chaitannya Reviews

Laal Kaptaan (2019)

Rare film breaking the current Bollywood cliché

[10/10 · 11 April 2022]

5 stars for Saif Ali Khan for choosing a film which has no love story and portraying so well.

5 stars for director & team for conceiving such a film.

The film drags a bit in the end with characters switching sides & film getting towards poetic justice with no surprises.

Overall a very well choreographed film, beautiful scenes with actors getting under skin of charectors. There are few comic scenes as which deftly make their presence.

Cold Case (2021)

Case gone cold due to unnecessary sub-plot

[4/10 · 1 July 2021]

I would have given the film 7-8 stars had the film not contained any paranormal stupidity.

The film has 2 parallel threads, one being investigated by police with proper logical reasoning & second that of a journalist experiencing paranormal activities.

That spooky soul that is supposed to give chills & thrills would only get anything beyond a yawn even out of a 5 year old kid. I literally went to sleep while watching that part of the film. A film should either be based completely on paranormal activities or pure logical deduction. Mixing the two was totally counter productive.

The acting is good & the plot is tight as far as the police investigation goes & would have been a good film to watch had the director limited the film to only this part.

Koi Jaane Na (2021)

Nothing interesting here

[3/10 · 8 June 2021]

First the film has some really shoddy camera work & editing. It seems the editors were running out of time & some scenes look like amateurs doing a vblog on mobile phone.

The plot is very stereotypical & you can correctly guess the 'real killer' long before the film nears it's climax.

The acting of the most of the cast is good, however Kunal Kapoor needs to show right shades of emotions in the thriller sequence, a romantic boy expression in thriller sequence completely takes the mullah out of the scene.

There are some big holes in the story, but I would ignore for sake of 'artistic liberty'.

If you are spending sleepless night, then this is the film you are looking forward to put you to sleep.

Drishyam 2 (2021)

If first part was amazing, this goes a mile beyond that.

[10/10 · 9 March 2021]

I am from Maharashtra, but had visited Kerala when the first part of the film was released & the posters were all over the place. I was not aware of the phenomenon because I don't understand Malayalam. The film was brilliant, but I felt there were a few loopholes in the plot & felt there police had a chance with if investigation was done with brains rather than brawn.

Saw the second part the moment it was released on Amazon Prime & the plot was mind blowing. The beginning is slow & the very purpose is the catch the viewer unprepared for subsequent twists in the plot. The plot of the film is tight & the narration is smooth. Usually I watch films fast forwarding the boring parts, but this is a rare one which I sat through without forwarding a scene.

Abhay (2019– )

Well balanced crime drama

[9/10 · 25 August 2020]

Finally Indians managed to pullout a crime thriller which makes sense. Unlike CID's 'Tod do darwaz' logic, Kunal Khemu works on evidence & autopsy report & his line of thought is sensible enough to keep you gripped to the story. Abhay always ends up correct conclusions, but that can be considered given the pace of the script.

All the stories are based on crimes which have happened in past. 1 star due on the script writers for wasting talent of Elnaaz Norouzi. If you are signing a good actress make sure her role is bigger & stronger.

I am fan of Kunal Khemu & always wanted him to succeed. I hope he gets more opportunities to make his mark.

Mulshi Pattern (2018)

A voilent but realistic film

[8/10 · 8 June 2020]

The film is based on the real estate boom of Pune city in the period of early 2000. At that time a lot of MNCs setup their operations near the scenic Mulshi region, which also gave rise to large residential projects in the nearby Kothrud region of Pune. Farmers sold their land to builders, but could not handle sudden rise in wealth. They spent the money lavish weddings, dowry & junket which they cannot afford. In few years they are rendered deep in debt & without any source of income. I have see this happening around me.

I am not a fan of violence & the level of violence in the film is something that I would desist & not suitable for kids below 12 yrs. However the performances & direction is top class. This is one of those rare films where almost every actor gets into character, which gives a smooth flow to the narration of the film & has a tight grip on the viewer attention.

The title 'Mulsi Pattern' refers to brutal killings carried out by gangster originating from Mulshi region who sold their farms to property developers & were rendered without any source of income. The film is based on rivalry of real-life gangsters Sandeep Mohol & Ganesh Marne gang.

Yes, Prime Minister (2013)

A different perspective

[10/10 · 4 March 2020]

I saw the series, 6 episodes straight & enjoyed it thoroughly & by the looks of the reviewers I guess I am the only one to enjoy it. It may be because I haven't watched the original series & perhaps most Indian (My nationality) don't even come anywhere close to this quality. Most comments are harsh particularly pointing out how it differs from the original show. I guess there should be objectivity in review. Perhaps the plot would not stand the scrutiny of critics, but after it did made me laugh & that's what a good comedy show is all about. The earlier series may be gold, but if this one doesn't come closer to it thrashing it is unfair.

IMO from the neutral perspective it is was brilliant & actors really got under the skin of the characters well.

Sacred Games (2018–2019)

Finally the film making takes the right turn

[9/10 · 29 July 2018]

Finally I am glad to see film makers taking the liberty of expressing themselves freely without the pressure of 'what audience wants' probably from the producers. Most India T.V. series are like employment guarantee schemes for it's actors & crew, running for 10-15 years with 5 episodes a week marked with overacting, unrealistic setup & no script at all. Many a times it seems like director had told the actor, 'Writers are going through thought block( with 5 episodes a week), just manage the scene without script.. ACTION!'

Sacred Games does follow certain traits of of GoT, the casting is absolutely pitch perfect. B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat was probably the last time an Indian director gave such meticulous attention to casting actors in a TV show & made sure that at no point the narration was made slack by clumsy acting even by actors who had like 'blink you miss' roles. The entire series is kept tight in narration, at no point it seems to drift away. Actors seemed to be highly professional, unquestioningly portraying dirrector's imagination, a rare trait in India.

As far as story is concerned, the directors have taken a lot of liberty to twist the plot & characters to make it kind of thrilling. Most characters in the series have shades of black & white, where as in the book it is shades of gray.

People who do not approve of expletive or strong language, should stay away from the show.

Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (2015)

Brilliant production value & a brilliant film from all aspects

[10/10 · 15 November 2015]

This film got a standing ovation where I watched it. This is for the first time I witnessed standing ovation. Usually the producers demand some degree of commercial elements in the film to make it commercially successful. This film preserves the authenticity of the story, without compromising on any of it's aspect. This is top class production values. I am absolutely sure this film will get standing ovation in various international screenings.

The film is based on a play of same name & film makers have done well to preserve the authenticity of script & music. The heart of the film is classical music, which is very well choreographed. The climax of the film is amazing & literally gave me goose-bump.