Monster (2022): Malayalam film

One more of Mohanlal's films. I am a big fan of his in particular, and Malayalam films in general. So I am biased :-).

Monster is a thriller film with a major twist at the end.

Bhamini (Honey Rose) is a driver at a She-Taxi company. A partner in the firm, Lucky Singh, is her pickup for the day. Lucky Singh is a "Malayali Punjabi". He has a flirtatious, over-the-top manner. He is a Malayali who embraced Sikhism after a Sikh holy man changed his fortunes drastically one day in Amritsar near the Golden Temple.

Lucky Singh flirts shamelessly with Bhamini in spite of knowing that she is married. He invites himself to Bhamini's home even though it is a actually her wedding anniversary. Her husband, Anil Chandra (Sudev Nair), has a foot injury from a recent accident. The other people in the house are Anil's daughter Kunjatta (Jess Sweejan) from his previous marriage, and a maid, Durga (Lakshmi Manchu).

Lucky Singh has a bumbling yet cheerful manner. Yet we know that beneath that exterior, there is something hidden. And that comes out in a drastic manner. The film stops at the interval with a dramatic twist.

In the second half, Bhamini's world comes crashing down. Just as she is on the verge of doom, comes another twist. And things move towards the climax, where the biggest twist is revealed.

The second half is a story of wasted potential. The script writing isn't taut enough. The interrogation scenes lack finesse. 

And the most major twist lacks a certain sensitivity that a female director might have done better at. Vysakh, the (male) director, excels at action scenes. There is one between Mohanlal and a female character that is especially good.

This is by no means anywhere near Mohanlal's best. However, if like me, you are a Mohanlal fan, then this is still worth a watch. For others, I would guess it's a 50-50 toss-up on whether you would like it or not.

Asur (Web series, Season 1 and 2, Jio Cinema)

 Asur on Jio Cinema (free). I finished Season 1 and 2. 

Drafted in June, forgot to publish. Ah well...

Story is decent. A blend of modern technology and ancient scripture (Vedas, etc.). By itself it wouldn't have been enough to keep you hooked. But good writing, slick direction, and a skilled star cast manage to hold your attention most of the time. 

The series tries to draw you into a moral dilemma, akin to Thanos. It (at least partly) succeeds, and I think therein lies its success.

The growth of the characters due to what befalls them and the decisions they have to take have been shown quite  

Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Anupriya Goenka, Riddhi Dogra, Sharib Hashmi all are good. So is Marathi manoos Ameya Wagh.

One nuisance is the ads that come on Jio Cinema (even if you have a paid subscription). But it is what it is.

Worth a watch. Not family friendly due to disturbing visuals (language / nudity is pretty controlled most of the time).

https://www.jiocinema.com/tv-shows/asur/3500240

Khufiya (Netflix)

 Khufiya on Netflix.

Tabu is a married RAW operative who battles her secret identity and also struggles with conflict due to loving another woman.

There's a mole in RAW that leads to a lot of leaks, and ISI getting the upper hand in Bangladesh. To correct this, Tabu tries her best. But her loved one gets murdered in the process. The mole (Ali Fazal) escapes outside India too.

The rest of the movie is about retribution and redemption.

Tabu - excellent as usual.
Ashish Vidyarthi and Atul Kulkarni as Tabu's boss and estranged husband respectively are solid as expected.

Ali Fazal is competent. Wamiqa Gabbi as the mole's wife is bold enough to do a couple of explicit scenes (just enough to make it rated 16+, else rest is ok). His mother is played well by Navnindra Behl.

Azmeri Haque Badhon is a Bangladeshi actress who did a good job as Tabu's recruit cum lover. 
Raghu Ram of Indian Ocean fame was a pleasant surprise.

The disappointment is the usually competent Vishal Bharadwaj. His direction is good in parts, but not enough to grip you in entirety.

Worth a watch, but not as good as it could have been.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81252372

Por Thozil (Tamil movie)

Watched Por Thozil(Art of War) on Sony LIV. 

Story has 2 policemen - a very seasoned one (Sarath Kumar) and a total rookie (Ashok Selvan) - paired together to catch a serial killer who is targeting women. He seems to have come out of dormancy after 30 years.

Nothing great in the story per se - I nowadays am a little tired of the overuse of serial killers. But the chemistry between the 2 leading men is great. The evolution of the rookie, and a little bit of mellowing of the tough seasoned cop in his company makes the story worth watching.

Very little gruesome scenes, so ok from that point of view.

The seasoned cop has had a rough childhood. At one point the rookie has a soft corner for the serial killer because his father had physically abused him throughout. The senior cop brushes this away saying, "Lots of people have a tough childhood. But all don't become criminals. Some become normal people who catch criminals."

The rookie replies, "Sir, you may be many things. But a normal person is not one of them."

I watched in Tamil. There's a Hindi audio option too. But I prefer to watch in the original language.

https://www.sonyliv.com/movies/por-thozhil-hindi-1000231235

Dahaad (Web Series, Hindi, 2023)

 Saw Dahaad recently on Amazon Prime: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Dahaad/0KPV2GFQQ5XA8NCXXQ82XO3G1C

Anjali Bhaati (Sonakshi Sinha) is a Sub-Inspector at the relatively sleepy town of Mandawa in Rajasthan. She is a feisty woman, brought up by her late father to live proudly. Belonging to a lower caste, she faces the double whammy of caste prejudice and the constant questions regarding her marriage.

She has her boss - Devi Singh (Gulshan Devaiah) and a previously senior, now demoted to her level -  Kailash Parghi (Sohum Shah). 

One fake "Love Jihad" case leads to another woman disappearance case being investigated. They find out that she was found dead. But her case leads to another. And another....

Initially thought of as suicides, too many dead women lead to a rethink. All ran away from home to get married and ended up dead. Later the police figure out that it's murder, not suicide. So serial killer enters the picture.

The rest of the series is how they investigate, and go after the serial killer. He's an apparently mild mannered, teacher - family man - do gooder from the same town. His son goes to the same school as Devi Singh's son. Anand Swarnakar (Vijay Varma). The last guy you'd suspect.

The series is based on Cyanide Mohan, who operated in Karnataka.

A lot of issues are highlighted skillfully without preaching - the evils of dowry, the utter disregard for people of lower castes, and the way society functions. Even a police office like Anjali has to face discrimination in her day to day life.

All the episodes are quietly entertaining and firm. There's very little drama usually. But that is the charm. 

Anand Swarnakar goes about his tasks coolly and calmly. No mess, no fuss. Other than the killings, of course.

Anjali Bhati learns to reign in her impetuousness and stick to facts and procedure.

Devi Singh's arguments with his wife are so real that you can almost imagine them happening to you or someone else you know. His desire that his daughter will not be less than any boy, and his talk with his son about sex are heart warming.

The most a character grows is the demoted cop, Kailash Parghi. He goes through so many conflicting emotions - the need for promotion, the dread of bringing a new child into this horrible world, etc. that you just love the way it has been handled. His tremendous hesitation and soul searching when he must choose between a promotion and loyalty to his colleagues is one of the highlights of the show.

Anand Swarnakar is the star of the show, of course. Clever, methodical, cool. Always thinking of how to get out of a corner. The way he wins one battle against Anjali and his betrayal of his own student are brilliant manouvers.

The supporting cast is also good. The ladies who come under his spell. Anand and Devi Singh's wives, Miriam as the new wife when Anand runs, Anand's other family members, all do a good job.

Some dialogues and scenes get etched in your memory. 

One belongs to Anand. While teaching kids in remote villages, he says that each grain of sand represents an evil committed by humanity. Humanity committed so much evil that Rajasthan turned into a desert.

Second one is for Anjali.

When she is prevented from entering the Swarnakars' house for searching because of her caste, she brushes him aside, stating: “Kaun unch kaun neech, ye tere pushton ka time nahi hai, sanvidhaan ka time hai, kayde kanoon ka time hai."

Note: Not family friendly. The concept and a few uncomfortable scenes are the reason.

All in all, a must watch.

Jana Gana Mana (2022, Malayalam)

Saw Jana Gana Mana recently on Netflix --> https://www.netflix.com/title/81477034 (Original Malayalam, English subtitles).

Seldom does it happen that a movie is so out of the ordinary that it feels as if it belongs to some other realm altogether. This is one of them. What starts off as one thing swirls into something else altogether, taking you along for the ride.

The brutal rape and murder of a lady Muslim college professor (Mamta Mohandas as Saba) shocks everyone. As students start protesting, they are brutally beaten on campus by police. People are enraged - nationally via Social Media. Law and order threatens to spiral out of control. A cop (Suraj Venjaramoodu as Sajjan Kumar) comes in, and promises justice to the dead lady's mother. 

The cop cracks the case, and 4 people are arrested. But then before the case is to go to trial, all 4 are gunned down by the same ACP. 

Story over, right? Wrong.

A human rights case is filed against the extra judicial killings. Public sentiment is firmly on the cops side, esp. the ACP who "delivered justice". But the lawyer (Prithviraj Sukumaran as Aravind Swaminathan) "representing" the 4 dead men gives a major twist to things. Now things go topsy-turvy.

The movie paints a picture of the state of the eco system that we all live in. How the media manipulates us, how we never know what goes on in the name of law and order, and how nobody has time for the actual truth.

The movie touches on the rampant casteism in our society, esp. educational institutions (remember Rohit Vemula?), handling of various rape cases, to encounter killings (that bring cheer in the short term but can be grossly misused in the long term), to "they can be identified by the clothes they wear" (if you know, you know).

Suraj as Sajjan Kumar does a fantastic job of showing all the emotions that he goes through. Anybody who can act with silence is a good actor.

On the other hand, Prithviraj has all the "seeti maaro" dialogues - "we all want instant coffee, instant justice". But his character raises pertinent questions about what kind of a society we live in, and do we want to continue like this?

Those two together make for a great film.

The movie has flaws. Prithviraj's back story gets a rushed treament. Other characters are not as well developed.

None of the lower caste characters uplift themselves - the others have to do the uplifting. Also there are multiple taunts on the BJP - something that could have been avoided, but Kerala is Kerala :-).

Setting aside these minor flaws, a must watch.

Not family friendly - not because of the physical content but because of the emotional level. If you show it to your kids be ready for multiple deep discussions.

An Action Hero (2022, Hindi)

An Action Hero is a Hindi film. Watched this on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/watch/81514149?source=35 . This is truly the one that got away, and I would have gladly paid to watch this in the theater. Not for any big screen sequences, but just to give my bit towards this fun gem.

Maanav (Ayushmann Khurana) is an "Action Hero" in Hindi movies. His life is going great.

Until a fateful day while shooting in a small town in Haryana. Vicky Solanki, brother of a local strongman/politician, wants to take a photo with Maanav. But Maanav is distracted by his new car, and ignores Vicky. An incensed Vicky confronts Maanav, who pushes him and Vicky dies, totally by accident.

But the strongman, Bhoora Solanki (Jaideep Ahlawat) is out for revenge. Maanav flees to UK, where he has a house. Bhoora follows him there as well. Maanav doesn't know him, but soon finds out :-). No amount of pleading by Maanav is enough to pacify Bhoora, who is out for revenge. And then they go hammer and tongs at each other.

There's a bunch of characters who pop up - a fixer called Sai (Neeraj Madhav from "A Family Man") who is also a double crosser, a lower level gangster called Kaadir (who also wants to get Maanav), and finally a Don who is the name changed version of Dawood Ibrahim. There's Harsh Chhaya as Maanav's assistant, as competent as ever.

During this time, Maanav's reputation in India is in the toilet. News anchors are going hammer and tongs at him. Special mention to the Arnab Goswami parody by Sandeep Dhabale. He has you in splits. Others are cleverly presented so that you can imagine whichever anchor you want in their place.

But the main characters are Maanav and Bhoora. They have a hate-love relationship. Beating the crap out of each other, and yet stopping short of killing the other multiple times.

Even though it is Ayushmann's film, Jaideep has the choicest dialogues. Delivered with his classic deadpan look, he has some gems like:

Chhota kare toh galti, bada kare to misaal banti hai. 

Jyada samajhdaari dikhai, to mein bewakoofi kar doonga.

And the killer one when Maanav doesn't recognize the gangster Kaadir either:

“Saale kisi ko to pehchan le! Hum saare chu**ye hai kya jo tujhe maarne nikale hai?”

There is a twist in the end, which I can't reveal as it would be a spoiler. 

The movie is beautiful at many levels. It shows how the media and public opinion can swing in an instant. The same media first crucifies Maanav, and it also praises him after a twist. 

It is a satirical look at our society in general at one level.

On the other level, it shows the growth of Maanav. From a cushioned, pampered action hero to one who really fights for himself. 

It also shows what really motivates a person - Bhoora and Maanav are brutally honest with each other about that part. The end also says something about the real driving force behind people.

The movie is not family friendly due to the rough language used, so beware. Other than this caveat, a must watch.

Pathaan review

Saw "Pathaan" today. Low on logic, big on action.

SRK is on India's side. Deepika is a Pakistani. ISI agent. John Abraham was a RAW agent. But John felt let down by his country during a very crucial time. So now he's a freelance terrorist who's anti India.

Other star cast is good - Ashutosh Rana + Dimple.

Plot - not much. Shah Rukh has to stop John. Lots of body count on the way.

Special appearance by Bhai. And door opens to YRF Spy Universe (grand term) where these folks will do cameos in each other's films.

SRK is back. He was looking anemic previously, now no more.

Haters will hate. And find ways to #BycottBollywood, spelling mistakes and all.

Summary: Go if logic is not a criterion. And for the action. And for the scene post credits, Marvel style.

Dedication - "Din Dhal Jaaye"

"Din Dhal Jaaye" from Guide, sung by Mohd. Rafi. 

The story goes that Rafi gave umpteen takes for this song. And at that time there was no chopping and recording sections. The entire song had to be done again from start to end.

S D Burman was the music director. After some time he went up to Rafi and asked "Why are you doing retakes? Every time I found your singing perfect."

Rafi sahab said "At the end of the song there is 'Aise mein kisko kaun manaaye'. The emphasis on 'kaun' that you put when explaining it to me, I am not getting it. Once I get it, I will stop."

S D Burman had no answer to this. Rafi kept singing. And stopped when he got it.

They don't make them like they used to anymore.

https://open.spotify.com/track/0YSDElkycJ6Z8raNGUlWiZ?si=af1480307bae48d8

Rakshan The Ghost (Tamil)

Saw this on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81646772

A blend of everything: John Wick, childhood trauma, uncontrolled action.
You know what is coming when the movie starts off in the desert. And within 3 minutes the body count has gone to 50.

Story? Nagarjuna. The invincible. Called Ghost, in case there was any doubt.

Ok but story? Nagarjuna. Body count in thousands.

Ok seriously, story? Sigh. Ok. 

Haunted by childhood trauma of Hindu - Muslim riots. Taken under his wing by an Army officer. Has an older sister called Anu (Gul Panag), who becomes estranged from their father due to his objection to her marrying an older divorced man. 

Becomes an Interpol officer who deals in blood spill as if it was water. After a child rescue attempt ends in the child's death at the kidnapper's hand, goes rogue. Drifts away from partner / lover (Sonal Chauhan). Chops off gangsters and then vanishes.

Until big sister calls him since she is in mortal danger. Reforms spoilt niece, puts holes (big and small) in everyone, and rescues the day. Never even coming close to dying.

Action sequences are slickly directed. There's some decent sword play, and other stunts. 

But the rest of the film left logic at the door right at the beginning. When the child is shot, the "first aid" that Nagarjuna applies is a big pad of cotton. I'm not kidding. This is the level at which the rest of the story operates.

I am a Nagarjuna fan (ever since "Shiva" in Hindi, back when Ram Gopal Verma could direct). So I watched it for him, and didn't mind the missing storyline. If you are a Nagarjuna fan, you will not be disappointed. 

Others, there's pretty much nothing for you. Please watch John Wick instead.

Vikram Vedha (2017, Tamil)

 "It's easy to choose between right and wrong. But hard to choose between 2 wrongs."

Vikram is an honest police officer who is out to rid the world of as many criminals as possible. But he has 2 major flaws: 

1. He sees everything in black and white.

2. He uses illegal / immoral means to achieve his goal, esp. in encounter killings.

The counterpart to Vikram is Vedha. A gangster who has committed 16 murders. Terror and a law unto himself. But extremely loyal and family oriented.

Vikram is out to get Vedha. The main story starts with an encounter where many of Vedha's aides are killed. That sets in motion a chain of events that draw us into the gray area of right and wrong, puppet and puppeteer. The encounter has multiple facets, all which pose moral questions as well as pose a mystery.

Vedha surrenders himself in a major surprise to Vikram. But soon he's out on bail arranged by his lawyer - Vikram's wife. And the mind games begin. 

Vedha tells Vikram 3 stories that shake his entire belief system.

Based on Betal Pachisi, this is a good adaptation. It takes the gist of that tale and gives it a good flavor of its own.

Acting is first class. Madhavan as Vikram is good as usual. Vijay Sethupati as Vedha does a good job in being understated instead of over the top.

The twist at the end is delicious. I didn't see it coming.

Totally worth a watch.

Dhareshwar Math Mandir (Patan, Satara)

 Dhareshwar Math Mandir is a cave temple located in Patan taluka, Satara district. Google Maps will show you directions.

It's a cave temple, hundreds of years old. Water always falls down on the outside 365 days a year without any apparent water source above. पाण्याची सतत धार म्हणून धारेश्वर. 

Swayambhu idol of Lord Shiva was discovered by villagers inside this cave. Then they found out that it was a temple and restored it. The idol apparently grows a little every year. It was underground, now it has come overground.

The story goes that Lord Ram visited this temple after defeating Ravana. 

There's a visit by Pandavas during Agyatvaas mentioned too. 

The Pujari was a kind, gentle sort of guy. It's a Math. So there have been (22?) Swamis so far, many of whom took Samadhi there as well. While telling the stories, the Pujari mentioned that Pandavas restored the temple and then later Lord Ram visited it. I didn't have the heart to correct him on chronology :-). 

Road leading up to it was horrible towards the end. Rocky and a little dangerous. We  thought we would reach the Lord directly at a point in time :-). 

Oh, and the monkeys! There are lots of them. So beware - keep car doors and windows closed. If you want to feed them - we did - then keep all the food ready to give / throw. They are fast, and will reach you in the blink of an eye. So just be alert. None of them troubled us, but they are always on the lookout for food.

It's just something about a cave temple that I like. And unlike some places this is not dark and gloomy inside, it's quite well lighted.

All in all, this place is definitely worth a visit. 

Hush Hush (Amazon Prime) Series: Season 1

 Amazon Prime  just launched (Sep 22) a mystery drama series called "Hush Hush"

A quartet of friends (rich and famous) have their lives going on as usual. Until, at a party, things go horribly wrong for one of them. The others also get drawn into it. A man dies. And you have a full scale disaster on your hands. 

Then onwards, it is a spiral. It is also a discovery for 3 of the friends that they may not have known the 4th (Juhi Chawla as Ishi) well at all. Ishi is found dead at her home, presumably death by suicide. After that, so many layers of her life unravel that it becomes harder and harder for them to remain loyal to her, and cracks begin to show.

It is a curious quartet of friends.

Ishi - Juhi Chawla - the power broker who roams around in the corridors of the high and mighty. She has powerful friends and equally powerful enemies.

Saiba - Soha Ali Khan - the journalist who gave up her risky job to start a family. As talkative as Ishi is measured.

Dolly - Kritika Kamra - the youngest - bubbly Punjabi girl whose MIL has only one aim in life - get an heir out of Dolly for their khandaan.

Last but not the least, Zaira -  Shahana Goswami - a very successful designer who has 2 problems in her life: An old flame and a psychotic assistant, who really can't be trusted.

The case is investigated by a brilliant yet non worldly wise inspector called Geeta (Karishma Tanna).  During the investigation, she finds out that Ishi was actually an orphan. And she has left everything she owned to her friend in the orphanage (Ayesha Zulka as Meera). Meera now runs a girl's orphanage along with her husband.

Why did Ishi die? What was it amongst her many scandals that finally got her? Why are people after her friends who try to unravel the mystery behind her death? Did the dead man have many friends who are out for revenge or is there more than meets the eye?

The overwhelming feeling that one gets while watching this season is "With this much talent, this is all you came up with?" There's a brilliant lineup of actors and supporting actors - other than the main ones there's Benjamin Gilani as Dolly's FIL, Vibha Chibber as ACP Madhu, Geeta's boss.

But you still get a feeling that in the planning of having multiple seasons, you got short changed in this one. The serial promises to take off to great heights, but never does. You have things used as check boxes - f*** being thrown around generously, same sex relationship, etc. But it feels more bolted on than part of the original structure. Gurugram is the setting. But you never get a feel of the place, like any good series gives you. See Patal Lok for what a brilliant job looks like in making you almost smell the place it is located in.

3 directors have directed this - Tanuja Chandra, Kopal Naithani, Ashish Pandey. Maybe too many cooks did spoil the broth.

The relationship between Ishi and Meera is so complex. But it never gets its full due.

The tension between the friends - with Saiba doubting Ishi's character and Zaira blindly supporting her dead friend - is half baked. 

Karishma Tanna is supposed to be a middle class Haryanvi. But she looks like she just took off glamorous clothes and wore middle class ones. Ayesha Zulka is much better in looking the part of a (relatively) poor woman.

It is Juhi Chawla's first OTT foray. She seems to have gotten a raw deal as far as her character handling by the makers goes.

The only part which really was done well was the evolution of Dolly. From a overwhelmed by MIL, keeping her mouth shut woman to an assertive, independent thinker, her evolution is the best.

Also Benjamin Gilani going full scale MCP during his tirade against Dolly and her friends to his employee was refreshing. Although he did use the phrase "self actualized women", which was like the "Love Storiyaan" part of the Kesariya song in Brahmastra.

The one thing that will entice me for Season 2 is that one of my favorites -  Jaaved Jaafri - enters at the very end as a CBI officer who will now lead the investigation.

12th Man (Malayalam)

Continuing my streak of viewing Malayalam films on OTT, I recently saw 12th Man (Malayalam). 

OTT Platform: Disney+ Hotstar.

This stars Mohanlal, and a bunch of characters (11). The other actors I am afraid I don't know due to my limited knowledge of the Malayalam film industry.

11 friends gather at a resort outside the city for a bachelors(?) party hosted for their friend Siddharth. It includes Fida, Siddharth’s fiancée Aarathy, Mathew and his wife Shiny, Jithesh and his wife Dr. Nayana, Sam and his wife Merin, Zachariah and his wife Annie.

7 out of the 11 are college mates. The others are their spouses / fiancee (1). In the beginning they are annoyed by a drunk person called Chandrashekar who demands alcohol for them. They try their best to get rid of him. But he keeps popping up everywhere, even in the party.

In the party, one of the group (Fida) says that even though they are close friends, there are always secrets between them. Others disagree. 

Then someone suggests that they should play a game to finish off this argument. The game is simple. Everyone will keep their mobile phones out on the table for 1 hour. Any call received will be played on speaker phone. Any private text will be read out.

As expected, nothing good comes out of this :-). One by one embarrassing secrets start tumbling out. Financial problems, family issues, etc. 

The icing on the cake comes when Siddharth gets a call from one of his friends asking about the name of abortion pills that he got for one of the women in their group. All hell breaks loose. Accusations and counter-accusations fly around as to who the woman is (and by association, who the man is that had an affair with her). Insults are thrown at each other

The party disintegrates rapidly. Everyone goes to different parts of the resort, including their own rooms.

After a while, Shiny is found dead near a view point. Did she fall, commit suicide, or was murdered?

The police arrive. The friendly drunkard - Chandrashekar - turns out to be actually an ACP who has been temporarily suspended. The actual investigating officer has to handle election duties, so he hands over the case to his superior (Chandrashekar).

And then the game of cat and mice begins. Everyone is called, Agatha Christie style, into a big room. They are told to unlock their phones and put them on the table. So the game is resumed, this time with Chandrashekar as the puppeteer. He accesses everyone's phones, tells them whom to call, what to speak, etc.

It's only these actions primarily that peel back the layers. A lot of skeletons tumble out of everyone's closets. Affairs, financial irregularities, huge money transfers between people in the group, etc. - a whole basket of motives is presented.. 

How Chandrashekar guides the investigation towards a conclusion is the meaty part of the movie. Mohanlal effortlessly switches between the drunkard in the beginning to the sharp detective after the incident. He has the meatiest role, and does full justice to it.

The other characters are also well cast. They make their roles believable to a large extent.

All in all, a good film. Family friendly, nothing to worry about.

Note: There is only Malayalam audio available, with English subtitles. I personally love watching any movie in its own language for the feel it gives. But to each his own. If you are looking for other language options, there aren't any for this film.

Under Suspicion (2000)

 Under Suspicion is a 2000 Hollywood film. Starring Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Monica Bellucci in the main roles.

This is one of my favorites. One that I watch again and again, although not frequently. Because it is an intense one. So I space out the viewings.

Trust is fragile. It is undefinable. But it either exists or it doesn't. And you know for sure whether someone trusts you or not.

If someone is guilty of a crime, then they deserve to be punished. But what of suspicion? If someone is suspected of a ghastly crime without proof, isn't it actually worse than being guilty?

Gene Hackman (Henry Hearst) is a wealthy tax attorney. He is about to give a speech at a big fundraising event, as the city celebrates a festival. Just before the event, he is called by Morgan Freeman (Captain Victor Benezet) for questioning. Just 10 minutes, is what he is told.

As the questioning by the Captain and Detective Felix Owens (Thomas Jane) proceeds, Hearst learns that this is no 10 minute matter. It is also very serious. A young girl has been raped and strangled. 

There has been one more rape and strangling of another young girl a few weeks ago. He is being questioned about that too.

So it is obvious that he is the prime suspect.

In the beginning Hearst is at ease. Rich, powerful, connected. Captain Victor Benezet's boss is eager for Hearst to be released ASAP. He even interrupts the questioning to have Hearst cross over the street to the event, give his speech, and then go back to the police station.

As the interrogation proceeds, there is a lot of back and forth. Hearst's life is peeled apart piece by piece until there is absolutely nothing left. We learn that his is a sexless marriage due to which he visits prostitutes in absolutely shady areas (one near the first murder). 

Why is the marriage sexless? Because his wife, Chantal (Monica Bellucci) thinks that he tried to seduce her niece, who is a young girl. So she withholds the one thing that he most desires as a cruel form of punishment.

Hearst has been lying to the police from the start. There are gaps in his story. This convinces them that he is the murderer and they go at him real hard.

In her adamant belief in her husband's guilt, Chantal allows the police to search their mansion, even though they had no basic initial evidence to do so.

Is Hearst the killer? That's a spoiler I can't go through with.

But the mystery is not the juicy part. It's the dynamic duo of Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. Monica Bellucci plays an important role, but she is not the main attraction.

Freeman and Hackman - Cat and mouse. Dancing, dueling. Repartee - witty sometimes, insulting to the other at times. Trying to wear the other down. Expressions. Absolute masterclass in acting.  They turn an ordinary story into something at a much higher level. 

Back to trust. If you have it, heavenly. If you don't, nothing else matters. All the money and luxury in the world is hollow if you don't have someone important to you believing in you.

Currently on Netflix.  Not family friendly, as you might have guessed :-). But  most definitely worth a watch.

The Gray Man

 Watched The Gray Man on Netflix. 

CIA assassin is targeted for termination by the new people in charge. But obviously he cannot be killed,  no matter what or who is thrown at him. 

Nothing new in the story. Ryan Gosling does a fair job as the indestructible agent. Rest is more memorable for the carnage than the storyline. 

But couple of surprises. 
1. Captain America (Chris Evans) plays an out and out psycho to reset his goody-goody image. He goes all out in the psycho department until the director yelled "cut!" at him. And he still kept stabbing / torturing.

2. Small but noticeable part as an "honorable assassin" for apro Dhanush! Tamizh hero in Hollywood movie! Aur kitne acche din chahiye?

Unfortunately he is referred to as Avik San for some reason. Kaala Japanese vibes? 

Even more unfortunately his scenes are mostly in the dark. Sorry to say, makes it harder to see him 😜 (#racist). 

So watch it if you like the genre. Or for psycho Captain America. Or our nanban Dhanush.

Pawankhind (Marathi)

 Saw Pawankhind (Marathi) recently on Prime Video.

Maharashtrians don't need any introduction to this. This epic story is imbibed on our minds.

For non-Maharashtrians: This was an epic battle between Marathas at a mountain pass near the fort of Vishalgad. The Marathas were providing cover for Shivaji Maharaj who was escaping from the fort of Panhala which was under siege by Siddi Jauhar. 

The unequal battle was fought between 300 Marathas led by Baji Prabhu Deshpande and Sambhu Singh Jadhav against the 10,000 strong Adilshahi forces (Bijapur Sultanate) led by Siddi Masud, son of Siddhi Jauhar.

The pass was previously known as Ghod Khind. After this battle it was renamed as Pawan (Holy) Khind. It was chosen because it was narrow, and only a few people could pass it at one time. This helped reduce the numerical advantage that the Mughals had.

A solider named Shiva Kashid resembled Shivaji Maharaj in appearance. He volunteered to dress like Maharaj and get captured. This bought some additional time due to the confusion over identity, before Siddi Masud realised the error and gave chase.

Baji Prabhu had told Shivaji Maharaj that he would hold on until he heard cannon fire 5 times from the fort of Vishalgad, an indication that Shivaji Maharaj had reached safely.

The forces fought for several hours, and held off a vastly superior force. Almost all of the 300 Marathas were killed, along with 1000 or more of the Adilshahi forces.

A gravely injured Baji Prabhu held on, only letting go of his hold on life after hearing the cannons from Vishalgad.

When you see the movie, there's one thing that you notice. All the characters seem to have been inspired by the greatness of whoever they were playing, and raised their level automatically. It's as if they know that they owe it to others to give their best. 

You can see why Shivaji Maharaj was (and is) revered - he not only was great himself, but inspired others to raise their level just by his presence.

Other than the blood and gore, there's a few scenes that make you emotional. The good bye that Shiva Kashid (Ajinkya Nanaware) says to Shivaji Maharaj, knowing that he is going to a sure death. The gentle chiding of Baji Prabhu to his King when Maharaj was refusing to leave them to fight without him is touching. 

It's a very good cast of actors. Chinmay Mandlekar as Shivaji Maharaj, Ajay Purkar as Bajiprabhu Deshpande, Sameer Dharmadhikari as Siddhi Jauhar, Aastad Kale as Siddhi Masud, Ankit Mohan as Rayaji Bandal, Mrinal Kulkarni as Maasaheb Jijau, Akshay Waghmare as Koyaji Bandal; all have done justice to their roles. Even the supporting cast is solid.

Liberties have been taken with the cinematic rendering of the story. But the crux has been retained. A bigger budget would have made this a grander film. Action scenes are sometimes technically jarring. 

But still this is a great effort from the director Digpal Lanjekar, and the entire team .

The smile on Baji Prabhu's face just before he dies in the film, grinning at the 3 main Mughal opponents, is worth a million words.

Totally worth watching.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

Saw Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 on Netflix.

If you have seen Bhool Bhulaiyaa (1), you will like it. If you haven't seen Bhool Bhulaiyaa (1), you will still like it 😊.

The main characters are Kartik Aryan (Ruhan), Kiara Advani (Reet) and Tabu (double role).

The standard haunted haveli, where Monjolika has been captured inside a room protected by holy symbols, is the only thing common between BB (1) and BB (2). The rest is a completely new horror - comedy story. Anees Bazmee, being  a pro at comedy, tilts more towards that than the horror part. But it's thoroughly enjoyable with the innocent looking Ruhan taking everyone for a ride, making up things on the fly, and generally winning the day. He makes silly things believable, and has a charming air about him.

There is some horror in the story too. Tabu never seems to really age. Her ethereal beauty shines through even when made up gruesomely as a ghost. Her acting is as top class as ever, especially bringing out the differences between twin sisters. Slight mannerisms here and there, and you feel they are 2 completely different people.

Kiara (Reet) as the leading lady is disappointing. Granted that she has to share screen time with Tabu. But she could have done more, and its a little dismaying that she didn't up her game. Just about OK.

If you compare 1:1 the cast of BB (1) vs BB (2), obviously BB (1) wins hands down. Vidya Balan and Kiara Advani is too much of a gap. Akshay Kumar is superior to Kartik Aryan. And there's no Shiney Ahuja, Paresh Rawal or Vikram Gokhale to lend their support. There were absolutely killer comedy scenes in BB (1). BB (2) has many that make you laugh, but none that will leave you rolling in the aisles. And Vidya made my blood freeze at least once. That didn't happen anytime during BB (2) with me.

But whoever is there in the film, does their job well. Rajpal Yadav, as chhote pandit, is a class act as usual. Sanjay Mishra, Rajesh Sharma and Ashwini Kalsekar are solid. Govind Namdeo does his bit. Even the child artist (Samarth Chauhan) does a good job.

So all in all, worth a watch. You won't be bored. And yes, there's a twist at the end which is satisfying.

Kashmir Trip musings - 2022

 “Gar firdaus, bar ruhe zamin ast,

hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.”

“If there is paradise on this earth, it is here, it is here, it is here…”

-- Amir Khusrau

We just returned from a visit to Kashmir (week ending 28 May). This blog is not really about the places to visit - that you can get from a Google search which will return a plethora of sites.

No, this is more about what I felt on the ground.

Disclaimer: My sample set is really small. One driver who was with us continuously for a week. A few local drivers that took us around at various tourist spots, shopkeepers that we met, hotel employees.

Tourism is booming in Jammu and Kashmir right now. Travelers from all over India are swarming there. Hotel availability is an issue. All good from that point of view.

The talk with locals starts on expected lines. "We have no problems with India. All our earning comes from there. We are all one people anyway. Unrest is just a media creation. Don't believe all that you see on the TV channels."

Scratch the surface, wait long enough, and something slips through.

One of the local drivers, who took us to Betaab valley (named after Sunny Deol - Amrita Singh's movie by the same name) said "Betaab valley is so beautiful, that you won't feel like going back to Hindustan from there." Slip of tongue, but very noteworthy.

Our continuous driver was all business generally. But in a week, there will be times when you do speak your mind.

We asked him about how the situation was during COVID times. He said that they were confined to their homes. No phones, no internet for 6-10 months.  "Aap ke saath aisa ho jaaye to kaisa lagega aap ko? Mere dost ki Ammi ko COVID hua. Na landline, na mobile phone chal raha tha. Humein hi pata hai hospital kaise le gaye unko."

"Internet nahi hota hai to bahut dikkat hoti hai Sir.  2010 mein band kiye the. Jab Burhan Waani shaheed huye the tab bhi bahut dikkat hui thi."

Burhan Wani. Shaheed. Terrorist for us. But shaheed for him.

Another time our tempo traveller was stopped because of a passing Army or CRPF convoy. This has been started since the Pulwama attack where 40 of our CRPF jawans were martyred in a suicide attack in 2019. It's very inconvenient. But necessary from my point of view.
Chat during one such stoppage. "Sahab, kitni security force hain yahan par. 80 lakh Kashmiri. Unko sambhalne ke liye 16 lakh force (Army + CRPF + J&K police, etc.). Jagah jagah par rokte hain. Humein bahut dikkat hoti hai."

During our trip, Yasin Malik's sentencing happened (life in prison). He is a classic case of how we lost the plot and turned a killer of 4 Air Force officers into a Nelson Mandela type of figure for the Kashmiris (hard to achieve this, but we did it).  Our guide said that "Accha hua unko maut ki sazaa nahin hui. Warna shaayad aap ki trip yahin pe khatam hoti. Mein kuch nahin kar paata."

We chatted with our tour operators (local and Mumbai). The feeling that they have is that people in Kashmir have not earned for 2+ years due to COVID. Coffers are empty, and money is low. So this year their priority is to earn. And get their houses up and running. Which is understandable. When your stomach is empty, first thought is to put food into it. That is why the locals are not even entertaining any requests from terrorists / insurgents. 
The Amarnath yatra this year will, God willing, pass off peacefully because nobody wants any risk to their income.

The issues (if any) may start next year. Once stomachs are full then we shall see if the love still remains. I don't want to go into the politics of it. But hearts and minds are not won in a day. It's a tough balancing act that our government and agencies have to do.

Some people may never be fully in India's favor. But if enough get firmly behind us - hopefully for love of India, worst case purely for financial reasons - we may yet turn the tide.  Best is if the "shaheed" turns into "terrorist". Hope is eternal.

Mai: A Mother's Rage (Season 1)

 An ordinary mom turned avenging angel. That is the story of "Mai" in short.

Sakshi Tanwar plays Sheel, an ordinary doctor mom, whose daughter (Supriya - Wamiqa Gabbi) is run over by a truck in front of her own eyes. The rest of Season 1 is spent in Sheel getting deeper and deeper into the mystery behind Supriya's death, finding that it was a murder, and then avenging it.

Sheel works in an old age home with medical facilities in Lucknow. Her husband Yash (Vivek Mushran) is an engineer, but is stuck running their pharmacy shop and doing electrical odd jobs in his spare time. Their daughter, Supriya, is a mute doctor who also is a stand-up comedian. She is run over on the date of her younger cousin brother's birthday.

The truck driver who runs over Supriya apologizes to Sheel. While apologizing, he says "I didn't want to do it!" This sets Supriya thinking and she follows the trail. The trail leads to a murky world of medical scams, ruthless characters, and the SPF (Special Police Force) of UP.

The cast of characters includes Jawahar (Prashant Narayanan), Jawahar’s lover Neelam (Raima Sen) and Jawahar’s band of goons. Two of them, Prashant (Anant Vidhaat) and Shankar (Vaibhav Raj Gupta), deal with Sheel the most. First they treat her with kid gloves out of sympathy. Then they find out how ruthless she can be on her path of vengeance.

There's a whole bunch of characters - including the always reliable Akash Khurana (Goel) as the higher level crime boss, Seema Pahwa as a woman who has killed her abusive husband and owes Sheel a debt of gratitude, and Farooque (Ankur Ratan) of the SPF who had a personal interest in Supriya.
But none of them are developed beyond a point. Only Sheel as the main protagonist and Prashant are very well etched. Even Shankar, loyal to Prashant, is shown properly.

Raima Sen as a typical gangster's moll is wasted. So is Seema Pahwa, who still manages to showcase her brilliance by the emotions in her eyes. Vivek Mushran never manages to rise above the mundane. Wamiqa Gabbi is good in her role, even with the mute limitation.

The use of colors is brilliant. It adds to the whole atmosphere.
This is almost family friendly. Just a few scenes here and there - 13+ can see it methinks. Has a A certificate.

In spite of its limitations, the series is worth watching for Sheel (Sakshi Tanwar). The emotions that she shows are just amazing. So is her single minded determination. How she uses her medical knowledge to take revenge is mind boggling at times. 

Hell hath no fury like a mother on the warpath - see it just for her.