Minia's Mundane Musings

Choked - Paisa bolta hai. This dropped on Netflix today and is a one time watch for sure. This Anurag Kashyap creation when compared to his previous work is just fluff. But seen singularly it is a good watch. I liked the story, which is simple and effective. It follows it's tagline "Paisa bolta hai" quite faithfully. There is Amruta Subhash who is a fine actress and is always enjoyable to watch.  She has a simple and defined storyline, and is an opportunist. Roshan Matthew is a good foil for Saiyami Kher, who shows acting chops I didn't know she had. Anurag Kashyap uses some very unflattering camera angles for her, which strangely contribute to her emotive capability.    She is a bank teller who finds a secret stash of cash and has to then use it wisely. The impediments that come her way, compounded by the vagrancy of her husband are fun to watch. The angsty Kashyap uses the backdrop of Demonetization to add punch to the story. He is also unable to refrain from insert...

Chintu ka Birthday This is 90 minutes of unadulterated goodness. Watch this one, and feel the hope and peace steal into your heart. We Indians know all about karma don't we? But sometimes we watch all kinds of bad happening to good souls. Watch this one and see how speedy redemption can be sometimes. This is story of a Bihari family with Nepali passports stuck in Baghdad, under American occupancy. On the day that this story unfolds it is the birthday of the lad of the house - Chintu. The family is trying their best to make it special for him amidst trying circumstances and the kid is super excited because it's his day and he has friends coming over and he is getting a cake. And then things start falling apart, he can't go to school because there has been a bombing and he is left holding the bag of sweets he was meant to distribute. His father sells water filters. Coz, Baghdad needs them. Suddenly their home is invaded by American soldiers, who suspect them of being accessor...

Technology isn't half so bad, It gives me flying kisses on a video call, And teaches me nuances of emoticons... There are hugs and kisses and liplocks and blushes. Miles become ashes and Relationships become lit coals. Double ticks bring me hope, Blue ticks cause palpitations, And vibrating beeps bring answers that please and delight and torture and frustrate and satiate! "Online" says wait and watch , it will be your turn soon, "Typing" says ye ! ye! I will have a message soon. Little dancing dots make me sigh and squirm and wiggle. A flash on my screen, A sliver of light dancing across it, A gentle vibration, A little slide of my thumb across the screen, A sneaky look at the message whilst on Zoom, No, nopes, nein, nada, There's no controlling it, That's a huge grin splitting my face.....

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...