Movie review: LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA

In many of the scenes, LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA does to men what many bollywood films have done to women -  treat them as objects, make them look silly and mark them as one-dimensional. But if we didn't complain then, no reason why we should now.

The good thing is, LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA wants to talk Women empowerment, not shout, scream or yell. Prime-time debated and discussed, echoed in ever metro city, this term has made the most noise but has hardly found a solid footing.
The film then, has a serious undertone but expresses it with genuine fun and humor.

To be honest, India is more of a Man's world. Most of India dwells in small towns and Small towns have their own bizarre modus operandi. They want their women to have varied roles but be submissive in all of them. They want them to be the 'Buajis' , 'biwis' , 'bahus and betis' with their terms and conditions. Every role with a tag, every behaviour with a restraint, and every move meant to be judged.

LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA resides in these small cities, shows their taboos  and in turn, reflects a larger image.
An image which might not hold a universal appeal, but a reality that exists.
A reality which we are apprehensive to accept, but most of us inherently want.

Men in India are a scared species. Scared and insecure. They are scared of women, are insecure of them. They fear when a  woman responds, reacts and retaliates.
They are used to the tamed ones and hence lose it the moment a stronger one is face to face.

LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKA is not a penetrating perspective nor a wholesome justification. But it works because it dares and still stays breezy. It is terrific at places and has some genuinely funny moments. The good thing is that even when it is not, it doesn't drag or gets too indulgent. Repetitive maybe yes, but never boring.

A small film about small cities reflecting smaller mentalities. But raises a question? Is the mentality limited only to the smaller cities?
Watch it.

Movie review: DUNKIRK

"All we did was Survive", voices an embarrassed, rescued soldier.
"Well, that's good enough", is the response he gets.
DUNKIRK then, is a WAR film not about WAR. It is after all, a Christopher Nolan film, the Christopher Nolan way.

DUNKIRK was history to us when we read about it. But Nolan makes it an experience. He grasps us by the neck, drops us amidst that dreaded period and forces us to feel. And not just feel, imbibe.

Nolan does not allow DUNKIRK to celebrate much. Infact, what should it celebrate? He traps us, scares us, chokes us. But not unlike other war films showing corpses, mutilated bodies and intestine protruding bellies. He doesn't want you to look away, he wants you to get invested.
Invested in the grim and hopelessness of the soldiers? Why and what for?
And pretty soon you realise Why. With DUNKIRK, Nolan wants to give you, infact give us a sense of purpose.

Yes, he gives us a sense of purpose. A purpose beyond our limitations. A purpose beyond our self-centered, self-catererd and self-driven walk of life.
He uses DUNKIRK to address 'US', to give away the 'I'.
If a cluster of civilians could evacuate an army, it is purely because they wanted to.
Likewise, We could make the world a better place, only if we want to.

We all have the grit, the mettle, the resilience and the strength. It is just that when pushed to the walls, only then we realise it. Nolan gives you that Wall.

Should you watch it or not? It's a Christopher Nolan film, you will regret it if you don't.

Movie review: JAGGA JASOOS

First things first: JAGGA JASOOS is a mess. But a mess oozing out of something experimental, something original. An experiment far from success, but yet a try that didn't fall on its face.

JAGGA JASOOS is as messy as a kid's room.A room that is all tangled up and untidy on the surface. But look closer, and you will be invested in the kid's processes that lead to the mess. His intelligence, his ideas, his usage of resources at hand, his clumsiness, his unorthodox methods all contributing to the mess.
Ideas, intelligence leading to a mess, you would question? Of course yes, if they go out of control. Of course yes, if one becomes obsessed with them. Then they become the mess.

But a mess is not all bad, though its not all good either. But I am not an 'All needs to be good' waala person. For me 'Something great' is always a better alternative.'Glimpses of genius' is stimulating enough, 'Everything needs to be in order' is very textbookish.

An experiment might be based on a textbook, but it generally doesn't end that way. And that is the beauty of it.
JAGGA JASOOS is that experiment that didn't go by the book. And hence, faltered.
But amidst, showed great promise.
It gave me melody, it gave me freshness and most importantly instilled my faith in the medium.

If everything was to be judged by the end product, the journey everytime would feel miserable. Anurag Basu had a great time making the movie, I had a decent time watching it. Exhaustive yes, laboured yes, silly yes but still I had a decent time.

I won't recommend this to everyone. Only for those, who understood what I wrote.