To see or not to see

To watch or not to watch: Definite watch for the jaded

Starring: Sobhita Dhulipala, Arjun Mathur, Jim Sarbh, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora

Tara and Karan are wedding planners at Made in Heaven. It is a new endeavour for both. Tara has to prove to the world that she isn’t gold-digger and Karan wants to be a success after the failure of his night club. They both have a lot riding on this new business and it shows by the effort they put into their clients’ wedding preparations, going beyond the call of duty.

Behind the glitter of the expensive weddings, all the members of Made in Heaven have their own personal hell to deal with. Karan is gay in a country which casts taboo on it. Tara has risen in life by marriage to the industrialist Adil (Jim Sarbh) who is mostly an absentee husband.

Things aren’t always black and white for the duo. They have to do whatever it takes to make the weddings happen. And in one case, not happen, all the while dealing with behind the scenes stuff that go into running a start-up

Each episode of the series deals with one aspect of the marriage scenario, like an anthology, with the personal lives of the protagonists being the continuous story in the background.

The series is critically well made, seamlessly dealing with the societal issues in the country, not giving goody-two-shoes solutions to them. It is a very real look at our society and how the women and homosexuals are wrongly treated, getting more respect and acceptance than a molester. There are episodes with weddings where parents want a “pure” daughter-in-law; then a bride who cheats and lies to get married; a groom who wants dowry – all the while the wedding planners swoop in to save the day.
While Kalki Koechlin and Jim Sarbh are constant in the series, there are some stellar performances delivered by Neena Gupta, as a concerned mother, Deepti Naval as an elder bride, Shweta Tripathi as a bride with hidden strength.

It is refreshing to see something this norm defying by the Hindi media, specially as an original from Amazon Prime. This is completely out of the box – some moments where direction was the show stopper some where the sheer performance stole the show. This series is not for the faint of the heart; it needs an open mind and a big heart.

To watch or not to watch: A must for binge watchers over a weekend

Starring: Michael Huisman, Carla Guigno, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria, Pedretti, Lulu Wilson, Mckenna Grace

A family of house flippers moves into the Hill House. Nellie and Luke are the youngest twins, Theo is the middle kid, Sheryl the second eldest and Steven the eldest kid. After moving in the house, strange things start happening. all seven members experience something paranormal and unique to them. Things get progressively bad, when one day, the mother dies under suspicious circumstances and the family moves out. Fast forward a couple of decades, the siblings have moved on with their lives, each with their own issues. They need to face the old demons to get on with their lives.

There are a total of 10 episodes. The first 5 episodes focus on the lives of each kid from the time they entered the Hill House till the present time. The rest focus on the protagonist, Hill House. It has all the making of a spooky horror, a unique in its category, without the cheap shock-and-awe tactics.

The problem with Netflix shows is, the build up is too exciting and there is a lot of anticipation. The expectation is set high and the shows don’t deliver on that. In the case at hand, the story was consistent, though the conclusion was unsatisfactory; it leaves a lot to be desired. One thing needs to be said, the ending was anything but conventional. There are gaps in the storyline which are non-discernible because of the superior direction. The back and forth between present time and backstory is seamless.

To watch or not to watch: Definitely watch this one

Starring: Kay Kay Menon, Ashish Vidyarthi, Tisca Chopra, Ashwini Kalsekar

Ayesha Mahajan is found dead in her room one morning by her nanny Remi Fernandes (Ashwini Kalsekar). Her father, Dr Sachin Mahajan (Ashish Vidyarthi) is sleeping off the previous night’s alcohol in his room and her mother, Dr Aarti Mahajan (Tisca Chopra) is in Pune to perform a surgery. The police are called in to investigate the crime to their apartment, but they prove to be incompetent. There are no apparent motives for the crime and no possible way it could have happened. The case goes to CBI officer Sunil Paraskar (Kay Kay Menon), who unearths decades-old family history, filled with deceit and illicit romances.

This movie is based on the Aarushi murder case, though it has been fictionalized here. It is gripping and fast-paced from the beginning and the entire two-hour run is a nail-biter. Kay Kay Menon, in his role as an honest and intelligent CBI officer, is very convincing. The performances by every member of the cast are at par and make the movie seem lifelike. The plot with ultra-rich doctors and their complicated lives is portrayed with elegance. It is a must watch for anyone who is into a good piece of whodunit. It does get a bit “swaggy”, with Kay Kay Menon being the one with the middle-class panache, which is oft repeated, it can be forgiven for the simplicity of the movie overall

To watch or not to watch: Meh. Can watch it, or not. Not missing out

Starring: Robert De Niro, Edward Newton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett

Nick Wells (Robert De Niro) is a master burglar, the kind that can open any safe and undo the bobby traps lying on the way to it. He is advancing in age and decides to lead an honest life with his girlfriend. In comes Max (Marlon Brando) and Jack Teller (Edward Norton), who convinces Nick to pull the last heist worth $4 million at Montreal Customs House. Jack is working at the site as a mentally challenged janitor and gains the trust of his colleagues, which he exploits for the heist. The heist is planned entirely by Nick, though the plan isn’t without its glitches.

The movie is a typical heist movie. In fact, there are a few aspects which make it look like a prequel to The Italian Job. There are the same expected twists which seem almost obligatory in any heist movie. Compared to some of the newer movies, this had an amateurish feel to it (for example, the Ocean series). There is no taking away from the performances by any of the cast members, which is a shame for a poor script. Edward Norton is perfection as a mentally challenged man, complete with speech difficulty. This was also Marlon Brando’s last movie.

They could have written a few more twists and presented them in a way where they jump out. since the formula for any such movie is almost set in stone, it is the execution which makes all the difference. It was a heist movie, plain and simple. It laids out the rules and formulae for all the other movies of this genre to come.

 

To watch or not to watch: Must watch with family

Starring: Rajkumar Rao, Kriti Kharbanda, Navni Parihar, Govind Namdev

This is a story of a small town guy, Sattu (Rajkumar Rao), getting into an arranged marriage with another small towner, Aarti (Kriti Kharbanda). They liked each other instantly and fell in love during the courtship. In the background, Sattu’s family asked for dowry. On the day of the wedding, Aarti got to know she cleared state civil services exams. As she wouldn’t be allowed to work after marriage, she runs away. Fast forward 5 years, Aarti is working as a big shot government employee. She has helped her friends get jobs in her office too. Sattu comes as her senior officer, hell-bent on revenge. He gets her charged on corruption and persecutes her. It becomes a battle for Aarti, to get her reputation and love back.

It looks like an adaption of Persuasion by Jane Austen, though it is not credited anywhere. Rajkumar Rao outshines everyone. He is convincing in both the personas he has depicted in the movie. Kriti Kharbanda is a promising star who maintains the role with her simplicity.  The movie attacks a few social taboos like dowry and working married women, though there is no message explicitly given. The story in itself is very real, and executed perfectly. There are no unnecessary elements; it progresses at a fast pace. The movie set out to deliver entertainment and it doesn’t disappoint. The dialogues are well written, perfect for the overall setting. This is something that shines in its simplicity. It is a light watch that can be seen anytime, anywhere and any number of times

 

To watch or not to watch: A must watch. Doesn’t require a big screen for them feels.

Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Rajit Kapoor, Shishir Sharma, Amruta Khanvilkar, Arif Zakaria.

Director: Meghna Gulzar

The plot of the movie is 1971 India-Pakistan war, when tensions were too high between the nations and the nation which had more information on the other had the upper hand. Hidayat (Rajit Kapoor) is a normal businessman based in Srinagar, who is friends with Brigadier Parvez Syed (Shishir Sharma) of the Pakistani Army. Hidayat supplies information to Pakistan and has gained their trust, but in fact is an Indian spy. He is diagnosed with cancer, and passes on the baton to his 20 year old daughter, Sehmat (Alia Bhatt). Sehmat marries Iqbal (Vicky Kaushal), son of Brigadier, and gains entry. Over the course of time, she gathers priceless information that is passed on to Indian intelligence and helps in mitigating the Ghaazi attach on INS Vikrant. The movie ends with saluting such unsung heroes of war.

The movie is an adaptation of a book titled “Calling Sehmat” and is a fictionalised narration of true events. It is one of the good ones in Bollywood lately, and respects the intelligence of the audience. It is something not in black and white; there is no hero or villain, only different beliefs. There are moments so tense that you will be at the edge of the seats, and these moments end on no red herrings. Alia Bhatt has acted incredibly, making the audience feel her struggle. She is the anchor point, and delivers a unique role – another milestone for Bollywood, proving that a female actor can be mainstream and can lead a movie.

To watch or not to watch: A must watch for everyone, for reasons too numerous to state here.

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachael McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James, Live Schreiber, Stanley Tucci.

“Spotlight” follows the eponymous team of investigative journalists, Mike (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha (Rachel McAdams), Matt (Brian d’Arcy James) and Robby (Michael Keaton), at The Boston Globe. New editor Marty (Liev Schreiber) sees the massive potential in a story about child sex abuse by the Roman Catholic priests in the city of Boston. The plot shines a light (no pun intended) on the investigation into this story, uncovering the psychology and statistics, the sheer scale of the crime across the city, and the church’s complicity in protecting the perpetrators, in the process. It depicts the struggle of the victims, before and after the crime, the personal struggle of the journalists who uncover the truth, some of whom have personally known some of the priests as well as the glaring reality of the corruption in the Church.
This movie is a brilliant piece of cinema. The highlight remains the pull-no-punches portrayal of one of the most sensitive issues of our time. There were no heroes, no emotional speeches, just a distilled recounting of real-life events while hewing as close to the truth as possible. The film’s greatest strength is the screenplay itself, more so even than its star-studded cast, who provide very low-key, yet stellar performances. Liev Schreiber is unbelievable as the quiet, confident, outcast editor of the local newspaper, shining brightest in the minimal screen time he is afforded. The story delivers more than its fair share of shocking revelations and this is the pillar upon which this cinematic masterpiece rests.