Gunjan Saxena : Movie Review

 

Gunjan Saxena helmed by Sharan Sharma is an inspiring biopic on India's first female combat pilot who flew helicopter missions during the 1999 Kargil war. What sets this film different from other films of this genre is the treatment given by director and the writers. While most of the films based on this genre often indulge in jingoism, chest thumping with loud jarring music, this film relies on moments and that too in most subtle way. A good movie can be characterized by its fine moments or scenes that remain etched in your memory for a long time and this movie offers plenty of them. To describe a few ; the steely resolve to become a pilot comes to Gunjan's mind when she is fighting over window seat with her brother in a plane and an air-hostess takes her to the cockpit. As a kid, she gets besotted by cockpit of a commercial aircraft and aviator wearing pilots. She starts wearing aviators even during late evenings and her explanation for the same is that eyesight of pilot should be perfect and she is saving her eyes from harmful rays. Still a kid, when Gunjan says to her father that she wants to become a pilot, her brother jokingly says that he wants to be Kapil Dev. He further taunts her that at best she can become an air-hostess. It is pertinent to mention that the journey for Gunjan Saxena to become a pilot was not easy, rather it was full of obstacles. Right from the time of applying for the post of Indian Air Force pilot, to the training time she faces hurdles at every stage. But, her unflinching resolve to become a pilot keeps her floating even in the muddled waters. Yes, there comes a moment when she gets confused and talks with her father which i would rate as the best scene of the movie. Confused, Gunjan asks her father that Air Force needs cadets who are patriots but i just want to fly planes. The father asks,"Do you think  Air Force needs people who only shout 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' ? They want cadets who are sincere towards their goal, have a passion for flying and will complete their training with sincerity. Once, you become a good pilot with hard work, you automatically become a patriot. This scene becomes very relevant in today's time as it juxtaposes with some of the views that have been forced by several people in context of being patriot. And, on top of it this dialogue is mouthed by a person who is himself serving in the army. 

                                                           The movie has been penned down by Sharan Sharma along with Nikhil Mehrotra. The best part about the writing is that it never goes over the top. Most of the times we have seen biopics infused with fiction to make it look more commercial. But, in Gunjan, the writers have stuck to the basics and haven't exaggerated the plot which could have been very easy as its a war based movie. The film chronicles the journey of Gunjan who nurtures the dream of becoming a pilot since childhood and unflinching support from her father. It also showcases misogyny that she faces once she is inducted into Indian Air Force for being the only female cadet at Udhampur base. And, finally it highlights the feat of Gunjan being the only pilot to have flown during Kargil war. The film very cleverly steers away from the debate of difference between nationalism and patriotism which is a hot topic these days. 

                                                   Janhvi Kapoor excels in the scenes where is conversing with her father or putting her best efforts to become a pilot. She has a childlike exuberance which gets reflected from her eyes. But, she falters when she dons the uniform as she lacks the body language and attitude reminiscent with being a pilot. 

                                                   Pankaj Tripathi has portrayed the character of Gunjan's father with a great sense of maturity. He is the only one who stands with her in every situation. Watch out for him in the scene where he tells Gunjan to make parathas and explains about different spices to her. 

                                                           Vineet Kumar Singh & Manav Vij as Gunjan's seniors, Angad Bedi as her brother have justified their parts.  

                                                                  The musical soundtrack of the movie has been composed by Amit Trivedi which is in tandem with the movie. The cinematographer of the movie is Manush Nandan who has done a swell job at capturing visuals. The film has been edited by Nitin Baid who never lets the momentum of the movie slip away with his fine editing skills. As a writer-director, Sharan Sharma has done a commendable job. He has brilliantly infused the story with two wars that Gunjan fights ; one at the border with Pakistan and the other at the base in form of gender discrimination. And to his credit, Sharan has shown both the wars with a touch of subtlety without going over the top. 

Gunjan Saxena is now streaming at Netflix. 

 ROHIT SHARMA

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Dil Bechara :: Movie Review

Dil Bechara helmed by Mukesh Chhabra may not be the perfect adaptation of John Green's popular novel, 'The Fault In Our Stars" but the performances of lead pair especially Sushant Singh Rajput, their palpable chemistry make it a worthy watch. Before the movie begins, we get to see a clipping of Sushant - playing guitar and looking happy with a smile on his face. A quote appears below the clipping, which says, " Perhaps, the difference between what is miserable, and that which is spectacular, lies in the leap of faith." This quote very much emulates the character that Sushant has portrayed in this film. And, it is the sole reason why this movie brings smile as well as tears in your eyes. You smile as Sushant plays the character of a wacky, full of life, sappy guy to pitch perfection and when you realize the utter depravity of the untimely demise of Sushant, your heart chokes. Ironically, Sushant's last film talks about celebrating life and love even in the face of impending death. Although, the female lead of the film believes in the age old saying of 'Ek tha raja, ek thi rani, dono mar gaye, khatam kahani" but Sushant makes her believe in the charms of living life to the fullest. Dil Bechara is a film that talks about looking at the brighter aspects of life while dealing with terminal illness and how to overcome the fear and experience of loosing a loved one. It's a love story with a difference - cute, flirtatious, hesitance of first love and above all selfless love in times of distress. 

                                         

                                    The screenplay of the movie has been adapted by Shashank Khaitan along with Suprotim Sengupta from The Fault In Our Stars. They have only borrowed the basic plot and blended it with several deviations as per the liking of Indian audience. I feel, this has been a major let down in the movie. While some portions of the movie move at a brisk pace, others move at snail's pace. The characters have not been etched down in a proper manner apart from the lead pair which acts as a dampener at times. Had more prominence been given to the parents of lead pair, it would have immensely added to the emotional quotient of the movie.  The movie is set in Jamshedpur where we are introduced to Kizie Basu ( Sanjana Sanghi) who is the only daughter of Basu family. Kizie is suffering from thyroid cancer which has affected her lungs forcing her to carry an oxygen cylinder along with her all the time. Though, she wants to lead a normal life with a steady boyfriend and enjoy life, yet, she has restricted herself as she knows that her end is near. On the other hand, we are introduced to Immanuel Rajkumar Junior alias Manny (Sushant Singh Rajput) who has lost a leg due to osteosarcoma. For the first time, Manny and Kizie meet in a college fest and later they meet in a cancer support group where they come close to each other. Manny woos Kizie with his charms and soon they become best of buddies. He believes in living life to the fullest and is a die hard fan of Rajnikant. Manny lives with his best friend, Jagdish Pandey (Sahil Vaid) who is also a cancer patient and is about to loose his eyesight. Jagdish wants to make a Bhojpuri film. Manny makes Kizie shed her inhibitions about life and live life to the fullest. He soon starts visting Kizie'shome and wins over her parents played by Swastika Mukherjee and Saswata Chatterjee. Kizie who is earlier reluctant about dating Manny also falls in love with him. Kizie has a wish of meeting her favorite musician, Abhimanyu (Saif Ali Khan) which she confides to Manny. Manny tracks down Abhimanyu in Paris and they fly down to meet him there. Also, Kizie helps in getting the movie of Jagdish completed by playing the female lead in his film. But, a tragedy is awaiting their love story and blissful life. 

                                 Sushant Singh Rajput portrays the character of Manny with effortless ease. His character had many layers to it right from being a charmer, lover, doting friend, vulnerable and to his credit Sushant has portrayed all these traits with elan in his performance. With a heavy heart, you have to accept the fact that this is the last performance of a fine actor like him. 

                                Sanjana Sanghi who makes her debut as the leading lady in this film manages to leave a lasting impression on you. She not only looks cute but delves deep into the skin of her character with aplomb. She breathes life into Kizie who is shy, lonely at first and sheds her inhibitions after meeting Manny. 

                                    It's good to see Swastika Mukherjee back in a substantial role in a mainstream hindi film. She has portrayed the character of a mother who is always concerned & apprehensive regarding safety, well being of her daughter with utmost conviction. In fact, she has worked with Sushant in one of his earlier films, "Detective Byomkesh Bakshi". 

                             Saswata Chatterjee as Kizie's father is appropriate and so is Sahil Vaid as Manny's friend. 

                                                The soundtrack of the movie has been composed by A.R.Rahman where as the lyrics have been penned down by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Together, they have weaved magic and charted out some good numbers with 'Dil Bechara', 'Taare Ginn' and 'Khulke Jeene Ka' being the best of the lot. The cinematographer of the movie is Satyajit Pande who has done a swell job behind the lens. He has captured the landmarks of Jamshedpur - The Tata Main Hospital, Jubilee Park along with picturesque locales of Paris with equal aplomb. The film has been edited by Aarif Sheikh who has kept the runtime of movie to 100 minutes. I feel the movie had been more impactful if runtime of the movie could have been little longer as more time could have been utilized for character development. But, this is a collective call to be taken by director, screenplay writer along with editor.  This is the debut film of Mukesh Chhabra as a director which is very much visible in the film. Though, Mukesh has tried his best to make an interesting adaptation of 'The Fault In Our Stars' but the effort seems half baked. Glitches in screenplay, uneven pace of the film and under development of characters are some of the flaws. The film surely has some great moments due to acting prowess of Sushant and Sanjana.   

The fault in our stars, tugged at our heartstrings because of its youthful verve and flawless narration where as Dil Bechara will be remembered for the last performance of a fine actor, Sushant Singh Rajput (Though, it is not his best performance as i rate his performance in Sonchiriya, M.S.Dhoni to be his best). But, this movie deserves to be seen for the sake of this fine actor whose career has been unfortunately cut short and who deserved a much longer successful run in Indian Film Industry.   

ROHIT SHARMA

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Gulabo Sitabo :: Movie Review

Gulabo Sitabo helmed by Shoojit Sircar is a well made film that expresses a gamut of emotions through its well etched characters and wry humor. In these times of Covid 19, when cinemas are shut, several filmmakers have decided to release their films on OTT Platforms. Gulabo Sitabo is the first biggie from Bollywood to stream on Prime Video. This is the fourth time that talented duo writer, Juhi Chaturvedi and director, Shoojit Sircar have collaborated together after Vicky Donor, Piku and October and have affirmed their supremacy over their craft. Mind you, they both have a niche of their own which gets reflected in their cinema. They never make run of the mill or formulaic cinema out to please every section of audience. They have always chosen disparate subjects and made invigorating films out of them. Coming back to Gulabo Sitabo, this film is based in Lucknow and you will find intricate details of town and its inhabitants through the various characters of the movie. In fact, the charm of the movie lies in the astounding use of dialect of its various characters. The humor doesn't come in slapstick form but from the banter between most characters of the movie who try to outsmart each other by taking jibes at each other. On the outset, it looks to be a simple story but it has several layers attached to it which get peeled off as the story progresses. At the center of the story is Fatima Mahal, an dilapidated Haveli owned by Begum Fatto (Farrukh Jafar) whose miser husband, Mirza ( Amitabh Bachchan) is waiting for her to die to so that he becomes owner of the property. There are several tenants living in the haveli and Banke (Ayushmann Khurrana) is one of them who pay measly rent as they have been living there since long. As the film progresses, Officers of Archaeological Survey, Lawyer and a Builder enter the plot, each with their own vested interest in the Haveli. The prominent characteristic depicted in the movie is greed about which Banke says to Mirza in a dialogue, " Laalach Zehar Hai" and Mirza replies, "Maine Zehar se kisi ko marte nahin dekha". Greed and yearning for more money often leads to despair which has been brilliantly showcased in the movie albeit with innuendo. 

                                                               

                                                         The story, screenplay and dialogues of the movie have been penned down by Juhi Chaturvedi who has once again proved her mettle. Trust, Juhi to come up with something disparate when it comes to penning up a story. The backbone of the movie is its free flowing screenplay, brilliant dialogues and peculiar characters. Each and every character has its own idiosyncrasies who try to out wit each other with their dialogues. To her credit, Juhi has ensured that the dialogues are laden with typical Lucknawi language which are mouthed by the characters with utmost precision. Detailing is the key of good screenplay, dialogues and Juhi has mastered the art of that. Though, the film belongs to Banke and Mirza but Juhi doesn't let the female characters take a backseat. On one hand you have Banke's guileful sister, Guddo who has no qualms in romancing her third boyfriend on the terrace or going to a hotel with a Govt. Official to secure a Govt. Job. On the other hand you have Banke's ambitious girlfriend who turns up at Banke's flour mill after marrying a rich guy. She sarcastically asks Banke, " Aapki chakki pe organic atta milega" and than herself replies him teasingly ," Shakal dekh ke hi lagta hai isne organic atte ke bare mein nahin suna hoga". On top of all is Begum Fatto who comes up with the biggest surprise in the climax of movie. The movie begins with Mirza ( Amitabh Bachchan) stealing bulbs, cycle bells of his tenants to sell them to scrap dealers. He is fed up of his tenants who have been paying paltry amount of rent to him. He is at loggerheads with his tenant Banke ( Ayushmann Khurrana) as he wants him to vacate his premises. One day, Banke kicks the washroom wall  due to which a portion of it breaks down. An angry Mirza along with Banke rushes to the local police station to settle the dispute where a clever officer of Archaeological Survey of India, Gyanesh Mishra (Vijay Raaz) overhears them talking about a old haveli. Now, Mishra tries to convince Banke and other tenants that this haveli can become a National Heritage property and if they vacate the haveli, they will get LIG flats. But, the greedy Mirza is no less as he approaches Christopher ( Brijendra Kala) having an expertise in solving property disputes to get his property vacated and transfer power of attorney in his name. Mirza is coaxed by his bosom pal, Pandeji to pray for demise of his Begum Fatto as than Mirza will be the sole owner of property. Christopher approaches a renowned Builder to construct a housing complex after demolishing haveli. Guddo, duplicitous sister of Banke is in touch with with Gyanesh as well as Christopher to get her slice of pie. Will the haveli be declared a Heritage Property, Will Builder demolish the haveli, Will Mirza become the sole owner of property and what will happen to tenants is what forms the rest of the story.    

 

                          Amitabh Bachchan puts life into the character of crotchety, astute yet farcical, Mirza with effortless ease. With prosthetic makeup and in a pitch different from his rich baritone, Amitabh literally owns the character of Mirza. 

                        Ayushmann Khurrana literally makes you root for his character with his impeccable performance in the movie. He looks the part of a sublime guy who is burdened with taking care of his family especially sisters who in turn never miss a chance to poke fun of him. 

                              Vijay Raaz slips into the character of Gyanesh with such conviction that he literally looks like a typical Government Official. The way he climbs on top of tree to take pictures & than is reluctant in climbing down or the pride in his body language when he takes Banke to show him Archaeological department laboratory is a treat to watch.

                              Brijendra Kala is one actor who has carved out his own inimitable style of acting and dialogue delivery which is unparalleled. The way he proclaims that he only speaks English at home or the way he boasts about his relations with builder are bound to bring a smile on your face. 

                              Srishti Shrivastava has turned out to be the surprise package of the film. The way Juhi has scripted the character of bold, sly Guddo, Srishti has taken the character several notches higher with her brilliant portrayal. 

                                       The musical score of Shantanu Moitra is in tandem with the movie and effortlessly syncs with the narrative. The lyrics that have been penned down by Dinesh Pant, Puneet Sharma, Vinod Dubey are heart touching especially "Kya leko ayo jag mein" and "Aana hai jana hai,jeevan chalte jana hai" standing out. The cinematographer of the movie is Avik Mukhopadhyay whose roving lens eye has captured the milieu of Lucknow with utmost finesse. The movie has been edited by Chandrashekhar Prajapati whose work at the editing table has resulted in a crisp movie. As a director, Shoojit Sircar has scored all the brownie points as he has presented this simple, refreshing tale of human characteristics in the most captivating way. He has ably infused the film with some valuable lessons without making it sound preachy. Shoojit has become synonymous with presenting invigorating tales in his own indomitable style.   

If you have penchant for slice of life movies laden with wry humor with well written and enacted characters, than Gulabo Sitabo is the right movie for you. But if you are looking for a formulaic movie with usual Bollywood stuff, than it's not your cup of tea. 

 

ROHIT SHARMA

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Kaali 2 (Zee5) :: Review

Kaali 2 is enthralling, profound thriller which looses its way somewhere in the middle but soon bounces back with an explosive climax. Kaali 1 was a runaway hit because its storyline of a single mother Kaali (brilliantly portrayed by Paoli Dam) going all out to earn money to bear the medical expenses for saving her hospitalized son resonated well with the audience. Season 2 carries the same story forward but this time ; the stakes are higher and the world around Kaali is more murkier. Hence, some renowned actors like Chandan Roy Sanyal, Abhishek Banerjee and Vidya Malvade add spice to the world of Kaali 2. In fact, the best moments of Kaali 2 are where you see Paoli and Chandan together on-screen. There is a palpable chemistry visible between the two, but, without any romantic inclinations. 

                                                             In Season 2, we find Kaali living with a different identity along with her son and running a beauty parlor ; all thanks to witness protection programme of Kolkata Police. She is totally unaware of the dangers lurking ahead because of her murkier past. In Season 1, Kaali had to confront only the Kolkatta Police and the local drug dealers. But, this time stakes are much higher as not only Intelligence officer from Delhi has come to join forces with Kolkata Cops but Drug Cartels are also after Kaali. The story begins with Kaali running a massage parlor and looking after her son, Sunny who is still surviving on oxygen cylinders. Things are going fine until the day arrives when drug cartel leader Jinliang (Abhishek Banerjee) is to be transported for deportation. A special officer (Vidya Malvade) arrives from Delhi to Kolkatta to supervise this deportation. Meanwhile, Jinliang sends a notorious assassin who kidnaps Kaali along with her son due to her proximity with Special Branch Officer, Aniket (Rahul Banerjee). This ploy works as Jinliang is able to escape from Police custody. But, Kali is rescued from Jinliang's assassin by henchmen of another drug lord, Swapan (Chandan Roy Sanyal). What follows thereafter is an all out drug war for power in underbelly of Kolkata between drug lords, Cops with Kaali being an integral part of it. What is motive of Swapan behind rescuing Kaali, Will Cops be able to nail the drug lords, Will Kaali be able to save her son & Will Aniket, once again go out of his line of duty to protect Kaali, is what forms the rest of the story. 

                                    Without an iota of doubt, Paoli Dam is the soul of the series as Kaali as she keeps you invested in the series which speaks volumes about her acting prowess. She mostly emotes through her eyes which is a treat to watch. The transformation in her body language from a simple working single parent to a confident, clever, opportunistic and cold hearted lady is exemplary. 

                                Chandan Roy Sanyal is one of those few actors who gets unto the skin of his character in an effortless way. He is such an actor that it becomes very difficult for us to distinguish between him and the character that he is portraying. He is so natural on-screen that it never seems like that he is acting. 

                             Abhishek Banerjee carries on the rough, menacing look that he portrayed in his last web series, Pataal Lok. Watch out for him in the scene where he has a banter with a South East Asian guy who has come to replace him. Unfortunately, Abhishek's character in the series is not that well etched out and could have been more meatier. 

                                 Rahul Banerjee & Vidya Malvade both have enacted their respective characters in utmost convincing manner. 

                     To sum it up, Kaali 1 was more pulsating because it revolved around Kaali and her efforts to keep her son alive with the help of Aniket. But, in Kaali 2, not only lot of characters have been added  but the screenplay is also uneven. The saving grace is presence of some brilliant actors who keep your interest alive with effortless portrayal of their respective characters. 

 

ROHIT SHARMA

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