Tag: Manoj Pahwa

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The Great Indian Family: Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Plea For Inclusivity In Diversity

The director shows a huge improvement from ‘Thugs of Hindostan’, but a stronger female lead would have elevated the movie.

An appreciable attempt!
The Great Indian Family (Hindi)
  • Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Manushi Chhillar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, and Bhuvan Arora
  • Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
  • Producer: Aditya Chopra
  • Music: Pritam
  • Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes

Vijay Krishna Acharya is known for directing big-budget extravaganzas. All his films — Tashan (2008), Dhoom 3 (2013), and Thugs of Hindostan (2018) — belong to the action genre and feature big stars.

However, the subject of his latest outing — The Great Indian Family — on the surface appears as a misfit for the director. But he pleasantly surprises us, particularly, when the film gets to the meat of the story.

The Great Indian Family is about a Brahmin boy Ved Vyas Tripathi, also known as Bhajan Kumar.

Ved Vyas (Vicky Kaushal) faces an identity crisis when all of a sudden he comes to know that he is actually a Muslim by birth.

His father, rather the adopted father Siya Ram Tripathi (Kumud Mishra) is a most respected pandit of the small town where the film is set.

Manoj Pahwa plays the uncle of Ved Vyas. His character Balak Ram goes through a shift when the identity of Ved Vyas is known. All this happens when Siya Ram Tripathi is on a pilgrimage.

Yashpal Sharma, on the other hand, plays the rival pandit who wants to bring down the popularity of Siya Ram Tripathi.

And finally, you have the female lead Manushi Chillar who shows no improvement from her Samrat Prithviraj (2022) days.

Positives

The Great Indian Family does take time to get going. Vicky Kaushal’s scenes with his two friends don’t add much to the film.

Manushi Chjillar’s entry only further slackens the proceedings. Her attempt at being a Punjabi firebrand is rather laboured. There is zero spunk.

Vicky’s chemistry with Manushi has none of the sizzle that he shared with Sara Ali Khan in Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023).

The best portions of the film are the scenes where Ved Vyas is going through an existential crisis. There was a time when he was adored by his uncle and others. But now, the same family turns its back on him owing to societal pressure.

The situation reaches a point where Ved Vyas seriously thinks of embracing Islam. The paradox here is that without knowing his identity, he finds shelter in a Muslim family. Additionally, his Sikh girlfriend has no issues about him belonging to either of the religions.

It is in these bits that the directorial skills of Vijay Krishna Acharya come forth.

Performances

Another area where the movie scores is the scenes featuring the senior actors Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra.

Manoj Pahwa plays a citizen who is good at heart but can get easily influenced by WhatsApp forwards. But the director makes sure that he doesn’t become a caricature.

Vicky Kaushal and Manoj Pahwa have a couple of dramatic showdowns, and these bits are a delight to watch because of the intense acting on display.

Kumud Mishra conveys a lot with his silence and expressions. The actor particularly shines in the scene where he opens up to the other family members about how he and his wife decided to adopt the boy born to a Muslim mother.

What pulls the film apart from the female lead is the lacklustre music. The only song that works in The Great Indian Family is “Kanhaiya Twitter Pe Aaja“. It has a catchy tune along with Vicky Kaushal’s energy.

Pritam’s soundtrack in Rock Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023)had far better songs.

Final take

The story of The Great Indian Family might sound a little clichéd and a filmy attempt at unifying religions in these difficult times. But it is still an effort that needs to be appreciated.

(Views expressed here are personal.)

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Anek: An Admirable Effort But Lacks Focus

With Mulk, Article 15 and Thappad Anubav Sinha has created a strong niche for himself. Each of these three films has covered important socio-political issues. For example, Mulk was about the growing Islamaphobia in the country. Article 15, on the other hand, was about a young police officer who comes upon the horrors of caste discrimination. Lastly, Thappad looked at whether a slap can lead to divorce. All these were powerfully made films that stayed with you for a long time. With his latest Anek, the director shifts his focus to the mostly neglected north east. Omung Kumar’s Mary Kom was also set in the northeast but Anek falls in a very different zone altogether. This is a highly political film which talks about the alienation and lack of opportunities for the youth in northeast. The director focuses his lens on the racial abuse faced by the people of northeast.

There is no denying that Anubav Sinha makes an important statement through Anek, but having said that the script is all over the place. Anubav Sinha jumps from one issue to another. You get the feeling that cramming of too many things is happening. It looks like Anubav Sinha was bombarded with too many ideas.

Anek tells the story of a secret agent Aman (Ayushmann Khurrana) who goes by the name of Joshua. He opens a café in a city somewhere in the northeast. This café becomes the base for his operations. He has been sent by the government to neutralize Tiger Sangha (Loitongbam Dorendra Singh), he is a militant leader who runs a parallel government in the region. The government wants him to fall in line and sign a peace accord. Along with this you also have the track of a boxer Aido (Andrea).  Aido wants to become a part of India’s boxing team. Her reasoning is recognition in sports would give her a platform to highlight the problems of her region.

Her father Wangao (Mipham Otsal) is a revolutionary who believes that independence isn’t necessarily earned through guns. Wangao’s belief is that independence can be won through social reforms as well, interactions with these two changes Joshua. He begins to question the motives of his handler Abhar (Manoj Pahwa). There is also Kumud Mishra playing the wily minister. Last but not the least JD Chakravarthy also makes a comeback to the screen as another agent. What follows is a complex political thriller covering many burning issues.

First and foremost Anubav Sinha deserves credit for how he shows the militancy in northeast. They are never branded as terrorists but as revoluntaries. A lot of effort has gone into understanding what makes these young people take up arms. There is a distinct empathy which comes out. Also the film never goes into the jingoistic zone in spite of the political background.

Some of the conversations strike a definite chord, they make you think. For example, there is an important conversation between Ayushmann Khurrana and JD Chakravarthy about what makes someone an Indian. Is it the place where you come from, the language that you speak etc? The film also dwells into how the idea of peace can be utopian and also be subjective. This particularly comes out through JD Chakravarthy’s character.

Ewan Mulligan’s cinematography is another major plus for Anek. It is perfectly in tone with the requirement of the film. The cinematographer shows both the aesthetic beauty of northeast along with the destructive side. 

One of the factors that pull down Anek is the lack of coherence. This is majorly due to the tone that Anubhav Sinha has adopted. In telling too many things the direction often becomes indulgent. More focus was also needed on developing the characters of common people. A good example of this is the Andrea’s Aido. The character is too sketchily written for you to completely empathize with her.

The half baked romance between Ayushmann and Aido isn’t convincing in any way. It could have been either avoided, or be written in a better manner.

The overtly political nature also alienates the audiences somewhat. The first half in particular has too much of politics.

As expected the performances of the cast are on point. Ayushmann Khurrana is as dependable as ever. He once again shows his versatility as an undercover agent who develops a conscience. Andrea makes a confident debut, some rawness is there in the emotional scenes but there is no denying that Andrea has a bright future. Manoj Pahwa stands out in the supporting cast. He imbibes the necessary ruthlessness. It is also good to see JD Chakravarthy in his role of the field agent. He makes his presence amply felt.

In a nutshell, Anek is a step in the right direction, but more finesse would have made it memorable.

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Mili: An Engrossing Survival Drama Led By Brilliant Janhvi Kapoor

The genre of Survival drama lends itself to a vast array of human emotions. A film like Tom Hanks’ Cast Away is still considered to be a classic. Closer home Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped was a brilliant exploration of the loneliness in a big city, captured in a nail biting manner through the character of Rajkumar Rao. The protagonist in Trapped accidently jams himself inside his apartment. This year itself Fahad Fassil’s Malyankunju explored caste through the lens of a survival drama. Mathukutty Xavier’s Mili, a remake of his own Malayalayam film Helen is a wonderful addition to this list.

Structurally speaking Mili stays close to the original except for a few tweaks. For example in Helen the love interest of Anna Ben is a Muslim boy. Here the director makes Sunny Kaushal a Hindu boy who is supposedly from a different caste.

Milli starts off with establishing the daily routine of its lead character (Janhvi Kapoor).Before getting into the gritty space the director sets up the two important relationships in Mili’s life. One is with her father Niranjan (Manoj Pahwa). The other is with her boyfriend Sameer (Sunny Kaushal). Father doesn’t know anything about the boyfriend. Mili works as cashier at Take Out Mall in Dehradun. Before that Mili worked as a nurse. Milli has aspirations of going to Canada which the father doesn’t exactly approve of but he has no option. Things take a turn when father comes to know about Sameer and all hell breaks loose. The next night Mili gets trapped in the freezer room after a late night shift and no one has any idea of where she has disappeared. What follows is a race against time where the father and boyfriend unite together in search of the person they love. The director also explores the misogyny and the stereotypes attached to young working girls through Inspector Satish (Anurag Arora). 

The first half of Mili is mostly about setting the base and giving an insight into her personality. These portions may appear stretched but they play an important part in the scheme of things. The father and daughter bond gives the film some of its best moments. In both the emotional and lighter bits, the scenes between Janhvi and Manoj Pahwa have certain warmth that touches the hearts of the audience. Manoj Pahwa is one of those actors who can do a variety of roles, case in point being Article 15 and Mulk. Here too as father Manoj makes the audiences root for him. The desperation of a father is brilliantly brought out by the actor.

The love story between Janhvi and Sunny could have been better written; nevertheless their scenes are still good to watch. Sunny Kaushal has less to do but the actor still stands out with his amiable presence. He is successful in bringing out a boyfriend’s concern for Mili. Mathukutty Xavier does a wonderful job in showcasing how Milli’s father develops a fondness for Sameer in their search together for Mili.

For any survival drama the technical departments have to be very strong. Much like the original, here too the production design is one of the biggest assets of the film. Apurwa Sondhi does a brilliant job in converting the freezer room into a battleground. The shots of Janhvi trying to survive in the freezer room are sure to give goosebumps. The cinematography by Sunil Karthikeyan is also award worthy particularly in the freezer room portions.

The police characters may come across as generic particularly Anurag Arora who hasn’t got any redeeming quality but still his character of Satish is an important reminder of how certain stereotypes can become dangerous to young working women’s lives. Sanjay Suri as the other Inspector is the ante thesis of Satish and the actor infuses his part with the required righteousness. Jackie Shroff as the prisoner has a short cameo but his role is important to the proceedings. The senior actor makes his presence amply felt.

Now let’s move to the leading lady Janhvi Kapoor. Since Dhadak there has been a concrete effort on the part of Janhvi to prove her worth in the industry, as someone who is much more than just late Sridevi’s daughter. The actress has been making some right choices with Gunjan Saxena and Good Luck Jerry but with Mili she outdoes herself with a spectacular performance. She is particularly brilliant when the focus shifts to the freezer room. Janhvi makes the pain of Milli so real. The audiences almost pray for her to come out safe. Irrespective of Mili’s box office result there is no denying that the actress is far ahead of her contemporaries like Sara Ali Khan.

AR Rahman’s music isn’t of the popular type but the tunes go perfectly with the mood of the film, they complement the story. Tum Bhi Raahi is my most favorite song in the album. Sun Aye Milli is also a wonderful number. The background score, also composed by Rahman himself, is praise worthy.

Final word: Watch Mili even if you have watched Helen. It is a survival drama that makes you go through a roller-coaster of emotions. Janhvi Kapoor’s performance is the cherry on the cake.