and unexpected.

As we say ‘Save the best for the last’, fifth episode ‘Mirror’ is the best of the lot.Sethu, a guy with suicidal tendency witnesses a life inside an old mirror in his new house.Background score maintains the pleasant feel mostly. Interaction scenes of protagonist and girl are joy to watch and refreshment from the dark mood set by the other stories. Anshitha Anand and Vinoth Kishan share a sweet chemistry between them and that makes the short more enjoyable.Climax, particularly the last 5 min turn around seems a bit confusing but the uniqueness complements the unusual ending.
Final revelation will make viewers wonder how this was actually written and that makes this one an engaging watch.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/shows/story-of-things-tamil-1700001109/weighing-scale-1000203234

Kathmandu connection

Hindi web series, Kathmandu connection is about the personal and professional journey of DGP Samarth Kaushik and his efforts to find the relation of Sunny sharma with Bombay blast 1993.

It takes us first to the busy life of Shivani, a famous journalist. Shivani gets concerned when she gets anonymous calls back to back. She informs it to Samarth. Samarth starts his investigation on and off his duty and it leads him to more trouble.

After finishing the second episode, viewer would expect a cat and mouse game between Samarth kaushik and Sunny. The writing felt flat and plain without much exciting elements. Execution focuses more on the emotional angle without focusing more on investigation thriller angle. For instance: execution of Samarth’s breakdown scene in the hospital carries a lot of intensity and that makes it memorable in the end .

The real turnaround in this series reveals in the final episode and the twist that shifts the perspective was really amazing. It answers few of the questions regarding the previous episodes. For instance: the Sunny- Shivani romance felt a bit long initially but made sense in the end. Songs and background score were fine enough.
Amit Sial really puts up a strong performance as the grey shaded Samarth who is a dedicated cop but vulnerable father and husband. Shivani is yet another neatly written character, who leads a solo life. Aksha did a decent job as Shivani. Others too were fine with their role. Special mention to the actors who played Samarth’s companion officer Shravan, Shravan’s wife and CBI officer Hitesh.

Though Kathmandu connection isn’t without drawbacks, it is underrated in terms of its quality.(It looks like much of the SonyLiv contents are underrated because they aren’t great in marketing). Just watch it on SonyLiv. It won’t be a waste of time for sure.

Watch link: https://www.sonyliv.com/shows/kathmandu-connection-1700000716

Other recommendations in SonyLiv: Ram singh Charlie, Welcome home (Hindi), Dithee (Marathi), Thaen (Tamil- emotional drama), Kasada tabara (Tamil- hyperlinked stories).

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.