Change Your Image
saptashreet
Reviews
Varisu (2023)
At least more watchable than Beast
This movie gives major Karan Johar vibes with Vijay's funny overacting. But the movie is bearable and actually a good one time watch when compared to that brain-dead Beast (which made RAW officials look stupid). But I would spend money on watching this. Watched it on Amazon Prime on my off day. Can be watched once. I don't get why Rashmika Mandanna was cast tho. May be they just needed an arm candy to dance around Joseph Vijay in the songs. Rest of the caste and crew put up a good show. I watched Yogi Babu after his performance in Mandela and realised that he must have had great financial compulsions to have accepted this movie. The fight scenes screamed MASALA. But I dunno if stupidity and bird-brained schemes can be passed of as masala anymore. Don't expect any wow factors. Watch it with the mind that this is a full blown masala film. You will feel less disappointed.
Malikappuram (2022)
SWAMIYE SHARANAM!
Finally! Finally watched the Malikappuram Movie . The movie gives you an euphoric sense of divinity which is inexplicable in words. Just cannot be articulated. There were moments where I was startled, then laughed, then got sad and then cried in devotion.
The movie is story of an eight year old Kallu, her invincible devotion towards Ayyappa Swamy and the ordeals she faces in her life to meet her lord who had been with her even before she was born. By the end of the movie both Kallu and I were convinced that Unni Mukundan is Ayyappa Swamy and were chanting Swamiye Sharanam in reverence. For someone who cannot visit the Ayyappa Temple for at least in the next 25-30 years, he is whom my subconscious mind has accepted as the divine. This movie is defined divinely ordained, I am convinced on that aspect completely. Especially after the desecration of the Ayyappa Temple by the Pinarayi government and two women of other faith who had no regard for our tradition and belief systems. I still remember how my heart bled while I broke the news of the temple having been desecrated the first thing in the morning just after the Supreme Court verdict. It's for everyone to know that a religious place is not secular by default and you have to abide by the rules.
Now coming back to the movie, this movie is also a step by step tutorial of the niyamas you HAVE TO ABIDE by if you ever decide to embark on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. A very engaging way of letting people know what to do and what not to when Ayyappa wishes to bless you.
The movie also gives you glimpse of the thriving hindu culture of Kerala which is mostly in news for ISIS recruits (at least for us journalists) and where movies are so repulsively vendetta drives most of the times that any sane sanatani would just give up on them.
The Petta dance was such beautifully picturised, with so much that of saffron flying in the air that I was left wondering what the Kerala Police has to say about it.
Now the performances of the movie. Like I have declared already, I am totally convinced Shree Unni Mukundan is Ayyappa. I wish they had not brought the police angle later because it just acted as a dampener, because for me Dharma cannot be justified through humanly caricatures. No, not acceptable. However, apart from Unni, the child who played Kallu/Malikappuram who finally meets her Ayyappa and Piyush Swamy were the stars of the show. Carrying the movie on their tender but able shoulders, they take you back to the untainted form of bhakti which has kept this land alive since millenium. You'll be just wowed by their performance. A special shoutout to the gentleman who played Kallu's father and the old man who prepares funeral processions for others.
It is a must watch movie for all sanatanis. There's no if and buts here again. It's available in both Hindi and Malayalam on Hotstar for those who missed watching it in the theatres. I watched the movie in Malayalam and realised that if you know Sanskrit or any other classical language, the movie is easy to understand anyway.
I would congratulate the entire team. Kudos to them for making a movie like this in these Religious-political times that we are in. It was need of the hour.
The HARIVARASANAM stotram in the end just rounds up the entire feeling and leaves with you a sense of the divinity present around you.
SWAMIYE SHARANAM.
Trial by Fire (2023)
It doesn't soft land any blow.
Trial by fire is soul stirring blow by blow account of the Uphaar Cinema Tragedy that rocked New Delhi on the fateful day of June 13, 1997. I must be only 1-1.5 years old then and did not have any knowledge on this issue until I started off my career as a journalist. 59 people died of suffocation due to a fire in an overly packed cinema hall where all the exit points were closed. Rest is history.
The series leaves no stones unturned and is quite unapologetic about the matter at hand. They makers have not sugar coated anything and have given space, time to all the factors that led to this massive travesty of justice. Even the milords of this great nation and their sense of justice isn't spared. Abhay Deol is a terrific actor and proves it again. Rajshree Deshpande with her poignant portrayal of Mrs. Neelam Krishnamoorthy who continues to fight for her kids and 57 others even after 26 years will move you to tears of despair and helplessness. It is a must watch for everyone of my gen, older and younger to know how your life doesn't matter in this country if you're not filthy rich. Like I was told once, some lives matter more than others.
Sita Ramam (2022)
A good one time watch
It's an okay okay movie. The army portions of the movie lacked basic research and felt like filler scenes. The love story was the main plot of the story which honestly feels rushed at times. A love story has to evoke emotions but this one fell short by a few notches. The chemistry between the couple was good and both Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur played their parts convincingly. It was refreshing to see Rashmika playing a character that was relatable and had grit. One more fact I loved about this movie that heroines or female leads haven't been portrayed as plain blank stupid which is an issue with 99% Telugu movies. The female leads had a meatier part to play with a variety of shades. Sumanth also played his part well. It is a great one time watch. But not an exemplary and timeless romantic saga for hardcore romance lovers.