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Mahavatar Narsimha review: Uplifting mixture of devotion and entertainment

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Lord Vishnu’s various avatars have their own importance and they are worshipped in large numbers. But they also are cinematic enough for a movie on each one of them. In fact, I have always found it surprising as to why we have never had a series of films or web shows on each avatar of his.

Filmmaker Ashwin Kumar’s animation film Mahavatar Narsimha has finally filled the void. The movie is based on Lord Vishnu’s Narasimha Avatar. The story starts off when sage Kashyap and his wife get physical during an inauspicious time. Hence, the twins born out of their union turn out to be Asura brothers Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashyap.

As per their nature, the twins create havoc in the three worlds. Once, Hiranyaksha captures the earth and submerges it into the ocean. Hence, Lord Vishnu takes the Varah Avatar, frees the earth and kills Hiranyaksha. Hiranyakashyap, who already is against Vishnu, starts hating the latter even more and vows to avenge his brother’s death.

Hiranyakashyap performs extreme penance to please Lord Brahma. The latter finally appears in front of him and offers him a boon. Hiranyakashyap cunningly asks for a boon that almost makes him invincible. After gaining the boon, he proclaims himself as the only God and severely punishes those who worship Vishnu. He is unaware that his own five-year-old son Prahlad is an ardent Vishnu devotee. How Vishnu takes the Narsimha Avatar to eliminate Hiranyakashyap forms the rest of the story.

As far as storytelling is concerned, Mahavatar Narsimha gives a good amount of footage to the background of the Narsimha Avatar. The story is finely fleshed out while making sure that even those who don’t possess enough knowledge about Narsimha Avatar get to know about it and its backstory in detail.

Prahlad’s devotion for Vishnu and Hiranyakashyap’s attempts to kill him gives rise to not only emotional moments but also entertainment. And once Lord Narsimha enters the scene, the film reaches new levels. It gives rise to plenty of seeti bajao moments and culminates in an overwhelming manner. The dialogues also have a major share here. The ones given to Prahlad do full justice to his innocence and devotion for Vishnu.

Kumar’s vison is grand and he has made sure that the film gets the larger-than-life treatment. The animation quality is different from what we usually see in Hollywood movies. But it suits the nature of the story here with some scenes featuring Prahlad, Vishnu and Narsimha Avatar stand out.

The long list of voiceover artistes – Aditya Raj Sharma, Haripriya Matta, Sanket Jaiswal, Priyanka Bhandari, Vasundhra Bose, Harjeet Walia, Sanchit Wartak, Saanwari Yagnik, Dinesh Varma, Uplaksh Kochhar, Akshay Joshi, Dinesh Varma and others – do a fine job in bringing the various characters alive.

Coming to the negatives, the film could have been shorter by around 10 minutes. The scenes featuring violence, gore, destruction and sexual desire could have been toned down as it is mainly aimed at children.

Overall: Mahavatar Narsimha is an uplifting mixture of devotion and entertainment. If you happen to be a devotee of Lord Vishnu, you are in for a treat. But atheists and those who don’t possess deep interest in Hindu mythology might not get a kick out of this.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Ashwin Kumar

Producers: Kleem Productions

Writers: Jayapurna Das and Ashwin Kumar

Cast (voiceover artistes): Aditya Raj Sharma, Haripriya Matta, Sanket Jaiswal, Priyanka Bhandari, Vasundhra Bose, Harjeet Walia, Sanchit Wartak, Saanwari Yagnik, Dinesh Varma, Uplaksh Kochhar, Akshay Joshi, Dinesh Varma

Also read: Sitaare Zameen Par review: Yet another entertaining and moving saga by Aamir Khan

Puratawn review: Sharmila Tagore provides an acting masterclass in this meditative drama

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Memory loss or issues with memory is an unusual problem. More than the person suffering from the same, it affects those around him or her. This is the base of writer and director Suman Ghosh’s Bengali film Puratawn (English title: The Ancient).

The movie revolves around Ritika (Ritupatna Sengupta), a woman working in the corporate sector in a high position. Her marriage with Rajeev (Indraneil Sengupta), a passionate photographer, is going through turbulence. She, along with Rajeev, visits her ancestral home in a small town in West Bengal where her mother Mrs Sen (Sharmila Tagore) lives, to celebrate the latter’s 80th birthday in a grand manner.

But there is also another reason for Ritika’s visit. She and Rajeev wish to reveal to her that their marriage is going nowhere. However, after arriving at the ancestral house, Ritika is pained to know that her mother is facing memory issues. Now, she is more hesitant to tell her about her troubled marriage as she doesn’t know how she would take it.

The aforementioned story is revealed to the audience in the initial portions itself. It doesn’t take long for you to figure out that Puratawn is not so much about story development. It is more about making the viewer feel as a silent spectator as the three characters go about their lives, conversations and challenges.

Puratawn Bengali movie

In other words, the film is more about the treatment. It moves in a gentle manner as it sucks you into its world, which is the ancestral home. In fact, the home is a character in itself as the narrative hardly goes out of it. But special care is taken to ensure that the proceedings never get dreary, leave alone boring. The lives of the three characters and their issues constantly make you feel for them.

The dialogues are like every day conversations but they are also deep enough to move you. The film has various moments which remind you of people from the advanced age from your life. Ghosh has also brilliantly used the flashback technique. The scene where Ritika hesitatingly tries entering Rajeev’s room and the scene cutting to the flashback moment when she entered his room once without hesitation stands out.

Puratawn is also film where, along with the direction, the cinematography (Ravi Kiran Ayyagari), background score and music (Alokananda Dasgupta) and the editing (Aditya Vikram Sengupta) play a major role in creating a meditative atmosphere that is continuously endearing. Production Designer Tanmoy Chakraborty deserves full marks for recreating a bygone era, through major and minor items inside the mansion.

As per the nature of the film, it doesn’t have a conventional climax. But the ending moments do justice to the rest of the content and succeed in moving you.

Puratawn has less number of characters and all of them rise to the occasion. Sharmila Tagore provides an acting masterclass, to say the least. She gets into the skin of an aging lady facing memory issues in a thoroughly effortless manner. The scenes where her memory starts playing with her deserve special mention.

Rituparna Sengupta brings forth the confusion and helplessness of a daughter going through a lot in a fine manner. Indraneil Sepgupta also succeeds in downplaying the emotions of a character who is also going through a turmoil. Brishti Roy, in the role of a house help, also shines. Ekavali turns out to be memorable despite playing a cameo of a doctor.

On the flipside, for some reason, the characters look exactly the same even in flashback scenes that are supposed to have happened years ago. The track of Ritika’s Naxalite uncle doesn’t fit into this genre.  

Overall: Puratawn is a deeply moving and meditative journey about a golden past, uncertain future and a present that’s somewhere in between.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Suman Ghosh

Producer: Rituparna Sengupta

Writer: Suman Ghosh

Cast: Rituparna Sengupta, Sharmila Tagore, Indraneil Sengupta, Brishti Roy, Ekavali

Also read: Only Fawad Khan faces opposition in India, other Pakistani actors are spared

Pushpa 2 – The Rule review: Much better and entertaining than part 1

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First things first. I am not a fan of Pushpa: The Rise, the first film in filmmaker Sukumar’s franchise. I found it lagging behind in storytelling, performance of the lead actor and filled with quite a few problematic moments. However, I am pleasantly surprised to find Pushpa 2: The Rule not only better than part one but also a paisa vasool entertainer.

The first film ended with Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) becoming a large force in the world of red sandalwood smuggling. In the end, he marries his lady love Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna) while his nemesis in the form of the cop Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) vows to destroy Pushpa for his crimes and the insult meted out to him.

In Pushpa 2, Pushpa has become an even bigger name in his line of work. He has now extended his empire beyond the national borders. Shekhawat’s vengeance is even stronger now and he puts in various efforts to nab Pushpa and destroy his illegal business. At the same time, Pushpa also faces family issues with his elder brother Mohan (Ajay) but has more than a soft corner for his niece Kaveri (Pavani Karanam), who respects him dearly.

Pushpa 2 is entertaining from the word go but it doesn’t quite start on a positive note. The entire fight sequence in Japan lacks proper clarity. But the movie comes on track soon and stays there almost for the entire duration.

The movie is mostly about the cat-and-mouse game between Pushpa and Shekhawat, with each trying to outsmart each other. This results in some dramatic, thrilling as well as funny moments. No prizes for guessing who has the upper hand most of the time.

As mentioned before, the second film doesn’t lag behind in the areas it did in the first. The narrative is more engaging this time. The film is also better in terms of the action and stunts. The major fight scene in the pre-climax itself is your money’s worth. The film is also technically sounder when it comes to the cinematography and background score. But the same can’t be said for the music. The first film had the hit number ‘Oo Antava’.  This one lacks even a single memorable song. Although Sreelela does well in ‘Kissik’ the song, especially the lyrics, are unimpressive.

This film also scores high when it comes to the portrayal of women. While the first one had its share of problematic moments, that’s hardly the case here.

Along with the narrative, a major improvement in Pushpa 2 is the performance of Allu Arjun. He appeared one-dimensional in the first film on most occasions. But here, he shows his wide range as an actor and shines while displaying various moods of Pushpa. Apart from mouthing heroic one-liners and bashing up people, he is impressive even during emotional moments.

Because of better characterization, Rashmika Mandanna too gives an improved performance this time. Fahadh Faasil too goes a few notches higher. It was heartening to see his supreme acting talent at better use this time. Ajay, Pavani Karanam and Kalpalatha (Pushpa’s mother Parvati) provide earnest supporting acts. Rao Ramesh, Anasuya Bharadwaj and Sunil also chip in with decent acts.

Coming to the minus points, Pushpa 2 could have had a reduced runtime than 3 hours 20 minutes. A few scenes, including a couple of action sequences, could have been trimmed. There are instances where the makers have taken a lot of creative liberties, even by the standards of commercial masala entertainers.

Overall: Pushpa 2: The Rule fares much better than the previous film in the franchise. The movie ends with a bang with the announcement of the next film in the series titled Pushpa 3: The Rampage. The movie is expected to be a ‘wildfire’ at the box office with several records in sight.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Sukumar

Producers: Mythri Movie Makers and Sukumar Writings

Writers: Sukumar (Story and Screenplay) and Srikanth Vissa (Hindi dialogues)

Cast: Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil

Also read: All We Imagine As Light review: Poignant portrayal of life in a metro for the not-so-privileged

All We Imagine As Light review: Poignant portrayal of life in a metro for the not-so-privileged

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Mumbai has not only been one of the most featured cities in Indian films but it is also explored as a subject over the decades. Many a times, the dark underbelly of the city is brought to light. Filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s worldwide acclaimed feature film debut All We Imagine As Light (Malayalam along with some usage of Hindi and Marathi) also shows the bitter side of Mumbai. But it, for a change, doesn’t feature the criminal side of the city in any way.

Kapadia has captured Mumbai in a different manner. Almost the entire portion taking place in Mumbai is shot at night and that too during monsoon rains. No, the rain is not romanticized in the film. It is, instead, shown as a hurdle to the lower middle-class of Mumbai.

Along with that, the city is shown suffering from a cramped space. So, we see both the interiors and exteriors filled with people with hardly any sequence showing a character or two in a space that is even remotely empty. At the same time, the characters too are somehow struggling to find a space of their own in this city, both mentally and physically.

Prabha (Kani Kusruti), a Malayali from Kerala, works as a senior nurse in a hospital and stays in a small space with her junior Anu (Divya Prabha), who hails from the same state. Prabha got married to a man without even knowing him and he soon migrated to Germany.

Anu, a carefree young girl, is in a relationship with Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon). She knows that her parents would never agree for their marriage as he is a Muslim. The couple is always in search of some space to spend time together. Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), who cooks in the same hospital and hails from Ratnagiri, is struggling to save her little house from a powerful builder.

The above story about two migrants and one semi-migrant isn’t told in a conventional fashion at all. In fact, the film is more about a realistic passing glimpse into their lives with the city being present in most of the film’s duration. The conversations are real but at the same time interesting and, at times, hilarious. The film indicates that the chaos in the city is of the same nature as in the hearts of the characters.

Kapadia has succeeded in displaying her talent in capturing raw reality of Mumbai and the three protagonists. At times, this is visible in small instances, like Prabha hugging the pressure cooker sent by her husband. The topic of religion between Prabha and Shiaz is dealt in a very subtle manner. This part of the film somehow takes a stand against the theories of ‘Love Jihad’, without spelling it out whatsoever.

The three main actors, whose choices have been apt, don’t seem to be acting. Hence, it’s impossible to choose the best of all. Kani Kusruti expresses the pain of loneliness without saying much. Divya Prabha succeeds in being bold and at the same time innocent. Chhaya Kadam naturally switches between helplessness and toughness. Hridhu Haroon makes good of whatever opportunity he gets.

The technical aspects like cinematography and editing also play a major role in keeping the narrative realistic. The background score is used rarely and this works in the film’s favour.

Ideally, the subject and its treatment didn’t deserve a runtime of 118 minutes. It could have been shorter and still made an impact. The back story of Prabha about her husband leaving for Germany needed more clarity, especially considering that he sent that modern pressure cooker to her all the way from there.

Overall: All We Imagine As Light is a poignant portrayal of the lower middle-class of Mumbai through the lives of three women with different personalities and life stories. The film has achieved glory internationally and it deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Payal Kapadia

Producer: Thomas Hakim and Julien Graff

Writer: Payal Kapadia

Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon

Also read: Indi(r)a’s Emergency review: Shows the period’s relevance today

Boong (Manipuri movie) review: Fine blend of heart-touching moments and natural humour

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Aijaz Khan’s Hamid and Danish Renzu’s Half Widow are the names that easily come to my mind when it comes to movies about husbands going missing. But both the aforementioned films have the backdrop of the political crisis in Kashmir. This is where filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi’s Manipuri movie Boong stands apart. It is more of a personal story of a boy whose father goes missing not due to any political tensions.

Boong is set in a small village in Manipur, which is close to the border of Myanmar. It tells the story of a school-going kid Boong (Gugun Kipgen) and his mother Mandakini (Bala Hijam Ningthoujam). Boong’s father Joykumar (Hamom Sadananda) left for Myanmar some time back in search of work and hasn’t returned yet. He is untraceable. Mandakini is managing the household all by herself. The mother-son duo refuse to believe murmurs about his death.

Boong’s best friend Raju Agarwal (Angom Sanamatum) and his father Sudhir (Vikram Kochhar), whose family relocated to Manipur from Rajasthan since over a 100 years, share their pain. Circumstances ensure that Boong and Raju secretly team up to find the former’s missing father. Whether they succeed forms the rest of the story.

Boong Manipuri movie

Although the above synopsis might sound sad or serious, the film is anything but that. In fact, for a large part of the duration, it will make you giggle with occasional laugh out loud moments as well. However, the narrative and presentation doesn’t take the seriousness of the issue away even for a bit.

Lakshmipriya Devi has captured the minutest details of life in this part of the world while keeping the entertainment factor alive. Along with this, the lens of cinematographer Tanay Satam has provided a visual treat of this eye-pleasing location.  

But what stands out the most are the conversations between the four pivotal characters, especially Boong and Raju. Their innocence is fully visible, even while they perform naughty acts. Apart from the writing and the direction, this has been possible also because of the brilliant acts by the child actors Gugun Kipgen and Angom Sanamatum.

Bala Hijam Ningthoujam, in the role of a single mother, displays various emotions with ease, at times saying a lot without saying much. Vikram Kochhar, known for his work in a number of mainstream Hindi films, performs his task well and speaks fluent Manipuri.  

Boong, however, would have been even superlative if there was more clarity and background on Boong’s father’s disappearance. Fortunately for the makers, the film has so much working for itself that you can somehow ignore this point, especially due to the moving climax. Thankfully, is not a film that only provides a glimpse into the lives of the main character. It has a proper closure.

Overall: Boong is a fine blend of heart-touching moments and natural humour.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Lakshmipriya Devi

Producer: Excel Entertainment, Chalkboard Entertainment and Suitable Pictures

Cast: Gugun Kipgen, Bala Hijam Ningthoujam, Angom Sanamatum, Vikram Kochhar

Runtime: 94 minutes

Boong was screened at the recently-concluded 27th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival

Also read: Indi(r)a’s Emergency review: Shows the period’s relevance today

Paradise (English-Sinhala-Malayalam) review: Provides a gradual hard-hitting jolt

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Filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise is a Sri Lankan-Indian joint venture produced by Newton Cinema and presented by Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies. The movie is a tri-lingual in English, Sinhala and Malayalam.

Paradise tells the story of a couple from Kerala, Kesav (Roshan Mathew) and Amritha (Darshana Rajendran), who visit a hill station in Sri Lanka to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Their trip coincides with the mass protests in April 2022 after the country declares bankruptcy. Hence, there are agitations at various places for basic necessities of life.

But Kesav and Amritha are not bothered much and they start spending quality time with each other. Kesav’s happiness doubles after his upcoming web series gets greenlit by Netflix. However, their happiness is short-lived after they are robbed at night when they are fast asleep. Both of them lose their gadgets. Kesav faces a bigger loss as his work related stuff was in the iPad and mobile phone, which got stolen. They lodge a police complaint.

This reviewer hadn’t seen the film’s trailer before watching the film and that turned out to be a good idea since the trailer gives away a lot.

As the couple start their trip, one is constantly reminded of the impending protests in the background. And that is enough to not only keep you hooked but also anxious of things turning sour for them. Once the robbery takes place, the narrative goes into a different drive.

What’s more impressive is that the movie is not narrated like a crime thriller with elements to keep you hooked, especially through the technical departments. It follows a gradual narrative and has enough material naturally to keep things tense. The film scores the highest during the handling of the ending moments that provide a jolt. Along with that, Paradise also deserves brownie points for portraying the slow and seamless cracks in the relationship between Kesav and Amritha.

The characters are seen giving references of different versions of Ramayana. During a conversation, one character speaks about the Jain version of the epic. This appears like a casual conversation until you experience the ending moments, which leave you speechless as well as with a few questions.

There is not much of a negative point in Paradise. The only little issue here is that the two of them face a personal problem after their stuff is stolen and are not directly affected by the mass protests. Of course, the robbery can be an indirect reason for the lack of amenities in Sri Lanka at that time. But one would expect them to face something directly related to the volatile situation.

Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran have proven their talent on numerous occasions over the years. They are flawless here too. There are various moments when they speak a lot without saying much, especially when their relation is going through a gradual turmoil. The movie also has some fine performances from numerous supporting actors.

Overall: Paradise is a finely narrated drama that refuses to leave you much after it ends.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Prasanna Vithanage

Producers: Newton Films

Cast: Roshan Mathew, Darshana Rajendran

Also read: Pushtaini review: A true-blue independent film with a big heart

This actor played both Ram and Sita in a movie

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Legendary filmmaker Dhundiraj Govind Phalke aka Dadasaheb Phalke gave birth to Indian cinema after he made the very first Indian movie Raja Harishchandra in 1913. Hence, he is known as the father of Indian cinema.

Phalke was smitten by the Hindu mythology. Hence, his films were mostly based on various mythological tales. One such film he made four years after Raja Harishchandra was Lanka Dahan.

Lanka Dahan is based on one episode from the epic Ramayana. Sita is abducted by Ravana and kept in Lanka [now Sri Lanka]. Her husband Lord Rama joins hands with his greatest devotee Hanuman along with his vaanar sena [army of animals] to help free Sita. In order to confirm if Sita is indeed in Lanka, Hanuman flies off to the island and finds Sita over there.

He presents the ring given by Rama as his identity and proof. While Hanuman is about to return, he is captured by Ravana’s army and is presented in the court. Ravana orders Hanuman’s tail to be set on fire. As soon as his tail is ignited, Hanuman escapes from the court and burns the entire city of Lanka with his tail [Hence, the title Lanka Dahan. Dahan translates to “setting anything on fire”].

Anna Salunke as Sita in Lanka Dahan
Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

Hanuman escapes from Lanka and gets reunited with Rama at the other shore of the Indian ocean. His act gives a blow to Ravana’s morale.

Women weren’t allowed to act in movies in those days. So it was a common practice to cast men in female characters after working a lot on their look and attire. Actor Anna Salunke regularly played female characters in Phalke’s movies. The filmmaker had cast him for the first time in his first aforementioned movie Raja Harishchandra.

Salunke used to work in a small restaurant in the Grant Road locality of Mumbai. When Phalke was struggling to find a female to play the role of Taramati in Raja Harishchandra, he, out of sheer co-incidence, came across Salunke in the restaurant. After getting convinced that he can be a good fit for Taramati, Phalke immediately cast him. Salunke continued his association with the filmmaker in his future films.

Salunke achieved a rarest of the rare feat in Phalke’s Lanka Dahan after he was cast as both Rama and Sita in the movie. The reason for casting the same actor in both the roles isn’t known. But it made Salunke the first actor in Indian cinema to play a double role.

Even more than 100 years after the film released, this remains a rare feat of a man playing the role of two people of two different genders in one movie. In the picture above, Salunke is seen as Sita.

This trivia was recently shared in the event CineTalkies in Mumbai organized by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Rare find of a scene from Lanka Dahan:

Also read:

Review of Harishchandrachi Factory – based on the making of Phalke’s first movie

RRR review: SS Rajamouli provides an artistically crafted masala entertainer

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Not many films receive the kind of enormous appreciation and humongous box office success like Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) did. The movie made filmmaker SS Rajamouli a celebrated name across India. Such adulation is generally received only for star actors.

No doubt Rajamouli would have cherished such success. However, not many would have preferred to be in his shoes considering the huge expectations from his next. But despite such pressure and scrutiny, Rajamouli has not only made a film on a similar scale and even a higher budget but has also succeeding in hitting the bullseye yet again.

With RRR (Roudram Ranam Radhiram), he has given a masala entertainer worth celebrating.

RRR is fictional story featuring the real-life freedom fighters Alluri Seetarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. In the film, they are known as Ram (Ram Charan) and Bheem (Jr NTR). The story starts when a British family forcibly takes away a tribal girl with them after they are impressed with her singing and painting skills, despite her parents pleading and begging. Bheem, who hails from the same tribal community, is sent to Delhi to rescue the girl.

On the other hand, Ram (Ram Charan) works as a loyal cop in the British force. He is given the task of hunting down Bheem. They come across each other under unusual circumstances and become thick friends. Ram doesn’t reveal that he works for the British while Bheem also hides his identity. Bheem gets a shock when Ram betrays the friendship and arrests him for rebellion against the British government.

RRR
Ram Charan and Jr NTR in RRR

Three action sequences alone in the film are enough for your visit to the theatres – When Ram and Bheem meet for the first time, the long action sequence before the interval and the climatic war.

However, RRR provides much more than these paisa vasool moments. The story of the little girl, Ram and Bheem’s camaraderie, reunion and the climax are narrated through a screenplay that is fast as well as smooth by writer K Vijayendra Prasad (Rajamouli’s father).

On top of that, Rajamouli, as per his habit, has presented even the simplest of scenes as a visual treat; full of grandeur and style. His handling goes few notches higher while dealing with the aforementioned action sequences. The filmmaker has shown yet again that even a mass-pleasing masala entertainer can be presented in an artistic way.

He did the same in both Baahubali films and the result was such that even those who generally don’t prefer masala movies appreciated the films. Don’t be surprised if the same happens with RRR.

The technical aspects (cinematography, editing and background score) also play a major role in the film achieving high marks. There wasn’t much buzz about the music before the film’s release, at least for the Hindi version. But RRR’s songs suit the narrative and are pleasing to the ears too. The track ‘Nacho Nacho’ and the situation when it comes provides an electrifying effect.

After witnessing Ram Charan and Jr NTR’s chemistry, it is difficult to judge their performances individually. The two actors excel while displaying emotions and also during the wild action sequences. The writing and direction has given absolutely equal importance to both the characters.

Olivia Morris, as the British girl Jenni, becomes memorable despite the screen time. Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt do well in cameos. The child actress playing Malli impresses in a difficult role. The film doesn’t have much scope to the rest of the supporting cast.

Also read: The Kashmir Files review

Coming to the drawbacks, RRR’s pace dips a bit till sometime in the second half. The film also has the usual flaws when it comes to masala films where the focus is more on entertainment and less on logic.

But these issues don’t bother much after witnessing the exhilarating climax where the character of Ram actually fights while being Lord Ram.

Overall: RRR is an artistically made masala entertainer. The film needs to earn a huge amount at the box office in order to be called a blockbuster. It’s difficult to predict right now whether that will happen but the film surely stands a chance of becoming a hit.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Director: SS Rajamouli

Producers: DVV Entertainment

Writers: KV Vijayendra Prasad and SS Rajamouli

Cast: Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Olivia Morris, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt (the last two in cameos)

Terra (Bengali Short Film) Review

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Director Debjani Bandopadhyay’s short film Terra (which translates to ‘Land’) takes place in the mountainous regions of Purulia in West Bengal. It tells the story of an officer (Anindyo Banerjee) who works for a company that is slowly snatching away the land and natural resources of the region for monetary gains. He has a troubled relationship with his wife Bibha (Tanushree Sarkar), who is of the opposite ideology.

The narrative takes its own pace but this works well as it slowly sucks you into this intense world where the greed of few people has made life hell for many others. The peaceful location being the opposite of the conditions of the victims is established creatively. Two parallel tracks about main issue and the personal conflict of Bibha are smartly woven.

Terra short filmTerra tilts towards the victims but it doesn’t preach anything. It just presents the whole scenario as it is. But at the same time it steers clear from being a docu drama.

Despite the writing and direction departments being impressive, the technical department doesn’t cease to impress you throughout. The camerawork (Subal KR), background score and editing (Golam Mustafa Prokash) are applaud worthy.

But it’s the sound designing (Siba Sankar Das) that stands out and how. The minutest sounds of nature appear realistic even when seen on a mobile phone.

The only minus point is an incident which brings some amount of confusion. It, thankfully, doesn’t affect you much.

Acotr Tanushree Sarkar, Surojit Sen, Anindyo Banerjee and child actor Sourav Mura have come up with natural performances that play a large role in adding reality.

Overall: Terra is a finely crafted short film. It won’t be an overstatement that the director is ready to take a plunge in feature films.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review by: Keyur Seta

Baahubali 2 has achieved the unthinkable even before its release. Here’s what…

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S S Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Conclusion, also known as Baahubali 2, is around a month away from its release. It would be an understatement to say that there is high excitement for the film. There has hardly, if not never, been such high degree of eagerness for a film all over India.

The Prabhas and Rana Daggubati starrer will be releasing in a whopping 6500 screens in the country. This is the highest for a film in India. Hence, the film is predicted to amass the highest box office collections ever (at least till the time Robot 2.0 releases).

In fact, the eagerness is such that, God forbid, even if the film doesn’t turn out to be that impressive, it won’t be wrong to make a prediction that its business will still be big.

Baahubali 2 posterHowever, even if this doesn’t happen, Baahubali 2 still will be achieving the unthinkable. In fact, it has already begun.

Let’s face it. The only thing that has united Indians all these decades has been cricket, whether you like it or not. But this is the first time that such a feat has been achieved by a film, at least in my lifetime. I have never seen a film bonding the whole of India like Bahaubali has. The fact that it is releasing in such huge number of screens is a proof of that.

So much so, that most of us either seem to have forgotten or are not bothered that its original language is Telugu and Tamil. (‘south Indian’ for many). Normally, one would expect a Hindi film to achieve such feat. But nobody is complaining.

Another proof of its extreme excitement is the number of views to its Hindi trailer. In just 11 days, it has garnered more than 3 crore 65 lakh views (only the Hindi trailer). On the other hand, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, a hardcore Hindi film with big stars like Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, has managed 2 crore 81 lakh views in almost two months. Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees has been viewed just over 5 crore times in a long period of almost four months.

This speaks about the film’s pan India interest. On a lighter note, people from all over India are eager to find out why Katappa killed Baahubali. The social media is full of funny memes or posts asking this question. Seriously, how many of us ever expected a non-Hindi film to create such a scenario?

What it has indirectly shown is the power of regional cinema. The same happened last year with the Marathi movie Sairat. The film also found takers outside Maharashtra, something never achieved before by a Marathi film. This is also a wake-up call for those who shy away from watching a regional film saying it won’t interest them. If a film is high in appeal, it will cross state boundaries in India.

Like Baahubali 2 has. It’s neither a Telugu/ Tamil nor a south Indian film.

It’s an Indian film… Jai Mahishmati!

By: Keyur Seta

Hindi trailer of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion: