Women Over Weekend

The long weekend was unexpected.  I didn't even know it was a holiday on Monday, until the last moment.  For a moment I rued over the fact that I wasn't in the mainland.  If I were, I could have planned for a nice getaway, were my thoughts (even though it hadn't happened in Bengaluru while being posted there, post-covid).  There were no friends to hang out with; two colleagues who used to be regular chums to spend time with, had moved away from the islands recently.  Another friend was away holidaying.  It meant I wouldn't have any company over the weekend.  

I looked at the things I could do - read, write, jog, workout, clean up the messy bedroom, etc.  I did some.  I wrote a story (which upset quite a few), I clocked some 25 km of walking and running, and read several articles.  The bedroom though, only got messier! Yet, there was still a lot of time on the hands (even after wasting many hours on the social media).  I surfed the multiple OTT platforms to see if I would want to watch anything.  I could not find anything exciting.  Then, I decided to fall back on the recommendations of friends (that were made mostly eons ago, but I was looking up them now).  Sathya had watched, 'Hidden Figures' (2016) and she wanted me too to watch and let her know how it was.  Everyone and her aunt was raving about 'Laapata Ladies' (plus some people were coming out of woodwork too, to claim that their work was plagiarised).  Then there was something I had forgotten to watch despite many recommendations and people going ga-ga over, 'Kaathal the Core'.  I decided I will watch them all.  I even threw in a Kannada movie for a good measure. And, a Jennifer Lopez starter, ‘Atlas’ into the melee. While 'Laapata Ladies' and ‘Atlas’ were on Netflix, the other three movies were found on Amazon Prime. 

One interesting fact about all the movies I watched was, they all either were women-centric (where a woman was the protagonist), or had a woman in a prominent role.  Not in my entire life had I seen so many women-centric movies together ever, over a weekend.  This was a first!

'Hidden Figures' tells the story of women in NASA and their role in putting the first American into space - not just any women, but black women.  It was the time of segregation and the kind of hardships these women - told through the lenses of Katherine Gobles, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, mathematicians and manual computers who dare to dream big - and how they overcome is a great tale of empowerment.  Even though the movie is based on real life people and events, it takes several liberties in tweaking the actual incidents to create drama.  Theodore Melfi has directed this drama that primarily focuses on the story of Katherine Gobles, and her contribution - and the trials and tribulations she faces for being a woman and a black woman at that - towards placing the first American astronaut in space.  

When a position of a computer (before the arrival of personal computers, people who excelled at computing quickly worked in the scientific organisations as computers) arises in the core team of the space mission at NASA, Katherine gets called in, and soon she becomes the indispensable one for the calculations need advanced knowledge of analytical geometry.  How she continues to stay relevant even after the IBM machine makes its presence felt forms the crux of the story.  Elsewhere, Dorothy who leads all the Black women computers is fighting her own battle of survival and progress; she wants to be officially recognised as the supervisor, a position that is reserved for White women.  At the same time, Mary is taking on the powers-that-be to break into the male bastion of 'engineers'; she wants to enroll into a degree and for that she goes to the court of law.  These are the figures that we do not learn about, and hence the word 'Hidden' in the title.  

The movie is heartwarming, uplifting, and devoid of needless drama, and focuses majorly on the story it wants to tell, without too many deviations.  The acting is competent, and so is the recreation of the atmosphere of the 60s.  What doesn't fit well in it is the saviour complex that the White Men suffer - and how Kevin Costner's role had to be enhanced to show him as the saviour of the Blacks and their dignity in a sequence or two.  It sure adds to the drama and makes for great viewing, but it does a disservice to all those women who truly fought for their rights and freedom.  Also, the lives of these women away from work looked too perfect to be true - everything rightly falling in place, and not a worry to fret about apart from their rights.  Regardless, I still totally recommend watching this movie.  It was just a little over 50 years ago that Blacks were still fighting segregation.  There would be lessons for those anti-reservation people of India too.

'Laapata Ladies' directed by Kiran Rao (Aamir's ex wife) and produced by Aamir Khan didn't last long in the theatres, but has been making a lot of right kind of noises ever since its debut on the OTT.  People have raved about it, the song 'O Sajni Re' has become very popular for making reels, and suddenly Kiran Rao is just more than Aamir's ex wife too.  

Set in a fictional place (somewhere in the Hindi heartland where all possible Hindi dialects, accents, practices mix and make a heady cultural mix) in the early 2000s, the movie tells the tale of a mix-up of newly married brides, and one of the brides arriving wrongly at one destination, while another frantically trying to reach where she is supposed to be at! Along the way it sheds light on the regressive practices of ghunghat (veil covering the face), denial of education to women, and denial of agency.  

Rahul is getting back to his village post his marriage with Phool.  It's the big wedding season and there are several similar newly-weds in the train, and he gets off in the dead of the night with the wrong bride - discovered only when she lifts her veil and says she's Pushpa.  This leads to a frantic search for Phool by Deepak and his friends.  Meanwhile, Phool who discovers that she's been left behind makes railway station her home and finds kindness among those other inhabitants, and hopes to find her way back to her sasural.  The protagonist though is 'Pushpa' who has wrongly entered the household of Deepak. Who is she and what are her motives? These are slowly laid bare by the time we reach climax.  

'Laapata Ladies' is an absolute feel-good movie that tells the essential story of the need to empower women in India. And, the story-telling is first-class, and so are the acting chops by most of the cast.  Even though 'Pushpa' does not look the part as a rural girl, she does a commendable job, and so do Deepak and others. Of course, the movie is far from being realistic. Hardly anyone is evil or bad here (save for one); even the corrupt police want to be helpful and play the 'good samaritan' role. It is a movie where the girls on the run find protective people to shelter with, and do not have to face any of the brutal circumstances that might happen in reality.  Barring that, this is a little gem that cannot be missed. 

'Kaathal - the Core' is a Malayalam movie that released last year and created waves - for the subject it handled. Jeo Baby has directed this movie.  He had made waves with his first outing, 'The Great Indian Kitchen' too, which dealt with patriarchy in middle-class Kerala households in a very Margaret Atwood-esque way (though of course the ending isn't like her books).  (Margaret Atwood because he didn't name any of the characters in the movie). Expectations from Kaathal were surely high because Mammootty not only acted as the lead, but also produced the movie.  

Mammootty is Mathew Devassy, a taciturn but affable man in his middle ages living in a small Kerala village.  He is a member of a Communist Party, and is asked by the party to contest a local by-election, as the ward seat falls vacant.  Jyothika plays Omana, his wife.  They have a daughter who is studying in the city.  The household is completed by Mathew's old father (who also is a man of few words like his son).  The director places the church at the very centre of the movie and it plays a very firm character; the songs in the movie take off from the choir.  Omana is shown as a devout Christian, regularly attending the masses, and lighting candles, and praying before every meal.  

The seemingly 'perfect family' picture is broken when the news spreads that Omana has filed for divorce, on the grounds that Mathew is a homosexual.  Is the accusation of Omana true? Even her own brother sides with his brother-in-law!

All the drama in the movie comes from the people around the household.  The party workers, the churchgoers, and the supposed voters.  The household though maintains its calm, outwardly.   The movie later becomes a court drama.  Several unpleasant questions are asked, and many marital secrets tumble out of the closet as the case unfolds at the Pala Municipal Court. Mathew tries to speak in monosyllables, Omana refuses to twist facts for the sake of an easy win, and just when she appears to be losing, she brings in a star witness that tilts the case in her favour. 

The movie is set nicely amidst an election, where the hero could become something bigger, and the court case comes as an embarrassment that could make his plans go awry.  When characters express Omana could have filed the case at another time and not now, even the viewer might side with that opinion, as someone rooting for the appealing Mammootty. But, the film hurtles towards the climax where Mammootty seeks forgiveness from Jyothika (and Devassy from his son for having forced him to marry).  

Kaathal surely is a landmark movie for treating homosexuality with compassion and not either as a disease or a condition to be pitied about.  It stays absolutely equanimous in its treatment of the subject and steadfastly avoids being melodramatic.  Some of the scenes hit home hard. Acting is first rate.  My grouse? A few for sure.  The movie treats Mammootty's character with kid-gloves, and tries to gloss over his follies.  It becomes even more evident when you hear Jyothika tell him why she fought the case. Nor does he once say the word 'gay' or 'homosexual' - that felt strange for a man who agreed to play the role.  And, not many emotions are visible anymore on Mammootty's face after too many facelifts and botox treatments.  If you haven't watched it yet, don't miss it.  

I also said I watched two other movies.  'Atlas' of Jennifer Lopez, and a Kannada movie called, 'Dauther of Parvathamma'.  Both totally forgettable, and avoidable fare.  Now, I am wondering what to watch next.  Any suggestions?

Buck The Trend, Please!

Been a while since I visited my blog and wrote something. Much as I have this desire to write regularly and share my thoughts with people known and unknown, I dither and let it pass. Also, the last few times I wrote it was all about somber matters. I didn’t want one more of the same kind again. And desisted penning notes about many such happenings. I itched even to write about events occurring in my ow life too - but they aren’t great shakes either. 

So, to lighten the mood I want to look at movies (what else?)! We keep movies relevant even when we aren’t watching - by creating a boycott trend! 

Growing up, most people from my generation and older, wouldn’t have any bigger entertainment than going to movies. And sure enough we watched movies in troves - and droves. We loved our movies where the hero triumphed over the villain mostly. Realistic fare wasn’t for us - it was for the pseudo-intellectuals - we would turn up our noses! Sure enough the greats like Satyajit Ray or Girish Kasaravalli weren’t our favourite directors. We rooted for the likes of Manmohan Desai and Vijay and V. Somashekhar (in Kannada; fill in with names from your language). 

But then, as we grew older (and possibly had seen enough of the same being recirculated as new movies) we started appreciating the auteurs - generously also helped by the dawn of television and access to quality English movies that would be telecast usually late in the night. 

This growing up also made us realise how clichéd were some scenes in Indian movies (possibly in all mass-entertainment movies across the world). And yet they would find being repeated movie after movie. You’d know the scene from a mile (or two) away. Like a climax set in an airport. Hero/heroine running and beating all odds to reach, the flight taking off, s/he collapsing on a chair dejectedly and bursting into tears, only to realise the hand of the ‘true love’ on the shoulder - and yet this never went out of fashion. The same scene can be reimagined at the railway station too (or even on a bus a la 'Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin').  Or, the scene where the police comes after everything is over; promptly, the hero (or someone else) asks the police to arrest the culprits.  Like the police always wait for the orders to arrest! And, we haven't even got to the point where the hero bashes up a multitude of villains, and they all fly in the air - and yet, keep coming back for more of the same treatment! 

If one wants to make a list of such scenes and sequences that have been done to death, and yet film-makers can’t but repeat them, we would come up with a long list for sure. Here are some of mine for such a list. 

1.  Let's dream a dance! 

Raj Kapoor introduced the dream sequence in his movies back in 40's and Indian Cinema was transformed forever.  

Remember the sequence from any movie where a lead character dreams of singing a song with their love? In countless such scenes, you’ll have a group of girls readily willing to blend in the background and dance - most times, wearing hideous clothing. I can understand the hero or the heroine dreaming away. I can understand even a romantic interlude. But what are these chorus dancers doing in the scene? Is this a dream sequence or your inner demons manifesting? I haven't known any living person who imagines to romance while others are gawking and serenading alongside. It's another matter altogether when we question the very presence of songs in movies!

2. Matching Step for Step!

Yet Another related to the song-and-dance tropes in every movie. Have you ever wondered how everyone who gets to groove knows the steps already and are in full sync? The hero and the heroine don’t seem to miss a beat as they join a hoard of dancers and jive away. Even the most intricate choreography is a breeze! Every Indian movie is an example of ABCD - anybody can dance, and how! To this day, it trends - the latest example is that of RRR! It's another matter that many of these songs become chart-toppers, exposing the logical limits of the audience!

Thankfully the 70s are over - and the trend where every family seemed to have its own song, and sang it often enough to ensure even kids remembered the tune, and lyrics.  So, when they would grow up - after the fateful events of murders and separation - they would sing it to reunite with their remaining family members, and take revenge against the baddies!

3.  'I stalk; but you don't!'

Rich hero and poor heroine (or vice versa) is the norm in every (other) Indian movie. In most cases, the hero stalks the heroine, teases her, borderline abuses her, teachers her how to behave as a woman, and makes her believe that it’s love. Yet, when his sister falls for a guy in the same movie, she of course is wrong and is bringing down the honour of the house! Or, when the bad guy does the same routine as the hero with the heroine, he gets bashed up! There are enough movies that also give messages that women love being teased - immortalised through dialogues and songs. It's like women crave for attention.  And, even negative attention is better than no attention. Duh!

4.  "Uncle! It's time to learn!"

The comedy tracks - especially in South Indian movies - involve a bunch of friends of the hero. The hero thankfully has become younger over time - but the hero’s friends will be in 40s and still his classmates in college. Also, they get manhandled, abused, spat at, by the hero and they still adore him like an angel. Audiences laugh all the way back home, at jokes that are misogynistic, homophobic, and generally problematic. Producers laugh all the way to the bank, happy that they can possibly repeat all of the gags in their next, safely. Logic and sensibility being the casualties in the process. 

5.  'Maa....'

The strongest sentiment in any given movie is the mother and her relationship with her son - invariably, the hero.  He does anything to keep the promise he made to her when he was a 5 year old kid - even build empires of vice! Even after she has passed away and moved on to another world, mother holds sway over the hero and every action of his.  This trope can hardly be questioned or criticised - because mom is the biggest thing in the world, in India.  The two latest blockbusters - Bahubali and KGF - hold candle to this sentiment in the best way! And, let's not forget that this was equally strong back in the days too - Deewar anyone? 

I just listed five of the most oft-repeated threads in movies, that I believe need a long break.  What are your pet peeves that you think need to be given a burial soonest? 

A Small Tribute to a Legend

 To talk about a legend, a musical wizard, a person loved by almost everyone across the country, especially when I didn't know him personally nor a musician myself, borders on sacrilege.  Also, as they say in Kannada, it is like holding a candle to the Sun.  However, SPB - Shri/Dr Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubramanyam - was a singer par excellence who touched everyone's life and heart in the South (if not the entire country).  

This post is not to eulogise and write about his life and qualities.  I am no expert.  Nor do I want to copy information from Wikipedia and post here. As a small tribute to the man who sang thousands of songs in Kannada - both film and non-film - I would like to enlist songs that were watershed moments either in his career, or those of actors, or stood out musically.  This is not an easy task at all, considering the body of work and immense popularity of so many of his songs; yet I am sticking my neck out and making a list of just ten gems.

SPB first sang in Kannada in 1967 - his second ever song was in Kannada.  M Ranga Rao made him sing in the movie, 'Nakkare Ade Swarga', a duet with P Susheela.  For an industry that was awed by the voice of PBS - Prativadi Bhayankara Srinivas, it took a while to warm up to SPB.  Between 1967 and 1972, SPB did sing many songs, and some of them became immensely popular too.  But, then came a breakout performance that made him a star singer. The list is not organised chronologically, except for the first number.

1.  Havina Dwesha Hanneradu Varusha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKmE7D_bx2M

1972.  Puttanna Kanagal, ace Kannada director, was launching a new hero Sampath Kumar,with the movie, "Naagara Haavu" based on a novel by the same name penned by literary great, T R Subba Rao (otherwise known as ThaRaaSu).  He wanted a fresh voice to lend vocals to an angst-ridden song.  Vijayabhaskar, one of the best music director Kannada has seen (and Puttanna's favourite) suggested SPB.  The song - penned by Vijayanarasimha - was composed more like a slow, dramatic monologue, than a typical song.  

The movie, its hero (and heroine), and this song were all runaway hits. Sampath Kumar became the new star of Kannada cinema as Vishnuvardhan. And, SPB became the go-to voice of every hero from then on.  And, this marked the end of the peak of PB Srinivas as a playback singer in Kannada.  

2.  Naliva Gulaabi Hoove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrTvmCyGjvo 

SPB arguably has sung his best numbers in Kannada for Shankar Nag.  His mannerisms, the energy he would bring in all epitomised what Shankar Nag reflected on the screen.  I could even make an exclusive SPB-Shankar Nag anthology of great numbers, from across many movies, starting from Seetha Ramu to SP Sangliana.  

Auto Raja, the movie in which this song plays, catapulted Shankar to a superhero status, and to this day he is the demigod that every Kannadiga auto driver swears by, even though he died three decades ago. Rajan-Nagendra, the most successful/popular music duo of Karnataka composed music for this number; the lyrics are by the word maestro, Chi Udayashankar.  

3.  Entha Marulaiyya Idu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X10mWHSrURg

1970s in Kannada Cinema stands out because of new-wave and art-house films.  P N Srinivas was one such talent; his movies though were neither completely art-house nor fully commercial.  Even though he made very few movies, they all have stayed in the minds of connoisseurs of good movies.  He began with Spandana, and the music composed by C Ashwath, feels fresh to this day.  This song sung by SPB is one of my all-time favourites.  The lyrics are by the poet, N Lakshminarayana Bhat are soul-stirringly poignant, if you understand Kannada.  

4.  Nammoora Mandara Hoove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySRGK6PVz3Q 

Another talent that emerged in Kannada in the late 70s was Suresh Heblikar.  He specialised initially in suspense and mysteries, and later branched out to make movies on psychological issues.  There are amazing songs from many of his movies, like  'Aparichita'(Ee Naada Anda Ee Kaala Chanda), and 'Amara Madhura Prema' (Naaleyu Barali Santasa Tarali), and yet I thought I'd chose only one. This song is from, 'Aalemane'.  The lyrics  are by Doddarange Gowda, an underutilized powerhouse wordsmith.  Music is by the extremely talented Ashwath and L Vaidyanathan.  The duo were known as Ashwath-Vaidi, and gave music to several movies in Kannada.  This romantic number and its intensity of emotion could only be brought alive by the vocals of SPB.  None else can be imagined to sing it. Through out the 80s, almost everyone sang this song at school competitions, college fests, and every possible occasion!

5.  Bhale Bhale Chandada Chandulli Hennu Neenu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNrG2uFtPmQ 

Ramesh Arvind arrived in late 80s and soon established himself in playful roles which earlier were earmarked for Ramakrishna.  But, then he turned up in an intense, psychotic movie role in 'Amritavarshini', directed by Dinesh Baboo.  It was a break-out performance that helped him cement his career. The music helped in no less measure, and without doubts, SPB's vocals in this song composed by Deva, and penned by K Kalyan.  The lyrics are fresh, romantic, and make you think of spring in intense summer, and the singing gives you goosebumps.  

6.  Yaava Hoovu Yaara Mudigo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nQ8rmu5ZFU

Srinath was known as King of Romance (Pranaya Raja) during his heyday in Kannada cinema.  But, SPB had not sung a song for him until Shubhamangala (1974).  This song is from 'Besuge', another romance with his best onscreen heroine, Manjula.  SPB's contribution is immense in sustaining the image of Srinath as the perennial lover.  Most of the songs that made a mark and became popular were duets ('Nille Nee Nalle', 'Besuge Besuge..', 'Ee Sambhashane', and so on).  SPB and Srinath built a lifelong friendship from the days of Shubhamangala, even after Srinath moved away from being the lead to character roles. 

Geethapriya debuted as director with this movie, and even penned the lyrics.  Music is by Vijayabhaskar. 

7.  Noorondu Nenapu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJgrLFDr5vE 

'Bandhana' (this song features in it) was the most successful film of Vishnuvardhan ever.  Even though he had the tag of an angry young man, and played to the masses as a tough action hero, this was a completely romantic movie, not essentially matching his image.  But, SV Rajendra Singh Babu, the director, produced a masterpiece that enchanted the entire state's audiences. Based on a novel by Usha Navaratnaram by the same name, the movie retains a cult status in romantic movies.  

The music for this movie was scored by M Ranga Rao, and the lyrics were penned by RN Jayagopal, the son of R Nagendra Rao, a doyen of Kannada cinema.  

8.  Santhoshake Haadu Santhoshake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbvU2qscN9g 

Will there be any 'all-time best' lists be complete without an Ilayaraja number? Most probably not.  

Shankar Nag was a multi-faceted personality.  He though debuted through stage, he went on to become an actor, director, script-writer, producer, and even established a sound recording studio in Bengaluru.  He made the eponymous 'Malgudi Days' for DD, based on RK Narayan's works. 'Geetha' was one of the early movies he directed, and dealt with the travails of a man in love with a cancer patient.  Even though the movie was not a great success, its music continues to stay on the minds of people; Ilayaraja used one of his compositions from this movie in 'Cheeni Kum', 30 years later!

9.  Karunaada Taayi Sadaa Chinmayi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDUzQJMY0ug

If it is Kannada song list, it will stay incomplete without a Hamsalekha number; or for that matter, a song featuring V Ravichandran, the crazy star.  This song from 'Nanu Nan Hendti' was only penned by Hamsalekha; it was set to music by Shankar-Ganesh duo.  This movie also started one of the longest and successful associations of actor-musician resulting in a series of musical hits, Prema Loka, Ranadhira, Anjada Gandu, and so on, over the next decade and a half.  Ravichandran gave a big break as a music director (and lyricist) to Hamsalekha; Hamsalekha made a star out of Ravichandran, with his dialogues, lyrics, and music.  And, it was the voice of SPB that brought all those compositions to life. 

Hamsalekha often repeats everywhere, 'a singer like SPB takes birth only once in 500 years'.  

10. Umandu Ghumandu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMM9TBrpbTA 

Chindodi Bangaresh and Chindodi Leela, two stalwarts of Kannada theatre always had a dream to make a movie on Panchakshari Gavai, a gifted blind Hindustani Classical musician  from North Karnataka.  Surprisingly when they chose to make it, they chose Hamsalekha to compose music.  The entire industry circles were shocked - one, the movie was about Hindustani Classical music; two, Hamsalekha was known to break every musical tradition and come up with crazy numbers.  Some even used to call him, 'Dhwamsalekha' (meaning, the pen that destroys). Yet, the result was no less than outstanding.

Gana Yogi Panchakshari Gavai, not only brought National Award to SPB - his fourth - for singing, it even fetched the Best Music Director Award to Hamsalekha, a much needed validation of his music talent!

A1. One for the road - Mamaravello Kogileyello

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6jrsgJxNAI 

SPB used to sing one particular song in most of his musical concerts.  He used to refer it to as the ideal song for 'Kantha Shuddhi', in his programmes.   

This song is from a movie, Devara Gudi, featuring Vishnuvardhan and his wife, Bharati.  The music was by Rajan-Nagendra, and lyrics are by Chi Udayashankar.

SPB not only sang, but also gave music to several Kannada movies, 'Sandarbha', being the first one. Strangely, in one of the movies where he acted and scored music, someone else was his playback singer! Dr Rajkumar gave the vocals for SPB on screen in the movie, 'Muddina Maava'.  When the request was made to Rajkumar he is believed to have exclaimed, "it is like the river Ganga has come asking for a cup of water!" Incidentally, Rajkumar is the only star for whom SPB didn't playback. 

SPB is no more.  But his voice and songs are forever alive, making us come alive, shed tears, romance, believe and live!

Movie Review - LSD

Even if you guys haven’t heard of Dibakar Banerjee most of you would’ve heard of (or even seen) the movie ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’ and/or ‘Oye Lucky Lucky Oye’. DB established himself as a moviemaker to reckon with these two films. Well made, well acted and movies that pleased both the critics and the crowds (yeah, yeah). ‘Chak de patte’ from KKG is a number that’s still heard regularly (sung marvelously by Kailash Kher). LSD, the latest movie from DB is not in the same mould. It’s NOT light-hearted fun, breezy movie. It’s not even a conventional movie (even by Dibakar Banerjee’s or even Anurag Kashyap’s yardstick).

LSD (Love, Sex aur Dhokha) is a realistic, hard-hitting cinema captured on hand-held camera. It tells three different stories that run into one another albeit briefly. The stories don’t seem disjointed and the acting by the entire ensemble cast is uniformly superlative (everyone is new; you won’t find a single face that you might recognize from anywhere unless one of them is your friend). The movie is influenced by the happenings that have grabbed a lot of footage on news channels – the Nitish Katara – Bharti Yadav love story and its aftermath, the MMS scam and the sleazy stings.

So the three tales are about an Aditya Chopra-addicted film institute student who falls in love with the heroine of the movie he’s making (for his graduation), a youth-in-trouble-over-money willing to sacrifice emotions for cash and a dancer who’ll go any length to get featured in a music video (and a journo team into sleaze stings).

But beware before watching the movie! The language’s street lingo – filled with expletives and profanities, the violence (and sex)is graphic and disturbing and there are no cinematic conclusions. The entire movie more akin to a docu-drama or better still, appears to have been told from a neutral perspective, “It happened thus” way. It reminded me of an old movie (which bagged National Award then), ‘The New Delhi Times’ starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore.

If you don’t mind thinking about the movie long after it’s over and you don’t have a queasy tummy go watch it. It’s ground-breaking in more ways than one. If you want your movie to be even remotely ‘enjoyable’ or have moralistic issues then this ain’t your cuppa!