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Homebound review: Neeraj Ghaywan’s film reminds you of your privilege in a hard-hitting way

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Storyline: Homebound is a story of two best friends from the less fortunate backgrounds and what all they go through because of their identities. Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa) hail from a small town in India. The families of both lead a life of poverty. But that’s not all. Shoaib and Chandan also regularly face discrimination on the basis of their religion and caste respectively.

In order to get respect from the society, the two friends appear for a police recruitment exam. They believe that once they join the police force, the attitude of the society will change towards them. While they are on the way to the examination centre in train, they meet Sudha Bharti (Janhvi Kapoor), who is also from the lower caste. After giving the exam, Shoaib and Chandan anxiously wait for the examination results, which keep on getting delayed.

Review: There is a scene in Homebound where Shoaib is made fun of by his office seniors because Pakistan loses against India in a cricket match, thereby assuming that his loyalty lies with the neighbouring country. The guy’s friendly colleague tries to pacify him saying that those who are targeting him for his religion are drunk and they are doing it just for some ‘fun’.  


In another instance, a woman is not allowed to cook mid-day meals for kids in a school after the parents realize that she belongs to a lower caste.

The film also shows the severe struggle of the people from the lower strata of society to survive the COVID-19 pandemic in what can be described as a heart-wrenching part of the film.

Homebound isn’t the first film to show these miseries of the less fortunate and it won’t be the last either. But its starkly appealing manner of representing the atrocities one faces due to one’s religion, caste and social positioning moves you profoundly.

At the same time, it also makes us realize how privileged we are. Even though we might not be millionaires but the kind of lives we are living is a dream for a large majority of our country’s population.

The performances of the two lead actors play a vital role in creating the impact. With this performance, Vishal Jethwa has announced that he is one of the most talented actors around. His portrayal of the journey of Chandan is completely praiseworthy, especially during the ending moments. Ishaan Khatter is not behind though. He has provided a thoroughly mature act as his character goes through different challenges throughout the film.

The actors playing the family members of both Chandan and Shoaib are also praiseworthy. Janhvi Kapoor acts decently but she is a miscast in the role of Sudha Bharti.

The other negative point, although minor, is the length, which could have been shorter.

Overall: Homebound is one of the finest films to have come in recent years. Its selection for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category appears to be the right decision.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Neeraj Ghaywan

Producers: Dharma Productions

Writers: Basharat Peer, Neeraj Ghaywan and Sumit Roy

Cast: Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor

The Ba***ds Of Bollywood review: Unabashedly whacky take on Bollywood with an overdose of expletives

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Storyline: The Ba***ds Of Bollywood revolves around Aasmaan Singh (Lakshya), who dreams of becoming a famous movie star. After arriving in Mumbai from his hometown Delhi and struggling for some time, he gets an opportunity to showcase his heroic skills and bags the film Revolver. The movie becomes a hit and he achieves initial stardom.  

Aasmaan stays with his uncle Avtar (Manoj Pahwa), who has been struggling all his life to become a singer and musician, and his loyal best friend Parvaiz (Raghav Juyal). His mother Neeta (Mona Singh) once dreamt of becoming an actress but could not be more than a background dancer. His father Rajat (Vijayant Kohli) is suffering from a liver disease.

The producer of Revolver, Freddy Sodawallah (Manish Chaudhari), asks Aasmaan to sign an exclusive three film deal with him. Aasmaan’s manager and friend Sanya (Anyaa Singh) urges him to take his time and not sign in a huff as she wants bigger producers to sign him. She convinces Karan Johar (Karan Johar) to cast Aasmaan in his next. However, unknown to Sanya, Sodawallah tricks Aasmaan in signing the three film deal.

Meanwhile, Karishma Talvar (Sahher Bambba), daughter of the superstar Ajay Talvar (Bobby Deol) and hence a ‘nepo kid’, gets pissed off with Aasmaan during a roundtable interview. Later on, it is revealed that Karan wants Karishma to star opposite Aasmaan in his film. Ajay, for some reason, hates Aasmaan and wants him removed from Karan’s film.

Review: The Ba***ds Of Bollywood is basically a tale of a simple boy with big dreams of becoming a film star. But his story is told while giving an inside glimpse of the workings of the Hindi film industry in an over-the-top manner.

The USP of the show is the whacky humour and the unpredictability of the situations. The humour relies a lot on meta references, mostly about characters that play themselves (Karan Johar and a number of others from the film industry). But it’s done in a smart and witty manner, except in the scene where a producer brutally kicks a female production designer, which wasn’t funny.

Debutant writer and director Aryan Khan’s sense of humour does take you by a pleasant surprise. What’s noteworthy is the self-deprecating humour on himself and his drug case. The show also has a few fictional characters who seem to be inspired from real-life stars from the industry. If you are able to guess about them, it increases the fun element.  

But the show suffers from an unnecessary overdose of cuss words. So much so, that they cease to have an impact after the initial episodes itself. In fact, it won’t be wrong to state that there is an expletive in almost every sentence. Some developments are also too convenient. But a bigger negative is that the proceedings become too serious and don’t fit the nature of the show after a few episodes.

However, the narrative brings in an unexpected and major twist in the end, which gives you a jolt and turns the whole show on its head! This also takes care of a question of why one character hates another to the core. There are chances that the twist won’t work for many. It worked for this reviewer though.

The Ba***ds Of Bollywood has a long list of cast members and none of them disappoint. Lakshya fits in the role of a struggler who becomes a star and goes through unusual circumstances. He makes the journey of the main protagonist believable. Bobby Deol shines while playing a grey character. He also excels in fight scenes. Sahher Bambba succeeds in displaying her talent as a star kid. Anyaa Singh is perfect in the role of Aasmaan’s manager.

Manoj Pahwa, Mona Singh and Vijayant Kohli are also fine as Aasmaan’s family members. Mona gets a meaty part later on. Manish Chaudhari is excellent as the veteran producer. Karan Johar’s character is different from him in real life and he too provides a fine act. Rajat Bedi sportingly plays a character inspired from his real character. He leaves behind a strong impact. Divik Sharma as the weird brother of Karishma fits the character to the T. The rest of the supporting actors like Gautami Kapoor, Meherzan Mazda and others are fine too. Eshika Dey gets noticeable at the very end.

From the cameos, Shah Rukh Khan, Arshad Warsi, Emraan Hashmi and Ranveer Singh impress the most.

But the most impactful actor of the show is Raghav Juyal. He is extremely likable and humorous. To stand out from such a long list of cast and special star appearances is a major achievement.  

Overall: The Ba***ds Of Bollywood is a fun ride with a few potholes that are taken care of by the final twist.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Aryan Khan

Producers: Red Chillies Entertainment

Writers: Aryan Khan, Bijaj Siddiqi and Manav Chauhan Cast: Lakshya, Sahher Bambba, Bobby Deol, Raghav Juyal, Mona Singh, Manoj Pahwa, Manish Chaudhari, Karan Johar, Vijayant Kohli

Also Read: Jolly LLB 3 review: Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi & last 30 minutes are the highlights

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs on the web as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Jolly LLB 3 review: Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi & last 30 minutes are the highlights

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Storyline: Jolly LLB 3’s backstory dates to 2011 in Parsaul, a remote village in Rajasthan. An aged farmer Rajaram Solanki doesn’t agree to sell his land to India’s richest businessman Haribhai Khetan (Gajraj Rao) for his ‘Bikaner To Boston’ residential complex project. He is then framed in a fake case about non-payment of dues. He loses the case. Dejected, he dies by suicide. But his wife Janaki (Seema Biswas) vows to get justice, not just for Rajaram but also for various other farmers, whose lives are negatively affected by the project.  

The story moves few years later in Delhi, where advocate Jagdishwar Mishra aka Jolly (Akshay Kumar) from Lucknow and advocate Jagdish Tyagi aka (also) Jolly from Meerut are always seen fighting over stealing each other’s cases in a lower court. The two can’t see eye to eye. One day, Janaki approaches them with her late husband and other farmers’ case. However, she no fees to pay to any of the two Jollys.

Review: The first film in director Subhash Kapoor’s franchise Jolly LLB (2013) was entertaining but it kept the court proceedings close to reality. The second one Jolly LLB 2 (2017) went more mainstream and had a second half full of unbelievable filmi events. Jolly LLB 3 goes more commercial but still turns out to be better than the 2017 movie.

Jolly LLB 3

Kapoor’s narrative gives a good amount of footage to a very serious issue, which comes as a surprise. But he has also succeeded in mixing the humorous portions and maintained the balance for a good amount of time in the film. The antics and rivalry between the two Jollys provide some hilarious moments, especially through the dialogues, which are also penned by Kapoor.

The film should also be lauded for portraying the serious and controversial issues of farmers losing their lands and the lust for more wealth by the crony capitalists. There are some bold sequences in this regard considering that this is a mainstream commercial cinema.

Jolly LLB 3, however, has quite a few sequences that are unwanted. These unnecessarily add on to the length of the film and, more importantly, are not related to the main story. For example, the scene at the restaurant on Valentine’s Day. Even the Formula 1 type race could have been avoided as its purpose was already met in the previous scene where both Jollys meet Janaki.

Even the main case involving Janaki and the farmers lack complete clarity.

But these factors are kind of forgotten in the last 30 minutes when the film goes onto an intense and powerful mode. The makers have given importance to both Akshay and Arshad during this portion. The two actors too have complemented each other well. There are moments where they create a riot. They also shine during serious and emotional moments.

Saurabh Shukla is actually the third hero of the film. You can’t help but feel amused every time he comes on screen. Seema Biswas, however, is the best actor here. She provides a heart-wrenching performance where she speaks through expressions and body language throughout. Gajraj Rao evokes power and fear every time he appears on screen while playing a negative role. Ram Kapoor is decent as the opposing lawyer.

Huma Qureshi and Amrita Rao, as Akshay and Arshad’s wives, don’t have much to do. This is good because giving them more importance would have further increased the runtime. The actor playing Rajaram, DM and others provide fine support. A talented artiste like Shilpa Shukla is cast in an inconsequential role.

Overall: Jolly LLB 3 surpasses the second film in the franchise but not the first one. It is worth watching more for Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi’s chemistry and the final 30 minutes.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Subhash Kapoor

Writer: Shubash Kapoor

Producers: Star Studio 18 and Kangra Talkies

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla, Seema Biswas, Gajraj Rao, Huma Qureshi, Amrita Rao

Also read: Inspector Zende review: Manoj Bajpayee’s period crime drama is a one-time watch

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Sabar Bonda review: Portrays a bold conflict in a quiet and gentle manner

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Storyline: Sabar Bonda (Marathi movie; English title Cactus Pears) revolves around Anand (Bhushaan Manoj). He hails from a small village in Maharashtra but has migrated to Mumbai where he works in the corporate sector. His father falls seriously ill and passes away. In order to carry out his funeral and other post-demise rituals, he visits his village for more than a week.

Amid such a situation, Anand’s orthodox relatives and close family members taunt him directly and indirectly on he still being unmarried despite reaching a ‘high age’ of 30. It is impossible for him to reveal it to them that he is a homosexual and recently went through a break-up. His mother Suman (Jayshri Jagtap) has accepted his reality; even his father had. Apart from her, his friend in the village Balya (Suraaj Suman) is his only companion. Anand finds solace while spending time with him.  

Review: Homosexuality is not a novel subject, especially in the unconventional or festival kind of cinema. But writer and director Rohan Kanawade’s Sabar Bonda stands apart from a lot of such films due to various reasons.

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) Marathi movie

It is quite tough for parents to accept their son as a gay in a country like India. The film shows that even if somehow the parents accept their child’s sexuality, what about the relatives and society at large? And this becomes even tougher in a remote village where even a mere mention of the subject is considered more than taboo. This core aspect of the film is skillfully and sensibly portrayed by Kanawade in his feature film debut itself as a writer and director.

The film’s story has a definite conflict element. But the narrative is nowhere near dramatic by any means. It keeps moving in a quiet and gentle manner without making any sort of noise whatsoever despite the subject. The makers have even hardly used any background score. Cinematographer Vikas Urs has enhanced various sequences through his skills, especially in some long one-take scenes.

Sabar Bonda is more like a glimpse into the current state of Anand and the difficult ground on which he is standing at the moment. You do feel sad for him. But the film never goes into a depressive zone. However, you do feel glad for Anand whenever he goes through an episode of happiness; whether it is while spending time with Balya or the moment where he savors Cactus Pears.

This is one of those films where a lot of onus is on the actors and they don’t lag behind. Bhushaan Manoj simply lives the complex but quiet character of Anand. He goes through his various moods without saying much; mostly speaking through expressions. The same sort of quiet but expressive performance is seen from Jayshri Jagtap, who plays his mother. Her support for her son is unwavering, even if it is not visible.

The character of Balya also has an arc of his own, which is finely played by Suraaj Suman. The film has a number of supporting and minor characters as Anand’s relatives and fellow villagers. They all appear realistic.

The film doesn’t have a major negative point. The only minus here is the length. This movie needed to end before 1 hour and 52 minutes.

Overall: Sabar Bonda is unlike a lot of Indian films dealing with homosexuality. It portrays a bold conflict in a quiet and gentle manner.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Rohan Kanawade

Writer: Rohan Kanawade

Producers: Lotus Visual Productions, Dark Stories, Moonweave Films, Taran Tantra Telefilms and Bridge PostWorks

Cast: Bhushaan Manoj, Suraaj Suman and Jayshri Jagtap

Also read: Dashavatar review: Dilip Prabhavalkar shines in the film that doesn’t live up to the interest it generates

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Dashavatar review: Dilip Prabhavalkar shines in the film that doesn’t live up to the interest it generates

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Story outline: Dashavatar takes place in a remote village in Konkan, Maharashtra. The story revolves around Babuli Mestri (Dilip Prabhavalkar), an ageing folk theatre artiste and a celebrated figure in the village. He is specifically known for playing Dashavatar – the act of playing different avatars of Lord Vishnu. But because of the health issues born out of his advanced age, his son Madhav (Siddharth Menon) wants him to retire from his acting duties. Their doctor also feels the same.

Babuli, however, is adamant in continuing to act as he believes it is his duty towards God. At the same time, he is also concerned about Madhav’s future and is eager to see him secure a good job. Madhav too wants to start earning, so that he can marry his lady love Vandana (Priyadarshini Indalkar), who is from the same village.

Madhav finally lands a job at the new factory started in the village by the businessman Sarmalkar (Vijay Kenkre). But just when Babuli felt that life has gotten better, a shattering incident takes place in his life.

Review: Dashavatar scores high in getting you transported to the small Konkan village where it’s based. The scenic place is shot well by cinematographer Devendra Golatkar. The village’s folk theatre culture is portrayed in a realistic manner. It also acts as a tribute to the unsung theatre artistes from various corners of India. The bittersweet relation between Babuli and Madhav also brings a smile, although the song between them could have been done away with.

Dashavatar brings a shocking incident at the interval point. From here on, you expect the film to rise further. But, instead, it starts suffering from the second half syndrome. The incidents where various avatars of Lord Vishnu are brought in not only make the narrative predictable but also lack logic as it’s difficult to believe what one character keeps doing. Plus, the screenplay starts becoming messier as the film nears the climax with quite a few questionable incidents. The climax gives an important social message but it suits more in the medium of theatre than cinema.

It is the legendary Dilip Prabhavalkar’s act that turns out to be the major plus point. He gets into the skin of an ageing Dashavatar artiste and displays his talent throughout. There are also times when his act keeps the script’s shortcomings hidden in the second half.

Siddharth Menon provides an earnest act as Babuli’s son. Priyadarshini Indalkar has more to do than just romance, which she does well. Mahesh Manjrekar arrives late but leaves behind his mark as the cop Michael D’Costa. Vijay Kenkre, Abhinay Berde, Ravi Jadhav, Sunil Tawade and Ravi Kale lend able support in negative roles.

Overall: Dashavatar doesn’t live up to the interest it generates in the first half. The film becomes watchable more because of Dilip Prabhavalkar’s act.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Director: Subodh Khanolkar

Producers: Ocean Film Company and Ocean Art House

Writers: Subodh Khanolkar and Guru Thakur

Cast: Dilip Prabhavalkar, Siddharth Menon, Vijay Kenkre, Priyadarshini Indalkar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Abhinay Berde

Also read: Inspector Zende review: Manoj Bajpayee’s period crime drama is a one-time watch

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/

Inspector Zende review: Manoj Bajpayee’s period crime drama is a one-time watch

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Writer and director Chinmay D Mandlekar’s Netflix movie Inspector Zende is loosely based on the story of Inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende capturing the dreaded criminal Carl Sobraj in 1986.

The story starts off when the mastermind criminal Carl Bhojraj (Jim Sarbh) is serving sentence in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. One fine day, he succeeds in escaping from the prison along with his gang members. They later enter Mumbai. Hence, the case comes under Mumbai Police’s jurisdiction.

The Director General of Mumbai Police Purandhare (Sachin Khedekar) hands over the task of nabbing Bhojraj to Inspector Madhukar Bapurao Zende (Manoj Bajpayee). Apart from he being a reputed cop, the reason for asking Zende to lead the case is that he had heroically caught Bhojraj in 1971. Zende gets along the task with his team comprising of fellow cops Patil (Bhalchandra Kadam) and others.

The makers make it clear in the initial disclaimer that the film is only loosely based on the real story of Inspector Zende and that they have added a lot of fiction. But even then, the creative liberties turn out to be a bit too much as soon as the film starts. You wonder why the real story of a heroic cop is told in a comedy manner and that too slapstick humour in some places.

But the actual issue is that apart from a giggle here and there, the jokes fall flat. The proceedings are fast-paced and they keep you engaged. But you constantly wonder about the need for such kind of humour while narrating this story. Even Paresh Mokashi’s Harishchandrachi Factory narrated Dadasaheb Phalke’s real story in a comical way but the humour in that movie was actually funny.

Thankfully for Inspector Zende, the narrative becomes more engaging in the last 30-40 minutes when the story shifts to Goa. The mission carried out by Zende and his team is different from what we regularly see in crime dramas taking place inside the country. The story reaches at one point when you highly root for Zende and his team. This also leads to a few nail-biting moments in the ending portions.

Apart from the latter part of the second half, Manoj Bajpayee’s act keeps the film going, even when the narrative isn’t pleasing enough. He gets plenty of opportunities to display his talent. He makes sure to not reduce the real character of Zende to a comical one even during humorous moments. Jim Sarbh is perfectly cast as the half-foreigner suave criminal who mostly speaks in English. He also subtly switches over to a ruthless mode.

Sachin Khedekar and Girija Oak offer good support. Bhalchandra Kadam does what he is known for. He appears sidelined in the first half but gets more opportunity later on. Vaibhav Mangle is funny as a Goa cop. Harish Dudhade, Onkar Raut, Nitin Bhajan and Bharat Savale provide able support as Zende’s team members.

Technical areas like Rajesh Choudhary’s production design and Ketan Sodha’s background score succeed in recreating the bygone era.

Overall: Inspector Zende is saved by the last 30-40 minutes and Manoj Bajpayee’s act.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Chinmay D Mandlekar

Writer: Chinmay D Mandlekar

Producer: Northern Lights Films

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Jim Sarbh, Sachin Khedekar, Girija Oak, Bhalchandra Kadam

Also read: Mahavatar Narsimha review: Uplifting mixture of devotion and entertainment

This blog is one of the Top 30 Indian movie blogs in the world as per FeedSpot. See the full list here – https://bloggers.feedspot.com/indian_movie_blogs/