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Ayodhi (2023)
Movie excels in stirring one's emotions with some propaganda thrown in too
Ayothi movie works best as a tear-jerker and the director has successfully exploited the emotional aspects throughout the movie.
It is a story about a family from Ayodhya in UP, India, going to Rameswaram for a holy dip to attain salvation and avoid going to hell. The usual trope on Hindu religious traditions abound. How the family goes through the trauma of returning with the mortal remains of a loved one en route to Rameswaram (which they are unable to visit due to a fatal accident en route causing the death of one of them), and how a local youth (Sasikumar) and his buddies help out the family to navigate various government procedures to have the mortal remains of the deceased family member taken by flight back to Ayodhya forms the crux of the story.
The movie begins on a promising note with Yashpal Sharma (head of the family of four, including two kids) shown as a conservating Hindu priest who helps perform rites and rituals for a living. He is also shown as a strict husband and father whom his wife and kids are petrified of due to his aggressive behaviour. His character, and that of his wife as the quintessential timid and docile wife is a caricature of a typical middle-class Indian Hindu family.
Pugazh who's known for his comic roles plays close buddy of Sasikumar (his name is revealed at the fag end of the movie, which I shall come to later) who accompanies him in his endeavour to help out this family stranded in an unfamiliar land and with no knowledge of the native language Tamil. He plays his part well and proves that he can act in non comic roles just as well.
From the premise of the movie you can guess that there would be ample scope for emotional scenes and the director has exploited it to the hilt. Viewers can also relate to how the State / Govt machinery is more of a hindrance to common citizens and how hard it is for citizens to navigate the labyrinth of red-tape for what is expected to be a simple matter - of transporting the body of a deceased family member back to one's native place. How Sasikumar helps out this family already coping with the trauma of the death of a loved one endears him to the viewers. Barring an early 2-3 minute scene of Sasikumar bashing up some local guys, he's non-violent for the rest of the movie, a first for his character, I guess.
Being a Tamil movie, the director has ensured that Sasikumar's character gets the meximum scene space, and in the process sacrifices the role of Yashpal Sharma who is a fine actor too. Yashpal's daughter Shivani played by Preethi Asrani does a decent job as a daughter with pent up frustration with her father for his mistreatment of his mother and herself. Her dramatic (but expected at some point) outburst against her father for his hyper conservative Hindu traditional views on exhuming the body of a loved one is a key turning point in the movie. Her pre-teen brother too gets a few good scenes particularly when he breaks the earthen hundi to offer bribe to the morgue worker when no one else has any money to offer at the time.
Though I feel the movie is worth watching for the direction and acting by the main protagonists, I was disappointed with the propaganda subtly thrown in needlessly in the end. When Yashpal Sharma's character asks Sasikumar's character his name, in the end scenes, he says "Abdul Mallik". This adds this movie to the long list of movies in recent years showing a do-gooder Muslim man (hero) helping out a Hindu girl (heroine, usually) and her family from distress. This seemed like propaganda to me, which could have been avoided. I await a movie which shows a Hindu man as the do-gooder helping out a Muslim girl/woman / her family in distress, for a change. Also, the way the viewer is made to perceive Yashpal Sharma's character as a disgusting vile conservative Hindu also seems uncalled for, though the director might justify it as the need of the script. It's an attempt to vilify Hindus for their hyper conservatism, which is an exaggeration, as most Hindus don't think or behave like Yashpal's character does (in one scene he's shown refusing to let his daughter take a loo break before embarking on the long trip to Rameswaram by taxi, which is very implausible in reality).
Overall a good one time watch with family, which can't be said about many movies being released these days.
Gravity (2013)
Exciting 3D computer graphics but very weak script
As someone with a scientific temper, I had high expectations from this movie, also considering the rave reviews it got from the film critics and viewers alike. But, within an hour into the movie at a theatre, even with 3D glasses for special effects, I was sorely disappointed with the absence of credible science, and an extremely weak script. The computer generated graphics and space maneuvers can seem exciting at first, but when you realize that that's about the only thing the movie has to offer, it almost gets on your nerves after a while, as much of it is incredible and "unscientific". Besides, Sandra Bullock's character, Dr. Ryan Stone, is supposed to be a Mission Specialist with adequate training in space flight. But, it seems as if she's an ordinary housewife who's put into space, as she's mostly fumbling and bumbling. If it was to make George Clooney's character, as Mission Commander, look great, well...it did. Apart from the repetitive computer graphics of space walks et al, Clooney's quips and witticisms are about the only 'entertaining' bits of a largely forgettable movie. Both George Clooney and Sandra Bullock have been wasted in the movie which has hardly any script to speak of.
Gravity even in 3D was perhaps the least exciting or thrilling Sci-Fi flick I have ever watched, and am amazed by the undeservingly high ratings it has enjoyed. IMO, it's the most overrated movie of 2013.
Partition (2007)
Good attempt by an overseas director on a sensitive issue
Partition is a good attempt to narrate the story of the protagonists, in the backdrop of the partition of India (as India and Pakistan) in 1947. Though knowledge of the actual partition would help understand the story better, it is not a prerequisite as such. The main protagonists (Gian and Naseem) have given stellar performances, and so have few others like Neve Campbell (Margaret Stilwell) and Irfan Khan (Avtar). The script is strikingly similar to a Bollywood (Hindi) movie titled "Gadar - A Prem Katha" released in 2001 and became very popular too. Unlike Gadar...., Partition is a very mellowed-down version of the story of partition and its disastrous effect on communities on both sides of the border. Partition makes up in its subtlety, what it lacks in terms of melodrama and high octane performances of Gadar.... Perhaps having seen the Hindi movie earlier, the comparison was inevitable. Partition should keep you gripped till the end, with its fabulous characterizations and performances of the lead actors. The movie ends differently too, leaving you convinced of the improvisation of the script. Just for the performances and the suspense it's worth the time.