Jana Gana Mana

Jana Gana Mana (2022)

Directed by: Dijo Jose Antony

Starring: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Suraj Venjaramoodu

Streaming on Netflix. Spoilers ahead.

It's a brilliant film. Malayalam cinema nails the idea of subversion. In the first half, it presents ACP Sajjan (read Sajjanar) as this hero who takes the law into his hands. In a land where the law isn’t doing its job and when the hero takes it into his hands and does – it works wonders from a dramatic standpoint. And they present him as the hero with absolute conviction. The film gives him a proper mass moment and makes us believe that he's the hero. And then the second half happens, where they introduce Aravind Swamithanan (Prithviraj). He initially plays this opposing lawyer, just like Amitabh Bachchan in Pink where you keep wondering what’s happening, and your sense of character is questioned. A star is cast in this part and he’s supposed to be the good guy, but why is he being the bad guy? This mystery works really well in this film too and by the ending, he becomes the hero and Sajjan the villain. I remember feeling the same when I watched Kapella too – with the mindbending subversion in the film. 

One of the reason the subversion works very well is the film presents every scene with absolute conviction. When we think Saba was raped and murdered, the drama caters to that emotion. When the students protest Saba’s incident not finding justice, the revolution – which by the end of the film seems pointless – but at the moment, they present it with complete conviction. I should mention that the background score in the film is terrific and it added to how all these scenes were presented with that conviction. Even the ending was mind blowing, with the way the film was being presented, I could’ve never imagined it to have scope for a sequel and I love how the film keeps unfolding layer by layer and becomes so big that what we’d have imagined it to be.

Pineapple Express

Pineapple Express (2008)

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco

Screenplay by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg 

It’s a stoner comedy. The film has a very simple yet interesting premise. A marijuana dealer and his client sit and smoke a rare strain of weed, Pineapple Express. Later, the client accidentally witnesses a murder and before fleeing the scene, throws his roach down there – which eventually makes the guy trace back to the dealer because he’s the only one who sells Pineapple Express. What follows is the dealer and the client fleeing the gang who committed the murder. It’s a very interesting bromance between the dealer and the client. It starts off with the dealer saying that he doesn’t have friends and people just take weed from him and go away, to which the client says that he thinks that he’s fun. The stoned conversations are written very well – especially the way conversations go from one topic to a completely unrelated topic through a thin tangent. 

My favorite sequence in the film was the client’s girlfriend’s episode – the way they go to her house and tell their family that they have to leave the house and run away from there and the fiasco that happens there. The tone of the film is mostly created through the aspect of how things quickly escalate, and that’s where they draw the absurdity from. It could’ve been solved in a very simple manner, but because of the esoteric nature of the characters and their choices – things escalate and there’s a lot of chaos and action that happens. This tone, the setting and the characters – all of them are perfect for an action comedy. I like the homage they gave to Tarantino – with the ear being cut off and the ending scene being staged at a restaurant which looked very similar to the one in Pulp Fiction – I don’t know if this was intentional or if it’s just me.

Wonder (2017)

Wonder (2017)

Directed by: Stephen Chbosky

Based on a book of the same name

Streaming on Netflix. 

This film has a gut-wrenching premise, it’s about a boy with a condition which makes him look different. As a result, he’s bullied by everyone, and sometimes, people are even scared of him. It’s a similar condition of a woman who has been through acid attack. The film has a very heart-warming tone, and just 10 minutes into the film, the film chokes you with emotion – where Auggie breaks down in front of his mother and asks her, why am I ugly? It’s heart-breaking. The most interesting part about the film is how it takes the premise of the film, and explores other subplots within the same umbrella of the conflict. Auggie’s sister, Via – she feels neglected because all the attention at home goes to Auggie – and rightfully so. She understands that, but she can’t help but have her own moments of wanting a little more attention and love than what she gets right now. It’s interesting how they explore her side too, because usually in films with this strong a premise – they just stick to it and not explore other facets of the story too. 

I like the style of the film, the way the voice over is done, and the kind of music that’s used. It almost feels like a fairy tale, but with gut wrenching reality. This film is written with a lot of empathy for all the characters involved, even the bullies at school. His best friend Jack fucks up once when he thinks Auggie isn’t around, and that shatters Auggie. But they don’t villainise Jack because of this one fuck up, it happens and later Auggie too forgives him. Even the other bully. That’s what I like about this film, it has a lot of empathy and it inspires us to be more empathetic towards others and ourselves.

Life Itself

Life Itself (2018)

Written and Directed by: Dan Fogelman

Being an admirer of Dan Fogelman, the creator of This is Us and the writer of Crazy, Stupid, Love, I had huge expectations from this film. This film worked for me for the 1st 40-45 minutes, till the point where we see the first two chapters. There on, it felt like there was too much to take in a film. The first chapter was terrific, it would work even as a short. It is classic Dan Fogelman, characters being madly in love, and then facing some trouble and coming to terms with their feelings. I loved the way he talks to the therapist, the contrast between who he was and who he became because he lost the love of his life. And I liked the idea of how this one event impacted a lot of lives, by the way they explore each of their backstories - it's an innovative narrative style. But I just felt like they overdid the idea - to a point where the style overtook the substance, and this is usually unlikely for the work of Dan Fogelman, because his work is usually very high on feelings and emotions. It almost felt like an anthology, but without any underlying theme. 

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the opening bit. Even though it was just for a short while, it had a lot of depth. He explored a whole lifetime in about less than an hour, by making vignettes of the defining moments of their lives - how they met, how they hit it off, how he asks her out. One of my favorite lines in this film is what he says when his girlfriend asks him about when he's going to ask her out - for me, that one response of him made watching the whole film worth it. He says, I'm waiting for the right moment, because that's going to be the most important of my life, everything is going to change after that, I'm just waiting for the right moment. Classic Dan Fogelman stuff.

Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians

Directed by: Jon M. Chu 

Based on a novel by the same name. 

Streaming on Netflix. 

It’s a simple premise, an age-old story, about how a couple has to convince either one or both of their families to get married. But it’s very well written and executed, with quite some layers and nuance. They take quite some time to establish the whole setting and the world, but it works because they do it with comedy, and a lot of visual grandeur. So it’s fun to watch. The conflict of the individual vs community, between Asia and America is always interesting to explore. It’s done beautifully in The Farewell (2019) as well. I loved how Eleanor says that Rachel is American, and all Americans care about is their own happiness – and after that Rachel says that she said no to Nick, because she didn’t want to be the reason he is separated from his family. She becomes exactly what Eleanor was saying she can’t be – someone who’s ready to sacrifice their own happiness. And she gracefully walks away. Although I wish I could see more of the turmoil and angst Rachel would go through while making such a choice. It felt like an effortless choice, but I’m sure she herself has to evolve to a place to be able to make that choice. 

I loved the subplot of Astrid and Michael too – because this conflict is a nice branch within the tree of the setting of a crazy rich family. About how people don’t seem enough. Michael never feels enough. And he feels that Astrid is indifferent to him, and in a desperate moment of trying to not be a person whose actions don’t matter, he cheats on her. Time and again it’s proven that, lack of communication and pent up resentment is the main reason for relationships to break apart. When they get to a point where there’s no recovery. Though this story has been told so many times, I don’t remember watching the effect extreme wealth has on its own people and their relationships so well.

Varathan

Varathan (2018)

Directed by: Amal Neerad

Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Aishwarya Lekshmi

Streaming on Disney+Hotstar. 

Loosely based on ‘Straw Dogs’, it’s a very nice survival drama. I like how the film slowly builds up the tension gradually over time. First, they face men ogling when they enter the village. Then Priya sees a man standing outside the window at night. Then, in the bathroom. Then, when they sing a song towards her. The interesting part is about how even the bad guys are written with nuance. They are not outright bad guys right from the beginning. We eventually realize what they are capable of, which Priya had a hunch of all along. I absolutely loved the shot where Priya takes a shower with her clothes on and cries. That one shot, defined the whole film for me – about how suffocating it feels to have to constantly look around for safety, even in your own house. Aishwarya was terrific in that scene. And then the conflict between the couple – about how she essentially tells him to man up. About how she’d have felt safe if her dad was alive. At that point, Abin breaks down because he feels emasculated. That’s his breaking point. 

I loved where the film goes in the last 25 mins – it’s essentially a fight for survival. But I felt that, Abin attacking them with a knife, felt like a bit of a jump for his character. Although, without that we’d not have them attack all into the house. But for that, I felt that something like him jamming the door onto someone’s fingers could also have been a good option – without Abin breaking character but also instigating violence. But post that, I liked how the action was shot and I liked how he fights. By the ending, I like how he stamps the insect, indicating that he won’t let anything enter the space. But the way Priya smiles at Abin in the ending, after he puts up the whole fight had me thinking about something – what if a man can’t physically fight for his woman? This way, the film raises interesting questions about masculinity, love and survival.

Ante Sundaraniki

Written and Directed by: Vivek Athreya

Starring: Nani, Nazriya, Rohini, Naresh, Harsha Vardhan.

This is one of the most emotionally compelling experiences I’ve had in a long long time. This film has one of the best writing I’ve seen in mainstream Indian cinema. Firstly, the film is beautifully rooted in our culture. The very premise of two people going to lengths to convince their families so that they can get married, is very Indian. There is an element of community in this. In an individualistic world, this premise would just be non-existent. I love how both Sundar and Leela were introduced. It starts off as a very personal, coming-of-age story of two characters, because we see them at their deepest vulnerabilities. And then the film evolves from there into something larger. Sundar having his taste of first heartbreak very young in life, fears being the butt of every joke. Leela fears being the one who is never seen or appreciated. And they both find acceptance in each other. That’s why the romance, though not so romantic, it feels very personal. 

Every subplot somehow beautifully fits in the whole story. There is not one scene that you can take off, and have the film stay as organic. I loved the angle of how if you lie about something enough, you basically wait until it becomes the truth. This angle hit me so hard, and it added beautiful depth to the story. The comedy works wonders, and there are so many hilarious moments in the film. Every actor was terrific in the film. One beautiful aspect about the film is that it never judges the characters – it accepts them for who they are and still manages to give them arcs. And that’s beauty and compassion right there.

Vikram (2022)

Written and Directed by: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Starring: Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil

Spoilers Ahead. 

I’m usually not a fan of action, I need something more than just action (pun not intended). This film has enough story and emotional graph to carry the action, and the action just puts the film on another level. Just like Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Kaithi, and Maanagaram, the entire film feels like a big stretch of an action film. And there are good dramatic moments sprinkled. I loved the interval bang, it was a crazy setup for about 10-15 minutes and it all builds up to a banger of a scene. There were definitely some moments where the film relaxes on the pace, but I feel like that’s needed for the film to shine in those moments where it really really takes off. 

I had this discussion with a filmmaker, about how you can’t explain every villain character’s backstory and their origin to be able to write an action film like this. Vijay Sethupathi’s character – we don’t know why he is. But it’s okay. He’s just a bad guy. In this film, he’s an outright menacing psychopathic guy. Sure, they add some layers to him by showing what’s happening in his personal life and stuff, but to create a cinematic universe, you can’t get hung up on trying to explain every character’s emotional graph. I really liked how he merged both the films, and everything builds up to the ending. Suriya’s cameo was mad. The whole ending with all the intercuts and Kamal being in the US, gave me the Dark Knight Rises ending vibes. Really looking forward to see what he does with this universe he’s building.

Major (2022)

Directed by: Sashi Kiran Tikka

Written and Performed by: Adivi Sesh

Spoilers Ahead. 

A life story like this could be told in so many different ways. Major tells it in a conventional way by starting from his childhood – we see how Major was as a kid, how the germ of wanting to be a soldier got into his head, we see his family, his girlfriend and though all of this seems a little dry, it works because that’s how his life was. It was mundane and simple like all of our lives, and suddenly one day something happened, and everything changed. From the moment, the film takes off into the attacks, the film races. I loved the way the action was shot and edited. My favourite fight was the one on one combat with the terrorist in the red T-shirt. I really like the visual grammar of this film and Goodachari too – there are some similarities – we don’t see a lot of wides, it’s mostly shot in closes and tights with the camera constantly moving – even the drama scenes are shot like this. This technique subconsciously makes us feel that the film is racing.

In an otherwise linear narrative, the divorce angle being explored in the middle of high octane action was a brave choice and it really worked for me. Because that was a low point for him in the attacks – he gets injured and has to take a step back, and it’s a low point for him in his life too – he’s not able to be there for the love of his life when she needs him the most. The divorce angle was one thing that made the whole film more than just the attacks, because the love angle and the family is sort of there in everyone’s life. This low point in the second half, sort of encapsulated what it means to be a soldier for me.