Member Reviews

A young woman grieving the death of her child treks to the cliffside spot where he died. She intends to jump herself. Played by Kelsey Asbille, the woman is approached by a mysterious stranger, played by Finn Wittrock. He recognises immediately that she’s one step away from falling to her death. The stranger doesn’t attempt to talk her down from the ledge, but he makes enough of an impression for her to reconsider. They walk back together to the parking lot, where things take a sudden turn. The man injects her with some kind of paralytic substance, revealing that he isn’t a good samaritan after all. Thus begins Don’t Move, a high-concept thriller that producer Sam Raimi probably thought was going to turn out like his knockout 2016 film Don’t Breathe. It didn’t. These movies have nothing in common beyond Raimi’s involvement, and that gentle nudge of a title. In terms of quality, they couldn’t be further apart from each other. Don’t Move appears to be so pleased with its premise — it’s a survival thriller featuring an immobile protagonist! — that it forgets it needs to sustain this early momentum. The movie succeeds in drawing your sympathies for its heroine, Iris, but struggles to put her in interesting scenarios after this pre-credits sequence.

Some narratives tend to grow upon repeated viewing, revealing subtle details. Before the release of Pushpa 2: The Rule, revisiting the 2021 Telugu action drama Pushpa – The Rise, the origin story of Pushparaj (Allu Arjun), a coolie who rises through the ranks of a smuggling syndicate in the Chittoor district of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, highlights how writer-director Sukumar establishes the protagonist as a potential leader. Pushpa is often framed at a higher position than the others, as he navigates tricky situations. These visual metaphors apart, there was a nuanced portrayal of how Pushpa dealt with members of the syndicate as well as the cops. His Achilles heel? Being born out of wedlock, he is frequently taunted about his surname or ‘inti peru’ (family name).

First things first. I am not a fan of Pushpa: The Rise, the first film in filmmaker Sukumar’s franchise. I found it lagging behind in storytelling, performance of the lead actor and filled with quite a few problematic moments. However, I am pleasantly surprised to find Pushpa 2: The Rule not only better than part one but also a paisa vasool entertainer. The first film ended with Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) becoming a large force in the world of red sandalwood smuggling. In the end, he marries his lady love Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) while his nemesis in the form of the cop Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) vows to destroy Pushpa for his crimes and the insult meted out to him.

It opens on a Japanese port with a clever twist to the famous song ‘Mera joota hai Japani’, giving a miss to the second line that talks of the country, now an aggressor. But the aggression in the film is a given. What follows is a high-on-adrenaline action sequence almost like a climactic scene. So, where can Pushpa go from such a strong build-up? Well, back to where it began, right to Pushpa’s childhood and the indignities he suffered due to his illegitimate bearings.

इस फिल्म में एक फायरमैन जब यह कहता है तो उसकी यह बात कानों को चीरती हुई निकल जाती है। सच ही तो है। हम में से कितने होंगे जो किसी फायरमैन को पर्सनली जानते हैं? कितने होंगे जिन्हें उनकी निजी और वर्किंग ज़िंदगी के बारे में करीब से पता है? सच यही है कि ज्वाला से खेलने वाले जांबाज़ों के बारे में हम में से ज़्यादातर लोग नहीं जानते और इस सच का एक स्याह पहलू यह भी है कि हिन्दी सिनेमा में आज तक इन लोगों को केंद्र में रख कर एक भी फिल्म नहीं बनी। अमेज़न प्राइम पर आई राहुल ढोलकिया की यह फिल्म ‘अग्नि’ उसी कमी को दूर करती है और हमें दिखाती है कि ये ‘अग्नि-वीर’ भी हमारी-आपकी तरह इंसान हैं, लेकिन कुछ अलग जीवट वाले।

Pushpa: The Rise (2021). Writer-director Sukumar had thrown a revenge-seeking SP Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) on the trail of Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) even as the cheeky red sandalwood smuggler was happily taking his wedding vows with the love of his life, Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna). Five baits have kept the audience agog for the last three years. What will happen to the sizzling chemistry of Pushpa and Srivalli? How will the face-off between strong opponents Pushpa and Bhanwar play out? Will the item number in the sequel match or surpass the saucy raunchiness of Samantha-Allu’s ‘Oo antava’? Will the dances and songs have risque-naughty moves once again?

How refreshingly different. Writer-director Rahul Dholakia takes his camera into the life-saving heroism of firefighters, so far an unexplored subject in Hindi cinema. Cut through black smoke and scorching flames for a warm story on how Fire Chief Vittalrao Surve (Pratik Gandhi) and his colleagues respond with alacrity and put their lives on the line to save lives day in and day out. Vittal, Avni Purohit (Saiyami Kher), Jazz (Udit Arora) and Mahadev (Jitendra Joshi) are a team that fearlessly go in to bring out those trapped in a fire.