Tag Archives: Indian Cinema

Lucky Baskha Review: Dulquer Salmaan Shines

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TL;DR – While the film could have been tightened up in the edit, some strong character development and charisma from Dulquer Salmaan helps pull you through.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Baskhar walks out of a jewellers in triumph.

Lucky Baskha₹ Review –

Today, we are looking at a film set in Mumbai that was produced entirely in Telugu. This is a combination that I have not explored before, so it immediately piqued my interest. I have been wanting to explore more of what Indian Cinema has to offer, so studying how the different language-based productions explore other parts of the country is fascinating to me, as was the film itself. Well it was once I realised that Netflix had defaulted to the Hindi dub, and a quick fix putting back to the original Telugu.

So, to set the scene, it is the 29th of March 1992, and an alarm wakes the house. As he does most days, Baskhar Kumar (Dulquer Salmaan) starts his day off with a run along Mumbai’s coastline. There are many ways to make money in the city because Bombay is the money capital of India. He lives a mostly quiet life until one day, when he is picked up by government officers and taken to the Magadha Bank. He is alleged to have committed bank fraud, a serious offence that could bring his whole family down. But then it is time to jump back to the 11th of August 1989 to find out a humble bank clerk who is in debt to just about everyone got into this position.

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Sector 36 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating exploration of the interception of power, corruption, and serving the community, and how all of that can be shaped by self-interest.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Warning – Contains Scenes that may cause distress.

Mission Children Posters.

Sector 36 Review –

Corruption is one of the worst sins that a public official could do because their job is to uphold the people under their care, and when they obfuscate that sacred oath for money, power, or friendship, everyone suffers. Corruption can happen anywhere, but what happens when you target the most vulnerable members of society who have even less of a voice than ever? Well, you have a recipe for disaster.   

So, set the scene, in Section 36 of Delhi, works Sub Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), a thoroughly corrupt police officer. Who is more interested in lecturing people on the Third Law of Motion than actually helping people. But when a girl’s hand turns up in the sewers, it puts into focus that there is a killer on the loose, not that the police want that. But that is what Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey) is doing, focusing on the most vulnerable members of society. He would have continued to get away with it, given the police’s incompetence, but one day, he tries to take the daughter of someone important, and ignorance is no longer an option.  

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Not Today – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that explores the subject of suicide, as two people are brought together on what could be the worst day of their lives.  

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress: if you are concerned, Lifeline Australia runs a confidential 24-hour hotline, which you can call inside Australia on 13 11 14.

Mamta quizzes Aliah.

Not Today Review –

Today, we look at a film that explores a very sensitive topic: suicide. It is a subject that is rarely tackled well in the media and in society. Given that this is such a difficult space to work in, how would you tackle a film where this subject is not only referenced but is central to the story? Well, that is what we are going to be looking at today.   

So, to set the scene, Aliah Rupawala (Rucha Inamdar) is training under Mamta (Vibhawari Deshpande) to be a suicide prevention counsellor. This is a profoundly difficult job not only because you are trying to intervein with people on their darkest day about engaging with actions that can’t be walked back from. But also because of the emotional toll it can take on the receptionists themselves. It is Aliah’s first day, and she has had to deal with learning a new environment, making prank calls, trying to waste their time, and more. But just as it is about to come to an end, she gets a message from Ashwin Mathur (Harsh Chhaya) that may turn her life upside-down.

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Kill – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A bloody rampage of action that perfectly uses the medium of a train to tell its story of revenge.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Amrit, bloodied on the floor surrounded by bandits.

Kill Review –

There are times when you want to sit down and watch a bloody action romp on screen. Fists throwing, legs kicking, knives slashing, and all that jazz. But what if you could get that and get something a little new that you have never seen before? Well, that is what we are getting today with one of the bloodiest action romps I have seen in an age.

So, to set the scene, Amrit (Lakshya) and Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan) are captains and commandos in the Indian Army. When they return from the field, they find out that Amrit’s love Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) has been betrothed to another. Amrit and Viresh try to rescue her from the engagement party, but there are too many families with assorted weapons. However, the next day, Tulika, her sister Aahna (Adrija Sinha), her father Baldev Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya), and the rest of her family are taking an overnight train back to Delhi. So, Amrit and Viresh tag along, hoping for a better chance there. The only problem is that Fani (Raghav Juyal) and his extended family are also on the train, and they are about to rob it.    

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Kalki 2898 AD – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film that had moments of dire boredom but also had me sitting on the edge of my chair. I wish we got more of the latter than the first.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

The Complex hovering over everyone.

Kalki 2898 AD Review –

Back when RRR came out two years ago, I realised that I needed to watch more Telugu Language films, and I have been found wanting on that front. Well, if I am going to dive back in, a substantial mythological/Science Fiction romp is 100% right up my alley. Today, we are going to come into this movie with a slight outsider perspective with all its strengths and weaknesses.

So to set the scene, back in the ages past, in 3102 BC, two groups, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, fought for the throne. But when Ashwathamma (Amitabh Bachchan) attempts to kill an innocent, lord Krishna (Krishnakumar/ Arjun Das) curses him to walk the world as an immortal, being never able to die until Vishnu’s last avatar returns. Thousands of years later, in 2892 AD, the world was scorched, and the only city left was Kasi, which lived under the shadow of The Complex, a vast megastructure in the sky. It is a brutal world where everyone is trying to make enough units to get into The Complex while they act with impunity, killing anyone and stealing all the women able to bear children. Bhairava (Prabhas) is a bounty hunter in this world, but when he captures a fleeing Luke (Harshith Malgireddy), little does he know the new trajectory his life will now be on and the dangers he might have incited.

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RRR – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a film that is a slow burn right up to the point that it goes from 0 to 1000km in a second and does not stop for its entire runtime.    

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

RRR. Image Credit: DVV Entertainment.

RRR Review –

In 2020, I started dipping my toes into the mammoth that is Indian Cinema. However, as the pandemic erupted, that was one area that slipped away. Now that things are sort of coming back to normal, it is time to begin this chapter again, and what a film to start on.

So to set the scene, in Adilabad forest, the Governor of India Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson) has been out hunting. In contrast, his wife Catherine Buxton (Alison Doody) has the whole village on a show for her entertainment. As the village looks on, the young Malli (Twinkle Sharma) sings while painting on her hand. The governor throws Malli’s mother (Ahmareen Anjum) some coins that she things were for the song, but they were to buy her daughter. The tribe is distraught at the crime and calls on their protector Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.), to travel to Delhi and rip it apart to get the girl back. Hearing that Bheem is on the way and not knowing who they are, the colonial police force gets Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) to hunt him down before he can succeed.    

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Movie Review – Maska

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TL;DR – A nice story that does tread some well-worn ground    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Maska. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

So to set the scene, we open in on Rumi Irani (Prit Kamani) who is living in his late father’s shadow. Like all things, he is fated to take over the family business which in this case is the Café Rustom an Irani café in Mumbai. His mother Diana (Manisha Koirala) cannot wait till he can take over the café and breathe new life into it. However, one night Rumi won the Mr Firozsha Baag and in it, he discovered his dream, he wants to become an actor. Of course, it does not hurt when he discovers that at his acting lessons not only is this his passion but one of his classmates Mallika Chopra (Nikita Dutta) might be his soul mate.

One of the things I like about Maska is how is it is about breaking out of the bubbles of our life. I once heard that tradition is just peer pressure from dead people and in this film that is both a metaphorical point and also a literal one as he sees an apparition of his father Rustom (Javed Jaffrey). It is about balancing the expectations of your past with the realities of the future.

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Movie Review – Yeh Ballet

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TL;DR – a fun film about finding your place in the world through a talent you never knew you had   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Yeh Ballet. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

We continue our look at Indian cinema this week with an interesting film that has recently arrived on Netflix. It is a film that charts the highs and lows of two kids finding a new outcome for their lives. Also, it is kind of cool that it is all based on a true story.  

So to set the scene, we open in on the Mumbai slums as Asif (Achintya Bose) competes in a festival of people stacking on top of each other to get the prize hanging above. Elsewhere Nishu (Manish Chauhan) has made it onto the TV and while his raw talent is impressive, his lack of skill lets him down. Both of the boys have a trajectory of where their lives are headed and neither of them is happy with where it is going. All of this changes when a local talent scout and dance studio owner (Jim Sarbh) brings over the cantankerous Saul Aaron (Julian Sands) to coach his students in ballet and he sees something brilliant in the two boys from the slums.       

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Movie Review – Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (Extra Careful of Marriage)

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TL;DR – A fascinating if a little blunt film about love in India  

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (Extra Careful of Marriage). Image Credit: T-Series.

Review –

In my endeavour to watch more non-English language films, I had been spending a lot of time with those coming out of Europe, but this week I want to shift things by focusing on India. With that in mind, today we look at the first of two Indian films out this week that really intrigued me and this is a film is all about finding love even in the face of your family.

So to set the scene, we open in on two guys making a last-minute rush to get to a train that is about to depart as we hear about just how much weddings cost in India. We then go back a bit in time to meet Kartik (Ayushmann Khurrana) and his partner Aman (Jitendra Kumar) who hide who they are from their families by living away in Delhi. One day as they are helping a good friend elope they get caught by her family and need to get out of town for a bit. Well, that’s good timing because Aman’s cousin Goggle (Maanvi Gagroo) is about to be married back in Ahmedabad. The only problem is that Aman’s family does not know he is gay and it goes about as well as you imagine it does.

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Movie Review – Drive (2019)

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TL;DR – Today I have what might be the easiest pitch I have ever heard, its Fast and the Furious but Bollywood. Well, that is if you can get through the very uneven first hour that is and some super clunky CGI.    

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Drive (2019). Image Credit: Netflix.

Review –

I like me a good heist film, where you have shifting loyalties, betrayals, convoluted plans, misdirection, and of course a quick exit. So when I heard that there was a Bollywood heist film with a dash of the Fast and Furious and a sprinkle of well-choreographed dance sequences, I knew I had to give it a watch. Well, let’s dive into a world where you need to screech those tyres and aggressively change gears every half a second.

So to set the scene, the Director of Monetary Restrictions Authority Vibha Singh (Vibha Chibber) and her chief of staff Hamid (Pankaj Tripathi) are going about their days, using less than conventional technics to get businessmen to pay all their taxes when they get an urgent message from President’s office. As his aid Ifran (Boman Irani) explains there is a new thief on the scene called King because they leave a playing card with the location of their next heist at the place they have robed. Well the next place they are going to rob is right there at Rashtrapati Bhavan, India’s Presidential Palace. Their only lead is Tara (Jacqueline Fernandez) who runs an illicit courier business so they sent in a double agent Samar (Sushant Singh Rajput) to see what they can find out.

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