Cinema, Karam, Kapi

Illegal immigration has been a global draw over the last few decades. From finding a job to moving for social security or seeking a political asylum, it’s been considered normal to jump borders without appropriate approvals   from government authorities.   Many even take pride in doing so, while several thousands lose their precious lives while doing so.  Dunki is a film about four such aspirants. I wonder why the mighty emperor SRK had to choose such a subject. Maybe, that’s what those with a “strong might” do, once in a while. Many would remember that King Khan did so earlier with “Love you Zindagi” in as well.  Directed & edited by Rajkumar Hirani and Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment & Jio studios, Dunki (donkey route) is all about a bunch of Indians taking the illegal route to travel to the United Kingdom.  Set in the mid-90s, Manu Basgeet (Tapsee Pannu), Balinder “Buggu” Lakhanpal, (Vikram Kochhar) and Balli Kakkad (Anil Grover) live a wretched life at a small villag

Few would have noticed, but it was the first time that Superstar Rajinikanth donned the role of a grand father in his August 2023 outing titled “Jailer”. While the actor, who will complete 50 years in Indian Cinema in 2025 has been the darling of Producers & Distributors for two decades continuously in the 80s and 90s, the actor’s charisma started waning around the turn of the millennium. His own production film “Baba”, one of his career best according to his ardent fans, was the worst flop of his career. Thereafter, the actor’s films have been nothing short of a roller-coster ride. As I write this article after 5 days since the release of Jailer, the film is said to have grossed Rs. 350 Cr (USD 65 mn approx.) worldwide at the box office as per market estimates.  Day 1 - ₹ 95.78 cr     Day 2 - ₹ 56.24 cr     Day 3 - ₹ 68.51 cr   Day 4 - ₹ 82.36 cr   Day 5 - ₹ 49.03 cr  Total - ₹ 351.92 cr   For a 72-year old actor, at the fag end of his career, this is nothing short of a miracle of

After a gap of over 2.5 years, Superstar Rajinikanth is back with his entertainer, in and as Jailer.  Bankrolled by Sun Pictures, actor Rajinikanth’s 169 th   film has been directed by a young and energetic director Nelson Dilipkumar, whose previous outings include Beast, Doctor & Kolamavu Kokila. The director, famous for his dark comedy doesn’t disappoint Superstar’s fans in this film as well.   Muthuvel Pandian (Rajinikanth) is a middle class senior citizen living his life quietly in a small town along with his wife, son, daughter in-law and grandson. ACP Arjun, is his son who is currently investigating a critical case of temple idol thefts. He disappears one day and is considered killed by the perpetrators. And that’s the movie’s plot.  Varman is a smuggler who has apparently done away with ACP Arjun. Muthuvel finds Varman and chases his men to eventually meet him in person, in his own terms. To avenge his son’s death, Muthuvel clashes with Varman and his men.  15 years back, Mu

Nike’s revenues for twelve months ending Feb. ‘23 was USD 50.62 Bn.  This was much higher than all its rivals put together!  Adidas’ 2022 revenue was USD 22 Bn, Reebok was USD 353 mn (was USD 1.9 Bn in 2006), PUMA was USD 8 Bn, and Converse was USD 1.9 Bn.  However, this wasn’t the way during the 1980s.  Adidas was the market leader followed by Converse, especially in the US, in the sporting segment. Basketball was becoming popular due to the greatness of the likes of Magic Johnson and others. A new talent was taking shape – Michael Jordan. He was not only inspiring scores of black kids in the US and across the world, rather an entire generation.  AIR is a movie not just about Jordan’s greatness, rather how Nike bounced up and above with its AIR sneakers and the future innovations around the iconic sportsman. The year was 1984. Nike, the underdog among the others in the fray to sponsor basketball players is in a state of dilemma. Sneaker sales are slowing down. Previous bets on players

The Oscar winning documentary is about elephants and their non-biological parents - the elephant herds. Set in the picturesque Mudumalai forests in the Tamil Nadu – Kerala border, the 40-minute film showcases the mutual love of elephants and humans.  Bomman has grown all his life rearing elephants in the forests. Raghu, an orphaned elephant arrives at the Mudumalai Elephant camp which is managed by the Department of Forests, State Government of Tamil Nadu. The reserve brings up elephants which have lost their way and their families due to herd movements. It also treats ailing elephants by loving care givers and veterinarians. Bomman offers milk and food to Raghu daily and spends all day playing and managing the baby elephant. A good wash for the elephant, which includes a detailed scrub and rinsing it in the flowing river water, could take a few hours. In the night, he sleeps in the same make-shift thatched tent where Raghu lives, always under his watchful eyes.   Bellie was widowed wh

After Drishyam 1 & 2, Director Jeethu Joseph is back with yet another mystery drama. Kooman doesn’t disappoint the skills of the much talented Jeethu. And actors from Malayalam cinema have a certain emotive expression which not only makes them stand apart and special but also makes the entire movie quite gripping. Kooman is one such. Kooman means Owl in Malayalam. There are a spate of suicide deaths in Nerpara, a border town between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Giri Shankar (Asif Ali), a police constable and a local is well-versed in finding clues and cracking cases, which often wins him acclaim from the community. However, he gets in to minor fracas with his new boss, Sub-Inspector Harilal (Baburaj) after the previous one retires. To avenge his anger, Giri gets into an act of frivolously stealing from the houses of locals. As the cases grow, the locals are agitated that the new SI is unable to find the thief. Giri continues with his “outings in the night” but to his bad luck, gets caugh

I am not a big fan of reading, writing or even discussing about the Naxal movement in India. On one extreme, they are (till date) gunning down their enemies – from upper caste leaders / personalities to those in power & bureaucracy including Politicians, Police and Forces. On the other, their claim of displaying their angst against the establishment for want of bringing about a change – I wonder, if the Western way of doing things has found results in India.   The Web series of the title on Sony Liv is a fictitious account of what happened on 13 Nov. 2005, when a huge group of rebels thronged the District Jail in Jehanabad in South Bihar. They freed their fellow comrades who were housed there, in a daring attempt of prison break-in, kidnapped a few leaders of the upper caste Ranvir Sena and sent a strong message to the State and Central Governments of their might in full public display. This whole incident happened late in the night and almost no civilian were attacked or injured a

There are times when 15-20 mins in to a movie, you wonder whether you should have chosen this movie to watch; perhaps skip (if its on OTT) and walkout if it was a theatre. There are times, 30-40 mins in to a movie, when you wonder whether this movie should have been made at all. Action Hero is one such.   No, really. I never write negative reviews about movies – Over 125 here in this blog and counting. But this one deserves a special mention. What a mockery of the audience this is! Maanav Khurrana is a Superstar and is shooting for a sequence in Haryana one late evening. As with all heroes, he is seen shouting at his PA and is rehearsing for an action sequence. Since he is not emoting enough, his PA says that the delivery of his Lamborghini is delayed. Angered, the Action Hero proceeds to beat up the baddies with the crew clapping hard once the shot is over.  The hero is then shown his Lambo and he takes it for a spin. Vicky Solanki, a fan of the Hero and brother of the local politicia

Off late, there have been so many films about former RAW Agents and their lives. Mission Majnu is one such. Released on Netflix on 20 Jan. ahead of India’s Republic Day, the film is gaining a lot of positive response from viewers.   Taariq (Siddarth Malhotra) is a devout Muslim residing in Lahore, Pakistan and works at his uncles’ tailoring shop. He falls for Nasreen Khan (Rashmika Mandanna) at first sight, though she is vision-impaired. The two have their Nikkah solemnised by both families although her father is initially reluctant and is not pleased with Taariq as he doesn’t have a “real job”. The story moves slowly for us to understand that Taariq is indeed an undercover agent, Amandeep Singh, living in Pakistan for a few years now.  Indira Gandhi’s Government test fires Nuclear Bomb which irks Pakistan. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto decides to build and test a Nuclear site, however without the rest of the world knowing about it. He decides to join hands with noted scientist Ay