Lust Stories

The four finest directors :- Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar, come together for an anthology of short films, after “Bombay Talkies”.

This anthology film shows women’s sexual desires and finding their identity. The things women go through in a world where they are stereotyped as being “naughty” for having those desires, where they are told that they are mainly made for duties of being a wife and a mother. The 4 short stories have shown these desires and issues in the most realistic way possible. I hope the movie changes the mindset.

Anurag Kashyap’s segment would probably be the weakest one in my opinion. Here its about a professor Kalindi (Radhika Apte), who is married, had an affair with a student (Akash Thosar, of Sairat fame), is jealous of seeing him with another girl. She is a confused and complicated person who isn’t sure what she really wants. It was also dragging, and ended in a confused and abrupt way. I also felt that Radhika Apte tried so hard to be confused, but maybe its just how I see it. Anurag Kashyap is terrific when it comes to making thrillers and drama, but needs to work on romance more.

Zoya Akhtar’s segment is my favourite. Its about a maid Sudha (Bhumi Pednekar) who is having a sexual relationship with his master Ajit (Neil Bhoopalam). But then Ajit’s marriage gets fixed to a family friend of theirs, and he immediately moves on, and forgets all about his sexual relationship with Sudha. What is the role of our maids in the society? Just to cook and clean? Just that they belong to a lower social economic class? They have desires too, to find a guy, to be touched and loved purely. As soon as Ajit’s marriage gets fixed, he started treating Sudha again like a maid, considering her class and occupation, so it was just lust right? As for Sudha, it would have been heartbreaking to see the person she has had sexual encounters with, get married to someone else, but it makes her even more strong to understand and move on. Bhumi nailed it with her expressions and body language. Zoya Akhtar’s direction is just amazing. She manages to create all the elements needed for the short film.

Dibakar Banerjee’s segment would be the mature one. Its about a housewife Reena (Manisha Koirala), who is married to Salman (Sanjay Kapoor), but is having an affair with her husband’s best friend Sudhir (Jaideep Ahlawat). Soon she decides to tell her husband about the affair, and how disappointed she is with her marriage. She realizes that she is wrong and decides to end the affair. Most husbands in this situation would react angrily and go for divorce the next day. But here is a couple who is willing to make things work, and ends things in a reasonable way. Manisha Koirala as usual nailed it.

Lastly comes Karan Johar’s segment. Its about Megha (Kiara Advani), married to Paras (Vicky Kaushal). While Paras is pleased during sex, he is unaware of her dissatisfaction. Her mother-in-law pushes her to have children, as she believes that its the pleasure than women desires. When Megha sees her colleague masturbating, she tries to use a vibrator, which unfortunately goes wrong, and is looked in disgust by her mother-in-law. Karan Johar is capable of making good films, if he thinks about the quality more than money, and he nailed it with this segment. He showcased the desires in a comical way, which is hard to do. The mother-in-law character is someone who exists a lot in real life, with a mindset that women cannot have any other pleasures and desires except to cook and have children, who cannot accept women with other desires. Kiara Advani nailed it with the vibrator scene, hats off to her for pulling out something hard like this.

All the four women handled the desires in a different way such as confusion, moving on, determination, maturity etc. with one similar thing they face:- lust.

Such movies should be made to show that women do have sexual urges and desires. There is nothing wrong about that. The stories have been made in such a wonderful way to educate people about this topic.

Its realistic, its educational, its emotional, its sensitive, its light-hearted, its all of what you want. Please go to Netflix and watch this, if you haven’t.

My Rating:- 3.5/5

Raazi

It is dark, and its brilliantly made. I love female centric films, and Bollywood does a good job with that. Based on the novel “Calling Sehmat”, its about an Indian spy, who gets married to a Pakistani military officer, during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, in the order of her father, who is dying of cancer. The movie portrays ambition, hard work, love for country and most of all, the love and admiration you have for your parents. A young girl does all of that, and that is called “women power”. I feel this movie explains undercover tactics the best way.

Meghana Gulzar, who is one of the finest directions, does it again. The screenplay was engaging. A few suspense and dramatic moments made it very intriguing. Alia Bhatt makes your eyes widen whenever she comes on screen. Its like there is no “Raazi”, without Alia Bhatt. She gets into the role of a spy very nicely. Vicky Kaushal’s role was small, but managed to create an impact. All the supporting actors are brilliant.

The best thing I liked about this film is that it doesn’t try too hard to be perfect, but sticks to the topic, and that’s what makes the movie a must watch!

My Rating;- 3.5/5

Sacred Games

Still think that Indian shows aren’t good? Still think they lack creativity. Well, turn on Netflix and check out “Sacred Games”, Netflix India’s first original show. The hope we have had for Indian shows will come back.

The story is very intriguing. Its about Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a troubled police officer from Mumbai, who gets a tip-off from a ruthless gangster Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), saying that Mumbai will be in grave danger. Thus starts the story that goes deep into Indian underworld, corrupt politicians and police force. It is a puzzle that the lead characters try to solve, hence its called “Sacred Games.”

Direction by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, who are one of the finest directors we have in this country, is brilliant. I read somewhere that Anurag Kashyap handled the Gaitonde story while Vikramaditya Motwane handled the Sartaj story. While seeing all the Gaitonde scenes, one can only remember “Gangs of Wasseypur”, especially since Nawaz and Anurag worked together then. Very tight-gripping screenplay. In no way it dragged. I binge watched it over the weekend, as I felt like wanting to know what happened. The season ended with another part of a puzzle being solved. I have started to wait for the next season already. The dialogues were powerful. I loved the music. One of the best soundtrack I have listened to in recent times. Does anyone have the songs?

Now comes the acting. Saif proves that if he could pick up good projects, he can do a wonderful job. He made the best decision to do this show, because this was one of his best, after Langda Tyagi. Radhika Apte’s role was small, but she managed to make the show more intriguing. Nawazuddin again managed to be the power pack. Neeraj sir, Jitendra Joshi and Jatin Sarna were mindblowing. But the stand-out for me was Kubra Sait, who played the role of Kukoo the transgender. She is a revelation you must watch out for. Another surprise was Luke Kenny, who played the killer Malcolm. He managed to get out of his “Rob” zone. The best ensemble of cast I have seen. I believe teamwork makes a show successful, and its the same with this show.

So Indians, remove the idiot box, and get Netflix and Amazon Prime to see how shows are actually made. And please don’t say that Indian shows are bad, because after watching “Sacred Games”, its going to be all different. I would also suggest my foreign friends to watch this series. There is so much more in India than just dancing, singing, crying and “Slumdog Millionaire” (which is overrated in my opinion).

My Rating:- 4.5/5

 

 

 

Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director, and he showcases his brilliancy again through “Dunkirk.” It is based on World War II. In 1940, during the Battle of France, Germany advances to France, allied troops get trapped in the beaches of Dunkirk. The only way out is via sea, but the Germans have air superiority, bombing British soldiers and ships without opposition. The film shows the tension of the soldiers to fight and to be free.

The movie shows 1940’s and World War II in a very true way. Cinematography is wonderful. Screenplay is tight. Nolan adds the suspense to make it interesting. The music was so apt for the situation. Acting by the cast was strong (I was surprised to see Harry Styles.)

Out of all the Oscar nominated movies I have watched so far this year, Dunkirk would be my top favourite for now.

One of the best films made. Its a must watch!

My Rating:- 4/5

I, Tonya

I, Tonya makes your heart light and makes you smile. It is based on the life of the famous figure skater, Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), who is pushed into figure skating by her mother (Allison Janey). It also shows her abusive relationship with her husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan). Also, the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, her rival, and the aftermath of the incident.

The direction was superb. The actors did a good job, Margot Robbie was amazing as Tonya, she got into the skin of the character very easily, Sebastian Stan was also good as Jeff, but it was Allison Janey who stood out. No words for how brilliant she is. The screenplay could have been better though.

I, Tonya isn’t a masterpiece, but its definitely watchable, entertaining and a must watch!

My Rating:- 3.5/5