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rishabhkatoch
Reviews
Jawaani Jaaneman (2020)
For a lite and fun watch.
I feel that Bollywood has largely shifted it's gaze from NRI experience to the local boy in tier 2 cities of India, a development which I personally appreciate. This movie is fun though, despite having all the tropes of escapist NRI movies. Saif ali Khan is someone who has truly grown on the audience despite not getting commercial successes. He's perfect for the role of a punjabi munda who living it up and refuses to acknowledge the fact that he's no longer as youthful as he once was. All in all a fun one time watch.
Dia (2020)
Simply overrated.
Dia is a romantic drama in Kannada language. The movie has been getting glowing reviews especially on the internet. Now I'm not a big fan of romantic movies but I read that this is a romantic drama with a twist. And that's exactly the problem, there are just too many twists in this movie.
The movie primarily follows the life of Dia a biotechnology student in Bangalore and her relationship with two guys (not at the same time, relax). Now I can't go deeper than this because that will spoil the movie.
The movie honestly was interesting only in the beginning and the ending. The middle portion of the movie was pretty flat. The romantic scenes were cute but sometimes a bit too cheesy that you can't help but roll your eyes. Coming to the main problem with the movie and why I think it's overhyped is that it fails to make the tragic scenes touch you. I couldn't help but compare this movie to Korean movies of the same genre that are often tragic. The director I feel had a vision of making something of the same variety but he is not able to translate that onto the screen. The twists in the movie seem too artificial and abrupt and you're left scratching your head as to whether that was really necessary. I'm sorry but I just don't see the point the movie was trying to make.
Crossing Bridges (2013)
A story of a man living between two worlds.
The story is of a man named Tashi, who hails from the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh at the North eastern frontier of India. Tashi loses his job in the IT sector and returns home from Mumbai after eight years. What follows is his struggle to readjust to a life so distant to the fast paced city life that he struggles and yearns to get back.
The movie is a slow burn and the stillness of the movie sets well with the beautiful landscape and people of Arunachal. It's a wonderful exploration of a life that many people across India could relate to despite it seeming so foreign and exotic. Because this is a story of many people living in thousands of cities and villages who are leaving behind their families in order to make a better life for themselves in the cities. Hence I'm sure many can empathise with Tashi as he struggles to settle down to a slower paced lifestyle having tasted the energy of the urban India.
The movie is also a reminder of an India that hardly many of us know about. And movies like these can help people in the mainland to realize what India's diversity truly is. Personally I hope to see more of such cinema coming out of North East made by the locals, especially in the age of OTT platforms.
My only criticism would be that the movie can be a bit too slow sometimes and also the romance in the movie seemed a bit forced. Although both the lead actors as well as supporting cast has done a wonderful job.