Movie Reviews by Pranshu Awasthi

  1.  SHIMIT AMIN   Best known for his National award-winning blockbuster ‘Chak De! India’ (2007), Shimit Amin was imported from Los Angeles by the Indian film industry. He edited RGV’s Bhoot (2003) and then made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed gangster flick Ab Tak Chappan (2004). Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year starring Ranbir Kapoor was the last feature film directed by him in the year 2009. Even after receiving immense commercial and critical success, this long gap of 11 years is quite surprising. Recently, he directed one episode of the period-drama A Suitable Boy. Although, there are rumors of a Kalpana Chawla biopic (starring Priyanka Chopra) to be helmed by him. Hope that happens soon!   2.  MANSOOR KHAN   An IIT and MIT alumnus, he won a National award for his debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) featuring his cousin actor Aamir Khan. His next was the cult-classic Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992). His subsequent ventures Ake...

  RAPID REVIEW:  A decent but superfluous sequel, which undermines the beautiful memories of its parent film: Drishyam     OTT Platform:  Amazon Prime Video         Genre:  Crime, Drama, Mystery   SYNOPSIS   Coinciding with Drishyam’s climax, the sequel starts off with a frantically running unidentified man, who accidentally glimpses ‘someone’ inside an under-construction building. This loophole revealed at the outset becomes the foundation for Drishyam-2’s premise.   Six years later: George Kutty runs his own movie theatre and wants to produce his own film. George is criticized by his wife Rani for his indulgence into occasional alcoholism and discourages his movie business aspirations. Amongst all this, rumors about George being the ex-IG son’s murderer start to spread, which unsettles the already fearful family. Soon after, the unidentified man from the opening scene shows up again. Then, precisely ...

RAPID REVIEW:   An inconsistent yet thought-provoking take on the typically disregarded master-servant relationship, with its lead performance screaming for an Oscar  PLATFORM:  Netflix        GENRE:  Dark-Comedy, Crime PREMISE:  Brainwashed by his poverty-stricken community to be a lifelong servant, an underprivileged but canny villager Balram Halwai makes his way to become a driver for Ashok, the younger son of his affluent landlord, in Dhanbad. Contented initially with a city-job and by serving his chosen Master - Ashok, Balram eventually realizes the obnoxious truth behind his master-servant relationship, after an unfortunate incident involving Ashok’s American-Indian wife Pinky. Owing to his growing feeling of dispensability and renewed ambition, a disillusioned Balram plans for an act of ruthless revenge against his Master, with unforeseen consequences.   Adarsh Gourav (Mom, Rukh) in and as The White Tiger has effortlessly pl...

RAPID REVIEW:   Unoriginal and derivative writing heroically saved by first-rate lead performances and an engaging screenplay. WHERE TO WATCH:  Amazon Prime Video         GENRE:  Thriller, Crime, Drama REVIEW: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, the words by 19 th -Century British politician Lord Acton - it’s the theme around which the show revolves.   When suave but autocratic politician Samar Pratap Singh is sidelined by his father - the current Prime Minister of India Devki Nandan Singh, to be the next PM, to what extent Samar orchestrates this Chanakya-esque game of thrones and cunningly manipulates every pawn on the board weaves the show’s prime narrative.   After the 'sudden' death of Devki Nandan Singh and despite his myriad supporters, Samar realizes that he is not alone in the sinful race to become the next Prime Minister of India. And soon, Samar’s plot intertwines with an equally charismatic student activist-...