In its run time of 22 minutes director Adam J Graves subtly touches upon the issue of child labor, however the movie never becomes depressing as the focus is on hope for a better future
Sometimes a short film become a very powerful medium for a director to talk about important subjects. A short movie by nature needs a concise narrative and this can be very helpful for certain directors who aren’t comfortable with the long format of movies and web shows. Anuja directed by Adam J Graves and backed by Guneet Monga, Priyanka Chopra etc has made international waves. Its one of the five movies that has been nominated for the Oscar in the Best Live Action Short Film Category and deservedly so.
The storyline of Anuja streaming on Netflix focuses on two sisters Anuja (Sajda Pathan) and Palak (Ananya Shanbag). Both work in a government factory of Delhi. Things take a dramatic turn when Anuja is given an opportunity of life time due to her strong mathematical skills. It sheds light on the dilemmas faced by Anuja of wanting to break out of the social hierarchy while making sure that she is also able to survive. Through this tale of two sisters the movie gives a glimpse into the dark underbelly of child labor. The movie also takes digs on the nature of matrimonial ads where the focus is always on fair skinned brides.
The best part of Anuja is how it highlights the struggles of marginalized children. Their desires of going to school clashing with the necessity of earning livelihood. This has come out well in the dilemmas faced by both the sisters particularly Sajda Pathan.
The characterization of the government factory supervisor as the calculative villain may across as too predictable but it mirrors the harsh reality. Another striking aspect of Anuja is how it looks at the idea of stealing from the perspective of the downtrodden.
The idea of stealing is generally termed to be bad but sometimes the downtrodden are left with no other option. The exploration of the morality concept in today’s world has come out strongly through this angle. A particular mention must be made of the scene where Palak steals a left over cloth for a reason. She questions the supervisor on why her thieving of left over garments is such a crime.
Both the child actors Sajda and Ananya Shanbag deliver very good performances making the viewers believe in the deep love that the sisters have for each other.
In the age of pan India Films, and reducing screenspace for women, it has become even more necessary for the actresses to take charge of the stories they are part of.
In the last few years, many Bollywood actresses have turned producers. They have produced films either starring themselves in lead roles or having new talents in prominent parts.
This trend of actresses turning producers proved to be a healthy change, giving them greater control over their roles, and allowing them to explore more challenging roles which mainstream cinema doesn’t always provide. While the box office figures for these movies aren’t massive, there is creative satisfaction.
It is a well-known fact that in today’s age of pan-Indian cinema, actresses are getting reduced to mere dolls with very little to do. Even the romantic track with heroes has become all about the male gaze.
In the recent big-budget film Devara (2024)—Janhvi Kapoor’s Tollywood debut, the actress makes her appearance only in the second half that too for a brief while. She is reduced to a person lusting after the hero and dancing to the sensuous “Chuttamalle”.
In this scenario, it becomes even more necessary for the actresses to take charge of the stories they are part of. Here is a list of actresses turning producers and the projects they undertook.
Anushka Sharma
One of the actresses who turned a producer early on was Anushka Sharma. She launched her own production company Clean Slate Filmz in the year 2013.
The first movie produced under her banner was NH 10 (2015), a gripping thriller. The film is about honour killings, in which a city couple find themselves witness to a brutal incident of honour killing leaving deep scars. In the film, Anushka Sharma portrays a wide range of emotions, from confidence to despair, to finally rage.
Anushka Sharma in ‘Phillauri’. (X)
After the intense NH10, the actress did a complete U-Turn with her next production Phillauri (2017). In 2018, she produced and acted in yet another milestone film in her career— Pari.
While Philauri dealt primarily with superstitions in a comic tone, it also spoke about long-lost love and the culture of music and poetry in Punjab.
In this movie, she played a strong-willed woman with a flair for writing poetry. Later in the movie, she plays the role of a friendly spirit giving Anushka ample scope to demonstrate both her comic and dramatic chops.
Post Phillauri there was the horror movie Pari in the backdrop of satanic cults. Pari was a challenging part both physically and emotionally for Anushka. She was in equal parts scary and also emotionally vulnerable delivering a knock-out act.
All these movies are not major grossers at the box office but they showcased Anushka’s versatility in taking on challenging roles.
Roping in new talents
Tripti Dimri in ‘Bulbbul’. (X)
Apart from the above-mentioned ones Anushka has also backed movies featuring young talents, a case in point being Bulbbul (2020) and Qala (2022).
Both these movies featured young actress Tripti Dimri in author-backed roles. They opened to great reviews marking Tripti as a promising young talent which unfortunately the actress has not been able to capitalize on. Bulbbul also had another upcoming actor Avinash Tiwary making a strong impression.
Anushka also produced the critically acclaimed Amazon show Paatal Lok (2020).
Paatal Lok had the Raazi actor Jaideep Ahlawat in a breakthrough performance. The show gave Jaideep space to display his talent and he didn’t disappoint.
The show was also a breakthrough for Abhishek Banerjee, generally known for comic roles in the Stree franchise, the actor was extremely convincing as the deadly assassin.
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra in ‘Sky Is Pink’. (X)
Another prominent actress Priyanka Chopra has also backed hatke movies under Purple Pebble Pictures. Apart from the likes of Sky Is Pink (2019) and The White Tiger (2021) Priyanka has produced movies in Marathi as well.
Ventilator (2016) had director Ashutosh Gowariker in a major role. The movie opened to rave reviews apart from being a commercial success. Director Rajesh Mapuskar who also wrote the screenplay won awards for best screenplay and best debut director.
Speaking about her Hindi film, Sky Is Pink featured the actress in a multi-layered character. Her role as a determined parent spans from a young mother to an older woman. As a strong mother who wants to make sure that her child lives life to the fullest amidst a life-threatening disease, Priyanka‘s performance touched a huge chord with the audience.
The grief along with her inner strength is palpable in every scene.
In the English/Hindi movie The White Tiger Priyanka’s role was more of a supporting one, nevertheless, the actress made a striking impression.
The White Tiger had Adarsh Gaurav in the lead role, who got into the skin of his character. The movie opened new doors for the young talent.
Alia Bhatt
A poster of the film ‘Darlings’. (X)
The national award-winning actress Alia started her own production house with the movie Darlings (2022).
The film is a dark thriller/comedy about two domestic abuse survivors, with her character Badru representing the numerous housewives who put up with their husband’s abusive behaviour in the hope that they would change one day. This doesn’t happen and eventually, Badru is forced to take things into her own hands.
The transition of Alia’s Badru from a battered housewife to a stronger woman was exciting to watch though the process could have been better etched. It was brave of Alia to choose a subject like Darlings for her debut venture and by playing a domestic abuse survivor she represented numerous Indian women whose patience is mistaken for submissiveness.
Darlings was followed by presenting the Malayalam web series Poacher(2024). Poacher was a crime drama based on the real-life incidents of Elephant poaching. The series had Nimisha Sajayan in an intense performance giving her new fame.
After Poacher came Jigra (2024) which she produced along with Karan Johar.
Jigra is a story about a fiercely protective elder sister, who would do whatever it takes to save her brother from the death sentence. There are intense combat sequences with an ally turned foe in a jungle.
Keeping aside the box office numbers, Alia showcased a different side to her in this movie proving that she can pull off action as well. Apart from being an emotional drama Jigra also touched upon the consequences of a delayed justice system where innocent prisoners are forced to take extreme measures in order to find freedom.
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone in ‘Chhappak’. (X)
In the year 2020 Deepika produced and starred in the flawed yet gutsy Chhappak movie under her banner Ka Productions.
Deepika took a huge risk with her stardom to play an acid attack survivor. In spite of falling short in a couple of sequences, Deepika was mostly competent in making the viewers feel the agony of Malati Agarwal based on the real-life Lakshmi Agarwal.
Taapsee Pannu
Pink (2014) actress Taapsee Pannu turned producer with the female buddy film Dhak Dhak (2023) under the banner Outsider Films. The movie focused on four women of different age groups and their journey of self-discovery on a long bike trip. It was a well-made feel good movie.
Kareena Kapoor Khan
Kareena Kapoor Khan also turned into a producer with a Hansal Mehta directorial The Buckingham Murders (2024). The name of her production house is Mahana Films.
Unlike her general glamorous roles, Kareena was seen in a very different avatar, a detective going through huge emotional turmoil while investigating a case. Kareena delivered a stunning performance, showcasing her versatility.
Kriti Sanon
Kriti Sanon in ‘Do Patti’. (X)
The last in this list is Kriti Sanon who co-produced the recently released Do Patti (2024) under her banner Blue Butterfly Films. The core concept of domestic abuse and the character graph of Kriti’s Saumya in this is similar to what Jasmeet K Reen already explored in Darlings.
Having said that it has to be mentioned that director Shashanka Chaturvedi brought his aspects too like post-traumatic stress and a jealous identical twin who undergoes a transformation. Playing two vastly different characters Kriti pushed herself as an actress coming up with a good performance.
Through the double act, Kriti showed that she can easily play a grey-shaded or a completely negative role.
Becoming decision-makers
In a way, this is a good trend as actresses are becoming decision-makers in showcasing women’s talent and pushing boundaries.
On the other hand, it is also a sad commentary on the film industry that actresses had to bankroll movies to display their talent, something which mainstream cinema is not giving them enough.
A common factor binding Do Patti and Alia Bhatt’s debut production Darlings is women taking control of their lives when everything seems to have hit a dead end. Kudos to Kriti Sanon for choosing a sensitive subject like domestic abuse for her maiden production venture.
Starcast: Kriti Sanon, Shaheer Sheik, Kajol, Tanvi Azmi, Brijendra Kala and others
Director: Shashanka Chaturvedi
Writer: Kanika Dhillon
Producers: Kanika Dhillon and Kriti Sanon
Production Companies: Kathha Pictures, Blue Butterfly Films and Vipin Agnihotri Films
Songs: Sachet- Parampara and Taniskh Bagchi
Streaming site: Netflix
Running time: 2 hours and 7 minutes
In the last few years numerous Bollywood actresses have turned producers pushing the envelope with interesting stories and strong female characters. Irrespective of the box office numbers these characters have created a solid impact. Case in point being the films produced under Anuskha Sharma’s Clean Slate Filmz. A particular mention must be made of her turn in the horror movie Pari. She played a battered young woman with a haunting past. Priyanka Chopra is another actress who has produced good movies like Sky Is Pink and The White Tiger. Her heart wrenching portrayal of a determined mother in the former was nothing less than extraordinary. One of our major commercial stars Deepika Padukone also entered into production with the flawed yet gusty Chhapaak. The biggest star of this generation Alia has produced two movies and presented one Malayalam web series Poacher under Eternal Sunshine Productions. Both Darlings and Jigra dealt with contrastingly different subjects. Darlings focused on a domestic abuse survivor, Jigra on the other hand dealt with the delayed justice system through a morally complex elder sister. Kriti Sanon’s Do Patti is a good addition to the above-mentioned films.
Do Patti is a good additionto the above-mentioned films
The story of Do Patti is set in the fictional hill station of Devaipur. It focuses on a pair of identical twins Saumya and Shelle, they are as different as chalk and cheese. Their relationship has always been strained. Out of the two Saumya needs more care given her constant paranoia. Shelle on the other is the wilder one. From an early age itself Shelle has harbored jealousy towards Saumya. Her feeling is that Saumya gets way more love from the family, according to her Saumya puts up the act of being paranoid to get more love. A good example of Shelle’s animosity is the scene where she cuts a small portion of her sister’s hair as a child. Years later this animosity takes a hugely dangerous turn with the arrival of Dhruv (fantastic Shaheer Sheikh). Dhruv gets quickly attracted to Shelle as her wild nature is more appealing to him over Saumya’s demureness. But in a major turn of events, his marriage takes place with Saumya leading to further friction among the siblings. Initially Dhruv appears to be a good husband but soon his short temperedness comes to the fore. Kajol plays police inspector Vidya Jyothi. This is the story in brief.
Kriti Sanon in a double role
A strong aspect of Do Patti is the depiction of sibling rivalry particularly the characterization of Shelle. Writer Kanika Dhillon is known for writing unorthodox women. The best example being Taapsee Pannu in the Haseen Dil Ruba movies and Manmarziyaan. Here too the writer has given interesting character traits adding to the thrill quotient of the movie. Both Saumya and Shelle carry a deep emotional baggage of their own, it is just that they have chosen different methods. In case of Saumya it is about internalizing, for Shelle escapism is the defense. This has come out well both in terms of writing and the stellar acting performance of Kriti.
The unraveling of Shaheer Sheikh’s Dhruv, how the role starts off and the eventual revelation of his true colors is also a delight to watch. Shaheer Sheikh plays the unpredictable husband with aplomb making a striking impact.
Shaheer Sheikh plays the unpredictable husband with aplomb
Through Do Patti director Shashanka Chaturvedi and Kanika Dhillon have focused on pertinent topics. The portrayal of post-traumatic stress and childhood trauma have been dealt in a poignant manner.
The depiction of domestic abuse is raw in nature, a scene which needs to be mentioned here is a disturbing altercation between Dhruv and Saumya. It is a very upsetting moment which many domestic abuse survivors will relate with.
Do Patti also plays out like an Agatha Christie Thriller. The twists and turns are fairly engrossing. A big twist leading to a poignant flashback deserves a special mention. Through the flashback there is an important message on reporting domestic violence.
Performances wise Do Patti is very much a Kriti Sanon showreel. She aces both the parts with equal ease whether it is grey shades and the eventual remorse of Shelle or the demure Saumya who will tug at your heartstrings. Kajol as police inspector Vidya Jyothi fits the part of a no- nonsense police officer, she does a fine job in portraying the tough attitude, but the Haryanvi accent feels jarring. The moral dilemmas of Vidya Jyothi at one point also needed better etching. Tanvi Azmi as the supportive caretaker brings in a lot of warmth in her small yet significant part.
Sachet Parampara and Tanishk Bagchi’s songs are just above average. The CGI and the camerawork though are of a high order more so in the portions which have two Kriti’s.
Recently I have read Priyanka Chopra’s autobiography Unfinished, it is a collection of stories that cover the many aspects of her life both professional and personal. However Unfinished is not just the story of Priyanka Chopra, it is as much about her parents who were a big pillar of support in the process of Priyanka achieving global stardom.
This autobiography works best when Priyanka shares anecdotes about her parents. Oftentimes she paints them as superheroes. Her daddy was a doctor in the army. There is an instance where Priyanka talks about him dislodging a bullet from a dying soldier. Similarly the mother rescuing a girl child outside a hospital on a rainy night. Her father’s battle with cancer and how it took her a long time to cope with his death feels heartfelt.
But when it comes to the professional part the book needed more insight into how she brings her characters to life. For example Priyanka’s act in Barfi is hugely acclaimed. She expressed her sadness on her performance being overlooked at major award functions that year however there is no insight into how she became the character. After a point the novel becomes more of a Wikipedia entry with how she has emerged victorious overcoming obstacles. The only portion regarding the professional chapter that works is when she goes in detail about the failure of her musical career in America. Unfinished is no by means unreadable there is a crispness in the narration but the book could have done with more description of her acting process.
It is not often that a director does justice to a novel. But Director Ramin Bharani does more than enough justice to the written material. Apart from capturing the spirit of the novel it also raises many pertinent questions. The film dwells deep into the caste mechanisms and how the rich put the poor in their place. The best way to describe it would be as an anti slumdog Millionaire. In this case it is a compliment to the film White Tiger.
The movie begins off with establishing the character of Adarsh Gaurav’s Balaram. We see Balaram narrating his story starting from the rural village of Laxmangarh. From Laxmangarh we go to Delhi where Balaram works as a servant to his master Ashok and Madam Pinky. The couple is played by Rajkumar Rao and Priyanka Chopra respectively. Balaram is fascinated by Ashok but that soon turns into bitterness because of a particular incident. Ashok and Pinky believe that their goodwill changes the class structure of the society. However they come with their shades of grey particularly Rajkumar Rao’s Ashok. Whenever Pinky speaks about education and equality her in-laws think that she is speaking too much. This is the synopsis.
The best part of White Tiger is how director Ramin Bharani manages to handle the heavy duty themes of caste, corruption and globalization. It never feels heavy handed and yet the message comes across perfectly. Ramin Bharani also deserves kudos for avoiding the clichés of the exotic India. He adopts a dark satirical tone while laying bare the hypocrisies of modern India. On one side of the coin you have the outright brutality of Ashok’s father and brother. On the other side there is the well meaning but ineffectual kindness of Ashok and his wife.
One major change when compared to the book is Priyanka Chopra’s character. Unlike the book here Pinky is better written and has an arc. Not surprisingly Priyanka fares far better with her American accent than Rajkumar Rao. Priyanka shines in her extended cameo and works well as a catalyst for the change in Gaurav.
The director also deserves appreciation for he builds up the character of Balaram. Initially we get the feeling of Balaram romanticizing his master. At one point he even calls Ashok as his ex. From there the transformation of the character has been done in an effective manner. In fact, no feeling of sadness for Ashok comes when he is killed by Balaram. There is a feeling that Ashok deserves it.
The cinematography Paolo Carnera also plays a significant part in building up this universe. He captures the two distinctly different words with flair. In short, the cinematographer is successful in capturing the texture of the novel on to the screen.
The lines written for Adarsh Gaurav deserve a special mention. His observation of his master results in dialogues which hit the right spot.
The only point where White Tiger feels like a letdown is the casting of Rajkumar Rao as Ashok. The actor gets a clumsily written part and the American accent that Rajkumar Rao puts on becomes bothersome.
Not surprisingly the film belongs to Adarsh Gaurav. The actor sinks his teeth into the role and comes up trumps. This film should open doors for the actor.
On the whole White Tiger is a film which deserves your attention and time. It is must watch particularly for the many masters who take their servants for granted.
