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Reviews
Sita Ramam (2022)
Made with love, for love.
You almost feel like watching Veer-Zaara as soon as this movie ends.
An Indian army major saving a princess carrying the weight of expectations of her grandparents wishes. The sacrifice and an unprecedented love, the wait for eternity, that transcends caste, society and even borders, so many parallels.
For the generation that has grown with Veer-Zaara, this is a sort of tribute to it to. Not the scale and larger than life protagonists, but with all the beauty and soul.
Sita Ramam is a beautiful movie, that takes time to engage the audience into the worlds of Ram and Sita. Set in 60s and 80s, where the feeling of love was more about the anticipation, of small things like talking over landline phone, waiting to meet, chasing your crush (not digital stalking), almost makes you wonder what is that technology has added to in our lives, rather than taking away. While the names Sita and Ram do blend it by interval and you feel like destiny playing its part to make the two meet, the movie imo did not completely justify using these names and I do not know where it moved away from that to a delivering a more diplomatic stance. The name Noorjahan (real name of Sita) is completely lost by end of the movie, while making sense, the movie did not completely transition into it. May be the times we live don't allow us another "Veer" meeting "Zaara".
Best works for Dalqueer and Mrunal so far I am sure and will go down in their books as a milestone film in their careers.
Took one point away for the end. I know what the director was trying to do and clear the stain on Ram, though felt it was not required. We must not forget that HE is our protector and not the other way round. But then again, such are the times we live in where we feel the need to protect even his portrayals.
Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
It takes 4 years and Aamir to make LSC
How do you remake a movie that has 6 Oscars, iconic status and Tom Hanks. You don't, except if you are Aamir Khan. He is a genius.
In a parallel universe, Laal Singh Chaddha was made first and Forrest Gump later, and it still wouldn't have made a difference. Zemeckis, Roth and Hank have no reasons to be disappointed, in fact they would be very proud. Laal Singh Chaddha is very Indian at heart while it does keep the soul of Forest Gump alive, it does not try to imitate or be just a remake. You can clearly see where the four years of making have gone into, where every scene is impeccably put, screenplay is outstanding, story adapted to our times and the central protagonist.
The movie would be a hard sell given the times we live in, but I feel somewhere Aamir already knows that and is not expecting a huge commercial success. I think he is hoping that we, as a society, find our common sub-consciousness again.
The movie is not what sells today, high adrenaline dopamine hit experiences. There is also nothing wrong with Bollywood and it doesn't need saving. It has earned its place under the sun. Had the common man walked along the path that Aamir put us in 2001 (with DCH, Lagaan) and his following movies, we would be able the comprehend the genius that is LSC. As a generation that thinks it is more aware, hope it doesn't take another 10 years for us to appreciate this piece of art.
One thing I found hard to digest (in trailers) was Kareena Kapoor Khan, but as the movie progressed and neared the end, you could see why. You needed a Kareena to play Laal's Rupa. And thankfully Aamir saw that before us. She clearly shows why she is still the best and above the current generation of actresses.
People calling for a boycott of the movie because of their feelings towards Aamir should go meet Laal Singh Chaddha. They will come back humbled and reformed.
21 Sarfarosh - Saragarhi 1897 (2018)
Period drama, done right way
The series has captured the introvert nature of society and people from those times very aptly. The protagonist is humble beyond imagination for today's times, but it was like that then. Most movies / shows that want to tell period dramas bring in how we behave today and put it in the story of those times.
Born in the 80s, I absolutely loved it, and the protagonist, Mohit Raina. It is fictional at times probably to woo viewers, but is based on facts and true incidents. If you enjoy watching slow moving dramas and not expect something to happen every second, you will love this one. Also, extremely high on patriotism.
Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare (2018)
An honest attempt - kudos to Zakir
The show takes a couple of episodes to grip on to its audience, but for people like me, with childhood spent in 90s, this show is a refresher. To throw perspective, my grandad (83 now), told me - "chacha vidhayak hai hamare" laga le (put on "chacha vidhayak hai hamare").
It has a very decent cast, with most of the actors holding their ground, except Zakir Khan, but then by the end of the season he too manages to connect to the audience and make them feel his helplessness (so called).
Though I would say it is not Zakir's acting that we are supposed to appreciate here, but his writing, his witty lines (listen hard, you may miss more than you think) and the way he is able to draw a connection and come out a winner in the end, and a loser at the same time.
Like he said in the series - jhooth bhaut bole hain, but dhokha nahi diya kisi ko aaj tak (have lied a lot but haven't betrayed anyone yet), the series can work a few aspects, but has one thing that is most important - soul.
Do Ankhen Barah Haath (1957)
Simply Brilliant and Timeless
I recently got the opportunity to see this movie (was airing on a movie channel), and felt really blessed and privileged to see it.
It may not be a technically perfect movie, but V.Shantaram has crafted a masterpiece in terms of portraying the characters and the plot to the audience in the simplest way. The movie is high on emotions as it tries to dig into some hard to call humans (convicts of single/multiple murders) and a warden who believes that with forgiveness and love, they can be cured to live in a civilized society.
In a lot of scenes the movie uses metaphorical representation/dialogues to convey the underlying emotion to the audience and I found this to be very very intriguing. The end specially I feel is unmatched on it. Something that a non-interested movie goer can understand, and something that an enthusiast can really appreciate.
I think the movie is not way ahead of it's time, but way behind. Something like Ramayana and Mahabharata, timeless.