Tag: Karan Johar

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Call Me Bae: A breezy coming of age story

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Director Collin D’Cunha manages to create a strong sense of sisterhood, the journey of Ananya Pandey’s Bae in carving her own identity comes across as sanitized but still the show has enough spunk

Starcast: Ananya Pandey, Muskkaan Jaferi, Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vihaan Samrat, Vir Das and others

Story: Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair

Director: Collin D’ Cunha

Producers: Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra

Production Company: Dharmatic Entertainment

No of episodes: 8

Streaming site: Amazon Prime

Music: Rochak Kohli

Collin D’Cunha’s Call Me Bae focuses on the transformation of a rich housewife Bella aka Bae (Ananya Pandey). The show begins with Bae getting ousted from her sasural when she is caught getting cozy with the gym trainer played by Varun Sood. From here we go to a brief flashback establishing her rich lifestyle. Mini Mathur plays Bae’s mother Gayatri. She takes it upon herself to set the daughter’s marriage with an equally rich guy Agastya (Vihaan Samrat). Their relationship starts off a great note, but soon the marriage takes a big hit because of Agastya’s detachment. It is during this time that Bae falls for Varun Sood’s Prince Bhasin. What adds to Bae’s woes is the attitude of her mother who distances herself. Now Bae has to fend for herself and in this process her path crosses with that of Satyajit Sen (a delightful Vir Das). Satyajit Sen is a news anchor modeled on the likes of Arunav Goswami. Aiding Bae in the growth is Muskkaan Jaferi’s Saira Ali.

Call Me Bae focuses on the transformation of a rich housewife Bella aka Bae

Bae’s path crosses with Satyajit Sen (Vir Das)

First and foremost, the tonality of Call Me Bae is not of the typical riches to rags storylines. Ananya Pandey’s Bae doesn’t sleep on a footpath and nor do we see her hustle in local trains. The process of finding a place and job doesn’t become a big hassle. There is a lot of tongue in cheek humor in the way the writers have written Bella. Once the viewers get adjusted to this tonality there is quite a bit to enjoy.

What makes the series work in spite of the sanitized situations is the characterization of Bella coupled with Ananya Pandey’s winsome act. Some of Bella’s quirks jell perfectly with the personality of Ananya and the actress raises many chuckles in portraying Bella’s cluelessness. One of the humorous bits include a scene where Bella sprays hand sanitizer on a beach bench. At the same time, she also aces the emotional scenes like the one where Bella sees her husband Agastya being close to another girl. The process of Bella becoming a more layered person has been wonderfully portrayed by the actress. Also, to the credit of Ishita Moitra and co Bella doesn’t drastically transform into a down to earth person. Her quirky nature is very much there but at the same time there is a subtle growth.

What also works for the series is the camaraderie between Ananya Pandey and Muskkaan Jaferi. Muskkaan Jaferi’s character enters at a crucial point and soon becomes an important ally. Muskkaan Jaferi’s comic timing is simply wonderful, her one liners add a lot to the show. Through her performance Muskkaan Jaferi makes you wish that you also had a strong friend like her.

Vir Das’s act of an arrogant and oversmart journalist is clearly reminiscent of Arunav Goswami’s antics. The character is more of a caricature but still Vir Das does a splendid job in making the viewers detest him. There is a devilish glee in the way Vir portrays him. The confrontation scenes between Ananya and Vir spice up the show in a major way.

Vir Das as Satyajit Sen

Ananya Pandey and Vir Das confrontation scene

Mention must be also made of the equation between the characters of Ananya Pandey and Gurfateh Pirzada. Gurfateh Pirzada plays Bella’s colleague Neel. Neel also contributes significantly to Bella’s progress, there is also a cute love story. Gurfateh Pirzada pitches in a fine performance making his presence amply felt. Varun Sood as the lovable gym trainer also has his moments.

As mentioned in the beginning director Collin D’ Cunha brings a strong sense of sisterhood. This sisterhood is reflected through not just the track of Muskkaan Jaferi. There is also Niharika Lyra Dutt as Tammarrah Lisa Mishra as Harleen. These two women also become an important part of Bella’s life.

Towards the end the series gets into a serious territory of Me Too and also data privacy. These important themes needed stronger writing, also the cinematic liberties taken by Colllin D’Cunha here becomes hard to digest. Thankfully though the series doesn’t get into a preachy zone. The costumes of Ananya go perfectly well with the pitch of the series. initially they are very glitzy and over the top but in the later episodes they are more subdued.

Rochak Kohli’s music has a good mix of fun and emotional songs particular mention must be made of Churaaiyaan.

Ananya Pandey in Churaaiyaan

Call Me Bae is a perfect watch for those like frothy entertainment without going very deep.

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Modern Masters SS Rajamouli: Self adulatory in nature, still an engaging watch

The insights of V Vijayendra Prasad, MM Keeravani, Rama Rajamouli etc. give the documentary some of its best moments

Modern Masters directed by Raghav Khanna and Tanvi Ajinkya is an absolute treat for the fans of the celebrated director. Right from the beginning it is clear that both of them are in awe of SS Rajamouli and how the documentary has been designed as a tribute. Just like his on-screen heroes the tonality is that of reverence and awe. This method does come with its drawbacks as there isn’t much of a critical analysis however there is never a dull moment

A strong aspect of Modern Masters is the narration of the family members. Through the various anecdotes the viewers understand the passionate nature of Rajamouli and his eccentricities while filming a movie. The documentary also successfully sheds light on Rajamouli’s modest beginnings. Seeing the struggles of his father and how that influenced the creative choices.

Although Rajamouli’s debut movie Student No 1 was a commercial success it is very clear that Rajamouli looks at Simhadri as his breakthrough movie. It was Simhadri that set the tone for Rajamouli’s future films. There is also an intriguing insight given by MM Keeravani about the use of a Tamil rustic song to showcase the transformation of Junior NTR. The producers weren’t very sure about its placement, but he was very clear about audiences enjoying it which turned out to be true. The courtship of SS Rajamouli and how he convinced Rama for marriage is charming. Just like his movies here too his persistent nature comes forth strikingly.

The anecdotes regarding the Baahubali films are also engaging. Initially the movie had a slow start with the talk being not so positive. One of the producers Shobu Yarlagadda went into a panic mode and there was major anxiety about Baahubali 2’s future however things changed with the movie growing on the audiences and eventually becoming a blockbuster. Karan Johar is the only one from the Hindi fraternity to appear in the documentary. The movie could have done with few more Hindi and Telugu personalities, keeping that aside Karan Johar makes an interesting analogy by comparing Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay with this. Upon its release Sholay also had a slow start with many people dismissing it but subsequently the film made a major splash and has now become a commercial benchmark.

Prominent film Journalist and reviewer Anupama Chopra is also a part of this documentary. She asks questions regarding the criticism of Bahubali and RRR being sexist and casteist. The answers aren’t completely satisfactory nevertheless there is an interesting bit where he talks about being an atheist while still being a believer of Sanatana dharma. According to him a person can be both. Talking about the controversial love scene in Bahubali 1 he says that Tamannaah’s Avanthika is much more than just a hard warrior, adding that there is also a woman looking for love beneath the tough exterior.

Rajamouli’s creation of strong villains particularly Rana Daggubati’s Bhallaladeva and how he likes Ravana more than Rama adds an interesting dimension to the documentary. To sum it up Modern Masters could have done with more depth particularly the questions about Bahubali and RRR, still it is entertaining enough.

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Kill: Visceral action yet a thrilling ride

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Director Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt elevates a standard action plot by bringing class divide and blurring the lines between what we consider as hero and anti hero.

  • Starcast: Lakshya, Raghav Juyal, Tanya Manikatla, Abhishek Chauhan, Ashish Vidyarti and others
  • Director and writer: Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt
  • Music: Shashwant Sachdev and Vikram Montrose
  • Cinematography: Rafey Mehmood
  • Producers: Karan Johar, Guneet Monga etc
  • Production houses: Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment

On surface the plot of Kill may appear as a series of action sequences, a show reel for debutant Lakshya to establish himself as a massy hero who can vanquish villains even after facing severe blows.  But what makes Kill different from other violent movies is a strong emotional poignancy. The character graph of Lakshya’s Amrit Rathod from a commando who initially just wants to control the situation to eventually becoming a bigger monster has strong undercurrent of emotions. As the movie progresses Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt questions our notions of what we consider as hero and anti-hero. No wonder Kill got rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, kudos to Karan Johar for giving a movie like this a significant platform along with Guneet Monga.

The initial minutes of Kill are devoted to the love story between Amrit Rathod and Tulika (Tanya Maniktala). Tulika is returning to Delhi after a reluctant engagement. Amrit and his fellow commando/ friend Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan) are also on the same train. Amrit is making plans on how to convince his future father in law with the help of Viresh. A romantic story soon turns into a catastrophic night thanks to a group of dacoits (armed robbers). The leader of this gang is Fani (Raghav Juyal). Ashish Vidyarthi plays Fani’s father and a fellow dacoit. The father and son don’t get along well. What should have been a simple robbery ends up in a violent bloodbath because of Fani’s thoughtless actions who is desperate to get his father’s approval and love. Nothing more can be revealed here.

The initial moments start as a love story

A strong aspect of Kill is the humanizing of the dacoits. There are portions of the second half where the armed robbers vent out their vulnerabilities and fears. They want an escape from this havoc seeing the brutal deaths of their family members. On more than one occasion they plead to Ashish Vidyarti’s Beni about deboarding the train.  Director Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt is successful in bringing out a strong sense of brotherhood. He also subtly highlights the class divide and the impoverished state that leads to these men becoming robbers and looting rich people. On the surface they appear as ordinary men but there is a deep angst within.

The scenes between Ashish Vidyarti and Raghav Juyal is another major highlight of the movie, there is a constant friction in spite of both being armed robbers. A particular scene that has to be mentioned is the one where Beni talks about how Fani has dumped his father’s values and principles. To this Fani replies sarcastically that they are dacoits and he isn’t Amitabh Bachchan’s Narayan Shankar  from Mohabbatein to talk about principles and values, this scene raises ample chuckles.

The action sequences by nature are very violent and definitely not for family audiences, however stunt directors Se- Yeong along with Parvez Sheikh deserve kudos for coming up with innovative combat sequences in the confined spaces. A particular mention must be made of how they have used the window curtains that become death traps. Cinematographer Rafey Mehmood camera work is also fantastic. He successfully captures the tense atmosphere through his lens.

Kill wouldn’t be what it is without the brilliant acting particularly lakshya and Raghav. Lakshya makes for a perfect action hero. He captures the turmoil of Amrit many times with just his eyes and overall body language. Lakshya fully convinces the audiences that Amrit has become a killing machine. Fani’s taunt at Amrit on how he isn’t a hero but a big monster feels very true. Raghav Juyal best known for his dancing skills springs a very pleasant surprise. He knocks it out of the park as a cold blooded villain who has his own vulnerabilities. Fani’s anguish at seeing the violent deaths of the family members including his own father has been well portrayed by Raghav.

Both Lakshya and Raghav deliver terrific performances

Tanya Manikatala does well in her brief yet important role. She brings in an understated strength to Tulika. Her lovey-dovey moments with Amrit that include him proposing to her in a toilet seat comes across as a respite from the breathless action. Ashish Vidyarthi also makes his presence amply felt as the frustrated father who prophesies that the reason for him dying before time would be his son. Abhishek Chauhan has a straight forward role of being Amrit’s ally in the initial phase nevertheless the actor has his moments.

True to the title Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt has killed it, this violent saga may make you apprehensive of train journeys but it is a must watch for those who like blood and gore with a solid storyline.