Tribhanga review: "Lacked the uniqueness of its name!!!"

After having watched "The Great Indian Kitchen", the next movie that caught my eye was Renuka Shahane's "Tribhanga" for a couple of reasons. First & foremost, it sounded pretty weird for me (since I have no clue about Odissi) & secondly, coz of the cast and crew involved in the project. From the trailer, it was evident that it was about the tumultuous relation that three generation of females shared with each other. There are obviously going to be issues like generational gap, but would it make relationships as sour as this? It would be interesting to know whether the movie was as refreshing as Renuka's radiant smile.

Acclaimed novelist Nayanthara (Tanvi Azmi) had sought the help of biographer Milan (Kunal Roy Kapur) to pen her memoir. Despite the literary honours that she had garnered over the years, she was aware that the personal decisions that she had taken, unknowingly affected the life of her children, Anu (Kajol) & Robindro (Vabhav Tatwawaadi). This left a deep scar in their relationship & she had hoped that her children will forgive her for the mishaps. However, things take a turn when she has a stroke & goes into coma.  

This is the second directorial venture of Renuka Shahane after the Marathi movie "Rita" which was adapted from her mother, Shanta Gokhale's novel 'Rita Welingkar'. This time around she has opted for her own script & it certainly did have a credible thread. However, it did not materialize as well on screen as we dont quite empathize with the characters despite the tough times that each character had to go through. Hence the whole movie feels rather slow & does not manage to attract our attention. The only character that could have added more depth to the proceedings was that of Nayan but she is in coma for most parts. 

When it comes to performances, Tanvi Azmi was the pick among the lot as she had the grace & the looks of a strong female who would stand by her principles which the character required but she did not come across as self centered. It might sound surprising to quite a few but Kajol was just over the top in many sequences. It's understandable that she is portraying a star who is arrogant, even then it doesnt across as natural. Mithila Palkar (as Masha) has given a mature performance though she wasn't given much scope despite being the third protagonist on focus. Kunal Kapur definitely looked awkward as Milan while Vaibhav & Kanwaljeet Singh (as Raina) did their parts aptly.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the movie could have been much better if more justice was done to the thread of the story. It felt as if Renuka wasnt sure whether she wanted the emotional or the light hearted quotient to take predominance. In short, it doesnt rise to expectations!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

The Great Indian Kitchen review: "Stark portrayal of reality that at times many fails to realize!!!"

One of the most oft mentioned statements that most of us would have come across is "The way to a man's heart is his stomach". However, it does not emphasize on the point that the hard work that the women put into plating up such delicious dishes is pretty immense. None of us are oblivious of the long hours that our mothers & grandmothers have spent in the kitchen and though with time, things have started to change; the script has remained the same in many household even to this day but to varying degrees. This is what Jeo Baby have tried to portray in "The Great Indian Kitchen". So was it able to stand out among the women empowerment movies that has come out in recent times???

The film unfolds with a couple (Suraj Venjaramood & Nimisha Sajayan) having tied the knot entering a new phase of their life. The girl with the guidance of her mother in law, gets acquainted with the house hold chores. The responsibility of the household falls on her shoulders when her mother in law had to move to her daughter's place to take care of her during the maternity period. Despite the inexperience, she invests wholeheartedly in her responsibilities but the callousness of her husband to her concerns & rather rigid adherence to customs started taking a toll on her. 

The last time around Jeo Baby came out with a directorial venture was in 2018 with "Kunju Daivam" which had endeared to both the critics and the public. In his latest celluloid creation, he has focused on the topic of patriarchy & that too in an organic manner, to the extent that many of us would feel that it could be any typical kitchen. This point is emphasized through the fact that the lead pairs are not addressed with their names, meaning it could be any one of us depending on which spectrum we look at it. Quite a few would feel that it is way too monotonous & nothing much happens in the kitchen (which in itself is a character). Interestingly, that is what Jeo wants to stress upon that many of the females lead a similar monotonous life that doesn't look beyond attending to the whims & fancies of their families. The major positive is the fact that it does not adopt a preachy pattern & ends in an impressive manner whereby it is upto the audience to decide as to on which side they stand on. 

On the technical side, the sound department has done a fine job as it had nothing apart from the sounds that we usually hear from the kitchen. Among the female leads that has come into the industry in the past decade or so, Nimisha is undoubtedly one of the finest among them. She was spot on as the protagonist & giving her perfect company was Sooraj who continues to dazzle the audience whenever he is given a role of substance. The duo deserves an applause for their impressive performance just as  in "Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum". The rest of the cast have also done their parts aptly be it Siddharth Siva, the in laws etc.

Verdict: At less than 1 h 45 mins, Jeo puts across his points emphatically & shows us that at times it essential that we do introspect as to whether we practice what we preach. There is no doubt that it has a lethargic pace with hardly anything happening & for those who is looking for an entertainer, you would surely be disappointed. But if you ask me, it's a movie that needs to be watched!!! 

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Master review: "Cracking combo that could have been much more impactful!!!"

After close to a year, the Govt has finally given permission for the theatres to be opened albeit 50% occupancy. However that in itself was music to the ears but it remains to be seen how confident people would be to venture into the halls coz of the COVID situation. Anywaz the first movie to hit the screens in this Pongal is Lokesh Kanagaraj's "Master" which featured Thalapathy Vijay & Vijay Sethupathy. Can there be a more mouth watering combination in this festive occasion? But the question is whether Lokesh managed to do justice to the star value that was on offer. 

Nagercoil, 1992 was the day that Bhavani's (Mahendran) life changed forever as his parents became victims to the wrath of the rivals in the truck association. With time, he ended up in the juvenile home & things moved from bad to worse as he was constantly tortured. This made him into a ruthless gangster & he became a dreaded name in the underworld. Elsewhere, JD (Vijay) was an alcoholic Prof who was loved by his students though the management didnt warm up to his unconventional way of dealing with issues. It is at this juncture that JD is asked to take charge of the inmates of the juvenile home. This essentially set the stage for the clash between the dynamic duo.

After the resounding success of "Kaithi", Lokesh is a well known name among the public & a much sought after director. He has already given us glimpses of his next venture "Vikram" with Ulaganayagan & that seems like a cracker as well. In "Master" he pulled off an absolute stunner when he casted Sethupathi as the antagonist after all the impact of the protagonist could be elevated only if he matched in all levels by his opposite. In that sense, the last time, Vijay had someone as good as that was Vidyut in Murugadoss's "Thuppakki". Scripted by Lokesh, the backstory for Bhavani was interesting but apart from that there was hardly anything that was unpredictable or got us excited. That essentially was the weak point as it neither had a solid story to narrate & still lasted for close to 3 h. Even the choice of numerous supporting characters made no sense as they barely had much to do and this includes the female lead as well. 

However, there were quite a few aspects that I enjoyed such as the nod to movies like "Gilli", "Premam" etc especially the reference to Kamal Hasan's character Prof Selvam in "Nammavar" (not surprising after all Lokesh is a self confessed fan of the legend). On the technical side, the stunt choreography, the colour tone Satyan Sooryan used for the frames & Anirudh's music were fine. Thalapathy was cool as ever & has done a fine job but my personal favourite was Sethupathi who oozed confidence & charisma in equal measure apart from the fact that he performed naturally as always. Malavika Menon did her part aptly along with Arjun Das, who seemed poised to be in the industry for some time. As for the rest of the cast, most of them barely had much to do but the kid who helps Malavika's character was pretty impressive.

Verdict: If it wasn't for the Covid situation, it would have shattered all sort of industry records as both the lead actors has given a cracking performance. Unfortunately, Lokesh's writing ought to have been much more imaginative & that is surely a significant let down which gets amplified even further coz of the length of the movie. In short, despite the shortcomings it does provide adequate entertainment!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben