Category: Recent Posts

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Aarya Season 2: A Strong Follow Up To Season 1

Ram Madhvani’s first season of Aarya was an underdog which didn’t have many expectations; however, the Sushmita Sen starrer had surprised many upon its release. Based on the Spanish show Penoza it was a tightly knit emotional thriller. Sushmita Sen’s performance was widely acclaimed and it gave a new lease of life to the actress. Expectations from season 2 were naturally high. Thankfully, Aarya season 2 turns out to be a worthy one for most part. The beginning is a little sketchy but gradually it gets better and better.

For those who haven’t seen season 1 the basic story revolved around a woman who is unaware of the illegal business that her husband is a part of. Things take a turn for the bad when Aarya Sareen’s husband Tej (Chandrachur Singh) dies mysteriously. The drug mafia and the illegal syndicates seek the death of his entire family. The show traced the journey of Aarya in becoming the mafia queen who seeks revenge against those who killed her husband. At the same time she also takes care of her three kids.

Season 2 begins off with Aarya’s father, brother and one more person awaiting their trail for their involvement with the drug mafia. Aarya had given a pen drive to ACP Yonis Khan, the pen drive consists of information regarding the black money trail and also the drug deals with the Russian mafia. Yonis Khan had promised that he would save Aarya from the Russian mafia in exchange for the pen drive. He had helped her to settle down in Australia with her children. However, Aarya has to make a comeback to her native place Rajasthan, the reason being she has to testify against all of them. But things start taking a dark turn when Aarya makes a return back. Aarya has to deal with a family on whom she has zero trust. The reason being their involvement in the death of her husband. Then there is also Udavyeer Shekhawat who wants to avenge his son’s death. He vows that Aarya will pay with her life. This is just the synopsis as many other things are happening simultaneously.

A major part of season 2 is how Aarya’s children are still dealing with the untimely death of their father. Out of the three children Veer (Viren Vazirani) has become a strong support system for his mother and siblings. Through the track of Aaru ( Virti Vaghani) the director deals with the track of depression and substance abuse. Ram Madhavani does a good job in exploring these issues. He is also equally adept in dealing with the character of the youngest son Adi ( Pratyaksh Panwar). These three characters combined give the series some strong emotional moments.

Another big strength for season 2 is the role of other women characters. They have a bigger role here compared to the first season.  A good example of that are the characters of Hina, Rajeshwari and Maya among others. Out of these my favorite character is that of Maya played by Maya Sarao. You feel like applauding Maya for her strong support to Aarya in adverse circumstances. The character of ACP Khan also makes a huge impact. His determination to smash the drug ring is well brought out but the sub plot involving his partner turns out to be an unnecessary add-on.

Lastly, Sushmita Sen continues from where she left off in the first part. She plays a grieving wife, a scared mother and a tough woman dealing with the crime lords. The actress gives the solid performance in all the three shades. She also gets to show her action side in some of the stunts. For example there is a scene in the interrogation room with her hands tied up to the ceiling. There is a bit where she attacks one of the government officials with her legs, it is a brilliantly executed one.

The one slight drawback of season 2 is that it takes time to get into the groove. Some of the scenes involving Aru’s depression and substance abuse could have been trimmed a bit.

In a nutshell, Aarya season 2 will make you eager for season 3.

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The Biggest Sin Of Pushpa The Rise

Director Sukumar’s last venture Rangasthalam was a vastly appreciated film both commercially and critically. It was a film which presented both its leading man and also the director in a new light. With Pushpa the director once again presents a story in a raw and rustic tone. This time he sets it in the Chittor belt, complete with the smattering of Tamil Lingo. However the result though is far from satisfactory. He takes the subject of Red Sandalwood coolies but ultimately turns it into a typical gangster drama, but the thing is he doesn’t do justice to either genres.

The film begins off with animated video that talks about the importance of Red Sandalwood. From here we move to the main character of Pushpa (Allu Arjun). We see Pushpa through the eyes of a daily wager Kesava (Jagadeesh Pratap Bandari) Kesava ends up being a loyal apprentice to Pushpa. The first part of Pushpa is essentially about the rise of the protagonist from a daily wager to controlling the smuggling syndicate. The story takes place in an era when pagers were in vogue and mobile phones a luxury. In between you have a barrage of villains starting from Ajay Ghosh and Sunil. Towards the end we are introduced to Fahadh Fassil’s character.

ONE OF THE FEW GOOD THINGS ABOUT PUSHPA IS ALLU ARJUN’S PERFORMANCE.

One of the few good things about Pushpa is Allu Arjun’s performance. The actor is seen in an avatar which is a far cry from what we generally associate with him. Allu Arjun not only brings in the required shrewdness needed for the character but he also brings a certain heft to the emotional scenes. The constant emotional trope in Pushpa is him being questioned about his family name. It is an overused troupe but the emotional scenes still work because of the actor’s performance. Another performance worth mentioning here is Jagadeesh Pratap Bandari. His scenes with Allu Arjun give the film some good moments. They bring a smile to your face.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHY BY KUBA BROZEK IS SUCCESSFUL IN ABLE TO TRANSPORT YOU TO THOSE ATMOSPHERICS.

Lastly the cinematography by Kuba Brozek is successful in able to transport you to those atmospherics. The visuals are in sync with the rustic nature of the story. The music by Devi Sri Prasad is fine but Rangasthalam had better songs.

The biggest issue with Pushpa is the formulaic approach that director Sukumar takes. With the topic of Red Sandalwood coolies the director could have ventured into a new direction but he sticks to the often seen template. It soon becomes clear that the director isn’t really interested in the nitty gritties of the coolie’s lives. They are just mere bystanders to propel Allu Arjun’s character.

RASHMIKA IN HER DEGLAMORISED AVATAR HASN’T GOT MUCH TO DO. SHE IS DECENT BUT NOTHING MEMORABLE.

The opponents aren’t great either. Sunil is comparatively more menacing than the others but that is not saying much. Adding to the disappointment is Fahadh Faasil. Yes we will see more of him in the second part but whatever little is there of him here certainly isn’t promising.

Rashmika in her deglamorised avatar hasn’t got much to do. She is decent but nothing memorable. The women characters here are completely forgettable in contrast to the ones that you had in Rangasthalam.

HERE’S HOPING THAT THE SECOND PART TURNS OUT MUCH BETTER.

The biggest sin of Pushpa though is that it makes you apprehensive for the second part. There is no solid hook line which makes you eager. At the end of Rajamouli’s Bahubali one there was suspense over why a loyal servant like Kattapa killed Bahubali but no such luck here.

Here’s hoping that the second part turns out much better.

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Two Intimate ‘Memoirs’

Recently I read two books in the genre of memoirs. One is Ravi Sastri’s ‘Star Gazing’ (The players in my life). The other is ‘Actually… I Met Them’ by Gulzar.  The structure of both books is very similar. Both have an episodic feel to them as they focus on the various prominent personalities they came to know in their respective fields. While Ravi Sastri’s narration has an intimate touch Gulzar’s style is more measured. Both of them do not hesitate to discuss the good and bad of the persons concerned but not harshly, never judgmentally.

 ‘Star Grazing’

Ravi Sastri touches upon many cricketers through the book. The cricketers are of various nationalities and also belong to different age groups. For example he begins off with the likes of Allan Border, Malcolm Marshall, Sunil Gavaskar etc. Later he goes on to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson among others.

There is a lot to enjoy in ‘Star Gazing’ particularly if you are a cricket buff. The book has many anecdotes which are highly interesting. A good example of that is the one on Javed Miandad. On one hand he talks about the street smartness and never say die attitude of Javed Miandad and on the other hand he also reveals the eccentric side of the Pakistani batsman.

One of my favorite chapters in the book though is about Kevin Peterson. He titles it as ‘Great career interrupted’. Kevin Peterson is described as one of the most dangerous batsman ever seen at the batting crease. He was someone who could knock the wind out of any bowling team, spin or fast but his career was cut short because of the unfortunate incidents involving his teammates and also the English Wales board. After that his career was cut short at its peak. Without blaming anyone Ravi Sastri bemoans the loss of an indomitable cricketing talent to the world. He feels all the parties involved could have resolved the situation. There is a comparison to Australia’s Ricky Ponting who was also a bit volatile at the start of his career but later on transformed into a run machine.

The chapters on the likes of Kapil Dev, Jacques Kallis, Ian Botham etc are also engaging but at the same time it is a bit of a mystery why he left out someone like Shaun Pollock since Shaun was also a great all rounder.

Other chapters worth mentioning are the ones on Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. He lays out the techniques and temperaments of both these batsman which distinguish them from each other. The best thing about these chapters is that he never goes into the zone of clichéd comparisons. Instead he explains the merits and demerits of each and leaves it to the audience’s judgment. ‘Star Gazing’ is worth a read not just for cricket buffs but others will also enjoy it because of Ravi Sastri’s narration.

‘Actually…I Met Them’

Gulzar’s book was a little disappointing in the beginning. I even thought his memories were not as enchanting as his lyrics. That is because his style is not racy, a bit dry I must say. It looked as though he measured every word ten times before putting it on paper. But all that was reserved for his mentors/elders like Bimal Roy, Salil Chowdhury, Satyajit Ray, Utham Kumar etc. His memories of them had more of respect and less of interaction. From Kishore Kumar onwards he warms up. Since Kishore, Pancham (R.D.Burman), Sanjeev Kumar and Basu Bhattacharya are his close friends he could give us a real intimate peep into their personalities.

While talking (by the way these are oral narrations, not written pieces; first published in Bengali and later translated into English) about Kishore Kumar he says “Even in his madness he remained hundred percent aware. For him each love affair was pure while it lasted.”

Gulzar is called ‘Gullu’ by all his friends. When Pancham died he said “A large part of me departed with him; the Gulzar that remains now is but half complete.” He shares many memories of Pancham very fondly.

Sanjeev Kumar is another dear friend close to his heart. He recounts many incidents where Sanjeev was appreciated by senior actors, co actors etc. He ends the essay with ‘What sort of a person was I that I could make films even after he was no more?’ He mourns the death of Basu Bhattacharya similarly with the words – “A hungry silence seemed to descend upon me.”

In total he wrote about 18 people. All of them well known film personalities, mostly from Bengal; maybe because this column was written for a Bengali newspaper. In the context of Ritwik Ghatak his observation is worth quoting. “The artistic landscape is made up of diversity of talents. There will always be those who are nomads, radiant with talent and transient like comets. We must learn to accept such people on their own terms”.

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Shyam Singha Roy: Watch It For The Performances And Aesthetics

There is a lot to admire about Rahul Sankrityan’s Shyam Singha Roy. The theme of reincarnation isn’t something new in films but what makes the difference here is the narration. That is not to say that the film is flawless. The second half could have been trimmed down; also the climax is a letdown. However for most part the director makes you invested.

The story begins off with the struggles of a debut director Vasu (Nani plays both Vasu and Shyam Singha Roy). Vasu has ambitions of becoming a film director; in order to achieve that goal he starts off with a short film. The story is set but the issue is that Vasu is not able to find the heroine for his short film. At this point he comes across a postgraduate student played by Krithi Shetty of Uppena fame. Kriti’s character Keerty has no interest in films whatsoever let alone acting, but Vasu is convinced that she is the one. After some effort he is able to convince her. From here you have some romance between the two. The romance isn’t particularly something new but the staging of these scenes have a certain freshness to it. In between Vasu has flashes of Shyam Singa Roy. During those times he goes into a trance. Once he goes into a trance while getting intimate with Keerty and calls her Rose. This leads to a split between the two.

THE HEART OF SHYAM SINGHA ROY LIES IN THE FLASHBACK EPISODE OF THE SECOND HALF. THE DIRECTOR DEALS WITH MULTIPLE ISSUES STARTING FROM UNTOUCHABILITY.

Coming back to the short film it becomes a success. A producer asks him to come with up a bound script with the assurance that he would provide all the resources that Vasu needs. The film becomes a massive success and Vasu is asked to make the same film in Hindi.
Things are going very well but it is here that the life of Vasu turns upside down. He is accused of a plagiarism by a leading publication house. Their accusation is that Vasu has directly copied the stories of Bengali activist and writer Shyam Singha Roy. Vasu denies that he has copied these stories and this leads to an intriguing court case where history and religion are linked.

The heart of Shyam Singha Roy lies in the flashback episode of the second half. The director deals with multiple issues starting from untouchability. Later it goes to the Devadasi system and how the Devadasi’s are abused. The director makes a powerful statement on how they shouldn’t be slaves to anyone not even god. Yes the role of Shyam does fall under the upper caste savior but it still works.

SAI PALLAVI IS TERRIFIC IN BOTH THE DANCES AND ALSO OTHERWISE. SHE CONVEYS SENSUOUSNESS AND VULNERABILITY AT THE SAME TIME THROUGH HER DANCES.

The romance between the Devadasi woman ( Sai Pallavi) and Nani gives plenty of heartwarming moments. Sai Pallavi is terrific in both the dances and also otherwise. She conveys sensuousness and vulnerability at the same time through her dances. Their romance is built up well and the director makes sure that you root for them.

Another key character here is of Rahul Ravindran who plays one of Shyam Singa Roy’s brothers Manoj Singa Roy. Nani and Rahul Ravindran don’t have many scenes but their scenes are filled with warmth. Rahul Ravindran gives a strong performance but he is particularly impressive in his old man avatar in the pre climax. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Jishu Sengupta who plays the elder brother. It is a character which could have been played by anyone. It would have been best if Jishu had not played this role.

The contemporary bits in the first half are also hugely enjoyable. The comic scenes featuring Abhishek Gomatam and Nani raise lot of chuckles. The struggles of Vasu are something that many aspiring filmmakers would connect with. Kriti Shetty as Keerti has a very different role from Uppena and the actress makes her presence amply felt. What also makes the first half work is the role of Madonna Sebastain as lawyer Padmavati.

NOT SURPRISINGLY NANI IS SUPER EFFICIENT IN BOTH HIS ROLES. HE SHIFTS SEAMLESSLY BETWEEN THE BEWILDERED VASU AND THE DASHING SHYAM SINGA ROY.

Micky J Myer’s music is another strong pillar of Shyam Singa Roy. His compositions add a lot to the film. Malayalam cinematographer Sanu Varghese makes his Tollywood debut with this film. His cinematography deserves distinction marks. The way he captures the atmospherics in the second half is particularly commendable. Avinash Kolla’s art direction is also first rate.

Not surprisingly Nani is super efficient in both his roles. He shifts seamlessly between the bewildered Vasu and the dashing Shyam Singa Roy. His performance is a major reason why we buy into this recarnation drama.

Coming to the dampeners the big downer is the climax. It doesn’t make any sense to keep Sai Pallavi’s character alive. The director could have easily avoided that. It is not just melodramatic but plain unnecessary. It also doesn’t help that the prosthetic used are in no way convincing. Rahul Ravindran’s old man get up is far better than Sai Pallavi’s one.

Another problematic thing is how the director depicts the violent actions of Nani and Jishu Sengupta at different points in the film. There are two gory murders in the film but at no point we are told that they are punished leave alone a police case. Another problem is that we don’t see Shyam Singa Roy doing any activism post marriage. He does write books and also gives speeches but you don’t see much of on ground activism.

Irrespective of these flaws the film the movie is watchable and the director is promising.

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Dil Bekaraar: A Slice Of Life Show With The Right Mix Of Romance And Drama

The first thing that comes to your mind after watching Dil Bekaraar is the influence of Jane Austen. Much like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice here too you have a family of five daughters. The setting and the atmospherics are very reminiscent of her novels. For those who are not aware the story of Dil Bekaraar is based on Anuja Chauhan’s best seller Those Pricey Thkuar Girls, director Habib Faisal takes the core from that and places it in 80’s Delhi.

Out of the five girls the star daughter is Debjani Thakur (Sahher Bambaa). She works as a newsreader at Desh Darpan (a state- owned TV news channel). Akshay Oberoi plays Dylan Singh Shekhawat. Dylan is an ambitious journalist who wants to bring out the truth. He is caught in a story which is related to Bhopal gas tragedy. The parents of Dylan and Debjani are friends. L.N Thakur played by Raj Babbar is the patriarch of the Thakur family, Poonam Dillon plays the wife. Rounding off the senior cast is Padmini Kolhapure who plays the always suspicious and sometimes hysterical chachi. Dylan plays cards every day in the evening with L.N Thakur. Their love story starts off from there. What follows is a mix of romance, family drama, political agenda etc.

Dil Bekaraar works best when it focuses on the love story along with the family drama. The romance between Debjani and Dylan is built well. The writing is solid and the tempo is well maintained. As a result you want Debjani and Dylan to end up together. Akshay Oberoi as Dylan is the perfect casting choice for Dylan. He has got the charm and also the screen presence that is required for this character. Sahher Bambaa as Debjani is another inspired casting choice for Debjani. In simple terms, she is successful in bringing out the nuances of her part as the brave, fiery and no-nonsense woman.

Another interesting aspect of the series is the characters of Raj Babbar, Poonam Dillon and Padmini Kolhapure. The director has portrayed them in an interesting manner. The parents have their own individual anxieties and flaws. At the same time they are trying to be a protector cum guide for their opinionated daughters. The character of chachi has also been written in an interesting manner. She is someone who is constantly suspicious of her husband, the reason being she suspects him of having an affair. However, given her age and background she isn’t in a position to leave him. As a result she relies heavily on superstition and gossip to get over her heartache. All the above mentioned characters along with others add a different perspective to the show. These different perspectives make these characters instantly relatable. You immediately connect with their insecurities. The trio of Raj Babbar, Poonam and Padmini in particular are a delight to watch.

Habib Faisal is also successful in capturing the concerns of the 80’s like property redevelopment, arranged marriages etc. The placement of the Bollywood songs is also cleverly done.

Where the show falters though is its treatment of the political issues. There is an attempt to reflect today’s burning problems like press freedom, being called anti-national etc but it doesn’t exactly gel with the nature of the series. They come across as forced and unnecessary. Another issue is that some of the family subplots could have been handled more efficiently. The bonding between the sisters doesn’t get sufficient time too.

In the final analysis Dil Bekaraar is a worth a ride. This Thakur family will bring a smile to your face.

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Antim: More Than Just Another Salman Khan Film

Mahesh Manjrekar’s Antim is a sincere attempt at confronting the socio-political issues like land grabbing among other things. For those who are not aware, Antim is based on the critically acclaimed Marathi film Mulshi Pattern. The director takes the core of that plot and gives it a Bollywood treatment. The best example of this is Salman Khan’s Rajveer Singh. It is not a full fledged role but Mahesh gives ample masala moments which will satisfy Salman fans. There is also a shirtless action sequence  between Salman Khan and Ayush Sharma. The burden of Antim, though, eventually falls on the shoulders of Ayush Sharma. After a disastrous debut in Loveyatri the actor makes a solid comeback with this one. It is a character with lot of shades and Ayush is successful in bringing out those nuances. Some rawness is still there but the growth is very visible.

The basic premise of Antim is farmers losing their land to mafias. Sakharam played by Sachin Kundelkar is one such farmer. He has sold his land and is now working as a watchman in the house of one such person Shinde. His son Rahul (Ayush Sharma) had only studied until eighth class. He doesn’t do any job. One day a situation comes when Sakharam is humiliated by the owners for no fault of his. His son Rahul gets enraged at how his father has been treated. After that Sakharam loses his job and the entire family is forced to migrate to Mumbai market yard. It is here that Rahul’s journey as a gangster begins.  Before leaving for Mumbai Rahul vows to take the land back from Shinde, he also threatens Shinde that he would humiliate him.

Ironically though once he becomes a gangster he joins hands with the same mafia and helps them in grabbing farmers’ lands. During one such incident he guns down the teacher who had taught him in school. Not surprisingly Sakharam isn’t happy with his son and as a result the relations are strained. Along with Sachin Kundelkar the supporting cast also comprises the likes of Jisshu Sengupta.

What really works for Antim is Mahesh Manjrekar understanding of the socio-political issues. The farmer’s plight isn’t something particularly new but the director makes you empathize with his treatment. Sachin Kundelkar’s character particularly stands out in the supporting cast. The director makes a strong statement on farmers being forced to work as labourers in their own land. There is also a commentary on the rise of multinationals and power hungry politicians. All these issues are smartly integrated in the narrative.

The location of Mumbai Market yard plays a significant role in the script. It is used as a metaphor to talk about the journey of Rahul.  The ending makes you emotional in spite of the Nayakan hangover.

The scenes between Rahul and Sakharam give the film some of its best moments. Rahul’s desperation of wanting his family back is sure to touch a chord.

Salman’s Rajveer Singh is also smartly used by the director. Rajveer is also a son of a farmer who has lost his land. Just like Rahul’s family they also had to migrate. However, unlike Rahul Rajveer becomes a cop.

The scenes between Salman and Ayush are also fun to watch as it is not your usual cat and mouse game between a good cop and the bad guy.

What pull Antim down are its brutal action scenes. The action scenes could have been easily trimmed. Also the majority of the supporting cast act as mere screen fillers than anything else. Jisshu Sengupta in particular is very annoying in his role. Sachin Kundelkar is easily the best of the lot. He brings in varied emotions with his character. Salman Khan comes second with his restrained performance. Mahima Makhwana is the only predominant female character in this male universe. Mahima is quite impressive in her role. The music is also something which could have been much better. The songs come across as speed breakers. Even the Ganapati one featuring Varun Dhawan doesn’t really work. The only song which works to an extent is the romantic one featuring Ayush and debutant Mahima Makwana. The length is another lag. It needed sharper editing.

Watch Antim for Ayush Sharma’s transformation and the farmer’s issues.

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Dhamaka: Watch It For Karthik Aryan And The Thrills

In his short career so far Ram Madhvani has proved his worth as a director with works across genres. In both Neerja and Let’s Talk the director made use of the limited space and kept you thoroughly engrossed. He has casted actors against the type and drawn wonderful performances from them. For example Sonam Kapoor delivered her career best performance in Neerja. Similarly Sushmita Sen got a rare author backed role in the web series Aarya, the actress made complete use of that opportunity.

In Dhamaka, Ram Madhvani places his bet on Karthik Aryan. Karthik is someone who is best known for his boy- next door image thanks to films like Luka Chhupi and Pati Patni Aur Woh. Many eyebrows were raised when the announcement came of these two working together. However, after watching Dhamaka it becomes clear that Karthik has reinvented himself as Arjun Pathak. For those who are not aware the film is a remake of the South Korean one Terror Live.

Dhamaka begins on a romantic note with Arjun Pathak recalling the lovely moments that he has spent with his wife Saumya Mehra Pathak (Mrunal Thakur). This sequence sets up the story nicely. As the story progresses we come to know that Arjun Pathak was a prime time anchor on a popular news channel, However, he has now been demoted to a Radio Jockey in the same media house. On the personal front too things aren’t going too well as his marriage is on the brink of divorce. One day a random caller Raghubir Mehata ( Soham Majumdar) calls and threatens to blow up the Mumbai sea link bridge. Arjun Pathak doesn’t take it seriously and thinks that it is a hoax. However, he later realizes that it isn’t a hoax and things start getting out of control. Just like A Wednesday initially we think that the caller is a terrorist but he turns out to be a common man with anger against the government. His father was a construction worker. This is just a summary of the story.

One of the most striking aspects of Dhamaka is how Ram Madhvani uses the location of the newsroom. The story is mostly confined to the newsroom. The director once again shows his ability in capturing the emotions within a confined space.  The multiple cameras set up are used effectively by the director. This can be particularly seen during a breaking news scenario.

Another thing that keeps you engrossed is the dilemmas of Arjun Pathak. He is reporting a terrorist attack from the newsroom and negotiating with a man who is responsible for it. On the other hand, his wife Saumya Mehra is reporting live from the site and is helping hostages. All this keeps you engaged throughout. Mrunal Thakur’s Saumya Mehra is a righteous journalist whose values are different from Arjun. Mrunal has a short role but she serves her purpose well as the moral compass.

Dhamaka tries to tackle many things at once. You have corrupt ministers, the angst of the common man, the business of selling news, the world of TRPS etc. These are too many things to handle and the strain of it eventually shows, but the relevance of these issues can’t be ignored either.


The biggest ace of the film though is Karthik Aryan’s performance. Arjun Pathak is a far departure from the usual Karthik Aryan roles. There are a lot of nuances to the character and Karthik Aryan does absolute justice to it. It is a treat to watch the actor embracing the grey shades of the role.

One of the major flaws of Dhamaka is its inability to sustain after a thrilling start. The film begins off with a high note; it is successful in establishing the story without wasting any time but as the plot progresses a sense of monotony creeps in. Another issue is that the supporting characters are one note types with no nuances. The biggest example of that is the character of Amruta Subhash. She plays an assertive boss who only cares for TRPS. It is a part which comes across as too loud. The supporting characters in Neerja and Aarya were far better than what you see here.

In the final analysis, Karthik Aryan delivers a Dhamaka performance but the same cannot be said about the film.

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Thalaivi: Starts Off Promisingly But Loses Steam Midway

The life of Jayalalithaa makes for an engaging dramatic story. She was someone who treaded her own path in the industry and later became an iron- fisted politician. There are highs and lows in her life both as an actress and also as a politician. Not surprisingly many biopics were announced after death. You have already had Gautam Menon’s web series Queen starring Ramya Krishna as Jayalalithaa. There was also the announcement of Nithya Menon playing Jayalalithaa alongside the Kangana Ranaut’s one directed by AL Vijay.

Out of the two AL Vijay’s one has been creating lot of buzz. Apart from the real life personality Kangana playing the title role has also helped in the buzz. After seeing Thalaivii the first thing that comes to your mind is how much of Kangana’s presence affected the film particularly in the second half. Al Vijay does a good job in exploring in the Jayalalithaa and MGR relationship along with the impact that MGR had in her joining politics. The MGR character is played by the terrific Aravind Swamy. But the film dips badly in the second half and never really recovers.

There is nothing wrong in playing to the gallery but AL Vijay along with writer Vijayendra Prasad overplayed the masala. It also doesn’t help that the film becomes melodramatic. It is a shame because Thalaivii had lot of potential.

Thailavii begins off with a disturbing scene where Jayalalithaa is molested in the Vidhan Sabha. She compares herself to Draupadi and makes a vow that she will enter the assembly only after becoming the chief minister. From there we move to Jaya’s acting journey. We see her dancing around the tress and also wearing some striking retro costumes. The first half is mostly devoted to establishing the bond between Jaya and MGR. We see MGR helping her in being more comfortable in front of the camera. Slowly Jaya starts having a significant space in MGR’s life. It doesn’t go down too well with Raj Arun who plays the trusted man of MGR. There are also glimpses of Karunanidhi played by Nassar and MGR entering into politics. The second half takes a big shift as the plot looks at Jayalalithaa’s political entry and how she became a revered leader.

One of the things that AL Vijay gets right is recreation of the period. The atmospherics in the first half fits the time zone aptly. The costumes are beautiful without making it come across as gaudy. The set design is also appropriate and there are times where you will get nostalgic.

Aravind Swamy, as I earlier said, is brilliant. He does an outstanding job in making sure that MGR doesn’t come across a caricature. He particularly shines in the second half as the politician. His scenes with Kangana are emotionally quite moving. A scene which I really liked was after her bharatnatyam performance. He says to her that if he hadn’t come as a chief minister he would have whistled there itself. After that we see him closing the door and giving a loud whistle much to Jaya’s surprise.

The biggest issue with Thalaivii is the rushed portrayal of Jayalalithaa’s entry into politics. An important incident related to the misuse of MGR’s Midday Meal scheme doesn’t have the emotional impact that it needed to have. There are many instances in the second half where you feel that the makers are playing to Kangana’s image instead of focusing on the core story.

The character of Karunanidhi also doesn’t leave any impact whatsoever. Nassar has the presence but is severely underutilised and comes across as a caricature.

Coming to Kangana Ranaut the actress tries hard to fill in the big shoes. She fares better as an actress than as a politician. The makeup and the effort to look hefty in the second half just doesn’t work.

A personality like Jayalalithaa deserves a far better attempt than this.