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Reviews
Shikara (2020)
A love story set against the Hindu Pandits exodus
I understand why everyone who has given such low ratings to this movie, hated it. The tag line of the movie said "an untold movie of Kashmiri pandits" but the movie was more of a love story that unfolds just as militancy erupts in Kashmir. The two new finds, the main characters are good. Particularly Sadia, who is Shanti in the movie, There is an old world charm about her, an innocence and sensitivity.
Yes the movie should have been far far more hard hitting, brutal. But the tone and treatment was lyrical, so I am guessing the choice was deliberate.
A scene that stayed with me was the hundreds of buses snaking down the mountain roads, as all the Pandits flee Kashmir. What I missed was the feeling of being uprooted from a place of such great natural beauty to a hellhole of dirty drains, makeshift tents and 8X8 ugly rooms. They "say" it, there is some beautiful poetry too to express the longing forf one's motherland, but cinematically the tragedy needed an epical treatment. That was missing.
Aligarh (2015)
Superbly directed, a sensitive, nuanced film
I remember being deeply affected by "Shahid". Aligarh is more sensitively dealt with, perhaps because of the nature of the story. The Professor's character is superbly drawn out - a poet, a gentle and lonely soul, who spends his evenings listening to Lata Mangeshkar songs, nursing a drink his his hand, gently tapping his foot to the song. He isn't comfortable labelling his sexuality or his relationship because - as he says of poetry - it can only be understood in the pauses, in the silences. Which is why he is reluctant to go to court - because he doesn't want to become a poster boy of gay rights. The writers and the director build him up to be a complex, withdrawn, shy man, who is perversely loyal to the very University which has suspended him. And Manoj Bajpayee is simply outstanding in silently conveying the hurt, the hesitation, the sudden spark of camaraderie that he feels with Rajkumar Rao, the journalist who has come to interview him.
Rajkumar Rao was the perfect foil to Manoj Bajpayee's character - young, raring to go, earnest, eager to prove himself and not afraid to go the extra mile. He is as yet untainted by cynicism or broken by social pressures.
The film deserves all the accolades it got.
The Crown (2016)
Prince Charles - surprisingly empathetic character
Third Season:
While it took a while to warm up to the new queen (the earlier Claire Foy was so much more winsome and charming!) once Prince Charles enters the scene (literally), he makes sure we invest in the drama completely! Who would have thought one would empathise with Prince Charles! Josh O Connor as Prince Charles is superb! He is sensitive, acutely self aware, awkward of his legacy and so hungry for maternal love. His hurt is so palpable when he is royally ignored by his mother after his brief but difficult stint at Wales and the inspired, inclusive speech he gives at his investiture ceremony. One wonders why the Queen could not be a more affectionate mother.
My favourite was the last 15 minutes of the Season Finale. It was so good I watched it twice! Beautifully rounds up the Queen as a person and as a monarch.
Unbelievable (2019)
Heartrending, and so powerful!
One of the finest I have seen on Netflix! Netflix has really really raised the bar with this one. The direction, acting, the writing, everything is so ...well just so well synchronised, not once did I feel a note, a scene was out of place. Nothing jarred.
The unfairness of it all, the callousness of the cops is finely balanced by the sensitivity and dogged determination of two other cops who make such an interesting team - the classic gentle, feminine, soft spoken, more "maternal" cop and her foul mouthed, hard as nails partner. But not once did they come across as stereotypical. Both were finely nuanced, their relationship with their spouses was genuine and when the two finally warm up to each other, its a beautiful friendship.
I was very moved by Kaitlyn Dever's performance- so heartrending. She had me in tears. I kept thinking anyone else in Marie's situation would have given up, would have gone insane, but her resilience and courage shone through her brittleness.
The ending was what will stay with me for a long time. Even after the rapist had been caught and sentenced, I kept craving for closure for Marie. I wanted her to meet the two detectives. I guess I kind of hoped Detective Duval would become a foster mother to her. I am so glad nothing of the sort happened! The ending was top notch, beautiful, ever so moving, and so true to both their characters.
For me this was one fo the best series I have seen on Netflix. Bravo Netflix!
Walt Before Mickey (2015)
Walt Disney's initial years as a struggler as he slowly evolved his cartoons and desperately sought for finances until the day he discover Mickey Mouse
I was appalled, cruelly disappointed at how flat this movie was. I've always been an avid Disney fan. As a kid I used to devour Mickey and Donald comics and cartoons on TV. I find his movies magical. How could anyone depict the genius that the man was in such a dreary, drab fashion? There is absolutely no drama in the script or in the direction. The man himself is so terribly ordinary you wonder how such a man could have invented a whole new grammar of films, animation. Surely some of his craft, the humanness, joy of his movies would get reflected in his personality? But what comes across in the movie is a pedestrian character whose romance (I just read up after watching the movie that Walt and his wife were married for 41 years) is so incredibly facile, one dimensional and completely unromantic that I kept waiting for that one sublimely soulful moment that would make me realise what he saw in her - but we get absolutely no insight into their relationship just as there is very little camaraderie between his fellow animators though we are supposed to believe they are like a family. In short I have yet to see a movie which had such an exciting subject and such a dull, uninspired, shoddy treatment.
Zhi wo men zhong jiang shi qu de qing chun (2013)
Engaging, moving romantic drama. Beautifully captures the flush of first love
Seeing it as an Indian, with zero exposure to Chinese films or culture, the movie beautifully transcended all cultural barriers. Loved the youthfulness of the movie, though the lead character's ebullient nature was at times a little over the top! The college setting was true to life, not clichéd or hackneyed and the relationships forged also came across as genuine. Enjoyed how the four best friends have been given very distinct personalities. Spoiler: Would have liked to know more about the room mate who gets expelled from college. Really liked the way the different subplots came together in the end and that the director opted to leave an open end. And since it made me feel nostalgic about "falling in love", I'd say the movie has been able to convey romance just right!