Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX
This post is for the diehards, Eastern and Western moviegoers addicted to this genre; falling into the latter, I made a recent pledge regarding the countless films generated every year from this prolific source; NEVER again will I subject myself to silly, frivolous, scatterbrained themes that gush, at the tsunami level, from a myriad of India’s filmmakers. NEVER again will I be tortured by Saif Ali Khan, Arshay Kumar (even Hrithik Roshan) energized by Superman propulsion, pulverizing villainous vipers by the hundreds. In fairness, this also applies to Western films, dedicated to the same motif.
Blessedly, Bollywood has produced in recent years some excellent alternatives, annihilating the inane idiocy propagated by massive injections of abhorrent nothingness.
AURANGZEB (HINDI, ENGLISH SUBTITLES) IN THEATRES
Named after the Muhgal emperor who imprisoned his father Shah Jahan (creator of the Taj Mahal); Arjun Kapoor gives a galvanizing performance as twin brothers, “Ajay/Vishal” separated in infancy; progeny of master criminal, “Yashwardhan” (compelling depiction by seasoned Bollywood actor, Jackie Shroff); there is enough blood, graft, and larceny pulsating beneath all factions of life in the burgeoning city of Gurgaon, to appease the appetites of actionists, moralists, ethicists; culpability is earned and meted to the worthy.
THREE & 1/2 STARS!!!
SHOOTOUT AT WADALA (HINDI, ENGLISH SUBTITLES) IN THEATRES
This is a terrific movie about an actual event that took place in Mumbai, November 1st, 1982, between police and a mafia czar. John Abraham as a wrongly accused perpetrator, “Manya Surve”, hardened by incarceration, creates his own punitive world. Anil Kapoor as “Afaaque Baagwar” a Mumbai police official is the force trying to incapacitate the illusive killer; perfect “star” pairing makes for an action-packed, stunning movie experience.
THREE & 1/2 STARS!!!
“KAHAANI” (Story) (HINDI, ENGLISH SUBTITLES) NETFLIX
By a landslide, one of the most intriguing, well-acted, spellbinding films I have seen in recent years. Vidya Balan stars as “Vidya Bagchi” a woman, seven -months pregnant, who ventures alone to Kolkata to find her missing husband, “Arnab”; what transpires in a discerning analysis of feminism, motherhood; the power of one to exorcize every impediment, striving to stymie her quest. Capturing the cacophony of Kolkata during the Festival of Durga Puja (Hindu goddess symbolizing the triumph of good over evil); Vidya’s “impregnable”, indomitable spirit lacerates every obstacle. “Kahaani” is an imaginative, unpredictable, wondrous “story” that will leave audiences dumbfounded.
FOUR STARS!!!!
For Now…..Peneflix
I haven’t really gotten into Indian cinema since Satyajit’s Ray’s trilogy(Apu, Pather Panchali, Song of the Road). I remember seeing The River with my father at an age probably too young to fully comprehend it.
Will give Kahaani a go when I’m in the mood for some spice.
Still rememner the conclusion of Jean Renoir’s “The River”. SNAKE! Thanks, P.