You Hurt My Feelings

 You Hurt My Feelings

Written, Directed and Produced by: Nicole Holofcener
Distributed by A24.
Premiered at Sundance. 

You Hurt My Feelings, is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. Though slightly niche, the premise itself had me laughing. It's about a novelist's long-standing marriage that suddenly turns upside down when she overhears her husband give his honest reaction to her latest book. It’s a simple setup, almost silly—you laugh from a distance, but up close? It’s a knife, cutting into the trust we build our lives on. This film isn’t about the big lies; it’s about the small ones, the ones we tell to keep love soft. The “you’re fine just as you are” kind of honesty, not the “you’ve let yourself go” kind. It wanders between how hard it is to speak those truths and why we need them. There’s a subplot, too, where Beth tells her son he’s wonderful, that Western trick of radical acceptance. He hates it, calls it hollow, and you feel it—the way constant praise can leave you alone with your flaws. The problem with this sort of radical acceptance is that as a community we wouldn't want to even acknowledge them as flaws, leaving people to deal with it by themselves - creating a society of isolated individuals.

The best part about the film is, it comes from a place of having moved past such experiences and hence it takes a lighter note. If the director writes this from a place of deep hurt and betrayal, the film would've been entirely different and it wouldn't let the audience see what it's saying. Films like this show us how comedy can be the chocolate sauce to the broccoli which is the truth. It's a simple film, with a unique idea written and executed beautifully. I laughed out loud, more than once, and walked away hoping we all find someone brave enough to tell us the truth, even when it stings.

50 First Dates (2004)

 50 First Dates

Directed by: Peter Segal
Written by: George Wing
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore
Streaming on Netflix. 

Rom-coms with a unique hook, are always fun to watch. 50 First Dates, Love Today, About Time, etc. They're relatively easy to crack also. The premise of the film is fun, clear and to the point. This film comes from a time when comedy was relatively unfiltered and not too politically correct. Weirdly, that made me feel slightly nostalgic. I liked what the film does with the premise, but I don't think the film aged that well - especially because I don't think the film entirely explores the spectrum of relationships/humor that could've been explored with the premise. Having seen so many rom-coms by now, the beat of the girl wanting him to move on, to have a better life - though it works, and is perhaps the only right beat at that point - it didn't blow my mind or move me so much. Adding to this, although the cinematography of the film is not warm, it entirely doesn't have "feel good" vibes, but the setting of the film makes it a very cool, summer film. The beach, the shack, their professions - that made me feel like I was watching something different. This film re-iterated the importance of setting for a story, a scene and a beat. 

It's Complicated

 It's Complicated

Written and Dirceted by: Nancy Meyers
Starring: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alex Baldwin
Streaming on: JioHotstar.

Watching Nancy Meyers’ films feel like cozying up into a warm blanket on a rainy day, with a cup of hot chocolate in your hand. The Holiday, The Intern—they’re warm, cozy and heartwarming. It’s Complicated, with its tangle of messy relationships, should’ve made me squirm. Infidelity, exes, all that chaos usually puts me on the edge. But Nancy Meyers? She’s got this way of telling stories that makes all the chaos and mess feel human. After wondering what was actually the difference could be, the realization finally hit. It's about the gaze. Nancy Meyers avoids the male gaze of messy relationships in this film. She's not interested in a man's sexual jealousy about his partner being with someone else. She's interested in a woman's grief when she sees her ex-husband build a life with someone else and worse, laugh with someone else and be happy with the ache of time passing by without her. 

Having known that this film is loosely inspired from Nancy's own experiences of divorce, I could tell that this is a very honest film. Not just that, the writing is so good that I could follow every chain of thought in Jane's head and get why she's doing what she's doing. Steve Martin as Adam, had my heart throughout the whole film - the sheer simplicity and how much of a gentleman he is, was so endearing to see. Since this film explores the complexities of a divorce after kids, perhaps I missed how much that guilt weighs on you, but even without fully feeling that layer, there was so much complexity and layers to the relationships - and never making things actually feel too messy/uncomfortable (like a Match Point/Gehraayian). I loved the experience of watching this film, and I hope and pray Nancy Meyers directs more - because even the most messiest of lives turn out just okay if those stories are being told by her.

Anora

Anora

Written and Directed by: Sean Baker
Starring: Mikey Madison
Won the Oscar for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay & Editing.
Spoilers Ahead. 

When you Google the film, it says it's a Romance/Comedy. While as I watched the film, it felt more like a Crime Comedy. Nevertheless, I found the film to be very original and engaging. The best part about the film is how the plot unfolds, layer by layer. You can sort of see how things could go really wrong for Anora, and you can also see how she is probably deep down aware of it and is yet signing up for things, perhaps because she wants to take her shot. Even how the film is edited, shows how there's zero chemistry between Ivan and Ani. Ivan doesn't care. It's very obvious, almost to a cartoonish point. As the family finds out and Toros comes home, there's an extended sequence at home where they tie up Ani - which even though was funny, felt a bit stretched. After that, the whole search was very funny and engaging. Even when they finally find Ivan. The film really uses the extreme differences between all the characters to create humor, tension and drama. Ani, even though probably deep down knows that Ivan doesn't love her, wants to stand up for herself. Toros and Igor are loyal, dutiful men. Ivan is out of his fucking mind. Putting all these characters together, with different motives is a brilliant way of creating chaos and comedy.

I like how the film is a brutal depiction of the divide between the haves and have-nots. Ivan is on a bender, blind to Ani's heart, while she fights for her place even though she deep down might know it's a lost cause. Ivan, he wants what he wants. Once the family comes into the picture, this is even more clear. Even though Anora doesn't get what she wants, seeing her stand up for herself in front of Ivan's family was very satisfying. The conversation between Ivan and his family was hilarious! I didn't see the Igor track coming. Though the ending was beautiful and heartbreaking, I wonder if this thematic ending suddenly came into the picture out of nowhere. Of course, the film is about a sex worker and it'd explore the repressed/masked feelings, but for the tone the film takes throughout the film, I did not see the ending coming. So I have mixed feelings about the ending. Overall, I really enjoyed watching the film and absolutely loved how original the film is!

Why blog when you have a screenplay to finish?

Why blog when you have a screenplay to finish? An average screenplay takes anywhere between a few months to a year or more to write. Unlike literature, with the challenge of the economy of words, a screenwriter has to end up spending a lot of time deciding what to remove. When you're writing a feature film for the theatres, the screenplay can't be rambling about a hundred things. It has to be, at least to an extent, focused around a central thematic idea or stick to a genre. By nature, my screenplays come from a very personal space. To redirect material which come from a personal space, into a particular genre and a theme is the fun and challenge of writing screenplays. I love doing it, because it makes me rethink and reimagine a lot of things from my life. Although, the con to writing a focused screenplay is that a lot of 'you' gets edited out. Hence, a screenplay could express a part of you in a hyper-focused way. A part of you that can be imagined visually, that could fit into a certain genre and tone. The other ultra-nuanced, inner monologues and battles mostly get edited out. When you end up spending a year or more trying to express a part of you, the other part of you goes unheard and unseen and feels like you're being a partial parent. This blog is to try addressing some of the other parts.

Ah, romantic relationships - I see them as a way of experiencing the rollercoaster of highs and lows of life in a very short time. If one of the joys of relationships is to feel loved by the person who you love the most, one of the challenges is to occasionally feel hated by that one person who you'd kill for and die for. Romantic relationships are more complex and nuanced than parent-child relationships, which are straightforward and simple. Not that parenting is easier, but it's more straightforward with one person mostly giving care and the other receiving. An adult romantic relationship is a balance of giving and receiving care. Most relationships get ruined where both partners get lost in trying to figure out who's giving more and who's receiving more. To make things worse, in times where conflicts go unresolved for long, the truth is that both partners are giving more than what they're receiving. A lot of therapy pages and forums say that communication is key. Proper communication is probably the best solution for any conflict and yet it's the most hardest thing to do. Words, tone, pauses, innuendo, subtext, your mind has to process all of these and make a choice, even when you're triggered. 

Being good with words is indeed a privilege, one that I'll always keep striving for. When you can express well with words, your feelings and your pain is seen. Your nuanced, metaphorical exploration of your troubled childhood is not an exercise of wallowing in self-pity. However, what about all the other people who can't express that well? All we can do is to try and express or perhaps find an artist whose pain resonates with ours and find some sense of belonging in that artist. A close friend asked me to promise that I'd always try to spread love and happiness in the world. Yet, the visible stories of pain belong to those with a voice. What about the voiceless? To fulfil that promise, I think more than my skill to write what would matter more, is my skill to read. Reading a person, even when they can't articulate much. Reading a person without jumping to judgements or attaching labels to every single trait of theirs. Reading them and just letting them be. Now, whenever I watch a film with a tragic story - I obviously feel for the characters and then I feel for how things are far worse for the voiceless and I seek solace in the fact that my life is perhaps not the hardest.

Broke, lonely, depressed - this is the universal crossroads where most of us find ourselves at, at one point or the other. It could not even be true, but that's how everything around us is wired to make us feel. Now, how we rebuild ourselves from there is the battle of modern life. It's very interesting how after generations of technological development, we are working more hours than our earlier generations and living more stressful lives. People say, it's for survival. Although I think 'survival' is the most loosely used term in modern day. Survival is being safe, sound and having a meal or two everyday. Survival is not being on the top of the social ladder. Survival is not 'being able to afford international trips'. Well, there's nothing wrong about being driven and ambitious, and I respect anyone who is. But living like you don't matter or exist till you reach a certain milestone is terribly sad. You matter. I matter. We all matter. And if there's one sentence where both the statement and the opposites are true - it's that all of us matter and that nobody matters.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side-A)

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side A)

Directed by: Hemanth Rao
Starring; Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth

Music: Charan Raj

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what makes a good theatrical experience for me. For me, it is not the scale of the film, it's not if the film has stars in it or not, it's not even the genre... it is simply the level of immersive experience the film offers. Some films suck you right in, make you forget your day otherwise and some films just play on the screen and you watch them from a distance. The difference, the level of immersive experience the films offer. Sapta Sagaradaache Ello is a beautiful theatrical experience. It's immersive right from the get go. I loved how the film was shot, written, performed by the actors, the music used... everything. The film has an external conflict per se, but it's made in a way that we feel like we are in their minds. Films like this, which offer an extreme emotional experience can be a beautiful outlet for cathartic experiences. Someone's going through long distance and is feeling painful? They can watch the film and let it all out by crying for Manu and Priya, and in a way cry for their Manu or Priya too. I see this film as an epic saga. And every bit of the film worked for me, except for one thing. 

Spoilers Alert. I was having second thoughts right when Manu makes that choice. I could see that it's a bad idea. It was so obvious. And because of that, I had my sympathy take over my empathy for Manu. I was watching him slightly from a distance. Whereas, if they had established that Manu and the businessman (whose son did the accident) had a good relationship and that he would never ditch Manu - maybe the choice would've felt more reasonable and then the businessman dies anyway. Apart from this, I loved every single bit of the film. The climax is a beautiful cinematic experience. It was both emotionally and physically violent. It was the lowest point the film was going to hit... and the experience of the whole ending was very chilling. I'm very curious about Side-B, although it seems like there's going to a total genre shift. Films like this will revive cinema. 

Boys Hostel (2023)

Boys Hostel (2023)

Written and Directed by: Nithin Krishnamurthy
Spoilers Ahead.

Having missed the original version, I was a tad bit bummed at myself. But after watching the dubbed version - I'd go as far as saying that Boys Hostel is not a dubbed version of the original - it's an adaptation. This is not only because of them reshooting the cameos of Rashmi Gautam and Tharun Bhascker, but because of the dialogues written by the team of Chai Bisket. It's filled with pop-culture references, memes and different accents of Telugu as well. Now, about the film - the opening 15-min stretch just goes bonkers - with the fast cuts, swish pans, the camera moves and the transitions - you know that you're in the hands of a filmmaker whose sense of craft is solid. The film takes a turn from there and now we see dirty rooms, messy teenagers shot by a handheld camera. If not for the opening stretch, this could have put us off. But because of the opening stretch, you know that the filmmakers are capable of shooting something cool and cinematic, but they're just choosing not to. Here on, I loved the premise, I loved the structure of the narrative with scope for so many gags in between. Some of my favourites being - the gang who smokes up, Xavier and yes almost every scene is funny. I like the turns that the film takes. 

Although, I felt some fatigue in the 2nd half. Especially because the narrative style is so pulsating and fast that there's a lot of information to process. There's a lot of chaos to witness. The cut backs to the editor, his commentary, the meta touch was good. But all of these were adding extra information to the narrative, which at beginning felt novel and interesting - but after a point - it felt like it was being overdone. I felt like the film had to slow down for a bit, at least in moments, so that we'd be ready for the chaos again. Some moments made me tear up, one moment being the warden overhearing a student saying something, and him going back to lie on the carrom board. And even the ending was beautifully done. I just wish some bits in the 2nd half weren't there. But all in all, absolutely beautiful film. There's verbal, visual, slapstick, deadpan - all sorts of comedy in the film and everything lands. I absolutely enjoyed the film.

The Last of Us (2023- )

The Last of Us (Season-1)

Created by: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann
Based on the video game of the same name.

Having been a fan of Craig Mazin from his Scriptnotes podcast & Chernobyl - I was always curious about this show. Late to the party, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The show is structured in a way that it can be an anthology whenever it wants, it can explore subplots and the main plot too whenever it wants. It's mostly because the world building is so solid, that any part of the world seems gripping. My favourite episode is Ep. 3 (Bill & Frank's epic love story). That single story has an epic nature to it, and this story being just a part of the world makes the world too epic. Looking at the posters, and having no clue about the game - I thought it's the story of a father and daughter - navigating through a post apocalyptic world. But the story is better - it's that of a man who loses his daughter and happens to be with another girl of the same age. I feel like stories like these are more compelling - stories of bonds which are not familial - but are as strong as familial bonds. It somehow makes their relationship greater. Case in point, Sivagami - Baahubali.

My only disappointment with the whole show was the last episode. It felt rushes. There was too much happening in the main plot in the last episode and him killing doctors to not operate her - felt like a dicey thing to do. They're doctors. And she could possibly save the whole world. That oddly stood out to me. But apart from this one thing, I absolutely loved the show and especially the tone it cracks - it builds terrifying tension like a thriller, it scares you like a horror, it has very strong drama and emotions too. Got transported into the world right from the first minute of the first episode. 

Jailer (2023)

Jailer (2023)

Written and Directed by: Nelson

Starring: Superstar Rajinikanth

Music: Anirudh Ravichander

Tamil films which are superstar vehicles should be a genre by themselves. You get a few banger songs before the film that you're vibing to - and then you go to the film. Every scene feels like a setup to a whistle moment. There is a sense of rush in every scene till the star arrives on screen. From then, things usually settle down. Jailer did all these very well. There are some killer Rajni moments in the film. I mainly have to talk about the music. Anirudh has single-handedly taken control of the music scene in Tamil cinema. To the point where he can deliver chartbusters in every single film he composes for. To the point where he has the capability to make a mediocre filmmaker seem like a good one.

 

But apart from those few moments, the film didn't work for me. Not the story, not the screenplay. I just enjoyed it as a Rajni fan vehicle film. The main issue was Rajni agreeing to steal a crown from a temple in return for the villain to return his son. Now, this plot point was itself weak and needs us to let it go. But after this, the film further dwells deeper in this direction - Sunil, Tamannah track was a further weaker subplot. I liked the idea of how he approaches other superstars for some manpower, and Rajni's elevations happen without much muscle power - which was refreshing. But the whole film apart from the mass moments, was so here and there - because the writing felt all over the place. But Hukum definitely redeems the sloppy writing in the film.

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023)

Directed by: Karan Johar
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt
Written by: Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan, Sumit Roy

I absolutely loved a Bollywood film after a long time! It's a classical story with very conventional beats - but done with fresh air. This film again proves that conventional stories done with fresh air always work. It's a classic Indian love story of a couple who have to get their family's approval to get married. Although this is added up with an interesting premise - both Rocky and Rani stay at each other's houses for a while. The film's biggest strength is the solid setup. They set up both families with such detail and finesse that the film creates a playground for itself - to flesh out beautiful drama. The first half gets slightly annoying at places because of it's overtly musical treatment - although it definitely felt very fresh. The opening of the film felt like Wes Anderson making a film about Indian households. Though the content of the film is very rooted and conventional - Karan Johar experiments with style and craft and he does it so well. Rocky seemed annoying as a character in the beginning, but oh boy he wins your heart. I was very concerned with the introduction of Rani's character - if the film will get into preachy, activist territories - but then I realized that they're doing this only to establish difference between the both of them.

There is a lot of heart in this film. Some of my most favorite moments in the film - Rocky joining his to-be father-in-law to learn Kathak - I had tears in my eyes, Rocky joining him in the performance and Rocky's monologue at Rani's house. Ranveer Singh's performance was so good - I vividly remember a moment - it's a very small moment but it made me fall in love with his character. When the grandpa suddenly becomes conscious and says something, and again falls unconscious, Rocky's father asks him to call an ambulance - and the force with which Rocky yells 'nurse' 'doctor' and the force with which he runs - that tells you that if Rocky loves you - he's going to do anything for you. The film beautifully talks about how everyone's busy canceling everyone instead of trying to think with some empathy. It's a much-needed film in the current climate. Classic-conventional love story done with nuanced writing.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Oppenheimer (2023)

Written for the screen and Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy

This film surprised me in so many levels - the main thing being Chris Nolan building on his voice as a filmmaker. There are so many new styles that Nolan explored in this film, which he wouldn't earlier. One was the occasional usage of montage and voice over - which is one of my favourite tools of filmmaking - and I didn't expect to see this in a Nolan's film. It's used in the introduction of Oppenheimer in his childhood and in the scene where they discuss different possibilities of explosion - there are sudden inserts of the reaction happening. Another thing was the visual portrayal of PTSD - it was masterfully done - and it reminded me of Darren Aronofsky's films (Black Swan, Requim for a Dream). Another aspect was how the film has straightforward storytelling. A complex subject like this, definitely calls for this. Even though it's not entirely straightforward, it definitely is by Nolan's standards. Because the film is a biopic and is told from the perspective of Oppenheimer - it feels intricately personal too and the anguish that he feels is beautifully captured. 

Nolan gives the story the largeness it deserves by shooting it the way he shoots any other epic film. And in spite of it being epic, it never loses its nuance. Post the film, it feels like the film didn't take a strong stand on the whole thing, but that's exactly the stand of the film. That it is extremely complex and nuanced. Proper representation of war onscreen is very important, because war in real life does not feel like an action film. It feels like a video that we can never get ourselves to watch. And though this film is the story of a man who invented the atom bomb, the film never forgets what it means in the larger scheme of things. And because of all these, I think that Oppenheimer is Nolan's most evolved work. This film is epic and intimate, geeky and emotional, inspiring and scornful. The conflict of this film is destructive, outside and within. And all of these beautifully come through the visuals, the sound and every craft involved. Oppenheimer has the tension of a Nolan film, the nuance of an Asghar Farhadi film, it captures PTSD like a Darren Aronofsky film and it uses montage like a Scorsese film - in spite of these it never doesn't feel like a Nolan film. This is a master director, evolving his own style.