Writer Protagonists make for Entertaining Movies! -- #Review

It's been a while since I posted movie reviews on my blog. Heck, it's been a while since I watched movies! How does a movie buff who is also a screenwriter not watch movies? That's sheer sacrilege. Well, life (and deadlines) have a way of getting in the way. But let's not dwell on that.

The good thing is that Netflix and Amazon Prime are just what the doctor prescribed for a screenwriter deprived of her fix of movies. Binge-watching movies is good for the soul too! Try it some time. ;)

The other Big Plus about watching movies via streaming channels is that you can simply watch the first 10-15 minutes of a film and decide whether it grabs you enough to see the rest of it.

So, here are the top two movies that grabbed my attention...interestingly, both are adaptations.

Ittefaq

Ittefaq (directed by Abhay Chopra) is a taut thriller that is an adaptation of a 1969 film of the same name starring Rajesh Khanna-Nanda. I call it an 'adaptation', rather than a remake, because there are many differences in the storyline and the new version with Siddharth Malhotra and Sonakshi in the lead roles is a much more taut and well-told story.

A famous novelist Vikram Sethi (Siddharth) is on the run from the police. After he is grabbed by the cops it turns out that Vikram's wife has been found dead. Moreover, he is also a prime suspect in the murder of a man in an apartment where he had taken refuge. Two murders involving the same man in one night? Too much of a coincidence thinks the investigating police officer Dev (brilliantly played by Akshaye Khanna). The drama piles up as new revelations come to light and each one has a twist to it. Saying anything more would be a spoiler and detract from the enjoyment of the film.

A wonderfully adapted film that keeps building on the suspense and keeps you watching till the very last frame. This surely ranks on the top of my list among Bollywood crime thrillers -- second only to another well told mystery/crime story, Reema Kagti's Talaash.

Bareilly Ki Barfi

I'm a sucker for romance movies, especially the Bollywood kind. Sadly though, enjoyable, feel good romances have become a rarity in today's Bollywood. So, Bareilly ki Barfi (director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari) was just what my romance-starved movie buff soul needed! It has the right amount of sweetness and tartness. The story is an adaptation of Nicholas Barreau's book 'The Ingredients of Love'.

Amazingly enough, the original story which is set in Paris has been relocated to small town Bareilly with all its local colour, lingo and quirky characters. Bitti (Kirti Sanon) is a small town girl with loads of attitude. She works in the customer service department of the local electricity utility company, occasionally smokes and hates the fact that as a girl she is constantly under pressure to "get married". Her father is more indulgent (the right mix of traditional and yet unconventional dad) while her mother keeps a sharp look out for potential grooms for her daughter. The moment she spots one, she plies him with juice!

Enter, Chirag Dubey (Ayushmann Khurana) owner of a printing press, a broken heart and author of a self-published book about the love of his life Babli. When Bitti reads the book, she wonders if Babli is based on her and if so, how did the author (Pritam Vidrohi) know so much about her? Bitti is directed by the bookseller to Chirag who has published the book under his friend Pritam's (Rajkummar Rao) name much against the latter's wishes. Now, Bitti wishes to meet the author of the book and Chirag coaxes -- rather bullies -- the reluctant Pritam to meet Bitti. What follows is an entertaining, comedic romantic drama. It's a well told tale with just the right amount of comedy, drama and romance to spice up the story. Don't miss it!

After watching both movies, it occurred to me that both had writers as their protagonists. What an 'ittefaq' (coincidence)!!

Have you seen any great movies lately? Do share so that I can put it on my "watch list"!

Facing my fear - one Pitch at a time

Pitching makes me freeze up. In fact, the very thought of it makes me wanna run away. For a screenwriter that's simply bad news. Because no matter what, if you want to get your stories out of your computer and hit the big screens, then you need to get comfortable with selling your story to potential producers and studios. And the first step in that journey is pitching. My fear of pitching has prodded me to find different ways of overcoming the hurdle. So, for a few years I tried to work with agents in the hope that they would read my book and be able to handle the job of pitching. But soon I realized that agents were not into reading. So, I was just another name in their long list of clients. How that helps them grow their business is a different story, and one that I will perhaps share at a later point when I get around to solving that mystery! But the turning point (life does imitate screenplays!) came when I was called to pitch my book to a prominent OTT channel. This was...

Basu Chatterji's "Balcony Class" Films

Basu Chatterji's Rajnigandha was like a breath of fresh air in the 1970s film universe of Bombay. At a time when the Angry Young Man was beginning to dominate celluloid screens, Amol Palekar was as un-hero-like as you could get. He was the Common Man who traveled in buses, did not have hero-like mannerisms and did not breathe fire and brimstone at his opponents. Basu Chatterji's Middle of the Road Cinema burst on to the scene and surprised the movie-going audience with its everyday situations and storylines that had an undercurrent of humour. Chatterji catered to an audience that he liked to call the "Balcony Class". Anirudha Bhattacharjee, author of Basu Chatterji and Middle-of-the-Road Cinema writes an entertaining and heartwarming account of the life and work of Basu Chatterji, one of the most under-rated directors of Indian cinema. Recall of Chatterji's brand of feel-good, slice-of-life movies is perhaps highest for his Rajnigandha, Chotisi Baat, Baaton Baa...

'Pure Evil' has been my biggest and most complex project - Author Balaji Vittal

Love them or hate them, you simply can't ignore them. That cliche is perhaps most apt when it comes to the bad men of Bollywood. In fact, some of the most memorable lines of dialogue have been mouthed not by the heroes but by the villains of Hindi cinema. So it is only fitting that these shining stars of the dark world (after all, antagonists are the protagonists of their own stories!) deserve to be spotlighted. Balaji Vittal , the author of Pure Evil: the Bad Men of Bollywood undertakes this onerous task of highlighting the world of these evil characters and how they have come to occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of movie goers. I spoke to Mr. Balaji Vittal, a National Award winning and MAMI Award winning author of Bollywood books, a columnist for News18, Outlook India, The New Indian Express , a Bollywood commentator and a public speaker, about his journey of venturing into the world of Pure Evil . Here are some excerpts: Your book "Pure Evil: the Bad...

Preethi Venugopala19 September 2018 at 17:37
Both movies sound interesting. Checking them out soon.
Sudesna19 September 2018 at 21:49
Writers as protagonists — I always love that, being a writer myself.
iluvfiction19 September 2018 at 22:07
Wonderful review! I had dismissed both the movies from my mind, but now you have ignited my interest again. :D
Reet Singh19 September 2018 at 22:12
This is great - I now want to watch both of these!

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