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Reviews
Vash (2023)
Thrills - Performances - Edge of the Seat Scares - Best Thriller ever....
The movie premise and the fact that it was about possession was something that intrigued me into going along with my friends who had made a plan for the movie.
First frame onwards the movie shows a gripping set of performances by artists, Janki Bodiwala is the bright and chirpy daddy's girl and the tiny happy family with Hitu Kanodia (Excellent performance) and his wife Nilam Paanchal portray a simple upper middle class family going on a trip and something goes very very wrong. What happens later forms the narrative and premise of this gripping story.
The performances are spectacular, Hiten Kumar is top notch. Director Krishna dev yagnik has delivered yet another class film. The cinematography, background score, production, writing and sound design all are brilliant and give any movie a run for its money.
Bollywood needs a little bit to learn on how to take a simple story and tell it with so much conviction and cool!
Must must must watch this one... do not miss!
Nazar Andaaz (2022)
Good story with Soul. Taken down by loose screenplay
Nazar Andaaz is a story that has a lot of heart but falls flat with the poor execution. The forced bits of humor and poor editing comes a bit off to three wonderful actors delivering their career best performances to be honest. The attempt to take the theme of life through the eyes of a blind man is honestly one of the best among recent feel good films and Kumud Mishra, Divya Dutta and Abhishek Banerjee are all endearing with their stellar performances. The duration of a little under 1.5 hours is also fine but if you look at the storytelling there has a first and second act that are blurred amongst each other. Its the third act that brings gravitas to the storyline. Its heart warming, pure and lovely. Wish to see more content like this. Don't miss out on this one. The rating gets three stars extra for the three gems that have elevated the experience of watching this beautiful picture.
Aks (2001)
Aks / a reflection that shimmers beyond its time
Aks was one of the movies that impacted my sensibilities as a story viewer beyond the glitz and glamour of movies that crowded the entertainment industry of Indian cinema around the turn of the century.
The thriller genre storyline specifically focused on the killer catcher humdrum was something that has been explored many a times in the films we grew up watching but the prime distinction between most movies of this genre and Aks was the sheer audacity of new film maker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to include the plethora of characters, the world building and the element of supernatural in a flawlessly written albeit semi shoddily executed film.
The movie starts with Manu Verma (Badass Bachchan) a deeply insightful and attentive cop taking care of the security detail of Defence Minister (Amol Palekar in a brief yet powerful cameo) where he foils the assassination attempt by the master killer for hire Raghavan (a Menacing Manoj Bajpayee).
Bajpayee eventually succeeds in assassination of defence minister shortly afterwards and the story begins with the protagonist in pursuit of the sneaky multi faced killer whose origins with the highly disturbed childhood and his bond with a mentally challenged sibling Mahadevan (K K Raina) is also explored briefly.
Raghavan is apprehended by Manu after a an investigative journey that ends with Raghavan being sentenced to death and then begins a deep shadowy occultist transfer of the soul of Raghavan taking the body of Manu in what can be called as Face Off meets Chucky style crossover with Raghavan's Girlfriend Neeta (Raveena Tandon) as his accomplice and aide. Manu's wife, kids, colleagues and the Prime Minister (Mohan Agashe) are all under threat from the Man behind the mask of Manu but the movie ends with Manu successfully getting rid of Raghavan's evil spirit.
The treatment of the basic premise is very good, background score and music is top notch. Cinematography by Kitan Deohans is fairly impressive for the time it was shot in and the makeup work along with costumes deserve special mention. The screenplay co-written by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Kamlesh Pandey and Rensil d'Silva could have been a little more nuanced and the editing by P. S. Bharathi could have been a little more crisp as the film lags during the pre climactic portions unnecessarily.
All in all, Aks can be termed as the last good attempt at this genre with these many talented people trying to push the envelope of their individual niches and gave way to the movies of India something to study as to what comprises of a brilliant story that grips and entertains along with making one think about psychological challenges for a protagonist who has been deeply affected by the evilness of an antagonist who is extremely powerful and controlling.
I would recommend watching this film as a sheer experience of being in the world yet being on the edge due its gritted approach.
Kantara (2022)
Spectacular. Visually delightful. Splendid storytelling.
This movie was recommended to me by a very dear friend who went for the movie by herself.
I went to the cinemas to watch but had a houseful board so couldn't watch it. That same night i got a message from a fellow movie buff about this again. I saw it as a sign and went on the day of Diwali. And what a surreal experience.
The movie talks about a wide array of topics like the land to its ancestry, the concept of paap, friendship, conflict of two thought points and the whole idea of rituals in a contemporary society in a very fresh and micro regional perspective.
The writer / director and lead actor Rishab Shetty shines in this marvellous movie. The female lead Sapthami Gowda looks picture perfect as the woman torn between life and duty. Kishore Kumar G. As the Forest Officer Murali is top notch.
The shining work by cinematographer Arvind Kashyap is visible in each frame by means of carefully blending the story with his framing of visual poetry.
The background score is gritty, the music encapsulates local sounds and folklore perfectly and this movie makes you wonder how much we have to learn from our own music before going to look for melody in the west.
The fight sequences, the dance of "daiva" and the makeup as well as costumes department have done magic.
Locations are all real and the art department has done a beautiful job in capturing the essence of the story with utmost honesty. I can see Kantara as one prime example of how to tell a story effectively.
The underlying message of inclusion and nature vs man subplot along with the importance of preservation of nature by the native dwellers coming vis a vis with the ones who look at land as a possession is also a huge takeaway from this stunning masterpiece by the Kannada movie makers who have created yet another visual extravaganza with a heart. This is probably the first movie after maybe Avatar to explore such a rooted storyline with a treatment that is strong and powerful like "Kantara"
Dracula (2020)
Classic Tale with Contemporary take on the Gentleman beast
The brilliant storytelling of Mark Gatiss and Stephen Mofatt is back with another classic revisited after Sherlock of the great Arthur Conan Doyle.
This time the duo delves in the legend of Count Dracula originally written by Bram Stoker.
The series is broken into 3 beautifully crafted stories that have been made in the signature style of Mark and Stephen, with the establishment of the premise followed by shock and impact.
All the episodes are well structured and the narrative is gripping, the surprise factor is the character of Sister Agatha Van Helsing who is a nun with a troubled relationship with God.
Warning - Spoilers ahead for those who are yet to watch this brilliant series.
Episode 1: The Rules of the Beast is the closest to the source material with the character of Johnathan Harker (a lawyer) invited to a distant castle and unraveling the mystery of his employer Count Dracula. Followed by the establishment of the rules (central theme of the show) of the beast that he is and the basis of the narrative.
Episode 2: Blood Vessel goes on to establish the level of efforts that Dracula is ready to put in order to reach England (the new world) and is treated as a Murder Mystery narrative on one side and establishment of the conflict between Dracula and his nemesis Van Helsing.
Episode 3: The Dark Compass is the final episode of the series that explores Dracula in a contemporary world after a deep sleep of over a century followed by the understanding of the actual problem that is faced by Dracula in his entire journey as a person and the power struggle between the sides of Dracula and Agatha Van Helsing (interesting twist)
In conclusion: I simply loved the subtle yet powerful storytelling with brilliant performances by Claes Bang as Count Dracula, Dolly Wells as Agatha Van Helsing and special mention to John Heffernan as Johnathan Harker. If you're a fan of Classic novels, this is a must watch for you.