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Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai (2023)
One Man Show - Well Worth The Watch
Had a chance to watch this at the New York Indian Film Festival. In all senses this movie is a one-man show both on screen and off screen. Manoj Bajpayee dominates and delivers a stellar performance. The supporting cast does well enough.
The story - about a creep baba - should sound familiar as it was in the headlines just some years back. It was wonderful to see the court drama play out without the usual over the top Bollywood theatrics.
Give it a watch. Beats most of the nonsense releasing nowadays in the name of big budget movies. Another solid one in the books for one of the best actors Bollywood has ever seen.
Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (2020)
One of my biggest regrets of 2020
This year has been a lot - for all of us. I can safely and without any exaggeration say watching (really to save face - more like - skimming through all of it in 2 hours) this atrocity is one of my biggest regrets of this year. I hate Netflix for putting this up and hate myself even more for going against all better judgement and giving even 10 seconds of my day.
The women in this show are not even 'actual' Bollywood wives. Their husbands are barely considered actors and the wives themselves prove on this show why they never made it big in the industry. The stop by segments from Raveena, Jacqueline, Ekta etc clearly show a stark contrast on how put together (and grounded even if it's just an act) actually successful people are. Jhanvi's stop by just made me even angrier at how bad nepotism is right now in the industry. 20-30 years ago no one would have let Jhanvi enter in side roles playing Madhuri or Juhi's sister or friend.
These four ladies are an embarrassment to females in general and are terrible role models as mothers. They switch between flaunting wealth which they haven't earned or they come off as desperate wannabes.
Neelam was never a popular or even semi popular actress. Her scenes where she talks about an ongoing influx of offers or gets emotional about her nonexistent success from the past make me beyond cringe for her.
Bhavna is boring and an all out wanna be. I am not sure what her claim to success or wealth is that warrants her spot on this show. Is it that the blatant disgusting nepotistic dominance in Bollywood is giving her completely undeserving daughter popularity?
Maheep is the same as Bhavna except the boring part. She's crude, unnecessarily loud, and a terrible role model as a mother. Anything and everything that comes out of her mouth is beyond cringe. LV bags, false wannabe broken English and hanging at fancy restaurants do not make you creme de la creme.
Seema is the same as the above except she comes off as plain trashy.
All in all what a group of entitled desperate wannabe ladies. Money does not buy class is what the MO of this should be.
SRK and Gauri being part of this made me question their judgement however I keep telling myself that they were as disgusted/humored as the viewers are.
HUGE shoutout to the people who were cleaning the Mahim beach and the lady at the Food Hall that were actually doing something with their lives. It's unfortunate these obnoxious classless people ever crossed their lives.
North & South (2004)
Almost there but not perfect...
I had first watched this years ago and then pandemic life (with no where to go) brought me to watch it once again this week. I couldn't remember why when I had first watched it I had liked it and yet it hadn't 'stayed with me'. Now I recall exactly why. The lead female character just doesn't do it for me. I can't pinpoint whether it's the actress and how she portrays it or if the character is intended to be that way. The idea of a rich and catch of the town guy like Mr. Thornton falling head over heels for a slightly (unnecessarily) snobby and slightly dull woman just doesn't make any sense to me. I couldn't wrap my head around why her arrogance and rejection of him was to make any sense to the audience. If she did silently love him and that was the intention to be shown. It was NOT portrayed well in the screenplay. Mr. Thornton's pining and having fallen helplessly in love is very apparent and incredibly well enacted (might I add with it's shown with very few words and in many cases it's Richard's expressions that do all the talking). That's why after this second watching - again - I left absolutely in love with Mr. Thornton (and of course Richard) however I didn't walk away thinking 'this is one of my all time favorites'. Maybe a different actress could have done it more justice. Will never know.
That aside it is a great series. Richard Armitage carries the entire show and the other characters are a great mix and keep the story quite interesting. I loved Mr. Thornton's sister's character because she brought humor to the otherwise dark backdrop. Higgins was another memorable character and his character development over the four episodes is very interesting.
I haven't read the book but there seem to be a lot of mixed reviews about the ending. In that it doesn't match the book or the times that this story is portraying. Personally I loved it. Richard Armitage and his expressions leading up to the actual kiss are out of this world. They speak everything that Mr. Thornton had felt for years both in heart and mind. The entire train station scene is one that he completely owns. It might not match with the book but for the non literary viewer it worked just fine :) The complaints about his unbuttoned collar also don't make sense to me. He at that point in the show had lost everything (his business, his wealth, etc) and it only made sense that he didn't look all that put together.
I would definitely recommend a watch however don't be surprised if you walk away with the same confusion I felt. Not quite understanding what to make of the lead female character (or actress - whichever it might be). On the bright side, Richard Armitage will leave a lasting impression for an incredibly portrayal of Mr. Thornton.
Meri Zaat Zarrae Benishan (2009)
Outdated regressive and lost potentially
I have been on the search for Urdu dramas of late since they are usually more well made then Hindi serials. I came across this one and was on the fence since it's from the older lot. That it didn't fall too many years from the other well known Urdu dramas (mostly from the Hum TV lot), I expected something similar. Conservative backdrop and yet something relatable enough.
The show starts off on a slow but good note. The background music is a hit or miss. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan provided the music. He is usually great but it didn't work for me in this show. Somewhere about half way into the series - things get bad - just plain bad. I did not expect such a regressive plot with blatant physical abuse of a female and then a story that covers up physical batter under the notion of a lost love. Had this story been about a woman being physically abused and then finding her own identity. What a plot that would've been. Instead the audience is treated to a sick love story in the under shadow of the female lead having been physically beaten by the male head of her family. While the entire family stands on and watches. After which her supposed 'soul mate' comes back into the scene - in which he is shown to completely disregard the physical abuse aspect. Instead the story turns focus on his accusing her of infidelity and divorcing her.
Cannot believe that in 2010 (this was made somewhere in that time frame) these type of plots had any audience.
Makes me sad as a female that people see plots like this as wonderful love stories or emotional love dramas. A woman is physically beaten by a senior family member, spurned by her supposed love without his displaying the slightest concern that she was beaten, is then married off to a man twice her age (with four children of his own) who also beats her and all the while she spends her life mourning her lost love. Makes me sad to think that anyone could dish such a regressive plot in as an emotional love story.
Incredibly surprised to see this rated high and compared at any level with the much more with the times shows that have thankfully gone on to become a lot more popular.
Avoid at all costs unless you are amongst those that are accepting of stories that contain an element of physical abuse covered up under the notion of a lost love.