Maatr Review - Quality content integrated with blazing performances.

Over the years, Bollywood has produced many films on  issues like rape and molestation. More than a decade later (Remember 'Jaago' and 'Daman') Raveena returns with her latest film ‘Maatr’, which is a story of a middle aged mother who, along with her teenage daughter are ganged raped in our very own, rape-capital Delhi. (Sorry not Sorry).

Genre :- Drama.

Run-time :- 1 hr 54 mins. 

Cast :- Raveena Tandon, Madhur Mittal, Divya Jagdale, Anurag Arora.

Director :- Ashtar Sayyed.

Plot – How badly can a wrong turn jeopardize your life? Maatr is a film that explains just that. After being raped and forced to watch her daughter’s soul getting shattered by a group of 7 men breathing drugs and living on alcohol, with no support from husband and the police bowing down to political pressure and eventually dismissing her case, the last resort left with our Maatr (Raveena Tandon as Vidya) is to take matters into her own hands and go on a revenge spree.

Direction and Screenplay :-

Director Ashtar Syed has captured the sinister and eerie locations of Delhi and built suspense and horror effectively by his fine camerawork. He gets striking performances out of even those actors who stumble with shallow parts. Raveena Tandon has been directed so perfectly, focusing on her youthful face and giving her minimal dialogue and no emotional outbursts to ruin the effect. Also the excitement towards the climax is enhanced by the anxious but effective background score that blends well in the narrative.

Screenplay by Michael Pellico (with additions from Mishkka Shekhawat) is extremely vivid, far-fetched and full of overwrought melodrama. But with well-defining characters delivering gripping performances and the right amount of action and drama, Director Ashtar Sayed succeeds in making the tale engrossing.

Editing and Cinematography:-

At 114 minutes, the editing by Manoj Magarr is sleek without any hindrances in the uncanny atmosphere.

Cinematography lensed by Hari Vendantam is beyond amazing. The entire visual palette and the vintage narrative style borrowed from the revenge/action Korean films are enough to maintain the balance and thrill. You witness blood gushing out, heads being bashed in, rage outshining the law and order system, all within a glossy and gleaming world with realism to some extent.

Music:

Music by Utkarsh Umesh Dhotekar is good enough to make you feel the agony of the matriarch who has a volcano of emotions erupting in her heart. The songs, 'Zindagi Ae Zindagi' sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and 'Aisi Hoti Hai Maa' sung by Kavita Seth are appropriately used to propel the emotional quotient of the narrative. The background score and the production design add to the viewing experience.

The Highs -

▶ Talking about realistic characterization, 

the only truly authentic character in the film is a guard who appears for 5 Min's and reminds you of all your real encounters with these Men In Blue.

▶ Performance and the framework of the antagonist Madhur Mittal is flawless.

▶ The intent and the subjugation of the wrongdoers is depicted in a way that will make you feel content.

The Lows -

▶ All through the film, Vidya seemed to have stepped out of a parlour, all groomed up, ready to kill. It forces one to wonder - 

When does a woman, who is so damaged and so busy plotting seven deaths, find the time to blow dry her hair?

▶ Some lines are downright dim-witted. For example - A cop at the crime scene says: ‘PM desh ko shape karne ki baat kar rahe hain, aur yeh rape ki baat ho rahi hai’. Okay, whaat? Maatr isn't devoid of plot loopholes - After nailing one down, killing people becomes as easy as quashing bugs.

Armed vigilantes cross heavy police bandobast as easily as getting past a circle of dandiya dancers and the only disguise they use are SUNGLASSES! Seriously? 

▶Raveena Tandon's performance is surreal, your heart screams when she screams. There are few scenes where her pain becomes real, but then it cuts to illogical gym sequences trivialising her sufferings.

Performances:-

▶"Paani ka toh pata nahi, celluloid mein zarurr aag laga di." Termed as Raveena's 'comeback,' she doesn't let us down. With the same energy, charisma and finesse, she is cogent as a wounded mother. She exercises restraint, exudes an eerie calmness and yet injects fresh blood to her persona.

This is clearly a performance no other actor in her age bracket from her era could have pulled off with such ease. Even though her character is wounded, her spirited performance, though flaunted with faulty and excessive make-up, emerges as a compelling element in the film.💕

▶ Divya Jagdale, as Vidya's best friend Ritu who is the warmer flesh-and-blood one, doesn't fail to stand out despite being the bearer of a somewhat underdeveloped character.

▶Rushad Rana plays Vidya's spineless and inconsiderate husband Ravi, who asks for ketchup and separation in the same breath and is a proud member of the Victim Blaming Society. 😒Rushad is aptly cast and gives a performance expected of his character.

▶Madhur Mittal (Remember "Titto" from 'Shakalaka Boom Boom?' Yes. This is him all grown up) as Apoorva Malik is stubborn, self-willed, menacing and abhorrent guy he is meant to be. He essays his character with ease and makes sure we end up hating him from the word go. Such performance, much admiration. 😍

▶Anurag Arora as Inspector Shroff does fine as the officer of the law bent by the weight of politically influential people, so much that he forgets he is a human first. 

Watch o Not ? Maybe. The plot of the film is nothing extraordinary but it is the great performances, gripping subject line and apt execution that makes ‘Maatr’ a decent watch.

Verdict :

Maatr is a raw and powerful with its share of flaws. Despite an uneven plot, watch the film for its compelling, hard-hitting performances and the fact that it creates a world where justice is served someway or the other.

Ratings -  2.6/5

Review: Begum Jaan - A Powerful And Strong Piece Of Art That Reflects Reality.

Begum Jaan, directed by Srijit Mukherji, is the Hindi remake of the Bengali movie 'Rajkahini' starring Rituparna Sengupta. Vidya’s much awaited film finally made it to the theaters on Friday, much to the delight of her fans. 

Genre :- Drama.

Run-time :- 2 hrs 14 mins.

Cast :- Vidya Balan, Rajit Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, Naseerudin Shah, Ashish Vidyarthi, Gauahar Khan, Pallavi Sharda.

Director :- Srijit Mukherji.

Plot – The year is 1947. India is going to be partitioned according to the Radcliff Line. That line runs through a brothel owned by Begum Jaan (Vidya Balan). Nearly everyone is happy that India’s getting independence, except her. And why should she be happy? Her palace (That's what she prefers to call it) would be destructed in the whole process. What lengths would she go to protect it? Or will she succumb to the snarly politics going around in the country?

Direction and Screenplay :-

Begum Jaan begins with one of the many hard hitting opening scenes I've seen in a long time. Set at Connaught Place in 2016, it is under the same framework of the Nirbhaya incident. It's painful, and gives you quite the jolt. Later it cuts to 1947, when independence came to India at the cost of Partition and proceeds further.

National Award winning film-maker Srijit Mukherji, who makes his Bollywood debut with Begum Jaan, fails to achieve finesse in technicalities which was required out of a movie that is packed with stellar performances and a taut script. For example, two officers – Hari Prasad Srivastav (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Ilias (Rajit Kapoor), former best friends, who have been divided by the Indo-Pak Partition - in charge of executing the Radcliff Line, meet each other after a long time. Before the scene could make an impression, Mukherji films it in a wide-shot with the two men at the extreme ends of the frame, with EXACTLY HALF their faces visible. He keeps alternating between the actors’ solo shots, needlessly distracting us, drawing attention to craft. And we get the intention ­– partitioned face, as in part of a whole, in a film focusing on Partition. It is so obvious. But no, he is unsure and repeats it later in the film, in a different scene with the same actors. Why oh why?!  

Vidya as Begum dives into the skin of the character and swims effortlessly through it. Vidya’s Begum is a hookah-snorting, razor-tongued woman with an authoritarian air, she is the master of her fate and fortune. From Gujarati to Bengali to Awadhi to Punjabi, her brothel has women of every caste, language and religion. She (Vidya) usually grabs attention in all her movies. But this movie has all of its actors performing to the fullest and it's hard to point out who is better than the other. Also, the very idea of the characters explaining things to the audience under the pretext of talking to each other is fresh and commendable. 

Editing and Cinematography:-

Editing by Praveen Prabhakar could've been better. With abrupt cuts and switches, it seems like a ride filled with more than few speed-breakers.

The visual-palette of the film by Cinematographer  Goopi Bhagat is like a series of Raghu Rai photographs drained off their magic partly but manage to adjust to the required tone of the film. Certain shot-taking choices such as slow motions, rain sequences, climax are supremely mastered and served by him.

Music:

This is one of the many movies which didn't require songs interrupting the smooth narrative. But speaking of the album, each of the tracks is a treasure. 

Anu Malik has managed to create magic by creating beautiful songs by bringing together the best of the bests to lend their voice. “Prem Mein Tohre” and “Woh Subah” are the best of the lot. 
The latter which is a recreation of the classic composed by Khayyam and lyrics by the legendary poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, speaks for the film in Shreya-Arjit’s voice. 

With the former,  Prem Me Tohre, sung by the supremely talented Asha Bhosle, the lost art of making soulful renditions about love and its sheer power seems to be back. Thank you, Anu Malik - the man who gave us unforgettable music albums in the ‘90s. 
“Holi Khelein” is perfectly orchestrated and sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Anmol Malik wheras “Azaadiyan” by Sonu Nigam gives a very expected ‘LOC Kargil’ feel. Lastly, the stunning lyrics from “O Re Kahero” will leave you speechless and moved.

The Highs -

▶ There's a strong gasp-worthy scene when a new girl is brought to the brothel and she is in a state of complete shock. She has stopped responding to anything — until Begum slaps her out of her stupor and she has a cathartic breakdown.

▶ The strongest parts of the movie are its script and dialogues. The narrative is layered and the dialogues are powerful. The performances are each better than the other.

▶ Begum was of the opinion that it doesn't matter if the country gets independence or not, for women will always remain oppressed, unsafe and treated inferior to men. Well, not everything she felt was untrue. After 70 years of Independence, women are still fighting for equal human rights. *sighs* And Srijit manages to depict this, in the most powerful manner in the first 5 minutes. With an unfortunate incident occurring in Delhi of 2016, the Tricolor plays a silent spectator at the back. It hits hard at your soul. And for a moment, you can’t move.

▶ The usage of cuss words and terms which are derogatory or “gandi baatein” in the eyes of the society are effortlessly used and woven into the narrative without hindering the film viewing experience. Also, slapping certain issues which have been too sensitive for the Indian audiences till date, without wrapping it under a velvet cloth is both daring and commendable.

▶ Also, a round of applause for the Censor Board too, please, for they have allowed the film to run with hardly any cuts but just some alterations in few words.

The Lows -

▶ Sometimes, the girls come across as extremely inept and ineffectual, their lingo and accents is particularly labored, the body language seems too designed and deliberate.

▶ Mukherji struggles in sustaining a mood, often disrupting the film’s flow with needless songs. There’s a song on Holi, a song when Indians and Pakistanis cross the border, a song when a local king (Naseeruddin Shah) visits the brothel. Mukherji, it seems, is constantly trying to hammer home a point, forbidding us to create our own meanings. It’s 2017, and we want our filmmakers to, at least now, stop handholding their audiences, stop guiding them where to look, what to listen to. Don’t they find us intelligent enough to have figured that out after two hours of viewing time!

▶ There is a love scene between Gauahar and Pitobash, wherein the latter confesses his “lub” for the lady, in a cute and innocent manner. This scene, till a point, is both heartfelt and funny, but Mukherji keeps stretching it, making it loud and obvious, and ultimately dilutes its emotional heft.

▶ Some of the crudity in dialogue and scenes seem deliberately aimed at sensationalizing, eliciting wolf-whistles from the male audience rather than being sensitive to women. 

Performances:-

▶ From the unibrow to the contact lens, Vidya is perfection as the Begum. Not only is Balan here privileged with the punchiest of quotations and the most decisive of actions, even the horizon dissolves into her thinking face. There are two sides of Begum’s personality. One is the self-important side, who when she talks, seems to be reading out from her own resume. And then there is the Begum who wonders about the changing realities around her, and who can feel the earth beneath her feet slipping by. And Vidya Balan nails it with a puissant performance. A scene between her and Shah towards the end proves her mettle as a well experienced actor when she emotes just with her eyes.

▶ Pallavi Sharda as the vulnerable Gulabo, among the sex workers at the brothel with a traumatic past — doesn't get enough screen time but manages to strike a cord with her performance oozing fortitude.

▶ Look who's back. Back again. It's Chunky Pandey and he isn't joking this time. He plays the polar opposite of the roles he's been seen in so far, as the the antagonist here who the government appoints to get the brothel uninhabited. He's promising as the ruthless lad who finds the worst possible ways to inflict pain on poor Begum and her girls. *Applauds*

▶ Rajit Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi, as two friends united by heart but divided by boundaries, have a long-lasting impact on your being and the changes in their personal relationship due to the changes in the political environment is one of the highs of the film. Their character development gradually helps in making the narrative strong.

▶ Naseerudin Shah as Rajaji, has been provided with an understated role but he does fine. His character bows down to his own era and has more charm than the spirited fights of the other characters.

▶ Gauahar Khan as Rubina stands out in the sea of other characters playing sex-workers, probably because she has been given impressive dialogues and a lot more screentime than other ladies. Her Punjabi accent seems boisterous after a while. Trying too hard, eh? But she manages to cover that up with her dialogue delivery in a scene with her love-interest alongside a river.

▶ Supporting cast consisting of Flora Saini as Maina, Priyanka Setia as Jameela, Ridhima Tiwari as Amba, Raviza Chauhan as Lata, Poonam Rajput as Rani and Sumit Nijhawan as Salim justify their roles.

▶ Gracy Goswami (Nimboli from Balika Vadhu) as Laadli aces in one fiery moment.
▶ Ila Arun as Amma, manages well as the old lady who knows way too much.
▶ Pitobash as Begum’s handyman and pimp Surjeet, is amazing and manages to shine in the part given to him.
▶ Mishti as Shabnam hardly has a line in the whole 134 mins film. (Fun fact: She is the same beauty whom we see in the Vicco Ad during the interval in theatres, saying, “Kya aapko mere face par dark spots dikh rahe hai? Close-up main bhi nahi? Kyunki hain hi nhi!” *Facepalms*)
▶ Rajesh Sharma as Inspector Shyam and Vivek Mushran as Masterji do fine in their respective roles.

Watch o Not ? Definitely. This is how a woman-centric film should be. Begum Jaan is high on content, emotions, (metaphorically) colors and mind-blowing performances supported by meticulous visuals.

Verdict : Good intentions also need to meet good craftsmanship; the abundance of one can’t compensate for the lack of another. Therefore, to cut out the confusion, Begum Jaan warrants a watch for the significant storytelling, background score (most of the time), a quintessential performances and awe-inspiring visuals.

Ratings -  3/5 (Considering the technical flaws).

Naam Shabana - Naam Bade Aur Darshan Chotte. (Not worth the hype).

Naam Shabana, India’s first spinoff, the making of a spy from the team BABY, has hit the theatres this Friday. Will it match up to the success of it's predecessor, BABY? Or will it fall flat? Let's analyse.

Genre :- Crime-Action/Thriller

Run-time :- 2 hrs 30 mins. *gasps* (I know, right?)

Cast :- Taapsee Pannu, Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee, Taher Shabbir Mithaiwala.

Director :- Shivam Nair

Plot – Naam Shabana is the story of Shabana, her journey from being an aggressive girl who carries guilt and a dark past on her shoulders to becoming a spy for the intelligence agency of the country, BABY.

Direction and Screenplay :-

Neeraj Pandey has transferred the baton to Shivam Nair, as far as the direction is concerned. While Shivam Nair has directed the film, Neeraj has written the story. Does that mean bad news? Sadly it doesn't. Shivam Nair's direction is not perfect but commendable. It is the screenplay by Neeraj Pandey, that seems to be toying between two genres here: revenge and a spy thriller. While the revenge part is meted out in typical Bollywood style, he resorts to his own style when handling the thriller. It feels like two distinct films held together at the interval. The first half takes us back to the traumatic life of Shabana Khan (Taapsee Pannu) and her initiation into the Indian undercover counter-intelligence unit. The second half is about her first mission to nab a global arms kingpin which eventually turns out to be utterly predictable and disdain.


Naam Shabana isn’t as taut as the previous films written by Neeraj Pandey. It lacks the depth of A Wednesday, Baby and Special 26. Unlike his previous stints, even the most important operations, thrilling chases and edge-of-the-seat suspense sequences are predictable.
The plot consists of typical thriller elements like hidden dens, unidentifiable moles and surveillance systems, fist-fights and chases, violence and bloodshed. Except for the action and chase scenes, nothing manages to prevent the film from being dry and bland.

Editing and Cinematography :-

The editing by Kathikuloth Praveen is sharp but the songs, barring Rozana, completely stall the narrative. Amidst all the anti-terrorism and socio-political issues, the songs feel slapped on and jarring, although they are woven firmly.

Sudheer Palsane’s praiseworthy cinematography also fails to lift the storyline. There are countless slow motion sequences and bird's-eye view shots of the cities be it Vienna, Mumbai or Kuala Lumpur, but they fail to ignite a sense of awe.

Music :-

Shahaab Alam and Dharma Vish create a constructive and efficacious background score which helps in maintaining the thrill and excitement of the film.

‘Naam Shabana’ has Rochak Kohli and Meet Bros. offer you four strictly average songs, that are straight replicas of almost every template Bollywood song from recent times. Rozaana is the only song out of the lot which is of a fine quality.

The Highs -

▶ The Stunt-Action duo Abbas Ali Moghul and Cyril Raffaelli deserve an applause for making Taapsee seem lethal and powerful.

▶ There are some Baby references which manage to generate decent laughs, like: "Mantriji toh aaj bohot busy hain," the "conference" moment and Shuklaji's (Kher) dry humor ofcourse. There is also a dig at the mainstream fight sequence where both the hero and the villain rip off their shirts for a grave fight elicating chuckles. Smart.

▶ Later in the film, there is even a dig at corporates taking advantage of “free” mentality (Jio?). You could debate the point of view, but the writing brought a smile. You also smile as you wonder why only Shabana needed all this training while the male field agents got by with paunches.

▶ What I really admired that the makers mostly resisted giving her anything glamorous. The only thing that could be remotely called glamorous is that this seemingly middle class girl almost never wore the same set of clothes twice. *Winks*

The Lows -

▶ The biggest problem with the movie was the trailer. The trailer gave most of the plot, thus leaving the first half, dull and dreary.

▶ A conversation on Shabana’s religion (Islam) still has me scratching my head in confusion. The agency’s head recruiter and planner Manoj Bajpayee tells Shabana that her religion is a perk, that in contemporary times being a Muslim gives better access, opens many closed doors. How? The incredulous look refuses to leave my face. Did I misconstrue something here?

▶The film might appear radical enough to show a woman fight her way past the men but at the heart of things rests a very male, big boy world-view. I expected Taapsee to do an out an out mission on her own but you will be disappointed at how her encounter ends. Her scenes with Akshay are nothing but patronising and made me cringe, twice. Also, a big let down for me was when Tapsee's name appears below Akshay Kumar in the end credits although the latter just had a cameo. Tch tch!

▶ There are some underdeveloped lines like, “Main aapko zabardasti karte hue achcha lagta hoon (Would I look good forcing my way)?” Locker room jokes about a drunk boyfriend being a liability and a drunk girlfriend an asset (I don't understand how it was supposed to humorous).

Performances :-

▶ After giving a stellar performance in Pink, Naam Shabana is a progression as an actor for Taapsee Pannu. Her expressions, mannerisms and gestures in the Shivam Nair movie keep harking back to the sleeper hit of last year. Here you can see Taapsee showing off her martial art chops in spades and they are an absolute delight. Her portrayal of a badass woman, is alluring. Her altercation with the antagonist in the climax is a reflection of her fine acting abilities.

▶ With Prithviraj Sukumaran as Tony, the antagonist, it feels that the actor could have perhaps done a lot more with a better etched role. He has a striking personality but his character of Tony, a kingpin, is an inexcusable waste of Prithviraj's talent.

▶ Akshay Kumar has an extended cameo and he leaves no stone unturned to show off his prowess in martial arts and machismo.

▶ Manoj Bajpayee does full justice to his role but it would have been better had he been given some more material apart from playing the role of a human version of Siri.
*sighs*

▶ Anupam Kher as Om Prakash Shukla manages to tickle the funny bones with his tiny role of 15 mins.

▶ Danny Denzongpa as Feroz Ali Khan also makes an appearance and makes one wonder why he doesn't appear on screen more often.

▶ Taher Shabbir as Jai does fine. He manages to carry off the role of a boy next door quite well, although his delivery feels forced.

Watch o Not ? 

Uhmm. Maybe. Maybe not. Watch it only if you want to see a completely kick-ass avatar of Taapsee. Her dedication and hardwork for the role is noteworthy.

Verdict : Don't go in with the expectation of watching a riveting action packed thriller like Baby.
Given the marvellous action sequences and terrific performances that were done well, the pace of the film could have been forgiven. But, it is difficult to forgive no pounding hearts in a thriller. When the protagonist feels too safe, nothing can make you worry about her, can it?

A Wise Word Makers? 
Next time you make a film supposedly revolving around a woman, please do so because you have a great story to tell, not because female-led cinema is a hot current trend.

Ratings - 2.5/5