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Vash Level 2 review: Chilling saga of black magic creating mass destruction

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Writer and director Krishnadev Yagnik’s Gujarati movie Vash (2023) turned out to be a thrilling saga of black magic. The film was later remade in Hindi as Shaitaan (2024). Sequels of horror films are always expected to overpower the first one but that doesn’t happen always. But Vash Level 2 actually goes up several notches as far as the vashikaran (casting a black magic spell) is concerned.

Vash Level 2 continues 12 years from where Vash ended (hence, you need to watch the first film to understand the second one). Atharva (Hitu Kanodia) is leading a quiet life with his daughter Aarya (Janki Bodiwala), who is still under the black magic spell, after his son Ansh (Aaryan Sanghvi) and wife (Niilam Paanchal) are killed.

But unknown to the world, inside a dark corner of his bungalow, he has kept hidden the black magic monster Pratap (Hiten Kumar), who is responsible for the tragedy in his and his family’s life, in the most inhuman condition possible. He doesn’t let him live, nor die.

One fine day, out of the blue, a large group of girls in a reputed school start behaving weird and create havoc in the entire town. They are following instructions from one ‘uncle’. When Atharva comes to know about this, he suspects this is somehow related to Pratap.

Vash Level 2 intentionally starts in a random manner. We are shown different school girls from one particular school traveling to their school either with their parents or in the school bus. You wonder whose story out of these will be focused in the film (I refrained from watching the trailer).

But the narrative gradually changes gears and the audience is subjected to the kind of vashikaran that is much deadlier than the one shown in the first film. In fact, one would have rarely seen such kind of havoc on Indian screens, although it reminds you of the zombie movies of the west. To think and, more importantly, to execute it so convincingly deserves praise. The aforementioned incident is smartly connected to Atharva and Aarya’s story.

The film also scores high in the technical aspects. This is noticeable the most when it changes gears and goes onto the horror level. The smartness of the camerawork, background score and editing make the proceedings intense during that point of time and that plays a major role in creating an impact on you.

The performances are also a major plus point. Hitu Kanodia provides an ideal act when it comes to living a dreary and sad life without any sort of interest or excitement. But he scores high even in scenes where he has to shift gears. Hiten Kumar displays the right amount of quirkiness needed to play such a calm monster. He also scores high while playing a character tortured for 12 years.

Janki Bodiwala had a daunting task in front of her. She meets the challenge with skill and confidence. Monal Gajjar does well as the frightened school teacher. The actor playing the role of a cop overdoes on a few occasions. The performances of a large number of teenage girls playing school students deserve applause, especially in the scenes where they are creating mayhem everywhere.

But Vash Level 2 comes with its share of negatives. After a number of such positives, you expect the film to end on a thrilling or chilling note. However, the climax turns out to be a somewhat underwhelming. It is also questionable how one character casually spills out one of the secrets of vashikaran so easily. During one sequence, we are told the exact reason behind Pratap and ‘uncle’ resorting to black magic and destroying others’ lives. That reason doesn’t sound logical enough.

Overall: Vash Level 2 is a chilling and thrilling saga on black magic and its deadly consequences. It lives up to the reputation of the first film.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Krishnadev Yagnik

Writer: Krishnadev Yagnik

Producers: KS Entertainment Studios, Ananta Businesscorp, Patel Processing Studios and Big Box Series Pvt. Ltd.

Cast: Hitu Kanodia, Hiten Kumar, Janki Bodiwala

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

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Auntypreneur movie review: Supriya Pathak shines in this feel-good drama

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Filmmaker Pratik Rajen Kothari’s Gujarati movie Auntypreneur has an unusual title. A person who carries out business is called entrepreneur. So, when an aunty becomes an entrepreneur, she becomes an ‘Auntypreneur’, as per the movie. What sets the protagonist of the film aside is the necessity angle of her business.

Auntypreneur takes place in today’s times in Malad, Mumbai in Poonam Co-Operative Housing Society. Jaswanti Gangani aka Jasu (Supriya Pathak Kapur) stays with her young tenant Raju (Parikshit Tamaliya) and maid Manda (Margi Desai). Her son Bhavik (Ojas Rawal) has been in Dallas, US, where he is doing very well.

Jasu once imagines her housing society about to be demolished by the municipality in her dream. Unfortunately, her nightmare comes true as the municipality gives an eviction notice to the CHS. It says that their builder hasn’t paid property tax worth Rs. 1.96 crores and has run away outside the country. Hence, if they don’t pay up the amount within four months, their building will be demolished.

Jasu doesn’t know how to raise such a high amount in such low time. This is when Raju advises her to start investing in share market, hope for high returns and pay the property tax to save Poonam CHS. Whether Jasu succeeds in her mission forms the rest of the story.

Auntypreneur has a serious storyline but the mood of the film is kept light-hearted and funny. The good part about this is that it provides feel-good family entertainment (except a few jokes aimed at adults at the start). The screenplay and dialogues ensure that there is no dull moment as Jasu goes about her mission. Once different women from the society start coming on board, the drama becomes interesting, also due to the bitter-sweet nature of relationship between a few characters.

One can guess the climax in films of this genre. Auntypreneur arrives at that in an interesting and somewhat nail-biting manner.

Supriya Pathak Kapur is the soul of the film. She is there in almost every scene and she makes per presence count through a flawless and lovable act. Parikshit Tamaliya, the only male in the team, also comes up with a fine act. Yukti Randeria succeeds in playing a modern girl of today’s era. Ojas Rawal makes his character count despite limited screen time.

Coming to the rest of Jasu’s team, Brinda Trivedi, Vaibhavi Bhatt, Kaushambi Bhatt, Margi Desai and Heena Jaikishan also chip in with good acts. Archan Trivedi as the building’s chairman Chaman Kaka is decent.

The cinematography (Vaishakh Manoharan), background score (Mihir Makwana), editing (Harsh Anandani) and the production design (Chirayu Bodas) go with the simple nature of the film.

Auntypreneur also comes with its share of negative points. The whole issue of your housing society being in danger of being demolished in four months should send the society members in panic. It should actually give you sleepless nights. But it doesn’t have such an effect on the members, except Jasu that too not in totality. It is, especially, surprising to see the male members of the society unperturbed by the situation.

Also, Jasu’s son Bhavik is shown to be super wealthy in the US. Hence, he alone could have paid a large share of the Rs. 1.96 crores, if not the entire amount. There is also a change of heart of one character that happens abruptly.

Overall: Auntypreneur is a feel-good family entertainer that should appeal to its target audience of family crowds.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Pratik Rajen Kothari

Producers: Deepali Mhaiskar, Aryan Mhaiskar, Abhishek Jain and Amit Desai

Writers: Shreya Sheth, Shreya Jitan Singh and Abhinav Vaidya

Cast: Supriya Pathak Kapur, Parikshit Tamaliya, Ojas Rawal, Brinda Trivedi, Vaibhavi Bhatt, Kaushambi Bhatt, Margi Desai, Heena Jaikishan

Also read: Phule review: Pratik Gandhi excels in this decent period drama

Chhello Show (Last Film Show) review

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Although filmmaker Pan Nalin’s Gujarati movie Chhello Show (English title: Last Film Show) released in India this week, it has been making a lot of noise internationally for the last two years. It is also India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language film at the prestigious Oscars.

Whether it is a worthy choice for the Oscars is debatable. But, after going through the experience, it is a no brainer that the film deserves applause for its ode to the medium of cinema.

Chhello Show tells an interesting tale of a boy named Samay (Bhavin Rabari), who stays with his father (Dipen Raval), a tea-seller, mother (Richa Meena) and little sister in a remote village in Saurashtra. His father abhors movies but he once takes the entire family to watch a film at a nearby town simply because the movie in question is a devotional one. The father says that this is Samay’s first and the last film at a cinema hall [hence, the title].

But the little boy is mesmerized by the medium of cinema. He decides that this can never be his last show. So he steals money from his father, bunks school and secretly visits the theatre in that town, called Galaxy, to catch a film. His father gets to know of his ‘crime’ and he beats him up.

However, Samay strikes a friendship with the projectionist Fazal (Bhavesh Shrimali), who allows him watch films for free as long as he lets him eat his delicious lunch prepared by his mother. While Samay is loving being in company of cinema, his road ahead with the medium is full of thorns.

Pan Nalin’s writing and presentation makes you a keen observer of Samay’s life and his world instantly. If you happen to be a movie lover, you will deeply root for the boy to keep his affair with cinema continuing, despite the odds. But what works most for the film is the establishment of the protagonist’s innocence.

This ensures that you will support the kid even when he carries out immoral activities because they aren’t born out of any greed for money; it’s only for his love and fascination for cinema. The film has various moments that make you smile and at the same time feel emotional as you can sense that the overall film itself is a result of someone’s fascination for the art.

The technical aspects, in term of the natural camerawork and minimal background score, play a quiet yet important role in creating the overall effect.

Bhavin Rabari is nothing short of a main ‘hero’ who carries Chhello Show on his shoulders. Despite his age, he lives and breathes a character that doesn’t cease to adore you. Rahul Koli, as the protagonist’s friend, is equally good. It is super tragic that he passed away just before the release of the film.

Bhavesh Shrimali easily brings out the endearing nature of Fazal. Dipen Raval and Richa Meena are perfect as Samay’s parents. Thankfully, the former isn’t limited to being a strict father.  

Although Chhello Show is semi-autobiographical account of the filmmaker himself, an important moment during the ending part is difficult to digest considering the age of the protagonist. The film also deserved to be crisper on a few occasions.

Also read: When SRK did a Panchayat 33 years ago

Also, it is impossible to not think about the classic Cinema Paradiso (1988) while watching Chhello Show. Once again, despite it being the real story of Pan Nalin, the basic idea and the main characters are similar to the 1988 movie. A line acknowledging the inspiration could have been added.

Having said that, Chhello Show has plenty going for itself that’s enough to move the movie lover in you.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Pan Nalin

Producers: Pan Nalin, Dheer Momaya, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Marc Duale

Writer: Pan Nalin

Cast: Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Dipen Raval, Richa Meena

Hellaro (Gujarati movie) Review

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In the first scene of director Abhishek Shah’s Gujarati movie Hellaro, a mother tells her daughter that girls are not allowed to do Garba (a dance form). When she asks the reason, her father chips in with, “Girls are not even allowed to ask questions.”

Welcome to the interiors of the rann of Kutch in Samarpur in 1975. It is only the men who are actually living their lives in this village. The women are treated like cattle. They are an object of desire for their respective husbands. They can’t move freely around without permission. Most importantly, they are not allowed to do Garba.

In such a setting arrives Manjhri (Shraddha Dangar) as a bride in one household. She is educated by the standards of other women as she has seen the life in the main city of Kutch. Hellaro is about how these women start experiencing freedom when it is least expected after the arrival of a drum player Mulji (Jayesh More) in their lives.

The film brings back memories of Leena Yadav’s Hindi movie Parched (2016). Although the story took place in Rajasthan, it had the same setting of a village in desert where women are living a life of hell. Except this, Hellaro shares no similarity with the 2016 film in terms of the story as well as the treatment.

Shah manages the challenging task of portraying the minute details of the lives of people in such remote areas with all the detailing in place. The clever and smooth-flowing screenplay is ably supported by some creative presentation. This is enough to make the film relatable to any audience around the world.

Hellaro poster

The hypocrisy of the men is exposed in a natural way. For example, they won’t let their women go out without a veil but at the same time would lust for the Hindi film heroines. There are moments when the plight of the victims breaks your heart. Like, a man forcefully having sex with his wife, which is nothing but marital rape.

Hellaro goes onto a different plane once the women gradually start treading on the path of Garba. The introduction of which is masterfully done. Shraddha Dangar, Kaushambi Bhatt, Esha Kansara and the rest of the female actors have not only acted convincingly but have also shown natural dancing skills.

Jayesh More, in the role of the drummer who changes things, provides a heart-wrenching act oozing realism throughout. Maulik Nayak’s enthusiasm and comic timing is also worth appreciating. He plays Bhaglo, the only link between this remote village and the city.

The end result is vital here since you badly root for the victims. This is where the film reaches its highest point. Without giving away any spoilers, the last 10-15 minutes evoke various emotions as you sit rapt. Mehul Surti’s music plays a big role not just here but in the entire film.

Also read: Saaho’s major similarity with Baahubali (SPOILERS alert)

The only minus point is in the form of a questionable moment in the end. But it certainly doesn’t turn out to be a bother due to the effect generated.

Overall: Hellaro justifies its National Award for the Best Film. It showcases rebellion where it’s least expected. It indirectly gives a message that if patriarchy can be smashed even in the most regressive places, there is no reason why it should exist anywhere else. Abhishek Shah achieves this in his directorial debut.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Director: Abhishek Shah

Producers: Saarthi Productions and Harfanmaula Films

Writers: Abhishek Shah, Prateek Gupta and Soumya Joshi Devvrat

Cast: Shraddha Dangar, Jayesh More, Kaushambi Bhatt, Esha Kansara, Aarjav Trivedi, Maulik Nayak