Tumhari Sulu- Film Review

Vidya Balan is a favourite actress, and pleasure to watch in any role, but this one is especially good, well-written. It has all the sweet and sour taste of a typical middle class family story, with some twists which are convincingly picturised.

At its heart, it's about a married woman and mother trying to break out and work to discover herself. There are the usual obstacles, real and perceived. Her job is at night, and commuting is one of the issues. That is quickly sorted out, with a woman cabbie. But other problems like handling the family and relatives remain and fester.

Some clever touches such as the contrast with the Jet Airways crew who are her neighbours, or the incident with the shopkeeper not providing home delivery, add to the authenticity of the proceedings. The parallels with her hubby losing prominence at his job while Sulu is ascending, also send a message.

Though the first half is a bit slow and could have been edited more tightly, it is a well-knit story with the husband's part well played. The radio station crew led by Neha Dhupia provides a fun foil to Sulu's humdrum life, and is an important support for her in bad times.

Worth a watch, definitely.

Begum Jaan -Film Review

Disclaimer-I am rather fond of Vidya Balan, so this could be a tad biased.

There are a lot of good things in the film, like its attempts to give each character in Begum Jaan's establishment a unique identity and character. That is not easy to do, considering it is an establishment of ill-repute, and the ladies (and  a couple of gents) don't get to go out of the house much. But we do sympathise or empathise with most of the characters.

The story-telling sessions by the old lady in the house are used brilliantly to weave in tales of heroism by Indian women in the face of extreme adversity- Padmavati, Rani Laxmibai and so on. There is also comic relief in the form of the inspector and the man of the house imitating various inmates.

The fiery character of Begum Jaan is well played by Vidya Balan. The two other main characters of Rajat Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi are OK, a bit predictable given the story. The biggest contribution of the film though is its indictment of humanity for its merciless, callous treatment of fellow humans, in this case brought about by colonisers and their decision to partition India. But what about the other people who pushed for it or were a party to it?

Cinematically, not a great film to watch, but it's got its good points-Vidya and the ladies being one of them. Naseeruddin Shah is so-so in his guest appearance.

Kahani 2- Film Review

I had Vidya Balan on my top ten list of heroines. She vindicates my choice, with yet another stellar performance. The story is a bit more linear than in the first, but manages to keep you glued, rather than bored.

The ending is a bit melodramatic, but I was happy just to see this genre of suspense/drama reappear on Hindi screen. It does not have many takers, and Sujoy Ghosh must be a rare director-to be complimented for it. And doing it well too. Reminded me of old films like 36 Ghante, Faraar and Ittefaq.

The other actors who play the daughter, the wife of Arjun Rampal, his boss, and the corrupt policewoman, are also good. Arjun and Jugal Hansraj play their parts well. The cinematography is good and the editing tight. The pace is good, and keeps you engrossed because there are hardly any unnecessary diversions.

I would say, go watch it if you are either into suspenseful dramas or Vidya Balan.

My favourite heroines

This I will begin by describing some heroines from earlier years-my major movie-going ones.

I liked Mumtaz for her vivaciousness. She came across as a regular girl, unlike the heavenly Madhubala (who is also a favourite, like 100 percent of the male population who has ever watched her films), and had quite a few roles where she acted well. Khilona, for instance, where she takes care of a mad Sanjeev Kumar, and Apradh, where she has a vampish role with Feroz Khan. Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand are two others with whom she did well on screen. Tere Mere Sapne and Roti (Gore rang pe na itna gumaan kar was a favourite song of mine, from Roti) were two with these guys I remember well.

Hema Malini was and is the most beautiful of the heroines for the last 40 years. She actually got the correct label of Dream Girl in her first film, and it stuck. Her romance with Dharmendra was of course one aspect, but she was fantastic teaming up with Dev Anand (Johny Mera Naam is my favourite here, particularly the duet O mere Raja). Sholay's Basanti was a classic too.

I liked Saira Banu for her exotic looks and her good role in the film Padosan, which I think is a film that is hard to beat on many counts-humour being the foremost. Her solo songs, and the innocence she brought to her role was fantastic.

Rekha was another favourite, particularly her roles in the films Muqaddar ka Sikandar and Khubsoorat. Particularly the latter, where she espouses the cause of freedom and delight- nirmal anand.

Smita Patil was another gorgeous woman of substance. Any role she played got elevated a few notches by her presence. I saw quite a few of her films, and liked her in art and commercial films (Namak Halaal, Chakra).

Vidya Balan and Kajol will probably round up the list. Vidya was capable of much more than we saw of her in films like Kahani. Kajol was like a breath of fresh air-completely original. Gupt and Dilwale Dulhaniya are two of my favourite films of hers, apart from Baazigar.

Some others who might make it to the list are Tanuja, and Chitrangada Singh. The former in Hathi Mere Sathi, Jewel Thief, and the latter in Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi were great.

Shriya Saran and Tapsee Pannu are two recent heroines I liked in one film each that I saw of theirs. And Deepika Padukone, in most films. Queen's heroine Kangana also gets an honourable mention. She was good in Tanu Weds Manu also.

The Positives

In the make-believe world that Arnab Goswami and others create for us every day, it is easy to get fooled into thinking that there are only Scams like Lalitgate happening around us. Even if they are, there are quite a few good things being attempted by the government of the day. Let us give them credit where they deserve it.

Digital Locker is a great idea that might be useful for a citizen to store his educational or any other govrnmental records such as license, passport, home registration etc. digitally. It is linked or operated through an Aadhar number and a mobile or email number, so it may be secure.

Clean India or Swachch Bharat campaign. It is the first time in many years that someone has raised the issues of cleanliness, and sanitation, through the Vidya Balan campaign running on TV and radio. That is something we badly need to seep into our consciousness. If we can eliminate spitting in even fifty years, I am all for it.

Shadi ke Side-effects- Film Review

They say learning never stops. And this was proved to be correct as I watched this movie called Shadi ke Side-effects (The Side-effects of Marriage).

Summary of what I learnt-

1. Marriage results in kids. Pregnancy tests have a failure rate of 10%, 5% or 3% based on how many you get done.

2. Four kids at a time (your own) are scary.

3. One kid and a wife is a deadly combo if you are the husband.

4. An album (music) takes 5-7 years to make. And just when you get a producer for it, you may not want the album. At this rate, S.D. Burman would have given music to three films in his career, and R.D. Burman would have been trying to get a film all through his.

5. Only mothers know if a kid is warm, cold or hungry. Fathers are dumb, dumb, dumb...

6. Never watch a football game at home if you have a wife and kid. Ideally, never watch one, period.

7. Stage shows of 4 year-olds are so bad that nobody other than the parents can watch them.

8. Some men have extra-marital affairs.

9. Some women do too.

10. Parents find discussions of their kids' potty fascinating.

What I actually liked was the two lead actors. They are among the best we have. Ram Kapoor also adds comic relief to a comedy. Watchable, though with possible side-effects.

Kahaani- Film Review

Yet another great film for Vidya Balan. A pregnant software engineer from London searching for a missing husband. An innocuous-looking start has so many twists that it leaves you gasping. A taut script does not let up even once during the length of the film- that's unheard of in Bollywood, right? Only Neil Nitin Mukesh's debut film had that kind of crisp editing that I remember.

The cast of police and Intelligence Bureau characters is well-thought out, and the kids too have acted well. The atmosphere of Kolkata and Durga Pooja is captured well by the camera. The lack of songs is a great help in keeping the story alive and moving. Hats off to the director and editor. Truly absorbing and highly recommended.