one time wanderer

I didn't really have any great expectations from this movie; in fact, I was almost sceptical of watching it, even though a lot of people I admire in Bollywood were involved in it- Tabu, SRK, Kay Kay Menon, Jimmy Sheirgill, Rahul Bose, and Khalid Mohamed. And of course, Dolly Bindra. I guess it's the way the movie was packaged- "what women really want" and all that, that made me think this was going to be another example of what I like to call "Bollywood feminism" (maybe one day I'll write a separate essay on that). And I am, at best, a reluctant viewer of that particular sub-genre, and at worst, one of its biggest haters. However, Silsiilay completely defied my expectations. At every turn, I was clenching my teeth, prepared for the worst to happen, but no. All the women behaved so beautifully, so majestically, that I was completely in awe of every single one of them. Yes, all of them, except Nandita ofc. And the South Bombay housewives who were lowkey...

This was probably one of the most feel-good and heartwarming movies that I have ever seen. It was kind of like the perfect balance of hilarious, sentimental and romantic, and I swear to god it's been some time since I laughed so much during a movie. Special mention to the dynamics between Chaitanya (ANR) and Nagarjuna (Naga Chaitanya) (don't even ask)- the scene where they first meet is etched in my memory and I just might go back and watch it after this "review" is done. Many have criticised this movie as being "over-simplistic" and the plot twists as "super convenient", and to such people I say- who hurt you? Maybe if you'll sink into a nice suspension of disbelief, you'll feel okay. But seriously, suspension of disbelief was not at all a difficult task within the universe of the movie. It's a movie about reincarnation and family, for fuck's sake. Compared to the travesties dealing with these topics that Bollywood has blessed u...

First things first- the actress playing Renuka sucked. Big time. If they had cast anyone decent for this role (apparently this particular casting choice was influenced by nepotism, shockingly), the film would have been loads better. That being said, Ko is still one of the better thrillers to have come out of India, and is definitely worth watching. I so did not see that #plottwist coming!! I was left shook, and also the ending... mashallah is the only appropriate word. I don't want to say anymore, coz #spoilers, but it's honest to god, so fudgin' worth it. Speaking of things that are worth it, how can I possibly not talk about the inherent homoeroticism between Ashwin and Vasanthan? SPOILERS AHEAD. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE (IF YOU CAN). So, my personal theory is that even though Vasanthan was already evil and twisted, his real decline begins when he sees Ashwin and Renuka getting a little too close to each other. Because of the oppressive heteronormativity, he can't ev...

I'm going to write about these 2 movies together, since I watched them on back-to-back days, and kind of treated them in my mind as 1 movie- Baahubali , which is how I'll be referring to it later. So, here goes. My overwhelming response to the whole thing was that the women actors basically carried it on their lesser-paid-than-male-counterparts shoulders. Ramya Krishnan, Anushka Shetty and Tammanna managed to give the movies a lot more depth than I was initially expecting, even though Tams was unfairly under-utilised. The second movie was way better than the first one, mostly because of the screen time given to the ladies. Honestly, Baahubali 2 should actually have been named Devasena . There is no way that one can watch that movie and not come out whole-heartedly stanning her. Having said that, after watching Baahubali , I completely understand why it became the cultural phenomenon that it did. The trajectory of the plot is at the exact mid-point of simple and convoluted,...

To be very honest, I was quite sceptical of watching it- not only because I was afraid that it had been overhyped, but also because earlier in the day I'd seen what is definitely one of my favourite movies of all time (I'd decided that when it hadn't even finished), Mahanati (2018). However, I swore to myself that I would not compare. I would put Dulquer Salmaan out of my mind (oops) and watch this movie with an open mind. I am so glad I did exactly that, because  Rock On!! definitely belongs to my bolly not-so trash list. The simplicity of the story makes it even more engaging- you feel a certain familiarity with the plot, the characters and the situations they find themselves in, and it never gets boring, even though it very easily could have. For a movie that revolves around 4 men, the women are surprisingly well-written- Sakshi (Prachi Desai) doesn't go down the boring and regressive road of "Omg how could you date someone before me??" and is very matur...

Whatever I say about this movie, it'll be less. Even after a day of finishing it, I'm still somehow watching it- I can't stop thinking about specific scenes, dialogues, emotions, characters, events, etc. Maybe I just never want to let this movie go. The most remarkable thing (amongst many) is how it manages to convey the way in which the lives of superstars affect ordinary people like us, which is done through the sub-plot involving Madhuravani, BA Gold Medallist (Samantha Akkineni) and Anthony (Vijay Devarakonda). The way the whole things unravels is so- empowering is the only word I can come up with. In the most subtle way possible, it made me realise the importance of strong female role models, and why it's absolutely crucial to share their histories. By role models I don't mean to necessarily glorify such women- it's more of a comprehensive understanding of their lives, and why they did the things they did (good and bad). Another part of the movie that ...

Who knew that #feminism would come dressed in a bridal lehenga, dancing its way across a palatial hall, only to kick Sonu Sood's depraved ass all the way to purgatory? A horror movie where black magic is legitimised, where the female protagonist protects the men around her (and not just by good old self-sacrifice), and where, most importantly, femininity is not seen as a handicap- why wouldn't anyone want to see this movie? Admittedly, the script is simple- but what's so wrong in that? Here, "simple" is not a synonym for formulaic, or for boring- Arundhati 's simplicity provides ample space for the actors and dubbing artists to truly shine through with their craft, and of course, the strong sense of catharsis is something we all need from time to time. It's an engaging, albeit exhausting movie (I had to take 2 coffee breaks), and it fills you up with so many emotions that you do not know what do with them (I felt so affected by Sonu Sood and his dubbing...