Pad Man (2018) (Hindi)

Take a couple of minutes before you read the review or at least watch the movie to read the story of Arunachalam Muruganatham who is the real Pad Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachalam_Muruganantham). Heroes like these are basic fodder for film makers like R Balki who usually treads the off beat path and this time he takes up an issue that most of us city slickers will be unfamiliar with.

The penetration of Sanitary Pads in India is lower than 20% - despite the efforts of Pad Man.  Arunachalam has been at it for over a decade now and if numbers from the movie are to be believed then it was as low as 10% when our hero started his work.  A big contribution to the growth has to be credited to Arunachalam, who now has a network spread across 23 out of the 29 states in India.  WOW!!!

Laxmikant Chauhan (Akshay Kumar) is a genuinely nice person who lives somewhere in Madhya Pradesh (Central India).  He gets married to Gayatri (Radhika Apte) and makes for a perfect husband.  Balki has established the empathetic character of The Pad Man through several quick shots like Laxmi building a back seat on his cycle for his wife amongst others.  Good work there I must say.

Laxmi soon realizes the when Gayatri has her periods, she is forced to live outside the house and more importantly uses a cloth to soak up the bleeding – probably the most unhygienic way possible.  More importantly, the same cloth is washed and used again.  Unable to accept this, he first buys very expensive sanitary pads (₹55 a pack) and when that doesn’t go down well, he embarks on a project to make cheaper pads for his wife.

But as always is the case in India, anyone who tries to do some good will be pulled down by the other millions – the perfect example of Crab Syndrome.  Starting with the villagers and eventually moving onto his family, one by one, Laxmi is ostracized.  But he doesn’t give up and keeps at it.  Eventually to find success and acceptance.

Some great dialogues – as always with Balki.  When Pari (Sonam Kapoor) congratulates Laxmi on making such a cheap product he responds by saying, “सस्ता ? कई रातों की नींद, एक बीवी, एक माँ, एक गांव और ९० हज़ार का कर्ज़ा” (cheap alright.  Just cost me several nights of sleep, a wife, a mother, a village and about ₹90000 in debt).  Delivered genuinely and from the heart from Akshay.  There are a few other good ones but I will leave it to you to hear them when you watch the movie.

Stand out performance from Radhika Apte and Akshay Kumar.  Some typical Amit Trivedi music provides the right garnish over the 140 minutes.  The movie could have been tighter for certain.  Sonam Kapoor is tolerable which is more than one can say for her at most times – but I definitely would not have made her pretend to be a great tabla player.  Too many coincidences again leave you with a feeling of what could have been.

The one thing that kept nagging me through the movie and even before - and it has nothing to do with me being a South Indian - is that the story is about someone from Tamil Nadu.  Balki could have made the movie in Tamil with a Tamil Cast and maybe dubbed it in Hindi to make it work.  Would have been brave and worth commending. I get the rationale of pandering to the masses but it would have made for so much better watching if they had stuck to the regional nuances.

But the negatives kept aside, Pad Man is a good watch.  Take your kids along because they need to know.  One can only hope that the movie inspires many others to do some pathbreaking work.  More importantly, it would make the remaining 400 million women of age to take up more hygienic options.  Because remember – “Woman Strong, Mother Strong, Sister Strong – Then Country Strong”.  7 on 10.  Watch it!!!

Watch the actual trailer on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKkyqBj_rQE

Hindi Medium (2017) (Hindi)

A good cast and a good plot / storyline doesn’t necessarily make a good movie.  No other movie in recent times can come close to this adage as much as HINDI MEDIUM.  The movie has Irrfan Khan in it and therefore it must be good. Keep in mind that Irrfan also have non-movies such as Jazbaa, Thank You and Acid Factory amongst others to his credit.  He is human.  He makes mistakes.

Half Girlfriend (2017) (Hindi)

So if you haven’t seen Fitoor Mishra's CommentArré on the Half Girlfriend Trailer then believe me, the 2 minute narration by this man is definitely better than the 2+ hours of Half Girlfriend – Damn I have to stop stating the obvious.  Have a dekko at the Fitoor Mishra CommentArré first https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMLg6s68HIc.  And for those who aren’t familiar, Shuturmurg = Ostrich.

Baahubali The Conclusion (2017) (Telegu Tamil Hindi)

Bijjaladeva (Nasser) in Bhallaladeva’s (Rana Daggubati) presence, along with his cronies, rants and raves about his wife Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan).  He believes that they should kill her and pave the way for Bhallal’s coronation.  He calls Katappa (Sathyaraj) a dog (kutta).

The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017) (English)

I have never been a fan of using English as a primary language of communication in a movie that is set in a country where English is not a first language; even more so, in a period drama.  To me, that is where The Zookeeper’s falls short.  There is a dialogue in the second half that made me cringe. When Antonina Zabinski (Jessica Chastain) tells Urszula (Shira Haas), “I have always wanthed tu dhraw”.

Maatr (Hindi) (2017)

The posters and the reviews screamed out that it was Raveena’s magnum opus and no less.  I would not say that it was far from the truth but then again it was nowhere close to a power packed performance that one would have expected from a role that offered so much.  It was controlled in parts but more often than not exposed the gaps that Raveena always had in her armoury (if she had one that is).

Noor (Hindi) (2017)

A mic was thrust upon my face by a couple of rank rookies – much like Noor, in the movie – who were obviously asked to survey people who had watched the first day first show of Noor.  It was a first for me and I was caught off guard and all I could muster is, “Theek Thha”.  Eh? Your 15 seconds of fame and all you could do was say “Theek Thha”???

Bajirao Mastani (Hindi) (2015)

At the outset, let us first tip our hat or in fact give a standing ovation to a few people involved in Bajirao Mastani.  Fistly – Sriram Kannan Iyengar, Sujeet Subhash Sawant, Yantra Design Studio and Saloni Ankush Dhatrak for some breathtaking Production Design – probably the best we have seen since Mughal-e-Azam!!!

Dilwale (Hindi) (2015)

Ever get a feeling that you tried to do something differently but could not change who you stand for and ultimately landed up making a big hash of everything? If the answer is yes, then Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale will give you that sense of déjà vu.  It would have definitely given Shetty that feeling.

Tamasha (2015) (Hindi)

He started with a very simple movie 10 years back.  One which would qualify to be a sleeper hit.  It was called Socha Na Tha and starred a certain relative of someone with a 2.5 kg fist.  He has released a movie around every 2 years since.  Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), Highway (2014) and now Tamasha (2015).  He is one of my favourite writer directors in India today – Imtiaz Ali.

Spectre (2015) (James Bond)

Disclaimer – This writer is a massive James Bond fan.  He has collected every single release of James Bond on DVD and plans to convert the same (shortly) into an enviable Blue Ray collection before the release of Bond 2017-18.  He can rarely find fault in a James Bond movie and therefore can be classified as a “classic fanboy”.  Read on.

Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (Marathi) (2015)

To say that Marathi Cinema has come of age is a stale statement these days.  It is well past the coming of age stage and is rapidly moving towards excellence.  Subodh Bhave’s directorial debut is a commendable one and an industry (that was otherwise considered a laggard) one step forward.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

It has been nearly 2 months since I put the proverbial pen to paper.  I have watched movies in the interim – they are like the air that I breathe – but a combination of writer’s block and just plain lethargy prevented me from writing.  Not that cinema of the likes of Pyar Ka Punchnama 2 or for that matter Shandaar didn’t inspire me to overcome the lethargy.

Katti Batti (Hindi) (2015)

Nikhil Advani is definitely not known for brilliant movies with the one exception of D-Day where he made his only genuine attempt to aid the effort of quality cinema in Bollywood.  Back to Back releases in a week may indicate that Shri Advani over estimated his prowess in the field of direction.  Regretably he has botched up both stories – one which was a classic and the other that had a lot of promise.

All is Well (2015) (Hindi)

I have started writing this review a little after the interval of All Is Well. It will definitely be one of the corniest lines I have ever written in over 5 years of reviewing but I am at a loss of words as of now. All is definitely not well. There. I have said it.

Fantastic Four (2015)

I can only guess or speculate when I make this statement that even Hollywood seems to be running out of good ideas for cinema.  Why else would one try and relaunch a superhero franchise that was not perceived as a great one to begin with.  More importantly, why would someone try to narrate the same story again?

Mr. Holmes

Sometime back, a T Shirt featuring Sir Ian McKellen created a minor ripple (http://weheartit.com/entry/group/100286).  It read, I AM GANDALF AND MAGNETO. GET OVER IT.  Sir I M can now change that T Shirt to read – I AM GANDALF, MAGNETO AND SHERLOCK – BEAT THAT!!!

Ant Man

The character of Ant Man is over 50 years old – 53+ to be precise.  It debuted in 1962 and about 17 years on, he appeared on Saturday Night Live.  Of course, it wasn’t remotely popular as the other “mans” around that time which would probably explain the 5 decades that we’ve had to wait for the big screen debut of a character which will be part of the Avengers next year.

Masaan

For the better part of the first half of 2015, a permanent fixture of weekly updates from most sites has been that of Masaan and its success across every available platform in the world.  Needless to say, I was mighty excited to get an opportunity to watch one of the most acclaimed movies in recent times, earlier this week.  Unfortunately, it is probably the hype around the movie that did it in – for me.

Baahubali : The Beginning

S S Rajamouli’s effort to be a household name in parts of the country other than South India received a huge boost through Eega aka Eecha aka Makkhi.  Bahubali : The Beginning will bridge any gap that was left over for certain.  Not only does it claim to be India’s most expensive movie on record at 250 crores ($40 Million or so) – It feels like there has been an effort worth 250 crores put in.