October 2019 Viewing

October was a difficult month like September, so again I did a lot of rewatching movies.  I went for comfort over new experiences, with the Telugu movie Rowdy Fellow as my only first-time watch.  I enjoyed it, and will write a review at some point.

September 2019 Viewing

September was a month of rewatching favorites and of abandoning many others.  In the end, I only fully watched one new-to-me, Dil Chahta Hai, which I very much enjoyed and deserves an eventual review.  It was a solid five star film, and one which I'll probably revisit. 

August 2019 Viewing

I did a lot of rewatching in August, so I don't have many to review.  The two I do need to review are Saawariya (3 or 4 stars; still need to decide) and Balakrishnudu (only 3 stars for various reasons but I liked it enough to rewatch it immediately).  

Okkadine

Okkadine
2013
3/5 stars

Shailaja (Nithya Menon), daughter of famed philanthropist Shivaji Rao (Sai Kumar), returns home from abroad.  She takes a trip to a retreat, where she meets Surya (Nara Rohit) and his household.  She falls in love with the kind family, and eventually with Surya as well.  However, murder and revenge stand in the way of happiness.

(Cast also includes Nagendra Babu;  Rachana Maurya stars in an item number.)

Rohit and Menon

The plot is involved, and isn't always logical, but is still intriguing; there is a particularly good cliff-hanger at the intermission.  While the characters are sometimes excessively emotional, the acting is generally good all around, with the leads being particularly unaffected. It was refreshing to see these two appealing principals look attractive in a natural, unsophisticated fashion.  The musical numbers are average and below.  Due to the music and the, at times, irrational story, I can only give the film three stars; however, I certainly got five stars worth of enjoyment out of it.

Kalank

Kalank
( translates as "stigma" or "blemish")
2019
3/5 stars

In Lahore, in 1946: Satya (Sonakshi Sinha), knowing she is to die soon, persuades a reluctant Roop (Alia Bhatt) to become a second wife to her husband, Dev (Aditya Roy Kapur) so that he won't be alone at Satya's death.  Petulantly, Roop insists on taking singing lessons from Bahaar Begum (Madhuri Dixit), despite being initially forbidden to enter that part of the city by her father-in-law (Sanjay Dutt).  While there, Roop meets a womanizing blacksmith, Zafar (Varun Dhawan), and falls in love with him, a situation that leads to disastrous results.
(Kiara Advani, Achint Kaur, and Kunal Khemu also have prominent roles.)

The six main actors gave mostly natural performances, with good chemistry throughout.  Dixit was especially convincing, but Bhatt was stiff at times.  This movie is visually stunning: costumes, sets, choreography, cinematography, and even the actors themselves.  The songs are generally good, with exceptional incidental and atmospheric music.

The basic story, while mostly predictable, is strong but there are plot holes that weaken it, and unneeded scenes (the bull fight in particular) that seem to be there just to add minutes.  In addition, the action is interrupted from time to time by an unnecessary interview scene taking place with Roop ten years later.  This breaks the mood and why it was included is baffling.  Despite these negatives, it is worth watching for the visual spectacle alone.

Dutt, Dixit, Dhawan, Bhatt, Kapoor, Sinha

Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Jab Tak Hai Jaan
2012
(translates as  "As Long As I Live")
4/5 stars

Major Samar Anand (Shah Rukh Khan), fearless when defusing bombs, hides grief over a lost love behind a severe and stand-offish personality and a strong disregard for his safety. Akira (Anushka Sharma), a young filmmaker, finds Samar's journal, and discovers his past romance with Meera (Katrina Kaif), ten years ago in London.

After making a documentary on Samar, Akira returns to London, but needs him to come there as well, to verify the legitimacy of her story.  Reluctantly he returns to the city of his heartbreak, and the unexpected brings Meera back into his life.

(Anupam Kher plays Meera's father.  Rishi Kapoor and his real-life wife, Neetu Singh, play Meera's mother and step-father.)

The first two hours of this film were excellent; the plot was immersive and the characters believable.  The make-up artists did a wonderful job making Khan look younger, but did not do so well aging Kaif.  The music was mostly great and the cinematography was perfect.  Khan and the vivacious Sharma had fantastic, natural chemistry together; Kaif was too stiff at times, however.  Unfortunately, around the start of the third hour, when Samar returns to London, the plot becomes less credible and the ending lacks emotional punch.  Despite that, it's a movie worth watching, just don't expect to be particularly moved by the ending.

Notebook

Notebook
2019
4/5 stars

Kabir (Zaheer Iqbal ), at loose ends since he quit the Army, agrees to become the teacher of an isolated Wular Public School with an enrollment of seven students.  He is failing dismally when he finds the diary of the previous teacher, Firdaus (Pranutan Bah).  At first, reading her diary gives him confidence to teach the children.  Later, however, he falls in love with her as he learns to know her inner self through the diary.  He leaves the school at the end of the year, still thinking of Firdaus.

In the meantime, Firdaus is teaching in a large city school, trying to conform to traditional ways of teaching while she waits for her marriage.  The unexpected happens, and Firdaus' wedding is cancelled; she returns to Wular Public School, and finds messages to her from Kabir.

This is a charming movie. Iqbal and Bah, both debut actors, are natural and believable.  The energetic and jubilant children are a pleasure to watch.  The music is only average and below, unfortunately, and does effect the whole.  The ending was particularly good.   With it's uncommon plot, engaging cast, focus on the importance of education, and beautiful cinematography it is an overall enjoyable experience.