Category: Film Review

One of two things happen when Mira Nair tries making an Indian film in India. She crafts a story that is beautifully authentic and inspired by India that is (think Salaam Bombay! or Monsoon Wedding). Or, she tries recreating an India that was, in which case the outcome is beautifully plastic (think Kama Sutra)…writes Vinayak Chakravorty .

Nair’s new web series talks of an India that was. The show diligently tries to belong to the former lot, but tends to gravitate to the second category.

Maybe it was the challenge of adapting Vikram Seth’s book of the same name. A massive work of fiction comprising nearly six lakh words would seem difficult to capture in six episodes.

Or maybe, just as it was blatant in the case of Kama Sutra, Nair was out making an Indian film in India for the West (you could say that idea defines all her India-centric works, but at least Salaam Bombay! or Monsoon Wedding managed to fall into an engaging storytelling rhythm).

The trouble with A Suitable Boy is despite so much story to tell, the narrative tends to flag. It is a script drawn from one of the most eventful phases of Indian history — early fifties when a newly independent nation was discovering sovereignty — and yet it struggles to capture that essence. The screenwriting is by Welsh veteran Andrew Davies, who seemed so much in comfort zone adapting Pride And Prejudice, Vanity Fair, Bleak House or Sense And Sensibility and, not to forget, co-writing House Of Cards. Yet, an element of laziness seems to take over the storytelling as Davies attempts to craft an Indian story.

A major problem is also the language. Based on an English novel and adapted by British writer Davies, the primary language of the dialogues is English. It seems okay watching upper crust Indians speak in the language at home and outside — even Tabu’s exquisitely executed courtesan Saeeda Bai looks passable mouthing English dialogues. The trouble with opting for English audio to watch the show is it really seems awkward when Vijay Varma’s Urdu teacher converses in the language with his ward, or when the ‘kattar’ Hinduvaadi politician (played by Vinay Pathak) vehemently makes a point in English.

On the other hand, watching the show in Hindi throws up a different glitch. Since it has been shot in English, there is naturally no coherence between lip movement and the uttered words. Seen with Hindi dialogues, the ironically Indian story looks like a product of messed-up sound engineering, to the point of being ludicrous.

Davies’ story based on Seth’s novel starts off on a bright note. We meet Lata (Tanya Maniktala), a student of literature who is strong-willed, intelligent and free-spirited. Her mother insists it’s time for her to get married, though she can’t help falling in love with the Muslim boy Kabir Durrani (Danesh Razvi), a history student in the University. Lata’s problems in life are quite removed from those of Maan (Ishaan Khatter), youngest son of revenue minister Mahesh Kapoor (Ram Kapoor). Maan sees the statuesque Saeeda Bai (Tabu) perform at a family function, and falls head over heels for her.

These stories of love run in tandem with a socio-political portrait of India the narrative tries drawing up. Mahesh Kapoor canvasses for a law that will render the Zamindari system obsolete. The year when the story begins is 1951, and the embers of Hindu-Muslim tension that started during Partition are still very much alive.

The episodes unfold rolling out these subplots and many more, as sundry characters join the plot. Despite so many characters and narrative threads, you soon begin to realise the storytelling lacks life. There is very little that happens in Lata’s and Maan’s lives that can be deemed surprising.

The series works because of its production merits and acting. Besides, for all flaws you may spot in the script, Mira Nair delivers the minimum quality you may expect from a cinematic product tagged with her name. This is a good-looking show all through, and Nair’s eye for detail while setting up the specifics of a specific societal milieu is always commendable — right from her days of Salaam Bombay! and Mississippi Masala. She reveals the nuances here, too.

Nair has assorted an interesting cast, and her ensemble of actors do brilliantly to bring the characters alive, toplined by a majestic performance by Tabu as Saeeda and Ishaan Khatter’s spirited rendering of Maan Kapoor.

The fact is established long before the first episode ends that Tanya Maniktala has a dazzling smile. Only, she needn’t have flashed it at every half a chance — her screen presence looks promising enough. The advantage of having a talented cast reprising roles is almost every frame has some nuanced turn of acting on display. Actors like Ram Kapoor, Rasika Dugal, Namit Das, Mahira Kakkar, Shahana Goswami, Aamir Bashir or Manoj Pahwa don’t have to try too hard to convince in any role. The show hugely benefits from that fact. Then there are the likes of Randeep Hooda, Ranveer Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Vijay Varma, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Vivaan Shah, adding appeal with limited but soundly effective footage.

Despite these stellar performances, you realise the evident truth as the episodes roll. A Suitable Boy struggles to be a story that holds your attention. The series seems overwhelmed by the odds it might have scaled, and merely manages to showcase India as a culture and country in a way numerous western filmmakers have already done before.

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Actors Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi and debutante Sharvari have completed dubbing for the upcoming film, Bunty Aur Babli 2.

Director Varun V. Sharma said: “All actors have wrapped up dubbing for the film. ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’ is a hilarious big-screen entertainer and we can’t wait to show our film to the audience.”

“Bunty Aur Babli 2” reunites Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji and will present them as the original Bunty Aur Babli in the film. They have starred together in films like “Hum Tum” and “Ta Ra Rum Pum”.

Siddhant had earlier told that he is very excited to be a part of “Bunty Aur Babli 2”.

“I am excited for people to watch it. I think after this pandemic everything will be all right with this film, which is a family entertainer. It”s a great film. I had great fun shooting it, and after such tough and dark times people need something very light and fun. I am really excited for this film,” he said.

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Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indira Tiwari, Aakshath Das, Nassar, Sanjay Narvekar, Shweta Basu Prasad; Direction: Sudhir Mishra; Rating: * * * and 1/2 (three and a half stars)

Just when you thought you had seen all that sums up the brilliance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he springs a new surprise reminding there is much more to come. He does it every time. He just did it again…writes Vinayak Chakravorty.

In Serious Men, Sudhir Mishra casts Siddiqui as Ayyan Mani, a Dalit migrant from Tamil Nadu in Mumbai. He lives in a one-room chawl with wife and little son, and works as a personal assistant to an important man in an important organisation.

Ayyan could be summed up by the cliches of socio-cultural constraint that such a backdrop normally brings in its wake, except that there is a quirk about the protagonist that lets Siddiqui revel in his role. Far from being one among the countless hordes that suffer silently in the dank underbelly of Maximum City, self-made Ayyan has learnt to use everything and everybody at his disposal, in a bid to woo stature and wealth — and that includes his 10-year-old boy.

It is a trait that renders a deeper shade of grey to Ayyan Mani, as imagined by script writer Bhavesh Mandalia, for Siddiqui to play out. The actor does so with relish, taking the antihero to a space rarely sampled in Hindi films. In Serious Men he is a father who would exploit his son if he has to, because his paternal instinct goads him to secure the boy’s future.

Bringing alive Siddiqui’s exciting performance, the narrative is a mix of the funny and the sad, the caustic and the sublime as a Sudhir Mishra film can be. Ayyan works as personal assistant to the top boss (Nassar) at an extremely important hub of scientific research called the National Institute of Fundamental Research. It is a position that gives Ayyan access to an altogether different world from the pigeonhole existence that he calls home. He understands he must not let his son Adi (Aakshath Das) grow into the same societal disadvantages he did.

For Ayyan, the claustrophobic existence he is frantically trying to escape is also a reminder of the persecutions his ancestors — a clan of scavengers — had suffered for ages. He spots an escape plan from his current deplorable existence in his son Adi. His brainwave is risky, and nowhere ethical, but Ayyan realises it could be his only road to a new life for his family.

Serious Men is based on Manu Joseph’s 2010 novel of the same name, though the screenplay (Abhijeet Khuman and Bhavesh Mandalia) is tweaked to incorporate certain changes that let the storytelling be more cinematic. Credible writing allows Mishra to render a satirical edge, as the director relishes a few jibes at casteism (Ayyan defines himself as “100 per cent shudh Dalit”) as well as the often senseless reservation it ushers. The film also accommodates a comment or two on issues as sexism and conversion.

Despite impressive intent and execution, Mishra’s film is not without its warts. The storytelling tends to get weighed down by melodrama as Ayyan’s avarice grows and Adi becomes a helpless scapegoat. Sketches of the media, land mafia/ self-seeking politicos, the opportunistic educated class (‘serious men’, as Ayyan cheekily dubs them), don’t escape stereotypes.

But Mishra’s focus on discrimination is not restricted to caste-class divide concerning Ayyan and his ilk. The three notable female protagonists in the script, balanced poignantly at three ends of a narrative triangle, are also used effectively.

Ayyan’s wife Oja is impressively essayed by Indira Tiwari as a woman who is submissive to her dominant husband’s ways, but who ultimately comes on her own. At work, Ayyan finds the self-seeking Oparna (Vidhi Chitalia), who is carrying on an affair with an older male boss.

The most interesting among the women in the story has to be Anuja (Shweta Basu Prasad), daughter of the opportunist Dalit leader Keshav Dhawre (Sanjay Narvekar). Anuja won’t stop at blending the management smarts she has honed at a foreign business school with the streetsmart political legacy she imbibes by birth. Shweta Basu Prasad’s Anuja is simply flawlessly rendered — a ruthless antagonist who will break every code of ethics to move ahead, and yet draw the line at garnering sympathy vote using her troubled personal past riddled with domestic violence.

Coalesced with the shocking back story of Ayyan’s mother, Mishra uses these three women to highlight a simple fact — gender exploitation is a reality no matter which end of the caste equation you stand in, and what amount of power you may hold as a woman. Things have not changed over the decades.

The film benefits from good acting by every cast member. Seasoned names as Nassar and Sanjay Narvekar act as perfect props, as the narrative puts across unpleasant truths with Mishra’s irreverent storytelling edge.

Serious Men regales, and it also reminds you of certain realities that never seem to change in the huge caste cauldron that is India.

Also Read-Nishabdham: Clouded Mystery Of Silence

What could they have possibly said to Michael Madsen, to lure him into signing this one? Yes, Michael Madsen — Hollywood maverick of Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs — turns out in this bizarre piece of bunkum passed off as a thriller, sharing near-parallel footage with the top-billed Anushka Shetty and R. Madhavan.

Nishabdham, a Telugu suspense flick, has been shot and released simultaneously in Tamil and English as Silence (there’s a dubbed Malayalam version, too). The film, starting off on an eerie note with the promise of a gripping haunted house saga, starts losing focus soon enough and, after wasting a couple of hours trying to technically look like a sleek Hollywood flick, ends up with a climax so vapid that it makes you wonder why they didn’t call it Silence Of The Dumb.

Kona Venkat’s screenplay on director Hemant Madhukar’s script starts off introducing Anushka and Madhavan as a married couple, Sakshi and Antony. She is an artist who is deaf and mute. He is a classical musician. They arrive in a quaint house somewhere in Seattle that is said to be haunted, because Sakshi is in search of a painting she believes lies somewhere inside the building.

Inside, Antony is killed mysteriously and traumatised Sakshi is a witness. Captain of the local police force Richard Dickens (Michael Madsen) along with his aide Maha (Anjali) are the officers assigned to probe the case.

Of course, Antony can’t die so soon in the film, you figure right away, or else they wouldn’t cast Madhavan in the role. And Madsen isn’t there just to play a sidekick cop, you reckon, if they have shelled out the moolah to sign a Hollywood actor for the role.

Wrong casting calls can dilute the intended impact of a suspense drama, which is what happens here. More so, because a lot of the plot movement and attempted suspense are woven around Antony and Dickens.

The bigger problem lies with the storytelling. Writer-director Madhukar seems unsure of how to carry forward his tale. The plot meanders, with attempted spins in the storyline getting increasingly contrived with the passing minutes, as the film heads for an unconvincing finale. When the actual reason is revealed for whatever was going on, it comes across as utterly ludicrous.

One is not sure if all this happens because the same story had to be told through dialogues in multiple languages for the multiple versions, but you sense of sort of plasticity in the way the actors behave and speak (at least the Telugu version with English subtitles gives that impression). If a character is weak no actor on the planet can cover up that fact, no matter how incredible a performer he or she is. Anushka to Anjali, Madhavan to Madsen, every actor struggles in this film, trying to rise above their uninspiring protagonists.

Nishabdham was clearly trying to be a different film. It’s a different matter that it is not much of a film anyway, to be anything whatsoever.

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