Category: Hindi OTT Film Reviews

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The Girl On The Train: A Train Wreck

Ribhu Dasgupta’s remake of The Girl on the Train is a perfect example of how you shouldn’t add unnecessary masala. For those who are not aware the movie is based on the book of the same name written by Paula Hawkins. The book has already made been made into an English movie starring Emily Blunt. Ribhu Dasgupta takes the original source material and adds his own twists and turns. But the problem is that none of the twists are convincing. In fact it dilutes the impact of the book, which focused on the psychological trauma and the emotional abuse that the victim is unwittingly surrendering to. In totality this Hindi version feels choppy and is a huge letdown for those who enjoy murder mysteries.

The plot of the book revolved around an alcoholic Rachel who is recovering from a broken marriage and alcohol addiction. Her condition causes her to forget things in a state of inebriation. Every day she takes the train to London and passes by her former husband’s house, the husband now lives with his new family wife Anna and daughter Evie. While she is travelling Rachel catches glimpses of a seemingly perfect couple Scott and Megan from the window of her train. Things take a drastic turn when Rachel witnesses something shocking. This is the synopsis of the book.

In the Hindi version Parineeti chopra plays Mira Kapoor. Mira Kapoor is an out of work lawyer and spends much of her time drinking and obsessing over her ex- husband Shekar played by Avinash tiwary and also his new wife. Mira’s alcoholism is out of control and as a result her work has suffered. The only thing which brings Mira solace is observing a woman called Nusrat on the balcony whom she sees everyday as she takes the train. She begins to fantasize about her and slowly she gets consumed by her. For Mira Nusrat represents what she has lost. But one day she sees her with a new man and Meera suspects her of having an extra- marital affair. She feels lot of anger towards Nusrat and in a drunken stupor decides to confront her. The next day news comes that Nusrat has died and Mira becomes the prime suspect.

The biggest problem with The Girl on the Train is the director’s inability to build on the source material. This can be best seen with the characterization of Avinash Tiwary. In the book the character of Rachel’s husband’s was built very well and as a result the character’s change over into the grey zone didn’t feel abrupt. But here the character has been sketchily written. The reasons for the behavior of Avinash Tiwary’s character isn’t convincing at all.

You don’t at all understand why Shekar had to manipulate Mira into being an alcoholic. The relationship between them is hardly explored. Another thing is Shekar has an affair with another woman while he is married twice. Therefore he could have easily had an affair while he was in marriage with Mira. As a result of these factors the characterization of Avinash Tiwary just doesn’t make any sense.

The unnecessary deviations from the book don’t help the films cause either. The entire character of Kriti kulhari who has vendetta towards Mira just doesn’t make any sense. The character’s belief that her father was innocent and that Mira purposefully sent him to jail borders on naivety.

Honestly the film would have worked better if the director had struck to the original source instead of the unnecessary deviations. Because of the contrived ending and the implausible twists the emotional impact of the book is completely missing.

Parineeti chopra delivers a sincere performance and does her level best to elevate the material. Kriti Kulhari and Avinash Tiwary are let down by the poorly written characters. Aditi Rao hydari as Nursat doesn’t create any impact whatsoever. Her glazed look is a pain to watch. Others don’t even try.

On the whole The Girl on the Train is a train wreck which is best avoided.

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White Tiger: A Piercing Take On The Underbelly Of The Rich

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. 

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Kaagaz: A Solid Story Wasted

Satish Kaushik’s Kaagaz has its heart in the right place but never comes together as a whole due to its dated treatment. The only redeeming factor for this one is the ever dependable Pankaj Tripati who gets to play the leading man for the first time in his career. His sincere performance is the only thing which makes you sit through this one.

Based on a real life story, Pankaj Tripati plays a bandmaster called Bharat Lal in a village in Uttar Pradesh. He is content with his tiny shop and his small family until a well wisher advises him to get a loan for expanding his business. When Bharat Lal tries to get the ownership papers of his land to keep as a mortgage for the loan, he realizes that his extended family has declared him dead in order to usurp the land. Rest of the story is about how Bharat Lal struggles to prove that he is still alive. In doing so sometimes he takes extreme steps which make him look like a buffoon for the villagers. But this doesn’t stop him from wanting to prove himself alive. Satish Kaushik, the director, also plays the lawyer character who initially takes up the case of Bharat Lal just for the sake of it but later he turns out to be a big support. What follows is a social comedy which doesn’t fully exploit its potential.

The first thing which strikes you about the film is the treatment which reminds you of 70’s. Agree that the film is set in the 70’s but as a filmmaker Satish Kaushik should have realized that he is making a film for the 2021 audience. You can clearly see the datedness of the film from its first frame. To make matters worse there is also a pointless item number early on in the film. The song looks completely out of place and you feel like fast forwarding.

Another bothersome aspect of the film is that it plays out more as a comedy. There is an attempt to dilute the seriousness of the topic which shouldn’t have happened. The best example of this is the reaction of the wife to the scenario. She responds to his predicament by saying that she also has doubts whether he is a ghost or an actual person.

In reality 20,000 people have been declared dead in Uttar Pradesh for various nefarious reasons while they were very much alive. The director failed to portray the gravity of the situation by taking a light hearted approach. Bharat Lal was so frustrated to prove himself alive that he stands in an election to get his name into the official record. Likewise he goes to the extent of kidnapping his brother’s son so that his name will appear in the police records.

Kaagaz has also some similarities with Aamir Khan’s production Peepli Live. That was also a social comedy but unlike that this one is a missed opportunity.

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LUDO: An Engaging Game & A Typical Anurag Basu Film

Ludo directed by Anurag Basu is a good comeback by the director after a slightly underwhelming Jagga Jasoos. The director returns to his familiar terrain of multi narrative earlier seen in Life In A Metro and delivers a film which entertains you along with exploring the different facets of society. The film has also got a philosophical touch as it deals with the perception of Karma and Dharma. 

The film begins off with two characters contemplating the purposefulness of life and death while playing a game of Ludo. One of them is played by Anurag Basu himself. They are not just narrators but they are also gods of destiny in writing the fate of the principal characters. The dice which unites the individual stories is Sattu Bhaiya played by Pankaj Tripati. Sattu wants to settle scores with his once right hand man Bittu played by Abhishek Bachchan. Bittu just comes out of jail and is dealing with scars of his past. He gets a redemptive arc when he finds a young girl Minni who is of his daughter’s age played by the charming Inyat Varma. She restores the moral balance in his life. 

Another part of the story involves Akash and his once girlfriend Shruti. These characters are played by Aditya Roy Kapoor and  Sanya Malhotra respectively. They are dealing with a problematic situation of their sex video coming out on a adult website prior to her marriage with someone else. Rajkumar Rao and Fatima Sana Sheikh form another important part of this game. Rajkumar Rao plays a quintessential hero who is in love with his childhood sweetheart Pinky but now Pinky is a wife and mother to someone else. The portion involving these two is both bizzare and entertaining. Rounding off the cast there are also Rohit Saraf, actor in Dear Zindagi and Sky is Pink  and for once  he is not playing a brother here, and Pearle Maaney. They are trying to run away with the unexpected money they got hold of.  

The most important thing for any multi starrer movie is the intersection of the subplots. This is not easy to do but Anurag Basu does a very good job in establishing a coherent narrative. You get the connections quite easily without having to scratch your brains. The film has a smooth flow and the character links have been well established. 

The best thing about the film is the circumstances in which all these characters find themselves in and the humor that Basu evokes from their helplessness. It often seesaws between a black comedy and a musical drama. 

The best example of this are the scenes involving a very animated Rajkumar Rao. We see him venting out his frustration in such a way that we can’t help but chuckle while at the same time feeling for him. The entire track of Rajkumar Rao is quite filmy and it is very clear that he had a blast playing this one. 

Just like Life in A Metro Anurag Basu explores many facets of society through different characters. The most significant one being faithlessness and empty values in both marriage and love. There is also the crime angle which is explored through Pankaj Tripati and Abhishesk’s characters. 

Out of all the tracks two tracks work better. The first one is Abhishek Bachchan and the little girl Inyat Varma’s heartwarming scenes. Their story is the soul of the film. Basu does a very good job in establishing their bond. Another track was the one between Aditya Roy Kapoor and Sanya. It is good to see Aditya in a very relaxed avatar. He is particularly good in his voice artist avatar. Here we get some sharp political comments on BJP and Republic TV. Both of them share a good chemistry and Sanya as a woman who is desperate to marry a rich man embodies the current aspirations of youth in general. 

Pritam’s music isn’t of the chartbuster type but it still works. The main songs have been used well and the climax song where we see a full blown action sequence is a fitting finale for this tragi- comedy. 

The one issue that I had with the film is the character of Pankaj Tripati. Although the actor is very good as usual his character arc could have been better, as promised in the beginning.  

In this crowded film the actors who stand out are Rajkumar Rao, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Fatima Sana Sheikh.  In totality, Ludo keeps you thoroughly engaged and gives you the satisfaction of understanding our current value system a little more.

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Laxmii: Good Message, But A Little Too Loud

Over the years Akshay Kumar has taken subjects outside the commercial arena and made them accessible within the commercial zone. For example, there is Padman where Akshay played a man who creates a machine that can make affordable sanitary pads. There is also Toilet Ek Prem Katha in which Akshay’s character has to go against the entire village and also his father in order to build a toilet for his wife. In short he has been playing the social reformer in commercial films. 

Laxmii directed by Raghava Lawrence is no different. In this film Akshay’s character is possessed by a transgender ghost who is looking for revenge. For those who do not know Laxmii is a remake of the Tamil film Kanchana directed by the same man. Just like the original it is loud and takes time to come together, but it has its heart at the right place particularly in the flashback portion. 

The basic plot in both the films is about a transgender spirit taking over an unsuspecting man to settle her scores. In the remake Akshay (Asif) and Kiara Advani play a married couple. Asif is an outsider for her family because he is a Muslim and Rajesh Sharma who plays Kiara’s father doesn’t approve of his daughter’s choice. But things take a good turn after a long time when the mother invites her daughter and son in law for a special occasion. What follows is a horror comedy, at the heart of which is societal discrimination of transgenders. 

The film takes its time to kick in and it honestly starts engaging you after Akshay’s character starts behaving as a transgender person. These portions have been well executed and here we see a totally different Akshay Kumar. It also helps that Akshay plays this part with gay abandon and embraces the character whole heartedly. Earlier also we have had actors playing transgender roles like Paresh Rawal in Tamanna but it makes a huge difference when you have an A list actor playing this role as it reaches a wider audience. 

However the film’s biggest strength is its flashback episodes where we see Sharad Kelkar playing Laxmii. Sharad is extraordinary. Even if he is not there for a long time he does complete justice to it. Through his role Raghava Lawrence effectively portrays the message that he wants to deliver. 

The climax although loud is still satisfying. The entire dance sequence of Bambole has been done with lot of enthusiasm and the different dance steps are interesting to watch. The one thing that is particularly admirable is the energy of Akshay Kumar. You feel happy when Laxmii gets her revenge with many transgender people cheering on. 

The comedy track of Ayesha Raza and Ashwini Kaleskar (mother and sister in law of Kiara Advani’s character) belongs to the loud category but it still works better than the romantic angle of Akshay and Kiara. 

What would have made the film better are the initial portions. The conflict point of why Rajesh Sharma doesn’t accept Akshay has not been explored and after a point it is pushed to the background. In fact the entire track of Rajesh Sharma is disappointing. But Kiara’s character is more so. She is the biggest weak link in Laxmii. She doesn’t have a lot to do but even in the scenes where she could have done something she disappoints. It looks like she is still stuck in the Kabir Singh zone. 

For a film like this suspension of belief is very necessary particularly if you have not seen the original. There will be scenes where you will think about the lack of rationality.  In totality, Laxmii is one of those commercial entertainers which has its heart in the right place. It delivers an important message about respecting transgenders and treating them as fellow human beings.