HIGHWAY FILM REVIEW

HIGHWAY REVIEW

Before you read this review I should forewarn you that this film is an acquired taste and definitely not a ‘masala entertainer’. It starts off with an unusual protagonist (Randeep Hooda playing a Gujjar criminal) kidnapping a young, rich girl (Alia Bhatt) at gunpoint. What follows is a road-trip-drama (as the title suggests) involving two antithetical characters against the backdrop of surreally beautiful locales and A.R.Rahman’s mellifluous score. How Alia Bhatt’s character adjusts with the situation is subject to interpretation. Cinematography is undeniably the film’s strongest feature. Real fun begins when the actual road-ride starts. It makes you feel you are a co-traveller sharing bumpy (mis)adventures with the two characters. That’s the magic of terrific direction supported by some fine acting by the lead actors. This is certainly Randeep Hooda’s finest performance till date. Alia Bhatt too proves her mettle by delivering a controlled and natural act. The sub-plots involving their back-story helps us empathise with the characters. A post-interval 2-minutes rundown was smartly presented without breaking the flow of the film. However, the film’s sluggish screenplay and a virtually non-existent story might deter mainstream cine-viewers. ‘Highway’ was supposed to be Imtiaz Ali’s debut film. I am mighty glad that he finally took the plunge and created a wonderful piece of cinema. This is his best work according to this reviewer. My Verdict: 7/10

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PANCHAYAT (TV SHOW) REVIEW

PANCHAYAT, a web-series currently being streamed at Prime Video, can aptly be described as an honest attempt to create a modern-day reincarnation of the classic TV Show MALGUDI DAYS (based on the works of R.K.Narayan) and is reminiscent of Shyam Benegal’s critically acclaimed film WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR (starring Shreyas Talpade). PANCHAYAT is the story of an engineering graduate Abhishek Tripathi, played by Jitendra Kumar (Humorously Yours, Kota Factory), who reluctantly joins as the Secretary of a panchayat office in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh on the insistence of his best friend (played by OTT sensation Biswapati Sarkar), who believed that his unique grassroots level experience would increase his chances to crack his IIM interview. Biswapati comically consoles him by saying that it would give him a chance to be the Mohan Bhargava of Phulera village. The lead character’s frustrations and how he adjusts with the difficult village life is the common thread that joins

UNDERRATED INDIAN MOVIES FOR CINEMA LOVERS

Over the years, the Indian Film Industry has intermittently churned out genuinely good films, which were made on a smaller scale but with top-notch (and often better) content compared to their blockbuster counterparts (barring a few exceptions). This is the list of the top 50 of these underrated films which deserve more recognition and need to be seen by more people. 1. 13B (2009) One of the best mystery-thrillers of Indian Cinema, 13B follows the story of a quintessential middle-class man (played by Madhavan), who begins to experience a series of supernatural phenomenon by way of a television program, soon after his family moves into a new apartment on the 13 th Floor. The film’s story and its execution were acclaimed by some Hollywood filmmakers also. 2. 1971 (2007) A deftly made prison movie set in the year 1977, it revolves around six brave prisoners of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, as they attempt to escape from a POW camp to reach the Indian border, which is just

QUARANTINE MOVIES WATCHLIST (Compiled by Pranshu Awasthi)

After the extended coronavirus lockdown was announced in India, I have been receiving requests to compile my own “Quarantine Movies Watchlist”. It was about time I resisted my laziness so finally made the list. I have tried to exclude too mainstream, too offbeat, and older pre-2K films and have tagged the ones which are available on Netflix and Prime Video. Read the synopsis, watch the ones which you have not and enjoy while being indoors. 1. THE NEXT THREE DAYS (2010) (Streaming on NETFLIX) When his wife is convicted of a murder she swears she did not commit, a college professor (Russel Crowe) plots to break her out of prison in this truly edge-of-the-seat thriller also starring Elizabeth Banks and Liam Neeson. 2. ORPHAN (2009) (Streaming on PRIME VIDEO) Offering a chilling blend of horror and nail-biting drama, it’s a story about a husband and wife who recently lost their baby and plan to adopt a 9-year-old girl, but who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.

Movie Reviews by Pranshu Awasthi

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