Garmi (21 Apr 2023) ably unmasks the corrupt socio-political system around university students

 

Genre: Thriller

Channel: SonyLIV

Language: Hindi

Season: 1

No. of Episodes: 9

Running Time: 41-50 minutes

Writer: Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kamal Pandey 

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Cast: Vyom Yadav, Jatin Goswami, Vineet Kumar, Mukesh Tiwari, Deepraj Rana, Anurag Thakur, Disha Thakur, Puneet Singh, Pankaj Saraswati, Pravesh Rana

About The Series:

Made with mostly newbies, it is an excellent and engaging series that depicts how the assorted hierchichal players of university to state level politics automatically choose their next key player aka the upcoming MLA  amidst the batch of unassuming serious students and knowingly-unknowingly prepare him by all means (read atrocities) to readily wear his political crown and ultimately choose the life of a hoodlum cum politician over that of an educated civil servant!!

For this, the only trait that he has to exhibit is 'garmi' i.e. anger over things that he finds wrong and the will to fight it bang on sans any worry of repercussions. 

The series ably shows how the entire political mesh up is made up of the chief minister and his aides; the local baba, police in-charge and wealthy businessmen and finally the student council's president and vice-president.

The series clearly depicts how the students council's president acts as an effective money churner for his clan even before contesting for MLA seat. 

He clearly influences the university's frequent construction and maintenance orders, all of whom are bound to go to his choice of construction company, who will earn a huge sum out of it and thereby hand him or his supporting honchos a huge commission. 

Police raids, arrests and torture inside the police lock-up are more on the whims of the police in-charge and directives received from his political coalition than what is suppose to happen as per law. 

Alongside the series displays - middle class family system, university activities, caste divide, young love & friendships, greed & betrayal by both friends and enemies etc. 

The Plot:

A young political science graduate (Vyom Yadav) aspiring to be a civil servant arrives from Lalgunj to Trivenipur University.

The once thriving vast university has reduced to being a platform of powerplay by collegiate and state level political players, a ruthless police inspector who sees himself as more than just a guardian of the law, greedy contractors, shrewd politicians and power brokers!!

How will this effect the protagonist's studies and goal of life? 

Watch the series to witness how step by step, the corrupt system sways him away from his original path and self and completely transforms his aura and mission of life!!

Analysis:

The script and direction are expectantly good. Tigmanshu Dhulia has weaved the story nicely with apt narration to eliminate confusion. 

Seasoned actors like Mukesh Tiwari, Vineet Kumar have small but effective roles and they have played their part with lot of conviction. Whereas, Jatin Goswami has a full fledged role and he has simply dug his nails into it. 

The protagonist and other young actors are all newbies, but have performed quite well. They look quite promising. 

Conclusion:

All in all, Garmi a well made series that unmasks the corrupt socio-political system that transforms aspiring students into political puppets. 

Do watch it!! 

Tooth Pari: When Love Bites (20 Apr 2023)

 

Genre: Fantasy Comedy-Horror Thriller

Language: Hindi

Season: 1

No. of Episodes: 8

Running Time: 30-47 minutes

Writer & Director: Pratim D. Gupta

Cast: Shantanu Maheshwari, Tanya Maniktala, Tillotama Home, Sikandar Kher, Saswata Chatterjee, Revathi, Adil Hussain

It's a vampire-human love story wherein a rebellious lady vampire with a damaged tooth and underground abode falls in love with a shy dentist on the streets of Kolkata, something which is a strict no-no!! 

Presence of a vampire slayer witch and her team of Cutmundoos add on to the complexity. 

Full Marks For:

... Originality and intelligent desification of foreign mythology. 

... Applaud worthy cinematography of old Kolkata lanes and houses. 

... Good acting by the entire cast, but Adil Hussain, Tillotama Shome and Sikandar Kher simply outshine everyone.

The lead pair Tanya Maniktala and Shantanu Maheshwari share good chemistry and strong onscreen presence. 

Question Mark For:

... No clarification of hero or villain. No moral message at the end of it all !! 

Do watch it !!

Lost (16 Feb 2023) Is The Latest Hindi Film Release On ZEE5 🙂

 

A young nukkad theatre activist (Tushar Pandey) suddenly disappears without much trail and no one is expressively bothered by this, except his powerless sister and mother, whose plea for investigation fall to deaf ears. 

In fact out of the blue, the police labels him a Maoist and starts questioning (read harassing) his family and associates! 

Yami Gautam, a sincere and fearless crime reporter decides to investigate the matter and uncovers the whole saga, only to realise that the activist is alive but actually lost in the complex system of personal vendettas of politicians, police and Maoists.

The film plot is examplary but linear without establishing the 'why' behind questionable actions.

The supporting characters are sketchily written. Dishy looking Rahul Khanna and intense looking Neil Bhoopalam stay absolutely unutilized and don't bring any extra edge to the story.

Yami Gautam has acted well. Pankaj Kapur has proved that however small a role is and however inconsequential the character is written, he can shine above it all. He is the only thing about the movie that has depth. 

At 124 minutes, Lost is an average film, but still it is a nice watch.

Dharavi Bank - A Semi-interesting But Engaging Series 🙂

 

Release Date: 19 Nov 2022

Genre: Drama Thriller

Language: Hindi

Channel: MX Player

No. of Episodes: 10

Running Time: 36-59 minutes

Cast: Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Sonali Kulkarni, Luke Kenny, Chinmay Mandlekar, Freddy Daruwala, Hitesh Bhojraj, Siddharth Menon, Santosh Juvekar

Director: Samit Kakkad

Dharavi Bank is woven around the ruthless and powerful modus operandi of Dharavi based underworld, which is heavily interlinked with the business world, ruling state government, opposition and police force.

As per the series, Dharavi is also the storehouse of hundreds of crores of rupees aka a private self proclaimed money bank managed by the mafia. 

The main plot is corny but it's well supported by enough well connected subplots enacted by an interesting star cast.

Suniel Shetty as the icy still unforgiving underworld don Thalaivan and Vivek Oberoi as the strategic bursting with anger JCP (eventually CP) Jayant Gavaskar are quite effective and bring the required star quotient on the screen.

Overall, it's a semi-interesting but engaging series with some nerve wrecking scenes and good cinematography of wide mesh of over populated narrow by lanes of Dharavi, one of the world's largest slums.

Considering the total content, the series name is slightly misleading. Also, the series lacks the required depth. It could have been made much better.

We definitely look forward to a better Season 2.

Ponniyin Selvan: I (30 Sep 2022 )

 

Genre: Period Action Drama

Language: Tamil

Dubbed In: Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam

Duration: 167 minutes

Screenplay: Mani Ratnam and Elango Kumaravel

Dialogues: B. Jeyamohan

Producer & Director: Mani Ratnam

Cast: Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman, Shyam Fernando, Nassar and R. Parthiban

Music: A. R. Rahman

Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad

Cinematography: Ravi Varman

Art Direction: Santosh Sivan

The Chola and Pandya dynasties of southern India were two of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world history, with their individual total ruling span ranging for around 1500 years!! 

About the Chola empire:

• Established in 300s BCE

• Rise of the medieval Cholas took place in 848 CE

• Empire was at its greatest extent in 1030 CE

• Disestablished in 1279 CE

Chalukyas, Cheras and Rashtrakutas were other prominent dynasties that existed in southern India during the aforementioned time span. 

Sadly, there is just a passing mention of these dynasties in our history syllabus at school and the nation in general is in dark about their glory! 

Thanks to the sheer guts and mammoth efforts of Mani Ratnam, the director and producer of Ponniyin Selvan: I and his team, who chose to dive deep into 1000 years plus old history and created the celluloid representation of Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan. 

My observations while watching the film:

1. It has top of the line cast and crew and everyone has performed quite well, but don't expect it to be a pulsating CGI rich movie like Baahubali 1 (2015) and Baahubali 2 (2017).

The movie making approach of this movie is different than that of Baahubali series. 

The movie is based around 10th century, when the rise of the medieval Cholas was in progress amidst myriad challenges. 

2. Within the first hour, in order to introduce all the prime characters and their locations, the movie throws in your face a spate of difficult to pronounce and understand names of people and unheard of places, which confuses you like crazy, but eventually you get the hang of it.

Personally, upon returning home, I googled all the places in the movie and scouted their position on Indian map, for better understanding. 

I also googled the political maps of Cholas, as well as, Pandyas and Rashtrakutas, the other two dynasties which play a prominent part in the movie. 

Please consider it as the limitations of a North Indian. However, I loved the learning process and it gave me a lot of clarity. 

3. Please don't watch the movie with the expectation of seeing the Aishwarya of Jodhaa Akbar (2008). 

She is still the alluring queen and adorns heavy and exquisite jadau jewelry, albeit the karigiri here is South Indian and not Mughal. And no one can wear such jewels better than her. 

In both the movies, she is wise, dignified, but she as Mandakini here is not coy or romantic, but secretive and strategic. Also, there is a gap of 10 plus years between both the movies. A slice of youth has the tendency to slide away in a decade. 

4. The women appear more confident and tactful in the movie than men. 

However, Karthi as Vallavaraiyan Vanthiyathevan has the best role and he performs it with good energy and comic timing.

5. In spite of svelte and strong presences of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Sobhita Dhulipala, the movie is devoid of romance.

All of them love someone, but though apparent, it's basically in their heart and mind and yet to bloom in full! 

Whenever possible, Karthi alone flirts harmlessly with everyone! 

6. The movie has 6 songs. A couple of picturisations are quite big scale and impactful.

7. Cinematography, art direction and editing of the movie are quite impressive. 

8. At the end of it all, the movie does not look complete. So what if it's a prequel? A prequel in itself should be a complete package of sensible entertainment. 

Plot:

Chola Emperor Sundara Chozhar (Prakash Raj) is ill and bed ridden. For kingdom expansion, he sends his elder son Prince Aditha Karikalan (Vikram) to Kanchi via the land route and younger son Prince Arulmozhi Varman  (Jayam Ravi) to Lanka via the sea route.

Both the gallant princes are successful in their respective conquests, but all of their lives and kingdom are in danger from multiple sources. 

They are - 

- The devout bodyguards of King Veerapandiyan (Nassar) of Pandya dynasty, who was beheaded in a battle by Prince Aditha, are in constant look out to avenge their dead king. 

- Led by Chola Treasurer Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar (R. Sarathkumar), a group of Chola chieftains are conspiring to usurp Prince Aditha's right to ascend to the throne. Instead they want to make his uncle, Madurantakan (Rahman), the immediate next king.

- Post Prince Arulmozhi conquest of Lanka, though he declines the throne, King Mihindu V (Shyam Fernando) of Lanka sees him as a dire threat and sends his men to sabotage and kill him on his way back to his father. 

Amidst all this, Karthi plays the part of Prince Aditha's detective cum messenger, sent to find out about the conspiracy in progress and inform the same to Princess Kundavai (Trisha) and Emperor Sundar. The princess further sends him to Prince Arulmozhi for updation of affairs and his safe return.

In the meantime, the intelligent and politically active princess keeps the civil unrest and plotting at rest, while Mandakini is busy influencing her husband, the Chola Treasure's political decisions and her own pursuit of justice. 

Conclusion: 

Given the complexity of the subject, the movie is quite well made, though it has it's limitations. 

Am I looking forward to the sequel? 

Hell yes, I am!! 

I am very much interested to see the chain of events that led to the golden period of Chola dynasty. Also, how will such golden period be depicted?

I want to see the evident mysteries being solved.

I want to see the romance and chemistry between 4 evident pairs and I hope they transform on screen in true blue Mani Ratnam style, that is soulful and passionate, like Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), and Dil Se (1998). 

Also, I want to see how their royal food table looked like? For some reason, no such scene was present in the entire movie. 

'Dahan: Raakan ka Rahasya' is Different and Good!! 😅

 

Release Date: 16 Sep 2022
Genre: Horror Suspense Thriller
Language: Hindi & Rajasthani

Channel: Disney+ Hotstar
No. of Episodes: 9
Running Time: 45-54 minutes

Cast: Tisca Chopra, Mukesh Tiwari, Saurabh Shukla, Rajesh Tailang, Rohan Joshi
Director: Vikrant Pawar

Set in Silaspura, a remote town in Rajasthan which is deeply rooted in occult practices and an age old staunch belief of not disturbing or exploring an existing mine, the series is entwined with the presence of a visiting IAS officer; employees and miners of a mining company; the village police, head, priest, sects and commoners and a spate of gruesome murders!!

The main plot has well defined and ably conjoined subplots.

The casting is impressive and everyone has performed quite well.

The series is fearsome and engaging and apt for a binge watch, albeit not during night hours and definitely not with the kids.

It has good suspense and climax. 

It's a mad mayhem with enough fear, agony and aggression but still manages to appear logical!!

Do watch it. 

3 Latest Hindi Movies That You Can Watch On Netflix 😊

Two of these are OTT releases and the remaining one is a theatre release.

- OTT Release Movies -

* Footfairy (24 Jul 2022) *

"Things take an ugly turn for a CBI officer in Mumbai when he is tasked with tracking down a mysterious serial killer with a foot fetish."

Intrigued with crime and suspense, thankfully the movie is more about investigation than gruesome detailing.

Gulshan Devaiah performs expectantly well as the CBI officer. Equipped with a small role, Kunaal Roy Kapur enters late into the movie, but ably brings in his own brand of star power.

Duration: 114 minutes

* Jaadugar (15 Jul 2022) *

"A small-time magician with no athletic talent must compete in a football tournament to win the heart of the woman he loves."

Centred around local football enthusiasts and a local tournament, this sports drama is infused with cute amateur love and magic (no pun intended).

With few good comic lines thrown here and there, it's a family flick well enacted by Jitendra Kumar, Jaaved Jaffrey, Manoj Joshi and team.

Duration: 166 minutes

- Theatre Release Movie -

* Jugjugg Jeeyo (24 Jun 2022)

"Two couples from different generations confront their relationship issues after marriage, revealing infidelity and divorce."

This family comedy drama raises and well depicts & discusses the burning social issue of a great number of couples going for separation and divorce, irrespective of their age, type of marriage and reason for divorce (read infidelity, ambition, falling out of love etc.).

But in the movie, perhaps to keep the entertainment quotient soaring, all this is presented hidden into the pomp and splendour of pre-functions of a Punjabi marriage, which is sadly all about designer clothes, dance and swag sans any soul and depth.

In spite of A-lister couples like Anil Kapoor-Neetu Singh and Varun Dhawan-Kiara Advani, the movie lacks the required energy and direction!

Duration: 150 minutes