Minia's Mundane Musings

As the tannoy boomed out boarding gate changes, Sandhya steadied her coffee cup that was rocking precariously on the unoccupied seat next to her, and looked around with annoyance for the source of all the chaos. What she saw made her frown and mumble to herself, “Ah great! Just my luck! Why can’t I ever be in a public space and not be subjected to the antics of toddlers.” Sandhya loved her peace and quiet and being around rambunctious children was Sandhya’s pet peeve. She liked to have her meals in peace in restaurants without little kids running around because they would rather be in a burger place. She hated that parents dragged their too-young-to-understand kids to movies and that these kids reduced her viewing pleasure and most of all she hated that inevitably she was near a kid on flights. (Nothing pleasant ever came out of that one - she was sure.) The kid that was currently making his presence felt was leaning over the shared backrest and swinging his legs wildly causing...

Thappad The prelude to the aria that is Thappad, is a dizzying runabout of a homemaker's humdrum daily chores. It serves to establish the roles each character has established for themselves. The husband played by newbie, Pavail Gulati is wonderfully self-obsessed and completely oblivious to anything but his own needs. The wife played by Tapsee Pannu ( as if we didn't know! Ha ha!) is on the other end of the spectrum. She is hyper aware of the needs of all those around her and revels in being needed and being able to be of service. The nuances that are written into the script are sheer brilliance. Consider the opening montage introducing the main characters to us. The wife being driven about, the girlfriend being received with love and finally a super successful lawyer finding freedom in hanging out a car window. The conversation that ensues between all of them, sketches skillfully the back stories of the lot of them. The movie is far from being a chest beating comment...

1917 Wow! Just wow! It isn't just for no reason that a movie garners 10 Oscar nominations. But wait let me begin at the very beginning. A very good place to start.....😁😁😁 I had sworn after missing the theatre run of Saving Private Ryan, that no war movie would go unwatched in the theatre. Hence Dunkirk was watched and wept over in a theatre and then so was 1917. But the robustness of the preceding 2 movies isn't the undercurrent in 1917. It is it's simplistic approach to war. The grandstanding and the theatre of the war aren't what this one is about, it is vignettes if you will. It is a reminder that the strong and thick rope of wars and war stories is woven from frail strands of simple stories, that make up the larger whole. The premise is a one-liner. Two soldiers are entrusted with the task of racing to the warfront and saving 1600 other soldiers. That's it. The movie chronicles their journey through the ravaged countryside. And it takes one about 10 ...

Chhapak I stand in line at Starbucks and take forever to decide what drink I want, what size it should be, what flavour should go in, what milk is to be used...so on and so forth. So many choices... Imagine if you had no nose, and the doctor treating you asked you to make a choice of the type of nose you wanted? If you sink into it, Chhapak gives you many such moments of introspection. You can't call Chhapak an entertainer and you couldn't label it a documentary. It's a biography in a genre of its own. The last time something invaded my being like this was the documentary on Amy Winehouse. I make no bones about it, this is an extremely tough film to watch and you will carry it with you for days. But watch it you must, for the crafty screenplay which will hold you in thrall as will the strength with which Meghna Gulzar directs this. I have said this before, and I say it again, the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. It is the story of an Acid Attack Survivor, Laxmi Ag...

Mardaani 2 This is a must watch for those of you who are Rani Mukherjee fans. I am one and I really enjoyed it. She is in superb form and on screen after long, so it kind of settled my Rani-craving a little. All the necessary cop elements are present in this one. An honest cop, a superior who is ready to suspend her and a subordinate who is initially anti the brave and honest cop, but then redeems himself by helping out when it really matters. The story is one of a psychopath obsessed with a cop, as opposed to the genre where it is one brave and honest cop against an entire behemoth of corrupt politicians (do politicians really need adjectives any more? It's a given, isn't it?), and mafiosos. The story worked for me  because of Rani and the stupendous talent of the antagonist Vishal Jethwa. This 25 year old or rather young actor has been on television for a while now. His definition of the role is a complete credit to the writing and direction and also a testament to his own ac...

Panipat  The people of my generation, must be remembering the days when we had newscasters like Salma Sultana and her ilk reading out the news like one would a checklist. I would often watch that news and a silent tick mark would appear in my head at the end of each of their sonorous comments. I had that same funny sensation whilst watching Panipat. The movie was just a spate of incidents strung together, and me having read the history of this particular battle avidly, kept feeling that the myriad collection of individuals who had scripted this movie were just ticking one check box after another. It is just a bland recitation of fact after fact, and somehow the grandeur that one associates with historicals was absent. In fact Lagaan had better sets than did Panipat. Gowariker must have known that comparisons to Bajirao were inevitable and given that this battle occurs just two decades after Bajirao's demise, this movie could be considered a sequel to that one, he should have been m...

Knives Out. This was a very gripping movie in the style of Agatha Christie's whodunnits. It's pace is fast and sinister and one keeps guessing, but I for one was unable to sort it out in my head, till the grand reveal. It deals with the murder of a Head of the Family, who has potloads of money. Just like any good whodunnit, there are wild goose chases and dead ends and red herrings. But the writing is very, very good and ultimately it all concludes quite satisfactorily. Before I go on to the performances, let me tell you that I will pretty much watch anything that Daniel Craig is in. This one was no exception and I quite liked the way they put him in the shade(literally) and he still made an impact. It is a very Hitchcockian filming technique and you feel the mark of the actor by his absence. Daniel Craig is sensibly aware that there is more to life than being an agent with a License to Kill. Given what he is choosing to do these films these past years is a sure indication of a...