TRAPPED

Release date: 17 March 2017 (India)

Director: Vikramaditya Motwane

Box office: 2.85 crores INR

Budget: 5 crores INR

Awards: Filmfare Award for Best Editing, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, Filmfare Award for Best Sound Design

The story

Shaurya (Rajkummar Rao) must pluck up the ‘courage’ to stay alive after he accidentally locks himself up in his new rented apartment in a desolate Mumbai high-rise, for almost a week. To make things worse, his phone battery dies and since the building is devoid of residents, electricity and water or food supply, Shaurya must take extreme measures to survive this unexpected nightmare.


The review

Rajkumar Rao had been a fantastic actor and we, as the audience, expect a lot more from him. He did a perfect show. The movie went forth with such brilliant acting from Rao that at one point of time, it was almost as if I was part of the whole thing; the sweat, the tension, the feelings of hopelessness and fatigue. It was pretty well enacted, the director giving importance to the smallest detail. The sinking feeling of not being noticed after making all the efforts to do so was nail biting. I thought it was pretty okay but then oftentimes I am wont to the devilish thought that this idea could have been stolen from a Hollywood movie or some book that the producer might have read or heard of. But then, stories are made of these, aren’t they?

I prefer to give it a 8 out of 10. Loved it! 

EVENING SHADOWS

Initial release: 25 February 2018

Director: Sridhar Rangayan

Language: Hindi

Producers: Sridhar Rangayan, Mohammed Shaik Hussain Ali, Saagar Gupta, Karim Ladak

Screenplay: Sridhar Rangayan, Saagar Gupta

Cast. Mona Ambegaonkar as Vasudha. Ananth Narayan Mahadevan as Damodar. Devansh Doshi as Kartik. Arpit Chaudhary as Aman. Yamini Singh as Sarita. Disha Thakur as Neela. Abhay Kulkarni as Ramesh. Veena Nair as Lata.

One of my favourite movies so far. Yes, I know I have watched it a little too late but wait, isn’t it better late than never? 

It’s an amazing movie with an amazing cast. The story did it. It is difficult in real life for a parent to come to terms when their child comes up to them and confesses about being different from the rest of the crowd. It is not easy at all. Especially for a conservative family like the one they showed in the movie. 

Kartik, played by Devansh Doshi is a piece of marvel in the film. I mean, how passionate can a guy get about his role in the film. Doshi, poised and calm, showed tremendous restraint during his act. Vasudha, played by Mona Ambegaonkar, carries off the conservative mother with elan! Her extreme love for her little boy, his confessions and later coming to terms with the situation with a prowesss of a tigress, is something to look out for. 

A movie par excellence! I give it an 8 out of 10! 

ANDHADHUN

Release date: 5 October 2018 (India)

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Box office: 431.53 crores INR

Budget: 32 crores INR

I sometimes wish I could be like Ayushmann Khurana. He is one talented actor who knows his work well, despite being in an industry of dynasts, who can survive even if they did a C grade movie. Ayushmanm has grown over the years and how. Every time, he makes that extra effort to portray a character, different from his previous and taking it on so realistically that we are almost in one with his character. 

In Andhadhun, he, Akash, is a piano-player, feigning to be blind. It is only when he is deliberately made blind by Simi, played by Tabu, that things get messy. Ayushmann plays his part to perfection. These days, I am amazed at the comeback of Tabu. The gracefulness with which she does things, keeps me in awe. She is looking prettier and sexier than what she did a decade or two back, stunning everyone with her elegant screen presence. 

What I liked about the film was that some things were best left for the audience to decipher. That’s the way it should be; not feed everything and letting the movie goers to unravel on their own. Otherwise, it is much like going to kindergarten school. 

I would have really liked Radhika Apte to play a longish role. But maybe, the story-writer had other things in mind. Radhika, with looks, talents et al, is a fantastic actor. I, for one, would love to see her more often. 

706

Initial release: 11 January 2019

Director: Shravan Kumar

A riveting story. Kept me glued to the screen. Though some things were very obvious. I wish story writers wouldn’t be as predictable as they turn out to be. But somehow, I felt that none of the actors overacted or were theatrical. Bollywood is getting better with the acts, especially in horror movies. Otherwise, Hindi horror movies were all about some weird fellow feigning as the bhoot; dressed in a furry coat, and the poor thing would have long teeth like an elephant and grunt all throughout trying to scare the daylights out of us! Or else, it would be a woman possessed by an evil spirit and the rest of the story follows, predictably. 

Here, I quite liked the role of the psychiatrist and the way she handles the disturbed patient, Rahul Bora, later even going to the extent of having a relationship with him, which is quite natural. However, the story at the end where she dies just to save the little boy from the spirit was a little over the top. 

Divya Dutta has always been one of my favourite actresses and she does every role with a passion unbeknownst to others. Here too, in 706, her calm and composed acting led the story through. Mohan Agashe, one actor I like, was gone in the blink of an eye. 

I quite liked the movie, though. A good Sunday entertainment. I give it a 8 out of 10.