Saturday, October 01, 2016
M.S. Dhoni The Untold Story
A Mixed-bag Biopic
For a viewer not too interested in cricket, it would seem a biopic on M.S.Dhoni is a bit premature. It is supposed to be an ‘Untold Story’ but almost everything is known even to the casual newspaper reader or TV viewer.
Which is not to say that his achievements are not remarkable, but his story seems to be similar to that of many in the cricketing circuit—ordinary background, discovery of his talent by a coach, the passion and the struggle to make it big and his success on the field.
There are not too many highs and lows in his life so far, which is why Neeraj Pandey is hard put to bring drama into a bland story. Dhoni (Sushant Singh Rajput) has a regular middle class childhood, with his father (Anupam Kher) having small expectations for him, like a safe government job.
Most of the film is about his playing in different matches as he rises up the cricketing ladder, and the happy or sad responses of his family and friends watching him on TV. What Pandey does get right is the small town atmosphere, and the heartwarming camaraderie between Dhoni and his friends.
But for a small burst of rebellion and depression, Dhoni’s life seems to be on the up and up. There is not a hint of darkness or controversy. Except for glimpses of Yuvraj Singh and a couple of others, there is no interaction between Dhoni and his teammates. It hardly seems like a team sport with keen competition and a lot of external and internal politicking, but a one-man game.
The overlong film is almost winding down, when as an afterthought the two women in his life are introduced—Priyanka (Disha Patani), who is killed in an accident, and Sakshi (Kiara Advani), who he ends up marrying. There is a dash of humour in the scene in which Sakshi, a hotel receptionist, does not recognize the star cricketer.
Sushant Singh Rajput does his best to make Dhoni look like a flesh-and-blood character—moving slowly from reticence to flamboyance, getting the stance and walk and attitude right, but is let down by a lacklustre script. Cricket is a game of thrills and longeurs—the film, unfortunately, has more of the latter.
Labels: Cinemaah
Friday, September 30, 2016
Parched
Of Female Bonding
Coming a week after Pink, Leena Yadav’s Parched is like a rural version of the same core idea-- the problems faced by women in a patriarchal society. In the first film, the urban, educated careerwomen are aware of their rights; in the second, there are rural women, who are resigned to their fate, because there is no alternative in sight.
Yadav’s film—with enough exotica to entice foreign festival audiences—seems to suggest a solution, and that is-- women should support other women.
Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is a widow, with a son, Gulab (Riddhi Sen), who is going the way other boys in the village (in Rajasthan), swaggering around, drinking and whoring. Rani and her friend Lajjo (Radhika Apte) select a bride for Gulab, but he does not like Janaki (Leher Khan) and goes back to his dissolute ways. She is in love with another boy, but nobody asked her what she wants; the family decides and she has to submit.
Lajjo has an abusive husband, who throws her childlessness in her face every time he thrashes her. The third friend Bijli (Surveen Chawla) is a dancer with an itinerant company, and entertains clients on the side. Of the three, she seems relatively happy with her lot, at least she is free of family responsibilities and somewhat independent. Her life comes apart when the manager gets a younger woman to replace her.
Rani and Lajjo work on handicrafts for a kind man, Kishan (Sumeet Vyas), who runs an NGO and treats them with respect. This little bit of financial freedom irks the men, who eventually hound him out.
It’s not as if Yadav says anything new, the plight of rural women is known, but she tries to cut back on the bleakness. For every scene of a woman’s suffering, like the one of the young girl forced by the panchayat to back to the husband and in-laws who torture her, there is one of women enjoying a breather, like the trip Bijli takes the other two on a‘chhakda’ (a three-wheeler), during which, they discover a risqué use of a vibrating mobile phone.
For a film that is pro-women, Yadav has too many scenes of violence against them, plus raunchy dances and nudity that would attract the male gaze but leave women discomfited. For such a conservative society the women’s friendship with Bijli would be frowned upon, Lajjo’s sexual encounter in cave is incredibly cheesy; the ending is also a bit implausible, but the sheer joie de vivre of the women, and the uninhibited performances by Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte and Surveen Chawla make up for the film’s other shortcomings.
Labels: Cinemaah
