1. Majnu
The weakest film of the anthology. Jaideep Ahlawat, who was phenomenal in 'Paatal Lok' is just not convincing enough in this, especially towards the end after the twist in the tale is revealed to the audience. This story is too thin and lukewarm to leave any kind of impact on the viewer.
2. Khilauna
The movie showcases the existing difference between people from different sections of society, a concept explored by the first film 'Majnu' as well, but this one does it better. Nushrat Bharucha once again puts forth a confident acting performance. The way she has been presented may raise questions, but her acting is pretty decent. Abhishek Bannerjee, for some reason doesn't have a lot to do in the film, which is a shame considering the kind of talent that he is. The youngest member of the star cast is the most impressive as far as acting performance goes. Inayat Verma has once again proved that she is a talent to watch out for. The twist in the end is not only too dark and disturbing but also comes out of nowhere. Adding a shocking twist in the end, sometimes feels like lazy writing. A good story shouldn't really put the entire onus on its climax to leave an impact on the audience. Also, nothing builds up to what we see in the climax of the film.
3. Geeli Pucchi
Easily the best film of this anthology. 'Geeli Pucchi' should have been released as a standalone because the other three stories are nowhere close to what this film is. As soon as you start watching it, you realize that you are watching something really good. This is the longest of the four films, and I am really glad they didn't force the director to reduce the length. Writer, director Neeraj Ghaywan has once again proved that he is a man of extraordinary talent. In 47 minutes, the director managed to talk about so many evils of our society, cast system, Homophobia, gender discrimination, hypocrisy, patriarchy and that too very smoothly, at no point did it feel like he was forcing something down our throat. Homosexuality is a topic, that was initially made fun of by our films, but over the years filmmakers have been trying to handle the issue with more sensitivity, and this film goes one step ahead and presents it in the most normalized manner. The protagonist, Bharti Mandal gets constantly humiliated and abused by everyone around her and at a certain point I was worried that the story might just end because Bharti had hit a new low in her life, but she decides to fight back and makes a remarkable comeback from there. The writing in 'Geeli Pucchi' is just beautiful. Leading from the front in this brilliant film are two phenomenal actresses, Konkona Sen Sharma and Aditi Rao Hydari. Once again, one of the best things about these anthologies is that it's giving opportunities to actors and actresses who are genuinely talented, but are not popular enough for producers to run after them with a bagful of cash. I loved every bit of this film. This movie is a must watch.
4. Ankahi
There is a lot of noise in the film when it begins, and then it almost goes into silent mode. Almost all the dialogues in the film are said through sign language, but you won't be bored watching it. All the scenes involving Manav Kaul and Shefali Shah are as sweet and smooth as the Prateek Kuhad song that plays in the background of the film. It's all good till it ends. I didn't really understand the reason as to why it ended like that. It's a simple film, not at par with 'Geeli Pucchi' but way better than the first two films of the anthology. People should watch it for Manav Kaul and Shefali Shah, two insanely talented but highly underrated actors.
4 out of 5 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
