Change Your Image
ritu-16553
Reviews
Tribhanga (2021)
Very relatable but not for a majority of viewers
This is a movie with 3 main characters, all female, and their stories which, by the way, you'd most probably not understand if you haven't experienced similar trauma(s) in life. But if you have or care deeply for someone who has, this movie is meant for you.
Kajol's character has been made jarring which is exactly how one could expect a person, with similar
set of experiences, to become - have an outer shell of a personality which automatically repels other people, because of a basic pre-conceived lack of trust in them.
Mithila's character is the exact opposite of her mother in every single possible way, even in her constant defense of Anu (everytime she talks about her with the writer) in-spite of her own mom-related trauma stands as an opposite of Anu who very vocally hates her mother.
Tanvi Azmi's character is way ahead of her times and her decisions over her lifetime reflect the same. Her strength and willpower is what transcends all three generations and is the common strand in the movie.
The movie is actually a common story for many Indian women from across three generations in which the youngest would be in her 30s currently (2021). The society has changed rapidly in India since the 1980s, but until then 'freedom of choice' for women was a slow struggle.
Right after independence there were many forward thinking women, in different parts of the country, who were starting out into the workforce for the first time ever, fighting to have more 'choice' in their lives in matters of finances, occupation, romance and sex. They fought for such freedom all their lives, the next generation had to struggle for most of their lives, and the third generation is also struggling but is paralelly reaping the positive results of the struggles especially of their previous two generations of women.
As with every process of breaking social norms, it is a generational struggle. And this movie has shown that pretty well. Rated it a 9 just for making such a movie and keeping it simple too.
There are definitely issues though, in the screenplay, which I have justified in my head by looking at it as sort of a star studded 'youtube short film'. Again, I am justifying the issues just because such a movie was made in the first place! Had there not been such issues, I would have rated it 10.
Overall relatable characters and story. But not to a majority of viewers.
Do read the review written by rupeshvirajhealth - it is spot on.
Miss India (2020)
13 most interesting dialogues
Better than watchig the movie, go through this collection of kinda cool dialogues from the movie (in no particular order of coolness :D). This list might even make the movie a tad bit more watchable (because you'll be looking out for these dialogues ;) ) :
1. "You are the founder, owner, and sole proprietor of your life". I liked this one, to me it meant that your life is yours to build, some aspects beyond your control contribute towards it, but it is still something you shape. It sort of gives back a sense of ownership and agency of our lives. Having faced a fair share of troubles of my own and seen the lives of youth with no agency over their own lives, I found it to be an empowering statement.
2. "If you don't build your dreams, someone will hire you to build their dreams. If you don't work hard to fulfill your dreams, you will be working hard for someone else's dreams". True.
3. "In buisness half of our strength goes in warding off the 'dangers' lurking around it". Being a businesswoman (albeit small) myself in a highly competitive industry, I'd say this is quite aptly true, once a business starts to take off or when it starts to settle at cruising speed. That's when competitors/landlords/Investors/even employees or even just jealous friends can become those 'dangers'.
4. "Struggle is not an item that you can purchase from a store and own it". Come to think of it, in the context, it was a deep statement. Once you become successful in business, after a great deal of struggle, there sure are people who want to buy your life's work over - to either crush the competition you created or to take advantage of it. It is of course a businessperson's choice when such offers arrive. But in the context of the storyline, her passion, his motives etc. it was well said.
5. "Greatness is a quality that is not gained through fame/recognition or lost because of being unacknowledged" True. So true.
6. "I never dreamt of success, I worked for it". Well many successful people in this world would say, "I never dreamed I'd make it this far". None of us know beforehand wether we will be successful or how successful we will be. One really has to work one's best for it.
7. "Good happy memories with someone we love also give us pain when the person leaves us. " true. "But this is life. We cannot be sad forever, we must not let opportunities at hand pass us by". Feel like harsh words, but definitely wise and true.
8. "You are using your pain as an excuse to stop yourself from enjoying the beauty and happiness around you. ... if you give it a chance you'll see it". Harsh, blunt, but again it's something that we humans tend to do when going through a sad period and these are words that we probably really do need to hear when we can't let go of our sadness.
9. "Giving for the sake of giving - Charity. Sharing because we have enough - humanity." Well put I think. Sounds apt, right?
10. "Good grades are no use of you don't have a goal in life". Gosh I have seen so many examples of toppers doing nothing with their lives and backbenchers making it big. This is an important life lesson, and goals need to be cultivated all along. After all we actually get to study so many subjects not to get marks but to figure the world out and find our place in it, so why don't we :)
11. "Nothing matters if you are not happy". Now this is a dreamy dialogue. Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard for so many people to be happy. But it is true. No matter how hard one works, if one is not happy, nothing matters. If you are happy, you love working hard too, and truly enjoy the benefits. Even when I lost my business, was broke, was under a mountain of debt, was living at Rs.40 a day, and completely alone, I was still somehow happy, not stressed. I got in that situation even after working hard but I had been doing what made me happy. Life took an unexpectedly bad turn, but somehow I knew I'd find a way. Even slogging was fun! Well - funny, this life.
12. "We are not meant to fear God, our professors, our society...we should fear the thought that we will never realize the hero within us. ... Life is an opportunity, just take it" I thought it applies well to those of us who feel compelled by a dream, a goal. That really strong gut feeling about something we just have to do in life ... Of course that's just my personal opinion.
13. The dialogue about a woman gives back double of whatever you give her - "give her grocery she gives back a sumptuous loving meal (well mostly;)), give her a house she creates a home, give her happiness she gives you her love, give her true love she gives you a new life, and you give her trouble she'll give you double trouble". Well, might sound quirky / cheesy at first. But I would say it resonates, at least from what I know of myself and other women - the entire dialogue btw, not just the trouble part mind you :D. Most people don't even realize how true the happiness and love and new life parts are though. But hey, of course not all girls are the same. Though most girls just get more of grocery and trouble and not much unconditional happiness or true love from a man. They say women are mysterious because they don't even know what would make her happy. Again - the dialogue is kinda true, but that's just my worldview.
BONUS- this one is not an overt dialog in the movie per se. The whole movie was a long drawn dialog about sexism faced by a woman doing/wanting to build a business. Connecting with the earlier point, it's just like the brother, the first male friend she makes in America, and the first investor - all of them probably WANTED to make / see her happy, but didn't have the first clue what would make HER truly happy. They were all focused on themselves, selfish and eventually impatient - though each had their own threshold level. The main protagonist was of course the worst, he probably gave 1000 dollars as investing in his own entertainment of seeing this 'hot' woman fail miserably.
But hey, she got and utilised every opportunity she got. Some men I know would say she got them only because she was a woman. Well, yes. But one has no idea how horrible it is for a woman, especially one breaking into a male dominated industry, being seen at evey step as not much beyond either as entertainment or as someone to eventually have sex with or as someone who'd eventually become a wife. When all she might want is to do business like anyone else.
The sexism shown actually happens.
Well. The movie was definitely bad, outlandish, etc .. everyone has pointed that and more out. Oh the text to speech dialogues really left me aghast! They shouldn't ruin Indian film industry image like that lol. But as a business owner, the sexism at every step, the lonely path, the double determination, the double crossing for-sale partner, and the force of passion - were all subtle relatable aspects.
Rated 6 just for the dialogues of wisdom sprinkled all across the script, and which I appreciated as individual thoughts. Never have I ever come across so many of them in one script !
Watch it maybe to laugh at the ridiculous dialog delivery or glaring plot holes. But if you do, kudos to those who find out when dialog number 6 comes in the movie!
Upstarts (2019)
All about friendship and ambition; good for 2020
Light good watch, especially for those on the verge of starting up, or going through a turning phase in their startup because of the gloomy year of 2020.
So here is my honest review :
1. Everything about the movie is understated, CLOSER TO REAL LIFE. It follows the journeys of various protagonists - the three friends, two of their friends, the first investor. But mainly the CEO. A journey in which we are all out to make our mark in the world while going through life's questions, hopes, struggles, pressures, ego fights, challenges, fears, and opportunities. This story could very be the story of thousands of young men and women in the country at this point in time. Tests of time, of our own internal moral compass vis-a-vis our passions and desires.
2. There is NO LOVE STORY, Which is refreshing. The movie also gives a glimpse of how things work with investors in an app based service/product.
3. It is mildly MOTIVATING and you find yourself constantly wishing for the right decisions on the part of protagonists and so for me it simultaneously opened up a door of reflection into my own decisions. Somehow, if you let it, i
The movie can give you a subconscious entry into looking at our own situations as observers as against being the ones actually in it.
4. These are tough times we are living in and for a lot of reasons we have become more isolated than ever before in spite of being so very connected online. This movie has some SUBTLE MESSAGES useful in such times. Like it reminds us of how the process of bouncing back involves us having a good support system of positive energies, by friends we trust, and family to keep our mental strength intact.
Life goes on. Our decisions make ripples that intersect with ripples.of other's decisions. Eventually, everyone finds what they want or need. All that the characters exemplified was the ability to look into themsleves, make decisions, and DO.
At one point it is also a reminder to always keep some fallback option to reach out to for when you feel the lowest in life and cannot think straight.
5. The movie felt DISJOINTED in some places. Flow was not smooth. The passage of time or the pace of the movie was not anywhere close to constant - fast and slow - so that was slightly uncomfortable. Hence the slightly lower rating.
Overall, Good watch.
Upload (2020)
Conspiracy and romance story from the future
One of the Interesting future-of-the-world works. This is not a techy piece at all. Tech is a part of our lives alreaady and will be even more so in the near future. This piece just sets it's conspiracy and romance story in our future.
Did no one notice the subtle allusions to how the current big data and capitalism situation is going to grow and rule the world in the foreseeable future ? The satire is subtle. The drama isnt overly dramatic. It's outlandish but still feels real. It's good! It's even slightly comic, dialed down matrix-y.
It was also a statement in parts. Like when Nathan accesses his memories in the memories parlour at Lakeview, and it takes the form of a movie with "all rights reserved, Horizen" in the end - his memories turned into a Horizen product when he accesses them on their servers - very similar to how our data becomes their property when we upload stuff on social media in today's times.
Also the ads ! Personalized ads taken to the next level! When an ad appears to Luke about Invading other people's space while he is walking with Nathan, because the system can read Nathan's THOUGHTS that Luke is invading his space. Today the apps can read our microphones, cams, texts. In future it can surely be reading minds with predictions of how we are GOING to think /feel in a situation. A.I. knows us!
The cars - so imaginable! And the condoms dispute ! Surveillance of the hilarious level ! There are so many more such moments all over - like the 300 minute wait time for human assistance as a metaphor for massive digitization and making human assistance as obsolete as possible. Notice how in today's times the IVRs have evolved to hide the talk to a customer service rep option deep in the menu somehwere? Well that and much more that happens today is surely and very imaginably the first steps to what was shown very well in this series.
Well, we provide our data, our info for free to social media private enterprise, which is being capitalised and turned into products. It's like chips manufacturers get their quality potato produce for free and without much effort. Or movie makers getting their scripts for free. This piece felt like a rendition of drama and romance in the midst of where we may surely find ourselves in future.
Indian Matchmaking (2020)
Haters missed the point - the journey
Haters prove that we spend so much energy hating that we lose faith. We find wrongs and We lose sight of how can we let something be good and useful / beneficial to us.
This show is about various people from very different backgrounds, most of whom, having tried other paths to a stable companionship or having waited some, are putting their faith in the Indian matchmaking process with openness to see what happens.
Be aware that they don't show endings and the season finishes with a beginning rather than an ending - makes it very clear that the endings are not the point. The varied journeys, emotions, tough life, dealing processes - that's the point. If you want clear endings, don't watch.
So here's my honest review :
1. It's REALISTIC - in that it doesn't force the people in the show to mince words. Doesn't force characters to necessarily present themsleves in an absolute good light - not even the matchmaker herself... if you don't hate the show from get-go because of pre concieved notions, you'll find the matchmaker vulnerable and not-right at various points. But everyone is as realistic as a show like this could present. It also openly portrays what a majority of individuals wouldn't even admit (even to themselves) they do look for in life partners. That's the best part about the show.
2. It shows various people's JOURNEYS and the journey IS the story. The point is NOT whether the matchmaker was good or not, what was right or wrong, wether the matches happened or not,... The point is each individual's story. Matchmaker's story included.
With so many varied characters, you are bound to associate with one or the other in the show or with different aspects in multiple characters. So with at least one of the stories, you may learn something about yourself too, no matter what stage you are in your life.
(And face it - regarding finding love/companionship/marriage there is no absolute right or wrong. Rights and wrongs are completely contextual concepts)
3. The STORY TELLING STYLE of the director is off putting sometimes because of the incessant breaks in each story like tiny crumbs of each story spread thin for the viewer - hence the minus one star. But hey, it's just 8 episodes. By the way, a second season exploring even more diverse stories will be great too in my opinion !
4. The show even cleverly crafts-in the EVOLUTION of Indian matchmaking too - by showing the old couples' short interviews. Shows very succinctly how the process has adapted to modern times while staying within the diverse traditional contexts of a country as unbelievably diverse as India. From marrying after just one-time 20 minute conversations to a long and tough 7 dates / 100 meetings process.
5. The show keeps a POSITIVE undertone, which is important, especially because it is being seen by non indian people around the world too who have enough lopsided exposure to everything that's wrong/bad/dirty in this country. Ref : slumdog millionaire, world's strictest parents series, or just watch Karolina Goswami's videos on how much negative media the West consumes about India daily.
All in all, i liked it very much. And I liked all the characters - all of them. Even learnt something from Preeti ji - even though a similar situation of misplaced expectations from my mother in law broke my own love marriage!
I suppose this show is drawing a lot of flak and hate because too many people have those baggages the show mentions, those feelings of residual angst from past experiences which causes them to have many issues with the show.
These are individual lives and this is a very realistic context, it is how matchmaking has happened, happens and will probably continue to evolve.
My suggestion : relax and watch each story as separate from your own existing notions and not with angst from your own experiences, your past or your expectations from your own future.