Ahmad-Imran Reviews

Kukri: The Untold Story of Serial Killer Javed Iqbal (2023)

The untold story remains untold

[1/10 · 12 April 2024]

Javed Sheikh, the most prolific serial killer of the Indian subcontinent, abducted, raped, and killed 100 children, then dismembered and dissolved their bodies in acid before draining them into the local river.

So, a movie based on such a person has a lot of options and opportunities to explore the usual modus operandi, the details and gore of the crimes themselves, the motives and psyche of the criminal, or the failure of the society and system where hundreds of kids went missing unnoticed and no efforts were made to find them or to probe the reason.

Kukri does neither of these. The writing is lazy; even the Wikipedia page about Javed has more structure and research. The whole cast hams throughout the film, so much so that a street play performance would appear as subtle and nuanced. Nothing worth noticing on the technical side either.

This must be the most unmotivated and uninspired filmmaking I have come across.

The Royal Hotel (2023)

The Royal Hotel - if the toxic masculinity were a place

[7/10 · 27 December 2023]

It is a metaphor for women in their workplaces. If you think it is too over the top and exaggerated, ask the women around you (girlfriends/wives/friends), and they'll tell you that it could easily be passed for any corporate offices in any of the metropolitan, at least their fear and constant guard. Places where women are constantly objectified, harassed, discriminated against, and preyed upon. The men in sharp suits and pleasant demeanors are not too different from the seemingly barbaric and boorish miners of the royal hotel, who are so ignorant that they don't know the difference between harassment and harmless flirting, and the concept of consent is alien to them. Any of them can be a potential sex offender - a molester or, worse, a rapist. To survive in this world, women have to constantly watch their moves, read their intentions, and carefully choose (curate and refine) their own actions, words, and even body language so as not to unintentionally encourage unsolicited advances, on top of all this, they have to do their work effectively and efficiently. No wonder women excel at multitasking. Oh, the only surety of survival is...you burn the whole effing place down.

Khufiya (2023)

Disappointing to say the least.

[4/10 · 9 October 2023]

Vishal Bhardwaj's strength is complex characters-driven drama, probing the human psyche and exploring how the characters deal with their inner conflicts and moral dilemmas. The characters in his movies may be gangsters, Underworld dons, or terrorists but they all seem normal, humane, and rooted in reality and with the strong flavor of local culture.

These characters, though very real, always have their eccentricities and idiosyncrasies which make them interesting and lift the movie itself and the whole experience of watching the movie. Salman-Salman (identical twins) in Haider, Shahid Kapoor (his peculiar stammering) & Bhope Bhau (with his piles) in Kaminey, Nandu Khatri (his petty greed and the whole mannerism) in The Blue Umbrella, to name a few; Maqbool, Omkara, 7 Khoon Maaf, Patakha are filled with such characters.

But when the main characters are one-dimensional, the plot falls flat and the screenplay is all over the place, the same peculiarities and quirks become irritating, painful, and stick out like a sore thumb. One such quirky character in Khufiya is the mother-in-law, although brilliantly performed (by Navnindra Behl) contributed nothing. Similarly, the spiritual guru, Yaar Jogiya (inspired by Sadguru?) played by Rahul Ram was also completely out of place and the whole sub-plot was boring and didn't work at all.

As mentioned, the screenplay is all over the place, literally and figuratively. Bangladesh in the first act, New Delhi in the second act, and finally in South Dakota, USA in the third act, but the agenda of the film and intent of the director are more scattered than the physical locations shown. Was he attempting for a cerebral geo-political/spy-thriller or going for a detailed character study set in this world, or was attempting to make a generic, quirky masala thriller? Sadly he failed in all three.

In the promotional interviews Vishal said he was fascinated and inspired by the details of the spy world described in Aamar Bhushan's book (Escape to Nowhere, on which the film is loosely based), but where is that detail in the movie, Vishal? No spy-craft or thrill in this spy-thriller. It is rather a dull spy-family drama showing the age-old, stereotypical, and much-explored personal life of spies in cinema (recently and much more effectively in the web series The Family Man).

The casting of the minor character, if rightly done adds to the believability of the world depicted in the film and supports the main cast. In Khufiya, none of the minor characters impress (which otherwise is always a strong point in Vishal's films), especially the American characters are performed so badly that they appear as caricatures (didn't work, if intentional).

Wamiqa Gabbi is fun to watch and Azmeri Haque Badhon really impressed in whatever small screetime she had. Ali Fazal, Ashish Vidhyarthi, and Atul Kulkarni all are good, and Tabu is Tabu although the character has nothing much to offer.

Limbo (II) (2023)

Not the typical "genre film"

[8/10 · 13 September 2023]

Limbo is a murder mystery, but more importantly, it is the story of prejudice, neglect, and discrimination.

A detective from the city (unwillingly?) came (to review a 20 yrs old cold case of the murder of an aboriginal girl) to a remote outback city fittingly named Limbo, coz the city as well as the residents seem to be in a perpetual state of limbo.

The motel, where he stays, the residence of key characters, and a few other buildings are repurposed (old & abandoned) opal mines, giving the city a medieval feel. The attitude of authorities (law and order) towards the majority aboriginal community is of racism and apathy and can be best described as medieval. This is also reflected in their profession, at least the way the investigation was done in this particular case. The key characters are also in a state of emotional limbo - the battered detective (with a failed marriage and an estranged kid) and the victim's siblings with the feeling of bitterness, frustration, and helplessness, are unable to move on in life due to the injustice done and lack of a closer.

The slow pace of the narrative, characters, and camera added with minimal dialogues and hauntingly beautiful black & white cinematography, especially the slow, panning, wide-angle drone shots at night, enhances this feeling and you feel that you are in limbo too.

Tooth Pari: When Love Bites (2023– )

A lighthearted and playful vampire comedy

[7/10 · 22 April 2023]

Watched 3 episodes. So far so good.

A vampire comedy in the zone of Taika Watiti's "what we do in the Shadows" and probably inspired by the same, which is evident by the lighthearted and playful mood. But the world-building, the setup, and the characters are original and interesting and not copied.

Also, the title "Tooth Pary" itself suggests that the makers are not taking it too seriously, and neither should the audience, they should have fun while watching it.

A great ensemble cast includes veterans like Adil Hussain, Revathy, and Saswata Chatterjee.

Looking forwards to the remaining episodes, will update after completing the series.

Jubilee (2023– )

Madan Kumar, BHENC**D!!!

[4/10 · 14 April 2023]

Soviets, Americans, Information & Broadcasting ministry .... too many conspiracies and conspiracy theories, add a weak and convoluted script into the mix, and the result is a good-looking concoction of confusion. Is it a period piece about cinema or a love story or thriller? What is it?

The set design and art direction are good and give a feel of the era. The costumes of male characters are also good, but the costumes of the female characters seemed too modern most of the time-same issue with the dialogue.

It started with a bang but nose-dived and crashed by the 8th episode, and the last two episodes test your patience. For a slight relief - Amit Trivedi's music is outstanding and sounds like the Bollywood music of the 1950s.

Trial by Fire (2023)

Rajshri Deshpande has arrived!!!

[9/10 · 15 January 2023]

The bleak, hopeless, heartbreaking but realistic and blunt portrayal of a real-life tragedy specifically, but in general, it is the depiction of the deep-rooted and systemic corruption of our institutions and the insensitivity, indifference, and callousness of our people. Trial by Fire is an excellent show.

Rajshri Despande, I first noticed her in Angry Indian goddess, then in Sacred Games, but I must have seen her in other movies or Series because she is credited with 43 projects on her IMDb page, earliest in 2009. Most of them were small and forgettable parts (at least, I don't remember seeing her, not even in Talaash or Kick). It took her ten years since her debut to get widely noticed and a little bit of fame in Sacred Games. But neither the Angry Indian goddess, Manto, nor Sacred Games did justice to her talent. She got her due in Trial by Fire.

Her portrayal of a mother who lost her children and is fighting for justice is nuanced and layered. She displayed the whole gamut of emotions with ease and believability but without being melodramatic. She is heartbroken, shocked, distraught, hopeless, vulnerable, strong, resilient, determined, stubborn, focused, and unforgiving. She played the part with sensitivity and maturity and depicted rare mastery of the craft. She is phenomenal.

Qala (2022)

All gloss, no substance!

[3/10 · 2 December 2022]

Anvita Dutt's second directorial venture Qala is such a tedious watch. I'm sure she wanted to create a surreal, fantastical world (like her debut film Bulbbul) to inhabit this psychological period drama, but she missed by a mile this time.

The art direction is top-notch, with elegant set designs and gorgeous color schemes. Even the smallest props are carefully curated, showing hard work and attention to detail, but the result - a world built so wonderfully, appears delicate and beautiful but too artificial and lifeless.

The same is true for the performances, especially Tripti Dimri and Swastika Mukherjee; with their flat, one-note portrayal, they appeared more of a hypnotized human prop instead of traumatized, struggling souls. Babil Khan is equally bad. Amit Sial is good, but he only has two or three scenes.

Varun Grover is disappointing as the Urdu poet and lyricist- Majruh, who himself can't pronounce 'Khairiyat' correctly in a cringeworthy scene where he is correcting Qala's (Tripti) pronunciation.

Samaritan (I) (2022)

Mediocre!!!

[4/10 · 26 August 2022]

Too few (uninspired and dull) action set-pieces, underdeveloped characters (with no arc), non-existent story, unconvincing protagonist, weak antagonist, no conflict, no drama, and nothing really at stake make it a rather boring 'Superhero action movie.' The only thing which stands out is crappy CGI compositing; everything else is generic and mediocre.

Carter (2022)

Best "Worst action movie" ever.

[1/10 · 8 August 2022]

It's so bad that you may even start enjoying it.

Everything is in abundance here. Most over the top, unbelievable action set-pieces ever. I'm sure this movie holds the record for most gunshots fired in a movie (also for the most number of people killed by gunshots in a movie). Gunshots were fired - in buildings, on the scaffold supporting the building, in the streets, on the motorbike, in the car, in the van, in the pickup truck, in the army truck, in the train, on the train, inside the helicopter, outside the helicopter hanging with a wire, in the plane, in the air free-falling from the plane, on the hanging bridge, hanging from the hanging bridge.

Eagerly waiting for Carter-2 (for gunshots in water, boats, ships, submarines) and Carter-3 (for gunshots in space, space shuttle, space station).

The Gray Man (2022)

Just another Netflix action flick

[5/10 · 22 July 2022]

James Young and Daniel Hernandez have done excellent work as Stunt /Fight Coordinators, and that's pretty much all about it. A shout out to all the stunt doubles and technicians. I failed to understand what the "TWO" directors and "FOUR" writers were doing.

The Legend of Molly Johnson (2021)

There are better movies to watch

[4/10 · 17 July 2022]

The Drover's Wife is a classic short story by Australian writer Henry Lawson, first published in 1892 in The Bulletin magazine. Since then, various versions of the story (exploring different aspects) have been written by other writers, also widely adapted in different media from painting to stage and film.

The original story is about a woman with four children living in a small hut in the Australian outback while her husband is away droving (herding livestock). One evening a snake crawls under the house; the woman, worried for the safety of her children, waits for the snake to come out. The snake ultimately emerges at dawn and is killed by the woman. The story highlights a mother's day-to-day struggle and her love and commitment to her children.

In this version of "The Drover's Wife," directed by Leah Purcell (also playing the lead), the snake is metaphorical - misogyny (particularly domestic violence) and racism (against aborigines). Interesting idea, but it didn't work. The screenplay is weak, the characters are poorly developed, terrible editing and everything else is unremarkable except Leah Purcell's portrayal of the woman (Molly Johnson); she did a fine job.

The Bubble (2022)

Palate cleanser

[1/10 · 8 June 2022]

Watching this one till the end is a test of patience, an exercise in self-restraint, and an accomplishment to be proud of. It does not work as a movie but is an excellent palette cleanser. You appreciate good cinema much more after movies like this.