Skip to main content

Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl

This movie is such a breath of fresh air. I approached it with a lot of trepidation, given the woman centric theme coupled with the patriotic theme. Why trepidation? Because women centric films often devolve into chest thumping feminism which makes me cringe. And filmmakers other than a handful convert patriotism to jingoism. And I can stomach neither psuedo-feminism nor the jingoism.

This movie is a simple statement of fact. It tells the story of a female airforce officer who is the first female to win the Shaurya chakra. In fact the ringing endorsement by the lady herself, swayed me into watching this one.

The director and writer is Sharan Sharma and he has kept the script beautifully simple. He doesn't manipulate the emotions of the viewer, as do the other so called patriotic movies like Uri.

Pankaj Tripathi with his thick vein of humor brings to the role of a father an amazing reality.

This is the third time that I am watching Jahnvi Kapoor and I feel she is rapidly maturing into a very fine performer.
I love this lady's voice. I think she has a great future in store for her.
For me her most defining scene is the one, in which she is getting her hand banged on the table. The play of emotions across her face without resorting to tears was very competent. She does play the character with a lot of layers, which I feel could be a reflection of her inner self. Whether this extrapolates into solid acting chops is a question for the future.
A notable mention is Manav Vij, who rings it in with his part as Gunjan's mentor.
The war scenes are few and have been skimmed, due to budget constraints I guess, but the minimalistic approach somehow works. And the flying scenes are well shot.
I hope a lot of youngsters watch this one and see the joy of doing a job well. Like Pankaj Tripathi says in the movie, a job well done is an act of patriotism.

The background score was good and apt. As is the score by Amit Trivedi. Bharat ki beti sung by Arijit Singh, has stayed with me.

P. S : Watch out for the Tuffy references. ;-)

#MiniasReviews
#AllLiveMatter


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monica, O My Darling

Straight off the bat, let me tell you that I went into this movie cold. I just saw the trailer and put it on my watch list. I was totally enamored with the cast and the premise. I knew I was going to watch this one, so I didn't delve into the promotional shenanigans.  So if you are of the same bent of mind, stop reading and start watching.  And on your behalf, I did Google Ankola, it is a town in Karnataka and is not to be confused with Akola in Maharashtra. Ha ! Ha! Netflix has been delighting us with gems like Raat Akeli thi, Haseen dilruba and Bulbul. Add this one to that list and think Gehraiyaan. I need not stress on the proficient star cast. They are masters of their craft. Starting with the sneaky Rajkummar Rao, the sultry Huma Quereshi and the wily Radhika Apte, the ensemble includes the creepy Sukant Goel, the beleaguered Zayn Marie and many others. For me Sikandar Kher was a standout. A shoutout to his intensity and his baritone.  The dialogues are spot on and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Razorblade Tears by S A Cosby

    This book belongs to the revenge trope and I enjoyed reading it for a reason, other than just the story or the thrills, it was for the delicious turn of phrase, that the author employed. Here are some examples: “It didn’t seem fair for a man to mourn someone so deeply, whom he had loved so miserly!” “Wound on his cheek was weeping like a broken-hearted bride.” “As careful as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” “Give a man a clipboard and watch his true nature come out.” “He smiled; it was like watching an icicle form.” The story is about two men who are bound by destiny, when their sons who were married, are murdered. The tapestry is enriched by the fact that one family is black and the other is white. Throw in the fact that both the fathers are ex-cons and you have an intrigue on hand. Other than the language I liked the way the conversations were handled and how the characters were revealed by thought, word and deed, rather than extrapo...
Post a Comment
Read more