Member Reviews

सिनेमा के लिए लिखी गई हर कहानी बड़े पर्दे के लिए नहीं होती। होती, तो लंबे अर्से से बन कर रखी यह फिल्म काफी पहले रिलीज़ हो गई होती। एक सच और भी है कि सिनेमा के लिए लिखी गई हर कहानी पर ‘सिनेमा’ बन ही जाए, यह भी ज़रूरी नहीं। इसी कहानी को ही देखिए। कोलकाता में रह रहा तारिणी बंदोपाध्याय अखबार में विज्ञापन देख कर अहमदाबाद जा पहुंचता है जहां उसे एक ऐसे अमीर कारोबारी रतन गरोडिया को कहानियां सुना कर सुलाने का काम मिलता है जिसे नींद न आने की बीमारी है। कहानियां सुनने-सुनाने के दौरान इन दोनों की बातें इस फिल्म को एक अलग दिशा देती हैं। फिल्मकार सत्यजित रे ने बतौर लेखक जो लोकप्रिय किरदार रचे उनमें एक पात्र तारिणी खुरो का भी था। इस किरदार को केंद्र में रच कर लिखी गईं उनकी ढेरों कहानियों में से आखिरी कहानी ‘गोल्पो बोलिए तारिणी खुरो’ यानी ‘कहानियां सुनाने वाला तारिणी अंकल’ थी। उसी लघु कथा को आधार बना कर तीन लेखकों ने इस फिल्म की पटकथा तैयार की है जिसमें इंसानी जीवन और दुनियावी पेचीदगियों के बारे में बातें हैं। लेकिन इस फिल्म के साथ दिक्कत यही है कि इसमें बातें ही बातें हैं। हालांकि ये बातें बुरी नहीं हैं और इन्हें ध्यान से सुना जाए तो ये कुछ बताती-सिखाती ही हैं।

To pick one from the ultimate storyteller’s repertoire requires a special talent. Writer- director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan has done just that–he has unerringly chosen a subject that blends two cultures (Bengali, Gujarati), poking fun at neither but having fun all the same. It’s not just about retired storyteller Tarini Bandopadhyay (Paresh Rawal) feeling the fish and bargaining before buying it in Calcutta or the strict vegetarian dhokla-thepla that he says is “delectable” to his wealthy host Ratan Garodia (Adil Hussain) in Ahmedabad while muttering, “disgusting” over the phone to fellow Bengalis. There’s a good-natured swipe at capitalism and socialism too. To this, add unpreached undercurrents like the need to evaluate your self-worth with confidence along with some intrigue on where this is going, and you get Satyajit Ray’s short story Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro.

Sterling K Brown reunites with This is Us creator Dan Fogelman on a new series, Paradise, that follows a Secret Service agent looking into the murder of someone he was assigned to protect. But like Fogelman’s previous works, the narrative is more layered than it seems. Paradise mixes a few genres to give viewers a thriller with an intriguing twist. Xavier Collins (Brown) is one of President Cal Bradford’s (James Marsden) lead agents. So when the unthinkable occurs, the level-headed man approaches with a clear focus as someone who would always do the right thing. Amidst high-level government officials and a few billionaires lies a conspiracy that continues to astonish the deeper we fall into it. The eight-episode series has a massive reveal at the end of the first episode, forcing viewers to rethink everything about what has been shown to them so far. That is usually the modus operandi of Fogelman and his usual collaborators, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. In Paradise, the show slowly unveils each character and scenario in a leisurely manner.

From the title itself, it’s a giveaway that this romcom is going to be rife in clichés and oozing cheesiness. In that sense, writer-director Victor Mukherjee’s 107-minute-long film does not disappoint. Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Fernandes (Amol Parashar) is a recycle artist and social media influencer who is nursing a broken heart and often posts philosophical and pensive posts about dreams, feelings etc. These read like memes or the kind of ‘good quotes’ one could Google up. But what is baffling Kenny at this time, is a recurring dream featuring a date with an attractive young woman in a coffee shop. Said woman does exist. Somewhere else, an aspiring and ambivalent musician called Diya Jaisingh (Mithila Palkar) is experiencing the same dream, featuring Kenny and the same coffee shop.

Actor Manikandan is steadily becoming a bankable actor in Tamil cinema. His last two films, Good Night and Lover, turned out to be crowd favourites. In both films, he played a relatable ‘guy next door’ dealing with financial and emotional problems. Director Rajeshwar Kalisamy’s Kudmbasthan is yet another film that features Manikandan in the role of a breadwinner in a lower-middle-class family man. Naveen (Manikandan) and Vennila (Saanve Megghana) get married at a registrar’s office, with their families cursing them for not getting their permission. After a brief hiatus, Naveen and Vennila live with his parents. Vennila, an IAS aspirant, is a cool-headed, understanding and pregnant wife, who supports Naveen and turns a blind eye to the insults of her mother-in-law.

Malayalam superstar Mammootty and his film choices in the last couple of years have been incredible and eye-opening. From doing a Kaathal to Bramayugam, the actor is all in for experimental films and giving his all to every choice he makes. And when he chooses to join hands with Tamil filmmaker Gautham Menon, it certainly excites every film buff who has followed their career paths. Has Dominic and The Ladies’ Purse lived up to expectations? Let’s find out! Dominic (Mammootty) is a former police officer who now runs a detective agency. He is a laid-back guy with a quirky sense of humour. As he undergoes some financial issues, his landlady gives him a task to find the owner of a purse she found. In return, she will waive the rent. Dominic and his aide (Gokul Suresh) go on a mission to find the owner of the purse.

Think music composers of yesteryear and chances are that the name Roshan wouldn’t figure on the top of your mind. For the present generation and even a generation before that, the surname Roshan is but obviously a byword for superstar Hrithik Roshan and, at best, his father-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. But, as the Netflix documentary ‘The Roshans’ delves into the lives of four men of the Roshan family, all of them of exceptional talent, you learn more than a thing or two about who the original Roshan was. The first episode dedicated to the family patriarch, the late Roshan Lal Nagrath, is a revelation. Not because it unfurls any hidden family secrets, but reminds you how those lilting melodies — ‘Mann re tu kahe na dheer dhare’, ‘Rahein na rahein hum, mehka karenge’, ‘Yeh ishq ishq hai’, ‘Zindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi woh barsaat ki raat’ — you have often hummed came from his musical prowess. There are so many OMG moments. ‘Nigahein milane ko jee chahta hai’, ‘Dil jo na keh saka’… — he composed these, too! The list is endless. As we get over the overwhelming feeling of admiration, also stemming out of our ignorance of not knowing enough about his music, the very first episode turns out to be extremely satisfying.

A film releasing close to Republic Day and starring the new-age Bharat Kumar, the poster boy of patriotism Akshay Kumar, and you enter the cinema halls with a bit of dread. But you are pleasantly surprised both by the storyline and the fact that though the film harks back to the 1965 Indo-Pak war, there is no overt Pakistan-bashing or screechy jingoism. ‘Sky Force’, based on true events — actually the Indian Air Force’s retaliatory attack on Pakistan’s Sargodha airfield — tells the story simply, without too many theatrical excesses. Prior to the release, it has been drawing comparisons with last year’s Republic Day release, ‘Fighter’. However, except for some finely executed aerial action set pieces and dogfights, there isn’t much to compare, both in good and bad ways.

Remember TVF breaking into the Hindi web series space during the OTT boom? While not on the similar scale, Nakkalites managed to do that in the Tamil space with their native, relatable, and well-performed sketches that boasted of decent production value, and strong content. Since all rivers in this part of the world have to flow into cinema, many actors from this setup managed to eke out a name for themselves on the big screen too. Now, its director Rajeshwar Kalisamy has come with Kudumbasthan, a film that reflects the ethos of Nakkalites, features actors from Nakkalites, has the same irreverent vibe of Nakkalites, and for what its worth, makes quite an impression.

Kudumbasthan’s premise taps into an evergreen theme in Tamil cinema, which is the struggles of a middle-class protagonist trying to make ends meet. The film’s title itself evokes memories of classics from filmmakers like Bhagyaraj, Visu, and actor Saravanan, who have explored similar themes in their comedy dramas across generations. The story revolves around Naveen (Manikandan), a typical middle-class youngster from a small town in Coimbatore, who is newly married to Vennila (Saanve Megghana). Naveen works as a designer at a local marketing company, earning just enough to sustain their modest life. Meanwhile, Vennila prepares for the UPSC exams while managing household responsibilities and battling caste-based discrimination from her mother-in-law. Their lives take a turn when Naveen, in a moment of self-respect, slaps a client and loses his job. What follows is a downward spiral of financial struggles, debt, and deception, with no apparent way out.