Dil Bechara review: "Seri...surely the perfect swansong for Sushant!!!"

Sushant Singh Rajput...a name that we have been hearing in media regularly in recent times with some of them seeing it as an opportunity to get themselves back in the spotlight while others with a greedy eye on the TRPs. The sad reality is that he left his family & fans much before anyone could have fathomed & though the truth ought to be found out, let's give him the dignity he deserves rather than through crappy prime time debates. His last movie "Dil Bechara" released last night & to be frank, it was hard to hold back tears as the story & at times, some of the dialogues made it hard to distinguish between real and reel. Ever since the music & trailer released, I was totally hooked onto it; but did the movie provide us the catharsis that we hoped for???

The film unfolds in Jamshedpur, where Kizie Basu (Sanjana Sanghi), a thyroid cancer patient finds it hard to enjoy life thinking of the inevitable that the future holds for her. It is into this pall of gloom that Immanuel Rajkumar Junior aka Manny (Sushant Singh) enters like a breath of fresh air. His arrogant, nosy & insistent nature irritates Kizie, but both of them soon warm up to each other which even includes her supportive parents. Incidentally, he also had a brush with Osteosarcoma & was keen in making sure that all of Kizie's wishes were fulfilled which even included meeting her favourite musician in Paris. So does destiny smile on these love birds???

Based on John Green's novel "The Fault in our Stars", this is the directorial debut of Mukesh Chhabra who has been in the industry for quite a while both as a casting director and actor. Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengupta has worked on the screenplay & I certainly felt that they could have done a much better job. There is no doubt that the romance between the protagonists makes us completely engrossed and the character arc created for them is fine. However, Manny's parents or the trip to Paris (which actually was supposed to be an important portion) barely had any significance. It tugs at the heart cords and many portions does make our eyes welled up especially the church sequences, but it could have been much better. 

On the technical side, AR Rahman's music was just brilliant with the title track which I had kept in loop rendered by the maestro himself being my personal favourite. There are other impressive tracks as well like 'Taare Ginn', "Khulke Jeene Ka' etc. However, at the same time I kinda felt that it had a nostalgic touch to it as the music arrangements seemed to have faint resemblances to his yester year hits. Kudos to Amitabh Bhattacharya for the soulful lyrics & to Satyajit Pande for capturing the visuals aesthetically.

It's hard not to sound biased when speaking about Sushant coz of the tragic end  to his life, but in all fairness he has undoubtedly done a fantastic job. You just cant help feel sorry for him & wish things could have been a whole different. The exuberance and melancholy that Manny possessed was perfectly captured by him and giving him competent company was Sanjana Sanghi. Some of you might remember her from "Rockstar" or "Hindi Medium". She has done a fine job as Kizie and seemed the perfect fit for the role. As for the rest, one cant help wish that Saswata Chatterjee (Killer Bob Biswas from "Kahaani") & Swastika Mukherjee had more screen space, Sahil Vaid did his part aptly while Saif was wasted in a cameo that barely had the impact that was expected.

Verdict: Though it is hard to dismiss the reality in the present situation, I would still say as frankly as possible that this movie ought to be watched. It certainly has its flaws but the romance, music, the chemistry between the lead pairs and most importantly Sushant makes the viewing experience worthwhile. So dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Kappela review: "Well intentioned and crafted though it might give mixed signals!!!"

When will the cinema theatres reopen? Hmm...tough question to answer especially with the number of active COVID cases surging like crazy. One of the last Malayalam movies to hit the screens just before the lockdown was Muhammad Musthafa's "Kappela". Since I dont recollect seeing it release in Bangalore, I had given it a miss & was reminded about it when my friend, Ranjith asked me to check it out when it released on Netflix close to three weeks back. Hence I had watched it but due to paucity of time never got to pen down my opinion about it. Well most of the people have praised the movie, so am I also part of that team???

Rains lashed heavily on the beautiful valleys of Poovaranmala as Jessy (Anna Ben) boarded the bus to Kozhikode to visit her lover, whom she had never met in person. So how exactly did they get acquainted in the first place? It all began coz of a wrong number that she had accidentally dialed, which happened to belong to Vishnu (Roshan Mathew), an auto driver. With time, through repeated interaction, they eventually fall for each other. At around the same time, she received an alliance from an affluent family in the locality & that spurs her to meet Vishnu hoping that she could lead a life that she dreamt of with him. 

Directed & penned by Muhammad Musthafa, this is the directorial debut of the experienced National Award winning actor. He has chosen a topic that isn't out of the ordinary after all we have come across such news numerous times. However, the manner in which he builds up curiosity in the audience and the character arc that he has created for the lead characters (Vishnu & Roy) is commendable. His efforts was complimented by the excellent cinematography of Jimshi Khalid and Sushin Shyam's melodious tracks. But there are a couple of aspects likely to raise eyebrows in atleast a few & that is with regard to the message that it conveys. These include possible 'stalking' of Vishnu shown as rather normal, kind of 'moral policing' by Roy (though I feel that gets negated by the climax', 'patriachal' family where the girls are shown to have not much of a voice & when they do decide to take a decision independently, it could turn out to be wrong. Well I'm not going to harp about it, as it didn't affect my viewing experience at all. 

Before talking about the individual performances, kudos to Mushtafa for his choice of artists as each one of them have done justice to their roles. It's not so often that an actress especially a beginner manage to do meaningful roles in a row & Anna Ben has been lucky with that. As in her previous movies, she was a perfect fit as Jessy whose innocence and twinkle in the eyes makes it endearing to us. Roshan has slowly and steadily made people to take notice of him with earnest performances while Sreenath Bhasi deserves praise for his fine act that has been coming at a consistent frequency in recent times. As for the rest, Nilja Baby was really good while Sudhi Koppa, Nisha Sarang, Navas Vallikunnu did their parts aptly. 

Verdict: Musthafa has created a well intentioned and honest movie that captures a slice of life which isn't unknown to any of us. It is unfortunate that he couldn't showcase it on the 70mm screen but to be frank, how often do such movies manage to run without being held over for some other big banner movies. So in that respect, it's great that it was released in Netflix & garnered predominantly positive responses from most quarters. As for me, both the performances and the story appealed to me and if you haven't watched it, don't miss it!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Sufiyum Sujatayum review: "Script fails to realize its full roohi!!!"

With quite a few movies from the other film industries having already released on the OTT platform due to the COVID crisis, it was just a matter of time before the Malayalam industry also joined the bandwagon. So last weekend, we had Friday House Productions release “Sufiyum Sujatayum” on Amazon Prime to the delight of the movie aficionados. I was particularly keen to watch it as my buddy; Gopesh was also part of the team as an assistant director. The trailer had a mystic aura about it with soulful music that would endear to anyone. So was the movie as captivating???

The film unfolds in a rustic village where Sufi (Dev Mohan) returns after a decade to visit his Ustaad’s (Swamy Shoonya) tomb. However, he dies soon after & the news is conveyed to Rajeev (Jayasurya). Incidentally, Rajeev was in an unhappy relationship as his wife,  Sujata (Aditi Rao Hydari) wasn’t still able to detach herself from the memories of her pre-marital affair with Sufi. In the hope that the mortal remains of Sufi would bring a sense of closure for her, Rajeev decides to take Sujata to the funeral.

This is the second venture of Naranipuzha Shanavas, who garnered considerable critical acclaim for his directorial debut in “Kari”. Apart from calling the shots, he has penned the script as well which I felt was rather underwhelming. His choice of artists for the titular role made sense with Dev Mohan & Aditi, matching their parts. But their love story which is the main foundation on which this movie is built upon is on shaky ground as the depth of their relationship isn’t explored which would have thrown light as to why Sujata couldn’t move on in life with Rajeev. Shanavas nailed it when it came to imparting a mystical feel to the Sufi, but he fails to add substance to the character. The last half an hour is gripping and provides a distinct closure to the tale. On the technical side, it is really impressive especially the music by M. Jayachandran. His soulful tracks be it ‘Vathikal Vellaripravu’ (sung by Nitya Mammen , Arjun Krishna etc), ‘Alhamdullilah’ (by Amrita Suresh & Sudeep Palaad) and the brilliant ‘Azaan’ rendered by Zia-ul-Haq  (best I have ever heard), just  elevates the overall experience. Anu Moothedath has done a fine job with the cinematography while one cant the say about Deepu Joseph when it comes to editing as it lags at numerous sequences.

Though packaged as a Jayasurya movie for obvious reasons, he had more of a supporting role with limited screen space. However, he was impressive as the irritated and helpless husband who tries to salvage his marriage. Aditi Rao is making a return back to Malayalam after she made her debut in Prajapathi in 2006. She has done her part reasonably well as she suited the role in terms of appearance & dance, though she failed to convey the sorrowful emotions adequately. The same also applies to the debutant Dev Mohan but I would put the blame for that on an underwritten role rather than the lack of his abilities. As for the rest, Siddique and Manikandan Pattambi deserve praise for a job well done.

Verdict: It was certainly a movie that showed a lot of potential, but falters primarily because of a half baked script. Shanavas gives glimpses at various instances where the story could have been impactful as the chemistry between the lead pairs were palpable, though it fizzles out without going the distance. Even then it is still worth a watch primarily coz of its endearing sound tracks, mystic aura & the manner in which it ends!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards…Ben