The Bollywood Elephant

Amidst this quarantine period, we have been supported by various OTT platforms for our entertainment. Netflix released their own movie, 'Maska' starring Manisha Koirala, Prit Kamani, Shirley Setia, Nikita Dutta and Jaaved Jaafri! 'Maska' follows a basic premise of a Mother-Son relationship explored through dreams and the age-old family cafe 'The Rustom Cafe'.                                              What's Good : Acting:  It is such a delight to watch the beautiful and super talented Manisha Koirala onscreen. She is absolutely delightful. Prit is great as Rumi. Nikita is terrific as Mallika. It is Shirley Setia who as Persis is inconsistent as a Parsi girl. Plot:  The plot is absolutely simple, straight forward and adorable. Simplicity is Charming. Technicalities:  The technicalities are good and decently done.        ...

Even after days of viewing this movie, it has been incredibly difficult for me to review this Taapsee Pannu starrer movie. For everyone considering that it was 'just a slap', Thappad in this movie is just a Metaphor. The movie also stars Tanvi Azmi, Ratna Pathak, Kumud Mishra, Geetika Vidya Ohalyan, Manav Kaul, Dia Mirza, Maya Sarau and Pavail Gulati. It is directed by Anubhav Sinha previously known for 'Article 15', 'Mulk' etc.                                                  What's Good:   Acting:  There is absolutely nothing that can be picked out. Perfection by an ensemble cast. Screenplay : For a subject like this, the screenplay could have faltered but Anubhav Sinha and co-writer Mrunmayee Lagoo do it with such finesse and perfection, there is not a single false note. Story:  Its biggest strength is the writing. The movie is not ...

So this week saw the release of Saif's 'Jawaani JaaneMann' which also stars Alaya F(Pooja Bedi's daughter) and has Tabu in a special appearance. The cast is supported by an amazing Kumud Mishra, Farida Jalal, Kubbra Sait to name a few. It is directed by 'Notebook' fame Nitin Kakkar.                                                                           What's Good : Performances:  Saif is in the terrific form! Alaya is amazing with her acting and so is the mesmerizing Tabu! Supporting Cast does well too! 1st Half : The 1st Half is downright terrific and Hilarious. Music:  'Gallan Kardi', 'Bandhu Ho Gaya' were my takeaways from this decent album. Maturity:   The movie deals with the subject with pre-marital pregnancy in kids pretty maturely and does well in that. Direction:...

Kangana Ranaut's 'Panga' released this week. It co-stars Neena Gupta, Jassie Gill, Richa Chaddha and Yagya Bhasin. Being promoted as a tale of motherhood and revolving around the comeback of a mother in Kabaddi, the movie is more than what appears to the eye! It is directed by 'Bareilly ki Barfi' director, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.                                                 What's Good:   Acting:  The performances of the film are simply outstanding! From Kangana to Yagya and even the supporting cast, everyone shines and how! Kangana's chemistry with Jassie Gill is mind-blowing.   Story:  A simple story that can be interpreted in different ways. Direction:  When the plot is predictable, it boils down to the director and Ashwiny Iyer knows her craft too well to go wrong. Technical Aspects:  Everything is pitch-perfect here. The mu...

With the Oscar nominations due this Monday, the 13th, I tend to highlight the fact how the Academy is highly skewed in their nomination and choices, it is pretty clear that the Oscars tend to kill creativity. How? Let's find out!                                                    To begin with the prominent awards in acting, the Academy is in love to nominate and award the characters based on real-life personalities or based on the book or on characters based on period dramas. For instance, the biggest snub of the decade was Glenn Close losing out the Best Actress for 'The Wife', to Olivia Colman for a period drama 'The Favourite'.  Another instance was the much deserved Charlotte Rampling losing to Brie Larson at the Oscars 2015 where Charlotte was nominated for a fictional drama '45 Years' and Larson for 'Room' based on a book by the same name. T...

As the decade that past us recently, the Bollywood movies have finally been rich on content and even the audience evolved and showed acclaim for this content-rich cinema. The revenue of Bollywood has seen a sharp from INR68.6 Billion in 2010 to INR131.7 Billion in 2019 showing roughly increase in approx 50% of revenue, were actually the revenue of content-rich cinema has been a major contributor in the later years. Here I list down the movies, I recommend everyone to watch if they haven't as the coming decade promises a lot more meaningful cinema leaving little to no time to view these gems. Before we begin, here are some MENTIONS: Guzaarish, Tanu Weds Manu, Piku, Do Dooni Chaar, Meri Pyaari Bindu, Dedh Ishqiya. TOP 25 (in no particular order): My Name Is Khan: Performances, Story, Execution, Music! RAAJNEETI : The entire concept of Modern Mahabharat, Performances, Music, Direction. UDAAN:  Story, Performances, Direction. ISHQIYA : Story, Performance...