Shomini Sen

Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, directed by Anshuman Jha, may have been a great mystery thriller on paper. The film, with a very Hitchcock vibe, starts on a promising note, but soon enough, almost 15 minutes into the film, it loses steam. Yes, that early. I will be honest, I sat alone only for its actors. It features Anuj Mathur, Rasika Dugal, Paresh Pahuja and Zoha Rahman- all very watchable actors, all who have proved their mettle in projects before. But Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is unable to use these actors to their hilt thanks to a sketchy plot which is woke unnecessarily and a terribly written screenplay.

In Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, Vishal Jethwa and Ishaan Khatter play Chandan and Shoaib, childhood buddies from the marginalized section of society, who are acutely aware of their social status and desperate to earn the respect and validation they rightfully deserve. Early in the film, we are told that Chandan hides his caste identity. Desperate to break generational discrimination, both Chandan and Shoaib apply for Police jobs, but instead of opting for the reservation quota, Chandan applies in the general category. When a perturbed Shoiab questions his move, Chandan admits that he is scared to reveal his caste lest he be thrown again into doing menial jobs. That moment sets the tone of Homebound. A film about two young men who try honest means to get jobs and earn the respect of society, but society constantly fails them, ridicules them, and never allows them to shine.

When Gangs Of Wasseypur realised and became a cult in subsequent years, it paved the way for similar films. Stories set in the heartland, about crime, and of peculiar names. It set a template that several filmmakers tried to use; some created impact, but most failed to get the flavor that director Anurag Kashyap brought to the Wasseypur series. But what happens when Kashyap uses the same template that he had set to now after 13years? His latest Nishaanchi seems to be heavily inspired by the Gangs series with generational angst, revenge, and a bit of romance thrown in. Starring Monica Panwar, Vineet Kumar, Vedika Pinto, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub, Kumud Mishra and debutant Aaishvary Thackeray- Nishaanchi has authentic performance and brings back Kashyap’s unique depiction of a small town in North India, but is marred by the filmmaker’s overindulgence.

Are two Jollys better than one? In Subhash Kapoor’s latest film Jolly LLB 3 the maker brings actors Arshad Warsi and Akshay Kumar together for a courtroom dramedy. Both Arjsad and Akshay have played Jolly LLB in the previous two films, and the fact that Kapoor has managed to bring the two together in the sequel is perhaps the biggest draw of this film. There are fans (like me) who loved Jolly LLB with Arshad Warsi in the lead. An honest, genuine issue-based film - it had surprised me pleasantly when it was released. Kumar’s take in the sequel was more commercial, featuring the actor’s usual theatrics and some dance numbers. It obviously had its fan base. So, to bring the two characters for the third part and tell a story effectively is a great feat for the makers.

Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files tells a gory chapter from the pages of history. An incident that had ravaged Bengal due to communal violence and left thousands dead. However, the Calcutta riots of 1946 are not as widely known as the partition and gory violence that took place weeks before India’s independence. Agnihotri, who has also written the film, connects present-day riots in Murshidabad to the Direct Action Day of 1946 in ways one possibly can’t fathom. Of course, since it’s an Agnihotri film, the plot and screenplay are divisive from the word go. CBI sends its officer, Shiva Pandit (Darshan Kumar), to Murshidabad to investigate the disappearance of a Dalit girl. The prime suspect and eyewitness is Bharti Bannerjee (Pallavi Joshi), a lady in her 90s who suffers from dementia. Suspicions are also on the local MLA Sardar Husseini (Saswata Chatterjee), who holds a lot of power among the people there.

He is from the north, she is from the south, and amid cultural differences and language barriers, they fall in love. The tale of 2 states has been one of Indian cinema’s favourite themes. In recent years, there have been 2 States which were incidentally based on writer Chetan Bhagat’s life, and two years back, Rockky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani-where a Punjabi hero wooed a Bengali girl with all his loud Punjabiyat. Maddock Film’s latest Param Sundari, helmed by director Tushar Joshi, falls in a similar bracket but gets stuck in an attempt to be woke. The film, starring Sidharth Malhotra as Param and Janhvi Kapoor as Sundari, attempts too many things in one go and thereby makes an utter chaos of the film. It is neither too funny, nor too unique – with dollops of predictability thrown in. So, whatever you had expected the film to be (read a middling affair) after watching the trailer, it matches all of them and then some more.

Ayan Mukerji- the man who gave us the brilliant Wake Up! Sid and enjoyable Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani takes a leap of faith to give us the most massy film of his career, YRF-backed War 2. Part of the studio’s Spyverse, War 2 picks up from where War (2019) had ended and gives us two new heroes- Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) and Vikram (Jr NTR, making his Bollywood debut in this one). The result should have been electrifying -considering it combines the best of North and South cinema- but falls into the usual trappings of an illogical, larger-than-life spy film that Bollywood- particularly YRF- has been feeding us for the past few years. War 2 thrills but also gives a sense of Deja Vu, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Somewhere near the climax of Dhadak 2, tired of fighting back constantly to claim his position in society, Neelesh- the male protagonist of the film- states, “Haalat badal sakte hai, jaat nahi (situation may change, but caste won’t)". The line hits you hard. Even as India progresses, the discrimination and politics that come along with it- will never end. Filmmaker Shazia Iqbal’s film Dhadak 2, featuring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri, addresses the age-old caste politics that persist in Indian society to date, through reservation and quotas, disrespect, vote banks, and more. Backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, it takes up the same theme that Dhadak was set in, of star-crossed lovers, one from the marginalised section and the other from the privileged class, and the problems they face in their love story. Both films are remakes. However, Dhadak 2 soars due to its sharp writing and superb performances by the lead.