Padmaavat(minus the i)

I woke my blog up from it's deep slumber to review Padmaavat. I watched this movie last weekend (many thanks to the hubby for watching our kids) and I enjoyed it.

The main reason I wanted to go watch this movie in the theater was because I wanted to lend my support and solidarity to the principle of Freedom of Expression in an increasingly intolerant world. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been through hell and back to make this film, and to finally get it released. From being thoroughly roughed up on the sets, and death threats, to legal battles and threats of modern day jauhar/suicide if this movie got released, he has seen it all.

Now on to the movie itself, despite the multiple cuts from the censor board, in my opinion, this film has delivered. On the longer side, at a total run time of 2 hours and 44 minutes, it held my attention throughout. Deepika Padukone plays the gorgeous princess of Singhal, Padmavati who runs into Shahid Kapoor’s character, the King of Chittor, Maharawal Ratan Singh while she is out and about enjoying a hunt. Ratan Singh falls prey to her arrow (and later to her charms) and is rendered unconscious. She nurses him back to health and in the process, the couple falls in love and gets married. They return to Chittor and are blissfully enjoying their marriage despite a run in with the creepy Rajguru who attempts to spy on their “alone time” and gets banished from Chittor but not before vowing to bring the kingdom down to its knees. We also get to see an up and coming Alauddin Khilji, played by Ranveer Singh. He is shown to be fearless and at times barbaric, and without a moral compass, as he vanquishes one and all in his pursuit of the throne of Delhi. He is also quite obsessed with possessing “har nayab cheez” and comes to hear of the unparalleled beauty and charms of Queen Padmavati, courtesy creepy Rajguru. What happens next is very well documented (so no spoilers here) in countless stories, poems and folklore ending with Padmavati's Jauhar (a common practice of self-immolation to avoid capture and slavery in those days).

There is nothing extraordinary in the script itself - however, with the Sanjay Leela Bhansali treatment and the actors' brilliant performances, the audience is treated to a sweeping tale of love, romance, pride and honor. There is beauty in every frame and the sets are a visual delight. Deepika and Shahid looked regal and resplendent as the King and Queen of Chittor and displayed strong performances (I do think they could have had better chemistry in their scenes together - they are good actors in general so maybe I had higher expectations for their love story). Deepika emotes very well with just her eyes and expressions and has turned into a wonderful actor (a far cry from her Om Shanti Om days, which to be fair, was her debut film). This movie however belongs solely to Ranveer Singh. Ranveer Singh brings a, heretofore unseen, level of maniacal energy to his performance and exudes evil from every pore in his portrayal of Alauddin Khilji. He is magnificent as the ruthless Khilji who will let nothing stand in his way to get what he wants. The supporting cast brings their A game too - Jim Sarbh is amazing as Alauddin Khilji’s slave/right hand man and Aditi Rao Hydari does not have too much to do but brings the right level of angst and tears as Alauddin Khilji’s hapless wife Mehrunnisa. Regarding the act of Jauhar itself, I don’t believe Sanjay Leela Bhansali is wrong in showing it as it is a practice (as terrible as it was) that was commonplace in those days. I do agree with many of the movie's critics, that he could have toned down the glamor content in Deepika walking eyes blazing and looking gorgeous as ever, into the fire. That being said, I am not in agreement with Swara Bhaskar's "open letter" which is all over the place and confuses sati and Jauhar. Sati is where a widow had to (many times involuntarily) sit on her husband’s pyre and (I cringe as I type this) be burned alive. Jauhar (equally cringe-worthy) was the practice of mass self-immolation to escape a fate worse than death. It is very very sad that women had to commit jauhar at all; but given what awaited them at the hands of the enemy soldiers, I am not sure what the alternative could have been. As a feminist, I agree with Swara Bhaskar's points related to rape and women's rights - I just don't think they can be applied to the context of this movie.

My verdict: Definitely a one-time watch in the theaters. I don’t think I can/will watch this movie more than once.

Netflix - To Binge or Not to Binge - that is the question...

As I am eagerly awaiting November 25th, 2016, for the only reason that it brings with it The Gilmore Girls Netflix installment 8+ long years after the show ended, I thought I should blog about Binge-Worthy shows that I thoroughly enjoyed. In no particular order then,

1. Gilmore Girls - A lovely show about a mother-daughter relationship that is more of a friendship than a traditional parent-child one. Be warned though, that at 7 seasons, it is a longggg CW show (approx. 21-22 episodes per season). Amy Sherman-Palladino created this perfect TV series that just works. Lauren Graham plays Lorelai Gilmore who lives with 16 year old daughter Rory Gilmore in a wonderful little town called Stars Hollow with a whole slew of quirky but endearing characters. Lorelai owns an inn and Rory is everyone's dream teenager with her nose always in a book and a halo around her head. As the story progresses and the layers peeled, we get to see Lorelai's complicated relationship with her own mother, Rory's relationship with her grandparents, Lorelai's friendship with Luke of Luke's Diner and the boys who court Rory throughout the show. Did both pivotal characters frustrate me with their choices at different times? Hell yeah (especially Lorelai)! But the fact that the audience is so drawn into and so consumed with their decisions and stories tells us just how successful Gilmore Girls was. It is truly audience loyalty that has brought this Netflix project into being - so it is with great trepidation and excitement that I await the 25th of November… may it not disappoint!

2. Parenthood - Another gem by Jason Katims… a heart-warming series about the Braverman family and the trials and tribulations of the 4 Braverman siblings and their families. I wrote a blog post about it way back when - see here. My recommendation still stands. At 4 seasons it is a great watch. Lauren Graham's character in this show reminded me a little of Lorelai Gilmore… All the actors, including the youngsters did a fabulous job on this show. A must watch! This brings me to...

3. Friday Night Lights - I was introduced to show runner Jason Katims with this show. This series set in Dillon, TX, is a show around and about a high-school football team and anyone who knows me knows that I don't even really fully understand the rules of football. I watched it not knowing that I would be completely sucked into the lives of Coach and Tami Taylor (one of the best marriages on TV), the football players and the residents of this small little town. "Clear eyes Full hearts can't lose". It's 5 seasons long and ran on NBC. A gem of a show.

4. The Killing - If you like murder mysteries and suspenseful shows this is the show for you. It follows 2 detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder as they work on solving the disappearance of a young girl. This is not your average Law and Order SVU (which I happen to like by the way) show which works at the breakneck speed of one mystery per episode. This show stays true to the slow plodding nature of detective work (which I can only presume since I am not a detective myself) and the first 2 shows are dedicated to solving this one mystery. I thought it wise to reveal that here so those of you who do end up watching this don't want to kill me when the mystery is not solved at the end of Season 1. You will not be disappointed by the show - some history: It was cancelled after season 3 and Netflix rescued the show and created a season 4 with only 6 episodes to give it the ending it deserved and provided much-needed closure to the fans.

5. The Mysteries of Laura - Debra Messing leads this NBC show's ensemble cast as Police Detective Laura Diamond who solves murder cases while also juggling single parenthood to 2 young boys. Her life gets complicated when her ex-husband Jake, played by the dishy Josh Lucas, is assigned as her boss. It's a fun watch. Initially I watched it for Debra Messing but soon was immersed in binge-watching this show. It's 2 seasons old and I just found out that it will not be returning for Season 3. I need to take a moment to rant about television networks not really giving new shows a chance in general… given the garbage we have on TV, why cancel a well made show? What I liked was that with each murder mystery, the show also gradually threw light on the detectives' personal lives and gave us some interesting background stories. A light breezy watch.

Some other shows I enjoyed binging on are Emily Owens (MD) (only 1 season long but a cute little nugget of a show starring Meryl Streep's daughter Mamie Gummer), White Collar (Matt Bomer is so beautiful to look at and I enjoyed the chemistry and bromance between our 2 male leads), The Glades (loved the show but hated the ending - really really really hated it but the show itself overall was good), Making a Murderer (it will shake your faith in the legal system but is a compelling watch), Stranger Things (loved this show - ode to the 80s and it brought back Winona Ryder - it's truly the kids who steal the show though). There are other shows like Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock that I did not binge watch since I watched them on TV as they were airing real time but I think those would be binge-watch worthy. Sadly, Friends did not stand the test of time. When I re-watched season 1 I was not really amused and wondered what I saw in it - but make no mistake, I was devoted the first time around :) since this was pre-DVR days, I would decline Thursday evening invites from friends because I had this show to watch!

Hope this list helps the next time you are wondering what show to binge on.

Permanent Roommates or The Odd Couple?

Hola Amigos! My blog awoke from deep slumber because of a delightful little Indian web series called Permanent Roommates. Those who know me well know that there isn’t a good TV show or movie that I can pass up… never mind how busy I am and often to the detriment of my sleep (hello Korean drama shows - but that is a whole other post).

In Permanent Roommates, Sumeet Vaidya and Nidhi Singh play Mikesh and Tanya, a couple in a long distance relationship. What happens when one half of the duo does not want a long distance relationship anymore and is ready to take it to the next level but the other half is not convinced that they want this relationship at all… The hi-jinks that ensue when Mikesh proposes marriage to Tanya make up for much of Season 1. It’s a breezy watch at 5 episodes. There were many times where I laughed out loud at some of the dialogues and crazy circumstances that the young couple found themselves in.

Sumeet Vaidya brings a lot of heart to Mikesh and you cannot help but fall in love with him. He is unequivocally adoring of Tanya - no matter what she does - which makes it a little hard for me to believe that she wouldn’t want to be with him. On the surface Tanya seems very detached but when push comes to shove she roots for their relationship too. I enjoy that the peripheral characters are also not stereotypical and pretty decently fleshed out for a web series. At the end of the day it is a sincere, heart-warming story about our main couple with a healthy dose of humor and ridiculous situations with well-etched out character roles. Permanent Roommates is created by Biswapati Sarkar and The Viral Fever (TVF).

Bottomline - an enjoyable watch - definitely much better than some of the big budget movies that make it on screen these days. You can catch it here on youtube. Enjoy!

Agneepath Redux

I must be the only person of my generation that has not watched the original Agneepath starring Amitabh Bachchan. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with this new version of the movie directed by Karan Malhotra and produced by Karan Johar, because it kept me engrossed despite belonging to the gory "action" genre.

Hrithik Roshan plays Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, son of teacher Deenanath Chauhan from the small town of Mandwa. Sanjay Dutt plays Kancha Cheena who frames Vijay's father (since the teacher was the only one who stood between Kancha and his plans to take over the village of Mandwa) and gets him falsely accused of rape and hangs him in front of the entire village and Vijay. Vijay and his pregnant mother (played by Zarina Wahab) leave Mandwa to come to Mumbai and Vijay has his first brush with the Mumbai underworld. He curries favour with Lala and joins his gang much to the dismay of his mother. Every move Vijay makes brings him closer to Kancha and avenging his father's murder.

First, I am completely blown away by Hrithik Roshan's performance (although he does look old in this movie). After a long long time, for the duration of the movie, I actually forgot that this is Hrithik Roshan the superstar. He is completely convincing as the angry young man, wronged by the system and driven by the sole aim of avenging his father. I thought the director Karan Malhotra did a great job (yes yes - I am going to watch the original one soon - its top on my must-watch list). Priyanka Chopra did not have much to do as Kaali, Vijay's love interest in the film - they did have a few cute scenes together. I thought all the supporting actors played their roles well. Zarina Wahab looks pretty good for her age. Rishi Kapoor was fabulous in his role. If I have one complaint with the movie, its basically that I don't understand why Kancha asks Vijay to kill Gaitonde when he could do it himself considering the vast army of henchmen at his command. And, in the interest of full disclosure, the movie did drag a bit in the middle. I enjoyed a well-made Hindi movie after a long time. I wish filmmakers paid more attention to their scripts. Good script + good acting = Good movie

All in all, it was good Friday entertainment - am glad hubby persuaded me to watch this flick. And more importantly, our little chotu, very kindly, slept soundly and allowed us to watch the movie with no interruptions.

Summer TV

"Suits" - Watch it if you like witty dialogues, handsome leading men and legal drama. Summer is here and with it some kick-ass USA and TNT shows (what can I say - I like me my summer TV). Some of my go-to summer shows are The Closer, So You Think You Can Dance, Rizzoli and Isles, Royal Pains, and the list goes on... This post however is about "Suits". Thursdays 7 PM on USA.

Gabriel Macht plays Harvey Specter, hotshot lawyer at a big law firm who hires Mike Ross (played by Patrick J. Adams), a young "lawyer" with an amazing memory - I say "lawyer" because he passed the Bar without attending law school. The firm has a policy of only hiring Harvard alumni so Harvey and Mike start a facade that Mike went to Harvard. Together they tackle cases big and small and in the process, forge a mentor-mentee relationship.

Pros: The 2 leads and their crackling chemistry, a good supporting cast with Gina Torres and Rick Hoffman and the sassy dialogues with an undercurrent of humour.
Cons: Lack of strong women characters - the managing partner is a woman but she is in a supporting role (but that can change) and slightly far fetched plot-lines (the whole faking he is from Harvard makes for an interesting storyline but in this day and age when information is at your fingertips it's almost impossible to fake your education to a big firm that can do a background check within a matter of days) but then again this is TV.

All in all though, if you find yourselves free on Thursday nights I recommend this.

BBB

Watched a good Hindi movie after a long time - of course with the new baby on board, forget watching the whole movie in one go but I did manage to watch the whole thing with a few interruptions... The movie in question was Band Baaja Barat - a Yash Raj movie that I didn't hear as much about compared to other films from the same banner since it lacked the fanfare that typically comes before a Yash Raj movie premiere.

I wasn't sure if I would like the film but I must say that I enjoyed myself thoroughly. The movie stars Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh as Shruti Kakkar and Bittu respectively. Shruti is a non-nonsense Delhi chick, a go-getter with a vision and ambition to start her own business, "Shaadi Mubarak", as a wedding planner. Bittu on the other hand, to put it mildly, is looking for his calling. Not doing very well at college, his dad wants to yank his derriere back to his hometown and have him join the family business. While crashing a Delhi wedding for good food, Bittu runs into Shruti who is the assistant to the wedding planner and he is quite smitten with her. He makes a DVD of her singing and dancing at the wedding and tries to "patao" her. Unfortunately for him, she sees through him right away and calls him out on his antics. They end up becoming friends anyway and later on start the wedding planning business together but not before she has made it amply clear that she does not believe in mixing love and business. Will "Shaadi Mubarak" succeed? Or will their professional relationship get in the way of love? Will Bittu and Shruti have their own "Happy Wedding" (shaadi mubarak)?

I loved Anushka Sharma in this movie - as an actress, she is far superior to her contemporaries like Sonam, Deepika and Katrina - I am stumped as to why she has not done better than them in terms of box office success. She believes in the role and the character so her audience does too. You completely buy her act as the smart and sassy Shruti Kakkar. Ranveer Singh does a great job as Bittu. He lacks the "hero" good looks but is a decent actor. The supporting cast is pretty adequate. I like the relationship portrayed between Shruti and her mother - they didn't spend too much time on that plot-line but did a good job with what little they did. So in a nutshell, if you are looking for a Bollywood movie that is entertaining and worth your time, Band Baaja Barat is it. Enjoy!!

Mr. Darcy and the Single Man

So I'm a little late catching up on my 2009 nominated Oscar movies and roles but better late than ever. This lazy afternoon (we have the week off from work so it's awesome to be a couch potato in this cold weather) I received my Netflix movie and it was "A Single Man" directed by debutant director Tom Ford. Now I have to be truthful and say that the main reason I watched this movie is for Colin Firth who in my mind will forever be THE Mr. Darcy (no matter how many men have played and will continue to play this character). I was also curious about the movie because it seemed so far from the genres that I usually watch. This was an out and out "art film" - an "art film" is a term we use in India to describe a movie that is not meant for the masses. The pace was super slow but I don't see how it could have been any faster but all said and done I liked the movie - hated the ending...

**Spoilers ahead** Colin Firth plays George, a university professor, who has recently lost his partner of 16 years Jim. The entire movie takes place on 1 single day - Nov 30, 1962. George wakes up with a start after dreaming about his dead partner's body. George lets the viewers know that he is considering suicide because he cannot endure life after losing Jim. He chats with his friend Charlie played by Julianne Moore, fellow English ex-pat and tells her that he will meet her in the evening. He then goes to his class as usual and ends up chatting with one of his students Kenny who seems to be very interested in George and seems to want something beyond a regular student-teacher relationship. During the course of a day he also meets a young male prostitute Carlos who is surprised to be treated so kindly by a stranger. George then heads to Charlie's house where we see that Charlie wants to have something more than a platonic relationship with George. He leaves her place angry. He runs into Kenny again and the 2 go swimming together - we then see that Kenny is sleeping in George's house in a different bedroom and George sees that Kenny is sleeping with the same gun that he wants to use to kill himself. George then sees that suicide is not his way out and decides that life is worth living after all and tears up the suicide notes he had left behind. And then ironically he dies from a fatal heart attack.

Colin Firth was amazing. His acting was subtle and his grief palpable. He transforms himself from the young dashing Mr. Darcy to the older, proper University Professor with ease. Julianne Moore is awesome but then she always is - I just couldn't stomach the accent from her though... but that's just because I know what she really sounds like in other movies. Tom Ford I thought, did an absolutely wonderful job - from fashion designer to director - the transition appears super smooth.

So to sum it up, this movie is not for everyone - watch only if you can be patient and allow it to slowly unravel.