Ciné Ruminations

As a child, what was or has been your greatest, deepest fear? What is/are the childhood moment/s when you really felt afraid of what you were seeing, hearing or feeling? Did you ever develop the consciousness to confront your fear during your childhood? Or rather, did it confront you? What happened after the confrontation? Confrontation is a choice. These are some of the questions that last week’s Warner Bros. And New Line Cinema release,  IT,  asks the audience to ask themselves. And while one thinks about these, it is also important to bear in mind that the fears of a child are different from the fears of an adult. Again, fears of a girl-kid are different from the fears of a boy-kid. Some fears are time-driven, time-dependent. Time plays with (y)our mind. Childhood and adolescence come with their own set of fears; youth has its own anxieties and insecurities, likewise for mid-life. The end of life is a fear in its own capacity; perhaps the ultimate fear and the most gen...

This film is a fine example of what good writing and innovative thinking can do to the time tested and beaten formula of love triangles in Hindi cinema! Actually, its not exactly a love triangle, but it has been made to appear in the promos as one. To put it plainly, the story has nothing new to offer; but it is the dialogues, the small town setting and the performances of Rajkumar Rao, Seema Pahwa (yes, I remember her from Aakhon Dekhi , but I think I have also seen her elsewhere. Her dancing talents are a revelation!) and Pankaj Tripathi (perfect for the character! It reminds you of his act in Masaan .) that carry us through the film. I also loved the actor who played Ayushmann's best friend; I am yet to find out his name.  Rajkumar Rao stands out in the lead actors, effortlessly overshadowing Ayushmann Khurana's sincere efforts of a sincere lover with twisted morals. Kriti has made a good choice by choosing this role; the only thing is that her urban person...

Much can be said about this movie. I feel compelled to begin by talking about the film's end. Some people with whom I have had the chance to disc uss the film did not seem satisfied with the film's end. But I don't feel that way; I thought it was a realistic end in the sense that for so many women, irrespective of their background, transgression does not happen that easily... Its too long a struggle which has to be met with persistence. And I felt that's what the final sequence does - it takes the characters' struggle or oppression to a chaotic peak to shatter their expectations to overcome their oppressive circumstances or to fulfill their desires. Yet, these women are not down and out. The final conversation suggests that they haven't given up and they are still engaging with their problems; the optimism is latent, not explicit. The end leaves these characters and the audience in the middle of their struggle/rebellion. Besides, there is already a Queen or a...

# Baahubali2TheConclusion Review #SSRajamouli #quasispoilersahead #Baahubali2_TheConclusion lacks the element(s) of surprise that The Beginning had. A boring, conventional, largely-linear narrative that makes the story predictable, especially post-interval. Instead of allowing only one character to relate/recollect the past, why not allow one or two other characters to do the flashback narration and thereby add perspectives to the tale. Or, at least break up the long flashback into scattered pieces and allow/leave the task of joining the pieces to the audience..??  If The Beginning had such a colossal twist to the tale... Not even a tiny, influential twist for the viewers in The Conclusion ? Not that there aren't any, but they don't even come remotely close to what the prequel managed to do with just one twist revealed at the end!  Even the action sequences and stunts lose their impact and become superfluous, partly due to the narrative chos...

Why have cats been used as a motif in Raman Raghav 2.0? What is their significance, visually or otherwise? God, mythology and religion also appear plentifully; but one can make out their relevance. Surveillance makes its way into the story nicely (it doesn't have much of a story and yet it is engaging enough. The background score is rivetting! Vicky Kaushal was good but didn't feel like an ACP.) And there is a parallel between playing-God and surveillance (..?) just as there's one between the  psychopath and the cop. Cinematically, the end is good but not story-wise; no closure. #RamanRaghavTwoPointZerO

FAN (Maneesh Sharma 2016 Hindi) #FAN #FAN_Review #SRK #ManeeshSharma #Spoilers_Ahead With the much-delayed Fan , SRK must be hoping to reclaim his image as an actor (Gaurav is easily one of his top acts, more so in the recent years) and remedy the damage done by Dilwale (2015); but his acting prowess and good technical work are damped by an unlikely yet predictable plot thereby giving a less-than-satisfying feel while leaving the theatre hall. Nevertheless, it is worth a watch: it is interesting, mostly engaging but a couple of implausible plot-twists curtail it from becoming great. Gaurav Chandna (SRK) is a Delhi lad who since his childhood days has lived and breathed the superstar Aryan Khanna (SRK). His fondness and fandom for the star get intensified by his striking facial and bodily resemblance to the actor. To the world and Gaurav’s parents (Yogendra Tiku getting typecasted as a father again, last seen as Neerja ’s father), Aryan Khanna is just another actor; for Ga...