'Sardar Ka Grandson' has a too-good-to-be-true story, with cliched moments and broad beats. It is a similar story to Carl Fredricksen's from Disney Pixar's animated film Up. Just do not expect Pixar-level subtlety here. This is nothing but Bollywood professionalism trying every trick in the book to tug at our heartstrings.
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Ivan Ayr's Meel Patthar(Milestone) is a beautifully realized film about a lonely truck driver. Full of tracking shots and long conversations, this slow-burner of a film works as a compelling portrayal of a trucker's life and an uncompromising look at old age. Ayr's film requires patient viewing, but it is ultimately rewarding.
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Salman Khan and a gang of goons fight with their fists for the most part of Prabhu Deva's mind-numbing action flick. In the process, they test our patience and all of our sensory powers. If you escape this mayhem with all of your organs intact, consider yourself lucky.
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Kookie Gulati's The Big Bull is based on the life of Harshad Mehta, stockbroker and mastermind behind a big financial scam from the past. There has already been a web series based on this tale. There is a difference between what you can tell in a web series and a feature film. So, the makers of The Big Bull rush through many plot elements that show how the stock market operates and how Mehta becomes the big bull. Abhishek Bachchan is convincing as the big bull Hemant Shah, though.
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If you have seen several suspense thrillers, then Silence may be familiar material to you. If it is one of your first few suspect thrillers, however, it may turn out to be an entertaining diversion for you. It has a serviceable plot, plus a commendable song-less approach to film making.
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Pagglait is a refreshing take on the usual new widow situation in a patriarchal Indian family. The film moves at a leisurely pace, with the occasional humor and often-serious moments. Yet, it never turns into a sappy film thanks mainly to the tender filmmaking approach and the charming lead played by Sanya Malhotra.
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The Girl on The Train is a straightforward Netflix thriller with tiresome contrivances that robs the film of any sort of authenticity.
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Ramin Bahrani's The White Tiger is a flawed yet fascinating look at India's casteism and class divide. The Netflix movie is based on Arvind Adiga's novel of the same title. It does not quite attain perfection, but even amid all of its flaws, it never ceases to be compelling thanks to Adarsh Gourav's magnetic performance.
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Tribhanga - Tedhi Medhi Crazy is a well-intentioned film about a dysfunctional family. Director Renuka Shahane has a good theme and some fine performers to work with here. Unfortunately, however, the promise in the material or the casting never quite translates onto the screen properly.
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Rohena Gera's Sir is a simple portrait of a relationship between a young architect and his live-in maid. Not a moment in this film seems unauthentic. And, while little seems eventful here, a lot of it still lingers in the mind long after the first viewing.
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For a movie that talks about the power of the written word, little in Satish Kaushik's Kaagaz seems powerful or inspired. It is one of those by-the-numbers biopics that could have worked more if the writing was up to it. Watchable and well-intentioned, this Kaagaz is a story better told on paper.
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'Unpaused' is an Amazon Prime anthology about how COVID-19 affects the lives of different kinds of people in Indian society. The stories that form it are different, but COVID-19 is the theme of all the shorts. We are going through an unprecedented period, and Unpaused just asks us to pause and reflect on it.
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