Movie Reviews by Pranshu Awasthi

AJOY My name is Ajoy. Last night, my father surprised me with a candlelit cake. Then he showed me a mini-splash-pool. ‘Your birthday gift’, he said. Today, we went for a long drive. We strolled in a park and had my favorite ice-cream on our way back. It was an enjoyable but tiring day. He was not wearing his usual all-black attire and a white neckband. I have no idea what he does but wonder why I get an uncanny negative vibe from most of his visitors. It was already late when we returned home, despite my resistance. He tucked me up in my bed. He looked sorrowful. With his right hand, he held my mother, kissed her and went back to his room. Besides seeing her on his neck-chain pendant, I haven’t seen her in person for a long time. He never talks to me about her, presuming I won’t understand. Wait a minute. What is that noise? I think it’s the sound of the main door opening. Is my father going out this late? Let me check. Nope. The main door is shut. It’s dark. Can’t see anyone. But wher...

Over the years, some of the most-loved action films were initially criticized for having a weak, or even a nonexistent story. Some notable examples being DIEHARD, KILL BILL, TERMINATOR, PREDATOR, FIRST BLOOD etc. All these films revolved around an interesting premise (An NYPD cop single-handedly taking on German terrorists, A former assassin seeking revenge from fellow-mercenaries, A cyborg sent back in time to terminate a woman, A team of commandoes fighting an extra-terrestrial warrior in a remote South American jungle, A retired CIA agent trying to save his kidnapped daughter, A war veteran waging a one-man war against a sadistic sheriff’s department respectively) and then capitalized on this premise with a spellbinding screenplay and flamboyant performances. While some other filmmakers gave us a unique blend of an intelligent plot embellished with high-octane action. THE MATRIX (By the Wachowski brothers) , AVENGERS ENDGAME (By Russo brothers) , V FOR VENDETTA (By James M...

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, whic...