AninditaRoyMusings

TENIDA AND COMPANY: The cult favorite Tenida (a creation of Narayan Gangopadhyay) comes alive for the second time onscreen bringing a much needed humor break on celluloid. The foursome of Tenida, Pyala, Kyabla and Habla are etched out true to the original depiction of the much loved and celebrated author. Kanchan Mallick shines as Tenida. And yes, Paran Bandopadhyay is also present in a cameo and brings in a good dollop of comic delight. Gourab Charaborty is Kyabla and Habla speaks in Bangal. The entourage of Riddhima, Mithu Chakraborty and Sabyasachi Chakraborty plays to the gallery. The famous Yogsarpa’s Hari scene in the train is missing and so is the Ghachang Fu, Kachang Ku message from Kagamachi.Tenida’s famous dialogues “Kan Kete Kanpure Pathiye Debo”, “Naak Kete Nagpure Pathiye Debo”, “Puducherry” are there in the movie in all their glory.The screenplay and the editing is brilliant and so is the cinematography. All in all, a wholesome entertainer. Must watch for kids and adults to savour the golden age of Bengali literataure.”DE LA GRANDI MEFISTOFILIS YAK YAK!!!”

NONTE FONTE: What a sheer delight of a movie! In the initial few reels you would feel that familiarity with the famous comic strip by late Narayan Debnath is a pre-requisite. But as the movie progresses, you would realize that it is a fresh new script with a brilliant ensemble cast. The casting of Keltuda is a casting coup. The character of Nonte has the same spiked hair as envisaged by Debnath.The character of Paran Bandopadhyay has been woven into the script to bring in the required flair and comic interludes. The music by Anupam Ray is great too. Overall, an enjoyable fare for kids and adults alike. Do watch it for the world.

DABANGG RELOADED TOUR: I have never seen a Salman Khan live show before and with the entourage comprising of Prabhudeva, Sonakhshi,Jackqueline, Pooja Hegde and Ayush Sharma I was intrigued.
The highest tickets were priced at 40000.(Yes you read that right). The box office opened at 1:30 pm and the gates opened at 5:30 pm. The parking was about 1 km away from the venue. Frisking was more severe than that for frequent flyers almost akin to a cavity search. The organisers confiscated my water bottle (understandable) and my binoculars(but,why?). The show started at 7 pm with Manish Kaul as the MC. The usual ghisa pita “Ami tomake bhalobasi” “Kemon achho Kolkata” was mentioned ad nauseam.
There was also some body shaming with uncouth members of the audience being asked to do complex acts. The stars performed in increasing order of popularity or the pecking order. Sonakshi tried to engage with the audience and Jacqueline did a “Boro Loker Biti Log” number.
Salman’s “Jag Ghumiya” act was the high point of his performance. Guru Randwa also tried to form a Bong connection. Salman did not effuse charm ala Shahrukh, Big B or even Aamir and kept his boorish image intact.There were fireworks and roaming drones and the weather at the East Bengal Club was also nice. But overall the show was scripted in an aloof, nonchalant way that couldn’t warm up the audience, stir its soul or work it into a frenzy. And at 10:45 pm it was a wrap. Still I didn’t feel shortchanged as most handsome men have a way with women. Saat Khoon Maaf.

LOVE AGAIN: This is an old school romcom featuring Priyanka Jonas and Sam Heughan as the main protagonists. The storyline is hugely inspired by the old desi movie “Main Prem ki Diwani Hoon”. Nick Jonas plays a cameo as an adrenalin charged brainiac hating gym trainer on a first date with Priyanka. Piggy Chops plays Mira Ray who is a woman of color still in love with her deceased husband John. Along comes Rob Burns who inadvertently gets the texts from her which she still sends to John.(Some cinematic liberty this).
Priyanka is chasing her Hollywood dreams hard and the world is joining hands to help the former Miss World conquer the West. Though she is a soni chitti Punjaban in Bollywood, she is more content being a brownie in Hollywood. Hope she doesn’t resort to frontal nudity ala Anne Hathway and gets more ambitious to get her way. Music is ho hum except for the Celine Dion numbers who plays herself with aplomb. The screenplay is smooth and weaves logic, comedy and huge dollops of mushy romance. The climax has a feel good aura as with most Hollywood movies. Priyanka carries the movie on her slim shoulders and the credit for this pleasant romedy goes entirely to her.

FATAFATI:Set in a small town of West Bengal, this superbly entertaining movie is a cross between “Dum Lagake Haisha” and “Mean Girls”. There is a slant on Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Fashion” too. There is a worldwide uproar against obesity-being fat will kill you, rob you of youthly pleasures and be subject to bullying and body-shaming. Open Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, home delivered flyers-people are screaming for your attention and money promising you the moon-diets, pills, exercises, and believe it or faint, magnetic buttons. The weight loss ads are more than get rich schemes. Abir Chatterjee has the author backed role and yes, he can even kiss a piece of wood and make it look real. Ritabhari is superb and acts real, true to the skin of the character. There are addorable Bengali moments in the movie, the blow-hot blow-cold equation between the mom-in-law and the bouma and the amiable relationship between the brother-in-law and boumoni. The screenplay is crisp and fat-free without even a dollop of margarine. The dialogues are engaging and the eponymous track ” O Phullora” is the best soundtrack of the lot. I found shades of “My Sulu” too in the movie.
And the movie also conveys the message that wearing flats is cool even for petite women. The climax is uplifting and heartwarming keeping with Hollywood trends and brings hope for women obsessed with weight loss and achieving a zero-figure and ready to dish out two lakhs per month to Rujuta Diwekar or read her superficial books (“Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight” etc) who could not alter the physique of the billionaires like the Ambani scions.
Women have a propensity to gain weight-post pregrancy, post menopause or due to hormonal imbalance, bad genes or simply unmindful eating and irregular lifestyle. This movie teaches us to accept our body type and move on to better pursuits and accomplishments.

PONNIYIN SELVAN 2 (PS 2): This movie set in 9th century Chola dynasty is a mediocre outing from the stable of Mani Ratnam. A.R. Rahman’s music is ho-hum and fails to create an impact.The story is convoluted and not compelling. Aishwarya plays a double role as Mandakini and Nandini-she is poker faced and subtle in the first half but shows her histrionics in the second half. She looks regal and would remind you of her Jodha Akbar look. Wish she imbibes the workaholic trait of her famous father-in-law and we get to see more of her. I did not see the first installment and I am not familiar with the Tamil actors but the person who plays Arulmozhi displays a royal grace. The palace intrigue is complicated with the presence of too many characters.The dialogues are good but could have been better. The cinematography is average. There is no “wow” moment in the movie barring the last 15 minutes which depicts the battle for supremacy of the Chola warriors.The movie tries to be a “Bahubali’ clone but lacks the soul and substance of the same. With the audience’s penchant for period drama and historicals coupled with Aishwarya’s star power this movie is okay as an one-time watch.

KISI KA BHAI KISI KI JAAN: A lot of critics have panned the movie labeling it as pure balderdash. But I found it to be a masala entertainer with mass appeal, although totally formulaic.
This movie is a remake of the Tamil movie “Veeram”. Salman, handsome to a fault, sports two hairstyles, a long flowing one while he is in Delhi and a short one while he is in Hyderabad.
The romance is mostly hands-off barring a few hugs but I wish Salman would select more age-appropriate heroines. His yesteryear heroines Bhagyashree (with hubby Himalay and son Abhimanyu) and Bhumika Chawla show up in cameos. Veteran actress Rohini Hattangadi also plays a senior role. The action scenes are well-choreographed but it is hard to digest Salman bashing up Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh who plays the villain. The songs and the background music are superb especially the “Yentamma” song which features Oscar winner Ram Charan but the pelvic thrusts look vulgar. The closing credits song composed by Yo Yo Honey Singh comprising of nursery rhymes could have been better. And yes, there is that famous mandatory shirtless scene that is so swoon-worthy. This is a feel-good movie and would resonate well with family audiences. Please do not go by paid reviews. Watch the movie and come home with a heart filled with joy and mirth.

MRS.CHATTERJEE VS. NORWAY: Based on Mrs Sagarika Chakraborti’s real-life trials and tribulations against the Norwegian Government, this movie is a heart-warming tale of an immigrant mother’s relentless struggle for the custody of her children. Despite living in Norway, Mrs Chatterjee lives the life of a Bengali bou and her home is steeped in Bangaliana. They eat Bangali khabar with fingers and the children sleep with their parents. This mode of Indian parenting is highly disapproved by the Norwegian authorities and they confiscate the children and put them under foster care. The rest of the movie unfolds the socio-legal drama that ensues in Norway and India finally culminating in a rejoiceful family reunion. The movie is high in content and the delivery is superlative. Rani carries the movie on her petite shoulders and is uninhibited and flawless. The unrelenting protests, the hysterical wails and rants, the pangs of separation and the unbridled joy on seeing her children, the constant pleading with her husband-she enacts all of these with elan and panache. She screeches and howls but never goes over the top. Although Anirban Bhattacharya puts in an impressive debut in Bollywood, its Rani’s movie all the way. But there are certain events in the movie that I couldn’t digest:

1. Rani is a BSc graduate and yet speaks in broken English.
2. India breaks off the telecom deal with Norway over some “foster child” issue.
3. Lawyers are so damn supportive-even the opposition lawyer takes a backseat and embraces defeat and says “Congratulations!”
4. While the gripe is against Indian parenting, why is custody given to Anurag Chatterjee, the brother-in-law who is also Indian and a bachelor to boot.
5. How could Rani take away her children from the foster home and travel to Sweden without being nabbed earlier than when it is shown?
   When Barun Chanda showed up as the judge, the climax seemed predictable. The movie is interspersed with Bengali dialogues and mannerisms and even the Hindi spoken by Rani has a Bengali twang. Though this sounds delightful to Bengalis-it might deter non-Bengali speaking audiences. The final statement given by Rani in the Calcutta court could have been more impactful and soul-stirring. Music is moderately pleasing especially the “Shubho Shubho” track. The natural beauty of Norway is not much captured or kept at the editing table. Jim Sarbh’s performance is commendable. Neena Gupta is wasted in a miniscule cameo. Directed by Ashima Chibber, the movie, with its release after International Women’s Day and before Mother’s Day is a women-centric movie which despite being a tear-jerker will appeal to families all across the globe. It’s been since long that Rani has acted in a non-YRK movie and she gives it her all. Watch the movie to enjoy and marvel at Rani’s bravura performance.