tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35558878332320194352024-03-19T01:27:41.404+05:30annavetticadgoes2themoviesThe definitive Indian film review blogAnna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.comBlogger903125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-3633419194620972122024-02-26T18:48:00.005+05:302024-02-26T19:27:04.986+05:30All India Rank: “Preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you” (Review 798) <p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 471px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 15.6pt;"><td style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 124.3pt;" valign="top" width="166"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 229.05pt;" valign="top" width="305"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">February 23, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 15.6pt;"><td style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 124.3pt;" valign="top" width="166"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 15.6pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 229.05pt;" valign="top" width="305"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Varun Grover<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.3pt;"><td style="height: 14.3pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 124.3pt;" valign="top" width="166"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.3pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 229.05pt;" valign="top" width="305"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Bodhisattva Sharma, Samta Sudiksha, Geeta Agarwal, Shashi Bhushan, Sheeba Chaddha, Neeraj, Ayush Pandey, Saadat Khan<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.3pt;"><td style="height: 14.3pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 124.3pt;" valign="top" width="166"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.3pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 229.05pt;" valign="top" width="305"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Hindi </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcT_nZ5EyvoGKsLJ9HtwQAOA1MXJVwVV2miDQqIGZP0By4aJi5fZSZ_P58o8c5dzzZnwLpuOIQWzNe4QACWrpfhYzOELPeGF2xEY4pV2V-inTnsPfj6E7cIK4BTfV291_8GxgyIEV3KyawclQj6zWSatGeoLBML3RcNzHQOIwKgyREx6Q-mMIujZv15E-/s1044/Screenshot%202024-02-26%20at%204.31.04%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="876" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcT_nZ5EyvoGKsLJ9HtwQAOA1MXJVwVV2miDQqIGZP0By4aJi5fZSZ_P58o8c5dzzZnwLpuOIQWzNe4QACWrpfhYzOELPeGF2xEY4pV2V-inTnsPfj6E7cIK4BTfV291_8GxgyIEV3KyawclQj6zWSatGeoLBML3RcNzHQOIwKgyREx6Q-mMIujZv15E-/w336-h400/Screenshot%202024-02-26%20at%204.31.04%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="336" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />“<i>Tum ladkon ke akal mein phaphoond laga hota hai kya?</i>” (Have you boys got fungus on your brains?) Sarika Kumari asks her classmate Vivek Singh in the new Hindi film <i>All India Rank. </i>It’s the sort of throwaway line that indicates the user’s comfort with the tongue. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The ease with which Sarika slips <i>phaphoond</i> into the right context makes it my word of the week, though <i>nasudda</i> hogs the limelight in <i>All India Rank</i> since Vivek is asked the meaning at one point. (I won’t tell you his answer.) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">It is no surprise that <i>All India Rank</i> has the feel of a film written by someone who takes pleasure in language. It is after all the directorial debut of Varun Grover who rose to fame and acclaim with his lyrics for Anurag Kashyap’s <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-151-gangs-of-wasseypur-2.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Gangs of Wasseypur</i></a><i> </i>(2012), then sealed his reputation by writing Neeraj Ghaywan’s <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2015/07/review-341-masaan.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Masaan</i></a> (2015). Grover has also written<i> </i>this film, which was premiered last February at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and is now in Indian theatres. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Sarika (Samta Sudiksha) in<i> All India Rank</i> is one of the foremost supporting players in the story of Vivek (Bodhisattva Sharma), a teenager from Lucknow who arrives in Kota in 1997 to prepare for the IIT entrance test. Kota is the Mecca of coaching classes for IIT aspirants or, as Vivek’s father R.K. Singh (Shashi Bhushan) puts it, it is <span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">“coaching <i>ka</i> Haridwar”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Vivek has been dragged by Singh Senior into a race he does not care for, while Sarika runs with passion and for herself. A parent forcing his dreams on a child and the pressure to gain admission to one of India’s most sought after educational institutions are only the backdrop against which <i>All India Rank</i> unfolds as an observational, almost meditative portrait of what can best be summarised as “a year in the life of Vivek from 1990s India”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The desperation and despondency of some of the leads in other Hindi films dealing with career choices, India’s education system and so on are not to be found here. <i>All India Rank</i> is not <i>3 Idiots</i>, </span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2015/11/review-357-tamasha.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Tamasha</span></i></a><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> or <i>12<sup>th</sup> Fail</i>. The pressure-cooker existence of the impoverished Manoj from <i>All India Rank</i> is a far cry from Vivek’s situation – the latter has relative privilege as the only child of lower-middle-income parents. Vivek is unhappy at being pushed into a profession he does not want, but he does not get depressed, unlike Ranbir Kapoor’s character from <i>Tamasha</i>. Viveks exist too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">All India Rank</span></i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> is semi-autobiographical. Grover himself is an IITian, but the film is left open-ended, perhaps to make a point that it can hardly be viewed as a climax if a disinterested kid gets into a coveted college. <i>All India Rank</i> is not about a triumph, it is about a journey. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Grover’s film, edited by Sanyukta Kaza, has a calm vibe and an air of innocence. Its low-key sense of humour is written into both the conversations and the pleasant music (lyrics by Grover, original songs and background score by Mayukh-Mainak). The unhurried demeanour and unmelodramatic presentation of even its most dramatic moments convey an impression that little happens here. In truth, it is packed with thoughtful character development and discreet socio-political commentary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">In a sense, Vivek </span><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">is an unlikely protagonist. He is unexcited by IITs but he doesn’t fight his Dad too much, he dabbles in rebellion but soon gets back on track, </span><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">he’s nice but slightly bland. He grows in his own way though. In any case, even a seemingly bland individual is the hero of their own story, and even such a person has his moments, as we see with Vivek. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Besides, the boy is surrounded by interesting people – the feisty Sarika, their friend who pretends he’s not studying when in fact he does, parents who evolve, an easygoing mother (Geeta Agarwal) and a man who sees his son’s entry into IIT as a passport to elevating his own social stature. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The newcomers and veterans in the cast are uniformly endearing and real. Geeta Agarwal and Shashi Bhushan infuse warmth into Vivek’s parents’ close bond. Sheeba Chaddha is capable of being harsh as spikes on screen, but in <i>All India Rank</i> she brings an unexpected softness to Kalpana Bundela, the queen of IIT coaching in Kota, who keeps the mood light in class. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Among the film’s winning qualities is the authenticity in the recreation of the era in which it is set, through dialogues, Prachi Deshpande’s meticulous production design and revisitations of old songs.</span><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">In 1997, telephones with whirring dials were the norm and the Nirma detergent powder advertisement was a reigning pop culture reference. The detailing of the time is charming. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">This was the decade in which economic liberalisation, Mandal and the Babri Masjid demolition permanently altered India’s DNA. The script does not spell out any of this, but slivers of the politics of that era and of the present are an unobtrusive presence in the writing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">“<i>Azaadi</i>” in the 1990s was not yet a word that could land you in jail, but as we see in the film, queasiness over Urdu was very much the norm and Indian was already a country that valued its national symbols more than its people. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I’ll leave you to spot the messaging that dots the film, including the manner in which the writer-director tests the liberal viewers’ obliviousness to anti-minority stereotyping in Hindi cinema by seeming to present a stereotype, then turning it on its head. No spoilers here – you will hopefully recognise that episode when you see it. Compare it to the mischief played by the writer-director of last year’s <i>OMG 2</i>, who placed three minority community members in his all-Hindu universe in a north Indian temple town, wrote all three of them as jerks, and picked one of them to torment a schoolmate over his penis size, thus setting off a chain of events that almost destroyed the boy. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In the past 10 years, much of Hindi filmdom has bowed and scraped before the right-wing through works that demonise religious minorities, marginalise the influence of minority cultures on India, and erase every achievement of non-BJP governments and prime ministers. <i>All India Rank </i>stands out from this obeisant crowd with almost indiscernible defiance. Don’t go looking for a sermon or lengthy exposition. What we get instead is a word here, a brief chat there, a quote on a wall, a passing image on TV – Grover worships at the altar of the God of small things in <i>All India Rank</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #050505;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #050505;">The film is not <i>about </i>any of this though, just as it is not<i> about </i>IIT.<i> </i>Grover leaves us free to note his politics if we wish, or to enjoy <i>All India Rank</i> as a sweet little film about </span>“a time of innocence, a time of confidences”, to borrow <span style="background: repeat white; color: #050505;">from </span>the American songwriter Paul Simon’s <i>Bookends </i>(1968). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Unlike most coming-of-age sagas, <i>All India Rank</i> does not feature any grand awakening or drastic change in the central character’s plans by the close. Yet, it tugs at the heart. The film is like photographs we take of regular days, pictures that don’t commemorate a birth, death, graduation or anniversary but instead freeze frame the spaces in between when most of life occurs. Those are the days that get us to our milestones, and our stories are incomplete without them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In choosing to make <i>All India Rank</i> – and make it in precisely the way he does – Grover subscribes to the Paul Simon school of thought. “Preserve your memories, they’re all that’s left you.” (<i>Bookends</i> again)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">3</span></b></span> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b>Running time:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">101 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Visual courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-87172752247704151472024-02-24T12:54:00.001+05:302024-02-24T14:00:36.534+05:30Manjummel Boys: Thinly written, inconsistent but ultimately rewarding survival drama (Review 797)<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Release date:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">February 22, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Director:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">Chidambaram<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Cast:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Deepak Parambol, Chandu Salimkumar, Khalidh Rahman, Ganapathi S. Poduval, Balu Varghese, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, Lal Jr, Vishnu Reghu <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Language:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #191919; font-size: 9pt;">Malayalam with Tamil </span><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ACRqA_MB_VLlGNf3RSAtbw0q2Eyl6EFusiyN0SyxW08hOBchfZ7MTYkiuM2dmra-h-261E1UNBMgAYMdWnE5l8yYglPVggzlBnlYdNLMi_NKpy-6tUR7CdGmhRFZFLq5JicP-A5gckMdxUOTA5zw_UUho5Cs46hG0apO1r-N2-hdu1fTDCdvkha7fBvS/s1070/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2012.23.56%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="870" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ACRqA_MB_VLlGNf3RSAtbw0q2Eyl6EFusiyN0SyxW08hOBchfZ7MTYkiuM2dmra-h-261E1UNBMgAYMdWnE5l8yYglPVggzlBnlYdNLMi_NKpy-6tUR7CdGmhRFZFLq5JicP-A5gckMdxUOTA5zw_UUho5Cs46hG0apO1r-N2-hdu1fTDCdvkha7fBvS/w325-h400/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2012.23.56%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="325" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />“<i>Jeevithathil </i>stuck<i> aayitulla paara.</i>” That’s how one of the key players in the new Malayalam film <i>Manjummel Boys</i>, describes a precariously poised, giant boulder that he sees while wandering around Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu with a gaggle of man-children. His words are appropriately poetic and thoughtful for the setting, in a departure from the gang’s unruliness and loudness until then. The contrast is emblematic of the effect that nature can have on even the most restless of humans, and offers an insight into what <i>Manjummel Boys</i> might have been if it had lived up to the potential of its premise all the way. As things stand, this survival thriller cum coming-of-age saga<i> </i>is outstanding in part yet thinly written and inconsistently toned for the most part. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><i>Manjummel Boys </i>features an ensemble of boisterous buddies – all of them men, all barring one of them young, all of them old enough to be deemed terribly immature for their age – in a decade before cellphones and social media had flooded our world. </span>Manjummel is the name of a locality in Kochi with which the ‘boys’ christen themselves. <span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Their wayward existence is disrupted by a tragic turn of events during their hill station sojourn that tests their spirit and their relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The film is written and directed by Chidambaram who notched up a hit with his directorial debut </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/jan-e-man-movie-review-an-immaculate-blend-of-laughter-tears-sense-and-sensitivity-10206781.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Jan-E-Man</span></i></a><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">. The latter smoothly and effectively combined a sense of humour with grim themes such as depression, separation and death. <i>Manjummel Boys</i> aims at a drastic shift in mood from light-heartedness at first to utter gloom tempered by hope, but without the same finesse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The narrative kicks off by introducing us to the rambunctiousness and camaraderie of these men-who-are-still-boys. </span>The friends are captured making merry at a wedding, engaged in fun and games including a bout of tug of war, hanging out, planning an out-station trip, and at last, actually making that trip. This goes on for what feels like an endless stretch replete with clichés that are rampant in Malayalam male bonding chronicles. In these passages, they shout <i>at</i> rather than speak <i>to</i> each other, noise is used as a substitute for substance and storytelling verve, and precious length that could have been spent on character development is squandered away. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">For the record, it is not essential for survival flicks to create character arcs before the high drama of the central plot takes over. The point here is that Chidambaram does spend a lot of time with the ‘boys’ before disaster strikes, but does not make effective use of that period. Later, it becomes clear that their activities in that portion foreshadowed their actions in the second half, and showcasing their layaboutery early on was a way of stressing their strength of character later on. Too bad that this was done through repetitive, formulaic scenes shorn of depth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">There are lots of familiar faces and names in this crowd:</span> Sreenath Bhasi<span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">, </span>Soubin Shahir (who is also one of the producers), Deepak Parambol, Ganapathi S. Poduval, Arun Kurian, Balu Varghese and Abhiram Radhakrishnan among them. Half these characters would have been indistinguishable from each other if they weren’t played by recognisable actors. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmXBS5eR6u-34nu1pmH63QgFUAyS2vn56W-d7Q0wwxFA2fRZXsUfUYwOpRFNDbCV8nzNz_BOLd5BWXA60xqW5zLuGirl-93j8F1e0r1pdT-udo2LfFyEV2HBf3RZf7xdfqBdc7ESH5dSdVZ8vOWdkuNkzkcjPIibyPX7JLL7psED-cg5F8jDD7gesthyphenhyphenp/s2162/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2012.15.26%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="2162" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmXBS5eR6u-34nu1pmH63QgFUAyS2vn56W-d7Q0wwxFA2fRZXsUfUYwOpRFNDbCV8nzNz_BOLd5BWXA60xqW5zLuGirl-93j8F1e0r1pdT-udo2LfFyEV2HBf3RZf7xdfqBdc7ESH5dSdVZ8vOWdkuNkzkcjPIibyPX7JLL7psED-cg5F8jDD7gesthyphenhyphenp/w400-h223/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20at%2012.15.26%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">After much yelling and posing around at scenic spots, towards the end of their stay in Kodaikanal the group decide on a last-minute stop before heading home. Their destination is Devil’s Kitchen a.k.a. Guna Cave, nicknamed after the Tamil cult classic <i>Gunaa</i> (1991) starring Kamal Haasan and Roshni that was shot there. The men continue to act idiotically, but now Chidambaram thankfully also finds space for calm as Shyju Khalid’s camera roams around in awe of the mountains, running its eye over and between rock faces, deep into caves and high above the land, examining the dramatic arrangements of trees and rocks engineered by natural forces. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The tiresome scenes that preceded <i>Manjummel Boys</i>’ arrival at Guna Cave become a distant memory when an accident caused by the men’s irresponsible conduct turns their holiday into a nightmare. The shock of that turning point, the suspense and technical accomplishments of the film from then on – intelligent sound design by <span style="color: #131313;">Shijin Hutton and Abhishek Nair, </span>and intelligent use of Sushin Shyam’s music complementing the cinematographer’s imaginative exploration of the location – compensate for the continuing limitations in the writing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In short, <i>Manjummel Boys</i> is an uneven experience. On the one hand, the shooting of the Guna Cave area and the treatment of the twist are impeccable. On the other hand, the scripting continues to be patchy and unsophisticated. The first flashback to the characters’ childhood leading into their behaviour in desperate circumstances in Kodaikanal is well done. But it gets predictable when it happens again, and then again when their seemingly purposeless shenanigans before the interval come of use in rescue operations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The last half hour is packed with nail-biting tension despite this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i>Manjummel Boys </i>is challenging for another reason. <span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Malayalam and Tamil are fitted naturally into the script, but there were no subtitles played in the hall in Delhi where I watched it. While this could have been the multiplex management’s mess-up (even when producers subtitle their films, theatres in Delhi very often don’t bother to play the subs), a question remains for the makers themselves: since </span><i>Manjummel Boys</i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">’ primary language is Malayalam, why are Malayalam subtitles not embedded in the print itself throughout the Tamil dialogues (in the way they are in one portion depicting characters in Tamil Nadu regaling the visitors from Kerala with lore surrounding Guna Cave, its recent history and mythology)? In its present shape, the film is inaccessible not only to non-Malayalam speakers in that particular hall, it is tough even for Malayalam speakers who do not know Tamil.</span><span style="color: #242424;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The </span>Malayalam film industry does not often visit the survival genre, and on those rare outings it has a mixed tracked record. <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/helen-movie-review-kumbalangis-anna-ben-aces-a-smart-survival-thriller-that-spotlights-social-prejudice-7693041.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Helen</i></a> (2019) and <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/malayankunju-movie-review-caste-in-the-time-of-natural-calamities-and-fahadh-faasil-10969541.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Malayankunju</i></a> (2018) are recent examples that got it right. Like these two, most s<span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">urvival films tend to be intense studies of human nature. They need not be. </span><i>Manjummel Boys</i>’ problem<i> </i>is that it is not satisfied with action and suspense alone. It wants to be profound but can only partially pull it off. For one, the tribute to <i>Gunaa</i> has not been thought through. If the iconic Tamil film was merely the motivation that spurs the ‘boys’ of Manjummel to visit Guna Cave it would have made sense. However, pointed references are made to <i>Gunaa</i> through song and dialogue that gradually draws a parallel between the pivotal relationship in the earlier film and the willingness of the ‘boys’ here to give up their lives for each other in the end. But <i>Gunaa</i> was not about a healthy love or friendship, it was about unhealthy obsession and delusion. Kamal’s character in that film was mentally unwell, he abducted a woman with whom he believed he had a divine connection, and ultimately preferred death over life without her. To evoke nostalgia for the lovely music of that film is all very well, but the concerted mindless effort to evoke nostalgia for the ‘love’ and ‘sacrifice’ in <i>Gunaa</i> makes <i>Manjummel Boys</i> both intellectually pretentious and intellectually lightweight.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Text on screen post-climax reveals that </span><i>Manjummel Boys</i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> is based on the true story of a bravery award winner called Siju David. Knowing that what happened at Guna Cave in <i>Manjummel Boys</i> actually happened in real life adds a layer of chills to the better half of this flawed, partly rewarding film. </span><span style="color: #242424;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">2.5</span></b> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">135 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Visual courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span></b> </span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-19653103172708811922024-02-21T00:24:00.001+05:302024-02-21T11:29:31.721+05:30REVIEW 796: FAMILY<p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><u>Release date:</u><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Festival: January 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Theatrical: February 22, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><u>Director:</u><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Don Palathara<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><u>Cast:</u><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Vinay Forrt, Divya Prabha, Mathew Thomas, Nilja K. Baby, Abhija Sivakala, Jolly Chirayath, Prathapan K.S., Jitin Puthanchery, Sajitha Madathil<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><u>Language:</u><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Malayalam </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp1zLmUtqoPvVoUVr2I-t7h-xJP7hQMVQhTuvd5AR3_wpsZ3nEKY9CB1gNn8SDk07uYZjqQyaXYQ8UY4rzDh_UsfNsixzJhxE17C7kmKDViC_qC6g3keb8A6rzwiXjL0HlkrwXCA9awcVynLH6xiT5iEW3gsRwLOA6z45_RbLaAmI6eMw5FPKQtN_Qefl/s1399/GG1q_25asAAgWnb.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1399" data-original-width="1019" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp1zLmUtqoPvVoUVr2I-t7h-xJP7hQMVQhTuvd5AR3_wpsZ3nEKY9CB1gNn8SDk07uYZjqQyaXYQ8UY4rzDh_UsfNsixzJhxE17C7kmKDViC_qC6g3keb8A6rzwiXjL0HlkrwXCA9awcVynLH6xiT5iEW3gsRwLOA6z45_RbLaAmI6eMw5FPKQtN_Qefl/w466-h640/GG1q_25asAAgWnb.jpeg" width="466" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">(This review was written and first published in February 2023 right after <i>Family</i> had its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam)<o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In the higher reaches of the mountains of Idukki, in a village thick with verdure and hypocrisy, a man called Sony makes everyone’s business his own. This magnificent, densely forested region with its contemplative atmosphere is ideal for a story in which a lot transpires below the surface but an entire community noiselessly conspires to sweep its skeletons under a carpet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Sony (Vinay Forrt) is the heart of the local populace. It would not be accurate to describe him as a busybody since the people rely on his help. He is always around in good times and in bad – attending weddings and funerals, chipping in with household chores, counselling the youth, drawing them into community service, supporting a bereaved family, volunteering when the parish priest asks – which is all so great that it’s hard to pin down the reason why it is so acutely discomfiting right from the start to watch this man roam among them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">When Sony sees a pregnant woman (Divya Prabha) executing a physical task in her courtyard, he rushes over to take over from her. When another woman (Abhija Sivakala) needs to pluck the fruit off a tree on her grounds, she does not hire workers – Sony does the job. If your kid is struggling at school, who do you turn to for tuitions? Answer: Sony. If you suffer a tragedy, who walks an extra mile for you? Sony. Genial, solicitous Sony whose actions go above and beyond the community spirit that is the norm here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">A gnawing suspicion soon arises though. Is Sony helpful because he is genuinely kind-hearted? Or are there other possibilities? Perhaps his concern and consideration are excuses to gain proximity to you. Perhaps he is that guy who strategically earns your trust so that you won’t notice when you glimpse questionable conduct, but if you do, you will be bullied into shutting up by those who prefer to look the other way. <em>Family </em>is not, however, about him alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Written by Don Palathara and Sherin Catherine, directed and edited by Don, <em>Family</em> in its entirety is a portrait of a repressed, conservative society. The location, blanketed with thick greenery and a resounding quiet, is in itself a metaphor for the silences that blanket uncomfortable truths. The film also engages with the very different reactions to a man and a woman who are deemed to have brought shame on the <em>kutumbam</em>. It is purportedly about one place at a certain time, but it’s really about Everyplace Everytime, whenever and wherever in the world folks have colluded to keep the secrets they are ashamed of “in the family”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In the very first scene, an important character tells a boy that a leopard won’t attack a person unless threatened. The wild feline in the forest instinctively follows a code that <em>Homo sapiens</em> themselves do not. <em>Family </em>spotlights a very human penchant for attacking to oppress rather than for nourishment or self-defence, and a community’s willingness to provide camouflage even if it means endangering its own by letting the predator run free. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></em></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><em>Family</em>’s writer-director team choose to mirror their characters’ mindset and behaviour by leaving most things unsaid and unseen. Renganaath Ravee’s sound design and Basil C.J’s music exemplify their vision. When the latter’s score initially floats in, it takes a minute to distinguish it from the sounds of nature that dominate most of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The poetry in its minimalism and unbelievably perceptive observations make <em>Family</em> a breath-taking experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Given one of the most beautiful locations on Earth, DoP Jaleel Badusha mines it for maximum effect even while employing a subdued palette. The exquisite shots emerging from his explorations of the area (in addition to an unexpected scene boasting of some rather impressive CGI) elevate <em>Family</em> to a meditational experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The spare narrative caused me some confusion in the opening half as I tried to figure out who is who and related how to whom among the smaller roles. In those moments, I wished the camera had spent just a bit more time with each one and had looked squarely at them – instead of the angles from which they were shot – so that their faces were imprinted on my memory, but even through those passages, my sense of disquiet about the bigger picture remained.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The camera in the film gives off a vibe of being both an aloof bystander and a knowing insider. It rarely moves close to an individual and some of the most horrific acts in the storyline occur off screen, but what happens in the viewer’s line of sight consistently serves as a warning bell. Note the vantage point in a scene in which a man is shown in conversation with another. There is a certain type of man every woman has met: the fellow who invades your space without actually touching you, his hands hovering too close to the area around your chest or thighs as he speaks, all the while maintaining a pretence that he is unaware of your unease and hyper-alertness. As a woman, it chilled me to the bone that I was witnessing the exact same scenario on screen here, with one crucial difference: in place of a woman was a boy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">It is clear from Don’s filmography that he is fascinated by and immensely knowledgeable about both Christianity and his native Idukki. Christian rituals, customs and imagery are everywhere in <em>Family</em>. The film’s account of local Malayali Christian practices is as educational as it is entertaining. Of particular interest is a pre-wedding function that features an older man on stage play-acting dressing up the young husband-to-be. At one such event I recently attended in Kerala, the groom’s uncle was such a lively, funny guy who kept us, his audience, in splits, that the moroseness of the guests at the ceremony in <em>Family</em> seems hilarious in contrast.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In his most prominent film roles so far, Vinay Forrt has played characters whose shortcomings were tempered by a layer of innocence bordering on naiveté. Vimal Sir in <em>Premam</em>, Sreenivasan Masha in <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/06/review-707-thamaasha.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Thamaasha</i></a> and David Christudas in <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/malik-movie-review-its-fahadh-faasil-vs-vinay-forrt-in-a-grand-gripping-saga-on-tricky-communal-ground-9807521.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Malik</i></a> were all flawed, not terrible. In <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/08/review-414-kismath.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Kismath</i></a>, on the other hand, his character aimed an aggressive nastiness at the hapless leads. Vinay’s challenge in <em>Family</em> is to steer clear of both these spaces. Sony masks his worst side in a package of affability and thoughtfulness, although no one can be sure that that is what he does. Vinay is pitch perfect in giving Sony a barely discernible unsettling presence without being in-your-face repulsive. This is a deeply involved actor acing his most difficult role yet. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Divya Prabha is just emerging from a year in which she won all-round acclaim playing the beleaguered Reshmi in <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/ariyippu-declaration-movie-review-misogyny-collides-with-corruption-and-alienation-in-a-compelling-covid-time-saga-11026201.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Ariyippu</i></a> (Declaration) that was premiered at Locarno. She joins an ensemble cast of wonderfully naturalistic artistes to play the conflicted and hesitant Rani who is yet brave enough to articulate a prickly question that no one has asked so far in <em>Family</em>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Don Palathara has built his career on making films on his own terms, giving mainstream clichés a wide berth yet not fitting entirely into the middle-of-the-road nature of the <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/fahadh-faasil-2-0-women-in-cinema-collective-and-other-markers-of-the-decade-gone-by-for-mollywood-9240731.html" style="color: #954f72;">new Malayalam New Wave</a>. His <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/santhoshathinte-onnam-rahasyam-movie-review-deliciously-cheeky-yet-debatable-take-down-of-the-romanticisation-of-parenthood-9331131.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam</i></a> a.k.a. <em>The Joyful Mystery</em> has been his most high-profile work among Indian film-goers so far. In terms of cinematic idiom,<em> Family</em> more closely resembles his fable-like <em>1956, Madhyathiruvithamkoor</em> (1956, Central Travancore). Along with his co-writer, he gives this film a lived-in feel, an air of: we have been here, met these people and know what they hide in their closeted minds. The director is present in this village, making mental notes, enabling viewers to drink it all in, not as outsiders staring at a screen but as co-travellers standing beside him and seeing through his eyes. He is not looking in on alien beings to tell an exotic tale in <em>Family</em>. He is not othering the minority community whose story he chronicles, he is normalising them, using the specifics of their culture and conservatism to drive home a universal point.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></em></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><em>Family</em> does not follow the revved-up beats conventionally demanded by commercial cinema, it follows the rhythms of life. And it’s a masterpiece.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">4.5</span></b> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">111 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">Visual courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><em><b>This review was originally published under the headline </b></em><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/family-movie-review-poetic-minimalism-brilliantly-used-to-capture-a-society-sweeping-its-skeletons-under-a-carpet-12094752.html" style="color: #954f72;"><b>“<i>Poetic minimalism brilliantly used to capture a society sweeping its skeletons under a carpet”</i></b></a><b><i> on Firstpost in February 2023</i></b><b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></i></b></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-66026215612925799012024-02-17T21:16:00.000+05:302024-02-17T21:16:24.263+05:30REVIEW 795: BRAMAYUGAM<p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">February 15, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Rahul Sadasivan <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Mammootty, Sidharth Bharathan, Arjun Ashokan, Amalda Liz, Manikandan R. Achari</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Malayalam </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPhDmUTE_aNw5KDJNGVDoctTUcBH1Z5iz4T8WQjCtZIwtwo3lLDpgeM34zoV7fIrzzzc6dW7RIWQtrRAZyVBgnJlz1uwSxHbnPYdtML9_s8gC4yXhTaBYLvB69bOoOxA-eEDNgB4SEuiFAui7wTzHAVeQQzlYBSif6B1y7G7_09h_gVKFKY7SugmRzWZz/s1144/Screenshot%202024-02-17%20at%208.43.55%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPhDmUTE_aNw5KDJNGVDoctTUcBH1Z5iz4T8WQjCtZIwtwo3lLDpgeM34zoV7fIrzzzc6dW7RIWQtrRAZyVBgnJlz1uwSxHbnPYdtML9_s8gC4yXhTaBYLvB69bOoOxA-eEDNgB4SEuiFAui7wTzHAVeQQzlYBSif6B1y7G7_09h_gVKFKY7SugmRzWZz/w504-h640/Screenshot%202024-02-17%20at%208.43.55%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="504" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Rahul Sadasivan’s <i>Bramayugam</i> comes to theatres two years after </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bhoothakaalam-movie-review-terrifying-mind-games-with-revathy-and-shane-nigam-on-board-10306671.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Bhoothakaalam</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> in which he deftly wove themes of mental health, care giving, substance abuse and other pressing concerns into a supernatural/psychological horror drama. <i>Bhoothakaalam </i>starring Revathy and Shane Nigam was terrifying and thoughtful in equal measure, but the burden of expectations is not the reason why <i>Bramayugam </i>does not match up to it. The reasons are simpler.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Behind the gloss and beyond an in-form Mammootty, <i>Bramayugam </i>is not scary despite its promising atmospherics. It is also flimsy for a considerable stretch of time until it begins to lay out its caste politics. The film’s allegorical take on caste proves to be muddled and insensitive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Bramayugam</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> (The Age of Madness) is set in 17<sup>th</sup> century Malabar where Thevan (Arjun Ashokan), a starving folk singer, chances upon a decrepit mansion belonging to a Brahmin family. The grouchy caretaker (Sidharth Bharathan) is unwelcoming. Both are placed low on the ladder of the caste system, and the elderly master of the house Kodumon Potti (Mammootty) belittles the latter for being disdainful towards the visitor, welcoming the young man warmly instead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Kodumon Potti rarely has guests. This could be because his home is in what appears to be a land far far away. Or perhaps not. Thevan soon realises that all is not as it seems in this decaying homestead where mysterious sounds are heard from areas declared off limits for him. It is not long before we learn that he is a pawn in a game in which the dice is controlled by an unexplained force. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Sadasivan gets <i>Bramayugam</i> off to a good start by creating a sense of mystery in the forest where we meet Thevan</span><span style="color: #191919;">. This tone is sustained till the end with the aid of Shehnad Jalal’s camerawork, Jothish Shankar’s art direction and </span><span style="color: #131313;">Jayadevan Chakkadath’s low-key sound design. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #131313;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Bramayugam</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> is defined by its </span><span style="color: #191919;">magnificence, ranging from scenes of desolate natural beauty to the eerie innards of </span><span style="color: #242424;">Kodumon Potti’s </span><span style="color: #191919;">home</span><span style="color: #242424;">. Even shots of a man cooking in a darkened kitchen look ominous here, as are close-ups of the handful of characters in this saga</span><span style="color: #191919;">. </span><span style="color: #242424;">The decision to make this a black-and-white film further enriches the imagery and adds to its folklorish feel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Giant landscapes are framed in </span><i><span style="color: #242424;">Bramayugam</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> </span><span style="color: #191919;">in such a manner as to dwarf the people in the story and intimidate the viewer, in a style I’ve come to love </span><span style="color: #242424;">in recent years</span><span style="color: #191919;"> in chilling </span><span style="color: #242424;">Scandinavian thrillers. The resemblance is confined to the look. <i>Bramayugam </i>threatens to turn frightening, but never actually does. After a while, the spectacle is window dressing for a thin story that picks elements from Indian mythology– a <i>yakshi</i> here, a <i>chaathan</i> there – without saying anything novel until it reveals its flawed hand in the matter of caste. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKJSXMLNXOHd1sGCJy9j1CJp7wrwmYkdUOawpOw1aMi3_0W4qGQBObey24SmIfw4fjJMwCvcl0wMT7C6eClbjhkHtAxoVZw5JsIlELFBUr0YocaffT5XM5y4rEIG0ODNI0zCKuE7rXJuFP1JeTn3Woo7RUX4y3S6L3uHUl5xu4QbO_ECl1POP8b8afbVL/s1010/Screenshot%202024-02-17%20at%208.42.34%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="710" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKJSXMLNXOHd1sGCJy9j1CJp7wrwmYkdUOawpOw1aMi3_0W4qGQBObey24SmIfw4fjJMwCvcl0wMT7C6eClbjhkHtAxoVZw5JsIlELFBUr0YocaffT5XM5y4rEIG0ODNI0zCKuE7rXJuFP1JeTn3Woo7RUX4y3S6L3uHUl5xu4QbO_ECl1POP8b8afbVL/w281-h400/Screenshot%202024-02-17%20at%208.42.34%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="281" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Initially, Sadasivan makes an insightful point when he shows Kodumon Potti luring Thevan with a pretence of egalitarianism before entrapping him. However, with this episode of truth telling, the film is being as deceptive as Kodumon Potti himself, because Sadasivan’s larger point turns out to be that dominant communities are no more power hungry than those they’ve historically oppressed, and the sole difference between them is that one lot hold the reins in a social system while the others are its victims for now. This is an uninformed blanket statement. On the one hand, it’s true we’re currently witnessing the outcome of a once-oppressed people transforming into oppressors – read: the genocide in Gaza being committed by Israel, the country formed in the 1940s as a homeland for white European Jews after the Holocaust. It is just as true though that this has not been the journey of all persecuted communities. Notice how countries formerly colonised by Europeans have not run around the world colonising other countries since they themselves got Independence. Notice that post-apartheid South Africa is vocally advocating for Palestinians. Notice the scores of white Jewish people, including Holocaust survivors, protesting against the genocide. Know too that Israel’s conduct is a result of numerous factors including but not confined to white racism that prompted post World War II Europe to consider the brown people of Palestine dispensable, and Europe and North America’s oil interests in the Middle East. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Bramayugam</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">’s script does not explore the theme of oppression with depth. Instead it chooses to whitewash oppressors. The writing also betrays a troubling upper-caste view of caste on two fronts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">(Spoiler alert) The earliest clue that a certain character is not the Brahmin individual he claims to be comes from his food habits. It’s not that this person eats meat, but the savagery with which he eats it that is supposed to be a hint. Portraying meat-eaters as crude, equating meat-eating with animalism and associating unsophisticated meat consumption with Muslims and ‘the other’ has become a hallmark of the right-wing ecosystem and right-wing Hindi cinema in the Modi era (</span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-563-padmaavat.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Padmaavat</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, </span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/12/review-754-panipat.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Panipat</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, <i>Tanhaji</i>, </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/adipurush-everybody-wants-to-make-the-next-bahubali-12747372.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Adipurush</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, </span><i style="color: #954f72;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2023/12/review-787-animal.html" style="color: #954f72;">Animal</a></i><span style="color: #242424;">). <i>Bramayugam </i>employs the same symbolism in the context of caste in the Malayalam language. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Bramayugam</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">’s thesis seems to be that Europeans were able to colonise India due to power struggles among Indians. While disunity in the subcontinent did help Europeans, the problem with <i>Bramayugam</i> is that it implies an equivalence between Brahmins and Dalits in this regard, and trains its accusatory finger primarily – metaphorically – at the downtrodden. For a metaphor to work, it must work all the way, but in <i>Bramayugam</i> what we are shown, literally, is white intruders taking advantage of a ‘half caste’ and a lower caste person being at loggerheads after escaping a demonic tyranny, while the first victim of the battle among Indians in the narrative was a Brahmin. More to the point, a Brahmin we don’t meet at all, as a result of which we don’t get to determine whether he was good, bad or evil, while we get to see the evil in the rest of the social order. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">It’s also strange that in the almost-all-male world that Sadasivan builds in <i>Bramayugam</i>, the only female presence is a beautiful, blood-sucking seductress.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Amalda Liz as the <i>yakshi</i> is just an eye-catching body and face on display. Manikandan R. Achari gets similar dismissive treatment in the opening scenes. This is the second film in three weeks to reduce this gifted actor to a prop. The other was </span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-794-malaikottai-vaaliban.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Malaikottai Vaaliban</i></a><span style="color: #191919;">. Women are objectified in cinema worldwide, Malayalam cinema is objectifying this man probably because most writers are unable or unwilling to envision a black-skinned actor as anything but exotica. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Only three roles count in <i>Bramayugam</i>. Mammootty and Sidharth Bharathan deserve as much credit for the film’s menacing air as its visual landscape does. In the Indian arena, it takes courage for a star as big as Mammootty to take on a role that is meant to be as repugnant as this character is, but he does it with evident relish. Both actors also benefit immensely from the embrace of Shehnad Jalal’s camera</span><span style="color: #191919;">. </span><span style="color: #242424;">Arjun Ashokan’s performance is not quite as immersive as theirs here, but he does a fair job. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Bramayugam </span></i><span style="color: #242424;">is a great-looking film based on a script that quickly runs out of steam, until it revs itself up to take a terribly skewed stand on caste and colonialism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">1.5</span></b> </span> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">139 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: times;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-79197731173396651642024-02-01T17:10:00.001+05:302024-02-09T00:52:06.234+05:30REVIEW 794: MALAIKOTTAI VAALIBAN<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">January 25, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Lijo Jose Pellissery <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Mohanlal, Katha Nandi, Sonalee Kulkarni, Manoj Moses, Danish Sait, Hareesh Peradi, Sanjana Chandran, Manikandan R. Achari</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 121.35pt;" valign="top" width="162"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 223.65pt;" valign="top" width="298"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Malayalam </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2ri_RQcf9h_83QSjlXKAd4bCh9JKmoYGqTEAKybZscJaNzkpuE4T1aHO1nUM3XjJWDQaaOl_F2OLkqZ3cydx_T28xtUpAtdHzx6qIRRKTW4-kIz4rCUvsoErJYZPa6h26fr9xmKKp3pD3FzrqP2oWSxmapTTyq7Ff3ThokZ13D7QnHGlD4ron0j7r6kb/s1512/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%206.40.05%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1510" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2ri_RQcf9h_83QSjlXKAd4bCh9JKmoYGqTEAKybZscJaNzkpuE4T1aHO1nUM3XjJWDQaaOl_F2OLkqZ3cydx_T28xtUpAtdHzx6qIRRKTW4-kIz4rCUvsoErJYZPa6h26fr9xmKKp3pD3FzrqP2oWSxmapTTyq7Ff3ThokZ13D7QnHGlD4ron0j7r6kb/w400-h400/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%206.40.05%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Malaikottai Vaaliban<span style="color: #242424;"> features some of the most sensational images and sound ever created for the Indian screen. Sadly though, it is proof that visual and aural stimulation alone do not guarantee greatness. Writer-director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s new venture is a feast for the eyes and ears, but it is also stretched to nearly three hours with a plot and character graphs undeserving of that length. This unfortunate combination gives the film its defining characteristic: its soullessness. </span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Starring<i> </i>Mohanlal as the eponymous protagonist, <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban </i>is a tale of a legendary warrior in an unspecified age gone by. Vaaliban travels across the land in an unassuming bullock cart with his foster parent, Ayyanar (Hareesh Peradi), and the latter’s son, Chinnappaiyyan (Manoj Moses). When they reach a village or town, Chinnappaiyyan announces their arrival with loud proclamations about Vaaliban’s past exploits. At the first stop that we see, Vaaliban vanquishes a local muscle man with more ease than Sunny Deol uprooting a handpump from the ground or Superman stopping a speeding train with bare hands. His confrontations get increasingly more challenging, but none equal an enemy he encounters who combats him through underhand means. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">With deliberate ambiguity about the time and place in which this story unfolds and the ethnicity of those among whom it is set, Pellissery makes it clear that he wishes to transport us to a mythical world where cultures, races and even geography cannot be pinned down. Most of the characters speak Malayalam, but at at least one arid location, there are faces in the crowd that look more like the weather-beaten visages found in the Thar or Kutch or in the dustbowls of Haryana. The dancer Rangapattinam Rangarani </span><span style="color: #191919;">has a Tamil-sounding name but facial features more familiar in west or north India, her attire and jewels seem inspired by Maharashtra, and she is played by the Marathi film star Sonalee Kulkarni. Katha Nandi who is cast as </span><span style="color: #242424;">Chinnappaiyyan’s lover Jamanthipoova is Bengali and looks it, while the Kannada cinema actor Danish Sait steps into the role of Vaaliban’s foe Chamathakan. In most films, this mix ‘n’ match might have been random, but in <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban </i>it feels deliberate considering everything else going on here. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">At one point in this Malayalam language ecosystem, characters break into a Hindi song. The story also includes a brutal European coloniser king with a name rooted in present-day UK but speaking a language from mainland Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Lyr3rBQ9Qq2-d5hy5io6ICp9yPdDJbUk5uvhOHaIJEFuupmerz34oQWydrXj9gHBJABqyePOUGdjyM-l2ZoK-W_OG38-wAyZKO4LYOZCncvFF_80Zs40eGO4KlASM59Ysq-SFe7wasgQcNXJX_3lmCMgLjpT8uviGNIBXo7DuNnpH0409wScr_wQzNCK/s2432/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%206.40.57%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="2432" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Lyr3rBQ9Qq2-d5hy5io6ICp9yPdDJbUk5uvhOHaIJEFuupmerz34oQWydrXj9gHBJABqyePOUGdjyM-l2ZoK-W_OG38-wAyZKO4LYOZCncvFF_80Zs40eGO4KlASM59Ysq-SFe7wasgQcNXJX_3lmCMgLjpT8uviGNIBXo7DuNnpH0409wScr_wQzNCK/w400-h248/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%206.40.57%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This heterogeneity is attractive for a while. The cast is immensely likeable and immersed in the theatrics required of them<span style="color: #242424;"> as they surrender themselves to Pellissery’s vision</span><span style="color: #191919;"> headlined by the all-round splendour emanating from the screen. Those grand shots of vast barren terrain, a rust coloured stole with a sequinned trim being dragged dramatically on the ground, the golden lights of a crowded bazaar in the night, a primary character introduced through shadow play, a crimson-dominated palette that matches the blood splashed across a stone wall at one point, a Colosseum-like arena (more <i>Game of Thrones </i>than <i>Gladiator</i>) and bird’s eye views of human bodies dancing, fighting, advancing towards each other – they are all framed with loving attention to each dot, line and tint on cinematographer Madhu Neelakandan’s colossal canvas, complemented by </span><span style="color: #131313;">Gokuldas’ art direction and costumes by Sujith Sudhakaran and Ratheesh Chammravattom</span><span style="color: #191919;">. </span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Malaikottai Vaaliban</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">’s<i> </i>soundscape – with sound design by </span><span style="color: #131313;">Renganaath Ravee and music by Prashant Pillai – </span><span style="color: #242424;">is just as fabulous. Its signature refrain resembles a male mob letting out their breath in a collective whoosh. </span><span style="color: #131313;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Each of these elements is spectacular as an independent entity, but when woven together, the overall package feels self-</span><span style="color: #131313;">indulgent </span><span style="color: #191919;">after a while </span><span style="color: #131313;">with </span><span style="color: #191919;">too much use of slow motion, too many aerial shots and too little substance in the script </span><span style="color: #242424;"></span><span style="color: #131313;">written by P.S. Rafeeque and Pellissery. People here are treated less like people and more like props, epitomised by the sinful under-utilisation of Manikandan R. Achari in a bit part as a jailed slave.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxLWz5VYxA64HCzSYre1yldMxxIhP2WD6Z4y1JAFFS0hQF_vyS5MpwfwBqstJeT6UjtxPE7qtOjO_xwGg-w47lzLtD-oqj7sX1lr79X-EmYY69dpcDQcnLE794yTNTTN9dtxzFjHqIpkVYsWRQ8Wua1cxEQ5tJwmgZ4-JaJEIvzmKHKI1KR4eqpCbXhP9/s1484/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%206.42.04%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1484" data-original-width="1210" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxLWz5VYxA64HCzSYre1yldMxxIhP2WD6Z4y1JAFFS0hQF_vyS5MpwfwBqstJeT6UjtxPE7qtOjO_xwGg-w47lzLtD-oqj7sX1lr79X-EmYY69dpcDQcnLE794yTNTTN9dtxzFjHqIpkVYsWRQ8Wua1cxEQ5tJwmgZ4-JaJEIvzmKHKI1KR4eqpCbXhP9/s320/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%206.42.04%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="261" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As the thinly sketched characters begin to weigh the narrative down, these embellishments are exposed as just that: embellishments, trying to convince us that there is more to <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban</i> than its luminous epidermal layer. Truth: there is not. I kept willing myself to be drawn into the story being told, but an overwhelming sense of tedium made that impossible. </div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Like Deepak D. Menon’s painterly portraits of scenery, including one that “should be framed for museum display” as I wrote in my review of </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/padavettu-movie-review-nivin-pauly-and-the-case-of-the-vague-wanderings-11718431.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Padavettu</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (2022), a zillion moments in <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban</i> ought to be frozen as stills for the walls of prestigious galleries. A shot of concentric circles of humans in this film is surpassed in its beauty in recent Malayalam cinema only by Rajeev Ravi’s compositions for </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/thuramukham-movie-review-documenting-dehumanisation-and-rebellion-with-uneven-results-12290002.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Thuramukham</i></a><i><span style="color: #242424;"> </span></i><span style="color: #242424;">(2023). Malayalam films are known for delivering world-class camerawork even on tiny budgets, but these three films, regrettably, prioritise/d visual appeal over characterisation. <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban</i> is the cinematic equivalent of a gorgeous, lifeless mannequin rather than the pulsating life form that a quality film always is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #131313;">Pellissery has created abstract art earlier too, but unlike the seminal </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/nanpakal-nerathu-mayakkam-movie-review-mammootty-and-ljp-shoulder-a-whimsical-tale-of-re-awakenings-12015242.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakam</i></a><span style="color: #131313;"> (2023), here we get abstractness for the heck of it. His influences and references in </span><i><span style="color: #242424;">Malaikottai Vaaliban</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> are as disparate as they come, ranging from Westerns to samurai cinema, conventional Indian action drama </span><span style="color: #242424; text-align: start;">–</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span><span style="color: #242424;"> the sort with outlandish stunts performed by omnipotent heroes exemplified by Rajinikanth </span><span style="color: #242424; text-align: start;">–</span><span style="text-align: start;"></span><span style="color: #242424;"> and even Tinkle Comics. The predatory Chamathakan, for one, comes across as a human cousin of the jackal Chamataka from my favourite Tinkle series, Kalia the Crow. Pellissery also replicates a scene from that most famous of Spaghetti Western-inspired Indian films, <i>Sholay</i>: the one in which Gabbar forces Basanti to dance on shards of glass to save Veeru. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">A game of Spot The Cultural References is not stimulus enough to stay awake through <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban</i> though. The only character whose skin we are allowed to look past is Ayyanar, but by the time that happens, the film is in its finale. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Vaaliban says at one point: “What the eye has seen is the truth. What has not been seen is a lie.” The lines that ensue and a disclosure by a prominent character indicate a Rashomon Effect not visible within the space of this single film but over a span of at least two. Yes, there’s a<i> </i>sequel (the announcement comes in <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban </i>itself). </span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">I’ll explain vaguely to avoid spoilers: until the point in his life at which this film ends, Vaaliban had believed a certain something that he was told; we believed what he believed; but the events in this film are being recounted after he learnt the truth, which will now be revealed to us in</span><span style="color: #242424;"> </span><i style="color: #242424;">Malaikottai Vaaliban 2</i><span style="color: #242424;">. Sort of. I think.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Interesting idea, but it comes too late in the day to save <i>Malaikottai Vaaliban 1. </i>So am I looking forward to Part 2? Not really. </span><span style="color: #242424; text-align: justify;">There’s not enough coffee in the world... </span><span style="color: #242424; text-align: justify;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">2</span></b> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b>Running time:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">155 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-16180266461154547022024-01-29T15:36:00.001+05:302024-02-01T18:37:38.756+05:30REVIEW 793: NERU<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 452px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.45pt;"><td style="height: 14.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.9pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.05pt;" valign="top" width="292"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">December 21, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.45pt;"><td style="height: 14.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.9pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.05pt;" valign="top" width="292"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Jeethu Joseph <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 13.2pt;"><td style="height: 13.2pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.9pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 13.2pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.05pt;" valign="top" width="292"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Mohanlal, Anaswara Rajan, Priyamani, Siddique, Santhi Maya Devi, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, Sreedhanya, Jagadish, Aditi Ravi, Nandhu</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 13.2pt;"><td style="height: 13.2pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.9pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 13.2pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 219.05pt;" valign="top" width="292"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Malayalam with English </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UI3sNHQZhdciyk8YzXvVRnSN63F-WvdVw7Msnr_AiHUhuMGLdCqp77naLbX37Vt4GQc_VCbFdZhjxfZR2-DIWhb22s_-rs_MtaO9Cm-dRQf1313GXEbd610BFdcOAtjHu-6cZKWufxyysdVcLppEups9ek1GAEOf0Am5bYRrDX7Z-whXJxNNBzlXd28k/s1284/Screenshot%202024-01-29%20at%203.13.57%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="1006" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UI3sNHQZhdciyk8YzXvVRnSN63F-WvdVw7Msnr_AiHUhuMGLdCqp77naLbX37Vt4GQc_VCbFdZhjxfZR2-DIWhb22s_-rs_MtaO9Cm-dRQf1313GXEbd610BFdcOAtjHu-6cZKWufxyysdVcLppEups9ek1GAEOf0Am5bYRrDX7Z-whXJxNNBzlXd28k/w502-h640/Screenshot%202024-01-29%20at%203.13.57%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="502" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />Sara Mohammed (Anaswara Rajan) is an artist who is blind. When Sara is home alone one day, she is raped by a stranger. She gathers her wits about her during the assault, and much to the surprise of the police, is later able to identify the attacker despite her inability to see. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">It is an intriguing concept, and with Jeethu Joseph directing Mohanlal in the role of Sara’s lawyer Vijayamohan, it is hard not to have sky-high expectations after their team-ups for </span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-244-drishyam.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Drishyam</i></a><i><span style="color: #242424;"> 1</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">&</span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/drishyam-2-movie-review-mohanlal-is-back-in-a-surprisingly-satisfying-sequel-to-a-spectacular-first-film-9322481.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>2</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Neru</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> (Truth) is not in the league of the <i>Drishyam</i>s – its writing is not as refined. It also does not match up to the naturalistic genius or finely tuned politics of that other fantastic recent Malayalam legal saga, Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval’s</span> <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/nna-thaan-case-kodu-movie-review-sparkling-political-satire-one-of-contemporary-indian-cinemas-best-11144201.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Nna, Thaan Case Kodu</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (2022). And its courtroom drama dips into several tropes of the genre – a down-and-out lawyer re-donning his robes for what seems like a lost cause, a bumbling lawyer (Nandhu) whose clumsiness serves to underline the leading man’s skills, and so on. Still, the question of whether Vijayamohan will ultimately trump his insecurities and triumph over his rivals, the pleasure of seeing Mohanlal in a part shorn of macho posturing, Sara’s resilience, her parents’ supportive attitude and Anaswara’s measured performance make this a special film in its own right. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Mohanlal’s filmography has for decades been dominated by hyper-masculinity and omnipotent heroes. So when he chooses to play a man who wears his vulnerability on his sleeve, the character’s significance extends beyond the boundaries of this storyline. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Neru</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> is about a system teetering on the precipice of letting a woman down, a system redeemed by a few good souls. Vijayamohan<i> </i>had withdrawn from practising law after a setback years back. He remains a respected legal expert. The rapist, Michael Joseph, is the son of a Mumbai-based industrialist. Realising that the public prosecutor is messing up the case and that the accused’s wealth can buy almost anyone, the senior policeman Paul Varghese (K.B. Ganeshkumar) goes out of his way to help Sara. Paul and a zealous young advocate, Ahaana (Santhi Maya Devi), persuade Vijayamohan to don his robes again, thus setting up a confrontation between him and the reputed, unethical defence lawyers Rajashekhar (Siddique) and his daughter Poornima (Priyamani).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Written by Santhi Mayadevi and Jeethu, <i>Neru</i> benefits from the duo’s background. Santhi is a lawyer in addition to being an actor-writer, Jeethu has a knack of getting the best out of one of Malayalam cinema’s biggest ever stars. Their joint effort results in a film that remains engaging till the end even though the culprit is revealed at the start. The suspense in the script lies elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Neru</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> is a showcase primarily for Mohanlal, as such films tend to be, but the writers have had the good sense not to entirely neglect the other actors and characters. Though Sara is not developed as fully as Vijayamohan, she is for a change conceived as a regular person, not a helpless simpering woman nor a warrior queen avenging her rape in the way women survivors do in fantastical worlds routinely created by men writers. She is tough even if hurting, spirited even if traumatised. She is also an illuminating example of a survivor who is doubted because she kept her cool, although if she had not she would undoubtedly have been asked, “Well, where’s the proof?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">It is a relief to see Mohanlal in a part that allows him to focus on his craft instead of a swagger. He gives a moving rendition of a lawyer who acknowledges his courtroom phobia and ultimately comes into his own. When Vijayamohan says, “I lost that touch. I am not confident anymore,” the actor ensures that the pain in his character’s voice is under-played yet palpable. Mohanlal makes Vijayamohan’s<i> </i>transformation almost indiscernible in the way only he can when at his best. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Priyamani’s character is just outlined, but her striking personality leaves a mark on <i>Neru</i>. It is nice to see her given visibility in this narrative, but she deserves a better-written role. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Surrounded by accomplished and charismatic veterans, the seven-year-old-in-films Anaswara not only holds her own but lends tremendous maturity to Sara. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Obviously it is essential to ask why Indian cinema routinely gives centrality to Vijayamohans and not Saras, to men who are allies of women rather than to women survivors themselves. Usually, male leads in these films become saviours and the films themselves are guilty of a condescending gaze on the woman. The reason why <i>Neru</i> escapes that label is that it views Sara through a lens of empathy and solidarity, not pity, and gives space to her story and her strength – even if not primacy. The film also gives her greater interiority than most such films do and does not patronise her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;"></span></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-hiu622kDAf7NPk0z35S30bN6zk_McpPTuV3cPgNP0mECt6Z_hFOlRGuUX-4f8hrLBRC7l9K4tG-2LkNt3M05nsfcBuYbp_BK-J7kAvxw3Aaug_1QKjDRRPmRM0y2B_aYVBSznTRoEFseGupcl9zzwY-7lcHsXjxdqinBtwJDXQ69kN4L5KQBdANub8n/s2174/Screenshot%202024-01-29%20at%203.20.25%E2%80%AFPM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="2174" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-hiu622kDAf7NPk0z35S30bN6zk_McpPTuV3cPgNP0mECt6Z_hFOlRGuUX-4f8hrLBRC7l9K4tG-2LkNt3M05nsfcBuYbp_BK-J7kAvxw3Aaug_1QKjDRRPmRM0y2B_aYVBSznTRoEFseGupcl9zzwY-7lcHsXjxdqinBtwJDXQ69kN4L5KQBdANub8n/w400-h170/Screenshot%202024-01-29%20at%203.20.25%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><br />Neru</i><span style="color: #242424;"> trips up on the latter front towards the end though, when Sara stands before Vijayamohan with hands folded and head bowed, and the camera zeroes in on this exchange. <o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Symbolism is crucial to cinema. In Indian culture, a <i>Namaskaram</i>/ <i>Namaste</i>/ <i>Namaskar</i>/ <i>Namaskara </i>is a traditional greeting, but the physical gesture with palms meeting has various meanings here and elsewhere – humility, resignation, supplication, worship or gratitude. In a cinematic universe replete with male saviours, in an industry that routinely marginalises women in stories and discards women actors while creating circumstances conducive to megastardom and longevity for men like Mohanlal, Sara pressing her palms together and lowering her head is more than a thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">To avoid even a hint of a saviour vibe it was vital for Vijayamohan and Sara to be shown as equals, and for Mohanlal-Anaswara to stand shoulder to shoulder at all times. In that moment, they do not. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">The bow in <i>Neru</i> harks back to a Dalit folding her hands before a Brahmin ally, a policeman, in </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/article-15-movie-review-ayushmann-khurranas-restraint-fits-this-gutsy-overwhelming-take-on-dalit-abuse-6888671.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Article 15</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (Hindi, 2019) or another Dalit folding her hands before an upper-caste ally, a lawyer, in <i>Jai Bhim</i> (Tamil, 2021). Both were empathetic films. In each case, the gesture – a fleeting one – was made by a member of a subjugated group, aimed at a member of a dominant group played by the marquee name in the cast, and when juxtaposed against the larger socio-political context in which these films were made, subtracted, even if marginally, from their anti-dominance messaging.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Just like the passing mention of a past relationship between Vijayamohan and Poornima. Their link is superfluous to <i>Neru</i>’s plot, and is yet another example of a standard practice among male stars in India who seek to prove their eternal magnetism by ensuring that a woman partner is featured in every story to be played by an actor vastly younger than they are rather than a woman of their own generation. In this case, Priyamani is almost a quarter century younger than Mohanlal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">These asides are completely unnecessary in an otherwise entertaining, sensible film. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Neru</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> approaches the theme of rape largely with understanding, although it could have done without the heightened maudlin music and repeated – albeit brief and not titillating – flashbacks to the assault on Sara. One scene sticks out like a sore thumb: the one in which Vijayamohan greenlights an idea that allows the unscrupulous Rajashekhar to be alone in a room with Sara, thus leaving him free to taunt and re-traumatise her. This decision is inconsistent with Vijayamohan’s sensitivity towards his client in the rest of <i>Neru</i> and his progressively improving presence of mind up to that point. The episode is obviously written for theatric effect, and is thoughtless considering that real-life activist lawyers lay considerable emphasis on prioritising a survivor’s mental well-being over all else whereas Vijayamohan’s move is viewed with an uncritical eye by the script. The scene took me back to an even worse one in </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/pink-review-amitabh-bachchan-teams-up-with-a-smashing-young-ensemble-in-this-powerful-film-3006604.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Pink</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (Hindi, 2016) in which Amitabh Bachchan’s character badgers his own client, a sexual assault survivor, in the witness stand to make a point in court. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Malayalam cinema tends to do language mixes well, epitomised by last year’s </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/thankam-movie-review-precious-12073942.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Thankam</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> and </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/ariyippu-declaration-movie-review-misogyny-collides-with-corruption-and-alienation-in-a-compelling-covid-time-saga-11026201.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Ariyippu</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> in 2022. <i>Neru</i> is not brilliant like them, its dialogues in the courtroom are sometimes stilted, but the Malayalam-English blend at least fits the setting, characters and actors perfectly, barring the English lines written for Rajashekhar that don’t sit well at all with Siddique. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Legal wranglings, extra-legal machinations and the surprises thrown up by Vijayamohan’s probe sustain interest in <i>Neru</i>even with its flaws. This film is not Jeethu’s best, but may turn out to be his most important if it heralds a new phase in Mohanlal’s career. <i>Neru</i> is hopefully an indicator that after cringe-worthy outings arguably epitomised by </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/monster-movie-review-mohanlals-cringey-acting-as-a-sikh-rivals-the-scripts-creepy-homophobia-11499511.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Monster</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (2022) and </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/alone-movie-review-is-mohanlal-in-a-race-to-give-us-the-worst-mohanlal-film-yet-12062912.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Alone</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (2023) the actor has finally sensed the winds of change blowing through Malayalam cinema, as the other Big M did some years back. If my reading of his participation in this film is accurate, then it’s a turning point not just for his career but for his industry too, more so because <i>Neru</i> follows close on the heels of the excellent<i> </i></span><a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/view-coming-out-of-the-cinema-coming-out-of-the-closet/articleshow/106050904.cms" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Kaathal</i></a><i><span style="color: #242424;"> </span></i><span style="color: #242424;">in which Mammootty played a gay man in a heterosexual marriage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The two M’s are as mainstream as mainstream can be. It’s a joy to see them join hands with filmmakers who are resisting the wave of male fury currently sweeping across commercial Indian cinema of most languages. <i>Neru</i> belongs on the list of Malayalam films defying the national trend. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">2.75</span></b> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">152 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Still of Anaswara courtesy: Neru’s trailer </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-11004374959836028292024-01-28T16:28:00.002+05:302024-01-28T16:28:56.233+05:30REVIEW 792: FIGHTER<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">January 25, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Siddharth Anand <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, Ashutosh Rana </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #191919;">Hindi </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BztvBVi7U_5fqshfNRUTi-7Ge8fcFz1FwBHV-h0h1W3RMnzSuMncyfQNTRzv7c7KqqZEnGnOU7k6aXtTEp21VPL8RQ4leiWwl8QoHElCULhfRrLpAw1UC6eSUmbeK-zYNWW8QGAmbh_t2x_ih5xvFr4rQeJtgtWHIwC4vlC-2wJHP2KKnJ-rBNS_bMjA/s1396/Screenshot%202024-01-28%20at%204.15.50%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1040" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BztvBVi7U_5fqshfNRUTi-7Ge8fcFz1FwBHV-h0h1W3RMnzSuMncyfQNTRzv7c7KqqZEnGnOU7k6aXtTEp21VPL8RQ4leiWwl8QoHElCULhfRrLpAw1UC6eSUmbeK-zYNWW8QGAmbh_t2x_ih5xvFr4rQeJtgtWHIwC4vlC-2wJHP2KKnJ-rBNS_bMjA/w298-h400/Screenshot%202024-01-28%20at%204.15.50%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="298" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />“PoK<i> ka matlab hai </i>Pakistan Occupied Kashmir<i>. Tumne </i>occupy<i> kiya hai. Maalik hum hai </i>(PoK stands for Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. You have occupied it. But we are the actual owners),” says Hrithik Roshan’s character in the midst of raging fisticuffs with a Pakistani terrorist in the new Hindi film <i>Fighter</i>. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">For the record, the dictionary defines <i>maalik</i> as: owner, master, lord, proprietor, husband. In the subtitles given in the trailer, the producers opt for “owner”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">“We are the actual owners.” Never before has a Hindi film spelt out its proprietorial attitude towards Kashmir in such black-and-white terms.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Director Siddharth Anand’s <i>Fighter</i> – based on a story by Anand and Ramon Chhib, with a screenplay by Chhib and dialogues by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal – pretends to be a romance, the saga of an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer whose over-confidence cost him the life of someone dear to him as a result of which he denies himself the right to love and be loved again. Behind that emotive, humane camouflage though, <i>Fighter</i> is just another loud, jingoistic affair in which India and Pakistan battle over Kashmir while the voices of Kashmiris are entirely erased. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">That’s precisely what 2023’s Shah Rukh Khan starrer </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/pathaan-movie-review-shah-rukh-khan-zips-around-a-slick-addictive-version-of-the-akshay-kumar-universe-12046272.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Pathaan</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (2023) did too, so what’s new with <i>Fighter</i>, you may ask? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Not very much. For one, this abhorrent line on ownership in <i>Fighter</i> is delivered by an A-list star who has not overtly aligned himself with BJP-RSS off screen in the way so many of his Hindi film colleagues have. <i>Pathaan</i> played it safer on this front, to create the false impression of being a progressive film (read my review </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/pathaan-movie-review-shah-rukh-khan-zips-around-a-slick-addictive-version-of-the-akshay-kumar-universe-12046272.html" style="color: #954f72;">here</a><span style="color: #242424;">) although it was just old wine in a bottle of deceptive dialogues, insidious and intentional ambiguity about the religious identity of the protagonist and the primary antagonist, cleverly disguised pandering to majoritarian sentiments and SRK’s charm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Second, <i>Fighter </i>is pegged on actual news developments: the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district in 2019 that killed 40 members of the Central Reserve Police (CRPF), and the IAF’s retaliatory air strike on an alleged terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">In tenor and spirit nevertheless, <i>Fighter</i> really does feel like <i>Pathaan 2</i>, while <i>Pathaan</i> itself felt like <i>War 2</i>. That <i>Pathaan</i>and </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/war-movie-review-hrithik-tiger-starrer-runs-a-loyalty-test-for-muslims-under-cover-of-an-exciting-action-drama-7440501.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>War</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (2019) were also directed by Anand is no coincidence. Reminder: Roshan was the co-lead in <i>War</i>, which might have been nothing more than a noisy, slick action flick if it weren’t for its condescension towards the Muslim patriot played by Tiger Shroff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In <i>Fighter</i>, Roshan is Shamsher Pathania a.k.a. Patty, an ace fighter pilot who is in the bad books of his boss (Anil Kapoor). The latter believes Patty is prone to prioritising personal glory over the interests of his team. Patty is part of a crack team of IAF pilots that includes Minal Rathore (Deepika Padukone) a.k.a. Mini. Obviously these two are drawn together like magnet to metal, but Patty’s past keeps him from openly expressing his feelings for her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In Chapter 1 we get hackneyed introductory scenes stressing Roshan’s sexiness in a white towel and in pilot’s uniform, and Padukone’s sexiness in uniform, followed by extensive passages of bonhomie between all the members of Patty and Mini’s team. There’s light-hearted teasing, songs, a couple gazing at each other across a space filled with people while music plays in the background, incremental revelations about the enigmatic hero’s painful back story that, as it turns out, lacks novelty, and other familiar elements that are often used in Indian films to superficially establish a sense of fraternity and a pivotal romance. In the background is the Pakistan government and a deadly terrorist – a snarling chap with a bloody red eye called Azhar Akhtar (Rishabh Sawhney) – who they recruit to target Kashmir.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Chapter 2 deals with Pulwama and Balakot. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Despite the hyperbolic cartoonishness of Azhar Akhtar and the blatant cover-up that <i>Fighter</i> pulls off on behalf of the Indian government in Pulwama, despite the surfeit of clichés and decibels, the film until this point is carried on the shoulders of Roshan’s good looks, the sparks between him and Padukone, Satchith Paulose’s exquisite cinematography in stunning locales, the adrenaline high that comes from watching pilots in combat in skilfully executed action scenes and the sadness of knowing that those CRPF jawans were indeed murdered in real life. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">None of this is enough though to save Chapter 3 from its deafening volume, silliness, unoriginal storytelling, formulaic characterisation, inexorable length and the lies that begin in Chapter 2. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">First let’s deal with the cover-up. When the Pulwama terror strike occurred, corporate-owned news media largely avoided asking the obvious questions raised by the public on social media and some experts regarding the massive intelligence failure involved. Many have even ignored the statements by Satyapal Malik who was Jammu and Kashmir’s governor at the time of the Pulwama attack – Malik has said at </span><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pulwama-attack-satya-pal-malik-says-2019-lok-sabha-elections-were-fought-on-bodies-of-our-soldiers/article66879630.ece" style="color: #954f72;">multiple forums</a><span style="color: #242424;"> that the attack resulted from the </span><span style="color: #131313;">“</span><a href="https://youtu.be/b8wmHUhLvOI?si=Ryt0p-AJH28oVP7S" style="color: #954f72;">incompetence</a><span style="color: #131313;">” of the Indian establishment, the Union Home Ministry in particular, and the CRPF, while also calling out the Prime Minister himself for his response. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #131313;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #242424;">Obviously, <i>Fighter</i> does not have the guts to show any of this. Like every government-pleasing Hindi film since 2014, <i>Fighter</i> is disinterested in introspection, fixated on chest-thumping and backs the position that all acts of courage and all innovation in India have been initiated in the past 10 years. Mirroring the bombast of <i>Uri: The Surgical Strike</i>’s “</span><i><span style="background: white;">Hindustan ab chup nahi baithega. Yeh naya Hindustan hai. Yeh ghar mein ghusega bhi, aur maarega bhi </span></i><span style="background: white;">(India will no longer remain silent. This is a new India – it will not only enter your house, but it will kill you there),” </span><span style="color: #242424;">in <i>Fighter</i> we get a politician, one assumes the PM, surveying the coffins of dead CRPF jawans and saying: “<i>Picchle pachaas saalon mein kisi sarkar ne unki inn harkaton ka muh-thod jawaab nahin diya. Lekin ab bas. Unhe dikhana padega ke baap kaun hai </i>(For the past 50 years, no government has given them a befitting reply. But now…enough. It’s time to show them who’s the boss).” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Fighter</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> kills whatever emotional resonance it had until the Balakot episode by following it up with endless screaming, ridiculously conceived confrontations between the IAF and Pakistani terrorists, and <i>dialoguebaazi</i> that peaks with the “<i>maalik hum hai</i>” line and Patty yelling a threat at the top of his voice that India will turn Pakistan into – wait for it, it’s every aggressive nationalist’s wet dream – “India Occupied Pakistan”. It’s not that Hindi filmdom is incapable of delivering credible battlefield sequences involving India and Pakistan. For a recent example within the commercial Hindi space, refer to Vishnu Varadhan’s </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/shershaah-movie-review-captain-vikram-batra-biopic-is-gripping-as-an-army-procedural-dips-outside-conflict-zones-9881091.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Shershaah</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> starring Siddharth Malhotra. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In this segment, the sole Muslim on Patty and Mini’s team, Basheer Khan (Akshay Oberoi), has that inevitable conversation about Islam with a terrorist that has by now been made mandatory for loyal-to-the-<i>vatan</i> Muslims in propagandist Hindi films. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhPIkXt0NHU_XAzxI7rc0w-p4p9h_mC0OLdMajysSsgVAfP0S62cjlXJ36630Ab5pLYT4zaryeHiUJNBo1yF8c1yLSOhyphenhyphenNWS-nTn67yedz82Ma53sE7CX2hxbBIMEZcAQae6gyIssdroQBfWvwzvlLFQEBAwvUuFjTbyzMA4ASZztiikVvDHK6xjSWGX8/s1748/Screenshot%202024-01-28%20at%204.17.08%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1748" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhPIkXt0NHU_XAzxI7rc0w-p4p9h_mC0OLdMajysSsgVAfP0S62cjlXJ36630Ab5pLYT4zaryeHiUJNBo1yF8c1yLSOhyphenhyphenNWS-nTn67yedz82Ma53sE7CX2hxbBIMEZcAQae6gyIssdroQBfWvwzvlLFQEBAwvUuFjTbyzMA4ASZztiikVvDHK6xjSWGX8/w400-h241/Screenshot%202024-01-28%20at%204.17.08%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />And in the end, <i>Fighter</i> trivialises itself with a steaming hot song ‘n’ dance by the sea that has zero connect with the flavour of the rest of the narrative. Yes of course all those body-baring outfits on Roshan and Padukone are titillating, but the entire package is too imitative to be impactful and is anyway terribly out of place in a film in which it was preceded by bloodshed, a beloved character’s mutilated body and immeasurable heartbreak. In fact, the inclusion of this song, <i>Ishq Jaisa Kuchh</i>, indicates a lack of commitment on the part of the filmmaker to his chosen theme. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Like the entire ensemble cast, Roshan’s acting in <i>Fighter</i> is as okay as it can be in such a film, barring a scene in which, while shouting something like “<i>Main aa raha hoon</i>” in a life-and-death situation, he adopts a trademark tone reminiscent of his character in <i>Koi... Mil Gaya</i> – a tone that few directors have managed to completely control in his dialogue delivery. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Padukone does better but make no mistake about this: she plays an ordinarily written supporting character who ultimately amounts to little more than the leading man’s romantic sidekick and sensual drapery, in a film designed as a showcase for Roshan. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Uri</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> was dangerous because it peddled its agenda with a blend of originality, finesse and craft. <i>War</i>, <i>Pathaan</i> and <i>Fighter </i>are recycled versions of each other and of the entire multitude of war-mongering <i>deshbhakt</i> films of the present era. <i>Fighter </i>actually has some good things going for it to begin with, but gradually squanders those positives by resorting to lazy storytelling to fulfil its agenda. Yawn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">2</span></b> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;">167 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;">Visuals courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-8338346512357397892024-01-18T11:44:00.004+05:302024-01-18T11:44:58.890+05:30REVIEW 791: AATTAM<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.65pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 225.35pt;" valign="top" width="300"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">South India: January 5, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Rest of India: January 12, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.65pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 225.35pt;" valign="top" width="300"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Anand Ekarshi <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.65pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 225.35pt;" valign="top" width="300"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Zarin Shihab, Vinay Forrt, Kalabhavan Shajohn, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Selvaraj Raghavan V.R., Aji Thiruvankulam, Sudheer Babu, Madan Babu, Santhosh Piravom, Sijin Sijeesh, Jolly Antony, Nandan Unni, Sanosh Murali, Prasanth Madhavan</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 119.65pt;" valign="top" width="160"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 225.35pt;" valign="top" width="300"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Malayalam </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUByHzDs8jiAH3S1pT6oyI1kBpKxvz-erT-AaoHrNoysmjb-ixDH8AeQz3P-JHDdNfXSvDuw6E42mfMErZ_9miBfrJD1WrRNpmJ418BEBscC1w697uvwuflio6KdXbDlngD3gdMHVUJMzBf44NTPUqGzwvTqGUZK8dTIlnFNieNHmPFZF0dLuJnt-QOgU2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="766" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUByHzDs8jiAH3S1pT6oyI1kBpKxvz-erT-AaoHrNoysmjb-ixDH8AeQz3P-JHDdNfXSvDuw6E42mfMErZ_9miBfrJD1WrRNpmJ418BEBscC1w697uvwuflio6KdXbDlngD3gdMHVUJMzBf44NTPUqGzwvTqGUZK8dTIlnFNieNHmPFZF0dLuJnt-QOgU2=w275-h400" width="275" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />Conversations on the all-pervasiveness of patriarchy and violence routinely draw this clichéd caveat from defensive participants: Not All Men. <i>Aattam</i> is a quiet reminder that perpetrators of male aggression and anti-women discrimination cannot be viewed in isolation. If you add to them the enablers and the silent spectators – some apathetic, some afraid, some prejudiced, some pre-occupied, some opportunistic, including those who may not be active perpetrators but never protest since the status quo privileges them – then the appropriate rejoinder often is: Yes, All Men.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">But let’s get back to the messaging later. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Aattam</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> (The Play) is a fabulous Malayalam thriller by the debutant writer-director Anand Ekarshi. It defies most conventions of the genre. Only a couple of its twists are in the form of actual events and overt action, the rest are swift changes in attitude among the characters. Sometimes, a flicker of a facial expression or the quickness of a reaction betrays an individual’s relief at being given a justification to change a stance they took to <i>appear</i> politically correct. Without any of the tools traditionally used by thrillers, the suspense is sustained on the strength of the written word. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Until the very last line is spoken in <i>Aattam</i>, there is no let-up in the grip this question has on the narrative: who done it? By then though, the far bigger question is: how did everyone else respond?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The film is set in a drama troupe in Kerala called Arangu (meaning: stage) that’s performing a play with 13 artistes: 12 men and a woman. The latter, Anjali (Zarin Shihab), is an architect. She is in a clandestine relationship with her co-actor Vinay (Vinay Forrt), a chef. Hari (Kalabhavan Shajohn) is a movie star who is yet to play a lead on screen. His comparatively high profile nevertheless gives him a stature in the group that some among them resent. None of the rest are full-time theatre professionals either, each one’s primary source of income lies elsewhere, because the stage is not a lucrative career. Some are financially struggling, some are comfortably off. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Late one night after a party, Anjali is molested by a colleague. When the others hear of this, they assemble to determine the culprit’s fate. Saying anything more about the plot would be a spoiler (though it must be mentioned that subtitles referring to groped breasts when the survivor only uses the word for “groped” is not only wrong, it changes the import of a crucial interaction).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Through the course of 2 hours and 20 minutes, Ekarshi brings to life every single one of these 13 people. Although the investigation in <i>Aattam</i> is being conducted by those close to Anjali, it mirrors the standard systemic and social response to a woman who objects to sexual assault: suspicion, victim blaming, questions about her looks, attire, conduct, sexual morality and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">For a filmmaker to be aware of these hurdles women face is not remarkable considering that they have been highlighted in the public discourse for years, especially since the social media explosion turned the entire world into our drawing room. What is remarkable in <i>Aattam</i>, however, is how deftly and convincingly they are transposed on to inter-personal relations in an intimate setting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Ekarshi takes </span><i>Aattam</i> <span style="color: #242424;">beyond just these broad aspects of male violence and the plight of woman complainants though. In the minutiae of the characterisation and the almost microscopic touches in his script, he reveals himself to be a committed student of </span>gender politics. What we witness in <i>Aattam</i> therefore, is not empathy alone, but also a keen eye that has observed the marginalisation of women at fundamental levels in art and in life: in Indian cinema, including cinema on sexual violence against women, in real-world deliberations, including deliberations specifically about women’s concerns, and in decision-making involving women’s own bodies and lives.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This point is embedded in the very structure of <i>Aattam</i>: the choice of 12 men and only one woman as the principal players.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The numbers 12 and 13 are significant. There are 12 months in a year, Jesus had 12 male Apostles, school in large parts of India ends with Class 12, and while India no longer has a jury system, the one cinephiles track most closely is the one brought to us by Hollywood, namely, the US judiciary where juries tend to have 12 members. My favourite interpretation of those that come to my mind is that Mary Magdalene deserves to be counted as an Apostle, just as much as the 12 men – add Magdalene to the 12 and you get 13. Anjali makes Arangu whole, she also deserves to be there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">When I first saw <i>Aattam</i>’s poster, I was cynical. The side-lining of women in cinema has been on my mind even more than usual since the shock of seeing outright erasure in two recent Indian films: </span><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">(Kannada, 2021) and <i>Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon</i> (Hindi, 2022 in theatres)</span></span><span style="color: #242424;">.</span><span class="normaltextrun"> <span lang="EN-GB">Ekarshi pointedly assures us that his intention is not to marginalise but to spotlight marginalisation by having a journalist in <i>Aattam</i>’s introductory passage ask Arangu’s director why his play has only one female character. We do not hear enough of the answer to determine if it is a cover-up, but the film’s discerning nature is established from then on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This leaves us with the interesting question: how different would the situation have been for Anjali if there were other women in Arangu or if it had been headed by a woman? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Or one for Ekarshi and Arangu: the present play’s script may have had only one woman character, but what is the rationale behind having no woman member at all? Not even among the crew? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Think about it. Meanwhile, it’s heartening to see that at no point is centrality or agency taken away from Anjali despite the ups and downs in her equation with her male colleagues.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #242424;"> </span><span style="color: #242424;">You see, <i>Aattam</i> may feature more than one man with a saviour complex but the film itself does not have one. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The word “<i>aattam</i>” has several meanings: stage performance, motion, shaking, swaying motion, oscillation. It’s a clever choice of title since, <span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">apart from the mystery of what actually happened to Anjali, it is</span></span> the <span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">see-sawing, moment-to-moment shifts in the mood and views of the self-appointed jury that keep the film suspenseful in its own unique way. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The use of sync-sound in <i>Aattam</i>, Renganath Ravee’s sound design and the sparing deployment of Basil CJ’s music complement the naturalism in Anurudh Aneesh’s </span></span><span style="color: #242424;">cinematography</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> and Mahesh Bhuvanend’s editing. All these are geared towards Ekarshi’s determinedly realistic storytelling.</span></span><span style="color: #242424;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">The first-rate cast has been chosen well to match the director’s vision. They are all stage artistes. Only three – Vinay Forrt (<i>Premam</i>, </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/thamaasha-movie-review-vinay-forrt-lends-grace-and-charm-to-an-endearing-everyman-6866781.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Thamaasha</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/malik-movie-review-its-fahadh-faasil-vs-vinay-forrt-in-a-grand-gripping-saga-on-tricky-communal-ground-9807521.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Malik</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">), Zarin Shihab (</span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/b-32-muthal-44-vare-movie-review-a-thought-provoking-female-gaze-on-bodies-with-breasts-12452652.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>B 32 Muthal 44 Vare</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">) and Kalabhavan Shajohn (</span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-244-drishyam.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Drishyam</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/ramaleela-movie-review-dileep-holds-centre-stage-in-an-entertaining-though-ideologically-iffy-thriller-4097169.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Ramaleela</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">) – are film stars. The rest are making their screen debuts here. Each of them is to the camera born though, adding to the vibe </span><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Aattam </span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">gives off of being a reality show in which Arangu was filmed without their knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">I first watched a preview of <i>Aattam</i> last year before it was unveiled on the festival circuit to widespread applause. At the time, I wrote on Instagram that “</span></span>after suffering so many mediocre and bad films, each and every time I come across a good one, my heart does a little dance of celebration”. There are few greater joys as a critic than discovering a film that takes you completely by surprise, and lives up to its early promise right down to its final frame. More so when it comes from a debutant who has the assuredness of Anand Ekarshi. Especially when it deals with marginalisation and oppression, and is so consistent that you have to know it is not pretending to care – cinema, sadly, is filled with such betrayals. <span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Aattam </span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">has finally come to theatres, and it feels as fresh now on my nth viewing of it. </span></span>Six months on, my heart is still dancing. <span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color: #242424;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">4.5</span></b> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b>Running time:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">140 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">IMDB</span> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-27652081704614986552024-01-15T12:25:00.001+05:302024-01-15T12:25:47.976+05:30REVIEW 790: MERRY CHRISTMAS<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Release date:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">January 12, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Director:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sriram Raghavan <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Cast:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanjay Kapoor, Pari Maheshwari Sharma, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, Luke Kenny, Cameos: Radhika Apte, Gayathrie Shankar </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Language:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">2 versions of this film were shot – one Tamil, one Hindi – with different supporting casts. This is a review of the Hindi version. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6khg98DV2xTM52E-YjZsmi_16vzTpPw5McYOuwOHh4yjGwqbZl_JDYBZsCW8RT9VJsFGlVWNRgBB4DIzbyhTJlO4MlCxb3x0qTPd4nmiPZEbiUFMX-hiT2OTNQXTh9p_EP1thYELPuqO3_Y0qPDDPcnD1lymZY_9FrCPQ_eMxsQDIQEWi1fLWKwbNVjQ/s1104/Screenshot%202024-01-15%20at%2011.59.50%E2%80%AFAM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="926" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6khg98DV2xTM52E-YjZsmi_16vzTpPw5McYOuwOHh4yjGwqbZl_JDYBZsCW8RT9VJsFGlVWNRgBB4DIzbyhTJlO4MlCxb3x0qTPd4nmiPZEbiUFMX-hiT2OTNQXTh9p_EP1thYELPuqO3_Y0qPDDPcnD1lymZY_9FrCPQ_eMxsQDIQEWi1fLWKwbNVjQ/w335-h400/Screenshot%202024-01-15%20at%2011.59.50%E2%80%AFAM.png" width="335" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: times;">“So this is Christmas / And what have you done?”</span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">These words from the 1971 John Lennon-Yoko Ono song <i>Happy Xmas (War Is Over)</i> flash on the screen as a prelude to the director Sriram Raghavan’s <i>Merry Christmas</i>. They are played in quick succession with a tribute to Shakti Samanta and a teaser featuring the film’s stars Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. The teaser alerts us to Raghavan’s intent to deceive and reveal in equal measure minus melodrama through this narrative. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Happy Xmas </span></i><span style="color: #242424;">– credited here to Lennon alone – is an introspective carol that<i> </i>“</span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #333f48;">emerged from an era of activism and opposition to the Vietnam War”, </span><span style="color: #242424;">as a </span><a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/politics/blog/2016/christmas-war-over/" style="color: #954f72;"><span>blog</span></a><span style="color: #242424;"> by a Lecturer of International Politics on the University of Liverpool’s website explains. There are no manipulative global superpowers at work in Raghavan’s <i>Merry Christmas</i>. The battle here is familial, resulting in an unexpected alliance. And the director’s treatment is devised as a paean to Samanta, maker of such classic thrillers as <i>Howrah Bridge</i> (1958), <i>China Town</i> (1962) and <i>Kati Patang </i>(1971). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Raghavan is a master of mystery. His filmography includes the stop-in-your-tracks delightful </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/andhadhun-movie-review-tabu-ayushmann-radhika-rock-and-sriram-raghavan-is-a-superstar-5320811.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span>Andhadhun</span></i></a><i><span style="color: #242424;"> </span></i><span style="color: #242424;">(2018), and his gripping debut feature <i>Ek Hasina Thi</i> (2004). <i>Merry Christmas</i> – an adaptation of the French novel <i>Le Monte-Charge</i>(English title: Bird in a Cage) by Frédéric Dard, with a Hindi script by<i> </i></span><span style="color: #0f0f0f;">Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti (also the editor) and Anukriti Pandey</span><span style="color: #242424;"> – is a crime drama aspiring to be a love saga. It is a slow burn that is intriguing in its first hour, but declines after its big reveal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Since even minor specifics could be spoilers, here is a broad introduction to <i>Merry Christmas</i>’ plot. Kaif plays Maria who runs a bakery in Mumbai. She is married and a mother. Her daughter Annie is mute. Sethupathi’s Albert is returning home to Mumbai after several years, following his mother’s passing. When their paths cross, Albert feels an inexplicable empathy for Maria that goes beyond the appeal of her good looks. His past quickly catches up with him though, so he walks away after a warm encounter. When Albert realises that he is not the only one with a secret, however, he is fascinated and unable to stay away. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Few Hindi directors have explored film noir as persistently as Raghavan has and made it his own. <i>Merry Christmas</i>’ gold-tinged world of warm lighting and shadow-rimmed frames has a furtive quality from the start. Its tone is deceptively understated as Maria and Albert go about their business on what initially seems like a routine evening for two lonely people on the town scoping each other out. Yet Raghavan builds an atmosphere aimed at keeping a viewer’s antennae on alert. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">The screen is filled with suggestive imagery that plays with our minds and plays on the traditions of crime fiction: a character who sculpts origami swans, speechless little Annie (</span><span style="color: #191919;">Pari Maheshwari Sharma</span><span style="color: #242424;">) with the innocent wide eyes, a high-ceilinged apartment in a building with an ornate cage for an elevator, an attractive trinket, a watchful giant teddy bear. Besides, Maria and Albert have an aura of sadness about them, and they’re alone in a big city on Christmas eve, a time usually spent with family and community. Something’s gotta give. Obviously. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The determined refusal to pinpoint the year in which this story is set adds to its inscrutability. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I enjoyed <i>Merry Christmas</i>’ opening hour immensely, the sense of expectation, Kaif’s sweetness, Sethupathi’s extraordinary ability to elevate even stray words and glances into moments of great humour or poignance, the empathetic gaze on Maria in this troubling era of <i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2023/12/review-787-animal.html" target="_blank">Animal</a></i>s and animosity, the art design, the cinematic references, the vintage tunes complementing Pritam and Daniel B. George’s music, Maria and Albert’s lively dance, and a slimeball played deliciously by Sanjay Kapoor. It is also nice to see a normalised representation of a religious minority that is not often visible in Hindi films these days, and an acknowledgement of the diversity within the community that an earlier era of Hindi cinema restricted to Goans and Anglo-Indians. Albert’s full name is Albert Arogyasami, but he is neither a caricatured Christian nor the stereotyped ‘Madrasi’ that Hindi filmdom was once notorious for. However, after a grand deception is unmasked – I can’t say more than this – the writing and direction get lax, the unplugged holes in the deception become apparent immediately and a glaring giveaway is even allowed to linger by the perpetrator.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The understatedness that works in <i>Merry Christmas</i>’ favour through much of the narrative delivers diminishing returns from then on, culminating in a climax with limited impact. What is missing in that final stretch is a magnetic pull between the leads and an urgency in the build-up that was sorely needed for the ending to provide a release. It doesn’t help that Maria’s character remains under-explored in comparison with Albert’s, or that Kaif’s likeability is no match for Sethupathi’s casual brilliance. As a consequence, as the curtain falls, it is possible to read Albert’s motivations and emotion but Maria is still an enigma, so it cannot be said with certainty whether she is driven by anything more than desperation and gratitude. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The last half hour of <i>Merry Christmas</i> feels as if it was left to direct and edit itself and rely on the leading man’s speaking eyes to fill any gaps at that point. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The philosophy behind the film is encapsulated by Albert in this sentence: “Sometimes violence is better than sacrifice.” Ultimately, <i>Merry Christmas</i> suggests that violence inevitably necessitates sacrifice – by someone – but the closing is too loosely handled for the point to be compelling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Merry Christmas </span></i><span style="color: #242424;">succeeds considerably as a thriller before losing its way, but is unable to establish itself as a romance. A pity, because while the going is good, it really is damn good. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><span>Rating (out of 5 stars): </span></b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">2.75</span></b><span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #242424;">Footnote:</span></b><span style="color: #242424;"> The credits walk a tightrope with a smartness that made me smile. Kaif’s name comes first in the beginning, Sethupathi’s comes first in the closing scroll, in a nod to their massive stardom in their respective industries, Hindi and Tamil, without succumbing to the gender bias that pervades all Indian film industries or ignoring concerns about Hindi belt supremacism. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"><b><span>Running time:</span></b><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">144 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p></div>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-54500030890930024972023-12-23T13:29:00.002+05:302023-12-23T13:29:46.490+05:30REVIEW 789: DUNKI<p></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">December 21, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Rajkumar Hirani <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Anil Grover, Vikram Kocchar, Cameo: Vicky Kaushal</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Hindi </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEire7I3Q6kLVbWHLb8nXoDPR5nNSTc2IDpw1rWjSHDzQuQ7rYiYHeALoVkK64dA9h54mJ9kq6qqi71spFn3WO5JXHkqbfJG5JibEp3PzMIPQAxvv9ffxmkqUTvjxMGjrdxsc6vR1RF-Ni4y7EuCryblajXbaNaNAxbg5Iy6YtlpoVozuC02VbhJhOQDRU2y/s1428/Screenshot%202023-12-23%20at%201.16.49%E2%80%AFPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1428" data-original-width="1148" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEire7I3Q6kLVbWHLb8nXoDPR5nNSTc2IDpw1rWjSHDzQuQ7rYiYHeALoVkK64dA9h54mJ9kq6qqi71spFn3WO5JXHkqbfJG5JibEp3PzMIPQAxvv9ffxmkqUTvjxMGjrdxsc6vR1RF-Ni4y7EuCryblajXbaNaNAxbg5Iy6YtlpoVozuC02VbhJhOQDRU2y/w321-h400/Screenshot%202023-12-23%20at%201.16.49%E2%80%AFPM.png" width="321" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />There’s always a first time for everything. Your first love. Your first kiss. Your first paycheck. Even your first boring film. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Now <i>there’s </i>a word I never expected to use for a Rajkumar Hirani venture. Yet “boring” is the aptest adjective for the director’s latest film <i>Dunki</i> that he has also co-written with Abhijat Joshi and Kanika Dhillon. Whatever criticism Hirani’s previous works may have deserved (<i>3 Idiots </i>featured that <i>balaatkaar</i> ‘joke’, it starred a 44-year-old as a teen, it favoured broad brush strokes over nuance as did <i>PK</i>, and <i>Sanju</i> was PR for Sanjay Dutt) none of them could be accused of dullness. Much about <i>3 Idiots</i> was fun. <i>PK</i> was entertaining and brave. Ranbir Kapoor aced <i>Sanju</i>. Above all these, is the joyous <i>Munnabhai</i> series. </span><i>Dunki</i> feels like it was made by someone else. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Taapsee Pannu here plays Manu Randhawa who wants to prove to her Dad that she’s as capable as a son of clearing the family’s debts and reclaiming the large house they lost. Buggu Lakhanpal (Vikram Kocchar) wants his Mum to quit the job she took after his Dad retired, because men leer at her when she wears pants as part of her work uniform. Balli Kakkad (Anil Grover) wants to release his Mum from toiling as a tailor, but sees no future in the barber shop where he’s employed. In this village where the West is viewed as El Dorado, and migration the fix for all problems, they begin single-mindedly chasing their goal of leaving India. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">One of them makes it to London. With no legal route in sight, the others risk death to swim, walk and stow away in vehicles, covering thousands of miles across Asia and Europe to get to their Promised Land. They do this without any idea how they will earn money abroad. They are guided on this perilous odyssey by Hardy a.k.a. Hardayal Singh Dhillon (Shah Rukh Khan). Their story dating back to 1995 is recounted in a flashback 25 years later. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;"><br />The film’s title is Punjabi for what are known as “donkey flight” </span><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/the-donkey-route-to-britain-hair-raising-tales-of-illegal-immigration/story-YR2n5tJUcS2elwHGuPtxaO.html" style="color: #954f72;">methods</a><span style="color: #242424;"> used by Indians to gain illegal entry into rich Western countries. It’s a well-established term you will find in press reports, because Manus, Buggus and Ballis exist in large numbers. Just last year, for instance, the media covered the tragic tale of Vaishaliben and Jagdish Patel, a married couple in their 30s from Gujarat, who froze to death with their 11-year-old daughter and three-year-old son in a field near Canada’s border with the US. They were in Canada on visitor’s visas, and died while trying to illegally enter the US on foot. The Patels were not impoverished, not from a beleaguered caste or religious minority, not activists or any category of folks victimised by their government. An excellent </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60290955" style="color: #954f72;">BBC profile</a><span style="color: #242424;"> explained that they were in fact a middle-class couple who probably fell for ‘the American dream’ peddled by human traffickers, had most likely not researched the plight of illegal migrants to the US, but succumbed to a bizarre social pressure to migrate that pervades their Gujarat village. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It would take thoughtful scripting to make a candid yet compassionate film on those like the Patels whose unthinking quest ends in tragedy. The obliviousness to reality of aspiring immigrants from Punjab was captured with a blend of empathy and exasperation in the Canadian Indian director Deepa Mehta’s <i>Heaven On Earth</i> (English-Punjabi-Hindi, 2008). Preity Zinta was remarkable in that film as a woman who leaves the middle-class comfort of her home for what her community deems a prized catch, an NRI groom, only to find that he had hidden the truth that he was struggling for survival in Canada. <i>Heaven On Earth</i>’s heroine was certainly financially better off in Punjab than Manu, Buggu and Balli, but the point is, all four were socially conditioned or pressured not to look before leaping, to emigrate without planning for what lay on the other side of that journey. Unlike Mehta’s film, <i>Dunki</i> does not scrutinise this desperation but romanticises it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So, worse than <i>Dunki</i>’s tedium is its political immaturity. The script avoids any tricky ground that would require intricate characterisation. It does not examine why the trio did not pursue options in India with the doggedness that they invested in putting their lives on the line to reach the UK. It does not train a critical lens on the patriarchy that drove Buggu and Balli to prefer possible death over earning mothers, nor have the finesse to envisage a situation where a man may understandably worry about a mother he loves, yet not see nearly killing himself as the only alternative. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">One character says sorrowfully that strugglers like them are driven to do work in the UK that locals do not want to, like mopping floors and scrubbing toilets. These are tasks that Dalits in India undertake (and are often forced to stick with) because upper castes are contemptuous of such jobs, although the latter are known to take them up when in dire straits abroad. <i>Dunki</i> does not stop to look at whether Manu, Buggu and Balli would have been willing to clean floors and toilets in India, and what the answer to that question says about them and the society they come from. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">To effectively address such complex points and still elicit warmth towards the three would have been a challenge, therefore <i>Dunki</i> steers clear of these issues completely. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The film does not even do enough to generate that warmth organically. Maudlin music is played loudly to manipulate the audience into weeping, since the writing lacks flesh and insight. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Dunki</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">’s tone deafness to casteism extends to race too. One ‘joke’ involves the trio’s confusion and stress on sighting a black man when they reach what they think is the UK. They are relieved when they spot a white couple immediately after. Cringe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Dunki</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">’s arguments favouring illegal immigrants are half-baked, and its poorly reasoned comments on British imperialists unwittingly suggest an equivalence between colonialism and migration. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It is not clear whether subconscious prejudice or a conscious desire to pander to the dominant national mood is at the heart of certain script elements, or these were just instances of mindless writing. Such as the fact that the violence and sadism that Hardy, Manu and Buggu encounter while crossing borders comes from men in Muslim-majority countries. Or that the only kindness they face in this arduous process comes from a white male judge at their court hearing in the UK. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(Spoiler alert) Hardy and his companions are told by the judge that they can get asylum in the UK if they claim they faced persecution in India. He refuses, the rest give in. Was this meant to be a meta moment blurring the line between SRK’s character and SRK himself, as <i>Pathan</i> and <i>Jawan</i> repeatedly did? If so, the writers might consider the meaning that scene takes on in a real-world context in which Muslims in particular and minorities at large are expected to prove their loyalty to India while members of the majority community are not. (Spoiler alert ends)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Like all Hindi films aspiring to be mainstream, a romance between the biggest male and female star in the cast is rammed into the script, which brings up the point that the actors playing SRK’s wives and girlfriends are getting younger with each film. Pannu at 36 looks like she might be the nearly 60-year-old Khan’s daughter in reality, and no, saying so does not make this an ageist review – this is a criticism of the ageism that producers, directors and male stars direct at women actors in their 50s who they do not consider attractive enough for a man in his 50s. C’mon SRK, you position yourself as being better than this, so why don’t you do better by women artistes?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The sexual chemistry between Khan and Pannu is zilch, which makes the blaring song “<i>Ho aisa waisa i<span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">shq nahin, yeh ishq hai Raanjhe waala</span></i><span style="border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">” sound ridiculous in a painfully unconvincing romantic scene. The fault lies not with the song, but with the scenario. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Frankly, the chemistry between all the characters in <i>Dunki</i> is down to zero. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Still, Pannu gets the space she deserves, which is unusual for a male-superstar-led Indian film (case in point: the short shrift given to Nayanthara in </span><a href="https://www.himalmag.com/jawan-shah-rukh-khan-atlee-politics-gender-modi-india-pathaan/" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Jawan</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">). She and Grover are good. So is Vicky Kaushal in a cameo. </span><span style="color: #191919;">Kocchar</span><span style="color: #242424;"> and Boman Irani (who plays the English coach Geetu Gulati) can be excused for hamming in their intentionally OTT comedy scenes, but Khan cannot be given such leeway. His over-acting is especially jarring in intense exchanges, and is shown up by successive scenes in which he and Pannu are emotional, she with restraint, he with face all a-quiver. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Pannu is even given weirdly drastic ageing makeup, causing her to advance what looks like 50 years in 25, no doubt to match Manu with Hardy in the present day. Seriously? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Someone please revive the more controlled SRK of <i>Swades</i>, <i>Chak De! India </i>and </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/fan-review-unpredictably-gripping-with-a-convincing-shah-rukh-khan-2731444.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Fan</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, or the star who was comfortable enough with his age to make it look sexy in<i> </i></span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/dear-zindagi-movie-review-incredibly-cute-alia-shah-rukh-khan-need-a-more-consistent-script-3123586.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Dear Zindagi</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Dunki</span></i><span style="color: #242424;">’s only truly sharp passage comes early on, cocking a snook at Far Right nationalists’ obsessive reverence for <i>Jana Gana Mana</i>. There’s also fun to be had with Balli’s barbering, Geetu’s classes and the students’ <i>jugaadu </i>solution to their English problem. The latter is hilarious, actually. But there is only so far that these scattered rays of sunshine can take the film. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">For a truly intelligent recent account of an Indian illegal immigrant in the US, try catching Danish Renzu’s heart-wrenching </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/the-illegal-movie-review-immigrant-dreams-and-vicious-cycles-recounted-with-heart-and-heft-9453031.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>The Illegal</i></a><span style="color: #242424;"> (English, 2021) starring Suraj Sharma. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #242424;">Dunki</span></i><span style="color: #242424;"> is an over-wrought, over-stretched, over-crowded sample of cinematic mediocrity, marked by clunky writing and puerile politics – an inexplicably incompetent film coming from one of the most successful teams in Hindi film history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">1.75</span></b> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;">161 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-64993492963557345252023-12-15T14:19:00.000+05:302023-12-15T14:19:06.741+05:30REVIEW 788: THE ARCHIES<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Release date:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">December 7, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Director:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Zoya Akhtar<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Cast:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi “Dot” Saigal, Yuvraj Menda, Suhaas Ahuja, Tara Sharma, Satyajit Sharma, Alyy Khan, Kamal Sidhu, Luke Kenny, Vinay Pathak </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Language:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Hindi and English</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLTTF0KfIWtxEaWf-X_gtJPTwF-hzHvvslkZgm4huvxmAxdnj3N2Ggus7fvl2l9y3tehImc3cnO3-cIx_hWVSayW2Jt4UsqFDOR8OEJ-nW-v1m6lcAwIlyh3Lh8PT9QCpXLZRzhcf0YpQkftSEAd_11do0g3oNH_9hSdLPkiPNCnnmaWYOuQmtqDJtuMch" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1508" data-original-width="1208" height="477" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLTTF0KfIWtxEaWf-X_gtJPTwF-hzHvvslkZgm4huvxmAxdnj3N2Ggus7fvl2l9y3tehImc3cnO3-cIx_hWVSayW2Jt4UsqFDOR8OEJ-nW-v1m6lcAwIlyh3Lh8PT9QCpXLZRzhcf0YpQkftSEAd_11do0g3oNH_9hSdLPkiPNCnnmaWYOuQmtqDJtuMch=w382-h477" width="382" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: times;">“I get a huge kick out of life. But I just don’t think about politics. What’s it got to do with my life?” Archibald/Archie Andrews asks his teacher Miss Grundy in reaction to his classmates’ concerns that the changes being wrought in their hill station, Riverdale, are driven by corporate interest, not public welfare. The year: 1964. But Archie echoes a standpoint adopted by so many people today too whose excuse for their silence on even fascism and genocide is, “I’m apolitical.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The other students – all of them 17 – break into a song and dance to address Archie’s apathy, kicked off by Dilton Doiley singing: “In every fold of life, there’s politics.” It is with this lively passage that <i>The Archies</i> perks up, after a disappointingly bland 1 hour and 6 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">The Archies</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> is the producer-writer-director Zoya Akhtar’s Hindi-English adaptation of the iconic US comic books. As you can imagine from the preceding paragraphs, <i>Archie Comics</i> – a frothy series about American high schoolers – provides just a sliver of a framework for Akhtar, Ayesha Devitre Dhillon and Reema Kagti’s script. The film’s updated politics, the decision to set it among Anglo Indians in north India and the non-stereotypical portrayal of the community are among <i>The Archies</i>’ exciting elements. Sadly, they are not effectively sewn together. The whimsicality Akhtar seems to have aimed at translates into low energy in the opening hour, and while the film picks up in the second half, it never fully recovers from the limpness of the first. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Archie Comics</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> began publication in the 1940s, revolving around an eponymous American teenager infatuated by the glamourous, wealthy and snobbish Veronica/Ronnie Lodge, and oblivious to the devotion of the pretty, golden-hearted and middle-class Betty Cooper. The vain and good-looking Reginald/Reggie Mantle was a flirt and Archie’s rival for Ronnie’s attentions. The other significant players included the gluttonous Jughead Jones, the muscular dimbulb Moose, the studious Dilton, and Ethel Muggs, a gawky girl smitten by Jughead who was repelled by her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-GB">In the early decades, “Archie and the gang” rarely rose above these basic characteristics. Their popularity was precisely because of this superficiality: the one-dimensional characters that did not strain the brain, a mild sense of humour, pretty outfits, pretty people, a clueless but non-malicious lead, and for Indian teens up to the 1980s, a glimpse into an alluring foreign land of tiny skirts and ice cream sundaes that were a rare sight here back then. Thankfully, Akhtar and her co-writers’ love of <i>Archie Comics</i> does not extend to the politics of the series that pitted two women against each other for a dull man’s affections, or the reductive gaze on the others. </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The manner in which the Ronnie-Archie-Betty triangle is turned on its head in <i>The Archies</i> is what intelligent adaptations are made of. (Spoilers: In the film, Archie dates multiple women without being honest with them. This quality is not pedestalised here unlike in conventional pop culture. Akhtar & Co’s Ethel calls Archie out for being a philanderer, and when Ronnie and Betty realise he is two-timing them, they tell him he’s not worth more than their friendship with each other.) It was also a smart move to situate the film among Anglo Indians, a community that traces its ancestry to the children of Indian and British parents in the colonial era. This allows <i>The Archies</i> to retain the names of the characters from the American comics – “Dilton Doiley” is a stretch, “Jughead Jones” required a backgrounder, but the rest could well be actual Anglo Indian names. Meanwhile, the north Indian location justifies the English-Hindi amalgam in the dialogues.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">For the most part, however, the link between the film and the books is tenuous to the point of being superfluous. Reggie, for one, is nothing like the Reggie of the comics, barring a token allusion to an interest in Ronnie, and an introduction in which he makes out with a woman in a car. Akhtar’s Reggie is socially conscious, an aspiring journalist and a student activist. Sometimes the film introduces a connection to the books and promptly forgets it (the Archie-Ronnie-Reggie triangle, the Ethel-Jughead equation). Some characters are given short shrift (Mr Weatherbee, Pop Tate). Some are present but redundant (Moose). Akhtar and her team also seem not to have aimed for one of the hallmarks of <i>Archie Comics</i>, a sense of humour, unless you count Reggie’s Dad pooh-poohing his son’s </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">prescient remark that comedy can be a career. Ha. Come visit us in 2023, Dad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Ultimately, there’s no satisfactory answer to why <i>The Archies</i> is an adaptation of <i>Archie Comics </i>rather than a brand new <i>desi</i> teen drama. This film<i> </i>is also no match for Akhtar’s track record as a director. It has neither the observational power of <i>Luck By Chance</i>, nor the ruminative depth and pizzazz of </span></span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-63-zindagi-na-milegi-dobara.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara</span></i></a><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> and </span></span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2015/06/review-334-dil-dhadakne-do.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Dil Dhadakne Do</span></i></a><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">, nor the grit, gumption and visceral energy of </span></span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/gully-boy-movie-review-ranveer-singh-alia-bhatt-are-devastatingly-good-in-zoya-akhtars-ultimate-anthem-for-the-rebel-6083111.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Gully Boy</span></i></a><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">. It does, however, come across as a personal work in its own way. </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Zoya Akhtar is 51, which means she was a teenager when <i>Archie Comics</i> were all the rage among Indian teens. She turned 18 in a decade when the country transitioned to satellite television. MTV and the <i>desi</i> youth platform Channel V epitomised adolescent and young-adult coolth in the rapidly transforming India of the 1990s. If <i>The Archies</i> per se is her </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">tribute to </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">the comics, then the casting in part is a bow to </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">the ’90s, with some of MTV and V’s earliest Indian VJs being roped in to play senior characters – Kamal Sidhu is Ronnie’s mother, Luke Kenny is Reggie’s Dad, Vinay Pathak is a villainous <i>neta</i>. When you think of it that way, it’s </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">sweet</span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">, </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">a sort of love letter to a generation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The casting of the young leads seems just as personal to Akhtar. It comes across as a big fat middle finger to the online mobs hurling charges of nepotism at her industry. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Archie in <i>The Archies</i> is played by Agastya Nanda, grandson of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, and great grandson of Raj Kapoor; Ronnie is Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan; in Betty’s role is Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s daughter, Khushi Kapoor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The kids are neither great, nor awful. Khushi and Agastya are cute. She could be special. He lacks verve here, but comes alive while dancing. Suhana reveals a spark during Ronnie and Betty’s face-off over Mr Lodge. She could work on that. Would the trio have snagged such plum roles if it weren’t for their lineage? Unlikely. But it does not make sense to blame them entirely for the narrative’s limited vitality, which is a fault of the direction, although they do contribute to it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The rest of the cast are vastly better. The stand-out debutant is Vedang Raina playing Reggie. He can act, he can dance, he is handsome, but most important, he has screen presence and is born to be a star. Yuvraj Menda who plays Dilton and Dot i.e. Ethel are comfortable before the camera. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">The Archies </span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">is not a typical Bollywood musical. In terms of structure and sound, it is Bollywood’s nod to Hollywood/Broadway, although the background score (by Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Satya) and songs (by SEL, Ankur Tewari, The Islanders and Dot) are more distinctive and tuneful than what the average Hollywood/Broadway musical delivers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The most heart-warming aspect of <i>The Archies</i> is its depiction of Anglo Indians. Up to the 1990s, Hindi cinema inexorably stereotyped Christians, and confined the community to a clichéd notion of Goans and Anglo Indians. Christians almost disappeared from Hindi films thereon. <i>The Archies</i>’ characters are people, not cartoons. By not referencing their religion at all and focusing on their ethnic identity, Akhtar does something Hindi cinema has rarely done before: she points to diversity within a small religious minority. Anglo Indians, after all, are a minority within a minority. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;">The diversity in this sub-group is also on display. While most women in <i>The Archies</i> wear dresses, as would have been the reality among 1960s Anglo Indians, note the women in saris and churidar kurtas especially in the opening montage and at the club. Farhan Akhtar’s dialogues are a smooth English-Hindi blend, with the kids mixing both, like city-bred youth across communities, while the adults are shown to have a spectrum of adeptness with Hindi – one parent struggles with “<i>hoyenga</i>” vs “<i>hoga</i>”, the others tease him about it. Sari/kurta-clad Anglo Indians who speak Hindi well are very much a reality, though you would not know that from Hindi cinema of a bygone era. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The film even snubs its nose at the Right-wing that has always conflated Christians with British imperialists. <i>The Archies</i>’<i></i>characters are invested in India’s future and have contributed to our past. Reggie’s granddad, like many Christians, was a freedom fighter. <i>The Archies </i>is thus a lesson in showcasing patriotism truthfully, unlike the Akshay Kumar brand of propagandist cinema.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">So, <i>The Archies</i>’ politics is worth rooting for. Normalised minority representation here extends to a gay boy who is not defined by his sexuality. Even the </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">generic storyline is imbued with layers of meaning as it mimics real-world events in India today: big business buying politicians, corporates muzzling the press, and more. </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The storytelling is too flat for too long though to be redeemed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The kids in <i>The Archies</i> were born in 1947, and are 17 in the film. They embody an Independent India, but belong to a community that in today’s India is told they do not belong. <i>The Archies</i> has a lot to say about that and much else, but flubs its tone and tenor. When your source material is almost irrelevant to the point you wish to make, a floundering end product is perhaps inevitable. Akhtar could have heeded Archie’s father’s advice when the boy says he wishes to leave India for England to build a music career. “To make art,” says Dad, “you have to go in, not out.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Rating (out of 5 stars): </span></b><b><span style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">2.5</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Running time:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">144 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-25500179060687623262023-12-06T14:08:00.003+05:302023-12-07T10:53:25.991+05:30REVIEW 787: ANIMAL<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Release date:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">December 1, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Director:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Sandeep Reddy Vanga</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Cast:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Tripti Dimri, Upendra Limaye, Suresh Oberoi, Saloni Batra </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Language:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Hindi with some English, Punjabi, Marathi etc </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6G049yRpvaCWBjq1xB0UaSSa3Wj6a1ZAygvmwr1N0BTLKmwlnXm5IYVH9KbQt4SpP0R5D0DXGKdkiwL0lZffn4Ow2P8Dc_smxvDxo-QLcirNVvxBtOr2wtIJ_UEICYO4CxUO7jzbQDfw_kuQVdufH5Sm2EcKCTcczH5DMhJO_rkqb6yZWN4uB60MUHTH2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="1086" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6G049yRpvaCWBjq1xB0UaSSa3Wj6a1ZAygvmwr1N0BTLKmwlnXm5IYVH9KbQt4SpP0R5D0DXGKdkiwL0lZffn4Ow2P8Dc_smxvDxo-QLcirNVvxBtOr2wtIJ_UEICYO4CxUO7jzbQDfw_kuQVdufH5Sm2EcKCTcczH5DMhJO_rkqb6yZWN4uB60MUHTH2=w290-h400" width="290" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">At one point in <i>Animal</i>, a stark naked Ranvijay Balbir Singh (Ranbir Kapoor in his nth role as a man-child) steps out of his mansion to stroll around the compound. (Don’t get too excited, his body is blurred out.) His team of male bodyguards first gawp at his nude frame, then a frisson of joy runs through them and they raise their guns in the air to let out several volleys of celebratory fire. This goes on till Ranvijay’s Daddy (Anil Kapoor) comes running out of the house to lead him away. The exhibitionism, it turns out, was in honour of a happy turn of events I won’t detail here. <i>Beta</i>, says Dad, I know you want to celebrate, but this is not the way. </span></div><p></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I cannot remember the last time the gifted veteran actor’s dialogue delivery was this strained and this unintentionally comical. Can’t blame him alone. That scene is so ridiculous, the phallic symbolism so in-your-face, the attempt at profoundness so laughable, and the sum and substance of the episode so juvenile that I burst out laughing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ranvijay is fixated on his nether regions throughout <i>Animal</i>. He keeps drawing attention to the area by either pointing at his crotch or baring it or talking about it or griping about his underwear. In one scene, he speaks of both his “penis” and “anus” – his choice of words, not mine. It is all meant to be very very cool.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Animal</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga who debuted with <i>Arjun Reddy</i> (Telugu, 2017), and remade it in Hindi as </span></span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/06/review-706-kabir-singh.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Kabir Singh</span></i></a><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> (2019). <i>Animal</i> – edited by Vanga and co-written by him with Pranay Reddy Vanga, Suresh Bandaru and Saurabh Gupta – seems bent on enraging those who slammed his earlier works. That goal is evident throughout this boring, blood-spattered film – in Ranvijay’s bizarre remarks and deeds, the all-pervasive violence, misogyny and gore. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">So that’s 3 hours and 21 minutes of revenge against those who criticise misogynistic cinema. </span></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">201 minutes</span><span class="normaltextrun"> <span lang="EN-GB">of a desperate desire to shock and/or offend. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span lang="EN-GB">Don’t be deceived into considering it mindless though. Bloodshed and immaturity may rage across <i>Animal</i>, but make no mistake about this: the film is steeped in messaging about victimhood – male victimhood and an allusion to the majority community too. </span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Vanga’s film is a painfully long account of a boy longing for his father’s love. The said Dad is the industrialist Balbir Singh who has no time for his children. His neglect translates into anti-social behaviour and obnoxious cockiness only in Ranvijay who becomes an obsessive son and entitled lover, while his sisters somehow grow into women who don’t resent or bash up all and sundry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAhuQK6JXKBKK-T_mjfrvZmn7o6vuDVkpTdLD2dlzcfqA7lQ-Tj_YQ25274NRfMlFa_bAByyxIhi6zHNUbu0f05pjr4Z-Me92569XNzNLlzKCBOhKiT6JZKFQVg8djmTND8oSDIpyfZ9Foaw3UCG0oJq5MsTVH_mnzxPQhgZB0fWQnjiWvmj0WbdBYrULq" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1098" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAhuQK6JXKBKK-T_mjfrvZmn7o6vuDVkpTdLD2dlzcfqA7lQ-Tj_YQ25274NRfMlFa_bAByyxIhi6zHNUbu0f05pjr4Z-Me92569XNzNLlzKCBOhKiT6JZKFQVg8djmTND8oSDIpyfZ9Foaw3UCG0oJq5MsTVH_mnzxPQhgZB0fWQnjiWvmj0WbdBYrULq" width="178" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Daddy issues have been the subject of numerous films. The re-release of the iconic Malayalam film <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/spadikam-re-released-the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son-overturned-in-a-1990s-malayalam-commercial-framework-12131702.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span style="background: repeat white;">Spadikam</span></i></a><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"> this February, 28 years after its initial run, was a troubling reminder that male-dominated industries have for decades used paternal rejection to justify and normalise male violence, including a hero beating up a female romantic partner or spouse. </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/spadikam-re-released-the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son-overturned-in-a-1990s-malayalam-commercial-framework-12131702.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span style="background: repeat white;">Spadikam</span></i></a></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span>’s protagonist (Mohanlal) was an anguished soul who repeatedly struck his lover (Urvashi), but it was all portrayed as no big deal. In <i>Animal</i>, Ranvijay is aggressive with his wife Geetanjali (Rashmika Mandanna), going so far as to injure and scar her in an extended scene of violence, but it is all insidiously presented with deftly camouflaged empathy – for him. </span></span></div></span><p></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">For the zillionth time, let me pre-empt the clichéd question that always comes from defenders of such cinema: violent men do exist in the real world and a violent man can certainly be the central character in a film – the issue here, as always, is the manner of the portrayal, the script’s indulgence towards him, the humour and coolth written into his fictional character, and the various means used to give him an allure despite his violent ways.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The strategised depiction of Ranvijay and his arch enemy Abrar (Bobby Deol) – arriving late in the second half – illustrates how the difference between a film’s gaze on two equally violent characters is used to steer audience reactions to them. Both commit horrifying acts, both treat women terribly, yet there is never a doubt about who is the hero or with whom the director wants our sympathies to lie. <i>Animal</i> may call itself <i>Animal</i> with reference to Ranvijay, yet his animalism is preceded by scene after scene dwelling on his childhood pain, his protective brotherly conduct, his aversion to sexual harassment, his advocacy of marital fidelity and so on, thus establishing him as a traumatised man with innate goodness. By the time his beastly side is exposed, a point has been firmly made that everything he does that is seemingly wrong is in fact done for the greater good. In contrast, the only Abrar we get to know is the brute who kills, rapes and terrorises. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">For good measure, Abrar’s Muslimness is underlined by pointedly mentioning his family’s conversion to Islam. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">If Ranvijay rips up human flesh, it is to avenge an attack on his father. If Ranvijay cheats on his wife (mind you, after lecturing other men when they cheat on their wives), he does it for a noble cause. Poor misunderstood Ranvijay had sex only to save his family, you know. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Ranvijay assaults Geetanjali and a defence is woven into the script. He proposes that just as there is a first kiss and a first time having sex in a relationship, so also there should be a first slap. And guess who gets slapped first? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Sigh. Poor misunderstood, suffering, victimised Ranvijay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Poor Ranvijay who has a solitary wife, and is up against evil, brutal Abrar with three wives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXi2FKmDF-i42RnFqV8DKrf-eeKqj4Ri60EM-qy7igu8VNejV3bCAkZdOUWzc5UwyPaI5szIhxrVR4KBvfz6620ha5skYu4IKOxVC9yp5jBlzSwQBvfCcuueAHN8-sCDHS_l-kgiBMOlJlmkmgkN5UyLvj_eRUM9URDsW6TSPVOpLi2yDU3A2iOo8kDAd4" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="2878" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXi2FKmDF-i42RnFqV8DKrf-eeKqj4Ri60EM-qy7igu8VNejV3bCAkZdOUWzc5UwyPaI5szIhxrVR4KBvfz6620ha5skYu4IKOxVC9yp5jBlzSwQBvfCcuueAHN8-sCDHS_l-kgiBMOlJlmkmgkN5UyLvj_eRUM9URDsW6TSPVOpLi2yDU3A2iOo8kDAd4" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Bobby Deol’s Abrar has been shaped in the same mould as Alauddin Khilji from </span></span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/padmaavat-padmavati-padmavat-movie-review-bhansali-couches-regressive-opportunistic-messaging-in-exhausting-visual-splendour-4317153.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Padmaavat</span></i></a></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span> and other fictionalised interpretations of historical Muslim warriors who have dotted Hindi films in the past decade. Abrar eats cake in <i>Animal</i> in the way <i>Padmaavat</i>’s Khilji tore into meat. Abrar tears into his young wife in the way <i>Padmaavat</i>’s Khilji raped his wife. A filthy Abrar barges into a room filled with people and initiates sex with his bride, unmindful of the others’ presence. </span></span></span></div></span><p></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Now contrast this with the mellow tone of the scene in which Ranvijay converses with Geetanjali while examining the bruises he inflicted on her body. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Note too that the relentless cruelty inflicted by Ranvijay on various people is bookended in this carefully constructed narrative by lengthy scenes emphasising his vulnerable nature. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So, to circle back to that predictable question, “Violent men do exist, so what’s wrong with a film portraying reality?”, I repeat: yes, violent men do exist in the real world, and the issue here, as always, is the director’s gaze on them and their violence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Animal</span></i></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> brims with an intense dislike of women, outspoken women in particular, </span></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">and</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"> evolved, gentle men. It begins with a derisive use of the word “toxic” in a fable narrated by Ranvijay about a monkey that harassed a princess. The contempt is obviously for the term “toxic masculinity”, popular in the feminist lexicon, that was widely applied to Vanga’s first two films. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">At one point, Ranvijay mocks Geetanjali for complaining because she has to change pads for four days in a month – he claims she complains, we don’t hear her doing so – while he, he tells her, has not complained though his body has been invaded by doctors during a life-threatening situation. Talk about false and stupid equivalences. Periods are a natural bodily function – often horribly painful, always incredibly inconvenient – that every woman bears for every single month of her entire reproductive life lasting for three to four decades. Ranvijay’s condition, on the other hand, is caused by a human aggressor; it is not the biological fate of all men. Here, Ranvijay is a version of misogynists who troll women for using the social media to raise awareness about cramps, excessive bleeding, agonising period pains and the trivialisation of these experiences by society. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Oddly enough, the determinedly misogynistic <i>Animal</i> writes a feminist element into Ranvijay’s character – he explodes with anger when his brother-in-law roughs up his sister early in the film. There is no progression shown from that scene to his own extreme hostility to his wife. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">Animal</span></i><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">’s terrible attitude to women runs alongside a cunning use of India’s religious minorities. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">Abrar and his cohorts are stereotypes diligently being peddled by Hindi cinema to echo the current Islamophobic national discourse. There is even a Muslim man in the picture who is described as </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">a butcher from Istanbul. His sole contribution to </span></span><i><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">Animal</span></i><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"> is a stomach-churning slaughter of men. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The Sikhs in <i>Animal</i> are Ranvijay’s brethren and protectors, an extension of a positive stereotype: the fierce, fiercely loyal Sardarji. They are also his allies against Abrar’s marauding gang. All this leads up to a climactic confrontation between shirtless men on an airport tarmac – talk about Hindi film clichés! – in which a kirpan is handed to Ranvijay so that he can wrap up a fight unto death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNja6yQ7FLmxeAVnDqUI8IRO7zW6H-9QWoZnea5Sq_ic_I7tU0G9PBz8Yhb8YdEGH6yez4J-yhcEN5b7C7cJ3QZJmzhegJmCikKd0hexqoP0AOG5pIHJ0geNhdCP4Qcvc-vCnUje8sx27MTkKwdcLAOCIOjPJqaebimnVkQEMkatELv3G509TAy48UOCO9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1468" data-original-width="1212" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNja6yQ7FLmxeAVnDqUI8IRO7zW6H-9QWoZnea5Sq_ic_I7tU0G9PBz8Yhb8YdEGH6yez4J-yhcEN5b7C7cJ3QZJmzhegJmCikKd0hexqoP0AOG5pIHJ0geNhdCP4Qcvc-vCnUje8sx27MTkKwdcLAOCIOjPJqaebimnVkQEMkatELv3G509TAy48UOCO9" width="198" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">A Christian in <i>Animal </i>confuses </span></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">Balbir Singh’s company logo with the Nazi Swastika. Since prominent Hindu religious symbols are ubiquitous in India, one assumes a Christian was chosen for that episode to play along with right-wing propagandists who project Indian Christians as alien Westerners. Presumably, the idea here is to </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">hint at Hinduism being a globally misunderstood faith. </span></span></div></span><p></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">Without giving away plot points, I can tell you this much: according to <i>Animal</i>’s underlying philosophy, Sikhs are family and very much in the Hindu fold, Muslims are family that chose the wrong path and are now out to destroy the mother clan, and Christians are the other. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The mind games played by <i>Animal</i> are packaged in slick production design and cinematography, accompanied by a pulsating sound design, infectious music, and Ranbir’s immersive performance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Despite all this, I was bored stiff by the film. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Startling violence is used here to compensate for a thin, trite storyline. In the first half hour, I was curious about where Vanga would take it, but I spent the remaining 171 minutes stifling yawns at the transparent effort to be disgusting. The camera zooms in on a pulverised human eye. A knife is run back and forth, back and forth, back and forth over a human neck in close-up instead of one swift slash that filmmakers usually favour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">For the record, <i>Animal</i> </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">is not the most violent film ever made in India. Others have done as bad or worse. It is ugly though – in both its use of violence and in its intent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Ugly. Hate-filled. Tedious. Self-indulgent. </span></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">And hawking a loathsome agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">Misogynists insist that feminists hate men, although all that feminists want is gender equality. You know who hates feminist men? Answer: misogynists</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">. </span></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">You know who hates men in general? Answer: misogynists</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">. </span></span><span style="background: repeat white; color: #222222;">I cannot for the life of me imagine a feminist – female or male – ever conceiving a film that makes men look as foolish, puerile, self-pitying and pathetic as <i>Animal</i> does. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><span>Rating (out of 5 stars): </span></b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">0</span></b><span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><span>Running time:</span></b><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">201 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-5688290882252220222023-12-02T16:40:00.002+05:302023-12-02T16:47:21.243+05:30REVIEW 786: SAM BAHADUR<p> </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Release date:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">December 1, 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Director:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Meghna Gulzar</span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Cast:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #191919;">Vicky Kaushal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Neeraj Kabi, Govind Namdev </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="203"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Language:</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="410"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Hindi with some English </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><br /></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7cfftwobhmHeXgOWlZqCWa7ftLCVuGr3cz6P1poHjFWky-vGJyV_1flAsyWpTp0dRB_BTRhlMVKtWIoONlGA_suxMAXQbyFHMawBQgoghS4Nzq3KBOLqxpaPrAP3bmkBTdwTSzMjY2GVNdekNNuuvN-wCyUDTFTuVkC-BQJWEO-QmxlF-FtTV1QHZo4vn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1508" data-original-width="1202" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7cfftwobhmHeXgOWlZqCWa7ftLCVuGr3cz6P1poHjFWky-vGJyV_1flAsyWpTp0dRB_BTRhlMVKtWIoONlGA_suxMAXQbyFHMawBQgoghS4Nzq3KBOLqxpaPrAP3bmkBTdwTSzMjY2GVNdekNNuuvN-wCyUDTFTuVkC-BQJWEO-QmxlF-FtTV1QHZo4vn=w364-h457" width="364" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">How do you make a film on a national icon whose image of coolth in his lifetime was built not solely on extreme courage and brilliant war-time strategising, nor even just his sense of humour and forthrightness, but also on widely disseminated accounts of his sexist condescension towards a prominent woman politician? The task is especially challenging when the man in question is Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, a beloved Army Chief credited with India’s win in the 1971 war against Pakistan that led to the formation of Bangladesh.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">A story that Manekshaw addressed the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as “sweetie” (She: Are you ready to go to war? He: I am always ready, sweetie) has assumed legendary proportions over time, with some fans repeating it as proof of his hipness and daring, while others have sought to deny it, and still others dismiss criticism of him by taking the position that women these days make much ado about nothing. Either way, the anecdote is an intrinsic part of the Manekshaw legend, and a truthful film about him cannot sweep it under a carpet. Would it be wisest for such a film<i> </i>to normalise sexism, or else to examine the subject through a critical, analytical lens even at the risk of irking Manekshaw’s adoring admirers?</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #131313;"></span><span style="color: #131313;">The dilemma is apparent in Meghna Gulzar’s<i> Sam Bahadur </i>that the director has co-written with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava, and is </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">just one of the weak spots in an oddly pallid, superficial biopic. </span><span style="color: #131313;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #131313;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">(Note: Manekshaw’s daughter has been quoted in the press this week praising the film after seeing two previews. This should put to rest the speculation about whether the “sweetie” saga is true.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Like most human beings, Sam Manekshaw was not easily definable. That patronising line to Gandhi is just a fraction of the abundant lore surrounding him, supplemented in <i>Sam Bahadur</i> by another not-so-well-known conversation: Manekshaw in the film tells Mrs G during an official, one-on-one meeting that she can always rest her worried head on his shoulders. Ugh! <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Since the film has not laid any ground for that exchange by suggesting a close friendship between them, his words are nothing less than an instance of over-familiarity and superciliousness that women at workplaces, including women leaders, are acquainted with. This is the same Manekshaw though who is known to have, and shown to have, unequivocally ordered his troops not to harm Bangladeshi women after India’s victory against Pakistan in 1971. To say he was complex, therefore, is an understatement, but <i>Sam Bahadur</i>’s script merely flits over various aspects of his personality and struggles to weave them into a comprehensible, relatable, engaging whole. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The writers appear not to have come to terms with the troubling eternal reality that contradictory qualities often co-exist within the same person. Instead, in an ostensible bid to justify the unpalatable, they let on that “sweetie” was Manekshaw’s mode of address not just for India’s first woman PM, but for others too, both male and female. Err, talking down to another person does not become okay just because women are not the only ones at the receiving end. This was perhaps an opportunity to scrutinise society’s willingness to indulge distasteful conduct by men in power. Sadly, <i>Sam Bahadur</i> lacks the subtlety to handle this delicate point while simultaneously acknowledging Manekshaw’s incredible achievements.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The film is painfully conscious that its central figure was a giant among men. It declares that he was great, and expects us to believe it because it says so, but fails to distil the essence of who he was and why. In fact, <i>Sam Bahadur</i> is so acutely aware of his stature in Indian history, that initially it underlines a </span></span><span style="color: #242424;">marginal brainwave as though it was an act of unprecedented genius. Later, when Manekshaw is accused of being anti-national, the charge is shown quickly collapsing under the weight of his grandiose pronouncements – this is another opportunity lost, if you consider the parallels with contemporary India, but for that resonance to be conveyed, a film would have to rise above the broad brush strokes that <i>Sam Bahadur</i> favours over nuance and detail.</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The script jumps from one milestone in Manekshaw’s personal and professional journey to the next to the next to the next – from his marriage to his triumphs at various postings in the Army before and after Independence, internecine politics, his appointment as chief, 1971, his elevation to the position of India’s first field marshal, and finally, retirement – without getting to the beating heart of the </span></span><span style="color: #131313;">celebrated soldier</span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">. It thus comes across as a listing of historical events rather than an in-depth exploration of the person behind the larger-than-life persona. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">If the goal was to offer a primer to students brushing up on their GK before a quiz, <i>Sam Bahadur</i> has served its purpose. As a biopic though, it is shallow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The portrayal of Manekshaw’s relationship with his wife exemplifies the follies of the script in its entirety. They meet at a party, he is smitten at first sight, he says clever-sounding things, they gaze at each other through a long, moony song as they dance, we gather that they fall in love as that number plays at the party since that’s the purpose served by such musical interludes in Hindi films that feature a ‘heroine’ as a glamorous aside…cut to her in the bedroom of their home gazing at their sleeping child. That is literally how abrupt it is. That the director of the exemplary </span></span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/05/review-598-raazi.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Raazi</span></i></a><span class="eop"><i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></i></span><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">and </span></span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-annavetticadgoes2themovies-awards.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Talvar</span></i></a><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">would deliver a film this poorly structured and this lightweight<span class="normaltextrun"> is surprising</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Mrs Manekshaw, Silloo, gets a defining trait: an inexplicable animosity towards Indira Gandhi even before meeting her. The film implies that Silloo was insecure about Gandhi for no given reason, obviously playing into the stereotype that women don’t like attractive women. Eye roll! The antagonism results in some of <i>Sam Bahadur</i>’s silliest, unfunniest-albeit-meant-to-be-funny moments. It is disappointing that Mses Gulzar and Iyer, who co-wrote </span><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/05/review-598-raazi.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Raazi</span></i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, opted to trivialise women in this film, first by giving an Army wife zero substance beyond her jealousy towards another woman, then compounding that diversion with a flash of what could be either innuendo or a genuine misunderstanding in at least one telephone conversation – presumably designed for comical effect – between Gandhi and Manekshaw. Worse, when he is shown </span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">patronising her, she has no reaction. Neither shock, nor confusion about how to react, neither anger, nor amusement. </span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Are the writers implying that Gandhi was attracted to Manekshaw because he was a hottie? Can’t say for sure, but they’re certainly implying <i>something</i>. It is as if they could not fathom a normal working relationship between a good-looking, high-profile woman and man. <span class="normaltextrun"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">No amount of contrived humour, no surface energy, no acting swag or r</span></span><span style="color: #242424;">ambunctious patriotic song – all of which we get here – can compensate for</span><span class="normaltextrun"> <span lang="EN-GB">this passionless narrative. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #242424;"> </span><span style="color: #242424;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">Not unexpectedly then, Vicky Kaushal’s performance as Manekshaw is as slight as the script. In Shoojit Sircar’s </span></span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/with-sardar-udham-shoojit-sircar-shows-how-a-patriotic-film-can-be-made-sans-lies-loudness-or-hate-10063841.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Sardar Udham</span></i></a><span class="eop"><i><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></i></span><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">(2021), Kaushal seemed to grasp the freedom fighter Udham Singh’s emotions and motivations. Here, he effectively captures Manekshaw’s posture, gait, intonation and the twinkle in his eye, but never gets past his skin. The fact that Manekshaw had a big personality is no excuse. For a recent example of an actor steering an audience beyond a real-life character’s overwhelming exteriority and flamboyance, Kaushal and the writers of <i>Sam Bahadur</i> would have done well to reference Ranveer Singh’s brilliant, non-caricaturish, immersive turn as the flashy former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan’s well-written </span></span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bollywood/83-movie-review-team-kabir-khan-and-ranveer-singh-bring-the-cup-home-again-10226111.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">83</span></i></a><span lang="EN-GB">.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">The talented Sanya Malhotra (</span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/dangal-quick-review-aamir-khan-owns-2016-with-this-victorious-sports-drama-3168160.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Dangal</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, </span><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/pagglait-movie-review-a-clear-eyed-view-of-funeral-politics-and-an-unsparing-gaze-on-the-living-9466641.html" style="color: #954f72;"><i>Pagglait</i></a><span style="color: #242424;">, <i>Kathal</i>) is wasted in <i>Sam </i>Bahadur, cast as an insipid Silloo. So is Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, who is unrecognisable after a while as Pakistan’s President Yahya Khan. Fatima Sana Shaikh delivers a stolid, dull Gandhi. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The film is too much in awe of Manekshaw and too determined to lionise him to do justice to the other stalwarts on screen. Gandhi here, for instance, </span></span><span style="color: #242424;">is nothing like the charismatic woman we saw in the public realm in reality, whose steely will earned her the nickname “Iron Lady of India”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">Still, </span></span><span class="eop"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Sam Bahadur </span></i></span><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">is not without qualities to recommend. The scenes of military action, for one, are captivating. In a decade when patriotism and even the national anthem have been weaponised by the Right, and Hindi cinema is bowing to prevailing winds by turning accounts of Indian heroes and their achievements into vehicles for chest-thumping <i>desh prem</i>, hatred of Pakistan and the stereotyping of India’s own religious minorities, this film is different.<i> Sam Bahadur </i>represents<i></i>patriotism, not chauvinism. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s song <i>Badhte Chalo </i>that runs through the 1971 war in the film is stirring, not jingoistic. This is not </span></span><span style="color: #242424;">Akshay Kumar style aggressive nationalism, nor is it akin to the more polished propaganda of <i>Uri: The Surgical Strike</i> that Kaushal himself starred in. This is Meghna Gulzar style love for the country. This is cinema, not a war cry. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #242424;">Even when </span><span class="eop"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Sam Bahadur </span></i></span><span style="color: #242424;">presents a broken Jawaharlal Nehru with Sardar Patel during the 1962 India-China debacle, it stops short of the </span><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">right-wing ecosystem’s favourite trope that Nehru was a weakling and Patel the strong-willed one in the Cabinet. Their scenes are as broadly written as everything else in the film, nevertheless they are a marked contrast to the </span></span><span style="color: #242424;">comically cowardly </span><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">Nehru and gigantic Patel in Ketan Mehta’s <i>Sardar</i> (1994) and in the current dominant discourse. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">Ultimately though, anything that <i>Sam Bahadur</i> gets right is overshadowed by its sketchy scripting and bombast sans soul in the protagonist’s speech, demeanour and actions. </span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span lang="EN-GB">The film tells us </span></span><span class="eop"><span lang="EN-GB">Manekshaw tended to downplay his troubles with the signature line “I’m okay”. Okay is not good. Okay is not great. Okay is just okay. Like the film. <i>Sam Bahadur</i> is okay, I guess. Just okay. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Rating (out of 5 stars): </b><b><span style="color: #f1850f;">2</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: repeat white; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 437px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="295"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>Running time:</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td style="height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="288"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">150 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Poster courtesy: <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span>MDB </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-6751171125222423472020-08-02T16:41:00.000+05:302020-08-02T16:41:02.044+05:30REVIEW 785: RAAT AKELI HAI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Release date:</b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> July 31, 2020 (on Netflix)</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Director: </b>Honey Trehan<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Cast: </b>Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Padmavati
Rao, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Nishant Dahiya, Ila
Arun, Shreedhar Dubey, Aditya Srivastava, Riya Shukla, Shweta
Tripathi, Swanand Kirkire, Tigmanshu Dhulia<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Language: </b>Hindi<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQ4Q22DSFFwUKB9q3WZf0JpCkDo702dCV14T16KEF7qpz-ucfWKyCvJRCKdMaTuD6ROQaaEE19bBN7SOpFKPO5O0LAem_v_jqpvnMMI7oH1QLmIn081yXcAJgc8Fd7viVdxmu7GAKKQI1/s1600/RAK+pic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="690" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQ4Q22DSFFwUKB9q3WZf0JpCkDo702dCV14T16KEF7qpz-ucfWKyCvJRCKdMaTuD6ROQaaEE19bBN7SOpFKPO5O0LAem_v_jqpvnMMI7oH1QLmIn081yXcAJgc8Fd7viVdxmu7GAKKQI1/s640/RAK+pic1.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Sometimes a film has
the power to grip you from the very second it takes off. Honey Trehan’s <i>Raat
Akeli Hai</i> (RAH) does that, grabbing attention with a vice-like hold
from the moment it opens with a chilling murder on a deserted
highway in the inky blackness of the night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Fast forward to
five years later, and there is another murder: a rich old man is found
shot and with his face bashed up on his wedding night. Inspector Jatil Yadav is
called in to investigate (yes, Jatil, not Jatin – there is an amusing
story there).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The elderly victim
had money and a wealth of people around him. Yadav realises within minutes of being
inserted into their lives that no one is above suspicion: not the dead man’s
pregnant daughter, not his drug-taking son or the son-in-law whose sole concern
is his claim to the family fortune. Then there is the victim’s enigmatic sister
and niece, an arrogant nephew, the young bride herself and the domestic help
who seems to know more than she lets on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">While sifting through
clues and possible motivations, Yadav, who is edging towards middle age, must
also deal with his pesky albeit well-meaning mother’s marriage goals for
him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Trehan has so far
been known as one of Bollywood’s top casting directors. The meticulousness with
which he and his colleague Taran Bajaj have picked actors for even minuscule
roles in<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>explains his
reputation for excellence in that department. The confidence with which he has
helmed this film belies the reality that it marks his directorial debut. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Every frame of<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i>, every technical aspect, has been handled
with extreme care. The film plays out mostly in darkness. Open spaces late at
night where fires are replicated by the reflective surfaces on which they fall
and the red-tinted low-lit interiors of homes elegantly captured by DoP Pankaj
Kumar set up, heighten and sustain the sense of intrigue and suspense in the
narrative. It can be safely concluded that Kumar has superhuman abilities since
his repertoire ranges from the visual philosophy of<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-211-ship-of-theseus.html">Ship of Theseus</a></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>to the atmospherics of<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The writing by Smita
Singh (who has been credited with the story, screenplay and dialogues)
pays heed to even the minutiae in the life and demeanour of each character.<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>is an effective
crime thriller, but goes well beyond that to also serve as a running commentary
on state politics and the sociology of small-town north India. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCUHM1OZjVRGqD_V1sXvVOoYmv67s2Jhs-XGOsUyV_Lbf7g8wbjqr4tTwI-RAt9yAomKtePJgBNm54ISELNUYGEXfYp30GqJTzJxiczl9a1kGXbg2XYtsWyRTwOlWKTndDy87PcnvOF4q/s1600/RAK+pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJCUHM1OZjVRGqD_V1sXvVOoYmv67s2Jhs-XGOsUyV_Lbf7g8wbjqr4tTwI-RAt9yAomKtePJgBNm54ISELNUYGEXfYp30GqJTzJxiczl9a1kGXbg2XYtsWyRTwOlWKTndDy87PcnvOF4q/s400/RAK+pic2.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The most visceral
statement emanating from Singh’s story is about the way society punishes women
victims of sexual abuse, irrespective of class, and views them with suspicion
while covering up the sins of their male predators. She also finds space for
colourism, a telling reference to the double standards inherent in Hindutva
politics, and a spectrum of hypocrisy where a target of prejudice may very well
turn out to be prejudiced in their own way – like the man who is rejected by a
woman because he is too dark-skinned for her taste, who in turn says her attire
indicates that she is not as “<i>susheel</i>” (good, modest) as he would like
his wife to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">“<i>Susheel</i>” is
translated as “virginal” in the subtitles, which is an interesting interpretation
of the Hindi word. It is a measure of the importance <i>Raat Akeli Hai</i> gives
to detail that the subs have been done by no less a personage than Abhishek
Chaubey (director of<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i><a href="http://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.in/2014/01/review-240-dedh-ishqiya.html">Dedh Ishqiya</a></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>and<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/06/review-401-udta-punjab.html">Udta Punjab</a></i>, and one of this
film’s producers) along with Utsav Maitra. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">This team clearly has
an affection for language and is aware that subtitles across Indian cinemas
often wreck the director’s and writer’s intent. Singh’s dialogues merit
every bit of that love. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Despite the large ensemble
of characters, Singh and Trehan make each one distinctive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Nawazuddin Siddiqui
as Jatil Yadav switches with characteristic ease from hard-as-nails policeman
to a softer version of himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Radhika Apte as the
much-hated bride, Radha, embodies an oppressed yet defiant, despairing yet still
spirited woman wronged. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Each actor stands out
in their own right, though I must say it was a pleasure to see Riya Shukla –
who earlier played Swara Bhasker’s acid-tongued daughter in<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i><a href="http://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/04/review-385-nil-battey-sannata.html">Nil Battey Sannata</a></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>– here playing a
significant part as the terrified household help. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">In his role as
a senior policeman, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s natural timing seems particularly
well-suited to the local flavour of the dialogues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1qvjbpa_tlEfUFB3Y0UXwzB_rE1c681JQL9hYRX19gwDb2W9xTp8lUcnOIxxD85b3h08XN1Jgstyg-nM2pekmkEZuX6kwNHK4d1lcknozfu4nn-_sEeg8eoqULixoEF10czrjeGThrwr/s1600/RAK+pic3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1qvjbpa_tlEfUFB3Y0UXwzB_rE1c681JQL9hYRX19gwDb2W9xTp8lUcnOIxxD85b3h08XN1Jgstyg-nM2pekmkEZuX6kwNHK4d1lcknozfu4nn-_sEeg8eoqULixoEF10czrjeGThrwr/s320/RAK+pic3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Shreedhar Dubey
makes himself likeable as Yadav’s gossipy deputy who personifies casual
misogyny with his assumptions about who done it – a reminder that patriarchy is
perpetuated not necessarily by men with horns on their heads but by the ‘nice
guys’ too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">And Ila Arun is
utterly loveable as Yadav’s mother. I melted into a puddle as I heard her explain
what his father meant to her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">In the midst of so
much that is good, two points about<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>are a cause for concern. Firstly, the relationship Yadav
tries to build with a woman in the film is exploitative because of the unequal
power equation between them, far worse than perhaps even a doctor wooing a
patient or a lawyer wooing a client because when he first makes an aggressive overture
towards her, he is in a position to destroy her completely. This is not to say
that no man would make such a move in real life, but that this particular man’s
behaviour here seems inconsistent with his characterisation until then and thereafter,
and that the script does not bat an eyelid in the matter, which becomes
noteworthy considering the progressiveness of the rest of the writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The finale gets
stretched for over 20 minutes after the big reveal, partly due to the Agatha
Christie-style gathering of all the players in a single room for the detective
to say his piece (which is sweet) and partly due to a needless bow to the
conventional definition of happily-ever-after. The closing scene feels odd not
just because it is unnecessary but also because of the lack of chemistry
between the two actors and characters involved. By this time though,<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i> had me completely engrossed and in a
forgiving mood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">It helps that the
film closes right then with one of the mood songs Sneha Khanwalkar has created
for it. Khanwalkar’s soundtrack and Karan Kulkarni’s background score
play a crucial role in<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span><i>RAH</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">’s pensive tone</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Raat Akeli Hai</span></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">(The Night Is Alone / Lonely /
Solitary) marks the advent on the Hindi film scene of a bold new voice. Here is
some breaking news of the happy variety: director Honey Trehan has
arrived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Running time: 150 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Photo courtesy: IMDB<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br /></div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-85746723563545903752020-07-24T09:14:00.001+05:302020-07-24T09:15:57.241+05:30PARVATHY INTERVIEW: ON COPING WITH DEPRESSION, KERALA DURING THE PANDEMIC AND VIRUS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #0e0e0d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5QTE3gbvwC2Uy0u-rNvDyXl3pUmo6U0HlVenrqoMtwcCMglDzV6RNLM2aEDLJ0Ax5OHNYMxBaRf3JOlJ5SoVbcbLsl8-N1I_8ZnlcRVlnEOsDtclrf2_L_PzppWDifyWBaorDNdFFjlx/s1600/parvathy+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="360" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv5QTE3gbvwC2Uy0u-rNvDyXl3pUmo6U0HlVenrqoMtwcCMglDzV6RNLM2aEDLJ0Ax5OHNYMxBaRf3JOlJ5SoVbcbLsl8-N1I_8ZnlcRVlnEOsDtclrf2_L_PzppWDifyWBaorDNdFFjlx/s640/parvathy+pic.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Parvathy Thiruvothu is in a great place with her
career. After back-to-back successes with </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/uyare-movie-review-parvathys-genius-powers-a-heart-wrenching-acid-attack-saga-overriding-its-fairytale-elements-6571021.html">Uyare</a></span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/virus-movie-review-aashiq-abus-ingeniously-clinical-yet-emotional-ode-to-keralas-successful-nipah-battle-6778161.html">Virus</a></span></i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> in 2019, she is now preparing for her
directorial debut. The National Award winning Mollywood star, who earlier
forayed into Bollywood with </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/qarib-qarib-singlle-movie-review-parvathy-irrfan-click-individually-but-not-as-a-couple-4202883.html">Qarib
Qarib Singlle</a></span></i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> in
2017, has had scriptwriting and studies to keep her occupied during the COVID-19
pandemic. Still, the ongoing national lockdown has not been easy on
her. Although she is relieved that her loved ones are fine, she explains
that she has swung on “a pendulum of calm to absolutely anxious” in this time
due to the political climate in the country and her own personal challenges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In this freewheeling conversation, the actor speaks at
length for the first time about her long-time battle with depression. She also
discusses her home state Kerala’s response to COVID-19 and lessons from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Virus</i>, which is based on the true story
of Kerala’s handling of a Nipah outbreak in 2018. Excerpts from an exclusive
interview: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What have you learnt about yourself during this
lockdown?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have learnt that I have incredible mind power.
(Laughs) I apply that at my workplace most of the time, but the way I have
treated characters that I have played is so much better than </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">how I generally used to treat
myself. (Laughs) So, this period has been a deep dive into how I am
dealing with my deep-seated depression.<span style="color: #181817;">
I’ve had regular bouts of it that I have been taking care of, without
medication at this point, with all the help I can get from online therapy and
also being connected to my closest friends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m used to taking time off after 2-3 films, but a
choice to lock myself in is different from when it’s mandatory – it suddenly
feels stifling. That feeling lasted for about a week of the lockdown. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now I’ve been focusing on my work. <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:33">C</ins></span><span style="color: #181817;">urrently I’m writing for my directorial venture and
another project with a friend from the industry. It has been very rewarding<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:33">,
b</ins></span></span><span style="color: #191919;"><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:33">ut being
self-employed is difficult because it requires self-motivation. </ins></span></span><span style="color: #181817;">So, each day I realise a new facet of my mental strength.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What did you mean by saying: I treat my characters
better than myself?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My research, pre-production work and under-production
work are usually quite meticulous. That’s the period when the focus on Parvathy
takes a backseat. Once the routine of getting up at 4 and shooting till 11 at
night for about 45-50 days is over, you are suddenly accountable for
a full-focus shift back to yourself. You need to do certain
housekeeping for your mind and body, and of late I have found that
when creating a character I utilise everything in my power for a great output,
but with my own mental or physical health, I have not been that meticulous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I am unlearning the mindset that working on yourself is vain.<span style="color: #181817;"> When it’s something outside of yourself there is so much
more value attached to it. What you put out there is visible and
tangible. Somehow, you tend to overlook the progress you make within and
the importance of it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You are not using the word depression casually as
people often do. You’re using it to mean clinical depression?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I only use it to mean clinical depression. Sadness and
depression are different. I am still learning what all it entails but
I understand what it feels and looks like when somebody says they have anxiety
and panic attacks, because I struggle with it myself. I have been
clinically diagnosed in the last 5 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How come you’re being open about it? That’s unusual in
India because of prevailing prejudices and ignorance.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have been open about it from a very young age.
Whenever I felt emotionally low, I used to open up and talk about it
with school and college friends. Unfortunately, some people I was close
with used to say, “Oh my god, you’re addicted to self-pity. Snap out of
it.” That was an issue because for a long time I did try that, you
know. For years I thought I was making a big deal out of it, maybe I should
just snap out of it. Then I realised I was repressing things, that I end
up imploding sooner or later. No one would know what to do with
me. So, I learnt to be honest with myself. I sought medical help. I
figured ways to write down my feelings and tell people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As an actress I’m used to people having an opinion on
me – I stopped giving a damn a long time ago. And while I do suffer from
depression, I’m proud of myself. I’m everything I am today, right now speaking
to you in this moment, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">because of how
I’ve survived. <span style="color: #181817;">And continue to. At some
point I switched to the mentality of a survivor rather than someone
who is suffering every day. Sometimes it’s every waking minute, and I have
to literally say out loud: no no, you’re not giving up. It has been an
important journey to constantly unlearn the mentality of victimhood and to
remind</span><span style="color: #fb00ff;"> </span>myself with every tool
possible that I have the strength to overcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some people do not like to talk about it. That is
okay too<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:39">,</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:49"> </ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:39">a</ins></span>s
long as they know there is help when they need it. I talk about it a lot
but then I go quiet too. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And it boils down
to one point, Anna – I have benefited a lot from my loved ones
making every effort to understand me, but <span style="color: #181817;">I never expected that from others. First, it’s none
of their concern. Second, they don’t owe me understanding. I owe myself
understanding. I’d make the effort to let my closest people know what I’m going
through, and if they had shamed me then that would have been another
fight to win, yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Who or what helped you realise that it’s okay to seek
help, to not see it as self-pity?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A family member I am close to once reached out for
help and said, “I don’t think I can do it on my own. I am unable to sleep, I am
unable to take care of my mind, I am going out of control. Please take me to a
doctor.” I was at that juncture when I was “snapping out of it”. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The process of taking him to the doctor, seeing
his courage, helped me see that I had been in denial<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:41">
and </ins></span>that I too needed proper care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Initially it was very difficult to go see a therapist
– I was afraid of being judged by a stranger. Another struggle was that I
was surrounded by a few people who <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:42">didn’t </ins></span>know
what to do with me unless I was in a state of crisis. I held on to my crisis as
an identity for a long time. It was difficult to manoeuvre my way out of
that. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I am no longer in touch with many people <span style="color: #181817;">who eventually didn’t know what to do with me because
suddenly I seemed more confident, open about my issues, dealing with it on my
own.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Also, my panic attacks had started physically
manifesting as illnesses, pain or breathlessness. It is typical of me
that anything coming in the way of my craft will be immediately taken
care of, so my initial reason for seeking help was that I wanted to focus
better on work. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now though, I
have reached a point where I consistently work on bettering
myself. Period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s been a long, really curvy road. I don’t know
where it began to be honest, I’m just thinking about it right now when you’re
asking me. And now this interview has become about mental health – very
interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I wasn’t expecting it either.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How does one distinguish between sadness versus
knowing a problem requires a psychiatrist?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I cannot speak for everyone, but I can tell you how it
was for me.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>When my panic attacks
first led to breathlessness, I was taken to hospital and nothing was found
to be wrong with my body. The doctor said, this is an anxiety attack. The first
time – and this was funny – I was at work, and my director and the rest of the
team were like, “Wait a second, are you stressed at work? You seem fine.” I was
like, “I thought I was fine too, I don’t know what’s happened.” I really didn’t
know what was wrong. It was just years of repressed issues that I had okayed
without being okay. Eventually the inability to physically perform, the
fatigue, the darkness that would engulf me resulting in not wanting to get out
of bed, the fact that despite being a stress eater, I even stopped
craving that relief<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:46">, all this</ins></span> told me something was
really wrong.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> If anyone probed, even with the best of
intentions, I used to spiral back into panic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It took several sessions of therapy and me giving up
on it too – because I was too scared, I thought they don’t know me, I
can’t even relate to what they’re trying to help me with – before I realised
that was just scraping the surface. It took a lot of courage to keep going
back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I realised I needed help when it became a norm to not
lift my head off the pillow, not want to take care of myself. At the same time,
if a loved one was in need I’d be up and helping them, but coming back to
myself would immediately paralyse me. That happened a couple of times. I
thought I’ll just be given medication to help me sleep, and I did take
medication for a little while. That period turned my entire life, physical
well-being and my body’s functioning completely topsy-turvy. So, I wanted
something better. Ever since I went to therapy and I was clinically diagnosed<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:48">,</ins></span>
I have been on this path of trying different ways to just stay, not leave. To
stay in with myself has been the biggest struggle. Yeah. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Is it the sensitivity that has come from your own
mental health concerns that caused you to issue an apology, a clarification,
for using the word bipolar in an interview?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yeah, it was. I was genuinely apologetic. Bipolar by
definition alludes to absolute opposites, but that is not the meaning
attached to the word in general parlance these days – the word has become
synonymous with the mental health condition. So when somebody who I assume has
experience with being bipolar called it out for me, I thought it was important
for me to correct myself because I would have wanted that if I was on the other
end and felt someone was stigmatising or slighting a condition. Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">People often use words like “schizophrenic” and
“Alzheimer’s” casually. Is it lack of sensitivity that we need to personally
experience something or see a loved one suffering to become conscious of
insensitive language, or is this understandable?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It takes a lot of sensitising in terms of either going
through it yourself or someone close to you going through it. For example, I
was sensitive to any facet of feminism and aware that I will always be a
feminist, because I had personal experiences, but when I met further
marginalised people speaking up about their struggles, it took listening to them
intently for me to realise that you cannot equate your experience with theirs.
You have to listen and understand that they are in pain and it’s not a pain
that you have endured. It doesn’t cancel out your journey, but <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:53">it’s
</ins></span>important to know more about how uniquely terrifying each <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:53">person’s
</ins></span>struggle is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When it comes to language, we are trying to change
words that are used to speak about feminists as well, words that used to be
treated as a joke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0d0d0c; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Words like feminazi?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0d0d0c; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ya, like feminazi, and we would be told, “you’re not a
good sport, you should just laugh at it.” It took me a long time to stop
encouraging those terms, and to not laugh at sexist jokes even when the
majority in the room would. Not participating would be my silent yet
powerful way of saying I don’t think that was cool.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When did you first speak about your mental health in
public? How did you get to a place where you could do that without worrying
that people are judging you?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is the first time I have spoken at such length.
Ever since we formed the Women In Cinema Collective (</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/how-mohanlal-mammootty-and-the-national-media-failed-the-pioneering-women-of-mollywood-4678971.html">WCC</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">), fear took </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">a good long <span style="color: #181817;">vacation
because everything was at risk. Well, everything is still at risk, so it gave
me that sense of there’s no time like now to just be completely who I
am. </span>I started alluding to the episodes I have in certain
interviews, when the context asked for it. <span style="color: #181817;">But
in my closest circles, since I’ve never been shamed, it’s still easy for
me on a day-to-day basis to speak about my emotions. So that gives me
confidence too, to be speaking like this to you. Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Government of your home state, Kerala, as far as I
can recall, was the first to speak about mental health during the lockdown,
domestic violence and alcoholism. Was this surprising or expected?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was completely expected. There was a lot of faith
in our administration and our Health Minister, Shailaja Teacher (K.K.
Shailaja), especially because of how she handled both waves of the Nipah
virus – the first where I actually was in Calicut, the epicentre of the
outbreak (in 2018), and the second was in Ernakulam (in 2019) when the
movie <i>Virus</i> was about to release. The way hundreds of people
were quarantined promptly (during the second wave) and there were no deaths,
shows the focus and the immediate jumping into action that our Government has
prioritised when it comes to health crises. I personally thought the
first wave of Nipah would end up in a massive epidemic or a pandemic. So, the
way they’re hitting it out of the park with COVID-19 is completely expected.
Anybody who is pro or against, even the Opposition, would commend their
handling of this situation despite the glaring lack of support from the Centre.
I am proud of them and support them 100 per cent in this matter. Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">People of Kerala seem to have confidence in K.K.
Shailaja and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s handling of the pandemic. This
public confidence is missing from the rest of India. Is this a correct
assessment?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is. I’m certain there are glitches here
and there, but there’s an earnestness with which the Kerala Government has
taken care of the situation, they are constantly at it, they
hold regular press conferences. There is also a difference between
the language of <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T10:58">Kerala’s </ins></span>communication and the
communication from other states. Kerala’s ministers</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #fb0007; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and healthcare representatives are not just giving constant updates,
they are also invested in boosting our morale. When they come on screen they
always say: we will get over this, we are together in this. As a people, we can
sense their confidence. This confidence is reflecting in the undeterred spirit
of our nurses and doctors as well. The state government’s handling of COVID-19
has everything to do with it. That is definitely missing in how the Centre is
handling this crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the middle of the pandemic came news that Kerala is
the only big state in India with an infant mortality rate in single digits. But
Kerala is not perfect. How do we guard against pedestalisation of the state
because of all the great things it is doing?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is critical for people to hold the Government
accountable at all times. Like I am supporting what the Kerala Government is
doing with COVID-19, but through WCC </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">we have constantly sought answers<span style="color: #181817;"> regarding
systems in the film fraternity. As citizens, we seek answers to why there is so
much domestic violence and alcoholism in Kerala and what the government will do
to solve these problems. We will not forget these things once we are done beating COVID-19.
That’s something Kerala is always consistent with: the criticism never dies
down. </span>And it shouldn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is important to commend a government when we are
benefiting, but whether you support or oppose the party in power, constantly
see what area of society needs more work and keep at it. In Kerala, I know
people who support the Government but are the most critical. This is missing in
the rest of India. It’s difficult for me to have a conversation with a Central
Government supporter with whom there cannot be any criticism. That’s a
totalitarian leadership and behaviour of followers. Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Your film <i>Virus</i> shows the Centre
pressuring the Kerala Government to <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:52">view</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:43">
</ins></span>the 2018 Nipah outbreak <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:43">as </ins></span>an
act of bio-warfare but the state insists on investigating further. Seeing how
COVID-19 has been <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:42">communalised in </ins></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:42">I<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ndia</span></ins></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, what can we learn from that scene in the
film?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/virus-lesson-mollywood-tackle-coronavirus-200427110703824.html">That
scene</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> was vital to
show the handling of such a situation, when we already have a certain blatant
warfare towards this minority community. When the Tablighi Jamaat scandal came
out, there were big debates happening in internal circles, but at no point did
anyone I know (in Kerala) focus on a faith or its failings. This is not to
say that Kerala is <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">i</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">mm</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">u</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">ne
t</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">o</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26"> s</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">u</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">ch
c</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">o</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">mm</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">u</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">nal</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">i</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">s</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">a</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">t</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">io</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">n
</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">o</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">r that </ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">i</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">t
</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:27">i</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:26">s</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:20">
</ins></span>devoid of <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:18">Islamophobia and </ins></span>the caste system, but
that as of now these social ills are kept in check because <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Anna%20MM%20Vetticad" datetime="2020-05-27T11:17">we </ins></span>can
see what’s happening outside – since our social fabric remains fragile, we must
continue to stay alert. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In popular culture you will notice in recent films a
more sensitive portrayal of different communities and more inclusion. <i>Malayala
thanima</i> (typical Malayali tradition) does not mean <i>Thrissurile
oru mana</i> (an upper caste family home in Thrissur) and a main character
is the head of that <i>tharavadu</i> (old household), that’s it. For
years we had only one narrative while representing <i>Keralatham</i> (the
idea of Kerala) or <i>Malayala</i> <i>thanima</i>. Now we get every
aspect of different communities and their stories being told as a regular
story, not an exceptional story. The ordinariness of each minority is shown in
our popular culture a little more, and that has had a lasting impression on
people. I hope this continues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m not blind to the extreme cases of biases I witness
in my circles despite all this, but this is what’s keeping us afloat, and that
scene in <i>Virus</i> had to be there for us to take a page out of it
now. It would be really cool for people to watch <i>Virus</i> at this
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Why is it important for people to see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Virus</i> during this pandemic?</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Virus</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> gives an insight that no other
film on a pandemic can give because it happened for real. The basic medical
facts we have shown in the film are real, and it is an affirmation that things
can get better if handled correctly. In Calicut, most people who got the Nipah
virus got it because they tried helping someone who was already infected, but
then it also took the entire population coming together in a systematic way to
stop the spread. It shows the power of community spirit. That is the point
of <i>Virus</i>, that is a message that needs to be driven into people,
and there’s nothing like cinema to drive a point home. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This interview was first published on Firstpost on May
27, 2020:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/parvathy-interview-on-coping-with-depression-how-proud-she-is-of-kerala-during-the-pandemic-and-why-every-indian-should-see-virus-8415051.html">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/parvathy-interview-on-coping-with-depression-how-proud-she-is-of-kerala-during-the-pandemic-and-why-every-indian-should-see-virus-8415051.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>A Malayalam
translation of this interview was published in the July issue of Grihshobha
magazine: </b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<br /></div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-70611126715776692702020-07-06T19:35:00.000+05:302020-07-06T19:35:04.721+05:30REVIEW 784: SUFIYUM SUJATAYUM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Release date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">J</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">u</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">l</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">y</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> 3</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Naranipuzha Shanavas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Aditi Rao Hydari, Dev Mohan, Jayasurya, Siddique, Kalaranjini, Valsala Menon, Hareesh Kanaran, Mammukoya<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Malayalam</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1P-kFEH1iLPyCc7H1Y2NjtPfbqS4jZrLvX8J3Yb0locenUF7NmvSIxlz-e1lPbMpLZhJOVmY6aZ5Wu_M4IEiR86rRFZeXzP_fN2BbbBjL_T-kIbfs0MsJbTEJnTDmTmmSKIv6xdgIoQ-F/s1600/Sufiyum+Sujatayum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1P-kFEH1iLPyCc7H1Y2NjtPfbqS4jZrLvX8J3Yb0locenUF7NmvSIxlz-e1lPbMpLZhJOVmY6aZ5Wu_M4IEiR86rRFZeXzP_fN2BbbBjL_T-kIbfs0MsJbTEJnTDmTmmSKIv6xdgIoQ-F/s640/Sufiyum+Sujatayum.jpg" width="532" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">This is not the first time star-obsessed India has witnessed such an occurrence, and it is unlikely to be the last. Back in 2008, <i>Kuselan</i> – a Tamil remake of Mollywood’s <i>Katha Parayumpol </i>– was heavily marketed as a Rajinikanth-starrer though the iconic actor only had a cameo in it. Now in 2020, the promotions of <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum </i>have created the impression that Jayasurya, one of the leading lights of contemporary Mollywood, is the film’s male protagonist. Fact: Jayasurya plays a supporting part. He is not the lead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Such deceptive marketing might have been partly forgiven if <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum </i>had something worthwhile to offer. It does not. This story of a dance teacher called Sujata in love with a young Sufi at a Muslim shrine in her town is not just superficial in its treatment of inter-community romance and tensions, it is also pretentious and dull. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Aditi Rao Hydari plays Sujata who happens to be mute. Jayasurya plays the man her father forces her to marry. And first-timer Dev Mohan has been cast as the Sufi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Writer-director Naranipuzha Shanavas uses silences, close-ups of Sujata’s delicate face and feet, religious chants and mood cinematography as a substitute for writing depth. The first half of <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum </i>takes too long to establish the heroine’s love story. The second half wanders too long before taking us to an interesting twist involving a graveyard in the final half hour, but Shanavas squanders that plot development when he immediately circles back to the unexciting relationship between Sujata and the Sufi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Frankly, that pre-climactic twist by itself had the potential to be expanded into a brilliant socio-political satire on Hindu-Muslim strife in today’s India, but Shanavas clearly failed to recognise his own clever idea. What he gives us then is a listless, unremarkable film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Although the credits feature a bunch of respected character artistes, no one stands out since no one’s talent is put to great use. Dev Mohan is given little to do beyond look pretty and occasionally, briefly whirl as dervishes do. It is a measure of Jayasurya’s charisma that although his character is mostly confined to the second half, he still manages to leave a stronger impression than the lead pair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">As for Rao Hydari, she fails to live up to the hype generated around her in the run-up to this release. The marketing team’s decision to tomtom <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum </i>as her “return to Malayalam cinema after 14 years” is almost embarrassing for two reasons: first, because her role (on debut) in the Mammootty-starrer <i>Prajapathi </i>in 2006 was minuscule, clichéd, unmemorable and insignificant; and second, because since then she has spent most of her career in Bollywood where she has struggled to make an impact. Despite the promise she showed in </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-10-yeh-saali-zindagi.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Yeh Saali Zindagi </span></i></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">(2011) and <i>London, Paris, New York </i>(2012), she has packed her CV largely with Hindi films in which she has barely had anything to do beyond look sweet and fragile on the sidelines while men go about their business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Don’t get me wrong: Rao Hydari is good-looking, moves with dancerly grace, and if the aforementioned Hindi films are a barometer, is a capable actor. But the problematic marketing of <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum </i>has ended up drawing attention to the faults in her filmography that make it hard to assess this performance. You see, her characters in most of her Hindi films have hardly had any spoken lines (for one, watch </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/wazir-review-amitabh-bachchan-farhan-akhtars-endearing-relationship-overrides-the-films-flaws-2575792.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Wazir</span></i></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">); as a result – and this is the harsh truth – when she plays a mute woman in <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum</i>, in terms of acting she is not actually doing anything vastly different from her earlier work. Yes, Sujata sometimes resorts to sign language, but Shanavas uses that aspect of her more for the visual appeal of the actor’s attractive, fluid hand movements than as a building block in what could have been a complex character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Apart from its soulful music and overall prettiness, one of the nice touches in <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum</i> is the way languages other than Malayalam are woven into stray dialogues to indicate the somewhat cosmopolitan nature of the town in which the story is set; it is also nice that the subtitler lets us know when a character has spoken a non-Malayalam tongue. However, considering that the main characters all converse with each other in Malayalam, there is something odd about the way a couple of lines from a Hindi song run in the background out of the blue when Sujata experiences heartbreak, and Hindi lyrics pop up again with the end credits – the switch in language makes no sense here, it has no contextual relevance, but it places Shanavas in an expanding club of Malayalam filmmakers who seem to think Hindi is a signifier of coolth, in the way Hindi filmmakers once viewed English. The only contemporary Malayalam director who has been able to pull this off without any logic to support his choice is Lijo Jose Pellissery when he slipped <i>Do Naina</i> into </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/angamaly-diaries-movie-review-whattefun-this-is-black-comedy-at-its-best-3330750.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Angamaly Diaries</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">– it worked perhaps because the scene in question was overall so beautifully constructed. Not so in <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Kerala may seem like an idyll of communal harmony when compared to the tattered social fabric of north India in 2020, but the troubling reality is that all is not well between communities in the state popularly described as God’s Own Country. <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum</i> was an opportunity to dwell on the opposition to Hindu-Muslim marriages in Malayali society, a theme that was so sensitively handled by another Shanavas – director Shanavas K. Bavakutty – in the terrific </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/kismath-review-a-moving-real-life-tale-of-love-jihad-and-blatant-bias-2940266.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Kismath</span></i></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> in 2016. Instead, Naranipuzha Shanavas devotes himself to the spectacle he is trying to create in <i>Sufiyum Sujatayum</i>, and just about skims the surface of his chosen theme. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Rating (out of 5 stars): </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">1.5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Sufiyum Sujatayum is streaming on Amazon Prime Video India.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 437px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="216"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">122 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/sufiyum-sujatayum-movie-review-jayasurya-is-more-effective-in-his-supporting-role-than-the-leads-of-this-listless-film-8555331.html" style="color: purple;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/sufiyum-sujatayum-movie-review<span lang="EN-US">-jayasurya-is-more-effective-in-his-supporting-role-than-the-leads-of-this-listless-film-8555331.html</span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt;">Poster courtesy: </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt;">IMDB</span></b><b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-90809599424668959652020-07-06T18:33:00.000+05:302020-07-06T18:33:21.182+05:30REVIEW 783: BULBBUL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Release date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">J</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">u</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">ne</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">24</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Anvita Dutt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Paoli Dam, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Rahul Bose, Ruchi Mahajan, Varun Paras Buddhadev, Vishwanath Chatterjee <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Hindi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqRUn95xy7F0hpxksK4mLoPPZ7L5oWV6sGK_bHaEPsaOvpvOA2rk-xFq7URZq_I1sjTBN28Q8T_xoeW0U3AgRdFWqfS8iN7FcDlY523lUas_9NFGVto86vdgjPUYsWAshSbzjbJJh0aRq/s1600/Bulbbul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqRUn95xy7F0hpxksK4mLoPPZ7L5oWV6sGK_bHaEPsaOvpvOA2rk-xFq7URZq_I1sjTBN28Q8T_xoeW0U3AgRdFWqfS8iN7FcDlY523lUas_9NFGVto86vdgjPUYsWAshSbzjbJJh0aRq/s640/Bulbbul.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I really enjoy the way Anushka Sharma’s mind works. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I am not referring to this film alone for which of course writer-director Anvita Dutt must first be cited. The mention of Sharma right at the start of this review comes because of a pattern emerging from the choices this talented actor has made in her avatar as a producer in the past half decade. Her debut production, </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2015/03/review-323-nh10.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">NH10</span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> in 2015, was a feminist crime thriller. Then followed two supernatural flicks, one a romance (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/phillauri-movie-review-anushka-sharma-diljit-dosanjh-rev-up-this-inconsistent-sweet-spook-story-3350506.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Phillauri</span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, 2017), the other a horror movie (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/pari-movie-review-anushka-sharma-and-her-film-are-scary-as-hell-heaven-and-everything-in-between-4373241.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Pari</span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, 2018). Just as she is reaping accolades and fending off outraged conservatives for her socio-political crime series <i>Paatal Lok</i> on Amazon Prime, here comes her first feature film to be released directly on a streaming platform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Bulbbul</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> combines what appear to be Sharma’s two primary interests – feminism and the paranormal – that earlier came together in the terrifying <i>Pari</i>. Her courageous, non-conformist filmography as a producer is at odds with her off-screen image in recent years of being a supporter of the current right-wing regime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In <i>Bulbbul</i>, the viewer is transported to the Bengal Presidency in 1881, where child marriages were a norm, and women born or married into aristocratic families were expected – no differently from today – to stay silent about the injustices meted out to them by patriarchy, their caste privilege notwithstanding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">A sense of foreboding descends on the screen from the very first frame on the wedding day of a little girl (Ruchi Mahajan), and in the palanquin on the way to her marital home, as a kind older boy tells her the story of a murderous, bloodthirsty <i>chudail </i>(female demon). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Twenty years later, the girl is now a gorgeous but oddly detached young woman (Tripti Dimri) presiding over her mansion while her husband (Rahul Bose) and his twin brother are nowhere to be seen, her elder sister-in-law (Paoli Dam) has been relegated to insignificance and her attractive brother-in-law (Avinash Tiwary) returns after a long absence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PrOprZ185O8bIPUou4-_uq0XBxFhqjLKrGq57thwe4dIrjCag5IrrlxftRo3UXMHrnn8XjA1QjSacMBGztrlvQQ9g6tbR7rOlXv4y53WrGHa3kqRpKDX8gq3RM5gh6z6Ccn-pu9lCpfm/s1600/Bulbbul+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PrOprZ185O8bIPUou4-_uq0XBxFhqjLKrGq57thwe4dIrjCag5IrrlxftRo3UXMHrnn8XjA1QjSacMBGztrlvQQ9g6tbR7rOlXv4y53WrGHa3kqRpKDX8gq3RM5gh6z6Ccn-pu9lCpfm/s400/Bulbbul+1.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Director Amar Kaushik had blended humour and the other-world in his </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bollywood/stree-movie-review-raj-kummar-rao-co-are-a-hoot-shraddha-kapoor-is-nicely-intimidating-in-an-unusual-horror-flick-5083851.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Stree</span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> in 2018 to turn the tables on men who suppress women in the guise of concern. In a completely different genre, in <i>Bulbbul</i> the conceptualisation of the spirit cocks a snook at anti-feminist propaganda and stereotypes of the man-hating woman. At a very basic level, to me <i>Bulbbul</i> is what <i>Devdas</i> might have been if in a paranormal revisitation of that classic, Paro had turned round and landed a tight slap on the eponymous loser hero’s face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Dutt is an accomplished lyricist, screenplay and dialogue writer for Hindi films. With <i>Bulbbul</i> she makes her debut as a director. Her writing for this film combines superstition, mythology and history, fantasy, folktale, feminism and fable, to deliver a story drenched in a deep sadness and the blood of women across centuries who have suffered and fought battles so that some of us may today enjoy freedoms that they could not, giving us the strength to fight newer battles against the cruelty that still survives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The fabulous atmospherics in <i>Bulbbul</i> are a product of Amit Trivedi’s music in collaboration with DoP Siddharth Diwan’s low-lit colour-saturated frames and the production design by Meenal Agarwal in the leading lady’s resplendent house and neighbouring areas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Bulbbul</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> does not often venture into bright daylight. Using a palette reminiscent of the lovely </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bollywood/tumbbad-movie-review-ship-of-theseus-team-redefines-horror-with-this-genre-defying-folksy-fantasy-flick-5360211.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Tumbbad</span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> (2018), it bathes the screen in shades of red with flashes of<b> </b>gold – the red of the Hindu bride’s clothing and sindoor symbolising the red of a virgin’s blood flowing on her wedding night and onward into a river of silent suffering or rebellion or both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The <i>chudail</i> in <i>Bulbbul </i>fits the physical<i> </i>description of the<i> </i>furious female spook of Indian folklore – beautiful, with long hair and feet twisted backwards. Dutt however gives even that convention a neat – and heartbreaking – twist. This mystery woman is not summoned up here to startle the audience in the way traditional horror films do, but instead to set us thinking. (Note: please read this paragraph after watching the film) She is a personification of the rage of the marginalised, and a stark portrait of what the world might be if the oppressed – in this case, women – were to unleash their rage on the oppressor. She reminded me of a conversation I had aeons back with a senior friend who said she hoped I would not become one of “those angry feminists”, to which I remember replying, “But considering all that we are subjected to, should you not be asking why we women are so calm, and why we are not angrier?” (Cautionary note ends) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">For a film that is so thoughtful in its take on gender politics, it is surprising that <i>Bulbbul</i> uses a mentally challenged character as one of its metaphors for patriarchy in an India that remains largely ignorant about disabilities of the mind. I also wish the woman-as-goddess trope had not been thrown into the mix, especially since it is articulated by a man in the film. After all, pedestalisation has long been used by patriarchy to deceive women into thinking they are valued, when in fact they are being set up to be pulled down when the system pleases. The film might also have been better served if the character of Bulbbul’s brother-in-law Satya had more detail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Of the men in the storyline, the one given most heft by the writing is the doctor (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) who becomes the heroine’s friend. And of her many relationships, the one I found most complex was with her sister-in-law, Binodini – two women united in mutual despair yet playing games with each other for survival. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Dutt has assembled a solid cast for <i>Bulbbul</i>. Tripti Dimri as the title character lives up to the promise she showed in </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/laila-majnu-movie-review-avinash-tiwary-is-star-material-but-why-riddle-an-epic-with-bollywood-cliches-5134381.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Laila-Majnu</span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">. Her Bulbbul is in a state of constant internal turmoil camouflaged by an enigmatic demeanour, which the young actor conveys almost imperceptibly with the lightest of touches. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Dimri’s co-star from <i>Laila-Majnu</i>, Avinash Tiwary gets a role here that is not flashy like the one he had in that film or the delightful but underrated </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/best-bollywood-films-2017-when-indies-saved-the-day-and-the-mainstream-hit-an-all-time-low-4280205.html" style="color: purple;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">T</span></span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US">u</span></span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US"> Hai Mera Sunday</span></span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">. He too is a picture of understatement. Ruchi Mahajan who plays the child Bulbbul is a dear. My pick of the supporting cast though is the unfailingly good Chattopadhyay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Since the film is set in Bengal, it requires a suspension of disbelief to accept characters who are all speaking Hindi. Dutt wisely does not ask her non-Bengali actors to do exaggerated Bengali accents to convince us of their characters’ ethnicity – the milieu is right, the look and styling are on point, thus making it possible for the viewer’s imagination to do the rest of the work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Among other joys that it offers then is the fact that <i>Bulbbul</i> is one of those rare contemporary Hindi films to travel beyond the Hindi belt and Punjab to a culture and place that Bollywood does not often visit<b> </b>these days. With its eerie air and mythical, mystical tone, Dutt’s film brings alive a spectre that is not scary in the way the average Hindi film <i>bhoot</i> or <i>daayin</i> is – what is scary are the circumstances that brought this creature to such a pass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Rating (out of 5 stars): </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Gulabo Sitabo is streaming on Netflix.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 437px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="216"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">94 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bulbbul-movie-review-anushka-sharmas-continuing-interest-in-the-paranormal-yields-compelling-results-8519781.html" style="color: purple;">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bulbbul-movie-review-anushka-sharmas-continuing-interest-in-the-paranormal-yields-compelling-results-8519781.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt;">Poster courtesy: </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt;">MDB<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-2647203218419447082020-07-06T16:02:00.000+05:302020-07-06T16:02:16.128+05:30REVIEW 782: GULABO SITABO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 460px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Release date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">J</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">u</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">ne</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">12</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt;"><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Shoojit Sircar</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Farrukh Jafar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Srishti Shrivastava, Ujali Raj, Ananya Dwivedi, Brijendra Kala, Vijay Raaz, Naushad (the puppeteer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt;"><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt -4.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td><td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Hindi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnu8KYWrqQPLdV3fLkH5Gh95MDaq9-5JpxL7Dk8DgWV6l6SXIWo5V1lRzmB_OQ-3SzgEaQgtdLY8lxWpeEdZ6a4a3VIMHdAO6KcrsWXYjhp9aW4ntk0qdcqpbu6fyDSO_QocEB_XRg7bJ/s1600/Gulabo+Sitabo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnu8KYWrqQPLdV3fLkH5Gh95MDaq9-5JpxL7Dk8DgWV6l6SXIWo5V1lRzmB_OQ-3SzgEaQgtdLY8lxWpeEdZ6a4a3VIMHdAO6KcrsWXYjhp9aW4ntk0qdcqpbu6fyDSO_QocEB_XRg7bJ/s640/Gulabo+Sitabo.jpg" width="442" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In the Gulabo-Sitabo tradition of theatre in Uttar Pradesh, my arts encyclopedia tells me, these two ladies’ names are bestowed on glove puppets: Sitabo is a man’s exhausted and overworked spouse, Gulabo is his fresh-as-dew lover. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In director Shoojit Sircar’s <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i>, written by Juhi Chaturvedi, the duo can be viewed either as a metaphor for Lucknow in which the story is set, or as an allusion to its warring leading men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Amitabh Bachchan plays Mirza here, a cantankerous, greedy septuagenarian landlord who is constantly at odds with the tenants residing in his haveli. Ayushmann Khurrana is Baankey, the wily leader of the pack who not only refuses to pay more than a pittance as rent but also ropes his fellow tenants into plotting against Mirza. Bickering is a fixture in their daily routine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The haveli is the inherited wealth of Mirza’s Begum (Farrukh Jafar), who also lives there. Baankey shares a room in it with his widowed mother and three younger sisters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In the past nine years, Sircar and Chaturvedi have collaborated on a bouquet of critically acclaimed, commercially successful projects that have played a pivotal role in redefining what mainstream means in Hindi cinema in the 2010s. Their subjects have been as off the beaten track as they can get – a sperm donor who keeps his ‘profession’ a secret from the woman he loves (<i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-130-vicky-donor.html">Vicky Donor</a></i>), the stormy equation between a difficult ageing man and his equally difficult, feisty daughter (<i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2015/05/review-330-piku.html">Piku</a></i>), a youngster mourning a former colleague with whom he did not have any significant relationship before an accident that sent her into a coma (<i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/04/review-589-october.html">October</a></i>). Each of these films has been completely rooted in the respective cultures and communities in which they have been set. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Gulabo Sitabo</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> is arguably more overtly entrenched in local traditions than its predecessors in the Sircar-Chaturvedi filmography, yet is also, if you choose to read it that way, the most politically current of the lot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">On the face of it, <i>Gulabo Sitabo </i>is about a bunch of people fighting over a mansion. The storytelling has a fable-like quality to it, its folksy feel underlined by Shantanu Moitra’s delightfully impish-and-ruminative-by-turns background score and Bachchan’s styling – for his role as Mirza, the actor has been given the look of a wizened old man who fits as perfectly into the ancient city of Lucknow in the 21st century as he might have in a tale of an unspecified yore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Mirza and Baankey’s battle is remarkable, because neither of them genuinely loves the haveli or understands its value and neither feels an iota of love for its original inhabitant among them, its rightful owner, Begum. Like India and Pakistan fighting over Kashmir, treating it as a coveted piece of land rather than a home to its present and former inhabitants, ultimately, neither the Gulabo nor the Sitabo of this tale has any actual affection for the individual, i.e. the haveli, they wrangle over – he/it is a practical compulsion for one and a useful object for the other, nothing more. And they fight and they fight until the person to whom it truly belongs serves them a life lesson they were not expecting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Irrespective of the interpretation, <i>Gulabo Sitabo </i>is one of the quirkiest, cheekiest, quaintest films to emerge from Bollywood this past decade. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Among its</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="color: #191919;">many lovely impertinences is the fact that though it features two of Bollywood’s biggest male stars in its cast, it does not seem overly preoccupied with showing off their presence – they play characters in a story, like everyone else. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">That <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i> is not an unthinking follower of convention is exemplified by the way it gives Jafar pride of place over Bachchan and Khurrana in the opening credits, not as a patronising symbolic gesture, not even solely because her stature merits it, but because she is indeed the leading lady of the proceedings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Jafar, who is in her late 80s, is best-known to Bollywood watchers as Amma from <i>Peepli Live. </i>She is adorable as <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i>’s clever Begum, her eyes sparkling with a light and her speech brimming with an energy that defy her age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Bachchan’s facial expressions are occasionally hard to detect behind all that prosthetic make-up, but his voice and body do more speaking than you can imagine. Mirza, a role that might have been lazily caricatured, is thankfully not. Over and above all this is the pleasure to be had from watching this legendary star merrily experimenting with such an unorthodox role just months away from his 78th birthday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Playing what is perhaps his least showy character till date, Khurrana imbues Baankey with an air of hesitation and helplessness and effectively erases his naturally strong presence. I loved the way he summons up awkwardness, guilt and trepidation on his face and in his demeanour in that shot in which Baankey peers through a hole he kicked into a crumbling wall in the haveli complex, thus kicking off another round of quarrelling with his elderly bete noir.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">This is my favourite of his performances till date. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In this constellation of talents, Srishti Shrivastava playing Baankey’s sister Guddo is my pick of the cast. She is a firebrand as an actor and, as it happens, gets to play an incredible firebrand in <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In a small but crucial role, Brijendra Kala is a hoot. Watch his face in the scene in which Guddo confronts him – that look of reluctant admiration for a woman who has just insulted him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Gulabo Sitabo </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">could not possibly have been what it is without Avik Mukhopadhayay’s sweeping cinematography, Mansi Dhruv Mehta’s production design that makes the haveli, Fatima Mahal, a character in its own right, and the eclectic music by Moitra, Anuj Garg and Abhishek Arora.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">What Mukhopadhayay did for Delhi’s trees in <i>October </i>he does for Lucknow and Fatima Mahal in <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i>. The atmospherics he conjures up in the city gives us a Lucknow rarely seen before in Hindi cinema. And the way he captures the grandeur of the haveli without erasing the grime reminded me of the gorgeous Maithili film <i>Gamak Ghar</i> that was recently available on MUBI India and Anjali Menon’s <i>Manjadikkuru</i> (Malayalam) that, sadly, is not streaming anywhere right now. The lingering shots of the haveli towards the end are painterly compositions that ought to be freeze-framed for museum viewing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">There is so much more in this unusual Hindi film to discuss and dissect in the coming days. Such as the thread of caregiving running through Sircar’s films from <i>Piku</i> to <i><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/09/review-430-pink.html">Pink</a></i> (which he produced but did not direct), <i>October</i> and now this one; the non-stereotypical treatment of the elderly in Chaturvedi’s scripts, from <i>Vicky Donor</i>’s <i>daadi </i>(the only genuinely modern entity in Delhi along with the Metro, according to her grandson) to the irritating dad in <i>Piku</i>, the scoundrel Mirza and no-babe-in-the-woods Begum in <i>Gulabo Sitabo</i>; or even why the manner of use of the problematic, patriarchal term “<i>ghar jamai</i>” made me uncomfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Gulabo Sitabo</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">’s soundtrack is as thoughtful and amusing as the film. (I would strongly recommend the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsEG3PFT4I&t=2s">jukebox </a>which is available on YouTube.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Quite appropriately, the beautiful <i>Do Din Ka Yeh Mela Hai</i> (with music by Garg, sung by Indian Ocean’s frontman Rahul Ram) runs with the closing credits, its lyrics by Dinesh Pant celebrating the blend of pooja and azaan in the innocent, naughty stories blowing in the wind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Gulabo Sitabo </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">is not zippy in the way <i>Vicky Donor </i>and <i>Piku</i> were, nor over-emphatic with any point it makes. It is a slow burn – like <i>October </i>– despite its sense of humour, mischievous characters and the tongue firmly placed in its cheek. The film’s unobtrusive politics, including its quiet feminism, are blowing in the wind – there for us to hear if we wish as the unusual, entertaining narrative silently flows by. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Rating (out of 5 stars): </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">3.5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Gulabo Sitabo is streaming on Amazon Prime Video India.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 437px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt;"><td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td><td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216pt;" valign="top" width="216"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">125 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/gulabo-sitabo-movie-review-kooky-cheeky-quaint-and-utterly-delightful-8475961.html" style="color: purple;">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/gulabo-sitabo-movie-review-kooky-cheeky-quaint-and-utterly-delightful-8475961.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt;">Poster courtesy: </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8pt;">MDB<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-76023246072955309702020-06-05T17:33:00.000+05:302020-06-06T00:09:09.925+05:30REVIEW 781: CHOKED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 460px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Release
date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">J</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">u</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">ne</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">5</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">,
2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anurag Kashyap</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Saiyami Kher,
Roshan Mathew, Parthveer Shukla, Amruta Subhash, Rajshri Deshpande, Upendra
Limaye </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hindi </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipA6M7FqeJaXZvJEPYHKlkgmuGFG7a2MbGwUuSJPvdu8M-k12-1WBDAl44sVSQr7bMApI6DSnAzfvUss4usHJ1xmFW-IJ7DqXxuo9J2b60G4SkzJ4LpF4jijJvD7_hqp1SOFdCv3CW9-hP/s1600/MV5BODNlNmMwNjUtNjliZS00MDAwLTliNTAtZmUyNDYxODQ4NmQ0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY1MTg4Mzc%2540._V1_QL50_SY1000_SX800_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipA6M7FqeJaXZvJEPYHKlkgmuGFG7a2MbGwUuSJPvdu8M-k12-1WBDAl44sVSQr7bMApI6DSnAzfvUss4usHJ1xmFW-IJ7DqXxuo9J2b60G4SkzJ4LpF4jijJvD7_hqp1SOFdCv3CW9-hP/s640/MV5BODNlNmMwNjUtNjliZS00MDAwLTliNTAtZmUyNDYxODQ4NmQ0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY1MTg4Mzc%2540._V1_QL50_SY1000_SX800_AL_.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sarita Pillai nee
Sahastrabuddhe’s life mirrors the humdrum lives of millions of middle-class
Indian women. She wakes up every morning, cooks, prepares her kid
for school, sends him off before heading to her own office in teeming
Mumbai where she spends her day in mechanical, emotionless toil as a bank
teller before returning home to cook, serve her kid and husband Sushant,
admonish the latter for being a layabout, clean up and sleep. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Forward to the next
day. Wake up. Repeat. Sleep. And the next. And the next. Wake up.
Repeat. Sleep. Wake up. Repeat. Sleep. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Her listless
existence and her evident disinterest in Sushant are punctuated occasionally by
lively kitty parties with women in the neighbourhood who revel in gossip,
including about members of their own group. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We know from
the start that there is and will be more to Sarita, heroine of director
Anurag Kashyap’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked: Paisa Bolta
Hai</i> (Money Talks) that is streaming on Netflix from today. We know we
can expect more than that surface mundaneness for two reasons: first, the
film’s smartly executed prologue indicates some hanky-panky with money; and
second, hints are dropped early on about an event in the past from where her
marriage went downhill. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sushant for his
part has more spark and appears to have more going for him than she does
although he does nothing. He hangs around contributing zilch to the housework,
casually plays his guitar at home and plays carrom with friends in the
building. Sarita’s tetchiness towards him inexplicably does little to dampen
his affection for her or dull the twinkle in his eyes, but it also does not
enthuse him enough to lift a finger to share her burden around the house. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then one day, as
the trailer has already revealed, Sarita unexpectedly comes across a stash of
cash and for the first time in the film we see her face come alive. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Choked </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">is about what she does with that secret horde, and
through that adventure it tells the story of a life stuck in a rut, a
relationship at the edge of an abyss, greed and corruption in the era of
demonetisation. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At first <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked</i> is intriguing. The manner in
which Kashyap portrays Sarita’s boredom and sense of hopelessness in her
role as wife and home manager is striking. Her act of latching a door and
switching off a light night after night after night before going to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">bed is used to remarkable effect
to underline the repetitiveness of her routine and the monotony<span style="color: #191919;"> that domesticity can bring. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sarita’s empty eyes
and irritability when contrasted with Sushant’s easygoing nature and their son’s
charm allude to a background that must have been far more interesting than her
current busy yet godawfully drowsy routine. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides the lead
trio of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked</i> are a good
fit. Sarita is played by Saiyami Kher who had the misfortune of making her
Bollywood debut with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s worst film till date, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/10/review-436-mirzya.html">Mirzya<span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></a></i>(2016), but managed to reveal
her innate charisma even in that dismal enterprise. The young actor has an
impressive personality and speaking eyes. In the role of Sushant is the
attractive stage and Mollywood artist Roshan Mathew whose brief filmography
includes an aching portrayal of a man in love with a man in a conservative
society in Geetu Mohandas’s otherwise middling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moothon</i>. And Parthveer Shukla who plays their son is a little
fireball of darlingness without the irritating precociousness that so many
directors seem to demand of their child actors. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Once the nuts and
bolts of their relationship and the neighbourhood dynamics are established
though, despite a series of twists and turns right till the end, the narrative
is curiously lacking in energy. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sarita and Sushant’s
back story, from which the title <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked</i> is
drawn, is not quite as fascinating as it is made out to be. His subsequent
irresponsible behaviour and the progression of their equation are unconvincing. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kashyap and writer
Nihit Bhave appear to be making a point about Narendra Modi’s decision in 2016
to demonetise select Indian currency notes – the point being that the corrupt
and the powerful found their way around it, while ordinary citizens suffered.
However, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">they seem
to have internalised it so much,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "segoeui"; font-size: 15.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">they say what they
seem to want to say so hesitantly and in such a roundabout, meandering manner,
that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked</i> almost comes
across as praise for demonetisation, a measure that has had a disastrous
impact on the Indian economy. There is even a song and dance featuring the hero
celebrating demonetisation that is placed prominently in the narrative. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The collective effect of these
elements sadly dilutes the impact of the cheeky song that plays with the rolling
credits in the end. If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked</i>
is intended as a sarcastic critique, it depends too heavily on the viewer
being indulgent towards the director, being aware of his politics and
off-screen stances and having studied the country’s reaction to the present prime
minister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And no ya, the play
on “choked” does not work either. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>92</o:Words>
<o:Characters>525</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>4</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>616</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">What does work is the constant
flow of dialogues between languages in the way they naturally might in the
Mumbai home of a couple in a mixed marriage. although Mathew swallows some of
his lines as a result of which I often could not make out what Sushant was
saying in his mother tongue. Of course a lot can be forgiven because he is
cute. Ironically, his Hindi diction is excellent, and comes as a package with a
delightful trace of a Malayalam accent. The precise way in which he says “contracts”
and pronounces “L” or the way she pronounces “D” are fun to hear because their
accents are not being caricatured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><span style="color: #191919; font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 12pt;">The usually
reliable Amruta Subhash is inconsistent though – warm and hilarious in parts,
but in one passage, surprisingly hammy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are a couple
of standout scenes such as the one in which Sarita and Sushant fight in bed
with their kid lying asleep between them and another involving the couple, a
kitchen drain and top-notch sound design by Gautam Nair. The construction of
both scenes is vintage Kashyap, as is the mischievous closing song.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is not vintage
Kashyap is the lack of clarity and sharpness in what he seems to be saying
about demonetisation and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">achhe din</i>. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And exactly what is
the point in showing us a lazy jerk of a husband who never does any work at
home, is inconsiderate to his wife but is somehow presented as a sweetheart, is
made to sound at one point as though he is willing to do anything for her but
oh how unfair is she, and in the end gets to save the day? </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kashyap’s last two breathtakingly
good films were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-560-mukkabaaz.html">Mukkabaaz</a></i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/06/review-402-raman-raghav-20.html">Raman
Raghav 2.0</a></i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Choked</i> wants
to say a lot, but is not even as hard-hitting or entertaining as his tweets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating (out
of 5 stars): </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">2</span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; width: 437px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.0pt;" valign="top" width="216"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">114 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/choked-movie-review-anurag-kashyaps-demonetisation-saga-is-curiously-hesitant-and-dull-8450691.html">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/choked-movie-review-anurag-kashyaps-demonetisation-saga-is-curiously-hesitant-and-dull-8450691.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Poster
courtesy: </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">I</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;">MDB <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1164</o:Words>
<o:Characters>6641</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>55</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>15</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>7790</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-14668931359034666892020-05-24T21:08:00.000+05:302020-05-24T21:08:30.707+05:30REVIEW 780: GHOOMKETU<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 92.15pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 460px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Release
date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Ma</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">y 22</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pushpendra Nath Misra</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ila Arun, Raghubir Yadav, Swanand Kirkire, Anurag
Kashyap, Dipika Amin, Bijendra Kala, Rajendra Sethi, Ragini Khanna, Cameos: Chitrangda
Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh, Amitabh Bachchan</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Hindi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8_ZstGFNQf5i05w38vlHpu2HCXUFzDvh_nOQS283sk-3jHNNgfwioRhCU5mgOjmkovdNTbr2YkP3Nu7NxtSngIvo9D-vTwiKaAJ6w1IXwKC5maulv2IGyLvdu2wVYVGFgOu4ZDv8zlyT/s1600/1x1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8_ZstGFNQf5i05w38vlHpu2HCXUFzDvh_nOQS283sk-3jHNNgfwioRhCU5mgOjmkovdNTbr2YkP3Nu7NxtSngIvo9D-vTwiKaAJ6w1IXwKC5maulv2IGyLvdu2wVYVGFgOu4ZDv8zlyT/s400/1x1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though Nawazuddin
Siddiqui has built his reputation largely on grim, sometimes even </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/raman-raghav-2-0-review-anurag-kashyap-vicky-nawaz-take-a-bow-2853234.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span lang="EN-US">grisly roles</span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, we know he has the
genes for comedy. We know it from </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-225-lunchbox.html"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span lang="EN-US">Lunchbox</span></span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in which he was
sweet and charming and comical in an otherwise pensive scenario. We know it
from other, lesser films too in which we caught flashes of his funny
bone. <i>Ghoomketu</i> – n<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">o</span>w
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">streaming on Zee5<i> – </i></span>is his
attempt at an all-out comedic performance in an unconventional Bollywood
project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Produced by the now-defunct
Phantom Films and Sony Pictures, <i>Ghoomketu</i> has been
languishing without a release for some years. It is easy to see why – why the
concept found backing and why the completed film could not find takers. <i>Ghoomketu</i>’s
writer-director Pushpendra Nath Misra (creator of the Netflix series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taj Mahal 1989</i>) obviously had a good
idea to begin with. He also then wrote a neat beginning and end. The bit that
comes in between though, the bit that makes up the length of a film,
flounders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ghoomketu</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is named after its
hero, a 31-year-old aspiring writer from small-town UP who wants a career in
Bollywood. The film opens with him having run away from home, leaving behind
his joint family. In Mumbai, a corrupt policeman is tasked with tracking
down this runaway who is trying to convince a producer to buy his terrible
scripts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From the word go, it
is evident that Ghoomketu has little talent. Such a leading man is perfect
material for hilarity or for perceptive commentary on the arts or whatever a
filmmaker wishes to explore through him. Bad artists can make for great cinema
– after reading this review, try watching Tim Burton’s 1994 film <i>Ed
Wood</i> starring Johnny Depp as the eponymous real-life American director
reputed for making horrendous films. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In Misra’s case, having
thought up an interesting character, he seems not to know what to do, which is
ironic since the film displays as little imagination as its protagonist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The opening half hour
or so of <i>Ghoomketu</i> is entertaining. I found myself giggling at
the intentional silliness of the scenarios and characters. Too
soon though, it became clear that the film is aiming for a certain whimsy
that it does not have the depth to achieve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The use of graphics,
animation, superstar cameos and the narrative device of getting the hero to
talk directly to the camera end up feeling like window dressing in the absence
of substance. After a while then, <i>Ghoomketu</i> becomes a long
wait for a flight to take off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Siddiqui tries hard
and is initially effective. Beyond a point though, the script does not have
enough meat for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The supporting cast is
a roll call of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>actors who have in the past
shown superb comic timing, and at places in <i>Ghoomketu</i> some of
them do manage to elicit laughs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bijendra Kala and
Rajendra Sethi are a hoot. Yadav is under-utilised and his Dadda is given
little to do beyond scream at people. Kirkire gets to be mopey. Kashyap, making
a rare acting appearance, shows some spark in his introductory scene but the
writer has not bothered much with his character thereafter. Ragini Khanna who
carried the Hindi TV serial <i>Sasural Genda Phool</i> on her
shoulders and was impressive too in the Hindi film </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2017/08/review-515-gurgaon.html"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span lang="EN-US">Gurgaon</span></span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is wasted
here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The actor who gets
decent material to work on and remains a sweetheart throughout is Ila Arun as
Ghoomketu’s adoring Bua – it helps that her interactions with him are the film’s
best-written scenes. In the passage in which the senior lady explains to her nephew
how she plans to act her way through a particular situation with his father,
Arun steals the show from right under Siddiqui’s nose. We need to see more of
her in Hindi cinema.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ghoomketu</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> boasts of
several star cameos. Chitrangda Singh looks stunning in her few moments on
screen. Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh and Amitabh Bachchan’s tiny roles seem to
have been written with more care than the main characters. Sinha and Singh do a
fair job. Bachchan seems to have had fun playing his part – that is actually
nice to see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is a tasteless
fat joke running through <i>Ghoomketu</i>. I know, I know, some of you
will point out that real people do make insensitive comments and a reality should
not be censored on screen in a bow to political correctness. Look back though
at how Sharat Katariya handled a similar theme in that Bollywood gem </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2015/02/review-321-dum-laga-ke-haisha.html"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span lang="EN-US">Dum Laga Ke Haisha</span></span></i></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. The issue is not
what characters in <i>Ghoomketu</i> say or do, but that the film itself seems
to be tickled by the thought of a plus-sized woman. In its attempt at
profundity, it even appears to be using a slim woman as a metaphor for a man’s
dreams coming true and for a Paulo Coelho-esque moment of treasure-finding
involving an important character. Uff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The twist in the
climax is not bad at all, but it is inconsistent with what we have been told
until then about Ghoomketu’s writing abilities. Lost in this film’s
wafer-thin screenplay is the pleasant soundtrack by Sneha Khanwalkar and
Jasleen Royal. More’s the pity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ghoomketu</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is being
released directly online during India’s nationwide lockdown prompted by the
COVID-19 pandemic. In these dreary times, it would have meant so much if its
content had been a reason to celebrate. It’s sorta okay, but that is
hardly enough from a film starring this stupendous cast.</span><span style="background: white; color: #14171a; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #14171a; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating (out
of 5 stars): </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-align: center; mso-effects-shadow-alpha: 100.0%; mso-effects-shadow-angledirection: 5400000; mso-effects-shadow-anglekx: 0; mso-effects-shadow-angleky: 0; mso-effects-shadow-color: #F79646; mso-effects-shadow-dpidistance: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-dpiradius: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-pctsx: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-pctsy: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-themecolor: accent6; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.5</span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; width: 437px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.0pt;" valign="top" width="216">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">102 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/ghoomketu-movie-review-nawazuddin-siddiqui-is-kinda-funny-but-this-experiment-in-whimsy-doesnt-take-flight-8395151.html">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/ghoomketu-movie-review-nawazuddin-siddiqui-is-kinda-funny-but-this-experiment-in-whimsy-doesnt-take-flight-8395151.html</a>
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Poster
courtesy: Zee5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>960</o:Words>
<o:Characters>5476</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>45</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>12</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>6424</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-56571751378589071552020-04-21T00:21:00.000+05:302020-04-21T00:21:25.507+05:30REVIEW 779: VEEMBU<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 460px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Release
date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">April 8</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Vivian
Radhakrishnan</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Sujin Murali, Shanavas
Sharaf, Rajalakshmi V.V., Rajeev D.H.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Malayalam</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzBubrwu-_jviMnmeTWQV7CuvTY6B4ytkqCk_lzK5MjrW7pLE4EEkBNvCCbViz2LyGaekTQ-bZ7mg7A_zAdb5D-aN26MXjmLTO-rtTX4J5oGmUcigYTNpAk50ok8bmUTOmv5M13fTlIfB/s1600/35859317_1689871287747769_2850708556158599168_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzBubrwu-_jviMnmeTWQV7CuvTY6B4ytkqCk_lzK5MjrW7pLE4EEkBNvCCbViz2LyGaekTQ-bZ7mg7A_zAdb5D-aN26MXjmLTO-rtTX4J5oGmUcigYTNpAk50ok8bmUTOmv5M13fTlIfB/s640/35859317_1689871287747769_2850708556158599168_n.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">It is tough for an
independent film without familiar faces to get public attention – even less so
when it is not in theatres or on a prestigious streaming platform. Yet debutant
director Vivian Radhakrishnan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i>,
now available on Youtube, has generated a fair amount of conversation this
season. One reason is that actor Joju George unveiled the poster online. Another
is that director Midhun Manuel Thomas promoted it on his Facebook page when it
was released earlier this month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Since these artistes
are known for devotion to their craft, it is natural for expectations to be
built solely on the strength of their support for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i>. Thomas is just fresh from the stupendous critical success
of the crime thriller <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2020/02/review-766-anjaam-pathiraa.html">Anjaam Pathiraa</a></i>,
so his patronage, if it can be called that, is particularly significant here
because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> too is a thriller. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Now for the bad
news. If Messrs George and Thomas meant to be kind, their kindness was
misplaced – because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> does not
deserve them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">At a basic level, the
film’s concept is thought-provoking and seems exciting. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> means to offer an insight into how the truth is manipulated
in the media to suit the powerful while maligning the weak. The journey from
premise with promise to full-fledged film is rocky though. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> is pretentious, trying really hard to be cool and gives the
appearance of being convinced that it has achieved that goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Veembu</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">’s protagonists Kinavu and Abukutty are </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">friends in remote rural Kerala.
Kinavu is an autorickshaw driver taking care of his old mother who has been
diagnosed with dementia. One day, desperate for a large sum of money, he agrees
to commit a serious crime.<span style="color: #181817;"> Circumstances go out of
his control largely as a result of his own inability to stay focused. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Veembu</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">’s primary problem is that it is more preoccupied
with form and structure than content. It starts with a man of small build being
tortured by what appears to be a criminal gang. The fellow appeared in a selfie
with someone he claims not to know. His captors think he is lying. One of them
orders him to describe the circumstances that brought him to this pass as if he
is narrating the script of a film. He agrees. That’s how it comes about that we
get to hear the story of Kinavu and Abukutty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The narrative device
serves little purpose, the storytelling is over-stretched and the characterisation
inconsistent. A man is rough with his elderly parent half way through the film
but seems utterly devoted to her before and after that. Time is wasted on
extraneous developments, such as Abukutty trying to have a fling with a married
woman, that contribute nothing to the character development or the denouement.
And by the time that neat twist comes around, involving two intruders and a heavy
object, I was struggling to keep my eyes open and care for the people on screen.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">DoP Vishnu
Vijayarajan does deliver some eerie frames, well complemented by ominous background
music. Particularly impressive is the shooting of a man held captive through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i>. After a while though, these feel
like embellishments masking weak writing. No amount of overhead shots of men
weeping in a forest as seen through falling raindrops can camouflage the fact
that the men are written as outlines without the colours filled in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">In its tone and
tenor, from the beginning <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> feels
like a wannabe <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2017/03/review-472-angamaly-diaries.html">Angamaly Diaries</a></i>, but
again, no amount of stylisation, lookalikes in the cast and derivative music
can give you the panache and heft of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s lovely 2017 film. After
watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i>, I learnt from Google
that Vivian Radhakrishnan assisted Pellissery on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/10/review-737-jallikattu.html">Jallikattu </a></i>and has earned some praise for a<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>recent making-of-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/10/review-737-jallikattu.html">Jallikattu</a> </i>video<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>Clearly, admiration for the boss does
not necessarily translate into great art. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">From among an
inconsistent cast, several actors in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i>
stand out as naturals. Sujin Murali as Kinavu and Shanavas Sharaf as Abukutty
are both easy before the camera, and will hopefully get better films in future.
Sharaf reminded me of Tito Wilson, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2017/03/review-472-angamaly-diaries.html">Angamaly Diaries</a></i>’ U-Clamp Rajan, both in terms of looks and conviction. Another
charismatic presence is Rajeev D.H. playing a man imprisoned for no fault of
his – he is attractive and though his role is largely silent, manages to convey
anguish with his intensity. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">According to
Radhakrishnan who wrote, directed and edited <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2020/apr/04/after-much-delay-vivian-radhakrishnans-independent-film-veembu-to-get-digital-release-2125385.html">the film<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>has been in the cans</a> for two years </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">mostly due to censor troubles. If
you can bear the tedium of its 2 hours and 20 minutes, in the end you will
discover its<span style="color: #181817;"> troubling politics. Through a raucous
monologue in the climax, in the guise of criticising the media – a worthy
objective, no doubt – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> takes potshots
at those who highlighted the communal angle in the rape of a Bakarwal child in
Kathua in 2018 and other liberal causes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">In a better-made
film, that finale – confused or intentionally illiberal? – would have merited a
critique. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veembu</i> is so vacuous and
boring, it is not even worthy of anger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating (out
of 5 stars): </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-align: center; mso-effects-shadow-alpha: 100.0%; mso-effects-shadow-angledirection: 5400000; mso-effects-shadow-anglekx: 0; mso-effects-shadow-angleky: 0; mso-effects-shadow-color: #F79646; mso-effects-shadow-dpidistance: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-dpiradius: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-pctsx: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-pctsy: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-themecolor: accent6; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">0.5</span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; width: 437px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.0pt;" valign="top" width="216">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">140 minutes 57 seconds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/veembu-movie-review-wannabe-angamaly-diaries-with-a-nice-concept-but-lacking-depth-coolth-and-the-smarts-8278571.html">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/veembu-movie-review-wannabe-angamaly-diaries-with-a-nice-concept-but-lacking-depth-coolth-and-the-smarts-8278571.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>15</o:Words>
<o:Characters>86</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>1</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>100</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Poster
courtesy: </span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/veembu/">https://www.facebook.com/veembu/</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-56888072068751565902020-04-11T00:50:00.000+05:302020-04-11T00:50:20.050+05:30REVIEW 778: BAMFAAD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 460px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Release
date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">April 10</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Ranjan Chandel</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Aditya Rawal,
Shalini Pandey, Vijay Varma,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shivam
Mishra, Jatin Sarna, Sana Amin Sheikh, Kokab Fareed, Priyank Tiwari</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Language:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Hindi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje45rUp3NLKH5fG7jAkVPmEPla0bJbq4VmBlOVkvbPIfT2Qum64OC0eCTcybIlK3qSILYxMWRskyLmyESx_XeSdF8jo8ntzdYpHfB0KjDbp-OTQjbuD2NMDQ-Q_f2sJBDDCA3x5iUzdFam/s1600/bamfaad-mailer-min.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje45rUp3NLKH5fG7jAkVPmEPla0bJbq4VmBlOVkvbPIfT2Qum64OC0eCTcybIlK3qSILYxMWRskyLmyESx_XeSdF8jo8ntzdYpHfB0KjDbp-OTQjbuD2NMDQ-Q_f2sJBDDCA3x5iUzdFam/s400/bamfaad-mailer-min.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">A college-going ruffian
in Allahabad operates on a short fuse. He is loyal to his friends, takes on
those who cross swords with them, longs to meet the city’s
crime-kingpin-cum-political-influencer and falls for a pretty stranger. Nasir
Jamaal’s misdemeanours lead to a more grievous act when circumstances are
manipulated by an individual who is well-acquainted with the young man’s
combustible nature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Director Ranjan
Chandel’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad</i>
(Explosion/Explosive) stays with Nasir’s battle for survival when life spirals
out of control, beyond anything his bravado and a fist fight can fix. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Chandel has
co-written this story, screenplay and dialogues with Hanzalah Shahid. The film,
which is streaming on Zee5 from today, has already drawn some attention because
it is presented by Anurag Kashyap (who Chandel earlier assisted), serves as a
debut platform for the son of veteran actors Swaroop Sampat and Paresh Rawal
(Aditya Rawal plays Nasir) and is the first Hindi film starring Shalini Pandey
who made her big-screen debut in the nationally debated Telugu hit <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arjun Reddy</i> (2017).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">True to its title, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad </i>has a fiery start. The striking
introduction melds realism, humour and an earthy song. You know it has emerged
from the Anurag Kashyap School of Filmmaking when, in the opening minutes in
the background, singer Vishal Mishra belts out that exuberant, mischievously
worded title track (music: Mishra himself, lyrics: Raj Shekhar). You know the
film has been designed as a showcase for Rawal Junior when, during the course
of that number, the screen is given over entirely to his lithe frame moving
towards the camera as he emerges from a darkened space into the light, a device
Bollywood uses only when it sees an actor as larger-than-life-hero material. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Whether Rawal will
live up to that expectation is a question for crystal-ball gazers. What can be
said for sure is that in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad</i> he
reveals himself to be a natural actor with solid potential. His physique is
also a pleasant change from the steady stream of star sons flowing out of
Bollywood in the past decade, whose bulging muscles and soulless yet perfect
dancing have borne such a strong resemblance to each other that they have come
across as clones assembled in the same lab. Rawal is no clone. No way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The women in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad</i>’s storyline are secondary
players, and Pandey’s Neelam is no different. She is efficient in the role of a
quietly assertive woman, but lacks a spark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The stand-out
performers in the cast<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>are Vijay
Varma playing a criminal named Jigar Fareedi, and Jatin Sarna as Nasir’s
friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The first half of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad</i> is pacey and interesting.
Prashant Pillai’s background score is intelligently utilised and the songs are
slipped smoothly into the narrative. The big twist in Nasir’s journey is deftly
edited and directed, and leaves in its wake considerable suspense over what
will happen next. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Sadly, the second
half of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad</i> does not live up to
the promise of the pre-interval portion. After that mid-point drama, the
writing wears thin. There are two nice turns, both involving policemen, but
nothing so exciting as to make the film stand out from the other crime sagas
that have populated the Hindi filmverse for two decades now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Maybe things would
have been different if we had never seen Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Parinda</i> (1989), Ram Gopal Varma’s
pathbreaking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Satya </i>(1998) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Company</i> (2002), or <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2016/06/review-402-raman-raghav-20.html">the best of Kashyap</a>
and others that came next. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Maybe too things would have been different if the past two
decades had not brought with them so many memorable visits to small towns and
small-town romances in Uttar Pradesh. <span style="color: #181817;">Anyone
following in those footsteps needs to conjure up something truly unusual,
inventive and extraordinary to pass muster. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad
</i>works up to a point, but not further. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The writing of the
characters’ motivations and their relationships requires more depth, the bows
to Allahabad and its culture are sparse, and post-interval it feels as if the
director mistook limited energy for a naturalistic storytelling style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Still, Hanzalah
Shahid and Ranjan Chandel are talents to watch out for. For one, in this era of
stereotype-ridden, Islamophobic Bollywood rants like <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-563-padmaavat.html"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Padmaavat</i>,</a> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/05/review-683-kesari.html">Kesari</a></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2019/05/review-689-kalank.html">Kalank</a> </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tanhaji</i>, it is nice to see a film in which the protagonist is a
Muslim, but is not given any stereotypical markers of the religion, and members
of the community are treated as regular humans: some good, some not, some evil,
some not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This is not to
suggest that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bamfaad</i> avoids a
political comment on the present real-life context in which it has been
released. The film does reference the danger looming over Hindu-Muslim
equations in today’s India, although that is not a primary theme. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Besides, how can
one not make note of artists who can conceptualise a scene in which a love-lorn
youth gazing at the object of his affection tells her that pimples look good on
her face? He does not say “even pimples”, he simply says “pimples”. Oh the
sweet innocence of those words! Because of course on her they are an adornment,
not a skin eruption – “that dress looks good on you”, “the new hairstyle looks
good on you”, “pimples look good on you”.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Bamfaad</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> is not quite the explosion it was meant to be,
but it has its merits and its moments and is an engaging watch. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating (out
of 5 stars): </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-align: center; mso-effects-shadow-alpha: 100.0%; mso-effects-shadow-angledirection: 5400000; mso-effects-shadow-anglekx: 0; mso-effects-shadow-angleky: 0; mso-effects-shadow-color: #F79646; mso-effects-shadow-dpidistance: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-dpiradius: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-pctsx: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-pctsy: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-themecolor: accent6; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.5</span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; width: 437px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.0pt;" valign="top" width="216">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">102 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bamfaad-movie-review-aditya-rawal-makes-his-mark-in-an-engaging-even-if-generic-crime-and-love-saga-8247841.html">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/bamfaad-movie-review-aditya-rawal-makes-his-mark-in-an-engaging-even-if-generic-crime-and-love-saga-8247841.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Poster
courtesy: Zee5<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>550</o:Words>
<o:Characters>5396</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>105</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>23</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>5923</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-22332547324924736532020-04-03T15:20:00.000+05:302020-04-03T15:20:10.281+05:30ESSAY: THE ROMANCE OF CINEMA HALLS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-highlight: yellow;">Cinema in the time of COVID-19: an ode to the romance of
movie halls and watching films with strangers</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hOtVcd9Qs_JPPsIoQ6lRoVKYtv3mVO3joRI_PmtoCyTId38dnmI-XDSVPpbBgQckzE40nqzIvpHaGc3PzNIlysyRNpj243xwHqtQKn31Sdb5dQoBhlBGKFojg64_kJ3Gz5CLWd-dKuGR/s1600/Manjil_Virinja_Pookkal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hOtVcd9Qs_JPPsIoQ6lRoVKYtv3mVO3joRI_PmtoCyTId38dnmI-XDSVPpbBgQckzE40nqzIvpHaGc3PzNIlysyRNpj243xwHqtQKn31Sdb5dQoBhlBGKFojg64_kJ3Gz5CLWd-dKuGR/s400/Manjil_Virinja_Pookkal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The sun was out but it was not
uncomfortably warm. Vehicular pollution was not the mass murderer that it is
today, so it was natural for my parents to take the kids along – as other
families did that day – on the walk from South Extension to the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for a film show. I am not certain
of the year (it has to be in the 1980s), but I do recall that happy holiday as
we made the trek on a service road parallel to Ring Road, from home to an
auditorium on the sprawling AIIMS campus to see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Manjil Virinja Pookkal</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">My sister remembers the film, not
the occasion. She was amused earlier today as I recounted details of the outing
to her. Such as the fact that it was Dad’s hand I clung to, which means Mum was
most likely carrying her in her arms. That the distance felt longer to my little
legs than my cellphone’s GPS now tells me it is. And that the screening was
organised by a now-long-gone club called Kairali Film Society, no trace of
which I can find on the Internet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">I suspect I can picture it as
vividly as if it happened yesterday because this is my first ever memory of
watching a film in a theatre. There had been other films before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Manjil Virinja Pookkal</i>, viewed with the
family huddled around our black-and-white TV set in the days when Doordarshan
was our only salvation. This was a different world though, and I remember it
all. The mass of people in the hall. The weather outside. A coy Poornima
Jayaram. The villainous Mohanlal. The title song about flowers that blossomed
in the dew, that I most likely did not understand but instinctively found
beautiful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Such pleasant reminiscences have
been floating around in my mind in the weeks since the novel Coronavirus began
keeping me away from one of my favourite haunts: movie halls. Much before
the government declared a national lockdown due to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease),
my<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green;"> </span></b>cautious
nature had prompted me to practise social distancing, heeding the advice of
experts quoted in the global media. This means that March 2020 will go down in
history (yes, I did say that, *inserts smart-ass emoji*) as perhaps the first
month in a decade that I watched just three films in theatres – each one
strictly for reviewing purposes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43ueJNpOGF6CS6AZtXC8C73B17qF6Nf6OprRTGQMFi6LzmXU-9xL9y-IDvhMTMjVSffQe4GrplV1mQyA2g8SBrOupAg1qhdWKKE9WPDEfita2ODaP7Sh3mx4PSEzaHiw07X_0IfblJa1v/s1600/Delhi_belly_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43ueJNpOGF6CS6AZtXC8C73B17qF6Nf6OprRTGQMFi6LzmXU-9xL9y-IDvhMTMjVSffQe4GrplV1mQyA2g8SBrOupAg1qhdWKKE9WPDEfita2ODaP7Sh3mx4PSEzaHiw07X_0IfblJa1v/s400/Delhi_belly_poster.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">A lot has happened for film buffs
since a tiny girl was mesmerised by the moving images on what felt like a
colossal screen at AIIMS. Colour TVs came to India in the 1980s, satellite
TV followed in the 1990s, over time the stubborn exhibition sector has opened
up to a point where, sitting in Delhi, we can now watch films in multiple
Indian and foreign languages, not English and Hindi alone, and in recent years,
the advent of online streaming platforms has left us spoilt for choice. My work
primarily involves writing on cinema, so obviously I am and I am required to be
a voracious consumer of films. I have no reservations about watching them on
cellphones, tablets, laptops or televisions, at festivals, premieres, previews,
upon their theatrical release or online, but if my schedule and budget permit
it, I would pick a cinema hall over every other available option any day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">There is something magical about
sitting in a large darkened theatre, gazing at a giant screen, savouring the
unexplainable, precious solitude of the movie-viewing experience even when
watching with a crowd. To my mind, this is why people continue to fill theatres
although we all now have cellphones, which makes us all, in a sense, potential
theatre owners. This is why theatres will never die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">When I am lost in a film, I often
have a blinkered vision directed at the screen. Sometimes though, it is worth
absorbing the sociology and psychology lessons on offer off screen and the
pockets of drama among the audience. There was that one time in Gurgaon when a
massive family including grandparents and kids turned up for the Hindi version
of </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Delhi Belly</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">, but after an eye full
of male butt cracks and Tashi pleasuring his girlfriend, the entire platoon
scurried out with many a “</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Chhee</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">” and
“Hawww” and exclamations of disgust. Clearly they had not bothered to check the
certification (</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Delhi Belly </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">was
A-rated) or read reviews out of concern for the children in the group, but hey,
let’s not take responsibility for our own irresponsibility. Clearly too, the
multiplex management, like so many others in India, had not enforced the rating
– if they had, children would not</span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">have got in in the first place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYux09vKAlbNnZhhqjL7whGuMZy2-VFBc-99yIlgdWzDR4ibtUWV7n2B_AmdU2pDsKR1att0jYgUR3Z4t0iBnVf011h-xV9lhmqazMimzJxCOq9_hrBf5sZf_QtON2ztIqkgp2rh9y2eR-/s1600/Exgirlposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYux09vKAlbNnZhhqjL7whGuMZy2-VFBc-99yIlgdWzDR4ibtUWV7n2B_AmdU2pDsKR1att0jYgUR3Z4t0iBnVf011h-xV9lhmqazMimzJxCOq9_hrBf5sZf_QtON2ztIqkgp2rh9y2eR-/s320/Exgirlposter.jpg" width="214" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Then there was that other time,
when a group of what I assume to be Mommies brought a bunch of very small
children to a single-screen complex in Delhi for <i>My Super Ex-Girlfriend</i> starring Uma Thurman. (Don’t judge me – I
was there for work.) The kids were, understandably, bored by that dreadful film
and started running up and down the aisle, until that first scene in which the
protagonist has wild sex and ends up demolishing a bed. At that point the
little ones froze in wonderment and one of them cried out at the top of his
voice, words to this effect, “Mummy Mummy, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">voh
apni</i> boyfriend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ko kyun maar rahi hai </i>(Why
is she beating her boyfriend)?” Mummy shushed him, the kids continued to be a
nuisance to the rest of us, and the show went on.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9O6Somd-nJIeUE4NtHaDHDK73N9OUc0-AD4d5IP0B1BlYAxoTrLG60kXYLxsE4WHWkCj7HJ9sIAnDMLyOr8N-um2nL1zLCwNMDwLWZu4Fti27rqpUazUQXoaTN2dFtOG9iAQtXA2EWf55/s1600/Oru_Mexican_Aparatha_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9O6Somd-nJIeUE4NtHaDHDK73N9OUc0-AD4d5IP0B1BlYAxoTrLG60kXYLxsE4WHWkCj7HJ9sIAnDMLyOr8N-um2nL1zLCwNMDwLWZu4Fti27rqpUazUQXoaTN2dFtOG9iAQtXA2EWf55/s320/Oru_Mexican_Aparatha_poster.jpg" width="219" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Sometimes an audience seems like
a microcosm of the world outside, sometimes inhabitants of a universe far away.
In the summer of 2017, as the results for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections
were being announced, I headed out to watch the Malayalam film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oru Mexican Aparatha</i> in a multiplex in a
state bordering UP. While the sweep of UP by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata
Party was becoming evident, I was startled and then amused to hear audience
members raising the Left’s favoured slogan, “Lal Salaam”, in support of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oru Mexican Aparatha</i>’s Communist hero. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The research for my book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic </i>(Om
Books, 2012), included watching every single Bollywood film released in a
theatre in the National Capital Region in one year. The project resulted in
numerous occasions when I found myself alone in a theatre – because there are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that </i>many unknown, unmarketed films
produced by the Mumbai-based film industry, some terrific, some terrible.
Watching the good ones among them all on my own only served to underline for me
the romance of the big screen and the reason why I became a critic: to inform
people about great films they may not otherwise have heard of or considered
watching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">My library of anecdotes – about
empty and packed halls, fights I have had with managers to get them to start
shows they were hoping to cancel because no one other than I had bought a
ticket, parents who refuse to control their restless offspring, and couples
making out – is a testament to the number of trips I make to a theatre in a
week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">In recent weeks, as dread and
uncertainty over COVID-19 have clouded our lives, as the lockdown appears to
have unlocked further reserves of online hate, as those depressing images of
the impoverished masses trudging hundreds of kilometers to their villages have
been unleashed on us, I have, as always, taken refuge in reading, writing,
films and TV shows. Now, more than ever before, I am grateful for the likes of
Netflix. There is no getting away though from the fact that my glucose is
community viewing in a theatre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Where else can you watch a live
show of a couple squabbling over whether or not they should give up on Terrence
Malick’s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Tree of Life</i>? For the
record, he wanted to leave, she wanted to stay as I gathered from the fact that
they had a furious whispered exchange of words part way through the film, he
stormed out, returned to coax her to leave, stormed out again, returned, then
stormed out again, before giving up and sinking back into his seat because the
young woman refused to budge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">A friend wrote on Twitter the
other day that once the Coronavirus pandemic is over, he doubts he will ever
again feel safe in teeming public places. Me? I am dying to get back – to
hugging loved ones and holding hands, to walking down streets and train
stations, to flights and the Delhi Metro, to scouring well-stocked markets and
bustling malls. And of course, it goes without saying, to watching films in the
dark with strangers at multiplexes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
article was published </span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">on </span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Firstp</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">ost on April 1, 2020</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/cinema-in-the-time-of-covid-19-an-ode-to-the-romance-of-movie-halls-and-watching-films-with-strangers-8213541.html"><span style="font-size: large;">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/cinema-in-the-time-of-covid-19-an-ode-to-the-romance-of-movie-halls-and-watching-films-with-strangers-8213541.html</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Photographs
courtesy: </span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">W</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">ikipedia</span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>1305</o:Words>
<o:Characters>7444</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>62</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>17</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>8732</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-61458147599022111642020-04-03T14:51:00.000+05:302020-04-03T15:22:58.987+05:30COLUMN: THE MASKED BIAS IN OSCAR 2020'S NOMINEES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; border: none 1.0pt; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">Lessons
from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Parasite</i>: Let’s talk about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917</i></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: yellow; border: none 1.0pt; color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marriage Story</i> and the art
of Oscar-nominated closeted conservatism</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0NRj7nW50Iq1DLvAXOlRd02TIOmCUc-SO2S95VtWL2MQKkG5KJhTxauTauVvPmxMGj-PimS3uqfGTV5qS2XY7Gw_lqbo7t6CHhcTdh2W6SHQ-yrcbbe-apjYK_Mo0RHpN6nsLs6mVybB/s1600/Parasite_%25282019_film%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0NRj7nW50Iq1DLvAXOlRd02TIOmCUc-SO2S95VtWL2MQKkG5KJhTxauTauVvPmxMGj-PimS3uqfGTV5qS2XY7Gw_lqbo7t6CHhcTdh2W6SHQ-yrcbbe-apjYK_Mo0RHpN6nsLs6mVybB/s640/Parasite_%25282019_film%2529.png" width="448" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">So
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Parasite</i> won, history has been made,
and an international film in a language other than English has finally bagged
the Best Picture Oscar.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">This
momentous victory will of course spawn worldwide conversations about cinema
without borders and South Korean director Bong </span><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">Joon Ho’s<span style="color: #212121;"> inventive, startling take on
socio-economic divides. Hopefully, it will draw further attention to the
subtlety with which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Parasite</i> manages
to hold the wealthy accountable for their blinkered existence, the blindness to
their own privilege and sometimes even unconscious, unintentional cruelty, all
without demonising the moneyed classes or canonising the poor.</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
if we are lucky, maybe, just perhaps maybe, a discussion will begin on other
nominees in the Best Picture category that preferred to speak in binaries while
pretending not to do </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">so </span><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">and</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">that faked nuance while in fact telling a
one-sided story.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">Have
you ever watched a film that completely drew you in, yet even while being
thoroughly engrossed by it <span style="background: white;">you were aware
of its deeply troubling aspects?</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
2020’s Oscar season, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917</i> did that to
me. Roger Deakins’ cinematography in this British film directed by Sam Mendes
has rightly won an Academy Award with its purposeful creation of the impression
that the entire story had been shot in one take. It </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">is</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121;">an experiential<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>venture, the sort that justifies the existence of
giant screens and cinema halls in this age of cellphone viewing, as it
transports audiences to early 20th century Europe and the brutality of the
First World War.</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7C58Dno5PrmhR6KyaYenWYSP4a7S4SCpASnl8Y-aLJI6qiHiqZzvGl-mrPiP1xbsZt07NiHsbT4pmnF7Qfv3k-HTps6JDgzFf4P8wWW9p_uwVeF6WVH32al8sQ4P1KdqAbc7yizdFPWm/s1600/1917poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7C58Dno5PrmhR6KyaYenWYSP4a7S4SCpASnl8Y-aLJI6qiHiqZzvGl-mrPiP1xbsZt07NiHsbT4pmnF7Qfv3k-HTps6JDgzFf4P8wWW9p_uwVeF6WVH32al8sQ4P1KdqAbc7yizdFPWm/s640/1917poster.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately,
the talk surrounding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917 </i>has been
focused primarily on its technical achievements and secondarily on its
unequivocal opposition to war, without a whisper about the doublespeak in the
film’s claims of noble goals.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
<a href="https://time.com/5743259/1917-movie-sam-mendes/">an interview to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Time</i> magazine</a> in the
US, when asked why he made <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917</i> now,
Mendes said: “I<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">n war, you see human beings pushed to their extremes and forced to
confront what it means to be alive, and what it means to sacrifice yourself for
other people.”</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">His co-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">writer
<span style="color: #121212;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/03/the-stupidest-thing-humanity-ever-did-to-itself-sam-mendes-and-colin-firth-on-1917">Krysty Wilson-Cairns </a></span></span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/03/the-stupidest-thing-humanity-ever-did-to-itself-sam-mendes-and-colin-firth-on-1917"><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">informed</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #121212; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/03/the-stupidest-thing-humanity-ever-did-to-itself-sam-mendes-and-colin-firth-on-1917">the UK’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guardian</i></a> newspaper that one of her grandfathers told her “understanding
history is the only way to avert future catastrophe. The first </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">world war<span style="color: #121212;"> was the stupidest thing humanity ever did to each other”.
And Mendes<span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> </span>explained to the same journalist: “People who are attached
to some sort of nostalgic vision treat these wars retrospectively as triumphs.
In fact, they were tragedies.”</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet,
whether unwittingly or with insidious intent, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917</i> repeats the mistakes of the past by taking sides despite
making a great show of being objective and neutral. Throughout the narrative,
there is no question that the German – evil, scheming and alien – is the other,
while the British are helpless participants in circumstances not of their
making. This is not the point of view of the characters but the point of view
of the film itself.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
the centre of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917</i> are two<span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"> young British Lance Corporals </span>traversing
war-ravaged terrain on their way to deliver an urgent message to a senior
officer who might otherwise fall prey to German strategy. In the miserable
position that they find themselves in, I am not suggesting at all that </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mendes and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wilson-Cairns</span><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #121212; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">’ screenplay should have found space for </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">well-considered, impartial
chats between these two fictional men about the accountability of all the
countries involved in WWI. Of course it is very likely that two </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">youth terrified<span style="color: #212121;"> by
gigantic rodents might tell each other, as </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">Tom Blake and Will Schofield do in the
film, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">“Even their (German) rats are
bigger than ours.” A soldier’s antagonism towards or suspicion of the party
responsible for decimating their fellow nationals makes for a believable
portrayal of real life. The film reveals its own position though </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">(spoiler
alert)</span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> by choosing to feature</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">a scene in </span><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">which a <span style="color: #212121;">German airman, in the midst of
being saved from death by one of our heroes, turns on his saviour with brute
force. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Spoiler alert ends)</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">The
First World War was triggered by a complex set of circumstances, none of which
was the virtuousness of the countries that fought Germany. To reduce it to that
though, to single out one country as the devil incarnate, is a simplistic and
lazy recounting of that ugly history. This revisionist retelling, it must be
said, is no different from the othering that plagues the contemporary </span><span lang="EN-US" style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">world,<span style="color: #212121;"> overcome as it is by a wave of
Islamophobia and hatred for immigrants.</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
kind </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">response to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">1917</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> would be to say that perhaps Mendes and <span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Wilson-Cairns are themselves </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">victims</span><span style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121;">of
propaganda and conditioning. Perhaps. But no such kindness can be extended to
Noah </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Baumbach</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"> whose <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marriage Story</i>
is decidedly sneaky in the way it purports to give us an unbiased view of a
crumbling marriage but pulls every trick out of the bag to lean imperceptibly
towards the man’s side.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jGcDH_QWbbTKaiGzeczUDEQjpkSKck_8uNti_5F_ZI3fwmmTrjtgzxmI2EDMeNH1dK6urpoCqI4OaFhl37jlW2xmAOXKDXf7Dc7SgJRMzglFIUTbqooVWI9Juw282nvn1iT693SITr7x/s1600/MarriageStoryPoster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jGcDH_QWbbTKaiGzeczUDEQjpkSKck_8uNti_5F_ZI3fwmmTrjtgzxmI2EDMeNH1dK6urpoCqI4OaFhl37jlW2xmAOXKDXf7Dc7SgJRMzglFIUTbqooVWI9Juw282nvn1iT693SITr7x/s640/MarriageStoryPoster.png" width="430" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>171</o:Words>
<o:Characters>977</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>8</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>1146</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marriage Story</i>,
Scarlett Johansson plays a woman suffocating in a marital relationship that has
revolved around the husband’s needs, wants and career dreams. It begins well
enough, but just when it seems like it will fairly show us how one partner
might, by not openly communicating with the other, end up encouraging his
unintended selfishness, it sets off on its actual mission. Having lulled us
into buying into its apparent sense of justice, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marriage Story</i> metamorphoses into a tale of how nasty Nicole
traumatises and almost bankrupts the well-meaning Charlie through the divorce
process. It does so by showing us more of him than her, by highlighting
instances of her lawyer’s meanness in contrast with his first lawyer’s
incompetence and showing </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">little to none</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">of what must surely have been
his own second lawyer’s machinations, and by intentionally suggesting an
equivalence between the complete marginalisation of Nicole’s dreams during
their marriage with the inconvenience of Charlie forced to live in a bare-bones
flat in a desperate bid to get joint custody of their only child since Nasty
Nicole spirited him away to a new city.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">The really epic moment comes though when Charlie absolves
himself of his infidelity by pointing out that he could have done so much more
– yes sir, I kid you not, he tells Nicole he had ONLY one affair although he
could have had so many more because he was young, hot, successful, intelligent
and scores of women were interested. Be grateful I did not cheat more, is all
he skips saying, but he may as well have said it anyway.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
problem with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1917</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marriage Story</i> is not so much that they
take sides, but that they camouflage their aims. The problem with them is not
that they are prejudiced, but that they are dishonest, clever and dangerous
because of how convincing they are.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Somewhere
in a cinematic paradise of my imagination, <span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Bong Joon-Ho
and Taika Waititi, the writer-director of the delightful <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jojo Rabbit</i> – which was also in the reckoning for a Best Picture
Oscar – are holding a master class in what it means to be </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; padding: 0cm;">non-judgmental<span style="color: #212121;"> and
truthful for Messrs Mendes and Baumbach.</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: red; color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
article was published </span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">on </span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Firstp</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">ost on Febr</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">uar</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">y10, 2020</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman";"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/lessons-from-parasite-lets-talk-about-1917-marriage-story-and-the-art-of-oscar-nominated-closeted-conservatism-8025261.html"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/lessons-from-parasite-lets-talk-about-1917-marriage-story-and-the-art-of-oscar-nominated-closeted-conservatism-8025261.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Photographs
courtesy: </span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;">W</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;">ikipedia</span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>66</o:Words>
<o:Characters>377</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>442</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3555887833232019435.post-64713390911825910252020-03-15T21:55:00.000+05:302020-03-15T21:55:03.835+05:30REVIEW 777: ANGREZI MEDIUM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 460px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Release
date:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">March 13</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 14.05pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Director:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 14.05pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Homi Adajania</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cast:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Irrfan, Radhika
Madan, Deepak Dobriyal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranvir Shorey, Dimple
Kapadia, Pankaj Tripathi, Kiku Sharda, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Tillotama<span style="color: #181817;"> Shome, Zakir Hussain, Meghna Malik</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.85pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 152.0pt;" valign="top" width="152">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: -4.65pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Language:</span></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="height: 12.85pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 307.5pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Hindi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwO8KLr7TqBuWA81dFAzSInOZODjH5azqP-g1ZTluHExDqagLIpmMJAogTT7EnQ2fAG3AHeBKvOEOXzfx1UIioLVPgvxWzoifr-rG_fmsdjMF-cDmsCN_s5zkVE4gWcgZK9HbF531_uTQT/s1600/Angrezi_Medium_film_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwO8KLr7TqBuWA81dFAzSInOZODjH5azqP-g1ZTluHExDqagLIpmMJAogTT7EnQ2fAG3AHeBKvOEOXzfx1UIioLVPgvxWzoifr-rG_fmsdjMF-cDmsCN_s5zkVE4gWcgZK9HbF531_uTQT/s640/Angrezi_Medium_film_poster.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Angrezi Medium</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">’s opening does not bode well for what
is to come. Text on a black screen at the start offers an amusing
definition of the Hindi word “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pita</i>”
and while translating that definition into English, mistranslates “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pita</i>” as “parent”. Ummm, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pita</i>” is “father”. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This is a curious
slip-up because despite the post-1960s Bollywood tradition of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">marginalising <span style="color: #181817;">women, mothers have been deified to kingdom come by this
film industry. And if a deeper meaning is sought to be conveyed here,
about the protagonist (a man we have yet to meet) doubling up as Mum and Dad to
his child, sorry, it does not come across. This throws up a troubling
question right at the start of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i>: would
the film proceed to take the marginalisation of women to new lows? Despite its
opening misfire, the answer is: actually not. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Director Homi
Adajania’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i> stars
Irrfan as Champak Bansal, a widower in Udaipur who will go to any lengths to
ensure his daughter Tarika Bansal’s happiness. Tarika has always, always
dreamt of seeing the world, and when an opportunity to travel to London comes
up in her late teens, she eyes it eagerly. Champak must overcome his fear of
losing her, financial challenges and his penchant for being indiscreet to help
her get there. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Through a series of
misadventures, Tarika does end up in London, so do Champak and his cousin Gopi.
As you would have gathered from the trailer, the men are pretending to be
someone they are not, leading to a further series of misadventures,
mishaps and misunderstandings. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">There is great
drama in the plotline, but it is not over-dramatised in its presentation.
The result is an even-toned narrative and a consistently funny, consistently
reflective story on the balance that must be struck between holding on yet
letting go in any loving relationship that does not suffocate either
party. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Angrezi Medium</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">is Adajania’s fourth feature. His debut, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Being Cyrus</i>, was an edgy thriller. <a href="http://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-144-cocktail.html"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cocktail</i> </a>was a step down with its
revival of outmoded gender and sectarian stereotypes. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium </i>is debatable but interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This new film
is a follow-up but not a sequel to the 2017</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">hit <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hindi Medium</i> in which Irrfan and
Pakistani star Saba Qamar played a Delhi couple desperate to get their
daughter out of the old-fashioned, traditionalist milieu of Chandni
Chowk and into an English medium school in the capital’s snootier
quarters. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Like Raj from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2017/05/review-492-hindi-medium.html">Hindi Medium</a></i>, Champak too can barely
speak English, a language that continues to have aspirational value
across India. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This,
however, is an extraneous point in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi
Medium</i>. Champak is not quite as wealthy as the BMW-driving Raj, but he is
financially well off. Money too is not the driving force of this plot. The
focus of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium </i>is
Champak’s single-minded commitment to Tarika that leads him to introspect<span style="color: #181817;"> about his conservatism while she reconsiders her
somewhat conventional interpretation of taking flight. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="color: #181817;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmrMYzSE8_OWaarg4utxh8kbDngmXqtMg1tuerUxUFSKD9hs0Zac3eKjj9V1aU1F50AJ7NUef3rNMwQNW9vW7TavLisPqnVAR6hvVl8WRU9aHkcG83pFkqw1S_GWwkfCMRK3fXfMagLG0/s1600/Hindi_Medium_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmrMYzSE8_OWaarg4utxh8kbDngmXqtMg1tuerUxUFSKD9hs0Zac3eKjj9V1aU1F50AJ7NUef3rNMwQNW9vW7TavLisPqnVAR6hvVl8WRU9aHkcG83pFkqw1S_GWwkfCMRK3fXfMagLG0/s400/Hindi_Medium_poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Written by
Bhavesh Mandalia, Gaurav Shukla, Vinay Chhawal and Sara Bodinar, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i>’s first victory
comes with its use of language. The film’s characters speak a
Rajasthani Hindi that is a pleasure to listen to, its rhythm rib-tickling
to those of us unaccustomed to it. At no point is it used to caricature the
characters speaking it though. I did at first wish for subtitles, but after the
first half hour it grew on me.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">The writing
team has managed to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">broach<span style="color: #181817;"> multiple themes without making the screenplay feel
crowded. At a time when Islamophobia is tearing through our social fabric, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i> takes a
passing comical swipe at those who stereotype Muslims with
specific superficial markers. In a film industry and a society that
have consistently prioritised the aspirations of male children, it is
also refreshing to see a story of a father’s reactions to an independent-minded
daughter’s dreams without any self-conscious tomtomming of their gender by
the filmmaker. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Hindi films were
once obsessed with the mother-son bond. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi
Medium</i> deals with a range of parent-child equations from
the pivotal father-daughter pair to a significant mother-daughter and
a father-son on the sidelines. Even in its unspoken Indian-vs-Western-culture viewpoint, the
film is atypical. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Where it does
stumble into conformist territory is in brief conversations where Champak
speaks of the selfishness of children who leave their parents on reaching
adulthood and accuses such youngsters of using their parents for 18 years
before dumping them. Of course there are kids who head out without sparing a
thought for parents who were good to them, kids who toss such parents out
of their lives without any consideration for their needs or feelings, and of
course such kids are jerks, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi
Medium</i> fails to acknowledge that in the place where the film is set at that
point, it is just as common for parents to chuck their kids out when
they turn 18. And in India, where such a practice is alien, parents go to
another extreme and interfere in their children’s existence as a matter of
right. And what of parents across the world who are rotters? If you do not
have the space to at least touch upon all these points, it is terribly unfair
to dwell on just one, especially considering that Indian films tend to
pedestalise parents or at the very least view them with an uncritical eye.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #181817; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">These passages in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i> are aberrations in a film
that is largely non-judgemental in its approach to its characters. Thankfully,
the screenplay does not stretch the point too far </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">and sort of sorts it out in the
end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Angrezi
Medium</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">’s other
frailties are not connected to the values it sets out to propagate. A prologue
about how Champak has been confused since childhood feels contrived, even
if a link is clearly intended between that juvenile indecisiveness and his
adult confusion in a changing world. This plot element is marginal to the
proceedings though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Far more problematic is the way
the narrative intermittently flags in the second half when it
spends too much time on the often improbable, even impossible means
Champak employs to get Tarika admission to the college of her choice.
Irrfan and Dobriyal are lovely together, but the film loses steam in these
portions by straying too far from the Dad and daughter and becoming too much
about the cousins. On the whole too, as a result, Angrezi Medium
unwittingly becomes more about a devoted father than it is about a father and
daughter, it becomes more about Champak than it is about Champak and
Tarika. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This is an injustice to Tarika
who is purportedly the second lead. Post-interval Angrezi Medium is
less invested in her than it was pre-interval, a writing choice that
subtracts from its overall impact. The screenplay redeems itself by getting
right back to her in the end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">(Aside: This, I suspect, was a
Freudian slip. We are so used to placing men, their work and their needs at the
centre of our stories – read: our personal lives, our art, our news coverage –
that the best of us often do not realise how we have internalised our
social conditioning. It shows up in many ways big and tiny, including how a
screenplay writer might unconsciously prioritise a male character over a woman,
or translate the common-gender “parent” as the masculine gender “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pita</i>”, or – if the headline of this
review gave you pause, then please note – how socially we casually use
masculine expressions such as “thinking man’s film”, “mankind”, “manpower” and “man
hours” for gender-neutral circumstances but are startled or offended when
anyone similarly uses the feminine gender.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Radhika Madan as Tarika is a
perfect fit for a role that requires her to match up to the formidable Irrfan.
In her debut Hindi feature, <a href="http://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2018/10/review-647-pataakha.html">Vishal Bhardwaj’s wacko <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pataakha</i></a>, she had proved her ability to carry a film on her
shoulders as one of two female leads. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi
Medium</i> she stands her ground in an ensemble film, acing the comedy, the
fieriness of her character, her pensive moments and her maturing with equal
confidence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">I am not sure why Kareena Kapoor
Khan agreed to play a supporting character in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i>, since male superstars almost never make such
choices in Bollywood. That she agreed is the film’s good fortune because
she is a stately presence in a small but important role. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Deepak Dobriyal blazes his way
through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i> with the
smashing comic timing that made him stand out in <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-21-tanu-weds-manu.html"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tanu Weds Manu</i> </a>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2017/05/review-492-hindi-medium.html">Hindi Medium</a></i>. Give him more, Bollywood. C’mooon, give him more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Time, trouble and money have
evidently been spent on casting even characters who get just a few seconds to
minutes of screen time in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium</i>.
Unlike most Hindi films that cut corners by recruiting cringe-worthy individuals
to play foreigners, this one has good actors in those parts too, which is
crucial since most of the film is set abroad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Irrfan is returning to acting after
a long break due to a health scare. He seems to have grown as an artiste in
this time away from the public eye. He is so consumed by his
character that the strain of doing an accent never once shows, nor does he, unlike
many lesser actors in other films, allow that accent to overpower his sensitive
performance. After <a href="https://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-225-lunchbox.html"><i>The </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lunchbox</i></a>, Champak
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Angrezi Medium </i>must rank
as among his best work. A fine performance for a fun film.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating (out
of 5 stars): </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #f1850f; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-align: center; mso-effects-shadow-alpha: 100.0%; mso-effects-shadow-angledirection: 5400000; mso-effects-shadow-anglekx: 0; mso-effects-shadow-angleky: 0; mso-effects-shadow-color: #F79646; mso-effects-shadow-dpidistance: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-dpiradius: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-pctsx: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-pctsy: 0%; mso-effects-shadow-themecolor: accent6; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.75</span></b><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; width: 437px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">CBFC Rating (India):</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.0pt;" valign="top" width="216">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #201f1e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">U </span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 10.45pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 221.4pt;" valign="top" width="221">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Running time:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; height: 10.45pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.0pt;" valign="top" width="216">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">145 minutes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #191919; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">This review has also been published on Firstpost:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/angrezi-medium-movie-review-irrfan-kareena-and-a-great-ensemble-breeze-through-a-thinking-womans-comedy-8144901.html">https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/angrezi-medium-movie-review-irrfan-kareena-and-a-great-ensemble-breeze-through-a-thinking-womans-comedy-8144901.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Posters
courtesy: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(1) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angrezi_Medium">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angrezi_Medium</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(2) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_Medium">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_Medium</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>36</o:Words>
<o:Characters>184</o:Characters>
<o:Company>annavetticad@hotmail.com</o:Company>
<o:Lines>3</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>219</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anna MM Vetticadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08672605004762355462noreply@blogger.com0