Blog | Amodini's Movie Reviews - Part 9Amodini's Movie Reviews | Movie Reviews by Year, Genre and Rating

Movie Review : Badhaai Do (2022)

Posted on February 20, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2022
Running time : 2 hours 27 minutes
Director : Harshvardhan Kulkarni
Cast : Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Chum Darang, Gulshan Devaiah, Seema Bhargava, Sheeba Chaddha, Nitish Pandey, Loveleen Mishra
Kid rating : PG-17

In 2018 there was Badhaai Ho with the versatile Ayushman Khurana. And now there is Badhaai Do. Both films are around family and strained familial relations but there the similarity ends. Am just as pleased with Badhaai Ho though because it brings a nuanced and forward-thinking perspective to the issues of LGBTQ folks.

Police inspector Shardul Thakur (Rajkummar Rao) meets Suman Singh (Bhumi Pednekar), a Physical Education teacher. Shardul is gay, and Sumi is a lesbian, and their families don’t know this. Harried by family demands to settle down, both decide to enter into a marriage of convenience. Sounds like a win-win – the families will be satisfied, and the two will have the freedom to live their lives they see fit. Or so they think.

The first half of the film introduces us to the meet-and-greet phase, the setup, the marriage etc. In the second half things start to unspool for Shardul and Sumi. What is it they say about best-laid plans?

I loved the fact that Badhaai Do is situated in small towns like Dehradoon and Haldwani. Its characters are people who’ve been brought up in these small towns where everyone knows everyone, and “log kya kahenge” is the mantra you live your life by. Shardul and Sumi’s families are no different – they want them to marry quickly and produce offspring even quicker – all of course while kow-towing to the great Indian sanskars.

I’m actually surprised and impressed with Badhaai Do. This is a film primarily about LGBTQ relationships and about how living in India as openly gay or lesbian is heavily frowned upon, despite the repeal of section 377. Director Harshvardhan Kulkarni takes a liberal, sympathetic view of Shardul and Sumi’s lives. He treats their problem as a human problem, portraying them as people first, with their hopes and aspirations and the need for love and acceptance. You feel for Shardul and Sumi – to have to twist and tangle their lives and live out a complicated lie just, just to appease society and it’s expectations!

The subject is heavy, but the treatment is sound. And presented with a dash of humor. Badhaai Do is fast-moving and lively, filled with familiar-looking characters and people like us. Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar are great in this film, as you knew they would be. The stellar supporting cast – Seema Bhargava as the unforgiving matriarch of Shardul’s family, Sheeba Chaddha as Shardul’s flaky mom, the lovely Chum Darang as Sumi’s girlfriend, the very debonair-looking Gulshan Davaiah as Advocate Guru Narayan, the moun-vrat-dhaari Loveleen Mishra as Sumi’s mom, Nitish Pandey as Sumi’s dad – make this film even better.

Badhaai Do works because it takes a serious issue and portrays it with heart and humor. Badhaai Do is a brave film; I wish there were many more like it.

Go watch!

Kidwise: Might need to be explained conceptually to kids, but generally palatable for older children.

Posted in 2022, bollywood, comedy, directors, drama, Good Hindi Movies To Watch, humor, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, passes Bechdel Test, rating-PG17, recommended, social issues | Comments Off

Movie Review : Gehraiyaan (2022)

Posted on February 13, 2022 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2022
Running time : 2 hours 28 minutes
Director : Shakun Batra
Cast : Deepika Padukone, Sidhanth Chaturvedi, Ananya Pandey, Dhairya Karwa, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajat Kapoor
Kid rating : PG-17

From its trailer, Gehraiyaan reminded me of the 2004 American film Closer, which was about messy personal relationships – hard to watch and painful besides. I did not like Closer at all and was prepared to not like Gehraiyaan also. Ergo, low expectations. Surprisingly and thankfully unmet. I did like Gehraiyaan – it starts off as a love story – well kinda, but there are quite a few unexpected twists and turns which make up for the slow start.

Alisha or “Al” (Deepika Padukone) is in a relationship with long-time boyfriend Karan (Dhairya). One day, they meet up with Al’s wealthy cousin Tia (Ananya Pandey) and her wannabe-real-estate-mogul fiance Zain (Sidhanth). While Al, Tia and Karan have known each other since childhood, Zain is an unknown quantity. So when Zain attempts a light flirtation, Al doesn’t take him seriously. But Zain isn’t the type to take no for an answer . .

So, Gehraiyaan starts off a bit slow. 2 couples, very much in love. All hunky-dory. Of course, then – and we are all waiting for it – deception, betrayal. And more. There are also little parallel sub-stories running through – there’s a reason Al and Tia are almost estranged, and a murky past is hinted at. Then there is Al’s thorny relationship with her father (played by the amazing Naseeruddin Shah) and her personal fear of being “stuck” in her life, like her mother was.

Some interesting characterization and casting here. The 4 main leads are believably sketched. Al is our lovely, leggy yoga teacher, paying the bills so struggling writer Karan can hurry up and get his book published. Karan, the writer, has quit his “soul-sucking” day job, and is prone to making self-deprecating jokes about his penury when faced with cousin Tia’s wealth. Then there is poor little rich girl Tia, very much in love with her fiance Zain. And lastly, there is ambitious Zain, who’s trying really, really hard to make it big.

Deepika as Al is quite good. She is a fine actress and has the face for these kinds of roles (remember Tamasha?); even when she smiles there is an undercurrent of sadness. I am quite impressed with Ananya Panday here, although (and am being quite uncharitable here) this role couldn’t have been too taxing – a rich young woman wafting around yachts and expensive homes muttering about caterers who’ve gotten the wrong cheese! Ananya speaks her Hindi like a foreign language, light and breathy, tentative and accented, and that’s sort of her character in the film. Tia is a supportive wallflower, and there is only one scene where she exhibits anything stronger than concern for fiance dearest. I wouldn’t nominate Ananya for any awards just yet, but she’s beginning to show promise.

Sidhanth, who started the year with the disastrous Bunty Aur Babli 2, does well here! I couldn’t quite see why Zain did what he did, but Sachin nailed the character, conflicts and all! Zain is an arrogant go-getter, so there is an air of pomposity in Sidhanth’s gait. There are a few scenes in the film though where the mask of hauteur slips and we see the sincere, down-to-earth young man from Gully Boy – a look that suits him so much better!

A film like Gehraiyaan, so dependent upon the minute change of emotions between four intimately involved people, can go off the rails if the director doesn’t quite know what he’s doing. Thankfully with Shakun Batra that is not the case! Batra builds his character giving them enough emotional leeway to keep us interested in their lives. I have to say though that Gehraiyaan worked for me mainly because of Al’s character since we see her struggle and her vulnerablilities. The other three leads remain distant. We see what they do, but we can’t get a good look inside – so there’s less sympathy for their predicaments.

Gehraiyaan works. Yes, it could have been better, had Batra given all his characters the TLC he gave Al. Then our sympathies might have been split, and given us some real heartburn and a far better film. As is though, Gehraiyaan does pass muster – tumultuous and entertaining, with an adequate sense of closure. All’s well that ends well.

Go forth and watch!

Kidwise: Lot’s of love-making scenes featuring adults in various stages of undress, although nothing explicit is shown.

Posted in 2022, bollywood, directors, drama, Good Hindi Movies To Watch, Good Shows To Watch On Amazon Prime, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Films, rating-PG17, recommended | Tagged twisty | Comments Off

Movie Review : Shershaah (2021)

Posted on August 13, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Running time : 2 hours 15 minutes
Director : Vishnuvardhan
Cast : Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani
Kid rating : PG

Shershaah is based on Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Vikram Batra’s life and valor. So we know what’s about to happen. As such what was needed was an inspiring, energetic film which could bring to screen the passion of the brave, young Captain. Unfortunately, Shershaah is a rather staid affair, even a little boring at times.

Even as a young boy Vikram Batra knows what he wants to be – a soldier in the Indian Army. As a young man Batra is posted at Sopore with the JAK Rifles. There he makes his mark by capturing and killing a dreaded terrorist and then is sent to capture Point 5140 during the Kargil war. After that successful mission he volunteers for the mission to re-capture Point 4875, and is martyred.

Shershaah is not a war movie, it’s a war procedural, laying out before us a flat sequence of events, one after another. It never quite gathers up steam, develops an energy or displays the intensity which a film like this so sorely needs. Yes, Vikram Batra is a brave young man, hungry to defeat the enemy – but we know that by the dialogs only. There is little accompanying fervor to give credibility to that hunger. And as much as I might fault Bollywood for overdone jingoism, this film needed some jingoistic war-cries, some rebel yells, some emotion!

The film starts off with a recounting of events by Vikram’s twin brother. He narrates the events of Vikram’s life and while these fill most of the movie, they are interspersed with some romantic moments. These romantic interludes make the film choppy in the first half, because they interrupt the action, and we can’t quite get the rhythm going. The film does gather some steam with the missions to recapture Point 5140 and 4875, although it’s a little too late to save the film.

Shershaah also suffers from inadequate characterization. Vikram Batra is a hero, so there is a natural empathy and appreciation for his character. The film though cannot humanize him or make him relatable. Yes, we see his interaction with his comrades and his family but it is mostly superficial. His time with his girlfriend is marked by some cheesy, Bollywood style dialogues so that’s no use.

Sidharth Malhotra is miscast as a feisty, young man given to jocular asides. He is an average actor, and while this is fine for depicting suave-young-men-about-town (I quite liked his performance in Kapoor & Sons), Batra’s character needed to be essayed with some heft. Also he can’t quite carry off the comedic overtures. Kiara Advani plays Dimple Cheema, the love interest. Advani is versatile (we recently saw her in Good Newwz) but is hampered by the poor writing. Her character is drawn wafer thin, and brings with it classic Bollywood melodrama we could have done without – the cross-community love opposed by the parents, the sindoor-bhari maang etc.

The only moving part of the film was the scene towards the end, with the traditional Army salute to a fallen soldier, when we see the distraught family mourning the 25 year old Batra, his casket wrapped in the Indian tricolor. It was also hard to see the numerous lives lost in the war.

In summary, while Shershaah does improve marginally towards the second half, it remains flat, an oxymoron: a staid war film.

Kidwise: This is a war film, so violence, involving guns, knives, bombs etc. One brief scene with the couple in bed, although nothing explicit is shown on screen.

Posted in 2021, Amazon Prime, bio-pic, bollywood, drama, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, rating-PG, real-life-based, War Movie | Comments Off

Movie Review : Mimi (2021)

Posted on August 8, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️ 1/2
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Running time : 2 hours 12 minutes
Director : Laxman Utekar
Cast : Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak, Evelyn Edwards, Aidan, Whytock
Kid rating : PG

Mimi (Kriti Sanon) is a poor girl with dreams of becoming a Bollywood heroine. Getting there will be expensive though, and she has no way to pay for all the expenses. So when an American couple, Summer (Evelyn Edwards) and John (Aidan Whytock), approach her to become a surrogate mother for their child, she agrees – the money is good. However a major, unexpected crisis in early pregnancy will truly test her resolve.

I haven’t see the Marathi original so the storyline, to me, was completely unpredictable. That’s the good; unfortunately there was a lot of bad – the gaping plot-holes, the poorly sketched characters, the complete lack of logic. Mimi is about a surrogacy, but deals with the subject in a very shallow manner. I can see where a girl strapped for cash might accept surrogacy, but all the situations surrounding the pregnancy are pretty unrealistically shot.

Mimi, at first repulsed by the idea of surrogacy, warms to it once she realizes the amount of cash involved. Then she accepts it almost gleefully. Her naïveté shows when she asks the doctor about stretch marks and the effect of pregnancy on her figure, and the doctor (who apparently does not live in the same world we do) replies with the most ridiculous unconcern: “Did Shilpa Shetty’s figure get ruined”? Indeed. Because our lives are so similar to Shilpa Shetty’s.

Kriti Sanon is a misfit in this role. She seems too cosmopolitan to play a small-town girl (a problem I’ve pointed out before in Bareilly ki Barfi), and the Rajasthani accent on her seems almost laughable. However since this film can’t make any grand claims to realism anyway, she does pass muster. A greater pity though is the abysmal wastage of actors like Supriya Pathak and Manoj Pahwa. Pathak just appeared in another 2 bit role in Toofaan; it’s a pity that great actors like her can’t land solid, meaty roles.

Pankaj Tripathi plays his character ably, but can’t make the jokes land. I would like to see more of Sai Tamhankar – she plays Mimi’s good friend Shama, and does an excellent job.

Mimi is also very regressive. The all-suffering, self-sacrificing mother trope is trotted out. Abortion is painted as a sin. Mimi wants to keep the baby at all costs, but shows no strength of resolve to take on her conservative parents and society in general. She gives up on her dreams and resigns herself to motherhood – all with copious tears, rending of her beloved movie posters and grief – a true show of powerlessness. Her poorly sketched character is a mix of tearful emotions mixed in with an unreal naïveté and flippancy.

The character of her parents is badly wrought as well. These “good” people have the perspicacity of blind bats. They moan about their Hindu daughter having married a Muslim man, in front of her closest friend Shama, a Muslim woman. And then they turn around and accuse her (Shama) of having broken their trust!

While this film’s characters are portrayed as small-town, simple, golden-hearted people who wouldn’t harm a fly (unless it wasn’t a good, moral, girl-fly), they exhibit pretty bigoted, backward-looking qualities. Their attitudes turn on a dime, one moment they are wailing and beating their chests about the shame and dishonor, the next they’re smiling with acceptance.

On the whole, Mimi is an overwrought, overdone mishmash of unrealistic emotional drama. Substandard scripting, ridiculous dialogs, and the general regressive tone of this caricature of a film makes Mimi a poor watch.

Kidwise: An “item number” with suggestive dancing. Talk of conception/reproduction and 1 scene of a woman in labor, although we only see her face. More damaging that all this was the portrayal of sexism, racism, colorism and women without agency.

Posted in 2021, All Netflix, bollywood, cringe-worthy, drama, Hindi movies on Netflix, New Bollywood Movies, rating-PG, social issues, women | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Bhuj (Aug 13th)

Posted on August 6, 2021 by amodini

Bhuj: The Pride of India is a war movie that hits your TV screens via Disney Hotstar, August 13th. This film is based on real life incidents during the 1971 Indo-Pak war when the Indian Air Force airstrip at Bhuj was destroyed. Then Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, along with local villagers, rebuilt the airstrip in 3 days.

Ajay Devgun plays Vijay Karnik. Also starring: Sanjay Dutt, Pranitha and Sonakshi Sinha. Bhuj is directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya.

Posted in 2021, bollywood, Bollywood Movies on Hotstar, drama, Hotstar, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, Previews, War Movie | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Shershaah (Aug 12th)

Posted on August 2, 2021 by amodini

Shershaah will release on Amazon Prime on August 12th. In this new movie Siddharth Malhotra stars as Param Vir Chakra awardee Indian Army Captain Vikram Batra, who was awarded the honor for his bravery during the Kargil War. Batra earned the nickname “Sher Shah” for his valor.

Kiara Advani, whom we recently saw in Guilty, plays the female lead here. Vishnuvardhan directs this war film. This is his first foray into Bollywood cinema after directing a bunch of movies down South.

Posted in 2021, Amazon Prime, bollywood, drama, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Bollywood Movies, war | Comments Off

Series Review : Ray (2021)

Posted on July 27, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️
Genre : Anthology
Year : 2021
Running Time : 1 hour (per episode)
Director : Srijit Mukherji, Vasan Bala, Abhishek Chaubey
Cast : Ali Fazal, Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Harshvardhan Kapoor, Kaykay Menon
Kid Rating : PG-13

Amazon Prime’s Ray is an anthology or a series of 4 episodes – view it how you like. Each episode is a 1 hour short film directed by one of 3 directors. The 4 films are inspired by Satyajit Ray’s short stories. I have not read them, and I do not know to what degree the films are based on the stories. They seemed dark and grim, philosophical and inward-looking – which is fine. But they are also weak, and I don’t know if that’s because of the stories themselves or the way they were adapted. In short, Ray will not make it to the Best Anthologies of 2021 🙂

My favorite film out of the 4 was the 3rd: Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa. This is based on Satyajit Ray’s short story Barin Bhowmiker Byaram ( Barin Bhowmick’s Ailment). It has 2 main characters – singer Musafir Ali (Manoj Bajpayee) and wrestler turned journalist Aslam Beg (Gajraj Rao). The 2 men meet on a train, sharing a compartment. During the journey, they converse and Musafir Ali remembers that he has met Beig before in not very pleasant circumstances.

Manoj Bajpayee is a wonderful actor and he turns in an immaculate performance, as does Gajraj Rao. The film itself is delicately handled and the nuances come through; we see these fallible men and nod our heads in sympathy. Director Abhishek Chaubey knows what he is doing; you might remember him from his earlier spectacular work – Udta Punjab, Sonchiriya, Ishqiya.

Now, for the rest of the episodes: The first film of the series is Forget Me Not. It is about a technical nerd Ipsit Rama Nair who starts to lose his memory and is unnerved by it. We see him on the brink of success, revered by all, in awe by many, a friend of friends, a dynamic successful go-getter. But then, this uncharacteristic forgetfulness! It starts to gnaw at Ipsit.

Srijit Mukherjee directs Forget Me Not. This films starred Ali Fazal as Ipsit, who is a decent actor, and he does well. The story is about poetic justice, having your chickens come home to roost etc, so it does hold your interest. Also, Mukherji layers the characters nicely; at first we see the outward projection, but gradually Mukherji peels back the layers to reveal the truth. Forget Me Not was passable.

The second film is Bahrupiya and I can only describe this as grotesque. In this story, Indrashish Shah, an office worker with a creative side, is bequeathed an interesting inheritance. His creative, eccentric grandmother, on her death, has left him her treasure trove of tools and books about prosthetics. Indrashish uses these to disguise himself and run a few social experiments of his own.

Kay Kay Menon plays Indrashish and while Kaykay is a fine actor, the disguises obscured his face so you couldn’t really see him emote. His character is obviously a complex and troubled man, but we watch him from afar; the film can’t make him real or relatable.

The fourth film, Spotlight, is about film star Vik (Harshvardhan Kapoor). Vik is losing his USP, his “look”, amid an existential crisis. This is further heightened when he comes across Didi (Radhika Madaan), a religious leader who trumps him in celebrity status. The only good thing about this film was Chandan Roy Sanyal who plays Vik’s manager, Roy Ghosh.

In summary, apart from Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, none of the other stories bring depth to their characters. There is no pleasure in shallow retellings; hence the poor rating.

Kidwise: A few adult situations, talk of prostitution.

Posted in 2021 | Comments Off

Movie Preview : Mimi (30th July)

Posted on July 23, 2021 by amodini

Mimi is the story of a surrogate who’s having a baby for an American couple. Kriti Sanon stars along with Pankaj Mishra, although there doesn’t appear to be a “traditional” hero. Mimi is directed by Laxman Utekar – he also directed Luka Chhupi.

Mimi is based on the 2011 Marathi film Mala Aai Vhhaychy! . It releases on Netflix, July 30th.

Posted in 2021, All Netflix, bollywood, drama, Hindi movies on Netflix, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, Previews | 1 Comment

Movie Review : Toofaan (2021)

Posted on July 19, 2021 by amodini

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Running time : 2 hours 45 minutes
Director : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Cast : Farhan Akhtar, Mrunal Thakur, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Raaz, Supriya Pathak
Kid rating : PG

I had high expectations from Toofaan because it is directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Mehra has the knack of bringing emotions to the screen and presenting them with finesse – Delhi-6 and Rang De Basanti are great examples of the quality of his work. Toofaan though is a relative disappointment. Although not a bad film, it feels jaded and cliched.

Aziz Ali (Farhan Akhtar) is a small-time thug who works for Jaffar Bhai (Vijay Raaz). He is quick to get into bloody fights, and one day visits the local charity hospital to treat a deep gash on his face. There he meets Dr. Ananya (Mrunal Thakur), who treats the cut, but orders him out when she realizes that the wound is caused by his hooliganism.

Ali starts to develop an interest in boxing, and on another visit to the hospital (this time with a respectable boxing ring injury) Ananya encourages him to take the honorable path and leave his lawless activities. But the straight road is a hard slog. Will Aziz be able to remain true to his word?

First the good: fabulous acting all around! In fact the great emoting is what makes this film as watchable as it is. Props to Mrunal Thakur – she feels like a breath of fresh air. Farhan Akhtar has really worked out and built up his body for the role. He actually looks like a boxer and the boxing scenes feel realistic. I wouldn’t have thought Paresh Rawal could pull off the role of a boxing coach but he does – and how!

Then, there is director Mehra’s attention to detail, his ability to round off his characters so they feel believable and real. The film kept up the tempo, and the interest with some well-filmed boxing matches. Panga was another film which also did this well, although the sport in that film was kabaddi.

However, the plot feels like it is from the 80s, with all the attendant predictability and melodrama. Toofaan is a classic underdog story – and I like those – but it’s also full of cliches. There’s one temple scene which is so cheesy I almost missed Nirupa Roy! Then there’s the stereotypical golden-hearted hero who, in one scene, raises his hand against his wife, although he doesn’t actually hit her. Still, he shows no contrition.

Also, while the first half of the film was interesting and set up Aziz and Ananya’s romance nicely, the second half of the film was packed with predictable plot twists, and felt rushed. Shankar-Ehsaan and Loy dish out some uninspired music for the film. Vijay Raaz and Supriya Pathak, both talented veterans, seem wasted in their bit roles.

Toofan is watchable despite the long running time, but is a big come-down from Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag which was also a sports movie and starred Farhan Akhtar. Still a decent one-time watch.

Kidwise: Some bloody fight scenes.

Posted in 2021, Amazon Prime, bollywood, directors, drama, Hindi movies on Amazon Prime, New Bollywood Movies, New Films, rating-PG, social issues, sports, watchable | Comments Off

Series Preview : Feels Like Ishq (Netflix, July 23rd)

Posted on July 16, 2021 by amodini

Feels Like Ishq is a Series with 6 episodes (1st Season). It’s about young people in love, navigating emotional tumult, and stars Radhika Madan (of Pataakha fame), Tanya Maniktala from A Suitable Boy, Saba Azad – you might remember her as the teeny-bopper-in-love in the cute rom-com Mujhse Fraandship Karoge, and Neeraj Madhav, who played the villain in the first season of The Family Man.

This series will grace your television screens July 23rd via Netflix.