Member Reviews

In an industry overwhelmingly dominated by men, Nayanthara is a rarity. A “lady superstar” who earned her spurs the hard way and went on to upend many an established showbiz norm, she has over the years fronted numerous big South Indian films that have ridden on her crowd-pulling prowess. This self-produced Netflix documentary seeks to capture the rise and rise of Nayanthara in the face of several reverses. It isn’t an objective account but, notwithstanding the limitations of its format, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale is entertaining and insightful.

Its ambition is sky-high. Kanguva seeks to derive power from the elements (wind, water and fire), the ambitious merger of two timelines separated by a millennium, and the immense magnetism of lead actor Suriya. Nothing wrong with that of course, but the building blocks would have come together far more effectively had the writing and treatment been more organised and coherent.

Lijin Jose’s film Her is an anthology, but it is not strictly one. No clear demarcations exist between the five films in the collection, with one segment segueing smoothly into the next, although the characters and narratives are different. However, only two of the films are directly connected, while the rest have characters from other films popping in at some point to connect it all.

For prying eyes, the most innocuous action might seem suspicious. Priyadarshini (Nazriya Nazim) is the one with a bit of nosy behaviour in the neighbourhood in which Sookshmadarshini is set. At times, she almost behaves like the kind of neighbour that no one would ever wish to have. We get an interesting character detail that she is a microbiology graduate, for whom a Sookshmadarshini (microscope) is a part of her trade. Just that her lens is trained more on her neighbour, rather than microbes.

Heist dramas can be a lot of fun as National Award-winning director Neeraj Pandey proved with his ‘Special 26’. Based on a real life crime of 1987, it remains one of cinephiles’ favourite films on the subject. Only, as Pandey once again wields the directorial baton for a heist film, as promised by him, ‘Sikandar Ka…’ isn’t anything like ‘Special 26’. We can’t say for sure whether that is a good thing or bad, only we don’t expect a director of Pandey’s calibre to repeat himself.

Being a child star is not a thing to envy. Judy, a musical drama, is both a warm and loving tribute to the actor and singer Judy Garland as well as a cautionary tale about the pressures and impact of celebrity. Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Garland worked as an actor, dancer and singer for 45 of the 47 years she lived. The film opens with a 14-year-old Judy (Darci Shaw) being cast to play what would become the iconic part of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. The pressure of early stardom and humiliation fuelled insecurities as a harsh studio executive listed out her physical flaws. He described her as above average but exceptional because of her singing voice. A studio minder offered her pills to suppress her appetite and pills to help her sleep at night.

A large jewellery exhibition in Mumbai becomes the site of a heist. A hysterical phone call raises alarm, gunfire is heard, the cops on duty herd the panicked gathering into a secluded area, and during the melee, a fistful of precious gems go missing.

Neeraj Pandey is credited with some incredibly sharp films that have remained iconic for years after their release. Pandey has the knack for making quintessential Bollywood thrillers engaging with his screenplay, plot line and technical finesse. Sure he has also had a few misfires but films like A Wednesday, Special 26, Baby, and MS Dhoni remain popular and relevant till now. His latest Sikandar Ka Muqaddar starts on a promising note and one almost finds Pandey’s Midas touch to the narrative but somewhere through the course of 2 hours 23-minute-long film. Starring Avinash Tiwary and Jimmy Shergill, the film is a heist drama that shows potential in the beginning to be an engaging story but becomes an exhausting watch by the end of it.

In the late 1970s, the king of Bhutan coined the term “gross national happiness". GNH parameters are used to measure progress, well-being and happiness, placing their importance over economic pursuits alone. This programme has been pivotal in shaping development policies and governance in Bhutan, a landlocked nation in eastern Himalayas that is often ranked as one of the happiest in the world. Happiness surveyor Amber Kumar Gurung of the Happiness Centre is the subject of a new documentary, Agent of Happiness (in competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival 2024).