Friday, August 3, 2018

Mulk (Movie Review)

Mulk: The Story of a Case of Prejudice!
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Reviewer’s Thumb Mark
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Abhinav Sinha’s film ‘Mulk’ questions the very prejudice of having two entity in our mind as Indians about the people of our country i.e., ‘Us’ and ‘Them’. Mulk challenges and questions the often heard statement that we allowed and welcomed Muslims to stay in India. The film makes us think and feel that there is no question of ‘allowing or not allowing’ anyone; what is important to understand is that the ‘Mulk (Country)’ is one and the people of this ‘Mulk’ are one, irrespective of what religion, belief, values and rituals they follow. The film states that if you find anyone in doubt the above statement, handover the initial few pages of our constitution to the ignorant.  

 What is noteworthy about the film Mulk is that it depicts the ‘The Truth’ threadbare. The truth that we are as a country a ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’. It needs tremendous courage and belief in making such a film when people are hunted down for speaking their mind. Mulk is a wakeup call to check the current trajectory of our country steered by a few by fueling religious sentiments by strategically fanning religious insecurities among the easily vulnerable people by using technology, social media, power and to a great extent sometimes the state machinery too.

Image Courtesy: dnaindia.com
The film hovers around a Muslim family in Benaras and its Patriarch Murad Ali Mohammed who is caught unaware about his nephew’s terrorist connection when the tranquillity of Allahabad city is ripped apart by a series of bomb blasts.  Murad Ali a retired advocate who now prescribes homoeopathic medicines to his neighbourhood friends and neither he nor his Hindu friends hesitate to utter salutations like Ram Ram and Assalamu Alaikum to each other, all of a sudden find himself and his family ostracized as an enemy of the ‘Mulk’. His house wall one fine morning is defaced with “Go Back To Pak”

The film is an effort to look at terrorism objectively and to convey that no religion has anything to do with terrorism. In one such instance the advocate Ms. Aarti Mohammed (Taapsee Pannu) for Murad Ali Mohammed who is also his daughter-in-law tells in the courtroom that ‘Terrorism is a criminal act and not a communal act’ and therefore to be cautious about the intentions of religious fanatics who manipulate and diverts any discussion on terrorism towards a particular community and religion.

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Prateik Babbar as the misguided youth Shahid has less screen space but leaves his impact for the whole film to set its tone. Manoj Pahwa as Bilal, father of Shahid plays well as a helpless grief-stricken father whose only mistake is that he never checked his son’s activities and newfound friendship with unwanted elements. Manoj Pahwa known for his comic timings and appearances has nailed his character so well that you emote along with him and feel his trauma and shock.

Rishi Kapoor as Murad Ali Mohammed the patriarch of the hapless family wins your heart as a man of ethics and love for his nation. There is no such moment where you doubt his integrity as an Indian citizen.  He is dead against dividing the nation into religious terms, he believes in communal harmony and advocates that problem lies in people’s mindset towards each other’s religion and customs. Murad Ali reminds us that there many like him in our country who are misunderstood, targeted and doubted for their integrity just because they are Muslims. Taapsee Pannu has added another feather on her cap by playing the role of Aarti Mohammed in Mulk. She is bang on, restrained and daring to question her own parents at one point of time ask her to leave her in-laws to mend they are own troubles and issues. Her courtroom arguments against the Public Prosecutor Santhosh Anand played by the versatile actor Ashutosh Rana is something to watch for. 

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Ashutosh Rana as the Public Prosecutor voices the majoritarian bias towards linking a particular religion and community to terrorism. He as an actor is extremely successful in evoking anger, hatred and doubt against the community he is targeting. Though the theatrics in the courtroom is a dampener and becomes a bit dragging and clichéd but can be overlooked. Also, the background of certain characters are not built properly like all of a sudden we find the Hindu daughter in law of Murad Ali declare that she is the lawyer of Bilal and surprisingly we find suddenly Murad Ali entering the court as an advocate. We are left a bit perplexed that why did otherwise a strong character like Murad Ali decides to leave fighting his case as an advocate giving the responsibility to Aarti Mohammed midway. Whereas, Murad Ali Mohammed’s monologue in the court as an accused to prove his love for his Mulk is outstanding but he is seen broken and shattered in continuing as his own advocate.

Neena Gupta, Rajat Kapoor, Prachee Shah Paandya, Ashrut Jain, Indraneil Sengupta, Abdul Quadir Amin and Vartika Singh as supporting cast has done a remarkable act. The film has a stellar cast which is outstanding and convincing.

Songs like ‘Thenge Se’, ‘Khudara’ and ‘Piya Samaye’ goes with the plot. Evan Mulligan’s cinematography captures the chaos, the anger, the simmering distrust and longing for peace and harmony in a volatile communal situation very well.

In short, Mulk is not just a film, it is the soul of our Mulk that has opened its heart to us. Go and watch along with all those friends who without thinking twice gets carried away by forwarded messages on Whatsapp, and who don’t hesitate to write on the facebook wall and comments in bold ‘Go to Pakistan’. Like Danish Javed, the encounter specialist says let us rightly frame terrorism as the use of violent acts to frighten and harm the people in an area. So any act of violence against women, tribals, workers, and children the list is long be considered as an act of terrorism. The timing of Mulk is right when our Mulk is edging closer for national elections.

.Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.75/5


Cast: Rishi Kapoor (Murad Ali Mohammed), Taapsee Pannu (Aarti Mohammed),Prateik Babbar (Sahid Mohammed), Manoj Pahwa (Bilal Mohammed), Rajat Kapoor (Danish Javed), Nena Gupta (Tabassum), Prachee Shah Pandya, Vartika Singh, Ashrut Jain (Rashid), Indraneil Sengupta, Abdul Quadir Amin

Genre: Drama

Director: Anubhav Sinha

Producers: Deepak Mukut, Anubhav Sinha

Written by: Anubhav Sinha

Music by: Prasad Shaste, Anurag Saikia (Score), Mangesh Dakde

Edited by: Ballu Saluja

Cinematography: Ewan Mulligan

Production Company:  Banaras MediaWorks, Soham Rockstar Entertainment

Release Date: 3 August, 2018

Language: Hindi


Duration: 141 Minutes

Monday, July 2, 2018

Sanju (Movie Review)

Sanju and His Galti Se Mistakes
Image Courtesy: en.wikipedia.org
Reviewer’s Thumb Mark

Rajkumar Hirani’s film 'Sanju’ appears to be the outcome of a well thought, brainstormed and conveniently selected pieces of Sanjay Dutt's life’s incidents. After watching Sanju, one can sum up the film in one line - “Subah Ka Bhula Agar Shaam Ko Ghar Lout Aaye Tho Usse Bhula Nahi Kehte”.

While watching the film, I remembered what Alexander Pope wrote in his ‘Essay on Criticism’ - “To Err is Human; to Forgive, Divine”. But what makes me wonder is that, is it an error by the filmmaker and the man in question to completely ignore the existence of his Ex-wives Richa Sharma and Rhea Pillai? It was Rhea Pillai who stood with Sanjay Dutt when he was languishing in a prison cell during the Mumbai blasts trial. What followed next is his marriage with her in 1998 and in one of his interview he said - “Love is what Rhea did when I was in jail”.
 
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Hirani makes Sanju mouth about his 308 girlfriends and rounds up the figure to 350 and he also shows Manyata's sacrifices, understanding and maturity as a wife. The film also repeatedly focuses on the innocent faces of his two children from Manyata. All these are really touching but why his first daughter Trishala from Richa Sharma is missing from the frames?; his sisters Priya and Namrata are mute spectators in the whole film while the father-son duo is engaged in an ocean of emotions that displays the ups and downs the family has gone through? The question is what was the compulsion that made the Sanju team remain silent on many aspects of his life that is on public domain but didn't dare to bring on screen?

In the film, there is an instance when his father Sunil Dutt, played well by Paresh Rawal, visits a newspaper office and strikes a conversation with the editor on the authenticity of the news on Sanju. The editor in response to him plays an audio tape in which Sanju is heard talking to some underworld don. Sunil Dutt without battering his eyelids asks the editor why then there is a 'question’ mark at the end of the sensational headline and not a ‘period’ when he is so sure about the veracity of the tape. Here, I would like to ask the filmmaker and his team why they didn’t address in the film so many questions the audience have in their mind.

The film Sanju is good but as a biopic, it is really disappointing and biased. It is unfortunate to say that Rajkumar Hirani fails to be independent, unbiased and objective in making this film as a filmmaker. I am sure whenever Sanjay Dutt would meet Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and the team he would happily hum the yesteryears popular song (which is also used in the film) ‘Yaara Teri Yaari Ko Main Tho Khuda Mana, Yaad Karengi Duniya Tera Mera Afsana’.
 
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Ranbir Kapoor as Sanjay Dutt is noteworthy and excellent. He is undoubtedly an actor with an enormous amount of talent. Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt brings in the required amount of agony, sadness, concern and care as a father in the film. The father-son scenes are moving and inspiring too.

Vicky Kaushal as Kamlesh aka 'Kamli’ Kanhaiya Lal Kapasi steals the show. His role as a friend in Sanju wins many hearts and minds. Vicky Kaushal after Raazi has Sanju in his profile which he can for sure be proud of.  Jim Sarbh as a drug peddler and friend plays his part well.

Dia Mirza as Manyata, Manisha Koirala as Nargis, Sonam Kapoor as Ruby and Anushka Sharma as Winnie Diaz, Karishma Tanna as Pinky and Aditi Gautam as Priya Dutt have nothing significant to say and emote. It is so unjustified and cruel to mute these women who have played significant roles in Sanjay Dutt's life.
 
Image Courtesy: indiatoday.in
I recently heard a known trade analyst in an interview trying to justify the film Sanju by saying that the Rajkumar Hirani was only focusing on two aspects of Sanjay Dutt's life - (a) Drugs and (b) The Mumbai blast trial. If that is the case don't you think that these women (his mother, ex-wives, daughter Trishala and the rest) were part of these two aspects too?

The music by AR Rahman, Rohan-Rohan and Vikram Montrose are good. Of all the songs in the film the song 'Kar Har Maidaan Fateh’ sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Shreya Ghoshal stays in your mind for long.

In short, Sanju can be watched but it is biased and not a biopic as it is claimed to be. Go and watch Sanju this week and ‘Forgive’ Sanju, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Galti Se Mistakes and stay ‘Divine’ as an audience.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3/5


Cast: Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju), Vicky Kaushal (Kamlesh ‘Kamli’ Kanhaiyalal Kapasi), Paresh Rawal (Sunil Dutt), Manisha Koirala (Nargis Dutt), Anushka Sharma (Winnie Diaz), Sonam Kapoor (Ruby), Karishma Tanna (Pinky), Boman Irani (Ruby’s Father), Dia Mirza (Manyata Dutt), Sayaji Shinde (Bandu Dada), Jim Sarbh (Zubin Mistry), Sanjay Dutt as himself (Cameo in the end credit song), Aditi Gautam (Priya Dutt)

Genre: Biopic

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Producers: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani

Written by: Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi

Music by: Sanjay Wandrekar, Atul Raninga

Cinematography: Ravi Varman

Edited by: Rajkumar Hirani

Production Company: Rajkumar Hirani Films, Vinod Chopra Films

Distributor: Fox Star Studios, 20th Century Fox

Release Date: 29 June 2018

Duration: 161 Minutes


Language: Hindi

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Kaala Karikaalan (Movie Review)



Kaala Mirrors the Simmering Anger of the Underprivileged in Our Country!
 
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Reviewer’s Thumb Mark

“There May be Times When We are Powerless to Prevent Injustice, But There Must Never be a Time When We Fail to Protest.”

The strongest antidote to anger is a democratic political system that allows open dialogues and dissent to be expressed that is followed by prompt solutions to genuine issues. If not, men and women may be killed but not a movement. PA Ranjith's film Kaala reminds us about the hundreds of common man’s struggle going on in our country against the dubious welfare schemes of people in power that are packaged as pro-poor; whereas, it is in real sense pro-corporate and pro-rich. Though an out and out Rajni’s usual commercial outing, Kaala portrays the fight of the have-nots for their basic survival and how the mighty leaves no stone unturned to crush people's struggle by calling it as anti-nationalist movement and anti-development. The Pure and Clean India slogan in the film is apparently a cue to people to revisit and check the real intentions and credibility behind similar slogans that have taken our country like a storm since last few years.
 
Image Courtesy: filmcompanion.in


The Bhangarh movement in West Bengal, the Anti-Sterlite Movement in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, the Anti-Posco movement in Odisha and many others are tagged as anti-development and anti-national. The debate is on whether it is anti-national and anti-development or not. Let's Leave it open.

Here, the film Kaala takes Dharavi, Asia’s and the world’s largest slum as it's center of the action. It seems PA Ranjith takes a cue from the flagship project the 1990s Shiv Sena-BJP government mooted in the name of ‘Slum Redevelopment Scheme’ for his film’s plot, however, this project never took off due to policy and vested interests flip flops. Union Minister Haridev Abhyankar alias Hari Dada (Nana Patekar) has dubious plans to take over the control of Dharavi in the name of development. He ropes in corporate-backed NGOs and private builders to come up with a redevelopment plan where the slum dwellers will be given houses, toilets, and schools.  The plan also features commercial spaces and a sprawling golf club. Hari Dada’s only obstacle to getting the plan through is Karikaalan aka Kaala (Rajnikanth) the local messiah of the slum dwellers who like his father a migrant from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu safeguards the interests of his people selflessly. Hari has a two-pronged plan to either win over or annihilate Kaala.
  
Image Courtesy: rediff.com
Kaala (means Black in Hindi) is in general terms considered unclean, dirty, and symbol of bad. Whereas, Safed (means White in Hindi) is pure, pristine and is good. But here, PA Ranjith reverses this general notion about Kaala and Safed. He without much ado reiterate that Kaala is the color of Yum ( The Hindu God of Death). And Kaala is the death knell for all that is evil. Kaala is the color of labor, grit, and courage. Kaala is the symbol of revolution, resistance, and protest against everything that is anti-people.

Rajnikanth and Nana Patekar are the perfect choices for playing the hero and villain and their performance keeps the audience enthralled. What is more important to mention is the casting of Easwari Rao as Selvi, Kaala’s wife. She with great ease and comfort slips into her role so well that there are moments you leave the rest on the screen to watch her perform as a doting mother, nagging Mom-in-law and a loving yet loud better-half of Kaala. We have Anjali Patil as Charumati aka toofani the firebrand among the women folks in Dharavi. She as the lover of Lenin the youngest son of Kaala makes her mark the way she made as a tribal block volunteer in the much-acclaimed film ‘Newton’. As rightly nicknamed as Toofaani she is the voice of the women in the film. She is humiliated and disrobed but resists bravely not succumbing to the tactics and strategies of the power to disarm the grit and courage of a woman and to weaken her self-esteem and moral. Something similar that happened with many women activists who took up the cudgel against tormentors for social causes. For instance, the lady counsel of Kathua rape victim's family was threatened with dire consequences and she feared that she may be outraged, killed or even might be raped.
 
Image Courtesy: tikhichilli.website
What is commendable about PA Ranjith's latest venture Kaala is its style of raising relevant contemporary issues marinated with the so-called commercial masalas and often seen Rajni style of actions without making it boring and tiring to watch.  

Huma Qureshi is a mismatch and disappointing in the department of acting, whereas there are many scenes where she could have excelled but unfortunately she is poor in emoting the character on screen. Kaala’s huge family with sons, daughter in law's and grandchildren seems to be a huge crowd. Pankaj Tripathi’s acting skills are underutilized and could have been given some more space and relevant dialogues to perform.  
 
Image Courtesy: bollywoodlife.com
The climax scene of Kaala is spectacular and artistic when various hues splashes on screen conveying a strong socio-political message that irrespective of our beliefs, religion, caste and creed, political inclinations people should join hands against the fight against oppressive forces in our country, Kaala reminds the media to be courageous like the reporter in the film played by Ramesh Thilak who captured the riots and its perpetrators.  Very interestingly black is required for all other colors to have depth and variation of hue. Cinematographer Murali has done a good job.

In short, PA Ranjith's film can be summarised in the famous Mexican Proverb – “They Tried to Bury Us. They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds”. Go and watch Kaala and take home a compelling message that the oppressors have a shelf life, sooner or later a Kaala will channelize the mass anger into a social movement.

Life Connoisseur Rating: 3/5


Cast: Rajnikanth (Karikaalan aka Kaala), Nana Patekar (Haridev Abhayankar), Easwari Rao (Selvi), Huma Qureshi ( Zarina), Samuthirakani (Vaaliappan), Anjali Patil (Charumathi aka Toofani), Dileepan (Selvam), Manikandan (Lenin), Aruldoss (MLA), Sayaji Shinde (Minister), Pankaj Tripathi (Superintendent of Police Pankaj Patil), Ramesh Thilak (Reporter)

Genre: Social Drama

Director: PA Ranjith

Producer: Dhanush

Written by: PA Ranjith, Aadhavan Dheetchanya, K Makizhnan

Music by: Santhosh Narayanan

Cinematography: Murali G

Edited by: A Sreekar Prasad

Production Company: Wunderbar Films

Distributor: Lyca Productions

Duration: 159 Minutes

Language Tamil, Telugu, Hindi

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Raazi (Movie Review)

Raazi: Patriotism sans Jingoism!
Image Courtesy: ibtimes.co.in
Reviewer’s Thumb Mark

Meghna Gulzar and Bhavani Iyer crafted this film ‘Raazi’ so deftly that its commendable and worth mentioning that the film stands apart from all those commercial Bollywood spy thrillers that had been made with a lot of noise, venom and jingoism. Raazi is least interested to portray any country as an enemy, rather it is all about the importance of safeguarding one’s own country’s security in situations of crisis and war. Raazi, rightly depicts at the end in its credit lines that it is dedicated to all those unsung heroes who are unknown in the history written.

 The film is based on the book ‘Calling Sehmat” written by Harinder Sikka. His debut novel is about an Indian Kashmiri Muslim undercover agent operating in Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. To keep the main character in anonymity he named her Sehmat Khan in his novel. She married a Pakistani Army officer to provide India with classified information during the 1971 war.
Image Courtesy: freepressjournal.in
Sometimes what we have planned for ourselves may not be what we are destined to do. Every person has a purpose to fulfil and when one chooses and realizes the purpose of his/ her own will, then the consequences are also owned by the person for a greater cause. Sehmat Khan, played by Alia Bhatt, may not have ever dreamt in her wildest dream that she will end up as a spy, wife, and daughter-in-law in one of the most influential family who holds key positions in Pakistan’s Military. Called back from her college in Delhi suddenly by her father Hidayat, a businessman with strong connections with the who’s who in Pakistan, she is told that he has a tumour in his lungs and his days are numbered. Saddened by her father’s illness she gets another jolt from him when he says that he is a spy for the Indian intelligence bureau and he is worried about the current state of affairs of his country’s security. Hidayat is a double agent and has gained the confidence of the elite in Pakistan. Hidayat wants his only daughter to take up his role as he did what his father asked him to do. Inspired and proud of her father and grandfather for serving the country’s interest always, she agrees (Raazi) to take up the challenge of becoming a spy and cross the border legally as the wife of Iqbal Syed (Vicky Kaushal) a military officer in Pakistan.
Image Courtesy: koimoi.com
Alia Bhatt as Sehmat Khan needs to be applauded for her constant attempt to try different and challenging roles, be it in Highway, Udta Punjab, and now Raazi. From the sassy stylish teenager, Shahnaya Singhania in ‘Student of the Year’ to Sehmat Khan in ‘Raazi’ she has stated boldly that she is a promising actor and has much in store for the audience.  She very well portrays the challenge of being a daughter in law fitting into the daily domestic chores as well as handling the challenges of transferring the classified information to her handlers in India living amidst a family of high army officials. She believes that "No one comes before the country. Not even yourself”.

Vicky Kaushal as Iqbal Syed is fantastic as a self-restrained, understanding husband yet a staunch Pakistani Military officer. His Deepak in Massan and Iqbal Syed in Raazi shows his mettle as an actor. Unfortunately, his Zubaan and Raman Raghav didn’t fetch him the required attention of the audience but Vicky seems to have a host of films coming up for him that can reiterate that he is indeed a  powerful performer.
Image Courtesy: mid-day.com
Rajit Kapur, Soni Razdan, Shishir Sharma, Asif Zakaria, Ashwath Bhatt are well etched in their roles and leave a lingering impact on the viewers. It is a treat to see both Soni Razdaan and Alia Bhatt together as mother-daughter on reel too. Jaideep Ahlawat is the talk of the town for his role of Khalid Mir, the intelligence trainer for Sehmat Khan. He caught the audience attention for his role in Gangs of Wasseypur and he got noted as Nawab in Raes.

Raazi, as a film is watchable though there are some instances where one feels that the life of a spy has been portrayed too smoothly to execute her plans in a high profile military officer’s family as a wife and daughter-in-law.  Meghana Gulzar’s attempt to portray the human side on either side of the border is commendable. What makes Raazi a delight to watch is the temporary relief it delivers you to escape from the jingoism flooding on social media these days. So go for it.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.25/5


Cast: Alia Bhat (Sehmat Khan), Vicky Kaushal (Iqbal Syed), Rajit Kapur (Hidayat Khan), Soni Razdan (Teji Khan), Shishir Sharma (Brigadier Syed), Jaideep Ahlawat (Khalid Mir), Ashwath Bhatt (Mehboob Syed), Amruta Khanvilkar (Munira),Sanjay Suri (Guest appearance), Kanwaljit Singh (Guest Appearance)

Genre: Spy Thriller

Director: Meghna Gulzar

Producers: Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar, Apoorva Mehta

Based on the novel: ‘Calling Sehmat’ by Harinder Sikka

Screenplay: Bhavani Iyer, Meghna Gulzar

Music by: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Cinematography: Jay I Patel

Edited by: Nitin Baid

Production Company: Junglee Pictures, Dharma Productions

Distributor: AA Films

Release Date: 11 May 2018

Duration: 140 Minutes


Language: Hindi

Friday, April 13, 2018

October (Movie Review)

October Takes You Through Seasons of Life!
Image Courtesy: en.wikipedia.org

Reviewer’s Thumb Mark

As there are different seasons of nature, so are there different seasons of life and love. The film October attempts to take you through these seasons leaving you disturbed and moist-eyed on many occasions. Shoojit Sircar’s film ‘October’ tries to tell an unconventional love story. He dares to take the risk of telling a story which plays with your innate feelings towards unexpected tragedies in life without much melodrama and heroism.

The first half of the film is lighthearted and feverishly slow and the second half all of a sudden keeps you watch the vitals’ status updates on the hospital room’s monitor. The characters played by Banita Sandhu and Varun Dhawan as Shiuli Iyer and Danish Walia aka Dan respectively don’t hold you or move you. You watch them as a third person and feel bad and when you are out of the cinema hall, you leave their story behind like any other sad incident. The pre-interval part of the film keeps you puzzled in figuring out what the filmmaker wants to convey and the post-interval part keeps you feel bad for what has happened.
Image Courtesy: hidustantimes.com
It is not the story but the situation and the uncertainties of life that make you relate to what Shoojit is trying to tell you. The rest of the characters are just caricatures to make the unpleasant happening in the protagonist’s life look realistic. Dan, a hotel management trainee is employed with a five-star hotel in Delhi and he is undergoing the in-house job training with a bunch of other young boys and girls. It’s quite evident from the very first shot that Dan is different from the rest of his batch members. He is talkative, opinionated, and impulsive, uses his brain more than anyone else and therefore, finds himself in trouble often with his seniors and manager.  On the contrary, Shiuli Iyer is more adaptive, ready to learn and calm.

A freak accident on the eve of New Year turns the life of Shiuli and the people in her life upside down. And what Shiuli said before she slipped into a comatose draws him closer to her. What follows is the unfolding of a subtle and a melancholic feeling of love between them that keeps you feeling good as well as uncertain of its outcome. Geetanjali Rao as the grief-stricken mother plays her part convincingly and makes her presence felt but the siblings of Shiuli are less convincing. Shiuli’s sister keeps calling her ‘Akka’ and her brother barely emotes and utter anything.
Image Courtesy: bollywoodlife.com
Juhi Chaturvedi and Shoojit Sircar’s collaboration this time emits a soothing fragrance of love through ‘Shiuli’ the night Jasmine which is used symbolically to convey the blossoming and withering away of life. October reminds us gently that ‘Impermanence’ is the basic nature of life. What you have will leave you one day but remember what leaves you physically doesn’t actually leave you because it stays within you; you just need to close your eyes and see it, feel it and smell the ‘Shiuli’ within you.

Go and watch ‘October’ because we need to appreciate such attempts that infuses a kind of freshness in storytelling and its depiction.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3/5


Cast: Varun Dhawan (Danish Walia), Banita Sandhu (Shiuli Iyer), Getanjali Rao (Prof. Vidhya Iyer)

Genre: Drama/Romance

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Producers: Ronnie Lahiri, Sheel Kumar

Written by: Juhi Chaturvedi

Dialogues/Screenplay/Story: Juhi Chaturvedi

Music by: Shantanu Moitra

Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhayay

Edited by: Chandrasheker Prajapati

Production Company: Rising Sun Films

Distributors: Rising Sun Films, Kino Works

Release Date: 13 April 2018

Duration: 115 Minutes


Language: Hindi