Day: June 21, 2025

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Kuberaa: Shekhar Kammula’s most socio political movie till date

Shekhar Kamula and Chaitanya Pingali’s Kubera is a taut financial thriller/drama keeping the viewers on the edge. What makes Kubera stand out from other stories involving scams and corruption is the angle of beggars being used as Benaim’s by a ruthless capitalist. The transformation of Dhanush’s Deva as an unlikely hero keeps the audiences completely hooked. Nagarjuna in a grey shaded role of a former CBI officer grappling with moral dilemmas delivers one of his best acts in a long time

  • Starcast: Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika Mandanna, Jim Sarbh and others
  • Genre: Crime thriller/drama
  • Story, direction, screenplay and dialogues: Shekhar Kammula
  • Co writer and associate director: Chaitanya Pingali
  • Music and background score: Devi Sri Prasad
  • Cinematography: Niketh Bommireddy
  • Producers: Sunil Narang, Ajay Kaikala etc
  • Production Companies: Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP and Amigo Creations
  • Running time: 3 hours and 1 minute

Shekhar Kammula’s last movie before Kubera Love Story with Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi marked a significant shift in the kinds of stories that Shekhar has dealt so far. Strong women characters have always been Shekhar Kamula’s forte but what made Love Story different was the angle of caste and class. Working with Chaitanya Pingali has clearly brought a different facet of Shekhar, with Kuberra the director moves into a very political zone with themes of class disparity and capitalism. Kuberra is an audacious movie in more ways than one , it takes a little time to get drawn but soon the viewers are sucked feeling tensed on what will happen next.

Chaitanya Pingali the associate director and writer

The storyline of Kuberaa begins with Neeraj Mitta (a truly despicable Jim Sarbh). He is a ruthless businessman embodying a typical capitalist whose only aim is to become richer and richer. A rare oil is discovered and Neeraj Mitta plans to make it a source of wealth and control, he does a secret meeting with top leaders. To make this plan work Neeraj Mitta and the father played by Dalip Tahil rope in a once honest CBI officer Deepak (Nagarjuna). Deepak has lost faith in the system, there is a simmering anger inside him. This turns out to be an advantage for Neeraj. As part of plan Deepak gathers a group of beggars who will become benamis. Dhanush’s Deva is one of them. Soon things start to spiral out of control for Neeraj and Deepak is forced to confront his inner demons. This is the story in brief.

A strong aspect of Kuberaa is the world building specifically the Juxtaposition of Mumbai’s high scrapers and the not so privileged ones . The movie presents a heart touching picture of the society’s attitude towards beggars. There is a scene early on showcasing the death of a beggar run over by a car and except for the fellow beggars no one cares. As Jim Sarbh says in a dialogue this section of society represent the invisible type making them easy scapegoats for his task.

The cinematography of Niketh Bomireddy coupled with Thota Tharani’s production design play a significant role in creating an authentic atmosphere. The stench of the garbage dumps like the scene where Rashmika and Dhanush get into a van in a tense moment filled with waste bags have a realistic feel to them. Devi Sri Prasad’s music and background score is another asset for the movie. The songs aren’t of the blockbuster type but have a soulful nature.

Apart from the world building the movie’s dialogues often laced with philosophical undertones is also a delight to watch. In a scene Rashmika Mandanna talks about how all of us are beggars in some way or other. The dialogue goes like this “I begged freedom from my parents. I begged my boyfriend to not break up with me. I begged my friend to let me stay at her place for a few days and now I’m begging people to give me a job. So in some way or other all of us are qualified to be called beggars’. This is a just sample example of the numerous impactful dialogues critiquing class and capitalism. The underlying message of Kubera is true wealth lies in improving other people’s lives and not just hoarding riches.

The tense cat and mouse game between Dhanush and Nagarjuna also has many thrilling moments. Rashmika Mandanna in a different role from her previous ventures has been smartly integrated into the main plot. Her character Sameera gets herself into a tangle by helping Dhanush. The scenes between the two are filled with tension and humorous moments in equal measure. Rashmika is successful in bringing an inner strength. Jim Sarbh as the ruthless capitalist perfectly embodies the nastiness making the viewers hate him.

Rashmika Mandanna as Sameera

Kuberaa primarily rests on the shoulders of Dhanush and Nagarjuna, both get into the skin of their respective parts. Dhanush as an innocent beggar turning into an unlikely hero delivers a first rate act. He immerses himself completely showcasing why he is a worthy national award winner again. Dhanush particularly shines in the scenes with Nagarjuna. As Deepak Nagarjuna delivers a nuanced performance, the senior actor has done a swell job in capturing the moral complexities which Deepak under goes on numerous occasions. As viewers you feel for Deepak inner dilemmas on where he started and what he has become. A particular moment has to be mentioned where Nagarjuna shoots a police officer because of a crucial reveal, there is a visible distraught on the face of Nagarjuna where the existential crisis is extremely visible.

Talking about the flaws the final stretches of Kubera become a little hard to digest. The portion of Jim Sarbh turning into a beggar for a night on the order of Dhanush can appear silly. Also the confrontation scene between Dhanush and Jim in the pre climax could have been more crisp.

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Sitare Zameen Par: An epic misfire with an irritating and stale Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan and Co in Sitare Zameen Par

On paper Sitare Zameen Par comes across as well-intentioned normalizing individuals who are dealing with down syndrome and different kinds of autism. However, the problem majorly lies in making the story a redemption arc with too much of Aamir Khan. It doesn’t help that Aamir goes way over the top mimicking his previous performances. This spiritual sequel is an embarrassment to the heart touching Taare Zameen Par

Starcast: Aamir Khan, Simran Mangeskar, Aayush Bhansali, Rishi Shahani, Genelia Deshmukh, Gurpal Singh, Dolly Ahluwalia etc

Genre: Sports

Director: B Prasanna

Writer: Divy Nidhi Sharma

Based on: Champions by Javier Fesser

Producers: Aamir Khan, Aparna Purohit etc

Production Company: Aamir Khan Productions

Music: Shankar Ehsaan Roy

Running time: 2 hours and 35 minutes

Cinematography: G Srinivas Reddy

There is a pivotal moment in Sitare Zameen Par where a team of neurodivergent basketball players have won an important free throw in a game which they could lose. Aamir Khan playing Gulshan is continuously prep talking to a character Satbir (Aroush Datta). After a few minutes Satbir eventually cuts short Gulshan by saying “Sir, pehle aap Chup rahiye,” he says this in a thundering voice shocking Gulshan. This moment aptly sums up the proceedings. After watching Sitare Zameen Par it’s clear that Aamir has learned nothing from the epic disaster Laal Singh Chadda, it’s high time that the actor goes back to the drawing board analyzing his recent style of performances because he is becoming a major roadblock instead of an asset that we are used to seeing in the likes of Rang De Basanti etc.

Taare Zameen Par released in 2007 was a heart touching emotional drama about Darshal Saffery’s Ishaan. A schoolboy suffering from a learning disorder dyslexia and how through an empathetic teacher Ram Shankar Nikumb (Aamir Khan) he overcomes it. The movie brought to light the topic of dyslexia in a sensitive manner. Sitare Zameen Par on the other hand belongs to the rotten template of a coach finding redemption, in the process he overcomes his biases and fears.

Poster of Taare Zameen Par (2007)

Based on a movie called Champions Sitare Zameen Par follows the journey of Aamir Khan’s Gulshan. The film begins by establishing his brash personality, he is suspended for punching the head coach in the initial minutes, this is followed by Gulshan slamming into a police vehicle while being heavily drunk. Instead of jail Gulshan is ordered to do community service, he is ordered to build a team of intellectually challenged persons for the national basketball tournament. The rest of the cliched and exhausting storyline looks at how Gulshan becomes a better human being and also fixes his internal and personal relationships. Genelia Deshmukh plays the estranged wife Suneeta.

Aamir and Genelia

Among very few positives mention must be made of how B Prassana has done justice to the movie tagline Sabka Apna Apna Normal (Everyone has their own normal). The actors playing the intellectually disabled have been chosen with care and that shows on the big screen. Some of the training portions where Aamir is initially exhausted with no idea on how to deal with them does raise chuckles. The ensemble cast particularly Simran Mangeskar, Ayush Bhansali, Rishi Sahani etc do a very fine job getting the mannerisms and the overall body language right. There are a couple of cute moments between Aamir and Simran Mangeskar, for example there is a scene where Gulshan carefully removes onions and capsicum slices from her pizza since the character Golu is allergic to them, similarly there is another moment where Gulshan ties her hair with colorful clips.

Gurpal Singh as the manager of the sports academy lends a lot of warmth to his part specifically in an important conversation with Aamir, it is related to the backstories of these players. Dolly Ahluwalia as the spunky mother has her moments too. Her scenes of banter with Aamir does raise some chuckles. Genelia Deshmukh though in spite of a luminous screen presence is stuck in an underwritten role reduced to a cheerleader for Gulshan’s team.

A major problem with Sitare Zameen Par isn’t just the cliched redemption arc but the way B Prasanna and Divy Nidhi Sharma have tried to assimilate the emotional baggage which Gulshan carries, this eventually makes the movie exhausting particularly in the second half. In trying to give a closure to the characters a thin plot feels like never ending.

It also doesn’t help that Aamir and Genelia have zero chemistry between them. The so-called cute moments simply don’t land. Also, Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music lacks the heartfelt nature of the first one.

The predictable scenario with endless moral lessons also makes Sitare Zameen Par a tough watch. Aamir Khan as Gulshan pretty much mimics his own previous acts whether it’s the facial expressions or the overall body language. A constant smugness on the face becomes unbearable after a point. The exaggerated tone doesn’t help the matters either like the portion of Gulshan overcoming his fear of lift.