Tag: Yami Gautam

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Article 370: An Unabashed Glorification Of Governments Policies

In simple terms, ‘Article 370’ is about how Zooni and Rajeshwari play a big role in bringing the government’s efforts to fruit.
  • Main Cast: Yami Gautam, Priya Mani, Arun Govil, Iravati Harshe, Raj Zutshi, and Divya Seth Shah
  • Director: Aditya Suhas Jambhale
  • Producer: Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar, and Lokesh Dhar
  • Music Director: Shashwat Sachdev
  • Cinematography: Siddharth Deena Vasani
  • Genre: Political, Drama
  • Run Time: 2 Hours 40 Minutes
  • Rating: 2.5
  • Published in: Southfirst

In the last few years, there has been a disturbing trend of movies pandering to the ruling party — whether it is Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files (2022) or Sudipto Sen’s Kerala Story (2023).

The latest, Aditya Suhas Jambhale’s Article 370, perfectly fits into this category.

The film is divided into six chapters and moves between the timeline of 2015 and 2019.

Synopsis

Article 370 primarily follows the journey of two women. One is a Kashmiri intelligence officer Zooni Haksar (Yami Gautam).

She has a firebrand personality. Zooni doesn’t believe in following orders and goes more by instinct, much like the leading men do in these kinds of films.

She manages to capture and kill Burhan Wani. But this only leads her to be transferred to Delhi.

On the other end of the spectrum lies bureaucrat Rajeshwari (Priya Mani).

Rajeshwari is the exact opposite of Zooni in terms of temperament. Rajeshwari is as cool as a cucumber. She is a representative of the government’s efforts to revoke Article 370.

In simple terms, the story focuses on how Zooni and Rajeshwari play a role in bringing the government’s efforts to fruit.

A slow start

‘Article 370’ is a political drama. (X)

The first half of Article 370 is more about setting up the plot. Nothing much happens, and as viewers, you feel a certain amount of restlessness. But thankfully, the film does pick up speed around the interval point.

There are many thrilling moments in the second half where the audiences feel an adrenaline rush. A particular mention must be made of a battle sequence that takes place during a critical juncture. The action choreography here is top-notch, just like Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019).

Another USP of Article 370 is its two leading women. It is refreshing to see two female actors being the driving force of a story.

Yami Gautam delivers an intense performance. She nails the part of a hot-headed person who is also vulnerable.

Priya Mani’s performance, on the other hand, works as a perfect foil to the intensity of Yami. The actor underplays her role but still stands out.

The other supporting characters are fine, in their respective parts, with particular mention of Arun Govil as PM Narendra Modi.

The background score by Shashwat Sachdev also helps significantly make the second half more effective.

Politics of the film

A major problem with Article 370 is its depiction of the Kashmir politicians. They come across as more cartoonish villains rather than proper political personalities.

Throughout the movie, they are shown as greedy people who do nothing apart from scheming and creating paid stone pelters.

In contrast to this, Modi & Co are shown to be the only ones concerned about the welfare of the Kashmir state and its people.

Also, the voices of an ordinary Kashmiri are barely heard, except for one old man who is only seen lamenting against the existing leadership in the valley.

Verdict

Article 370 works perfectly if you are a devotee of Narendra Modi. But for the rest, it is a tough pill to swallow.

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/article-370-movie-review/

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OMG 2: A Compelling Social Drama That Makes You Laugh And Think

Amit Rai’s directorial is another noteworthy addition to the list of mainstream movies that discuss taboo subjects.

A good follow-up!
OMG 2 (Hindi)
  • Cast: Akshay Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi, Yami Gautam, and Pavan Malhotra
  • Writer-Director: Amit Rai
  • Producer: Vipul D Shah, and Ashwin Varde
  • Music: Sandesh Shandilya and Vikram Montrose
  • Runtime: 2 hours 36 minutes

Director Amit Rai’s OMG 2 is not only a good follow-up to the first part but also works as a standalone film.

In OMG-Oh My God (2012), writer-director Umesh Shukla took several digs at the so-called religious men who feed upon the fears of common folk across religions. There was a sharp commentary on all types of religious hypocrisies.

OMG 2 features a different protagonist this time — a Shiv Bhakt. But what remains the same is how it touches upon an important social topic.

Nevertheless, the sequel is a step ahead in many ways.

Synopsis

Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi) runs a pooja shop near a temple. he is a diehard devotee of Lord Shiva and enjoys respect in his area.

His life turns upside down when his son Vivek (Aarush Sharma) gets admitted to the hospital due to exhaustion caused by excessive masturbation (the word used here is a “selfie”).

Things get more problematic when Vivek’s fellow students secretly shoot a video of him doing the act in the toilet and the video gets circulated.  This results in a lot of humiliation for both Vivek and the family.

So, Kanti Sharan decides to flee with his family. It is at this point that Akshay Kumar enters as God’s messenger in human form.

Much like the first film, here too, Akshay guides his protagonist. This time, it is about fighting for his son and not running away from problems.

Kanti Sharan realises that his son has been a victim of misinformation and misguidance. He drags the school authorities and a chemist among others to the court. Here he is pitted against a high-profile lawyer Kamini (Yami Gautam).

Pavan Malhotra plays the judge.

The rest of the story is about how Kanti Sharan brings out the importance of sex education through his arguments and whether Vivek becomes his normal self again.

Highlights sex education

The best part about OMG 2 is how Amit Rai normalises the importance of sex education without making it come across as awkward.

For example, there are scenes where Tripathi shows how the body parts of males and females should be taught in school. He uses the words penis and vagina as normal words. All this comes across as natural.

The film also does a good job of normalising discussions about physical intimacy. There is a progressive outlook that can be felt throughout.

Further, it smartly integrates ancient Indian texts which have references to homosexuality.

There is also a reference to the Kamasutra which Kanti Sharan uses at an important juncture to remind us how progressive the Hindu religion was in the past.

However, the bashing of Macaulay towards the end could have been avoided. It comes as too simplistic.

Commendable performances

What also works for the film are the scenes between Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi.

The scenes where Akshay imparts wisdom to Pankaj Tripathi bring a smile to your face.

Akshay Kumar plays his part with the right amount of divinity. He also does a Shiv Tandav with admirable ease.

Pankaj Tripathi as Kanti Sharan does complete justice to the arc of the protagonist. His character has several shades from a distraught father to becoming a revolutionary and the actor pulls it off with the finesse that you expect from him.

Yami Gautam as the menacing opponent is also in fine form. She brings in the required aggressiveness and holds her ground.

Pavan Malhotra as the judge has his moments, particularly in his reaction shots.

Verdict

In all, OMG 2 is another noteworthy addition to the list of mainstream movies that discuss taboo subjects.

(Views expressed here are personal.)