The Great Indian Family, Review: Pandit pop’s bhajan singing son is a Muslim

The Great Indian Family, Review: Pandit pop’s bhajan singing son is a Muslim

What a roundabout route it has taken to emerge as The Great Indian Family! It began with the 2010 British film The Infidel, starring Omid Djalili (the D is silent), directed by Josh Appignanesi and a cast that included South Asian sounding names like Archie Panjabi, Saamiya Nasir, James Krishna Floyd, Nabi Nasir, Mina Anwar, Amit Shah, Uzma, Ravin J. Ganatra and Niraj Naik. Five years later, we had an Indian adaptation, an official one, called Dharam Sankat Mein (Religion in Crisis, 2015). This was a comedy drama film, directed by cinematographer Fuwad Khan, in his debut. The film featured Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah in pivotal roles, and told the story of an ordinary Hindu man who discovers that he was originally born a Muslim. Cut to 2023. Studio major YashRaj Films produces and releases The Great Indian Family (TGIF), based on the same subject, but with several twists of its own. It is largely the handiwork of the man who made three Dhoom films for the same banner, Vijay Krishna Acharya. However, this time around, we might not have as great a member as many of its predecessors joining the great YRF Family Super-Hit List.

Narrated largely through a Voice-Over, the film is about a Pandit (Hindu priest) family, the Tripathis, living in Balrampur. They are highly regarded and invited to perform the religious rites of most locals, rites usually related to birth, marriage and death. Another Pandit, by name Mishra, is their arch-enemy and has the pie of ceremonial fees in his eye. He is waiting to push aside Siya Ram Tripathi and, along with his son, TD (Tulsidas), fill in the vacuum. Tripathi’s son Ved Vyas, meanwhile, has grown-up to become a pop bhajan singer. Bhajan, a form of devotional singing, is usually slow and mellow. Not for Ved. On one occasion, Ved Vyas arrives on the scene and tells the DJ to stop playing Pankaj Udhas (popular ghazal and bhajan singer) bhajans and launches his own extravaganza. The audience swoons. No wonder he is known as Bhajan Kumar. A dull student in his schooldays, he now hangs out with a couple of louts, one a local and another who is a Bengali by birth.

An event of humungous proportions is coming up: a wedding in the Malpani family. The Malpanis, like many Balrampurians, are devoted followers of Pandit Siya Ram Tripathi. Right from matching the horoscopes of the couple, to fixing a date for the wedding to performing all the rituals, the Tripathis stand to make a decent chunk of money. But it so happens that shortly before the marriage, Siya Ram is due to go on an annual pilgrimage to the Himalayas and meditate there for 10 days. There is no real problem, because the dates of the various ceremonies do not fall in the pilgrimage period. And Balak Ram is quite capable of standing in, should the need arise. Though he is a bit concerned, Tripathi goes ahead with his plans. While he is away, a letter arrives, addressed to Siya Ram. Since he would be away for several days more, the family opens the letter and Ved Vyas reads it aloud. The contents sweep the ground away from the family’s feet. According to the sender, a one-time Ward Boy at a hospital, the boy raised by the Tripathi family, born in 1992, was the child of Muslim parents. He goes on to give details to prove his statement. Ved Vyas Tripathi, alias Bhajan Kumar, a Muslim? Strong repercussions follow, some imaginable, others unimaginable.

Giving writing credit in this case is a knotty affair, but the present version is written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya. ‘Written’, here, would mean story, screenplay and dialogue, with only some elements of the story borrowed from Dharam Sankat Mein. When it comes to religious affairs and the confrontation between Tripathi and Mishra, Acharya is in his element. The scene where Tripathi suddenly feels uneasy in the middle of his meditation hints at telepathy, but can be attributed to belief. Turning bhajan into a pop form may sound original, but there have been beat masses in churches all over the world, including India, at least since the 1970s. With the entry of the female lead, Acharya begins to lose his grip over the narrative. When the great Indian family, which includes Ved’s twin sister, uncle and aunt, starts getting to grips with the profound discovery and its ramifications, it seems nobody knows what to do, including the writer. Ved asking his new-found Muslim friends to show him how Muslims eat borders on the ludicrous, especially when he notices that one of them is eating with his left hand, and suggests that Muslims must be eating that way. In one scene, Ved says that he is a Muslim, whose birth was possible due to the efforts of a Parsee, Dr. Irani, he was raised by a Hindu, is in love with a Sikh woman (Jasmeet) and has just visited the church. Secularism achieved. Communal harmony attained. There is really no need to make a 112-minute film on the subject. A 1.12-minute film would convey the message loud and clear. The trick about manipulating DNA tests, if original, is brilliant.

TGIF (not Thank God It’s Friday) opens with a man walking with a swagger. He is dressed in a stage costume, and the camera follows him from the back. You could be forgiven for thinking this is Karan Johar in a special appearance, but for the 1.83cm height that Vicky Kaushal commands. He goes up on stage and holds sway as Bhajan Kumar. After the performance, a group of attractive girls heads towards him, seeking his autograph, only to bypass him and head farther, towards a more venerated figure. In their first encounter, Jasmeet behaves in a highly illogical manner towards Ved. It seems highly convenient that a Muslim family is like a foster family to Jasmeet, who is Sikh. The three friends quibbling over who saw Jasmeet first and who, therefore, should have the right of passage, is slice-of-life. Childhood and school scenes are funny and irreverent, but in a childish kind of way. Almost the entire track is put across by way of Voice-Over, which, to me, did not sound that of Vicky Kaushal. And it should have been Vicky Kaushal. I believe Hospital Ward Boys do not issue birth certificates. And then, why should a Ward Boy keep sending annual letters to Siya Ram, on the same issue, though he never replies? And why for the last ten years only? Practicing democracy at home, through a huge ballot box and just six voters, on every major issue, elicits a chuckle, which, I am sure, the writer did not foresee.

There is little doubt that Vicky Kaushal has oodles and oodles of talent. It has yet to achieve a 360° status, though. Here, he has been tested, and found lacking in some parts. There are occasions when he gives you the impression that he is lost. It is not a case of perfect casting, as he does not blend with the milieu. It’s a performance on par, but you expect more from Vicky. Manushi Chhillar returns to the YRF fold after her debut in Prithviraj Chauhan last year. She is bubbly and beautiful, with very few scenes of her own.

The press was invited to attend the launch of the trailer and an interaction with the team. Prithviraj Chauhan was the last Hindu ruler of Delhi before the foreign conquest of Hindustan for nearly 565 years (1192-1757). The film chronicled how Prithviraj fought and killed many of the invaders, who happened to be Muslims, from neighbouring countries. It was very clear that the film was made to cater to anti-Muslim sentiment. They even had a retinue of bouncers with slogans painted on their T-shirts, standing behind the media, shouting Hindu war cries throughout the event. And then here comes a film that holds an olive branch to fanatic communal forces.

To put it in context, producer Aditya Chopra’s father, late Yash Chopra’s first two films as director were Dhool ka Phool (1959) and Dharamputra (1961), both against religious bigotry and championing secularism. In 1961, late Ali Raza Rizvi, husband of actress Nimmi, who later directed Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye, wrote a script called Ram Mohammed D’Souza. This was about a child who is brought up by three individuals with different faiths. Since he could not get backers for filming it, he published it as a book. Come 1969, and along came the South film Nannha Farishta, with exactly the same theme. Writing credits were attributed to Inder Raj Anand and Thuraiyoor K. Moorthy.

Manoj Pahwa as Balak Ram, Siya Ram’s brother, is a powerhouse. Though I have some reservations about him fitting into the family, that does not detract from his effort. Now here is one that had me captivated: Kumud Mishra as Pandit Siya Ram Tripathi. In a most unlike Kumud Mishra portrayal, he had us rivetted. Like Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma as Pandit Jagannath Mishra seems a bit like an outsider. There is little doubt about his talent, though. Sadiya Siddiqui as Hema is a veteran and carries off serious roles particularly well. Aasif Khan as Tulsidas Mishra is part caricature, but why blame him? The role was written that way. We also spotted Alka Amin as Sushila Kumari, Srishti Dixit as Gunja, Bhuvan Arora as Bhaata, Ashutosh Ujjwal as Sarveshwar, Bharti Perwani and Sougata Ghosh (Bengali?).

Starting on a lighter note, Nakash Aziz sings ‘Kanhaiya Twitter pe aa jaa’. Should resonate with generation z+. The other three songs are serviceable too, cornering over 15 minutes of time. All songs are composed by Pritam. The point worth noting is that these songs are all lip-sync, which is becoming a rarity in the post 2010 era. Cinematography by Ayananka Bose uses many two-shots and over-the-shoulder shots, as well as playing with foreground and background focus. Editor Charu Shree Roy is well in control, and the films is of a standard length. Background score is by Kingshuk Chakravarty (Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari). The sound department revels in keeping the needle in the red zone, something the audience could have done well without.

The Great Indian Family has a title that is misleading and a narrative that is centrifugal. It deals with very, very serious issues, and is unable to do full justice to each aspect of the complex conundrum that is religion/religiosity in the India of 2023.

Rating: **

Trailer: https://youtu.be/jxRgnlvep94

from Filmfestivals.com - Hollywood, Independent, Shorts, Videos, Documentary https://ift.tt/b1PW0JY
via gqrds

Tibetan Hearts Premieres at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood

Tibetan Hearts had its world premiere on Saturday, September 9th at the Silicon Beach Film Festival. It was wonderful to see the film on the big screen. Tibetan Hearts is a romantic drama about two lovers from rival sheep herding villages in Tibet. It was filmed on location in Tibet and provides a rare look at this isolated culture from their own perspective.

The festival took place at the esteemed TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The premiere had a great turn out, with many members of the crew attending, including producers Lynn Tang and Libo Li.

SBFF program director Peter Greene was also in attendance. He praised the film’s visual beauty and spoke of how excited he was to see it on a big screen.

Reviewers especially noted the film’s cinematography. On reviewer called it a “scenic masterpiece”. Another pointed to the film’s “sumptuous drone shots”. Other aspects received praise as well, including the “superb acting” and the story, referred to as “a classic, timeless tale”.

At the Awards Ceremony the following Friday, Tibetan Hearts was honored with the award for Best Cinematography – Feature Film. Producer Lynn Tang accepted the award on behalf of the team.

The filmmaking team of Tibetan Hearts is incredibly grateful to the Silicon Beach Film Festival for including their film. They are also thankful to their many supporters in Tibet and around the world.

 

from Filmfestivals.com - Hollywood, Independent, Shorts, Videos, Documentary https://ift.tt/eStfxXZ
via gqrds

VIDEO : The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Trailer

Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis Directed by: Francis Lawrence Screenplay by: Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt Based on the Novel by: Suzanne Collins Produced by: Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Francis Lawrence Executive Producers: Suzanne Collins, Mika Saito, Jim Miller, Tim Palen   Synopsis:  Experience the story of THE HUNGER GAMES — 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem.   THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.   Lionsgate presents, a Color Force / Lionsgate / about:blank production.

 

 

 

from Filmfestivals.com - Hollywood, Independent, Shorts, Videos, Documentary https://ift.tt/62zwbvn
via gqrds

Jawan, Review: Eggs on the windshield

Jawan, Review: Eggs on the windshield

You can be pardoned for believing that Jawan is Pathaan rebooted, if you walked in as ShahRukh Khan (SRK) is lying half-dead on a bed somewhere near the Indian border (with which country?) and a chinky medicine man is spending days, and possibly weeks, using all kinds of herbs and other local Ayurvedic medicine to revive him. It was exactly the same in Pathaan, where he was nursed back by a Pathaan tribe. Obviously, the makers thought once is not enough, and gave us more of the same medicine (pun intended) in Jawan. After all, Jawan rhymes with Pathaan (never mind the missing second a after w in Jawan), released less than eight months ago. This time around, it is an SRK home production, which turns the Pathaan plot basis on its head and trains its sights on the internal enemies of the country. It matches Pathaan thrill for thrill, twist for twist, but runs out of steam along the way. Jawan is about a modern-day Bharat (Manoj Kumar), who believes in violence and mayhem to get his way, with thousands of hands to back him, state of–the-art IT and an arms and ammunition depot that would make any army camp blush. There are moments in Jawan that make you root for him, and there are moments that make you cringe. Unfortunately, it’s a draw between the two.

Jawan, in its dictionary meaning, stands for ‘young’. Here, however, it is made to represent a soldier, who, in army parlance, is often called Jawan. It begins with a group of chinky-eyed persons noticing a body floating up to the surface of a pond. The man, though seriously injured, is not dead. They decide to nurse him with traditional medicine. Suddenly, the village is attacked by enemy forces, who massacre a lot of them. The commotion wakes up the wounded man from his comatose like state, and he takes on the attackers, proving too much for them. The survivors among them beat a hasty retreat. The man then stuns everyone by asking them, “Who am I?” A little boy, who has taken a fancy to him, replies, “When I grow up, I will find out who you are.” In Mumbai, a metro train is hijacked en route and diverted to a workshop. The main hijacker negotiates with NSG (probably National Security Guard) officer Narmada Rai, to ask the government to send Rs. 40,000 crores+, in exchange for the passengers' lives. Kaliee Gaikwad, who is the fourth largest global arms dealer, learns that his daughter Alia is also one of the captives on the train and agrees to give the money.

A concerted effort is made to trace the money, but the hijackers have donated it to lakhs of needy, deserving recipients, and the efforts prove futile. The gang, led by Azad Rathore, along with Lakshmi, Eeram, Ishkra, Kalki, Helena and Janhvi, returns to their base. Azad Rathore is the jailer of a woman's prison in Mumbai, and the woman are its inmates. After the caper, they slip in unnoticed. Having tasted success, Azad and his gang put into play another plan, to kidnap the Health Minister, who has been claiming that Public Hospitals in the country are on par with Private hospitals, in every department, thanks to his own efforts. He challenges that if he were shot, he would prefer to go to a Public hospital. Sure enough, he is shot, as if on cue, by a member of the Azad gang, and kidnapped. As ransom, the gang demands that world-class infrastructure and facilities be provided to every Public hospital, in exchange for the Health Minister's life. The infrastructure is immediately initiated. Azad and his gang manage to escape again, but this time they have to deal with Narmada and her team, who have traced them, along the way. Soon we shall see the entry of Azad’s doppelgänger, an older version who used to answer to the name Vikram Rathore.

Having all the trappings of a South film, with Telugu being my best bet, Jawan is the Hindustani debut of Atlee (Kumar), the pseudonym of Arun Kumar, who works in Tamil cinema. He has written the story, and the screenplay, jointly, with S. Ramanagirivasan. Both are guilty of trying too much, taking too much for granted and depending very heavily on the audience’s suspension of disbelief. Sumit Arora’s dialogue picks a couple of things from other films, but you cannot blame him for a giant being addressed as “Bahubali” and ShahRukh Khan saying “Alia Bhatt”, when asked what he wants. That must be part of the screenplay. It is exciting to learn that the protagonist is a jailer in a women’s jail. Then comes the disbelief. Why is there a male jailer in a women’s prison? How is it that his absences from duty are neither noticed or reported? How does a jailer get access to a caché of arms and several vehicles? What were the women, who help him, convicted of? Were they all innocent and framed? How is it possible for 6,000 inmates to rally around him, no questions asked? Why does he use a funny half-mask, which is worn alternately on each side of the face, and reminds you of the soldier who was rescued by the villagers?

Masses, in general, will identify with the issues Azad raises, and the flaws in government policies that he emends. The scene involving a farmer’s suicide, albeit taken a bit too far, will bring a lump to anybody’s throat. Who, among the lower class and lower middle class citizens would not like to see better conditions in Public/Government hospitals? Who could be a greater villain than an arms supplier who sells non-functional guns to the Indian army, using bribery to get the deals through, and causing loss of several lives in missions across the border? These are all rhetorical question.

Heroes in our films do not use conventional methods to address these emblematic problems. If they did, there would be no solutions, because corruption operates on a very high scale in our country and other crime is not far behind. So, they have to go beyond conventional approaches, and become larger than life characters, with almost super-hero like strength. But it is always a delicate balance that writers have to strike, between the barely believable and the totally incredible. Jawan leans towards the latter premise, with its protagonist being over-audacious and over-confident, able to get away with almost anything. The car/bike chases, car-jackings, use of smoke-screen and explosives, are all exciting while they last. The mask/wig scenes get repetitive, as does the use of a metallic belt as a weapon.

Shah Rukh Khan, in a dual role as Vikram Rathore and Azad Rathore, Vikram's son, is nothing if not confident. He plays with his voice too. Except for a tiny bit when he is captivated by a single mother, there is no romance that he indulges in. For a romantic hero, Pathaan and Jawan might mark a complete departure from his romantic poster-boy image of yore. I wonder whether ‘King Khan’ will undertake more romantic assignments now, touching 57 this year. As Vikram, he seems a bit lost, but that goes well with the character, who has lost his memory. His speeches, whether on the negotiation line, or on his Jail winning a UNO recognition, are well delivered. First billed, Nayanthara (Diana Mariam Kurian, who has worked in the past with Atlee) as Narmada, is a seasoned veteran. Though she performs perfectly, her role is not very well written. Vijay Sethupathi, making his Hindustani debut, as the arch villain Kaalie Gaikwad, saddled with a Maharashtrian surname, is a let-down. Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi, now 53, predominantly works in Tamil films. Whether it is the language that bugs him, or he is not totally convinced about the role, one will never know. But, nevertheless, he has done the best job of reacting to bullets being pumped into him, a scene which most actors would deal with mechanically. Deepika Padukone, in a Special Appearance, as Aishwarya (what’s in a name?) adds star value and goes through her part successfully, but undistinguished.

In support, we have a large cast: Priyamani as Lakshmi, Sanya Malhotra as Dr. Eeram, Sunil, Grover as Irani, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya as Helena, Girija Oak as Ishkra, Lehar Khan as Kalki, Aaliyah Qureishi as Jahnvi, Riddhi Dogra as Kaveri and Eijaz Khan as Manish Gaikwad. These are all, apparently, members of Azad’s gang, except, of course, Sunil Grover, who is on the side of the law, and Eijaz Khan, who plays the villain’s younger brother, Manish. The girls are bubbly and deeply involved in the proceedings, though they do not have major roles. Sanjay Dutt as Madhavan Nayak (cameo appearance), has little to do. In the theatre, I heard his name as Madhavan Nair. You might not be able to find somebody called Madhavan Nayak easily. But there might be thousands of Madhavan Nairs. So, when he said that his wife is a Malayali and that the day was auspicious for him because it was the Keralite festival of Onam, I was surprised. Nair is a Malayali surname, so how come his wife is Malayali while he, a Nair, is not? Then I checked on the net, and stand corrected.

Slo mo is used in abundance and the camera movements by G.K. Vishnu are very fast. Editing by Ruben has reduced the film to 169 minutes. Does it make sense, though? Just about. Because cinema hall viewers might have to put up with another 20-25 minutes of ad films. Music by Anirudh Ravichander, as often happens in such action films, has little scope to impress.

A question his fans might ask: A South director, South writers, South heroine and a South villain – is SRK Southwards bound?

To end this review, I cannot help but recall a scene where the Azad gang is after the baddies, in a multi vehicle chase, and to stall their cars, the Azads through an anchor and hook one of them to a high lamp-post. Next, they throw eggs on the wind-shield of another car. Naturally, it crashes. Shows that even in a film as Hi-Tech as Jawan, you have to be anchored, and egged on. Eggzactly!

Rating: ** ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/C_bCka4OBFI

from Filmfestivals.com - Hollywood, Independent, Shorts, Videos, Documentary https://ift.tt/hEaze9k
via gqrds

Kaala, Trailer launch: Reverse osmosis – turning white money into black

Kaala, Trailer launch: Reverse osmosis – turning white money into black

There has been an ongoing illegal operation conducted in India over many a decade: it is called the generation and circulation of ‘black money’. ‘Black money’ is unaccounted wealth, on which no tax has been paid. Most black money transactions have been conducted in cash, to avoid leaving any trace. There is no record of the amount of money that has been floating in the market, as black money. A campaign was launched by the Indian government almost a decade ago, to demonetise certain currency notes, with the intention of drawing possessors of black money to banks, to exchange it for white money. This would unearth a huge amount of black money, it was felt. Unfortunately, the idea did not work. Legalising black money, by converting it to white (accounted, tax-payed) money is called money laundering. But Kaala has at its core the conversion of white money into black! Sounds irrational, illogical, doesn’t it? Nothing more was revealed at the trailer launch of Kaala, a Disney+ Hotstar presentation, at the T-Series office, in Andheri, Mumbai, on 31^st August. This is T-Series’ maiden foray into OTT territory. Hitherto, it was known as a film production and music marketing giant.

Present on the occasion were creator, director and co-producer of the series, Bejoy Nambiar (Shaitan, David, Taish), dressed in a lungi (they probably call it a mundu down South), and members of the cast: Avinash Tiwary (Qais/Majnu in Imtiaz Ali’s Laila Majnu), who plays an Intelligence Bureau officer, Taher Shabbir, who plays a powerful businessman, Hiten Tejwani, Jitin Gulati, Rohan Vinod Mehra and Elisha Meyer. Also in the cast is Nivetha Pethuraj, who was not present. Producer Bhushan Kumar made a guest appearance at the beginning of the proceedings.

They shared the casting and auditioning process and the single-minded devotion of Nambiar. Nambiar, now 44, agreed that most of his work was in the dark zone, but the only award he won for writing was for a sentimental film, directed by his wife. Nevertheless, he will examine the possibilities of making some emotional dramas in the future. Everybody was tight-lipped about the plot of Kaala, and even when they spoke about their characters in the crime thriller, they gave the barest of detail. However, it was clear that the theme is the use of white-turned black money in funding heinous crimes: terrorist funding, illegal weapons and drugs, another tale of criminals v/s law enforcers

This writer put two questions to Nambiar. 1. We saw a fleeting glimpse of veteran Mita Vashisht in the trailer. Are there more senior actors in the series, which has a largely youthful main cast? 2. How much importance does he attach to emotions as a balance to action, since action seems to dominate his work. Replying to the first question, he said that there are indeed other senior actors in the series. Shakti Kapoor was seen in the trailer (I could not spot him) and there are many more. But he would like to keep their names under wraps, for now. On the second question, he had this to say, “Any action without emotion will be ineffective. My guru, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, told me long ago that even if you show a car being blown up, it will be meaningless without an emotional connect. So, I always make it a point to connect action with emotion.” I learnt later that Shakti Kapoor is sharing screen space with Taher Shabbir (Fan, Naam Shabana, Guilty). Just as an aside, Taher’s surname is Mithaiwala and the family actually runs a candy/sweetmeat shop in central Mumbai.

Asked whether his work bears the stamp of Mani Rathnam, his current guru, he revealed that he still acknowledges Rathnam as his mentor and continues to work with him as assistant director for several years now. But he makes no conscious attempt to imitate his guru. “If you do find some shades of my master in my work, it is a compliment. After all, I belong to his school of film-making.” An interesting fact shared by him was that at the last minute, there was a dates problem with Avinash Tiwary, so he asked another actor to prepare for a change of role, but luckily it was all sorted out, just in time.

This was the first time I visited the basement of the T Series building, which is quite large, and for a unit of 8-10 persons to sit comfortably, it was just right. The trailer was screened earlier, at their 13th floor preview theatre. It was a hard-hitting, rocket-paced trailer, with cars going a-tumbling, but gave little away.

Seven episodes of the series have already been canned and the eighth and final episode is likely to be shot over the next few days. Kaala is scheduled to start streaming on 15 September, on Disney+ Hotstar, when the reverse osmosis begins.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/j7kXbtmhxxc

from Filmfestivals.com - Hollywood, Independent, Shorts, Videos, Documentary https://ift.tt/Nk4nW2y
via gqrds

Goldfish, Review: Without your memory, you are like a goldfish out of water

Goldfish, Review:  Without your memory, you are like a goldfish out of water

Probably used as a metaphor for the memory lapses of its central character, who is suffering from dementia, the goldfish, believed to have a memory span of three seconds, has, in fact, a rather long memory. On the website Live Science, the short-memory theory has been debunked, “In reality, goldfish (Carassius auratus) have much longer memories — spanning weeks, months and even years. And the science to back this up has been around for more than 60 years.” So now, let us take the goldfish just as a childhood gift given by the protagonist to her daughter, instead of a puppy. And the entire goldfish episode, which comes later in the film, is extremely well-handled. There are moments of brilliance in Goldfish, but not enough to swim through 104 minutes, which is a pity, because the film has powerhouse performances from the lead duo and above par support from characters who hover between white, black and grey.

Anamika (Ana) Fields comes to her mother (Sadhana Tripathi)’s home in London after years, when she hears that there was a fire in the house, and that it was accidentally triggered by Sadhana herself. Ana knows about the growing dementia her single mother is suffering from, and considers sending her to a Care facility. While staying there, she learns various things about her mother through her neighbour, Keralite nurse Lakshmi, who was trafficked into working for a British family, and a few other Indian immigrants, who live in the lane. Her relationship with her mother is tempestuous, and accusations are traded freely. One of these involves the gift of a goldfish to a young Ana, and its subsequent fate. One day, Sadhana has a fall in the bathroom and dislocates her elbow. While Ana tries to call an ambulance, somebody among the small crowd that has gathered there, yanks it back in place. Ana finds this shocking.

With a job offer round the corner, Ana thinks of selling the house, but, to her horror, she discovers that it has been willed to the local grocer, Ashwin Raina. Putting two and two together, Ana concludes that her mother and Aswhin are having an affair. Meanwhile, Lakshmi wants to respond to the National Health Service’s call to all retired nurses to re-join their positions, in view of the health situation (probably Coronavirus), but her daughter will not let her. She comes and cries at Sadhana’s shoulder. Later, she volunteers to look after Sadhana, morning to evening, for free, so that she can get out of the house. Tragically, her sugar shoots up one day, she has a paralytic stroke, and dies in the hospital. Ana is at the crossroads now. Her boy-friend wants her to get out of that house and accept the job offer in Basel (Switzerland) that might come any day. She is in two minds about sending her mother to a Care home, because her dementia and forgetfulness will only increase, and she lives alone. Besides, she wants to sell the house, but cannot do so because it is willed to Ashwin.

Having a very English feel, including some words and idioms that might not be commonly understood in India, Goldfish is written by Pushan Kriplani and Arghya Lahiri. Arghya has been around since 2007 but this is only the second film he has penned. Pushan is the son of actor Jayant Kriplani and Gulan, has crossed the Threshold from cinematographer to director for the second time. The title is very common, in that there are several movies with the word Goldfish in them. One is a romantic comedy. This Goldfish is anything but a romantic comedy. It is sombre, confronting, questioning, accepting, rejecting, reflecting, interjecting, remembering and forgetting…in a word, polymorphous. With a thin premise, it needs a few side characters to prop-up the story, and although none of them, except Lakshmi, are well-delineated, they, nevertheless, tend to drag the film downwards.

In terms of directorial style, Pushan shows a clear penchant for cutting at the end of questions, with the answer following in subsequent shots. This grips you initially, but becomes predictable after the first few occurrences. All the actors appear well-prepared, a consequence of many readings and rehearsals. It was a great piece of casting, getting Deepti Naval to play the mother and Kalki Koechlin the daughter. The little Hindi or Urdu that we hear comes mainly from the mother’s mouth or through songs that play in the background. A cassette player and a turn-table among the mother’s possessions, utilitarian, not just junk, will bring a nostalgic smile on the face of the 40+ audience. This contrasts wonderfully with the use of cell-phones all around, especially in the scene where Lakshmi breaks her mobile phone because her daughter wants her to stay at home, and what use is a mobile phone, when you are not mobile?

Considering Sadhana had willed her house to Ashwin, his character needed some more footage and depth. One wonders why Lakshmi has to take care of Sadhana, when Anamika is around. Several tracks are not led to their conclusion and left to the imagination of the viewer.  The climax seems to have been shot in a hurry and is not wholly convincing. The romance, if that is what it is, between Sadhana and Ashwin is trifled over.

It needed accomplished actors to pull off Sadhana and Anamika, and what better than to get Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin? Deepti has the experience that a mother’s part needs and Kalki is a daughter who immerses herself in the character. Having no inhibitions, Deepti lives the role. Kalki is not afraid to confront Deepti and give her a piece of her mind, even if it means yelling. It is a welcome return to cinema halls, after four years, for Kalki. If there is any fault in their performances, it is in being over-prepared. Rajit Kapur as Ashwin conveys sincerity. If only his role was better written! Talents from the United Kingdom – Bharti Patel, Gordon Warnecke, Noa Bodner, Ravin J. Ganatra, Nitin Batra, Richard Dryden, Komal Amin, Omar Khan, Ashraf Ejjbair, Perri Snowdon, Shanaya Rafaat, all acquit themselves well, in this Indo-American-British co-production, with Bharti Patel as Lakshmi Natarajan (Mrs. N) and Shanaya Rafaat as Tilly (Tilottama) making very favourable impressions.

Original music by Tapas Reija and beautiful lyrics by Kausar Munir adorn the film, which is edited by Pradip Patil. Cinematographer Pushan Kriplani shoots the film is TV style, with many mid-long, close-up and two-shots. Presented by Anurag Kashyap, Goldfish is not for the hoi polloi. Nevertheless, such films need to be made. They need to made, and made better. If tests are carried out across the country, the number of persons suffering from some kind of mental disorder would be startling.

Watch it if you may. It won’t hurt.

Rating: ** ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/tcRq9j4kzQ4

from Filmfestivals.com - Hollywood, Independent, Shorts, Videos, Documentary https://ift.tt/kpbD2dg
via gqrds