Minia's Mundane Musings

 Kho gaye hum kahan Indeed! What just happened? What did i just watch? Siddhant Chaturvedi and Gourav Adarsh we knew about, but who knew Ananya Pandey could act ? Did anyone see this coming? This methinks is her mike drop moment. More about the movie though, as I have already said this one is cast perfectly. The production team knew what they wanted and they squeezed out the performances that they wanted. For a debutante director, Arjun Varain Singh, has made a splash of the same magnitude that whales make.  I was doing stuff around my apartment and watching too, and kept replaying because I wanted to miss no expression and wanted to see all the subtleties, so eventually I gave up on my chores and plonked down with intent and I am glad that I did so. The dialogues were superb, case in point: Boy: I need space Girl: Astronaut ho kya?  Hilarious! The emotional ones got me too. It is a movie about 3 besties, 2 of whom are a part of the gig economy and the third has a steady,...

 Do you know that feeling when one reads a fairytale, or sees a cartoon and something terrible is happening? Like when the princess is kidnapped? Or Tom has caught Jerry? And in spite of knowing that, you also know in a happy nook of your heart, that just around the corner is happiness again. Well, this movie is just like that. A terrible thing happens to 2 newly wed couples and you know immediately, this silly fracas will be over soon, but you want to know how it shall resolve itself. The journey is so engrossing. Kiran Rao, comandeers this vehicle and hooks your attention. There are characters galore, but of course, Ravi Kishen enthralls you. His turn here will remind you of another of his excellent performances, in Welcome to Sajjanpur. Both the brides, are brilliant. Kiran Rao deserves a lot of kudos, for drawing out their talent. I hope she doesn't make us wait too long for her next one. (It has been 14 years since Dhobi Ghat!) What is a good journey without good music? And th...

 May December. Every relationship is inherently fraught with insecurities, and how one reacts to these fumbles leads to a deepening or shattering of the relationship. Imagine a 35-plus-year-old lady, deciding to live her entire life with a boy old enough to be her son, Ah! I am sure the French president just crossed your thoughts, but no that is a very stable and well-thought-out relationship, nay a strategy one would say, with shades of a lavender marriage, a la- Hugh Jackman.  Too much rambling? Have I just confirmed what you guys knew all along? That I am a lady with loose screws and missing marbles? Ha! Ha! Or it could be that I was watching a movie that led to deep thinking and I shared it with you here.  I watched May December on Prime Video, last night and it threw me for a toss. 1- Because Natalie Portman, a brilliant actress by any standards simply kills it in this movie. She is so vile that I hated her, and that should help you gauge her performance. 2- The resu...

  Gehraiyaan This is one of the first hindi movies I have enjoyed in a long while, and that is because it is pure entertainment. I watched it and I liked it and I didn't try and explore its morality or the why's and wherefores. It might never become a cult classic like others in its genre, namely Silsila, Masoom, Arth or even Pati patni aur woh, but it is a decent watch. Fidelity is a state of the mind and even a golden oldie like Navrang addressed it as such. Putting that aside, this movie belongs to Deepika Padukone all the way. But, ah the dashing and devious devil, Siddhant Chaturvedi makes a mark too. Deepika/Alisha is a conflicted individual, whose backstory is relayed to us in bits and pieces. The irony is that, her perception of everything is colored by her version of the truth. Watch how she takes pictures and then crops them. That's a peak in to her state of mind. She tries to err on the safe side always, and it reflects in her choice of life partner even. Her cou...

  This is an average, run of the mill movie, that I watched a while back. There was no reason for it to have occupied so much space in my head for so long, in spite of having Madhavan in it. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The technicals are average and the artistry is very mundane. The only reason it has spent so much time with me is because of a silly review that I read about it. The review lauded it as a clarion call for women's emancipation and also went on to state that it was a story about liberated women. That really got my goat and I know that unless I put pen to paper or my delicate fingers to the qwerty, I wouldn't be able to push it out of my rapidly dwindling grey cells. What emancipation is being spoken of here? A woman having an MCP for a husband suddenly can not tolerate the patriarchy, and how does she react? She suddenly develops feelings for a neighbor or maybe he was a tenant, I am not sure and I couldn't be bothered to find out. The trig...

Anvita Dutt, is a master story teller. And she, tells this one well too. She and Kanika Dillon have a knack of painting their leading ladies in shades of grey. Whilst Kanika brings in the whacky and the wild, Anvita brings in the angst. It makes for great entertainment.  This movie seeps in slowly and is for those of you who like the slow burn. There is drama and angst and tragedy and it leaves you wondering, what did I just watch? Was this a movie or sheer art? And it is a movie that stays with you for a bit.  The visuals are stunning, particularly those of the boat on the water. The noir-ish feel of the movie fits the mood perfectly. One does know what has happened and why, but the visuals and the artistry keep you in thrall. This is the story of a woman, who learns to be competitive in her mother's womb itself. Her quest for survival began in the womb itself. She then spends all her childhood and teen years having only her mother and constantly craving her validation. Is ...

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...