Member Reviews

Dabba Cartel is an intriguing mix of a desi drug syndicate gone bad and suburban drama, with an added dose of the murky world of pharma industries. But most of all, this crime drama is the story of individuals pushed to the limit even when their intentions are well-meaning. Created by Shibani Akhtar, Vishnu Menon, Gaurav Kapur, and Akanksha Seda, the Netflix series has an impressive cast that does justice to different riveting plotlines that converge at one thrilling juncture. Taking place in the nondescript VivaLife Society in Thane, the so-called drug business starts off small and clandestine until it snowballs into something that has deadly consequences for all involved. There’s another layer of a pharma company covering up their involvement in the distribution of a lethal painkiller. Woven into this are the stories of men and women aiming for a better life, from a couple hoping to migrate to Germany to a maid wanting her young daughter to have nicer things. However, greed and ambition catch up with them, leaving them at a crossroads.

A small town in South India. A religious festival drumming up nightly fervour. A crime most foul. Red herrings. Confused cops. These elements which made the first season of ‘Suzhal: The Vortex’ such a gripping watch are back in Season 2, except the town is different, and the crime, this time around, is revealed from the get-go: a local lawyer is found dead. Was it suicide, or murder? Two of the lead actors are back, too. Kathir as the cop Sakkarai, is under a professional cloud for something he did in the previous season, and Aishwarya Rajesh as Nandhini, the young woman who slayed her demon in its satisfactory climax, is awaiting trial. Sakkarai has strong filial ties with slain lawyer Chellappa (Lal), and as he delves deeper, past secrets rise to the surface, and everyone connected to the victim comes under the scanner.

Crazxy movie review: The stuck-behind-a-steering-wheel/closed-phone-booth character, hellbent on saving a loved one from dire consequences, has been used in a few films. In ‘Crazxy’, Sohum Shah plays a surgeon, on track for a crucial meeting, poleaxed by a phone call which changes everything: he needs to rapidly regroup and think on his feet, to prevent calamity befalling a member of his family. At 93 minutes, the film is fashioned as an edge-of-the-seat thriller, and Shah’s Dr Abhimanyu Sood does his best to put metal-to-pedal, while fielding calls from a bunch of increasingly agitated people: ex-wife (voiced by Nimisha Sajayan), current interest (voiced by Shilpa Shukla), boss of his hospital (voiced by Piyush Mishra), and a senior teacher (voiced by Tinnu Anand) at his daughter Vedika’s (Unnati Surana, on screen briefly) school, who is empathetic to her special needs.

Dabba Cartel review: A group of Thane-based women come together to fend off multiple elements that are stopping them from being themselves. Sweet housewife Raji (Shalini Pandey), her dour mother-in-law Sheila (Shabana Azmi), mouthy domestic worker Mala (Nimisha Sajayan), unhappy wife-cum-entrepreneur Varuna (Jyotika), smart real-estate agent Shahida (Anjali Anand), all very different from each other, find common cause through an unlikely enterprise: the modest business of daily dabbas with ‘ghar-ka-khana’ laced with a little kick, turns into a ride whose rising profit comes with thrills and danger.

पहले ‘शिप ऑफ थीसियस’, फिर ‘तुम्बाड़’ और अब यह फिल्म ‘क्रेज़ी’-इतना तो साफ है कि बतौर निर्माता सोहम शाह जो कर रहे हैं उसे एक शब्द में कहा जाए तो वह होगा-दुस्साहस। जब बनाने वाले को दो और दो मिला कर पांच न करने हों, जब उसे टिकट-खिड़की के आंकड़ों की परवाह न हो तो ही वह कुछ हट के वाला सिनेमा बना पाता है। ‘क्रेज़ी’ (Crazxy) इस का ताज़ा उदाहरण है। किसी को पांच करोड़ रुपए देने जा रहे डॉक्टर अभिमन्यु सूद को फोन आता है कि उसकी बेटी किडनैप कर ली गई है और फिरौती की रकम है-पूरे पांच करोड़। वही बेटी जिसे अभिमन्यु ने कभी जी भर कर निहारा तो दूर, स्वीकारा तक नहीं। वही बेटी जो अभिमन्यु की तलाकशुदा पत्नी के पास रहती है। इधर अभिमन्यु की ज़िंदगी दांव पर है। उधर उसकी तलाकशुदा पत्नी अपनी बेटी को बचाने के लिए मिन्नतें कर रही है। वहीं उसकी प्रेमिका उसे इस झमेले से दूर रहने को उकसा रही है। लेकिन इस चक्रव्यूह में फंस चुका अभिमन्यु तय करता है कि वह अब भेजे की नहीं सुनेगा क्योंकि भेजे की सुनेगा तो…!

Toxic Town is the true story about an English steel town’s toxic waste that led to birth defects amongst the children. But more than that, the series is about the legal fight to get acknowledgement and justice for the pain and suffering they’ve been through. While the four-part series takes place over many years and tracks the arduous legal battle, Toxic Town is noteworthy for the stellar performances from its British cast led by Doctor Who and Broadchurch’s Jodie Whittaker. The limited series revolves around the working-class town of Corby, where the closing of a steel mill leads to other construction opportunities. However, as the site is developed into something different by negligent crews, under the lax leadership of the city council, the toxins seep into the town, affecting future generations. Mothers Susan (Jodie Whitaker), Tracey (Aimee Lou Wood), and Maggie (Claudia Jessie) all suffer different kinds of trauma as they watch their children suffer and, in Tracey’s case, watch them die. It takes much time, nearly 15 years, before any kind of resolution is reached.

Nickel Boys, directed by RaMell Ross, is up for two Oscar awards at the upcoming ceremony on March 2. It deserved a few more nominations, including one for its cinematography that details the alternating perspectives of its teenage lead characters, Elwood and Turner. This tragic story, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Colson Whitehead, hits even harder in this visual format, backed by some exceptional performances. Set in 1960s Florida, the story sees change coming to the US in the form of the civil rights movement and space travel, but in some places it feels like time never changed. Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), a promising young Black teenager with a bright future, is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Transferred to the Nickel Academy, a reform school for juvenile delinquents, he learns how cruel the world can really be. Separated from his beloved grandmother (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), he makes a friend in Turner (Brandon Wilson), who is desperate to escape from the clutches of the evil wardens.

Suits LA is one of the most eagerly awaited shows of the year, and now that it’s here, one can only wonder why it was commissioned. Well, actually, we know why. But this redux of Suits is a disappointment on every level. Creator Aaron Korsh introduces a new shark-like lawyer with Stephen Amell’s Ted Black, aka the new Harvey Specter. But we all know that the original Suits was a lighting in a bottle. This second spinoff from the same universe does not have the same charm as the original nor does it have the characters required to get invested. The spinoff introduces viewers to hot-shot LA lawyer Ted (Amell), who is on the verge of a big merger with his partner Stuart (Josh McDermitt). Amidst the chaos of all this lies the news that his father (Matt Letscher) is dying back in New York. The premiere episode revolves around our introduction of Ted’s world, his fight to keep his firm and glimpses of his troubled past and shaky relationship with his father. A few generic supporting characters flit in and out.

Superboys of Malegaon is inspired by Faiza Ahmad Khan’s terrific 2008 documentary ‘Supermen of Malegaon’, on a subset of residents of Malegaon who had become famous for turning their home-grown spoofs of Bollywood blockbusters into a profitable cottage industry. The filmmakers give credit to the original at the end of their film, which in essence, is a feature film with many elements borrowed from the documentary, which in turn was based on the remarkable enterprise on display in a small Maharashtra town afflicted by communal tensions and poverty, and about the power of dreaming.

सिनेमा से राब्ता रखने वालों को तो मालेगांव और वहां की सिनेमाई हलचलों के बारे में पता होगा। जिन्हें नहीं पता, वे पहले यह जान लें कि मालेगांव दरअसल महाराष्ट्र के नासिक जिले का एक छोटा-सा मुस्लिम बहुल शहर है। 90 के दशक में यहां के एक उत्साही युवक नासिर शेख ने अपने दोस्तों, साथियों के साथ मिल कर बहुत कम पैसों में ‘मालेगांव के शोले’, ‘मालेगांव का चिंटू’ सरीखी फिल्में बना कर खूब वाहवाही बटोरी थी और अपनी एक स्थानीय फिल्म इंडस्ट्री खड़ी कर डाली थी। उनके बारे में 2012 में आई फैज़ा अहमद खान की एक डॉक्यूमैंट्री ‘सुपरमैन ऑफ मालेगांव’ बहुत सराही गई थी। उसी डॉक्यूमैंट्री और मालेगांव के उन नौजवानों की ज़िंदगी पर डायरेक्टर रीमा कागती यह फिल्म ‘सुपरबॉयज़ ऑफ मालेगांव’ लेकर आई हैं। ‘सुपरबॉयज़ ऑफ मालेगांव’ कुछ ऐसे नौजवानों की ज़िंदगी दिखाती है जो फोटो स्टूडियो, दुकानदारी, कपड़े की मिल आदि में काम करते हुए रुटीन ज़िंदगी जी रहे हैं लेकिन कुछ अलग, कुछ बड़ा करने की चाहत इन्हें फिल्म-निर्माण की तरफ ले जाती है। कामयाबी मिलने के बाद रिश्तों में दूरियां आती हैं तो मुश्किल वक्त इन्हें फिर से करीब भी ले आता है।