Minia's Mundane Musings

  The White Tiger I never did enjoy the book that this movie is based upon. Whilst my reading of the book itself, I had felt a sense of disconnect from it, and this chiefly arose from the fact that the author appeared to have used elements from the Indian society to tick boxes. Caste divides – check! Economic divides – check! Political divides – check! Gender divides – check! And then market the hell out of the book to garner support for an elevated prize. This post is sure to ruffle a few feathers, but I am sticking to my guns! The movie is a true adaptation and I quite liked the performance by it’s lead – the raw Gaurav Adarsh. He was good but has a long way to go as yet. He did not show any depth and that was unfortunate as the one thing that was good in the book were the many layers that Balram Halwai was endowed with. He does have a good narrative voice though. And what a strange choice of movie for Rajkummar Rao to say yes to! He is never in the thick of thing...

When one has lost complete faith in the creativity of mainline bollywood cinema, along comes a movie such as this, which delights and gladdens the heart. Very few movies combine the genres of slice of life and comedy, so skillfully. Think Piku and Vicky Donor, and I would slot this one right there. The comedy is a gentle one with subtle writing and the veterans cast in it, give it the perfect edge. Let's start with the supporting cast of Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, Supriya Pilgaonkar and Annu Kapoor, this is just the kind of writing that they thrive on. Consider the performance of Annu Kapoor, he acts not just with his face, which in this one, is obliterated with hair, his entire body acts. He was rarely in the mainframe but his gestures conveyed so much with few dialogues. The Pahwas play off of, each other and Supriya is a master, bringing just the right touch of overt humor. She plays mother to an actor her own age and never do you feel it. Fatima Sana Shaikh is competent. S...

Chhalang This is not a great movie like Dangal or even a good one like Chak de India, but it is one that you could watch because you do not let a Hansal Mehta - Rajkumar Rao combo go unwatched or because you have FOMO! So I did watch it ( I leave it to you, to figure out why I watched it 😂😂😂 ) and found it a pleasing watch, a lighthearted one that acts as a palate cleanser.  Hansal Mehta directs this sports caper with a light hand, and has a good cast. Saurabh Shukla, Satish Kaushik are delightful as always. Jatin Sarna was not given his due. The lady playing Rao's mother is very good. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub is a total delight to watch and Nusrat Bharucha was good in this role. Though she could have avoided the towering heels on a kabbadi ground. Rajkumar Rao is competent, not excellent though. The writing is a bit lackadaisical, and it was strange that for a sports film, where the focus should have been on the players, the writers felt no compulsion to develop stronger character...

  Oh Betaji!(starring Bhagwan) is just not going to leave my brain anytime soon. And it wont leave yours either if you watch this fun ride called Ludo. It is a roller coaster of silly antics and dark humor and improbable coincidences. A heist movie and a gansta flick all rolled into one. Anurag Basu leads us on a merry caper and I for one did not want to get off. He has gone back to interwoven stories, just like Life in a Metro, and of course there is an underlying weave of love and emotions that is well integrated into the main plot, whatever there is of it. I quite enjoyed it and will certain revisit it. First off let me start with the theme itself, it is rare in hindi cinema to have such a well-etched theme. Here the colors of the Ludo ki gittis are assigned to each story and the art director has even customized the license plates of vehicles to spell out the word. Also, Anurag Basu himself plays Yama and the narrator, and you are always aware that people are going to be d...

  A Suitable Boy It is when ex-pats miss home terribly, that they end up unearthing gems of Indian literature and resurrecting them as entertaining buffets. This is one such, done by Mira Nair and it wows completely! Walk in and feast on whatever you want. Be it the searing voice of Kavita Seth, which forms a part of an amazing background score, or the vivid and dynamic cinematography, or simply the charm of Tanya Maniktala's smile or the way Tabu seduces an audience- men and women alike! I am sure each one of us will find something to relish in this one. What to say of the cast! It is an ensemble cast, but there is also a swarming bee-hive of brilliant cameos; Vijay Raaz, Randeep Hooda, Sheeba Chaddha and Mansi Multani to name a few. In fact, we have Shimit Amin pitching in, and directing an episode too.   The main cast is too good, and I have heard complaints about their performance being OTT and a bit loud, but then why watch a Mira Nair production and t...

This is such a good movie. I truly enjoyed watching it. It is Aaron Sorkin at his best.  Excellent conversations pepper the movie and the non-linear narrative that is used, keeps the material from being too heavyweight. It swings from the events of the actual night to the ongoing courtroom drama with aplomb.  In all his writing, be it The West Wing or even The Social Network, there has always been some ambiguity as to whose side the writer is on. This one however is crystal clear! The villain is established within minutes of the film commencing and one tends to kind of agree. There is an ensemble cast, and much of it is British - Mark Rylance, Sacha Baron Cohen and Eddie Redmayne. And all of them are a perfect fit. Michael Keaton does a cameo nearly at the end and wins the cup! He is just too good! I was a little sceptical as to the entertainment value of this one, given that it deals with such a sensitive and heavy subject but the dialogues and script just do not let it becom...

This movie totally dismantles the thought that sci-fi has to be loud and full of over-the -top drama and SFX to tell a good story. This story tells of an astronaut who helps souls to transition from one life to the other. He is by race a demon, who has been stationed there as part of the peace treaty between the humans and the asuras. It is a slow progressing movie which makes a powerful commentary on the various ills that plague the world as we know it today. It is crisp and clean and makes lucid statements that set us thinking but do not actually take a side themselves. Morality is woven in too, without the exponent coming off as a preachy goody two-bits. The dialogue is very good and although the movie has varying paces pf story-telling, it certainly doesn’t lose you anywhere. Consider Prahasth, played by Vikrant Massey castigating his subordinate, Yuvishka for keeping some objects from a transiting body. It is done with total elan, and does not feel preachy at all. Also do not miss...