Gully Boy : a feel-good movie for the underdog in each of us
There is something incredibly nuanced about Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy. I n the tradition of good mainstream Hindi cinema, Gully Boy portrays the Mumbai social milieu in a simple and straightforward manner, laying bare the disparities without getting into deeper complications. Gully Boy is a classic, empathetic underdog story with a crowd pleasing, feel-good finale about turning your imperfect reality into a long-cherished and impossible fantasy.
Dev : Adventure gone awry
Dev is essentially about where someone is headed in life. Its protagonist Dev (Karthi) is an adventure junkie - and the film establishes that pretty early. Dev tries taking the same road that earlier Kollywood flicks took, but the results are pretty ordinary. While Rakul looks apt for her part, she doesn’t quite convince in her ‘falling in love’ portions.
The Wife : Breaking through the Boys' Club
The Wife plays out like a mystery, where flashbacks fill you in on a lifetime of regrets, choices, failures and negotiations. The Wife rests heavily on flashbacks that exist to make a point and fill in the missing pieces. The result is more than just uneven pacing. It makes a film, which is perspicacious about the insecurities of a creative mind and the inadequacies of a patriarchal system, seem plot-driven and causal.
Oru Adaar Love : An experiment in mediocrity
It would be unfair to call Oru Adaar Love just a movie. It is Omar Lulu’s detailed study on how internet trends can be misleading and on how one can successfully attract the world’s attention to a mediocre product, with some smart promotional campaigns. We, the viewers, are the guinea pigs in this remarkable experiment, which sheds important light on key issues regarding internet culture, viral content and fame.
Hum Chaar : Sanskari friendship woes
Hum Chaar , if the title wasn’t self-explanatory enough, follows four friends in college and their lives after. Beyond the dynamics of friendship in the digital age, the film opens tiny windows into ambitions (or lack thereof) and parental pressures but they soon peter out.
June : A refreshing debut
Growing up is tough. But with a bunch of good friends, it can be made enjoyable and adventurous. June says simply this in an unpretentious manner, hogging a little too much screen time. The film had made news even as it was in the making because its protagonist Rajisha Vijayan, State-award winner for her debut movie, stayed away for quite a long time to prepare herself for the role.
Anandi Gopal: A life less extraordinary
Anandi Gopal is a straight, linear telling of the life one of India’s first women doctors and brings to fore almost all the important events, situations and people she encountered in her short, 22 years.
