The Common Man Speaks

Why south films are dominating? Is Bollywood on the decline?

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The last six months, ever since theatres re-opened all across India at the end of last year, have seen some major box office hits in India. The top three of them have been from the south Indian film industry. These include the likes of Pushpa: The Rise, RRR and KGF Chapter 2.

Interestingly, apart from their original languages, these films they have also done phenomenally well in its Hindi dubbed versions in the Hindi belts of India – regions where predominantly Hindi films work.

They have also outperformed quite a few big-ticket Hindi films that were expected to do well. This is forcing a lot of people to ask the question as to why south films are working big time in the Hindi markets these days, especially on social media.

Going by the films that have succeeded, the answer to the question is simple. These films are finding massive audience base because these are entertaining films. Over here, entertaining means absolute mass entertainers.

These are films where a popular hero (or heroes) with a good amount of fan following plays a rough and tough character who can beat the hell out of the bad guys, gets to mouth some heroic dialogues and shake a leg on fast dance numbers. Pushpa, RRR and KGF fall in these categories of films and were decent content-wise too. Hence they have achieved massive success all over the country.

This is also giving rise to the question whether Bollywood or Hindi film industry is on the decline. It is being said on numerous occasions that south industry is all set to dominate and put behind the Hindi industry. I read a lot enthusiastic comments on social media daily where someone or the other states that Bollywood is slowly getting finished or is sinking.

RRR KGF

I personally feel these are baseless statements. One needs to understand that there has been a change in the way audience consumes films in the post-pandemic era. People are visiting theatres in large numbers only for massy commercial films that provide larger-than-life entertainment.

That’s the reason why the aforementioned south films have done so well. And that is also the reason why Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi became a runaway hit and that too at a time when there was uncertainty at the box office. After all, it was the first big Hindi film to release post-pandemic and the producers themselves weren’t sure how it would perform. But it had non-stop entertainment and this was enough for the cash registers to start ringing.

The same can be said about the success of Gangubai Kathiawadi. It might be a film about the life of a sex worker but it was narrated by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in a larger-than-life and entertaining manner. It was also helped by the presence of superstar Alia Bhatt who showed as much confidence and swag as any hero in a hero-centric massy film.

The Kashmir Files is an exception as it’s not a typical Bollywood movie. It created massive interest for people of a particular political ideology who felt it’s their duty to watch this film in theatres. This doesn’t mean that those with a different political view didn’t see the film.

On the other hand, films like Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Badhaai Do and Jersey have failed despite getting positive reviews and word-of-mouth. This is because they were sensible, content-oriented films and not the larger-than-life masala entertainers.

Hence, as per the change in audience consumption, they didn’t do well in theatres. People are preferring to watch such type of films on OTT [over-the-top] platforms. Now, a film worth watching in theatre has to be a big-screen experience. A major proof of this change is that even someone like Ayushmann Khurrana, who was considered a bankable star before the pandemic, couldn’t help the cause of Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.

Of course, Satyameva Jayate 2 was also aimed as a massy entertainer but the film got rejected because of its terrible content. The film at least needs to be decent to be successful. Because of the same reason, the Hindi version of Radhe Shyam sank despite the presence of the Baahubali actor Prabhas. The same was the cast with Vijay’s Beast. So it’s not at all big south films are doing well in Hindi.

There’s no denying that the quality of Hindi films in recent times hasn’t been up-to-the-mark or at high standards. The industry has been criticized for its obsession with remaking successful south Indian movies over and over again.

But this certainly doesn’t mean that Bollywood is sinking or is on the decline. It’s just that only commercial films with big stars and decent content are doing well right now because of the change in audience’s manner of consumption.

The big commercial films lined up for release from here onwards are expected to do well if the content is decent enough. Can’t say the same about films that are thought-provoking and not aimed at the masses as these films are now considered worthy only for OTT.

This will go on at least till the near future. After that, things may or may not change.

Also read:

Can we stop giving unreal reasons for 83’s box office failure?

Political ideologies & caste have divided audiences of Hindi & Marathi cinema  

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Cinema, like other art forms, is celebrated in India. In fact, this has been the most popular medium of art since time immemorial in various languages. It is considered to be a medium that is enjoyed by people in groups of large numbers. In other words, it has united people of India over the decades; be it of different languages or regions.

But in the recent past, there has been an increasing division among the film audiences in terms of political ideologies and caste.

This has been seen the most with Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files. No, this article isn’t about whether the film is good or bad. What’s noteworthy here is that people are divided in two sides of the fence when it comes to this film.  

Agreeing to disagree is something that doesn’t happen much on social media. Those who haven’t liked the film or are critical of it, be it film reviewers or general public, are hated and abhorred by those who have loved it. I agree there have been reviews and views that appear biased against the movie.

However, even if someone genuinely doesn’t like that film, he or she is considered to be insensitive towards the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. They just don’t take into account that a person can dislike a film for its craft and other filmmaking aspects like screenplay, dialogues and direction. Not liking The Kashmir Files doesn’t mean one doesn’t care or sympathize with the Kashmiri Pandits.

The Kashmir Files

Similarly, if a person genuinely likes that film, he is considered to be from the Right Wing.

Hence, now Hindi films are looked upon as ‘ours’ and ‘theirs.’ Films that are critical of the rivals of the ruling party or the ones that have references to Ramayana or Mahabharata are considered Right Wing movies. On the other hand, those critical of the ruling party and the ones that feature the Khans or the ‘nepo gang’ (as they are called) are considered belonging to the ‘other’ side.  

Unfortunately, the curse of division has entered among the Marathi cinema audience too. Here it’s not based upon political ideology but caste. Yes, we are seeing caste-based divisions even in 2022. In fact, it is seen the most this year.

For people like us, films like Jhund (it is a Hindi film but it’s aimed mostly at Maharashtra) and Me Vasantrao are great films. However, because of the caste identity of the protagonists in both the films and its makers, they are labeled as films for the ‘lower castes’ and ‘higher castes’ respectively.

Hence, if a person from the ‘higher caste’ doesn’t like Jhund, he is considered to be anti-‘lower caste.’ On the other hand, if a person from the ‘lower caste’ doesn’t like Me Vasantrao, he is accused of being anti-‘higher caste.’ In both scenarios, if that person happens to be a film critic, he or she is trolled and bashed online. We have now reached a stage where the caste of the critic is taken into consideration before taking his or her views seriously.

Over the last 1-2 months, I have come across plenty of comments and long opinions on social media on the division between Marathi films on the basis of ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’. This segregation had started mildly few years ago but it has reached dangerous levels this year.     

This division among Hindi and Marathi audience couldn’t have come at a worse time. This is the era of pan-India films. South is leading the way with movies like Baahubali (1 and 2), KGF Chapter 1, Pushpa, RRR and KGF Chapter 2. These films are dubbed in Hindi and they do tremendously well all over India.

Being an admirer of both Hindi and Marathi cinema, I would want films in these two languages to do well pan-India too by getting them dubbed in various south languages or through any other way.

But looking at such a staunch division among the primary audiences of films of both the industries itself, this appears like a dream right now.

Also read:

Can we stop giving unreal reasons for 83 box office failure?

The Kashmir Files review: Creates an impact despite hiccups

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The genocide of Kashmiri Pandits is one of the darkest chapters in Indian history. Yet, not much has been spoken about it over the decades. We have had only two Hindi films made on the issue before this week – Ashoke Pandit’s Sheen (2004) and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara (2020). We now have the third one in the form of filmmaker Vivek Rankan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files.

How exactly the film plays out will be discussed later. But broadly speaking, it succeeds in its basic aim of making you feel for the incident and the Pandits.

The Kashmir Files narrates two parallel stories. One is based in 1990 when terrorists headlined by Farooq Abdul Bitta (Chinmay Mandlekar) create havoc in the lives of Kashmiri Pandits. They are given an option to convert to Islam, run for their lives or die. One such family is that of Pushkar Nath Pandit (Anupam Kher), his son, daughter-in-law (Bhasha Sumbli) and two grandsons.

The other track is based in today’s times and it revolves around Krishna Pandit (Darshan Kumaar), the grandson of Pushkar. He studies in ANU in Delhi and is a part of a radical group of students who don’t believe the enormity of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and demand a separate Kashmir. The group is captained by their professor Radhika Menon (Pallavi Joshi).

The Kashmir FIles

Pushkar returns to Kashmir after his grandfather’s death to distribute his remains. Once there, he gets to know the seriousness of the Kashmiri Pandit issue and his views about the whole affair go through a change.

The Kashmir Files leaves no stone unturned when it comes to showing the gruesomeness of the whole incident. We see disturbing visuals of people being shot point blank, cut vertically through a wood-cutting machine, a woman forced to consume rice mixed with her murdered husband’s blood, etc. These visuals, obviously, are disturbing but a majority of times they work for bringing to light the horrific crimes against innocents.

Splitting the narrative into two time zones is a smart idea. One does feel a bit confused on few occasions but things fall into place, especially by the time the film ends.

The camerawork and colour grading suit the subject perfectly. This subject doesn’t deserve vibrant visuals of the valley, as is seen from various happy Hindi film songs shot here in the past.

This is the meatiest role Darshan Kumaar has ever got to play and he grabs the opportunity with both hands. He shines the most during his monologue. Chinmay Mandlekar is the best of all, not just when it comes to expressions and body language but also the diction. It’s difficult to believe that just last month we saw the same person play Shivaji Maharaj in the Marathi movie Pawankhind.

Pallavi Joshi, The Kashmir Files
Pallavi Joshi in The Kashmir Files

Pallavi Joshi is excellent as the radical professor. It is a surprise why we don’t see her more often. Mithun Chakraborty, as the helpless IAS officer, succeeds in moving you. Atul Srivastav and Puneet Issar chip in with good support. Bhasha Sumbli is the surprise element.

However, Anupam Kher doesn’t live up to the expectations as he goes in the over-the-top zone on quite a few occasions. This comes as a rude surprise.

The Kashmir Files would have been much more impactful but for few issues. The runtime of 170 minutes is very high. There are a number of periods where the pace slows down and the narrative almost becomes like a docu-drama. The film needed to be much crisper. Although Darshan Kumaar acts well, the way his character keeps changing sides is not convincing and too convenient.

But what hurts the film the most is the more than in-your-face propaganda when it comes to the portrayal of JNU [the censors made them change it to ANU]. The university is vilified as a hub whose only aim is to harm the nation, especially through the character of Pallavi Joshi.

Also read: Gangubai Kathiawadi review

At one point, this aspect becomes so strong that it somewhat reduces the impact created about the sorry tale of Kashmiri Pandits. In other words, this eagerness to paint the entire institute in a particular way affects the very issue the film eagerly wants to raise, although for some time.

Overall: The Kashmir Files creates an impact despite the hiccups. The film is expected to gain surprisingly positive box office collections because of the high amount of buzz. Plus, the film’s budget is only Rs 14 crore.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri

Writer: Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri

Producers: Tej Narayan Agarwal, Abhishek Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri

Runtime: 170 minutes

Gangubai Kathiawadi review: Alia Bhatt’s career-best act

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Based on authors S Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borge’s Mafia Queens Of Mumbai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi is the story of a girl named Ganga (Alia Bhatt) forced into becoming a sex worker and how she rises up the ranks to be the madam of a brothel and a messiah for the sex workers from the Kamathipura area of Mumbai (then Bombay).

Rarely do you come across a feature film whose story can be summarized in a short and simple manner. However, the film isn’t as simple as the aforementioned synopsis. It has a deep and layered storyline presented on Bhansali’s larger-than-life and vibrant canvas.

The story of how Ganga becomes Gangubai might not be pleasant in the first half but the filmmaker succeeds in keeping the narrative entertaining with some creative visuals and impressive dialogues. This doesn’t mean that he has compromised in exploring the depth of a helpless woman forced into flesh trade. Despite the entertainment, you surely feel for the protagonist and the rest of the girls.

Like the director’s previous works, the sets and production designing are grand and larger-than-life. It brings alive the Bombay of the yesteryears and at the same time does justice to the dark world of the sex workers.

Mainstream Hindi films are often guilty of going downhill or losing grip in the second half. But Gangubai Kathiawadi rises further in the post-interval portion once Gangubai acquires more power and spreads her clout.

It is during this portion that the protagonist gets to mouth some of the most powerful dialogues that are generally mouthed by male stars. But they create such an impact also because of Alia Bhatt’s rousing talent.

Gangubai Kathiawadi

To say that the actress is in great form would be an understatement. If she compelled us to notice her talent in films like Highway (2014), Udta Punjab (2016), Raazi (2017) and Gully Boy (2019), she now announces herself as one of the most talented artistes in India. Her journey from the meek Ganga to the powerful Gangubai is as natural as it can be.

The film is also laced with some talented supporting cast; some who are relatively new. Indira Tiwari, as the fellow sex worker and Gangu’s right hand, succeeds in displaying her natural talent in a challenging role. Shantanu Maheshwari, as Gangu’s love interest, doesn’t let the tag of a newcomer bother his performance. In the role of a transgender Raziabai, Vijay Raaz is terrific. Ajay Devgn provides a mature act as Rahim Lala in an extended cameo.

Gangubai Kathiawadi also has some experienced names who are memorable despite the limited screen time. Some of them include, Jim Sarbh, Seema Pahwa, Chhaya Kadam, Lata S Singh, Mitali Jagtap Varadkar and Rahul Vohra.

Bhansali’s films are always high on music and Gangubai Kathiawadi is no exception. Songs like ‘Dholida’, ‘Meri Jaan’, ‘Shikayat’ and ‘Jab Saiyaan’ show us what is missing in the current era of remixes. The filmmaker himself has composed the music.

Bhansali’s films of the past have also become victim of his over-indulgence. In other words, his style and grandeur overpower the storytelling aspect, which ensures that the end result isn’t much satisfying, despite the visuals. But the filmmaker has avoided that over here. There is a lack of conflict in the key portions but the presentation of a sex worker as a hero wins you over and forces you ask a lot of questions to the ‘normal’ and ‘respected’ society.

The only problem area here is that Gangu’s initial rise to power in the pre-interval portion should have been more elaborate. It almost happens suddenly. It would have also helped the cause of the film more if the advancement of Gangubai’s age would have been visible. Instead, she appears almost the same even 15 years after the story begins.

Overall: Gangubai Kathiawadi is thought-provoking and entertaining at the same time with a career-best act by Alia Bhatt. The film can be best enjoyed on the big screen because of its visuals. Don’t wait for it to come on OTT [Netflix].

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Producers: Jayantilal Gada and Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Writers: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Utkarshini Vashishtha and Prakash Kapadia

Cast: Alia Bhatt, Indira Tiwari, Shantanu Maheshwari, Seema Pahwa, Jim Sarbh, Vijay Raaz, Ajay Devgn

Also read:

Can we stop giving unreal reasons for 83’s box office failure?

Exploring Gehraiyaan’s selfish character in James Hadley Chase manner

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Gehraiyaan is getting a mixed response, as expected from a film of such a complex nature. I loved it for various reasons, including the narrative that transforms from a story of cheating to an emotional drama and finally a crime thriller. But this isn’t a review of the film.

Gehraiyaan made me think a lot. One thing that stayed on my mind the most was one selfish character. In fact, I feel this is one of the most selfish characters I have seen in a long time. I also felt that if we look at the story from his perspective, it can be an interesting experiment. After finishing the piece, I realized this is how dark and negative characters appear in James Hadley Chase’s novels.

Being an ardent fan of his crime books since more than a decade, I guess my subconscious wrote the article in this way.

This blog article about Gehraiyaan is a tribute to the great late storyteller, although it didn’t start out that way.

There are SPOILERS ahead. If you haven’t seen Gehraiyaan, please don’t read further.

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I have imagined the following piece on how Zain would narrate his life story from Gehraiyaan from his perspective in James Hadley Chase style:-

Right now, I am drenched in salty water. I am lying submerged in the great Arabian Sea; probably living the last couple of minutes of my life. I don’t know if I have landed here due to my cruel selfishness or that damned wine bottle. I have heard people say that when your end is near, your whole life plays out in your mind. I am experiencing that right now.

I feel my childhood wasn’t much different than my condition right now. That’s what I felt growing up with a father who was a wife beater. After not being able to take it more, I left home.

Gehraiyaan
Book cover courtesy: Swiftlytiltingplanet.wordpress.com

We were always a part of the lower middle-class. So, I was eager to make it big in terms of wealth. I thought of going into real estate, which is considered the money-minting field. I became an assistant to the big shark in the business and slowly rose up the ranks. I made it big and I made it quick. I now had everything I dreamt of – a big house, car and also a private yatch.

To make my life complete, destiny got me introduced to the pretty Tia, the daughter of the real estate shark I was assistant to. We were drawn to each other in no time and got engaged. I also need to mention that my to-be in laws had also invested heavily in my personal real estate business. I didn’t care about this as me and Tia were looking ahead to get married. Until I had a chance encounter with the gorgeous Alisha, cousin of Tia, during our Alibaug holiday.

It is said that once you start chasing pleasures, of all kinds, there is no full stop. One never feels satisfied and that’s exactly what happened with me. I was living a luxurious life but I wanted more. I was engaged and Alisha was in a six-year old relationship with her boyfriend Karan. But I couldn’t take my eyes off her when I was first introduced to her. In fact, I took no time to flirt with her.  

Alisha was going through a troubled time in her relationship with Karan, whose career as a novelist was just not taking off. Alisha, on the other hand, was also struggling to launch her Yoga app. In other words, there couldn’t be a better opportunity for me! I latched onto the situation.

Alisha started responding to my flirtatious messages. One day she also lied about my message to her cousin. I took advantage of my back pain to get it cured by Alisha’s Yoga techniques in order to get close to her. From here on, it was just a matter of time before we ended up in bed… repeatedly!

Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi in Gehraiyaan

Alisha was going through a bad patch with Karan. But my relationship with Tia was fine. So what was I doing in bed with another woman? Well, I didn’t think of that. I was getting it, so I took it. Simple!

I also got the crucial funding for Alisha’s Yoga app through my business with my to-be in laws. I also got her a posh studio. She felt I was doing it as a favor but I wasn’t. I actually did it through dubious means and that too in a way that it would benefit me in the end. Of course, she didn’t know this.

Alisha’s situation with Karan worsened to such a level that she broke up with him. Now my temptation had no limits. Meanwhile, Alisha also got pregnant with my child. I now wanted her in my life… forever. To hell with Tia. So what if her parents had invested in my business? I decided to return all the investment and call it quits. It was just a matter of time now, or so I thought.

But till the time I become capable to repay them, I had to pretend to be in a relationship with Tia. This also meant celebrating my third anniversary with her, although in my mind I had already broken up. Yes, I was fooling her into believing that I was still in love with her and wanted to marry her. Whereas, all I was waiting was to just throw her out of my life and her parents out of my business.

But an unannounced storm came into my life. Rather, it came in someone else’s life but it affected me greatly. A man we did business and had stakes with got arrested for financial fraud. The case kept getting murkier by the day and it reached a stage where I could have got into trouble. If this wasn’t enough, my bluff about Alisha’s studio was out too as the municipality realized it was bought by crook. I tried to control Alisha to cover my lies about her studio.

(Article continued after the video)

But she was getting impatient. She also wanted full and open commitment. But I had to continue my sham affair with Tia for my benefit. I needed her to sell her beach house to get me out of trouble but I lied to her that we need to keep it for mortgage for a year. When she doubted my intentions, I pretended to be a victim and regained her sympathy and love. The fake hugs and kisses continued. Poor thing had no idea how she was being used by me materially and emotionally; by a man who no longer loved her. In fact, she felt guilty when, actually, she was the victim.

Alisha, on the other hand, was now really getting out of control. She landed up at my office and later outside Tia’s place and threatened to expose our secret relationship. I somehow controlled her and gained her sympathy. I succeeded in taking her to a date on my yatch in the sea… Where it all began.

The date was a sham too. In reality, I wanted to get rid of her. I mixed a large dose of her sleeping pills in her wine without her knowledge; at least this is what I thought. But she refused to drink. I now feel she knew my cruel intentions. I tried to strangulate her and throw her into the sea for good. But she got the better of me and I slipped over that wine bottle and got thrown into the sea instead.

I don’t know if I have landed here due to my cruel selfishness or that damned wine bottle.

Can we stop giving unreal reasons for 83 box office failure?

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Kabir Khan’s 83 is one of the rare films to get such high number of glowing reviews from critics. Not just that, the Ranveer Singh-starrer cricket drama has also received equal praise from the audience. The film transformed a cinema hall into a stadium through its overwhelming recreation of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph.

However, this hasn’t been enough to translate into box office success for the film. In fact, to put it simply, 83 has been a box office failure. The film is made at a budget around Rs 200 crore (one senior journalist even claimed it to be Rs 270 crore) and right now it’s struggling to even reach Rs 100 crore.

So, talking purely in terms of business, 83 is nothing but a failure. I know a lot of people who loved the film are hurt by this. I can completely understand because I too am such a big fan of the film that I have seen it twice already in theatres and I am willing to watch it again. But, as said before, this is purely in terms of business.

With so many people left disappointed and disheartened by 83’s result at the box office, it is obvious that this has become a hot topic of discussion and debates online. I have been constantly reading some silly reasons being dished out on social media for the film not working out. And, unfortunately, such reasons are also being heard from few people who are from film journalism itself.

Here’s what has been attributed to 83’s downfall at the box office on social media:

People are staying away from theatres because of the rise in COVID-19 cases and the new threat of its Omicron variant

While there is no doubt that the fear of COVID-19 has resurfaced, this cannot be the reason why 83 didn’t get as much audience. The biggest proof of this is the stupendous box office performance of the Hindi version of the Telugu film Pushpa. The movie released on 17 December 2021, a week before 83, and is still doing well even as I am writing this on 8 January 2022.

83 Ranveer Singh
Photo courtesy: Cinestaan.com

The same is the case for Spider-Man: No Way Home which released in the same week as Pushpa. If people are not visiting theatres to watch 83, how are these two films still getting audience? In fact, a lot of shows given to 83 earlier are now given to Pushpa since the film is continuing to attract moviegoers.

People are now used to watching content on OTT platforms and hence don’t feel like visiting theatres

The answer to this point can be found in the previous one. OTT has definitely found a great booster in the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean people are not willing to go to theatres. Again, if that was the reason, Pushpa and Spider-Man wouldn’t have done such enormous business. Not to forget, Sooryavanshi too did very well in theatres when it was released during Diwali.

The film didn’t do well because of the #BoycottBollywood gang

The silliest of all reasons by a mile! There has been a rise of a #BoycottBollywood gang on social media in recent times and they are of two types. One are the members of the audience that are die-hard fans of the late Sushant Singh Rajput. They claim to boycott all big Hindi films until ‘justice’ is done to SSR. But if they are really the reason for the film’s failure, the same film wouldn’t have done do well in metros like Mumbai and Delhi. And as pointed before, Sooryavanshi too wouldn’t have become a hit.

These ‘warriors’ are also specifically against films starring star kids. But then, Tadap (2021), the launch of Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan Shetty, did decent business despite of him not being a star.

There’s another bunch of this gang which has vowed to boycott all films starring Deepika Padukone because she stood with the JNU protestors in 2019. The fact that the film did well in the metros, as stated before, nullifies this claim too.

Reason for 83’s box office failure

There is a wide gap in the content preferences between the urban and non-urban sections of India. The box office result of 83 has just exposed this wide gap. The content of 83 has more appeal for the urban audience than the one based in small towns and villages. This might sound weird to many but masses of these regions won’t get excited to know the journey of a team winning a World Cup.

(Article continued after the video)

This was also confirmed recently when I had a chat with the most experienced exhibitor in Gujarat, Rashmikant Bhalodia. When the film was going house full in advance in Mumbai, the theatres in Gujarat, especially the interiors, were going empty.

Also the film’s promotions didn’t reach the interiors of India. The promotions mainly consisted of the team travelling in big cities. There was an article mentioning how people in a village-like area didn’t even know that a film called 83 had released!

The wide gap between the both section of the audiences is also visible in the consumption of OTT shows. While we may love edgy or dark shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, such content is hardly seen in the semi-urban areas or villages. They still prefer south Indian action films dubbed in Hindi.

And they had that choice this time in the form of Pushpa. The film had every masala that the masses of these regions prefer. So it’s obvious that they would prefer this over 83. In fact, Pushpa earned more in its recently concluded third week than the previous one. This has also ensured that its shows have increased.

The fate of 83 is very similar to that of Swades (2004). The Ashutosh Gowariker film failed at the box office but it continues to be hailed as a great film. The same will happen with 83.

Also read:

Zimbabwe’s iconic record in the 1983 World Cup is forgotten

83 review – Near-flawless recreation of India’s cricketing triumph

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The last time cinema halls turned into cricket stadiums was in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001). The scenes are repeated 20 years later through Kabir Khan’s 83, a film based on India’s cricket World Cup victory in 1983.

As Lagaan was fictional, the makers were able to script the match as per their wishes; it finally went down to the last ball. In other words, the audience didn’t know how the match would play out. But 83 is based on a real cricket tournament and India’s numerous cricket fans know the team’s cricketing journey in the series by-heart, even if they were born after 1983. This is more for those who actually witnessed that World Cup victory and the celebrations that followed.

But despite knowing the whole story before the start of the film, 83 makes us go through various states of minds and emotions as if we don’t know the story. Hence, one feels sad for the team when its losing and erupt with joy when they defeat their opponents.

This is nothing but the triumph of Khan’s direction and the writers – Khan himself along with Vasan Bala, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and Sumit Arora.

There is a danger in a film featuring a series of matches to become repetitive. This is also taken care of smartly in 83. Each match brings about different situations. Plus, they have also used Pritam’s music smartly in between to ensure that you are glued to your seats.

83 is also high in humour. In fact, the film is full of funny moments. The team members of 83 have narrated several such incidents over the years. It’s good to see them recreated here, especially the one where Kapil gets shocked to see a woman in Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s room.

Quality of cricket

I have seen the highlights of India’s 1983 World Cup semi-final and final numerous times. While watching the quality of cricket in 83, I didn’t feel I was watching a movie. The recreation of the matches is done that well, including the fall of some wickets that are too hard to recreate. For example, Balwinder Singh Sandhu’s dismissal of Gordon Greenidge in the final and Jeff Dujon hitting the ground in dismay after being dismissed in the same match.

83 movie

The camera angles, colour grading and the font of the scores also match exactly to the real matches. The recreated shots in the film are intercut by visuals of the real matches and it matches [pun intended]. Such is the confidence of the makers. Cinematographer Aseem Mishra, Khan’s long-time associate, also deserves major credit for achieving this.

Creative liberties

At the end of the day, 83 is a feature film. So it’s obvious that the makers have taken creative liberties. But it’s done here at a lower level as compared to other sports films from Hindi cinema.

Patriotism

83 is one of the rare Hindi films of today’s era, as far as mainstream Hindi cinema is concerned, that naturally brings about a feeling of patriotism. It never goes over-the-top and remains subtle despite it being based on cricket. The interval point deserves special mention.

Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev during the recreation of India’s match against Zimbabwe where he scored 175*

The unrecorded match against Zimbabwe

A major attraction of 83 is the recreation of India’s second match against Zimbabwe played at the Turnbridge Wells because it was never telecast or recorded as the broadcasters BBC went on strike. 83 becomes a memorable recreation of the match and Kapil Dev’s unbeaten and record-breaking knock of 175 not out.

Apart from the match, what went around in the dressing room and outside also adds to the excitement.

The all-important final

The final of the 1983 World Cup final wasn’t a close nail-biting match that went down to the wire. But the makers have made it look that way and that too without taking any major creative liberties. The film achieves this through smart and intelligent story-telling, especially at the very end [won’t say further to avoid spoilers]. The makers are also blessed with few real incidents related to the match that are naturally dramatic.

Performances

Performances play a major role in 83 scoring high marks. Ranveer Singh not only brings Kapil Dev’s mannerisms alive but also gets his extremely difficult bowling action and batting style near-perfect. He makes an impact during emotional parts as well. This will go down as one of his best performances. Pankaj Tripathi plays the team manager PR Man Singh but gets as much importance as any main player. He completely justifies his casting and shines on various occasions.

From all the players, Jiiva, who plays Krishnamachari Srikkanth, gets the maximum scope and he comes up with a brilliant act. He performs the best during the monologue. Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna and Ammy Virk get the characters of Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma and Balwinder Singh Sandhu right.

The film also has believable performances from a list of actors – Hardy Sandhu (Madan Lal), Chirag Patil, (father Sandeep Patil), Dhairya Karwa, (Ravi Shastri), Addinath Kothare, (Dilip Vengsarkar), Sahil Khattar (Syed Kirmani), Dinkar Sharma (Kirti Azad) and Nishant Dahiya (Roger Binny). Deepika Padukone is appealing as Romi Dev.

Much more than a mere cricket film

83 isn’t just about India winning its first world cup against various odds. It shows the game’s potential to unite Indians even when hatred is spread by the vested interests [I won’t say much to avoid spoilers].

Negative points:

The 1983 WC has an interesting story about the 12th man Sunil Valson who couldn’t play a single match. He does come close to playing one but that’s about it. The movie gives only a fleeting reference to this despite signing R Badree to play Valson. In fact, even his full name isn’t taken. Those who don’t know Valson’s story won’t realize the importance of that scene. When your film is already two hours 42-minute-long, adding half a minute more wouldn’t have hurt. [Read Sunil Valson’s story HERE]

But this is just a minor issue. 83, as such, doesn’t have any negative point, although few moments are debatable.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Director: Kabir Khan

Producers: Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films

Writers: Kabir Khan, Vasan Bala, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and Sumit Arora

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Jiiva, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna, Ammy Virk, Hardy Sandhu, Chirag Patil, Dhairya Karwa, Addinath Kothare, Sahil Khattar, Dinkar Sharma, Nishant Dahiya, R Badree, Deepika Padukone

Also read:

Zimbabwe’s iconic feat in 1983 World Cup is forgotten

He was selected in 1983 WC, but could play for India only in 1999

When Ravi Kishan played Ravi & Kisan in Ravi Kisan. This is not a joke…

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Ravi Kishan, as we all know, is one of the most popular actors from India. After starting off in Hindi cinema, he shifted base to Bhojpuri and the rest is history. He became the biggest Bhojpuri star in a matter of few years.

Following this, he returned to Hindi cinema and left his mark playing mostly serious characters; the opposite of what he did in Bhojpuri films. In last few years, he has given fine performances in Hindi films like Mukkabaaz (2017), Batla House (2019) and Marjaavaan (2019).

But Ravi Kishan has another rare achievement which also doubles up as an interesting trivia. He once did a movie titled Ravi Kisan [another way to pronounce his name]. Yes, you read it right. It was a Bhojpuri movie released in 2008.

I am unable to find any other example of an actor acting in a film titled after his own full name. At the most, I can recall Sunny Deol doing a film called Sunny in 1984 and playing the titular character in it. But the title only had his first name.

Ravi Kishan
Photo courtesy: Charmboard.com

But there’s something more interesting about Ravi Kishan acting in Ravi Kisan. Contrary to what some of you might feel, the film is not a biopic on him. It’s actually a story of twins named Ravi and Kisan. And both are played by Ravi Kishan in a double role.

I tried searching about the film’s story or synopsis on the internet but I couldn’t find any. I then realized the film is available on YouTube officially on T-Series’s Bhojpuri channel. After watching few parts of it, I realized it has a story similar to plenty of Hindi films of the yesteryears.

So, there’s an ailing old man who wants to name all his assets and properties to his son. But their evil relative, who wants to capture all his wealth, conspires with the lawyer. The old man can’t read English. So the lawyer prepares the will in English saying that the evil relative will be the receiver of the property and assets. The old man signs it as he trusts the lawyer blindly.

Watch the full movie Ravi Kisan

The relative happily captures the wealth and kills the old man’s son. The man has twins named Ravi and Kisan. While Kisan turns out to be a rogue youngster, Ravi grows up to be a sanskari and religious guy. The rest of the film is about how the brothers teach their relative a lesson.

I came to know about this movie years ago when Ravi Kishan spoke about it inside the Bigg Boss house during the very first season of the show in 2006-07. He said he is the only actor in the world to have a film titled on his full name.

In case you know any more such examples, feel free to mention them in the comments.

Also read:

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Udit Narayan & K Krishnamurti’s underrated gem in an underrated film

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Veteran singers Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishmamurti have provided Hindi film lovers with a list of gems, both together and individually. In fact, they were the undisputed singing stars of the 1990s, along with Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.

As we are aware, Hindi cinema produces movies in hundreds every year. And as was the case in the 90s, every film ought to have a good number of songs. With such high number of tracks coming out each year, there is always a possibility of some gems getting unnoticed, more so if the film doesn’t do well at the box office.

Such has been the fate of a soulful and soothing romantic number ‘Yeh Shaamein’ sung by Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishnamurti in Shyam Benegal’s Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (1992). The lyrics are penned by Vasant Dev while Vanraj Bhatia, the go-to man for music in parallel cinema, is the composer. It’s picturized on Rajit Kapur and Pallavi Joshi.

Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda

There are certain songs that created an impact after repeated listening while there are others that touch you instantly. ‘Yeh Shaamein’ easily falls into the latter category. As far as my personal experience is concerned, I became its admirer as soon as I heard it for the first time more than a decade ago while watching Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda.

It is one of those songs where all the three components – lyrics, music and singing – achieved brilliance and its result is there for you to see [rather, hear].

Kapur and Joshi’s performances are also undeniable as they have added plenty of life to the visuals. They broke the myth that you need conventionally good looking ‘hero’ and ‘heroine’ to display chemistry in a romantic number. If you have dedicated artistes who know their craft and can emote effortlessly, that’s all you need.

Here’s the song

Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda is based on the classic Hindi novel of the same name by Dharmveer Bharti. It’s about a storyteller Manek Mulla (Kapur) and it features one storytelling session he has with his friends where he narrates the stories of three girls (Rajeshwari Sachdev, Pallavi Joshi and Neena Gupta) that entered his life at different points.

Also read: When Premchand wrote on CRICKET and its malpractices

The ensemble cast also includes Amrish Puri, Riju Bajaj, Raghuvir Yadav, KK Raina, Anang Desai, Lalit Mohan Tiwari, Ila Arun and Himani Shivpuri.

The film challenged conventional storytelling with some intelligent use of flashback. The personal story of Manik Mulla indirectly makes a statement on the society and its rigid norms, especially in rural areas back then. Although Manek is the storyteller, at the end of the day he is still just a character in the entire scheme of things.

Having read the book before watching the film, I feel this is one of the rare movies that lives up to the literature it is based on.

Also read: Why Byomkesh Bakshi continues to win hearts in the OTT era

‘Yeh Shaamein’, however, never got its due as the film just didn’t click at the box office. As clichéd as it may sound, it was way ahead of its times. It deserved to have been made in today’s era of OTT.

But it has started finding an audience in the era of social media. This is evident from the numerous conversations I have had both online and offline related to this movie. Hopefully, one day it will be appreciated among the lovers of unconventional cinema… along with the song.

Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda is on Amazon Prime Video but, unfortunately, not for those staying in India.

But the film is available on YouTube. Watch it below:

Actor Asif Basra’s suicide in 2020 never triggered an uproar

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It has been three days since the unfortunate passing away of actor Sidharth Shukla due to sudden heart attack. The last three days have witnessed countless posts on social media bidding emotional goodbyes to him.

But along with that, the internet is also full of conspiracy theories regarding Shukla’s death. Despite the actor’s family members admitting that there is no foul play, thousands of his fans are thinking otherwise.

From someone giving him false medicines at night before he passed away to the actor doing drugs, everything is being attributed to his passing away except heart attack. But the one that takes the cake are claims of the actor being murdered.

In fact, a group has been formed on Facebook with the name ‘Justice for Sidharth Shukla’ where some members are asking for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) intervention in the matter.

These theories aren’t new. Ever since Sushant Singh Rajput passed away due to suicide in June 2020 till today, conspiracy theories regarding his alleged murder are still doing rounds despite the CBI not finding any murder angle in his death ever since they took up the case since a year.

Looking at all this, it might seem that majority of people get too affected emotionally if an actor dies unexpectedly. It becomes like a personal loss for them. However, this is not the case for every actor.  

Asif Basra
Asif Basra [Photo source: Wikipedia]

Let’s go back to that fateful evening in November last year, five months after SSR passed away, when news of actor Asif Basra ending his life by hanging was broken. I was shocked and it affected me as much as SSR’s death did.

However, there was no uproar on social media. Basra ended his life in the same way as Sushant did. But nobody found anything suspicious in his death. Nobody cried murder and brought up those unthinkable theories. Like SSR, Basra too was an ‘outsider’ but nobody slammed the so-called nepotism gang of Bollywood.

News channels never felt like making an issue out of it and they never trended #JusticeForAsifBasra.

But come September 2021 and the social media erupts with countless posts on suspicious death and murder when Shukla’s own family has confirmed that it’s a natural death.

This easily gives an idea that people get affected on social media in large numbers only if the actor is young, conventionally good-looking and, most importantly, someone who fits in the image of a ‘hero.’ Supporting actors or character artistes aren’t precious enough to get such reactions.

Basra has appeared in a list of prominent projects including, Black Friday, Parzania, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Kai Po Che, Krrish 3, The Tashkent Files, Paatal Lok, Hostages (both seasons), The Family Man (season 2), etc. They might not have known him by his name but his face is sure to make you feel you have seen him at least few times on screen.

One might still argue that people might not know who Basra was since he wasn’t that famous. But after reading or watching news about his death, people did know about him.

And they also came to know the cause of his death.

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