The Story:

After reviewing movies and books I am eager to write review of the famous T.V series of Turkey, Kara Para Ask starring  Engin Akyürek as Ömer Demir ,Tuba Büyüküstün as Elif Denizer, Erkan Can as Tayyar Dündar.

Omer Demir is a devoted police officer who has recently been rewarded an all-expense-paid trip to Istanbul with his fiancée Sibel Andak. He lives in poverty with his mother, older brother and his wife Melike, like Sibel, who lives with her mother, ill father, and sister.

Elif Denizer is a wealthy jewelry designer and head of her family’s empress in Rome. For her birthday she is traveling back to Istanbul, where her father, mother and two sisters live in a large mansion. That evening, her family surprises her for her birthday with a party, but her father dismisses himself early.

Omer is eager to be involves in a homicidal case, so his dear friend Arda decides to take him on a recent report. The report features two unknown victims murdered in a car on the edge of a cliff. Once Arda and Omer arrive, Omer is devastated when he sees Sibel in the passengers seat, with a bullet through her head. Beside her is Elif’s father, also dead.

During her father’s funeral, Elif is threatened by a group of men who force her to reveal where the diamonds are. Elif then discovers her father was actually the thief of diamonds worth millions of dollars, and now that he is dead she must find them and deliver the diamonds to them. If she doesn’t, they will kill her family. She decides to keep this a secret from her family, because she doesn’t want to worry them.

When Elif’s little sister Nilufer goes off to study abroad, she and Elif are kidnapped and taken to a shack, where a psychopath named Metin asks them to reveal where the diamonds are. Obviously, Nilufer has no idea about the diamonds, but Fatih decides to keep Nilufer and use her to pressure Elif. Elif is knocked unconscious and taken into the forest, where Fatih explains he will keep Nilufer as his prisoner until Elif finds the diamonds, but if she contacts the police he will kill Nilufer.

As time progresses, Nilufer and Fatih fall into a complicated love and marry.

My Review

I watched the episodes, 1-54 on youTube, each 2 hours long. I would like to thank Anamara Shaikh channel for uploading the series with English subtitles so that viewer like me who doesn’t understand Turkish language can also enjoy the series. It took me almost a month to finish the series. I even watched two to three episodes in a day. The reason is obvious –  Engin Akyurek.

I first watched this handsome dark haired Turkish actor in Fatmagul T. V series. It wasn’t love at first sight of course but I fell in love with the character Karim he portrayed in the series and eventually became a fan of his. That’s the reason I picked up his series again after a gap of three years. And I wasn’t disappointed watching him in action as a Police Investigating officer in the series. But that’s about it.

“Kara Para Ask” meaning “Black Money Love” started with a crime scene which really kept me glued to my 4G smart phone. I watched episodes after episodes every day and it slowly drew me in towards the plot of the series. From just watching Engin Akyurek I started loving Omer Demir, the character played by Engin and Elif, the designer, played by Tuba Büyüküstün. I watched the mysteries unfold and the other characters taking shape in the story who were equally loveable. With each new episode the series promised me a new hunt and a bigger thrill and all of them equally balanced by love pairs, Omer – Elif, Fatih – Nilufer, Arda- Pelo, Merth – Demet. And equally powerful were the badies, Tyyar Dunnar played by Erkan Can and Huseyin played by Barak Tamdogan. Equally  fantastic were the supportive roles played by characters Mileke, Aunt Evan, Asli and Nedret. I loved the shades Nedret, played by Isil Yücesoy, portrayed in the series. From hair stylist to dress designer to set designer everybody here need an applause from me, the viewer.

But I want to rant about the writers of the series.

Oh come on man ! Where do you think you were steering the boat? You made me watch the whole series for nothing? I want to rant.

What started as an interesting crime thriller turned out to be a stupid illogical romance saga between two confused souls who can draw strength only by hugging each other. And that too in the middle of something very important. And that too from a police officer who leaves behind everything to run to his lady love? Oh come on. It’s pretty hard to digest.

After a certain period, the story had gone haywire. In one scene the actor is running after the clue like a mad man and the very next scene he is cooning his Ashqki to his lady love. The story shows the antagonist to be a very powerful rich man but his end was so naive. I really felt I missed so much. On top of that you left the main plot unattended. The justice to the crime was not done. It showed it was so easy to get away with crime and it was even easier to commit one. Every other person was doing a crime and that too for money or for family. Do you want me to believe this? The Istanbul police department was shown with so much glitches that it seemed the country was ruled by mafia rather than the peace loving citizens.

And the most important part, how can you ask someone to give up passion for love? How can love be so demanding? If all the policeman and armed forces personnel think like this or have a girlfriend or wife like the character Elif only God can save them. The story portrayed the character Elif as the most confused, poking and attention seeker in the story. Why couldn’t she handle her own problems in the proper way in the first place and who does she think she is?? I still could not understand why all the other person in the series was after her – Angel faced. I wish I got something after wasting so much time on internet. Tyyar Dunnar – why was everyone after his kidney I don’t know. Every time he was shot it was always his renal organ getting hurt. Was it very difficult to give him a decent death through the justice to show the evil eventually is brought down. Why were all the fathers in the series shown in bad light? Was there never an end to it. Introducing a character and then killing him or her for no reason doesn’t invoke any thrill. All the bad things can be overcome by love and justice but not love alone. You got to pay your price. Getting away with three murders is not done and neither is getting away with other crimes.

Every story has a beginning, middle and an end. And that’s how you plot your story. This series had a terrific beginning, a very confused middle and an out of the box ending.

Engin Akyurek you disappointed me as Omer Demir. Hope to see you in a  more substantial role next time.

Title: Tumhari Sulu

Director: Suresh Triveni

Cast: Vidya Balan, Manav Kaul, Neha Dhupia

Genre: Comedy – Drama

Story:  Happy-go-lucky Sulochana (fondly known as Sulu), a suburban Mumbai housewife, lives with her husband, Ashok, a sales manager in a traditional company that sells uniforms, and their 11-year-old son, Pranav. Sulu keeps herself entertained through the day, which includes listening to her favorite radio station and taking part in every possible contest. Sulu breezes through life with a fun and candid never-say-never attitude. On a day like any other, Sulu ends up winning a pressure cooker through a radio contest that she has taken part in. Little does she know that her trip to the radio station is about to change her life. In an unexpected turn of events, she lands a job of an RJ (radio jockey). She is no ordinary RJ for she is made to anchor a night show, which involves chatting with peculiars, strangers and lonely souls. A husband in constant battle at a mid-level job, a precocious child who is up to something alarmingly strange in school, and a woman who unpredictably stumbles into the world of radio . Seasoned with music, humour and quirk, Tumhari Sulu witnesses the everyday grit of a housewife, a marriage put to test and a world that struggles to see the beauty of a so-called ‘simple, ordinary life’. From the team of Neerja, comes a charming slice-of-life family feature, which will warm the cockles of your heart.

My Take:  I am her fan.

Since her days in music albums I loved watching her. And then Parineeta happened. Vidya Balan portrays a typical middle class woman with ease and brilliance. And that’s the chord which connects her to many like me. I have watched all her movies, blockbusters, flops, average and she had always stood out of the league for me. Because it had always been the plot that attracted me first. So her choice of scripts had been up to my liking. From a girl in her early twenties she has gracefully transformed into a  woman and has still been winning hearts. God bless her.

Sigh! I can go on and on about her but have to write about her new release – Tumhari Sulu. Its about a simple housewife and her dreams. Before I even start about the movie let me take you to the conversation between a husband and a wife.

Husband: What is the point of  job when you already have one at home? Taking care of the family is a big responsibility.

Wife: I have been doing that for so many years . Now this job sounds like a good opening for me. And moreover the kids are old enough to take care of themselves. And moreover I am not resigning from my responsibilities for this job.

Husband: See I don’t want any problem in our life because of this decision of yours. I am already earning well for all of us.

Wife: Its not about money and you know that. Its just that now I have lot of time in hand and I can use it in a better way.

Husband: Do whatever you feel like.  By the way how much are they going to pay ?

Wife: I have not negotiated yet.

Husband: Great! Don’t come crying to me after a month. (He leaves the room with a cunning smile on his face.)

Wife: (Sighs!) first round over.

A few days into her new job and she learns things real fast. The best part her work is appreciated by her employers. But sadly her home front  gets affected and eventually she had give up on her dreams once more.

Well sounds like a typical story of any middle class housewife but Tumhari Sulu is entirely different. Its more like eating a poppadom – crackles when you take a bite and melts into your mouth. Tumhari Sulu is just like that.

It crackles you with laughter when you least expect it and melts your heart too. The scene when Sulu submits her resignation to Maria cannot be expressed in words. The lady actually used her smile and eyes to emote while she delivered the dialogues.

I shall not talk more about the movie. Tumhari Sulu is a home maker’s story – her aspirations, her responsibilities, her guilt  and her biggest support, her family.

Go for it if you want to see a breezy real life story.

PS: The husband wife dialogue does not belong to any movie. Its purely my imagination.

Movie Name: Liar’s Dice

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa

Story: Kamala, a young woman from Chitkul village and her girl child Manya, embark on a journey leaving their native land in search for her missing husband.

Genre: Drama

My Take:  Awestruck.

Thats one word I can think for the movie. The movie was released in Oct 2013 and has bagged the awards National Film Award for Best Actress, National Film Award for Best Cinematography. Directed and written by Geetu Mohandas is her debut work. The movie is very slow paced but then I like slow paced plots that opens up eventually just like the cabbage leaves. Lol.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, I am already in love with him, gave a terrific performance as an army deserter from the Border Guard but the surprise package in the movie was Kamala, enacted by Geetanjali Thapa, this was her first movie I watched, and her 3-year old daughter Manya, Manya Gupta, a bundle of cuteness. And making the family complete is their pet goat kid.

Kamala sets out with the two to look out for her husband who had stopped responding to their calls past couple of months. Nawaz helps them in the journey which turns out to be his soul discovery too. From being a creep he changes into a bread winner and helps  find out the truth for the distressed woman.

A journey that starts from a small village along the snowy rugged mountains of Chitkul, Himachal Pradesh to the dingy hotel room at Chandi Chowk in New Delhi is to watch out for. You can embark on this journey in the toy train in Shimla, or HPDT bus plying from Palam to Chandigarh or the deserted roads of Shimla at night or the crowded lane of Chandni Chowk. Feel the cold waves of the mountains and the heat waves of the plains as you travel along.

Another best part I loved about the movie was the relationship of trust that culminates between the lead pairs even under odd circumstance which is very brilliantly plotted. The movie is purely realistic and unfolds according to the circumstances.

Sad such movies don’t get commercially released but gain a lot of fame in festivals. Wish we had a theater dedicated for off beat movies only.

Watch the movie if you enjoy road journeys.

Directed and written by Geetu Mohandas

Movie : Haramkhor

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shweta Tripathi, Mater Irfan Khan, Master Mohammad Samad

Story: Shyam, a married teacher, gets romantically involved with his student Sandhya. However, they find themselves in the middle of a love triangle when Kamal, her classmate, tries to woo her.

Genre: Drama

My Take:

Okay, I intended to watch it at its time of release but destiny chose now. So I watched it alone. A marvelous act from Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I want to say this actor can work wonders with just about anything. A plot like Haramkhor is so beautifully handled by him and the other star cast in the film that it needs to be applauded. The story is from a teenage POV. How certain issues can really affect them and it can cause so much chaos in any relationship.

A teenager is a stage when the person is no more a child and want to act like an adult. And the whole thing creates more confusion in them cause they are still treated as children.

This movie very brilliantly shows how a teenager in turmoil can react in any given situation. Laced with innocence and trust they don’t even back off from committing a crime. And that  too unknowingly. It is also the time when adults have a huge responsibility to behave themselves. They should not act like someone in charge of the whole situation rather act like a friend to the teenager and win their trust. So that the child doesn’t hesitate to share his her secret with them.

Haramkhor is plot where there is breach of trust in all relationships and that is the cause of all chaos which ultimately finishes off with a crime. Could it have been averted?

Recommended to watch it not with children. Though the plot is about them but it is not a children movie.

 

Movie Review : Newton

Starring : Rajkumar Rao, Raghubir Yadav, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil

Director: Amit Masurkar

Genre : Dark Comedy

Story:  A government clerk on election duty in the conflict ridden jungle of Central India tries his best to conduct free and fair voting despite the apathy of security forces and the looming fear of guerrilla attacks by communist rebels.

My Take:

And I second with the blog post title.

Like many others I pray this movie wins the Oscar 2018. For those who don’t know the movie Newton is the official entry to Oscar 2018 from India under the category of foreign films.

There are many things which makes the film stand out and the foremost is its rawness and simplicity in portraying its characters and their situation. Although its a dark comedy but the plot will make you think hard about our democracy.

Dantewada, the naxal infiltrated region of Chhattisgarh for over three decades now hasn’t faced its chance for basic development even today. The lives of the people, Gond tribal face similar neglect and torture at the hands of both Maoists and the armed forces. Everyday in the local newspaper or TV channels some mishap or the other is reported from that area.

Its not that the government and other agencies are not doing anything to culminate these communities into the mainstream. However, the facilities never reach them or better said it is never meant to felicitate them. The schemes and endless perks sanctioned to them is safely pocketed by the middlemen who sometimes happen to be the government employee or a politician. These people come up with endless ways to exploit the already downtrodden communities.

One case here needs to be mentioned. A group of tribal students were brought to the state capital of Chhattisgarh, Raipur on the pretext of providing higher education under the government scheme ended up as domestic servant in the school director’s house. For two years the boys were exploited and they never knew about it. Tribal girls in the hostel are raped repeatedly by the college director and principal. Sadly, there are more stories like this where the tribal are exploited.

Newton movie shows the plight of these people in their own homes, their basic right to vote also doesn’t account for where survival itself is a big question. Yet we are the largest democratic nation of the world. The film is a mockery to our election procedure and frankly it is the truth. Even many of us who are reading this post may not be aware of the local politician in their own locality. I am one of them. I still don’t know who the person is and how much development has he/she done for our block.

Like PTM meet in schools where we tap our child’s report throughout the month shouldn’t we be tapping our political leaders also so that we are not made fools at the end of the term.

Nevertheless, NEWTON is surely going to rock 2018 Oscar award with its rawness and blunt portrayal of lives of people of the naxal infiltrated area of Chhattisgarh, be it the tribal, the armed forces or the Maoist.

A dialogue to remember from the movie, “Yeh desh ka bhar hai aur ye hamare kandho pe hai.” Salute to the Indian soldiers.

Watch it for the comic timings in the most serious situations.

 

 

Nil Battey Sannata is a proverb which means when there is no hope.

Movie – Nil Battey Sannata

Cast – Swara Bhaskar, Ratna Pathak

Director – Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

My rating –

My Take  – What would you do if things do not fall in your favor? Will you stop trying or wait for things to happen?

This movie is a typical example of none of the above options. This film clearly gives a message Where There Is A Will There Is A Way. Inspired by real life incident partially, the movie is a salute to motherhood according to me. It’s all about how a mother even with all her faults can inspire her child and shape up her daughter’s future against all odd.
The story is about a maid, Chanda played by Swara Bhaskar, who dreams of making her daughter successful person in life, unlike herself. Raising a child single handedly is in itself very difficult but she faces all challenges and dreams big for her daughter always. On the other hand, her daughter thinks more practically and dreams of becoming a governess or a maid in future like her mother and gives a big set back to her mother’s only dream.
The movie is all about how the mother takes it up as a challenge and inspires her daughter to dream big in spite of all the financial challenges and achieve it.
Must watch for real time inspiring movies. Both Ratna Pathak and Swara Bhaskara need a big round of applauses for their work and special mention is the debutant director, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who had never left the chord of the script and kept everything simple and realistic.

Movie – One Night Stand

Director – Jasmine D’Souza

Story – Bhavani Iyer

Star cast – Sunny Leone, Nyra Banerjee and Tanuj Virwani in the lead roles

Genre – Thriller

Rating –

My Review-

I didn’t have any expectations from this movie. It came up when I had no choice left. But I would say I don’t regret it. But then why is it called thriller?? Complete fake.

Sunny Leone is a delight to watch and I have watched almost all her movies and still her debut film Jism remains my favourite. The lady really knows how to show her curves. But then the movie was A certificate so such scenes were obvious reasons.

Now apart from that, what else do I get to see in the movie? I fear to say nothing at all. The newcomers did not do anything at all. It seemed like they were not putting in any efforts. No expression, no chemistry. Not even when their bodies sizzle in the water.

About the story, it is about the adultery and relationships. But then the actors failed to portray it in a nice way. Hairstyle, hot pants, pink lips stole most of the scene. The movie lacked soul.

It was a rather cold movie. You can watch it if you are a Sunny Leone fan.

Movie – 1920 London

Star Cast: Sharman Joshi, Meera Chopra, Vishal Karwal, Sushmita Mukherjee

Director: Tinu Suresh Desai

Rating –

My Review

Okay so here is my say. I have been a fan of Vikram Bhatt horror movies but lately he has disappointed me. After watching the trailer of 1920 London, I was so excited that this new release is going to give me the thrill that I yearned for in a Bollywood horror flicks but the movie turned down my expectations. The movie as I would like to put it, was more of a fashion show of the 1920s than the actual horror.

This was the first time, 1920 series, Vikram seem to have experimented with his horror style. Instead of woman as the possessed victim he chose a man who for some reason could not connect with the chord of the horror thriller. Most of the time he was shown sleeping like a corpse. That didn’t thrill me at all, not even when he walked down the stairs upside down in acrobat style.

Next thing which really pissed me was the fashion consciousness of the actors. I mean the story is about a lady asking for help to save her husband who was about to die in a week’s time. Come on! Does anybody think of fashion at such a time of crisis? Of course if you are a fashion freak than this movie can keep you captivated with its awesome collection of dresses and caps that the actress, Meera chopra loves to flaunt in every scene.

Another thing that turned me down was the costume of Sharman Joshi. The guy is supposed to be a gadariya, one that grazes cattle, he even lives in a hut but his clothes? They are straight out of a royal collection. I think the entire movie was more focused on the fashion of that era that made the actual purpose of making a horror film too illogical.

Moreover the actors shared no chemistry. It was as cold as the movie. Top actress Sushmita Mukherjee is completely wasted in the movie. What was the point of taking her if you have nothing for her to do in the entire film other than lighting lanterns? I am highly disappointed.

I would love to share here that 1920, the first movie of the series is still topping my bollywood horror movies chart but 1920 London is best watch for its fashion statement of that era.

Movie – Jungle Book

Director –  Jon Favreau

Producer – Walt Disney

Story – The Jungle Book is a 2016 American fantasy adventure film directed by Jon Favreau, written by Justin Marks and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on Rudyard Kipling’s eponymous collective works and inspired by Walt Disney’s 1967 animated film of the same name,The Jungle Book is a live-action/CGI film that tells the story of Mowgli, an orphaned human boy who, guided by his animal guardians, sets out on a journey of self-discovery while evading the threatening Shere Khan. The film introduces Neel Sethi as Mowgli

My Rating-

My Review –

WOW what a movie. I can watch it umpteenth times and still no regrets. A film that really touches you, no matter how old you are. I had watched the animation on TV during my growing years and initially I was little apprehensive about watching it once more as a movie on big screen, fearing to lose its originality but Disney has done full justice to it. The movie could not have been any matter.

I had always been a fan of Mowgli but the movie has given me a new treat. How can I forget to mention Sher Khan, aka Nana Patekar whose voice had matched the fierceness of the King of the jungle even after so many years (The animation series also had Nana Patekar voice over as Sher Khan).

Of course the black panther, Bagheera (Om Puri voice over). The duo created the mood along with the awesome set of Disney movies for a marvelous entertainment.

 

But I got my double treat in the form of Ballu (voice over by none other than Irfan Khan) that set me rolling with laughter on the floor.The best part was when Bagira and Baloo  aka Om Puri and Irfan Khan set off together.

Of course in her small role as Kaa the serpent, Priyanka Chopra’s voice has succeeded in creating the magnificent whip.

I cannot end without praising the little Mowgli aka Neel Sethi whose stunning acting and expression has succeeded in creating the magic.

The director, technicians, editor and all the other eminent  persons associated with the movie and Disney, all I want to say is THANK YOU for giving me the moment which I could easily share with my child as a child myself.

Overall the movie is must watch for family. Both kids and adults can enjoy the movie together.