Tag Archives: Netflix

Film Reviews

Film Review: Bheed (2023)

STORY

During the coronavirus pandemic, the government ordered nationwide lockdowns including checkpoints at the borders. Inspector Surya Kumar Singh Tikas is tasked to control one of the checkpoints but thousands of travelers get stuck on that border because they are not allowed to cross. The consequences are heavy. The impatience leads to frustration and people begin to quarrel, blame, and protest.

REVIEW

Bheed

I am not sure if the film “Bheed” is based on a true geographical event but if I assume that it is fictional, then the incidents in this fictional event represents one of the million stories that occurred in India, and one of the billion stories in the world. Bheed plays at least five different stories in the same parallel. Due to this reason, the growth of the characters are challenging within two hours of the screentime. Moreover, Bheed has another challenge that the screenplay must not exhaust the viewers because almost an entire film is shot on the checkpoint.

Although the film didn’t do well at the box-office because it was understandable that the audience do not wish to spend the time on a severe depression that recently haunted almost every one in the world. But frankly speaking, it is an absurd reason if I consider that’s the case. Bheed, in its full potential, served the purpose. The dramatization of tension building was remarkable, the panic in the crowd was impressively alarming, and the emotions were rightly despair.

BLACK AND WHITE

The one aspect that I found very impressive about Bheed is that the director Anubhav Sinha chose to make this film black and white. As an observer, there can be two reasons. One is that the migration in the film will heavily remind you of the partition era. Second, the colorless theme can represent the national tragedy. Such creative aesthetics indicate that the filmmaker is serious about conveying a message to the audience. And I like that spirit when the film-making artistry is taken too serious.

A POTENTIAL BEST SCENE

There is a scene where a sudden noise among the crowd erupts and Inspector Tikas has to run to check what happened and it is the police that sanitizes people by showering them. I wish if I was Anubhav’s assistant so I would have suggested him to make that a one-shot scene from Tikas’ angle running the entire route of the noisy crowd until that mark of sanitizing them. I know that could have been a very difficult shooting but that is the beauty. What’s the fun if the director has to shot the film plain and simple. My suggested shot would have been the best Bollywood scene of the year 2023.

THE DAUGHTER

I think the best of all stories was the hopeless cycle riding of a young daughter and drunk father. Their survival was not imminent but were not giving up. It was strange that only one car spotted them riding towards a different route. And this was followed by that car following them until a very moving scene caught our attention when the driver of the car refused to obey his madam and helped them cross the route. This was an important message to the audience coming from the global disaster. On such a cruel planet, the natural disasters are the only certain situations where strangers help each other out.

THE TROUBLEMAKER

But then there are circumstances where people do not allow helping each other. Balram Trivedi is one such character who provoked the harmony twice. When the Muslims aided the Hindus with food, Balram snatched all the packets and returned. It was too late to realize and regret that he was wrong and then the packets were distributed somewhere. When he couldn’t borrow the time of feeding them by not dropping his ego, he chose desperate violence of invading the mall nearby which was illegal and unacceptable. Had he allowed the Muslim aid, the circumstances would have not gone worse.

CLOSING REMARKS

The commercial failure of Bheed gives a wrong reflection on the choices of the audience. Because the film had technical brilliance in direction, story, screenplay, cinematography, and editing. The dialogues, the major performances especially of Rajkummar Rao as Tikas and Pankaj Kapur as Balram, and even the closing in the final 20 minutes were impressive. So forget the box-office and do yourself a favor, watch Bheed on Netflix.

Bheed successfully shows how the pandemic still cannot defeat the caste system, the religious conflicts, and the prejudices. People still find reasons to raise hatred and squabble by differentiating. Perhaps, the humans fighting over stupid reasons is a bigger pandemic than the pandemic.

RATING: 8.2/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway (2023)

STORY

An Indian couple from Kolkata in Norway loses the custody of their two children to the country’s Child Welfare Service when the latter fail them for ‘incompetent parenting’. ‘Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway‘ is a legal drama that is based on a real life story of Sagarika Bhattacharya who fought against the state to get her children back.

REVIEW

Without a doubt, the event is real and not fiction but my concern is the micro-detailing of the real event that doesn’t buy me tokens of belief in the screenplay. As for example, the draconian portrayal of the child welfare institute. There was no neutrality, Norway looked like some devilish state offering no tolerance to the foreigners. Mrs. Chatterjee who wakes up after an unconscious collapse, grabs her husband’s mobile, runs away from the institute with no camera and security detecting her escape. The most outrageous of all wrongs was the ladies of the welfare service running away with their children as if they were kidnapping.

I have no knowledge if the real Mrs. Chatterjee somehow took her kids from a foster house and ran away from Norway to Sweden. I also have zero knowledge about the Indian side of the film if the relatives signed any treaty with Norway disallowing the mother to get her children from the relatives. As an observer, all these scenes looked sensationalized. If all that is actually true, my severe sympathy with Ms Sagarika Bhattacharya. Then I say that the directional execution of the entire story was ordinary.

The film began with a boring BANG! that Mrs. Chatterjee runs towards the welfare car to get her children from them. And then the flashback focuses how it all started. You could have simply started the film with the welfare ladies making the final visit at the Chatterjees and spending at least five minutes of their formal conversation making the audience uncomfortable and clueless that something is really looking off in this meeting. And then BOOM! the ladies breaking the dreadful news to the couple of taking their children. The parents losing their Goddamn minds and protesting the decision. Getting panicked and protecting their children from them. Making panic calls here and there. This is how the film should have started.

I don’t know why is this film in Hindi. The Bengali couple speaking in Hindi with each other didn’t look right at all. The film must have been in Bengali and Norwegian languages with Hindi limited only to the third person. Speaking of the language, the High Court scenes of India are dramatized in Kolkata. I am not sure if Hindi is used in the high court of the West Bengal state or not.

I happen to notice an extremely silly mistake in the film. The first scene of the Kolkata High Court shows the arrival of the judge in the court. In the first line where Mrs. Chatterjee is benched, two legal representatives are appearing. In a few seconds, we observe there is only one and the prosecution lawyer is actually missing. She is shown to have arrived late to the court due to heavy traffic. And the prosecution lawyer, I was stunned and really thought that Mamta Kulkarni has returned to the silver screen after decades. But I was mistaken, she is Balaji Gauri.

RANI MUKHERJEE

I think Rani Mukherjee was a very good choice for Mrs. Chatterjee. For a mother who was traumatized by the authorities for taking her children, a restless translation of injustice, Rani brilliantly gave us a tragic motherhood appeal. You may feel annoyance about her mental outburst making the case of the Welfare Service stronger but this is the type of a frustrated mother Rani was roped in to.

CLOSING REMARKS

Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway deserved a better screenwriter and a director. The story had every potential to turn into an exceptional courtroom drama. Perhaps, a limited series would have done justice, only if the writing was genuine.

RATING 4/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Dhak Dhak (2023)

STORY

Four women from different backgrounds and generations are destined to bike-ride Khardung La. Lali, the youngest, played by Sanjana Sanghi, has low self-esteem and is recently engaged. Uzma, played by Dia Mirza, helps her husband run home by secretly working as a mechanic. Mahi, the oldest, played by Ratna Pathak Shah, has recently learned to ride the bike after winning it as a prize. And Sky, played by Fatima Sana Shaikh, the leader of the gang is a videographer. Sky was newly a victim of internet crime when her private pictures were leaked by her ex-boyfriend. And she had not informed them.

TRUE STORY?

Dhak Dhak had an interesting plot but in my observation suffered from a lot of issues. Without a doubt, all four stories were well connected but here is the penny to entwine. The film presses that this is based on a true story. What true story? I did not find the true story on the internet. If this was based on true story then why the real-life footage or pictures were not shown in the end? Was this a lie to sell popcorn? Let me know if any of you has any idea about the true story.

MISINFORMATION

Secondly, Dhak Dhak’s plot-line pressed that Khardung La is the highest motorable road in the world which is around 17,500 ft. If I am not mistaken, this is a wrong information. Forget the world, Khardung La was never the highest in India in the past. It was Dungri La that stands at 18,400 ft. And in recent years, Umling La has become the highest not in India but in the world, that stands at around 19,000 ft.

POOR WRITING

Dhak Dhak’s screenplay was disappointing because after highlighting their origins, the direction could not grow the four characters together. The film didn’t spend or was unable to invest time in developing their unusual friendship. I didn’t get the feel when the continuity pretended that they had already climbed the first ladder of knowing each other. I was surprised and found it bizarre that the bikers were punished on the street with the ear-holding sit-ups, especially Mahi.

There was a very important scene in the film that got terribly wasted due to weak direction. A video about their private conversation while being drunk went viral on social media and was blamed on Sky. Later, it was discovered that a foreigner recorded them. Next scene? They move ahead to their next destination. Did the ladies take no action against the foreigner and ride off to the next destination? Just like that? Knowing the fact that this is a female-centered film, I think the director Tarun Dudeja missed the chance to address. The story could have concluded that character by calling the police and making him record a live confession.

CHARACTERS & PERFORMANCES

I think Uzma got to join the gang very comfortably. Despite the fact that she lied to her husband, I really thought that her husband will raise questions and inquire from the contacts she was lying about meeting them. After all, she was planning to leave alone, not even her daughter was accompanying her. But he let her go. It was strange due to the fact that Uzma was living in a semi-conservative Muslim household. I was expecting a ‘Secret Superstar‘ kind of tension here.

It is not like if the writing of the film did nothing exceptional. Lali’s character had a strong individual portrayal. She represents many millions of girls who are afraid of taking a step on their own. Lali cannot even open a packet of chips. Not that if this problem is threatening but can be. You have the right and must be bold to make your own life decisions. It was a thoughtful scene when her guru asks what the soon-to-be-husband does and she is blank.

And Sanjana Sanghi played her part very well, so did Dia Mirza. In fact, Dia is unsung for her performances in recent years. Her acting has improved if anyone notices. I don’t think I need to invest my time explaining Ratna’s performance. She has been in splendid form for some time now. But Fatima Sana Shaikh has indicated that the audience needs to take her seriously. Watch her when she drops her frustration after a heavy stream destroys her work. All the hearts break when she laments over how people respond her posts and communicate when they see her. I think this was one of the best scenes of the year.

By the way, Taapsee Pannu was one of the producers of the film. She was perfect for the role of Sky. Unsure why she didn’t appear but she was missed.

CLOSING REMARKS

In overall a poor writing, Dhak Dhak was also annoying me with over-usage of songs that were highly unnecessary. The background score was a huge distraction and sometimes the music was louder than dialogues. The final 15 minutes were average and predictable.

Dhak Dhak, despite an interesting plot and good performances, is a chance missed and deserved a better writing and direction.

RATING 4/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Friday Night Plan (2023)

REVIEW

‘Friday Night Plan‘ is a Netflix coming-of-age comedy-drama about two brothers Sid and Adi who get a chance to drive their mother’s car and attend a party at Nat’s with whom Sid has a crush. The film stars Babil Khan, Amrith Jayan, Aadhya Anand, Medha Rana, Ninad Kamat, and Juhi Chawla.

This film gives an insight about an introvert Sid who has been a pupil in the same school for eight years but has not gained any recognition and reputation like others. He has a crush on the girl but doesn’t know how to interact and impress. But then suddenly, he is the talk of the school and has built a status because he won a football tournament for his school. And now he is more uncomfortable.

There is always a need of the background story for the main character in the coming-of-age genre. This film grew Sid by talking about his past in the later phase of the film that developed more reasons behind his being extra silent and careful. His younger brother Adi is the best detailing for a younger brother as he was fast, smart, chill, irresponsible as well as a troublemaker. The last two traits are obviously not the best qualities in the person but in a character because the smart Adi just couldn’t realize why losing a car to the police was a big problem. Instead, he suggests that the mother will take care of it as he does not want to give up the party at all.

The heated argument between the two was interesting because they opened up their lives to each other. What Adi brings to the story is trouble as well as relief for Sid. He is his hype-man and really wants his brother to calm his solemnity and open up to the world. It is so well shot without exaggerating when Adi starts praising his brother when Nat enters the room.

CLOSING REMARKS

‘Friday Night Plan’ has a very simple and straight route for the continuity of the story. There are no interesting filming techniques to bring an excellent crafting from a coming-of-age. Also, for such a simple story based on one day, this film is too lengthy and slow for having a screen time of almost two hours. The dialogues were easy-going and realistic.

The whole sub-plot of inspector being furious over being egged was a bit time wasting and unnecessary stretch. Another reason why I say that the film was too simple is because Juhi Chawla’s role of the mother of two kids didn’t get to test. She came nowhere close to her car getting towed. If I was the writer, I would have her character do the talking with her sons and conclude the film on a better note.

I am getting fond of Babil’s acting since watching him recently in The Railway Men as I watched that first. His character execution, voice, and behavioral attitude is a gift from his deceased legendary father and anyone can observe that.

I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Friday Night Plan’ but for me, it was at least 30 minutes long and deserved a better conclusion to all dramas that occurred in one night.

RATING 6.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: La Sociedad De La Nieve (2023)

INTRODUCTION

In Uruguay 1972, 45 passengers including a local rugby team flies to Chile but suffers from a flight disaster when the plane crashes into a glacier in the Andes Mountains. 29 of them dies but 16 survives. La sociedad de la nieve is a Spanish film based on this actual event and their survival. The story of such miraculous survival is adapted from Pablo Vierci‘s book with the same title. Director J. A. Bayona discovered this book while researching for his the-then upcoming film, The Impossible.

REVIEW

At a 2 hours and 20 minutes stretch, the heart of the film is in the unthinkable courage of those remaining passengers counting their seconds and making effort in somehow distancing themselves from an agonizing death. My objection is the length due to a very limited growth of the plot.

If humans are stuck at a particular geography for almost two hours of the film, two factors are important to be taken care of. One is that the pace of that portion of the film must not drop down to death. And the other is that the screenplay (again, of that portion) must offer a lot of sub-plot developments for the audience to grow in it. Neither the pace dropped nor the growth of their survival story faltered. In that case, 144 minutes were too much for such a film.

HISTORICAL ACCURACIES

 

Director Bayona carried out 100 hours of interviews with the survivors and gathered information to make the detailing of the film authentic. He even signed South American actors mostly from Argentina and Uruguay instead of North America and Britain.

Taking the picture before the crash is real with accurate detailing of postures of other passengers.

The blame for the flight disaster has been burdened on the inexperienced co-pilot who was controlling the plane at the time of the event. To my amazement, there was no scene shot about the pilots facing any difficulty and making any error while flying their way out.

Two survivors did hike their way out for any hope. And it is also true that the third one returned to the survivors.

The plane in the film flew from Montevideo to Santiago but in real, the flight also had a stop in Mendoza due to bad weather. Nothing interesting occurred there so ignoring that stay was acceptable liberty.

The scene about helicopters coming to rescue and collect 14 survivors is incorrect. It took two days to take all the survivors due to helicopter’s weight, bad weather, and high altitude.

THAT CRASHING SCENE!

The biggest attraction of the film that wins the global audience is the sequence of the plane crash that is engineered for our scariest imagination of a terrible traveling experience.

The whole setting up of the impending disaster, that aerial scream of an unannounced death confusing the angel of death dancing on their heads, the window giving them a chance to witness the horror and feel the punctuality of coldness in their chest and feet, the sudden dropping of luggages like debris, the last breath in consciousness that makes them remember that God certainly exist, the state of shock and despair, the shining light of the destruction, the bodies getting smashed unalarmed, and the wisdom of pain mocking the cold blood. With such hold of high-class detailing about a flight disaster, the viewers are not prepared to take this cinematic experience without breaking into it.

A METICULOUS EFFORT

Without a doubt, the film heavily punches the detailing of their struggle as well as their souls knocking the body to leave. I like that interesting scene when four of them hike their chances and realize while reaching at an altitude and looking back that they just cannot see the plane at some distance. If they cannot, then no aircraft at their height can ever trace it due to white fuselage against the snow.

The disaster in the film dreadfully commands the implementation of extreme measures that challenges the survivors. The consumption of very limited food, the delirium of smoking to pass over this unimaginable cold weather. The cold winds blowing their hopes. The drastic loss of weight, shivering in their hugs, discussing about eating dead bodies, marking the ice, desperately listening to the radio, passing unusual urine, burying their loved ones. All the hearts break into pieces when the radio announces that the search ends. And the excitement over believing that an aircraft passing by may have noticed them.

CLOSING REMARKS

Society of the Snow, as it is translated and titled in English, is an excellent survival thriller that has possibly accounted all canyons of miseries and setbacks orchestrating in superb direction by J. A Bayona. The film is obviously very human and gives a much-needed inspiration that in the worst possible scenarios where survival is highly unlikely, people can work together and can defeat death in any given weather. Protecting each other and surviving together at all cost is the last thing humans can do to escape this horror. Do yourself a favor and watch this magnificent film.

RATING 8.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: The Archies (2023)

STORY

A young group of friends in the Riverdale High School take stand to save Green Park, the heart of the town Riverdale.

REVIEW

The Archies is based on the characters created and published by Archie Comics. The film is directed by Zoya Akhtar who herself is a fan of Archie comics. The Archie Comics is remembered for its golden run from the early 1940s until the late 1950s. These characters and their Riverdale cannot look fit in any other era at all. Setting Archie Comics in India was also difficult so Zoya did a huge favor by setting the storyline in the Anglo-Indian community based in India of the 1960s.

There can no question over the production and costume designing at all. The architectures, color tone, and the camera technique really brings that time back.

The detailing in the film is meticulous. The story is set in the year 1964 and I noticed the newspaper that Archie’s father reads. The year is 1964 and two headlines are about reforms in Nepal and cyclone in India. And both events actually occurred that year. Another point, Archie asks the tourists if they ever heard The Beatles five years ago. The Beatles was formed in 1960, their first studio albums were released three years later but 1964 is the year when the band gained international stardom.

Another good reason for setting the story in the 1960s is because of the rebellious elements in the plot. When the developers decide to destroy the legacy of Riverdale and build a hotel by destroying the Green Park, the young ones take stand, sign petitions across the community, protest, and perform for more votes. That is the most 1960s thing one can remember.

Making the film a teen musical was the only way to run it. The music and tracks really lived up to that time period. Excel Entertainment’s most trusted musical team Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were well supported by Ankur Tewari, The Islanders, and Dot.

A couple of scenes were well shot. I loved the one where after kissing, Archie and Betty close and hang in their doors, and touch their lips and then leave on the opposite directions at the same instant when the camera is moving out.

I liked the corporate angle that folds the Riverdale society. Zoya showed how the community affects by the decisions. People and their emotions are bought by the rich, you get the capitalistic vibes in the book shops and salons.

CAST

The teaser of the film that was released last year sparked outrage among the netizens and Bollywood buffs due to sense of nepotism as three of the seven kids belonged to major film families. After the release of the film, the netizens showed no mercy to note down how badly star kids performed on the silver screen.

Someday I will speak about Bollywood and nepotism but in brief, the criticism is harsh because the audience needs to understand that nepotism is one of the main roots that defines the film industry. These kids have made their debuts but their acting careers in the future will run ONLY if the audience accepts them.

The three in the lead are Agastya Nanda, the grandson of Amitabh Bachchan; Suhana Khan, the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan; and Khushi Kapoor, the daughter of Sridevi.

Almost a year ago, in a podcast with Nadir Ali, the British-Pakistani actor Alyy Khan, who play’s Suhana’s father, shared his experience of working in this very film and showed his dissatisfaction working with these newcomers. He gave an interesting insider that these kids get to work in a workshop for one year. He judged that if the kids still do not perform, then damnation on them. He was absolutely right.

Out of seven, none of them performed. They all were disappointing. The dialogue deliveries, the facial expressions, the body languages, they failed everywhere despite having Zoya Akhtar on the director chair. The fun fact is that the supporting actors are the actors.

I am unsure if the kids were instructed to act like that despite one year at the workshop. Particularly, Suhana’s acting was extremely messed up but if you look at her performance in that short film “The Grey Part of Blue”, you will be surprised.

But readers, again! time will tell. Many star kids were awful on their debut in the past. Some of them became very outstanding actors.

CLOSING REMARKS

The Archies with all impressive technicalities and music is halted to crafting the film into excellence for one major reason and that is the leading cast. The film depends on the Archies more than the pluses I mentioned above.

The era of rock’n’roll and miniskirts dashed by the obviousness and predictability. If the spine is broken, it leads to paralysis. A factory ready to manufacture the best possible product with best available resources but failing to deliver the required result due to weak labor force.

RATING 6.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

REVIEW

 

A ruthless admiral of the empire of the Motherworld, Atticus Noble, demands the villagers of Veldt an extraordinary supply of grain in 10 weeks. One of the villagers Kora decides to assemble the warriors from across the galaxy to fight against the Motherland.

I have a tremendous respect for Zack Snyder because of his style of filmmaking and the dark elements of political philosophy that he applies in his directional artistry. The meticulous structure that constructs his artistic image of the world that he shoots in the film takes time to grow. Same is the case with the first part of Rebel Moon that is now the beginning of an exciting franchise.

Although, the core of story doesn’t add much to new ideas as the plot heavily reminds me of Star Wars and Dune as well as Zack’s very own Justice League but Zack Snyder has this quality of making the film look beautiful and artistic that covers the mediocrity of the story. To my surprise, even action sequences were unimpressive. Slow-motion technique has been one of Zack’s uncontrolled habit in detailing a shot. But this time, he overused this and he needs to put limit on the slow-mos.

After I get settled with the plot in the first 40 minutes, the growth of the screenplay got confined because the remainder of the film proceeded with Kora recruiting warriors by traveling to different planets and after watching their heroics against the oppression. Moreover, the introduction of the warriors who join Kora’s justice league lack character development. The final thirty minutes were interesting but the screen-time overall is nearly 140 minutes which is quite short for a space opera. And this is exactly why the characters of Titus, Nemesis, Bloodaxe, and Tarak were unable to grow nor their worlds were given enough minutes to understand and therefore looked like mere theme parks to us.

So what’s the talking point if the film has an ordinary story and typical action sequences? It is the fictional universe and its aesthetics that are captivating. The entire universal detailing of the Rebel Moon is not based on some novel but Zack’s own vision about his universe. Rebel Moon is like any director’s re-imagination of Star Wars with darker elements and mature content. And after watching the trailer of the second part of the Rebel Moon, the vision is much clear that the Rebel Moon franchise has similar plot elements of Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai. Even Kora had seven.

There was an interesting shot about a princess of whom Kora was the royal bodyguard. Her name was Issa and had the ability to give life to the dead. Did Zack get inspiration from the Islamic faith or should I assume if it is a strange coincidence? Because Issa in Islam is the messenger of God and he was a lifegiver.

Junkie XL‘s music is a plus and so far has been a fabulous collaboration with Zack. And there is no question about Zack’s art of worldbuilding, exellence in CGI and VFX.

CLOSING REMARKS

Although, the second part will give the whole picture of where Rebel Moon stands in the elite ranks of space universes or if not. See, Rebel Moon without a doubt is enjoyable especially for Zack Snyder cultists like me. But on a judgement scale, Rebel Moon offers a repeated plot line that has been watched before with better scripts and action sequences. The visual spectacle is never a question, its just the film lacks novelty.

RATING 6.5/10

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Dream Girl 2 (2023)

STORY

A female voice impersonator Karam Singh gets an offer from his best friend Smiley to recover from the financial crisis by getting married as a woman to a man whose sister he is with. The reason for all this trouble is that the girl’s father has set the condition on Smiley to get his son married first before he hands his daughter to him.

REVIEW

Dream Girl 2 is a spiritual sequel of Dream Girl with a few actors from the previous venture showing up.

Like most of Ayushmann Khurrana comedy films, Dream Girl 2 also entertains with rib-tickling comedy in the first half and then the writing suffocates to conclude in the second half resulting in a comedy, that was fittingly working before, beginning to look forced and dragged.

The major plus is the plot followed by the complexity of sub-plots that stayed in the connected roots and exhilarated the viewers. The thread of all exaggerated and nonsense comedy reminded me of both comic flavors of David Dhawan and Priyadarshan films.

Many one liners and several follow-up scenes were impressively funny and that is hugely because Raaj Shaandliyaa directed this. And his CV says that he was behind the immense success of Sony TV’s Comedy Circus and wrote scores of lines for a few comedians including Kapil Sharma.

For me, the funniest scene was when the old man in the family passes away and Smiley & co. jubilantly arrives at their doorsteps for wedding.

CLOSING REMARKS

Dream Girl 2 slipped in the second half with a terrible cringe conclusion but the film must be praised for Ayushmann’s shameless performance and comic writing.

RATING 6/10

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TV Reviews

TV Review: Kaala Paani

STORY

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is threatened by the horror of the pandemic when the territory is infected by a mysterious disease. When hell descends and starts to take the lives of the affected, people from all walks of life struggle to survive. Solidarity embarks, families and friends get disjointed by the unwanted incidents. The medical experts and the decision-makers are muddled with such a complicated situation.

Kaala Paani, in these seven episodes, folds the viewers in the mighty scare of the widespread and makes us watch the toughest times of getting stuck in a situation where there is no escape.

REVIEW

This Netflix series brings back the COVID vibes. The entire setting of the screenplay that painfully welcomes disease precisely reminds us of the world we began to experience in 2020. Staring at people coughing in the public place, distancing from the affected ones, spraying on the doors and locks, wearing masks; it is a victory for the show that they settled the viewers with discomfort.

Kaala Paani’s writing grows in the nerves because the show runs several stories, dig in the lives of the main characters, and give us a deeper look in the complexity of human relations, their getting distanced, expressing their fear of losing someone or themselves.

The emotion code will break the viewers when they watch Kaddu struck with epilepsy, when Chiru is in state of shock receiving his mother’s ashes, when Dr. Ritu’s father is slapped in front of her, when Santosh listens to his wife’s hiccup and starts crying.

In fact, Santosh is the most heartbreaking character of the show. A husband who lost his wife, a father who lost his son, traveled with pain in quest of his daughter. Vikas Kumar has boiled his Santosh character with severe desperation. His slipping in to the hole settled our mind that he will have to overcome fear and somehow escape. And boy! what a physical performance that was. All his crying scenes were jaw-droppers.

Besides, the other standout performer was Sukant Goel as Chiru. Watch him when he offers himself to Dr. Shashi for the test and when he reacts over his mother’s demise.

Some parts of writing are very interesting. The panic in the festival was intense, so was the car almost crashing Kaddu. When water became a concern, notice the governor dropping only few drops of water on his toothpaste.

The show must be praised for its technical productions. If the series is based and shot in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, surely the camera work is one of the preferred focus. And we happen to watch some amazing shots throughout the show by Ewan Mulligan & co. Rachita Arora‘s background score, Dev Rao Jadhav‘s editing, and Biswapati Sarkar‘s writing are a few names to mention that they are responsible in the making of an excellent series.

And an Indian film or a TV show meeting a technical finishing with excellence rarely happens. But now I get to know that the show is renewed for the second season. And I cannot stop myself from admitting that I am a little impatient about the show’s return.

CLOSING REMARKS

Kaala Paani has a deeper message about the human evolution and survival. The entire defense of the governor on his action against the Oraka tribe is thought-provoking. Something inside us tell you that the failure in survival has put halt to many races and civilizations. To shape the world in the better direction or for a sustainable future, the old world has to collapse and disappear. Whether the wind of fortune takes them away or the poison of ego and hatred writes off their history. Only the strongest survives by defeating and killing the weaker. Kaala Paani just showed us the picture we do not want to see at all.

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Film Reviews

TV Review: All the Light We Cannot See (2023)

STORY

During the final phase of the great war, when the French wait for the American troops to defeat the Nazis, a blind French girl waits for her father to return from his mission.

INTRODUCTION

‘All The Light We Cannot See‘ is a Netflix limited series consisting of four episodes. The series is based on Anthony Doerr‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The story is set in a time when the Nazis invaded France and the only optimism that was left against those evils were the French resistance.

The show is centered around two teenagers. One is this blind French girl Marie-Laure LeBlanc who along with her father Daniel and her great-uncle Etienne are part of that resistance.

The other teenager is a German boy Werner Pfennig. An orphan who has an exceptional skill for repairing radios and helps him admit in a military school that turns him into a Nazi soldier.

IMPRESSIONS

The reason for watching this show are many. One reason is that this teleplay is developed by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders. The whole series is directed by Shawn Levy, one of the makers of ‘Stranger Things‘. And personally the world war themed projects have been very compelling for my consideration. Plus Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie are in the supporting roles, and they are very choosy in their careers.

THE NEWCOMER

And then this beautiful girl who plays the blind French girl was the light of the show that we all can see. The bts about this actress Aria Mia Loberti is that she was one of the thousands who had auditioned for this role and she was selected in the first try. The most interesting point about Aria playing a blind French girl is that she in real life has a rare genetic condition called ‘Achromatopsia‘ that makes her legally blind.

Although the performance of a blind by a blind can be a piece of cake but that is certainly not the case. If acting was so simple and easy, would have never been considered to be taught or act as a profession. Not only did she fit in the character but the sentimental and psychological aspects in the anatomy of the character were sublime. Aria is an extraordinary addition in this line of work and I would like to see her acting in future projects if there are.

Those of you who are Bollywood buff like me, can you agree with me that Aria Mia Loberti has an uncanny resemblance with actress Mithila Palkar?

THE HARDEST REMINDER

‘All The Light We Cannot See’ is a fictional tale of relations that are tested with time fighting against the injustice and struggling to create a society of resistance that stands for their land against the invaders. That reminds me of something very similar to what is exactly happening in Gaza. I am not dragging the matter but this show has been released at the most perfect time to make all the Netflixters assume how and why the resistance becomes necessary.

When you are stripped of every known human right and are targeted to be beaten, bombed, and killed for demanding what is your’s, a series like ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ helps you to realize and come out of denial. So this series, with all its loyalty with the book’s plot line, is a blessing to correct your observation about a situation.

RELATIONSHIP DETAILING

I liked the detailing of Marie’s relation with her father and then great-uncle that presses on the finity of the time that is passing without alarming them when their world is going to be collapsed. It is very natural depiction about how Marie and Etienne find common grounds, and Etienne’s insecurity melts by her encouragement. It was so touching when father Daniel tells the Nazi that his daughter’s blindness is not a misfortune but a blessing.

Another reason why I rate Marie’s character highly is because of the character detailing about her intelligence that naturally comes from blindness. Her reading the book, sense of touching, and listening the objects were well covered.

The sibling-hood of Werner and his sister were also carefully written with so much emotions involved. It was so touching when she listens to her brother on the radio.

MINUSES

Without a doubt, the series is impressive overall. But I have some issues to address about the show that I didn’t find it right at all.

The one is that I sense that four episodes were not enough to wrap up the story. Only the readers of that novel can better judge my opinion. I haven’t read the novel but I found out that the novel has over 500 pages. So I reckon four episodes certainly are ignoring a lot of details from the book. And it looks very clear when you are in the middle of the third episode until the end of the show. The development in the continuity looks dragged. Steven Knight must have offered at least 6 episodes if not 8.

The other issue is the most annoying one. The entertainment industry has become a global village more than ever. With so much diversity and cultural exchange involved, it is time to embrace that the character of a particular nationality should speak their language to maintain commonsense and realism. Because it was bizarre to see all the non-American/non-British characters were speaking English. Marie, Daniel, and Etienne are a French family and to my utter shock, they neither sound French nor they pronounce the English vocabulary in French. It is completely okay if a non-French plays a French, this is where the performance is tested. But why are you not acting in French?

CLOSING REMARKS

Besides, the technical aspects are likeable. I must praise such compelling production design that made us love this place called Saint-Malo. Editing the screenplay becomes more challenging when the project is presented in a nonlinear narrative. And with countless reminders of the past blended with the present, I say it was superb effort in editing. The ending part was pretty predictable and quite typical.

‘All The Light We Cannot See’ is a massive win for Aria Mia Loberti and an unintentional political message that holds distinction. The show looks visually attractive that covers the unwanted mediocrity. With stereotypical portrayal of Nazis and not much favor done by the writing, I feel the show, despite being in the faithful hands, could have been executed much better.

RATING 6/10

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