Tag: Vishal Bharadwaj

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Khufiya : Vishal Bharadwaj-Tabu’s brand new release is a weak espionage drama,

The first half of ‘Khufiya’ has some good moments, but it is in the second half that the film completely nosedives.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s Khufiya is based on the espionage novel “Escape to Nowhere” written by Amar Bhushan.

It starts in Dhaka with the death of an undercover spy Hina Rehman (Azmeri Haque Badhon). Hina’s death sends shockwaves to the R&AW office in Delhi.

An investigation leads to the discovery of a mole, Ravi (Ali Fazal) who leaks sensitive information about India to other countries. Charu (Wamiqa Gabbi) is Ravi’s wife.

Tabu plays a raw agent named Krishna Mehra. KM Jeev (Ashish Vidyarthi) is her boss. He gives her the responsibility of catching Ravi.

For Krishna, this mission is not just professional but also personal because she had an intimate relationship with Hina.

The rest of the story is about whether Krishna is able to stop Ravi and what happens when Charu comes to know about the actual identity of her husband.

Second half falls flat

Before getting into the negatives of Khufiya, it is necessary to point out a few positive things.

The scenes between Tabu and Azmeri Haque Badhon are limited. But still, they give the film some of its best moments as they have so much warmth.

It also helps that Azmeri has a striking screen presence. The viewers wish that she had more screen time.

The first half of Khufiya has some good moments, but it is in the second half that the film completely nosedives.

The chief reason for that is the characterisation of Ali Fazal. The actor does a decent job in the first half. But in the second half, both the character and the actor lose the sheen.

Another issue with Khufiya is the serious hangover of both Kurbaan and Raazi. The scenes of Charu spying for Krishna Mehra are distinctly reminiscent of how Alia’s Sehmat communicates with Jaideep Ahlawat’s Khalid Mir in Raazi (2018). This déjà vu doesn’t help in any way.

The pre-climax and the climax are another sore point. Here again, the viewers are heavily reminded of Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019).

Performances

Tabu’s character has many layers. Apart from being a shrewd officer, she also deals with her own inner demons.

These include a failed marriage with Shashank (Atul Kulkarni) who has a brief appearance. She also has a troubled relationship with her son. Tabu portrays all these shades with her usual excellence.

Wamiqa Gabbi also gets a good arc. She starts off as this innocent housewife who presents a certain façade in front of her husband and mother-in-law. When neither of them is there, she is seen dancing with gay abandon and also smoking.

Once Charu gets to know about the real identity of her husband, she undergoes a transformation. The actress does a good job of showcasing those nuances.

Final take

To sum it up, the audiences have many expectations from this Netflix film, given that it was a reunion of Tabu and Vishal Bhardwaj. However, this reunion leaves the viewers with a bitter aftertaste!

(Views expressed here are personal.)

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Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley: A Pulpy Thriller That Keeps You Hooked

Vishal Bhardwaj shows his mastery at creating a dramatic murder mystery, with each suspect coming with his/her secrets.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s fascination with literature is something that needs no introduction.

The acclaimed director has adapted three works of Shakespeare into movies — Maqbool (2003) from “Macbeth“, Omkara (2006) from “Othello“, and Haider (2014) from “Hamlet“.

All these three movies won a lot of critical acclaim along with box office success.

The director has also tried his hand at adapting Ruskin Bond stories— The Blue Umbrella (2005) and Saat Khoon Maaf (2011).

Now, he is back with Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley based on The Sittaford Mystery, one of the crime novels written by Agatha Christie.

The mystery thriller is set in Solang Valley and Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

Synopsis

Right from the first scene, Vishal Bhardwaj shows his mastery at creating a dramatic murder mystery, with each suspect coming with his secrets. Wamiqa Gabbi is the determined Punjabi detective Charlie Chopra.

Brigadier Meherbaan Rawat (Gulshan Grover) is an esteemed member of the Rockford Estate community. Towards the end of the first episode, his shocking death is revealed. It sends huge shockwaves through the community.

Charlie Chopra takes up this case as her fiancé Jimmy (Vivaan Shah) becomes the major suspect. As Charlie Chopra digs deeper and deeper into the case, many secrets tumble out.

The rest of the story is about who the actual culprit is and whether there is something more to the mysterious death of Meherbaan Rawat.

Technical brilliance

For any suspense thriller, it is necessary that the viewers are intrigued throughout. Vishal and his two co-writers successfully manage to keep them hooked till the end.

The setting of the Solang Valley also ends up being a major character in itself, thanks to the cinematographer Tassaduq Hussain. He does a brilliant job in not just showcasing the picturesque setting but is also equally good at imbuing it with an air of enigma.

Vishal Bhardwaj also dwells on social commentary through the supporting cast. He talks about refugees, unrequited love, oppression, and killed aspirations. This gives the story a certain emotional heft.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s music blends perfectly into the atmospherics. Special mention must be made of the two Ghazals sung by Rekha Bhardwaj.

Performances

The ensemble cast is also mostly on point with a particular mention to Wamiqa Gabbi. After this year’s Jubilee (2023), the actress once again shows her versatility with her portrayal of Charlie Chopra.

A scene which particularly stands out is when she breaks down during an imaginary phone call to a character. There are also scenes where Wamiqa breaks the fourth wall with aplomb.

Priyanshu Painyuli also makes a huge impression in his role as a small-time news reporter. Their partnership is quite reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Priyanshu brings in some much-needed comic relief.

Among the suspects, Lara Dutta and Ratna Pathak Shah have better etched-out roles.

Lara Dutta plays Wilayat Hussain, a Ghazal singer from Lucknow. As the series progresses, it is revealed that she was once Colonel Rawat’s love interest.

Now, Wilayat and her daughter Waseema are leading a life of indignity. Wassema suffers from schizophrenia. Lara Dutta effortlessly portrays both the protective mother and the Ghazal singer.

Ratna Pathak Shah’s character, on the other hand, is someone who fakes disability in order to claim insurance money. The veteran actress pulls off the grey shades with the finesse that you expect from her.

Final take

To sum it up, Vishal Bhardwaj delivers another winner. Here’s hoping that the director continues to take inspiration from literature.

(Views expressed here are personal.)

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Kuttey: Aasmaan Bhardwaj Proves To Be A Worthy Successor To His Father

Aasmaan Bharadwaj is here to stay!

Kuttey (Hindi)

  • Cast: Tabu, Arjun Kapoor, Kumud Mishra, Radhika Madan, Konkana Sen Sharma, and Naseeruddin Shah
  • Director: Aasmaan Bhardwaj
  • Producers: Vishal Bhardwaj, T Series and Luv Ranjan
  • Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
  • Runtime: 2 hours and 33 minutes

Vishal Bhardwaj is someone who started as a music director with films like Satya. He made a significant place for himself as a musician before getting into direction.

Since his directorial debut Makdee, he has given many masterpieces to the Hindi film industry. Films like Haider, Omkara and Maqbool are wonderful examples of that.

Vishal Bharadwaj’s son Aasmaan has a lot to live up to and the subject that he chose for his directorial debut clearly shows that he isn’t afraid to take risks.

Kuttey is a thriller with multiple characters and also plenty of back-and-forth narration. This isn’t an easy genre to crack for any director, let alone a debutant. But Aasmaan does a good job of capturing the audience’s attention. There are some rough edges, but he has the potential.

The story is about a few individuals who are eyeing a bank van carrying crores of money. Their desperation is compared to a pack of hungry dogs. Hence the title Kuttey.

There are three different groups (some intentionally and some accidentally) who want to lay their hands on the huge money. Each individual or group wants money for different reasons.

Gopi (Arjun Kapoor) and Paaji (Kumud Mishra) are police officers. They need money to get out of a terrible situation that they’ve landed themselves in.

Pammi (Tabu) is desperate for money as she wants to improve her standard of living.

Lovely (Radhika Madan) is the daughter of an underworld don Narayan Khobre (Naseeruddin Shah). She needs the money for spending the rest of her life with Danny Dandekar (Shardul Bhardwaj). Interestingly, Danny works for Narayan.

Lastly, there is Lakshmi (Konkana Sen Sharma). She runs a group of communist rebels who are on the run.

In a nutshell, the film is about who finally gets the money and what happens to those who don’t get the money.

An engaging treatment

The story of Kuttey hinges on a single track but what makes it engaging is its treatment by Aasmaan. The objectives of all three groups keep the audiences invested in what will happen next.

There is a strong animal analogy that the director presents and this enhances the film much like last year’s Darlings. There is liberal use of four-letter words. This makes the dialogues more entertaining, particularly for those who enjoy this brand of cinema.

Aasmaan also touches upon some important things through his multiple characters.

Through the track of Konkana Sen Sharma, the young director talks about how the marginalised are pushed to take up weapons. There is also a righteous cop who chooses to go on the dark side. All this enhances the drama.

The climatic twist takes you by complete surprise and also raises some chuckles.

Technical aspects

The cinematography by Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi is perfectly in sync with the nature of the film.

The music and the background score by Vishal Bhardwaj heighten the drama. Particular mention must be made regarding the use of “Dhan Te Nan” from Kaminey. It is a treat to watch.

There are a couple of aspects that could have been better. The cuss words feel overdone in places.

Also, both Naseeruddin Shah and Konkana could have been used better. The Naxalite angle could have been done with more depth. The violence also could have been trimmed down.

An ensemble of cast

Kuttey has a huge ensemble of actors and the ones who stand out are Tabu, Kumud Mishra, and Arjun Kapoor.

Tabu is at her usual best as Pammi. She has a ball uttering the Hindi swear words. She does a brilliant job of playing the badass boss that is generally reserved for men. She also brings in some comic relief.

Kumud Mishra delivers another ace performance as the conflicted cop. He lets his body language do most of the talking.

However, the surprise package of the ensemble is Arjun Kapoor. He holds his own opposite seasoned performers like Tabu and Kumud Mishra. His character sketch has an interesting quirk.

For example, he is religious and fasts on Tuesdays before going on a shooting spree. He is also shown to be a responsible father.

Radhika Madan and Shardul are good with the limited screen time that they have.

Kuttey has enough bite and the ensemble cast is the icing on the cake.