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Chhalaang (2020)
Promising plot that flatters to deceive!
Here's my take on Chhalaang - that has just been released on Amazon prime.
Chhalaang comes from the stable of Hansal Mehta who apart from several other TV shows and films is specially regarded for his solid cerebral stuff in Aligarh and Shahid. Chhalaang revolves around an accidental sports teacher, played by his long time muse Rajkumar Rao, whose inability to persevere beyond a point, has been his undoing for a good part of his growing up years. Chhalaang is all about that "leap" that he eventually takes to prove himself - to his lady love.... and beyond!
The narrative follows a predictable pattern that a lot or successful Bollywood sports films have done in recent past - however in essence, in several ways it is closest to Prakash Jha's debut venture Hip Hip Hurray. While there is a feel good factor to any such sports movie with a poetic justice, the movie never manages to create the cinematic impact that outdoor action scenes especially in the climax stages manage to offer. What probably stands out for the film though, is some simple yet effective social messaging that Mehta manages to infuse in an otherwise run down genre - especially one on one between Saurabh Shukla and Ila arun, in my opinion, is a high point in the film. Beyond these the storyline, imo has several jarring notes which look rather bizarre, but I would leave that to the ultimate judgement of the viewers.
Rajkumar Rao, who has been growing by leaps and bounds as an actor, once again impresses. He delivers the transformation of his character rather effortlessly and provides several rich moments for his fans. Two masters of situational comedy Satish Kaushik and Saurabh Shukla play important roles to keep the film alive. Ila Arun as the principal of the school is just about okie. The extremely charming Nusrat Bharucha playing the female lead to Rajkumar Rao struggles to gel in, though one can make out that she tries quite hard. Jatin Sarna and Zeeshan Ayub play their roles well.
Overall Chlalaang, though not disappointing, somewhat flatters to deceive. It however is still a very good watch for a lazy Sunday afternoon that can ensure a very positive start to the week. If you are a parent whose kid is showing a promise in sports it has got a strong message at the end!!
Feluda Pherot (2020)
Feluda is Back - and Back with a Bang!
Feluda is Back - and back with a BANG!
The much awaited web series on one of the most celebrated characters in Bengali literature came alive on TV screens on Christmas and as is expected of every diehard Feluda fan, despite being on a vacation, I managed to binge watch it - and here's my take on Season 1.
"Feluda Pherot" is Srijit Mukherjee's maiden attempt at bringing Feluda to screen. Interestingly, one of the earliest full fledged directorial ventures of Srijit, while still at Bangalore was a play by the same title, at the historical Ranga Shankara and with Parambrata in the lead, that was extremely well received. The choice to stick to the same title for his web series therefore, has to be more than just a coincidence!
Season 1 is based on "Chinnomostar Obhishaap" (The curse of the Goddess in the translated version in English) and is set in late 70s at Rajrappa near Hazaribagh in Bihar (now Jharkhand). The story in my personal opinion is one of the most iconic creations of Ray. Chinnamasta as a unqiue form of Shakti is a mystical concept in Hindu mythology that interestingly also finds resonance in Buddhist scripts. The supposedly 6000+ year old temple at Rajrappa is considered to be a close second to Kamakhya in its tantric significance and despite its not-so-easy-access finds serious religious & academic tourists from all over the world. Hazaribagh used to be a summer retreat and/or retirement destinations of prosperous Bengalis of Kolkata for its weather, rustic natural beauty and for its rich wildlife (read Royal Bengal Tiger!) and the folklores around the (in)famous Tatijhatriya forests . Ray's genius amalgamates all these aspects into a spine chilling adventure - as Feluda along with his two confidantes try unravelling parallel mysteries of a Royal Bengal tiger having escaped from a circus and a septuagenerian's cryptic clues at his deathbed regarding his son who has been incommunicado for 10 years . At hindsight, its rather surprising that no one thought of bringing this potent story to the screen earlier and the director needs to be specifically lauded for having made an eclectic pick.
Srijit Mukherjee, a Feluda fanboy himself has chosen to stay absolutely true to the original story. People who have eaten, drank and absorbed the Feluda stories will get an emphatic feel of déjà vu as Srijit has pretty much cellulodified the cellulose - and is sure to have most (if not all) of them swooning for more! Srijit is arguably the most celebrated and decorated director in Tollywood today and he needs to be called out for being able to refrain from adapting the narrative to his statements. There is only one dialogue that talks about the dangers of overzealous interpretation(s) of religion that he has slipped in but that is just a byline and does not dilute anything. His signature plays with the color palletes and his trademark one - on - one encounters in screenplays do appear once in a while but he seems to have judiciously and consciously stayed away from lending a "creative" touch to influence the narrative.
A significant contributor for the overall impact of Feluda Pherot is its casting. Tota looks to have come straight out of the sketches of Ray. His diction, appearance and mannerisms pretty much reflect "Pradosh C Mitter". Even while keeping in mind that Tota has extremely big shoes to fill, I am willing to stick my neck out to say that Srijit and Tota have shown enough promise to create the next popular "Feluda" after Soumitra and Sabyasachi. Anirban Chakrabarti, as expected, has been refreshingly impressive as Jataayu. Kalpan Mitra as Topshe has been a bit of a disappointment and I am still wondering if Srijit has purposely kept Topshe a bit on the sidelines in Season 1. I guess we will be answered when we see Kalpan next in season 2 as the adventure at Kathmandu has the character of Topshe playing a more important role. All in the supporting cast look to have been thoughtfully cast and have played out their parts very well. Two performances however stand a little taller - Dhritiman Chatterjee (Mahesh Choudhury) as the erudite and cryptic patriarch breaking up from within due to his guilt consciousness and the veteran Arun Guhathakurta (Akhil babu) as the benevolent astrologer cum Ayurveda practitioner to Mahesh Choudhury. The latter in fact plays a gem of an innings which also sadly turned out to be his last. I hope the thespian is smiling from the heavens above; happy to have been part of a production that is bound to live through the sands of time.
Feluda Pherot's opening music as well as the overall soundscapes have had a pivotal role to play. Keeping Ray's epic signature tune intact, Joy Sarkar & Srijato have created a charming opener. Srijato in particular has penned a song which is not something we typically see of him and hence deserves a lot of credit. Despite being on a binge watching spree, it was nearly impossible to skip the opener as it manages to give you goosebumps every single time. Rupankar Bagachi, Rupam Islam & Anupam Roy need to be complimented for infusing the right dose of nostalgia into their renditions. The background score has been used with subtle variations in intensity to specifically enhance the impact remarkably well at critical moments in the narrative.
Summing up, Feluda Pherot is a Santa's Xmas gift for all Bong cinelovers and definitely a treat for all the Feluda fans. More importantly with the directorial genius of Srijit and the near prefect casting of Tota, I would like to believe it to be a harbinger of sumptuous Feluda spreads being served om screens in not so distant future. I shall eagerly wait for the action in Kathmandu and beyond!
#feludapherot #srijitmukherjee #feluda #jataayu #chinnomostarobhishaap #thecurseofthegoddess #hazaribagh #rajrappa #joysarkar #srijato #anirbanchakrabarti #dhritiman #arunguhathakurta
Rosogolla (2018)
Fine storytelling with a new cast by a relatively new director
My take on "Rossogolla" the movie The much awaited biopic on Nobin Chandra Das, the inventor of the "Rossogolla" hit the screens yesterday. The timing of the movie is rather significant as it comes in the backdrop of the "bitter sweet" tussle for the GI tag for Bengali Rossogolla and also coincides with the 150 years of the epic invention. To set the expectations right, it needs to be said right at the onset that Rossogolla is a commercial feature and not a strict biopic. The script has therefore leveraged the creative license available to a storyteller to play facts with a healthy dose of imagination, to weave the intended impact. The film has debutants Ujaan Ganguly (son of extremely talented and well read Kaushik and Churni Ganguly) and Abantika in the lead and they make a lively pair. Both of them had a formidable task at hand. Ujaan plays the legendary confectioner Nobin Chandra Das, a simple 20 something from the mid 19th century with meagre means but a steely resolve. Abantika plays Khirod
- first a 16 year livewire with a temper to match and later the loving and spirited wife of Nobin. As newcomers Ujaan and Abantika come out with flying colors. Abantika gets into the character as if she is an incarnation of Khirode...playing it with an amazing ease...you hardly feel she is "acting". As audience, you fall in love with her within the first few minutes and its to her immense credit that we start pining for her presence repeatedly. Ujaan has a wider canvas of character to sketch and his effort does look a bit labored at times - but to be fair to him, does a remarkable job of seizing the critical moments. His spontaneous jig every time there is a moment to celebrate, looks innocently cute.
Bhaag Beanie Bhaag (2020)
Watch it for Swara Bhasker..if at all
Bhaag Beanie Bhaag is a 6 episode family drama series released on Dec 4 on Netflix. The story revolves around a charming middle class girl Beanie with an apparently "happy" life deciding to answer her inner calling to become a stand up comedian - right on the day of her engagement - and then all hell breaks loose!
Beanie, the protagonist is played by the extremely talented Swara Bhasker. She plays the middle class girl confused of her priorities in life transitioning into a confident and relatively sorted person eventually taking the plunge to pursue her dreams - almost effortlessly. I can stick my next out and say that Swara Bhasker could well have carved out the possibilities of an alternate career for herselves - that she is equally fluent in English & Hindi gives her that edge.
There are three critical characters that define the storyline - Beanie's boyfriend Arun Kalra (played by Varun Thakur), "the other guy" in her life Ravi patel (played by Ravi Patel), her all weather best friend Kapi (played by Dolly Singh). All three of them play their part remarkably well in progressing & augmenting the narrative and "supporting" the protagonist to carry the central theme. Ravi is also one of the key creators of the series and hence the nuancing of the four prime characters are well done capitalizing on his vast repertoire..
Girish Kulkarni and Mona Ambegaokar as Beanie's parents, eager to have her settled in the conventional middle class ways are convincing - though I feel for the talent of Girish Kulkarni, he is severely underutilized. Also IMO Ravi (and other creators) has not spent enough time and effort to flesh out the parents' characters - which however does not really dilute the impact, though.
BBB is a fairly entertaining binge watch if you have an appetite for stand up comedy or if you love Swara Bhasker or both!
#Bhagbeaniebhag #swarabhasker #ravipatel #netflix #dollysingh #dollysingh #girishkulkarni
Ludo (2020)
An engaging watch if you dont try to be too cerebral about it
Decided to watch Ludo as it had invaded the mindspaces of most whatsapp groups. Here's my take on the movie.
Ludo is a cryptic comedy crime thriller by the maverick filmmaker Anurag Basu . The film is themed on the premise that "Ludo is life & Life is Ludo". It has four story tracks representing the four shades of Ludo - which are connected by a comic villain serving as the dice that connects the four quadrants of the game of Ludo. The story is delivered in a sutradhar mode - with Yamraj (Anurag basu) & Chitragupta (Rahul Bagga) discussing the philosophy of life and the shades of gray that blur the boundaries of good and bad in the real world. Yamraj - the wise one who understands life a little better in its entirety - and hence is the one controlling the narrative. Ludo attempts to extract pragmatism out of the chaos of life - by looking at it from a distance and by realizing all the coins of Ludo eventually are ordained to reach the center. This storytelling scheme in someways also defines Anurag's approach to film-making in recent times as one sees shades of this in Jagga Jasoos as well. However unlike Jagga which bombed, Ludo manages to keep us by and large engaged. There are times when it does seem to meander a bit, but a quick transition to one of the other tracks helps restore sanity and coherence.
If the above description starts sounding a bit cryptic - well that is what the film is - and while it might sound a bit "over the top" - it is actually not so. Perhaps what works to keep the film adequately engaging and entertaining is the enviable starcast Anurag has assembled for Ludo. The inimitable Pankaj Tripathy as "Sattu Bhaiya"- the comic villain and the common thread across the 4 colors of Ludo is astoundingly brilliant. Rajkumar Rao (Alu) as the silent foolhardy romantic, committed to pluck the moon if need be, for his childhood love, once again delivers a fantastic character which has the potential to live through the times. I wont be surprised if "Sattu" and "Alu" find their way into neighborhood skits & school plays. Abhishek Bachchan playing to his strength as Bittu - a hardened criminal of the past, now in transformation do some good for the sake of his child makes quite an impact with the silent & poignant scenes which are relatively few in this film. Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana, Asha Negi, Rohit Saraf, Pearle Maane, Shalini Vatsa create a well hued ensemble by playing their parts as one of the four colored coins in the Ludo of life with measured panache. Despite all of them having a bagful of strong performances in the past - which so often color audience's perception of them (and at times even their perception of themselves!), in Ludo they seem be tailor made for the roles Anurag has cast them in.
The film has some amazing shots that define the narrative - across action, romance and plain simple reflections on life. Apart from story, screenplay and direction, Anurag has donned the role of the cinematographer (jointly) in this film - and so deserves a lot of credit for the strong visual impact that gets created on the whole.
Despite the fast pace, the intense and somewhat cryptic storyline and a bit of dark comedy thrown in, all credit to Preetam for the music that manages to stand out - in fact it serves well to temper the pace and soothe the chaos which is otherwise overarching and overwhelming, in all likelihood by design. While all the songs are good, "Humko Abbad Kar do" and "Hardum Humdum" by Arijeet clearly stands out in the sense that these songs will live beyond the movie. Lyricists Sayeed Quadri and Sandeep Srivastava should also be called out for these two compositions.
Overall Ludo is a fascinating weekend watch if you don't try to be too cerebral about it. Most importantly it re-establishes Anurag Basu as a storyteller with a difference who loves to experiment - which in turn hopefully makes this industry richer and breaks the notion that "Large Canvas crime thrillers"and "Larger than Life feel good romantic dramas" are the be all and end all of commercial Bollywood.
#ludo #ludothefilm #ludothemovie #anuragbasu #abhishekbachhan #pankajtripathy #pritam #arijitsingh #sayeedquadri #sandeepshrivastav #Sanyamalhotra #Adityaroykapur
Naxalbari (2020)
Fine acting & storyline that keeps you engaged despite an overused theme & genre
Naxalbari is a crime thriller centered around the Naxal movement in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra; a location that has witnessed some gory encounters in recent times. The series is directed by Partho Mitra - a veteran with a fairly accomplished body of works primarily in television. Partho's choice of name is interesting as Naxalbari is the village in west Bengal from which the first armed Naxal offensive started in the late sixties - a movement that had strong ideological reasons for its beginning, got phenomenal support from urban left leaning intellectuals and also made significant inroads into the academia.
The "atrocities & exploitation" by the "people in power" on the tribals and the consequent support to them from intellectuals across all walks of urban society has been the raison d'etre of the armed uprising(s) time and again - which is what forms the backdrop of this series as well. What however works well for Naxalbari is the very realistic characterization(s), extremely relatable screenplays and the deft twists-n-turns in the plot that keeps one veritably engaged.
The series features Rajeev Khandelwal in the lead as Raghav - a Special Task Force cop - sharp & committed - but not without the frailties and flaws of a human. Rajeev, who first rose to fame for the portrayal of the chocolate boy hero - Sujal Garewal in Kahiin to Hoga, over the years, has grown up phenomenally as an actor. Naxalbari will clearly rank as one of his top performances till date, along side Amir, Shaitan, Soundtrack et al and clearly redeems him after a not so great "Cold Lassi & Chicken Masala" and eminently forgettable "Ateet" which released earlier this year.
The rest of the cast has done ample justice to their roles as well. Tina Datta as Raghav's live-in partner hits the right notes at all stages of the twists and turns. Sreejita De, Satyadeep Mishra, Shakti Anand as a naxal activists live their characters with elan despite minimal dialogues. Aamir Ali, the CEO of the mining company being set up by the industrial house of Sisodias, in the forests, is the only disappointment of sorts, in my opinion. However, one could well argue that his deadpan face in abject contradiction to his shrewd mind is a well architected part of the directorial ploy.
The background score by Paresh shah is adequately engaging and the recurring lyrics "Anth hee Prarambh Hai" in the differential octave creates quite an impact. A good part of the action scenes have been shot in the forests with fantastic use of the light and shadow; keeps one thoroughly engaged.
I liked Naxalbari for the fact that it does not attempt to take any ideological sides and instead painstakingly brings forth the thoughts and strategies on either side and the gory denouement that gradually unfolds, which is probably what has happened every time in the history of this movement!
When the web series starts, a large convoy of minister and policemen are blown to pieces up by the Naxals and we, the audience gear up to see the unfolding of a poetic justice - BUT - by the time the series ends following a fierce shootout and a "thought through" killing of a specific Naxal activist by Raghav, you are no longer so sure of what is "justice". One if forced to sit back and come to terms with the enormous complexity of the Naxal situation today and probably just resign oneselves to sympathizing with people on both sides who keep getting sucked into this bloody turmoil.
Naxalbari makes for a riveting watch and if you come from one of the Naxal affected areas also makes you sir back and think if it has all been an evolving byproduct vested political interests!