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What distinguishes Taali is that it is one of the first biographical works that focuses on the challenges and life of a transgender person, therefore providing a glimpse into their tough lives from their own perspective.

Taali is a biographical drama series based on the life of Shree Gauri Sawant, a transgender activist played by Sushmita Sen. The series, directed by Ravi Jadhav, lasts for three hours and is broken into six thirty-minute parts. It is available on the Jio Cinema platform in India. I was thrilled to watch the show after watching the teaser for the first time and being aware of the real-life inspiration. While inclusion of the LGBTQA+ population in mainstream films and series has expanded recently, there are a few that highlight the realities of the transgender community, such as – Laxmii, Super Deluxe.

What distinguishes Taali is that it is one of the first biographical works that focuses on the challenges and life of a transgender person, therefore providing a glimpse into their tough lives from their own perspective. Many notable biopics based on the lives of athletes, freedom fighters, army officers have been produced by the film industry. Taali thus adds a feather to the cap because it is innovative in its approach to raising awareness and praising the efforts of many such activists who seek to improve the status of the Third gender in India. This is certainly one of the most compelling reasons to watch this series.

Before we go any further, here is a quick summary of the transgender activist as to why she is remarkable –

Shree Gauri Savant is a transgender activist from Mumbai who has been working diligently for the transgender community for many years. Gauri established the Sakhi Char Chowghi Trust in 2000. The NGO encourages safe sex and offers transsexual counselling. In 2014, she was the first transgender person to petition the Supreme Court of India for transgender adoption rights.  She was a petitioner in the case of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), in which the Supreme Court declared transgender as a third gender. She also starred in an affectionate Vicks commercial and in Kaun Banega Crorepati. In 2019, she was appointed as the Maharashtra Election Commission’s goodwill ambassador.

Taali, focusing on the Supreme Court’s watershed decision in 2014, which officially recognized the third gender, It flashes back and forth in time to Gauri Sawant’s life, from her days as a child battling with identity to her days as a mother advocating for equality. The show seeks to cover major events in her life, such as her childhood and troubles with her father, gender affirming surgery, adopting a child, and handling the atrocities of the society. In the first episode, named Teesri ladai, she explains how her battle is separated into three stages: struggle for identity, struggle for survival, and struggle for equality, with the final one referring to the Landmark Case.

Krutika Deo’s performance as Young Gauri, known as Ganesh, helped viewers connect to the character’s predicament of feeling unfit. Her desire to be a mother, which no one around her understands, her loneliness after her mother passed away and her father’s reluctance to accept her identity are all major points where the audience can relate to the helplessness faced by young Gauri trapped in the body of a boy, wishing to be a girl.

Sushmita Sen, who plays a grown-up Gauri, does a fantastic job in the part. Her performance was a combination of grace and aggression, accurately calibrated to the necessities of the scene. Sen is depicted in the story’s midsection, where Gauri works with an NGO and as a waiter to earn and teach at the same time. These were the rare sequences where Sen seemed out of place in huge Kurtas, shirt trousers and even a fake moustache.

The story progresses from her days of survival to finally founding her own non-profit organization, dealing with other transgender people. The affection and warmth between Gauri and her new family could be seen in these specific scenes. Sheetal Kale’s performance as Nargis, a fellow transgender, was another highlight for me. Her friendship with Gauri, from once saving her life to presenting her a neckless that Gauri tressures as a trophy, are heartwarming experiences that will also have an impact on Gauri’s life.

Aside from the impressive performances, the show had its own set of flaws. To begin, despite the fact that the show drew out Gauri’s life across six episodes, it failed to give greater space to crucial moments that required more creativity, more time for viewers to absorb it and appreciate the depth of it. Factors such as Gauri’s transformation as a mother and her struggle to gain support from her own community were mentioned but not adequately developed. There are several situations in which Gauri faces adversity and hatred from members of her own community who believe that her work is harming their daily lives, even to the point where a fellow transgender tries to poison Gauri. However, these scenes are addressed with dialogues such as Mere paas na dushmano ki directory nahi dictionary milegi (you won’t either the directory or the dictionary of enemies with me) or inhone mera makeup kiya hai mei inka pack up karwati hoon (they did my makeup, I will do their pack up).

What was missing was a genuine confrontation moment to really show why many transgender people believed Gauri’s work was harming them, and it could’ve led the viewers to the real issue of why many of them are resistant to these changes. This alternate perspective was not properly explored.

Another letdown was the addition of sequences that felt like an attempt to inject some drama into the show. Scene of Gauri celebrating the commencement of her womanhood while dressed as a bride, was paralleled by her father performing Ganesh’s final rites. This was done to symbolically represent Gauri’s father’s reluctance to embrace her new reality.  Instead of this addition, it would have been good to devote more screen time to Gauri’s metamorphosis.

Other attempts at eliciting emotions were made with background music and almost poetic dialogues. It seemed as though Gauri’s every response was designed to be an inspiring statement. Gauri’s more open exchanges with people, such as the flight attendant on a trip to the United States or the school principal, were much appreciated.

Taali provided to the audience something that they had already seen on the internet and in the news. There was a lack of artistically narrating the story so that viewers could better comprehend the perspectives of the third gender. Taali remains an amazing first-of-its-kind biopic packed with a number of profound performances, and we hope that mainstream cinema brings out more work of such activists while providing LGBTQ people the opportunity to play these parts.

 

Read Also : https://dubeat.com/2016/09/03/transgender-accepting-the-non-conformist/

Featured Image Credits: JioCinema

Priya Agrawal

 Chhapaak, a story of an acid violence survivor directed by Meghna Gulzar, inspired by the real-life tale of Laxmi Agarwal.
Read on for the movie review.

Chhapaak is an unflinching feminist movie. Meghna Gulzar’s direction is tender; its gaze is not patriarchal. It questions what you went to theatre thinking of a movie based on acid attack survivors (I bet you thought victim). The opening scene is magnificent. Protests raging on, Delhi Police lathi charging and using water cannon; I’m sure none of the artists involved knew what the impact of that scene is, watching in today’s time. The reverberation of reality itself is manifold. 

The movie made me feel so uncomfortable. I could see myself in Malti’s silences. When her stalker messaged her multiple times, she just deleted the message and switched off her phone. When a woman from her lawyer’s team questions Malti’s decision to not slap him, the lawyer says- “In that case, you would’ve asked, why did she provoke him?” The survivors acting in the movie are amazing in their roles. They’re hopeful, tenacious, and funny, so so funny! Chhapaak highlights the laughter as much as it highlights the trauma. 

The movie lays emphasis on caste and poverty. A survivor recounts her attacker being an upper-caste man who did it to stop her from achieving her dreams. Such moments are hard to find words for. The supporting cast does an excellent job. Credit to them, the direction and the cinematography, Chhapaak is such a lived-in film experience. The landscape of Delhi is aptly used, the city as a metaphor for both violation and justice. Deepika Padukone is the soul of the movie. I fall short of words for what she’s done here. You feel her pain slapping you when she cries, and yet the illumination of her smile lights a thousand lamps. 

One of my problems with the movie is its lack of female singers. For a movie that is about women, helmed by women, even the makeup is by women; the voice of Arijit Singh and Shankar Mahadevan feels out of place, not that the songs aren’t good. I wish women sung in this movie. The interactions amongst all survivors are so beautiful and important. Rarely do we see female solidarity and support depicted in cinema. In a scene, Malti reads the Facebook comments of a post to a survivor. Their joy is infectious. Amol (Vikrant Massey) and Malti (Deepika Padukone) have understated, beautiful chemistry; one that doesn’t aggressively try to be a plot point, but like a simmering attraction to a person who has grown upon you. 

The biggest achievement of Chhapaak is how it moves from macro to micro — from political to personal — with poise and empathy. It reconstructs the notions of storytelling with the spotlight on a survivor, and by its final scene; gives us plenty of reminders in flesh about the significance of empathy, solidarity, and justice.

Featured Image Credits: Meghna Gulzar (@meghnagulzar on Instagram)

Paridhi Puri
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It’s commonly said that Bollywood makes movie stars and Hollywood makes star movies.

Bollywood and Hollywood rule hearts of billions of movie-buffs worldwide. Despite various similarities, both the movie industries draw their inspiration from varied sources, which provide basic ideas for commencing with a celluloid venture. Indians are always shy when it comes to comparison between Hollywood and Bollywood. Now, it’s fair to say that Bollywood is behind Hollywood when it comes to experimenting with a variety of genres. India has been making films for a hundred years; getting started just ten years later than America. Storytelling is a craft as much as anything else.  So is screenwriting.

As the film industry grows, so does the list of film festivals and awards ceremonies across the globe. What better way to spend two to three hours of your day than to watch a masterfully-written movie? From the good old movies to today’s featured flicks, film industry has something for everyone. From the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Cannes Film Festival in France to International Indian Film Academy Awards, there is an awards ceremony for various types of films. There are awards distributed by critics, the festival and industry professionals as well as the general public. But here comes another comparison between the Hollywood award shows and the Indian award shows. First, Hollywood is inclusive of films and artists from all around the world which tends to be encouraging for the artists for being recognized in a global platform. But, as the trend goes with awards of Indian Cinema, most of them include Bollywood actors only.

Of lately, Indian viewers have turned to appreciating Hollywood and to tuning to International Award shows to keep track of the best films released globally. Hollywood studios put out between 200-250 movies a year and own 85% of the world market share, while Indian movie industry puts out about 1000 movies and has 4% market share. This is not to say Hollywood always makes better movies than Indian industries.  It just means Hollywood is able to tell more universal stories. Not one Indian movie has been a mainstream movie that audiences all over the world have flocked to see.  Every year, Hollywood puts out a handful that the whole world, basically, pays to watch.  If a comparison is to be made standing on neutral ground, Indian film makers rarely venture out to tell universal stories that everybody in the world can understand. Thus, Indian viewers in the present time have turned to Hollywood as a large part of Indian Cinema is about conventional song and dance sequences whereas Hollywood rarely follows the trend of relying on music heavily, except for a few movies and it drives its motivation from a diverse set of emotional, fictional and non-fictional subjects with a universal appeal. Bollywood in general is a genre as recognised by the world but, Hollywood is a style. Also, B-Town actors like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone are creating news because they got into Hollywood. It is an achievement to enter Hollywood. Is it true vice-versa? Not really.

Image credits: india.com

Radhika Boruah

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“Kiss free, Love free, Live free”.

Life ought to be as simple as that. And it is (or eventually becomes) for the leading couple of ‘Befikre’. But life is never this easy, frivolous and convenient. And that is probably why the narration of ‘Befikre’ seems to take a flight from reality, every now and then.  In a nutshell, there is too much intimacy, too much cliché and too much overacting in ‘Befikre’ for one to digest. Shot largely in the fabled ‘City of Love’, ‘Befikre’ grants itself the license to breezily demonstrate all forms of physical intimacy in the most blatant and unabashed fashion. The movie begins with a five minute long shot of sundry couples making out, with Parisian scenery rolling out in the background.  Don’t be fooled by these five minutes. They are integral to the movie. They very aptly set and describe the mood of the entire movie.  Because all you get in the next 175 minutes that follow are glimpses of promiscuous and amorous activities, strewn together by a weak story line. ‘Befikre’ is the love story of Dharam and Shyra. Both are wild and represent the ‘free’ spirited attitude of the youth. They share a lusty relationship which comes to its inevitable end when they fail to successfully live together and see eye-to-eye. Then they decide to become friends. Their ambiguous friendship soon blossoms into best friendship. But things get complicated when Shyra starts dating the ‘perfect man’, putting Dharam in an envious spot. Things finally spiral out of control when Shyra gets engaged to the said ‘perfect man’. Dharam’s loneliness, competitiveness, jealousy and inherent stupidity drive him to propose a random French hooker in retaliation. The bottom line:  The two protagonists are set to get married to their respective partners in a double wedding celebration on the same day. Sounds all too familiar? Then wait for the climax. Because come D-day and voila!To the shock and horror of the audience( yes, you wish!) only one wedding takes place: the matrimony of Dharam and Shyra. Surprised? Sure, if you’ve never seen a Bollywood  Yash Raj romcom. Cliché? To the point where you want to hang yourself for spending your last bit of currency on such a movie in times of a dire cash crunch. There are some mildly likeable things. Like the upbeat music, the groovy dance segments and decent cinematography. Although Vaani Kapoor steals the show, her performance gets overshadowed by Ranveer Singh’s loud, overly boisterous and unnecessarily in-your- face overacting. Unfortunately for the movie, that’s a bad thing. In all, ‘Befikre’ is the kind of movie you should watch if you have time to kill. However, if you value your time and your hard-earned money, give this one a miss. Also, if you’re a fan of Ranveer Singh, better hold your peace and wait for his next release. Because this one just might kill any (or absolutely all) of the love that you have for him.   Image Credits: www.indianexpress.com Kriti Sharma [email protected]  ]]>

I am not here to tell you why one should possess knowledge and awareness about the affairs of our society rather I am here to help you increase your awareness about a topic that is gaining much attention in the media these days, i.e. the proposed cuts in the movie Udta Punjab by our country’s Censor Board.

The Chief of the Censor Board, Pahlaj Nihalani is being criticised everyday for many different reasons. Some claim that his order for 89 cuts in the film and an instruction to delete all references to the state of Punjab, including the reference in the title, are driven by his political bias and pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The controversy has led to political conflicts with Congress and AAP accusing the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its partner BJP for influencing censor board’s decision. 

People have also been furious with the state as it is yet again seen curbing the freedom of speech. The censor board chief has been called an “oligarch” and a “dictator” and living in India has been compared to living in North Korea.  But, why are the people surprised? These debates about free speech have time and again re-surfaced in our country and have never been resolved.  May it be the banning of documentaries, agitation over comedians organising roasts or mimicking celebrities, students being denied the freedom to speak their mind in a university campus, or books being censored, we, Indians, with the largest democracy, have seen it all. Hence, rather than being amused by the censoring of a movie, we should converge our focus on why it is being censored or ordered with demands of cuts. Everyone knows the movie is on the drug problem of Punjab but how many of us really know what exactly the drug problem is.

An Overview of the Drug Abuse in Punjab

The drug use- primarily the intake of opium — had been part of the social and cultural compass long before Punjab was partitioned and divided. Small doses of opium were considered healthy and necessary. But, soon the drug use changed into a drug abuse for various reasons.

There was a growing influence of the surrounding states on Punjab. For example, the state of Rajasthan, a neighbouring state, where opium was, and still is, served like paan in weddings, had an effect on Punjab’s culture.

The rise of the Green Revolution also aggravated the problem. Big farmers supplied opium and poppy husk to labourers “since it served like machine oil” and increased the productivity of the workers. Even the truck drivers, with the onset of Industrialisation, took to drugs as it helped them drive for longer hours.

There was also a change from poppy husk and opium to the lethal heroin or smack, and later synthetic drugs. Experts trace this to the heavy flow of heroin through the then unfenced border with Pakistan in the 1980s. 

All these factors combined with the declining growth rates of the rural economy, the influx of migrants, the educated rural youth facing lack of jabs, and the culture of aspiration and expectation, which quickly swerves to depression when things don’t fall in place led to the citizens surrendering to this addiction.

The jeopardy the state is in and its consequences

Behind closed doors in the streets of Punjab, families are breaking down and friends are being lost to this menace.

The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences along with the NGO Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses conducted a study on the drug problem of Punjab. The results were staggering and showed that from a population of approximately 2.77 crore (27.7 million) people, around 2.3 million people are opioid-dependent, around 860,000 people are estimated to be opioid users. More than 123,000 people are heroin-dependent.

Out of all the patients that come, 80 per cent of the patients brought to the centre have tried quitting drugs, but only 35 per cent have succeeded in getting some kind of treatment in deaddiction centres.

Doctors have claimed that husbands often get their wives hooked on drugs so that they are not prevented from consuming them and also, as this will lead to not hiding anything at home.

The other source of concern is the fear that increasing use of drug will lead to an HIV/AIDS epidemic. “Delhi is paying more attention to the use of injectables. Drug users in the capital are being given clean needles and syringes so that they can take drugs in a safer manner. The reason why this is being made available to drug users is so as to control HIV/AIDS. India has been applauded for this. The Punjab government needs to pay attention to this as a key step to control HIV” says Dr Atul Ambedkar of AIIMS, the principal author of the NDDTC study.

There are many more grave consequences of this addiction which is destroying the state and is not letting the citizens have a chance at a normal, healthy life. And this chance will be forever denied to them if the political class remains evasive and continues their denial. This denial also explains the hostility with which Udta Punjab is now being treated. So, what I propose is don’t be dependent on the mercy of the Censor Board. Empower yourself with knowledge and research more about this menace. This movie, if nothing else, should at least become a catalyst for the population of India to have a desire to not remain oblivious and become aware of the different problems of its different states.

Image Credits: www.india.com

Nishita Agarwal

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What makes a truly good movie? Is it the script, the direction, amazing actors or catchy music? This is that one question which everyone ponders upon while judging a movie, whether watched in the luxury of a theatre or in the personal comforts of home. But, wasted money and wasted time, as much as foolishly repeated, can never be forgotten. So, this year, while we faced much disappointment from movies like: ABCD 2, Badlapur, Katti Batti and Shaandaar. Some brilliant films involving Salman’s breathtaking performance in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the beautiful story of a daughter-father relationship in Piku, Kangana’s hilarious love escapades in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Imtiaz’s amazing direction in Tamasha, have proven to mend our broken hearts and make us fall in love with movies all over again.

Thus, overall one cannot deny that 2015 has been a terrific year for movie buffs and there’s no doubt that the coming year will too, produce equally, or hopefully, even more unforgettable movies for us. Therefore, here’s a list of the most anticipated Hollywood and Bollywood movies of 2016:

HOLLYWOOD

1.) Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Okay, you honestly can’t tell me that you haven’t been waiting for this to happen on the big screen ever since you read comics or watched cartoons of your favorite superheroes as a kid. No matter how you feel about Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel or Ben Aflleck’s performances, it’s hard not to get excited about watching Batman and Superman- two of the biggest superheroes of all time, at war with one another and then eventually forming a team, alongside Wonder Woman to fight against evil. Whether it will be an epic blockbuster experience or a major disappointment, it’s definitely the one you wouldn’t want to miss out on. 
Release date: March 25, 2016

2.) Deadpool

With movies like X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Green Lantern repeatedly letting our hopes down, it’s going to take much more than just Ryan Reynold’s drop dead gorgeous looks and rock-hard abs to fight his way through all the non-convincing arguments of people to watch this one. But then again, the lesser we expect, the more we’re surprised, aren’t we? I say, give Tim Miller’s debut feature film a chance. In fact, for Ryan’s insane love for superhero comics and never-ending spirit, I’d even say a thousand times over.
Release date: February 12, 2016

3.) Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

If you’ve seen the first part, you’re certainly not missing this one. If you haven’t, well then, all I can say is that you’re in for a treat. With the amazing direction of Nicholas Stoller, the gang’s all back, including Zac Efron’s charming personality, Seth Rogen’s effortless acting, and Rose Byrne’s unmatched cuteness, along with the surprise arrival of two new sorority sisters in the neighborhood such as Selena Gomez and Chloe Grace Moretz who are bound to bring their own promising share of crazy uniqueness to the sequel, making it even better than the previous one.
Release date: May, 2016.
The trailers of Neighbors 2 haven’t been released. So, here is a trailer of the fun and frolic life of the Neighbors’ first movie. If you enjoy this, there’s no way you wouldn’t love the next one!

4.) Finding Dory

Thirteen years after the release of ‘Finding Nemo’, which yet remains one of the most loved and best works of Pixar productions, the wait is finally over. Remember that forgettable yet unforgettable cutest little blue fish, we all fell madly in love with? There’s only so much we can adore a character and Dory goes beyond any ordinary limits. So, watching a movie based entirely on her, further voiced by the famous personality, Ellen DeGeneres seems like the most perfect splash of happiness we require this summer. No matter how old you are, you’re sure to keep this one in the very first priority of your wish list.
Release date: June 17, 2016

5.) The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist

Who doesn’t love a little horror? Especially if it’s directed by James Wan who may be well known for his movies like Saw and Insidious, but mostly for his critically acclaimed 2013 release ‘The Conjuring’ which was considered as one of the best possession movies ever created and as a result, also succeeded in keeping us terrified for several sleepless nights. The sequel thus, continues the roles of the paranormal activity researchers, Ed and Lorraine Warren, but in a new spine-chilling tale (which also seems to be based on true events- till some extent) revolving around the lives of two sisters, held in a town of Enfield, England. I don’t know about you but I’m ready to get spooked all over again, and as much as possible. Are you?
Release date: June 10, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWnP3ZfV6lo

 

BOLLYWOOD

1.) Fan

Produced by Aditya Chopra, and directed by Maneesh Sharma (who’s best known for his debut film: Band Baaja Baraat) this is a story about a man and his obsession with his favorite movie star , Aryan (Shahrukh Khan) with whom he shares identical looks, further centering on his journey to meet him in Mumbai, India. It seems like this movie is made for every possible fan of Shahrukh Khan, thereby exceeding the expectations increasingly for all. The movie also stars Vaani Kapoor (known for her debut role in Shudh Desi Romance) and Ileana D’Cruz.
Release date: April 15, 2016

2.) Jagga Jasoos

Written and directed by Anurag Basu, this one’s a detective-comedy drama starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, and Govinda, who embark on a classic Indiana Jones’ type adventure, in search of the missing father of a teenage detective with the help of his friends. So not only does the story sound fresh and interesting, but with lovebirds like Ranbir and Katrina to pair up once again after APKGK, that too, under Anurag’s superb direction (as revealed in Barfi! with Ranbir), the movie seems very promising and definitely worth watching.
Release date: June 3, 2016
Trailer not released.

Jagga Jasoos
Jagga Jasoos

3.) Fitoor

An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beautiful classic novel, Great Expectations, this romantic-drama will be starring Aditya Roy Kapoor and Katrina Kaif as the lead. Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, this movie hopes to inspire the very true idea of love, thereby focusing on not just the aspect of happiness, but a little bit of drama, sadness and passion to go along with it too.  All we can hope is that it lives up to our great expectations as well.
Release date: February 12, 2016
Trailer not released.

Fitoor
Fitoor

4.) Raees

Hasn’t it been long since we saw Shahrukh Khan in an intense role? Thus, with the release of this crime-drama, we’ll finally get to watch the King of Romance play an extremely powerful character of a cruel and clever bootlegger whose business is obstructed by a tough policeman (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). The movie also stars the Pakistani actor, Mahira Khan who’ll be making her screen debut in Bollywood.
Release date: 8 July, 2016

5.) Kapoor and Sons

As if just one pair of dreamy eyes of Siddharth Malhotra wasn’t enough to mesmerize us, this romantic-comedy drama starring Alia Bhatt as the lead, also brought the Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan into the picture to charm us all. Produced by Karan Johar and directed by Shakun Batra, whatever the outcome may be, this movie’s cast alone is too lovable and irresistible enough to not make anyone watch it as soon as it’s released.
Release date: March 18, 2016
Trailer not released.

Kapoor & Sons
Kapoor & Sons

6.) Udta Punjab

Directed by Abhishek Choudhary and starring Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor (who’ll be seen sharing the screen after a very long time) and Alia Bhatt in the lead, this drama-thriller chronicles the story of the issue of substance abuse among youth in the Indian state of Punjab, and thus, promises to bring us something dark and thought-provoking along with an experience entirely different from the ordinary plots of most movies. Now let’s hope that’s a good different!
Release date: March 2016
Trailer not released.

Udta Punjab
Udta Punjab

Picture Credits: www.movienasha.com, www.foundpix.com, www.justbollywood.in, www.36.media.tumblr.com, www.hdwallpapershams.com, www.makelifeeasy.in, www.wittyscoop.in

Feature Image Credits: i.ytimg.com

While there are a lot of films which could have a sequel, these are the 4 films which I would definitely like to watch sequels of:

1. Sarkar Raj: The prequel “Sarkar” was not well received by the critics, as it was termed as just an ‘unjust copy’ of the Hollywood favorite “The Godfather”. However Ram Gopal Verma made an effort to reincarnate his thoughts in Sarkar Raj. He changes the whole plot of the Hollywood movie and adds his touch to it.

The movie ends with one of the protagonists, Shankar ( Abhishek Bachchan) dying while Anita ( Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) takes over the family business. However, what is more interesting is that Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan), in the last dialogue of the film, calls out for ‘Chikoo’ , Vishnu Nagre’s son leaving a sense of curiosity in the mind of the person watching the movie. This makes the movie – watcher craving for more. The movie could portray the growing up of Chikoo and how he ultimately handles the family business like Vincent Mancini in The Godfather 3.

sarkar_raj_os_b

 

2. Taare Zameen Par

Taare Zameen Par was well received by critics and was one of those ‘socially acceptable’ movies which spearheaded Indian Cinema into the world. The film takes us through the life of a dyslexic student who finds it hard to keep up with the normal school curriculum.

However, the protagonist ends up overcoming his inabilities and shuns the doubts everybody has of him. The movie ends with the protagonist, Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) leaving the remedial school that he joined after his abysmal performance in his previous school. This leaves a splendid scope for showing us how he tackles his upcoming obstacles in life and how he can achieve his fears in those situations. It would also be a wonderful sight if Ishaan becomes a teacher similar to Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) and help others in the same way.

tzp_daydreaming

3. Awarapan – The plot of this story revolves around a flesh trading ring, where Emraan Hashmi plays the protagonist, who is one of the capo régimes in such a business. Driven by unjust practices and religious flash backs, he ultimately kills his own boss and few of his associates and saves his boss’s sex slave and frees her.

The last scene portrays how the survivor, addressing the media in her country and narrating the whole story. Flesh Trade; being a very sensitive topic, such movies can be introduced after being inspired by the Hollywood movie, ‘Taken’ which revolves around the same topic yet portrays how an Intelligence agency official’s daughter is dragged into the human trafficking ring and how he ultimately rescues her daughter. The sequel to Awarapan could deal with such a topic.

Awarapan1P

4. Rock On!! – A movie which takes the viewer through the life of a band formed by five talented musicians and friends and the various hardships it faces. The band ‘Magic’ is well received for its musicality, however, record label disputes terminates it. A few years later, the members get rid of their personal differences and ultimately win a big competition. The movie also features a splendid collection of songs which were well received in the music market as well.

The epilogue of the movie relays that the keyboardist ‘Rob’ dies of cancer and that the guitarist and the drummer start a record label themselves and that the band meets every weekend. This provides a scope for a sequel. This movie can provide insight about the music industry a bit more. Probably taking us through the life of a record label company and how the back end market of the music industry works. The sequel is highly expected this year.

rock-on-full-movie-watch-Online-BLu-ray

 

These four movies have proved their worth and they leave a scope for sequels which are highly capable of success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bollywood has its own share of glamorizing the college life in our minds. The campus, the college students, the song and dance routine – are some regular contents of a college based Bollywood movie. In fact, Bollywood has a handful of directors who are pass-outs from Delhi University and they often keep coming back to the memory lanes of the University campus to shoot their movies.

Imtiaz Ali, Maneesh Sharma, Parvin Dabas have all returned to their respective alumnus to shoot the college scenes for their big ventures.

Here are five movies which feature Delhi University colleges –

1. Rockstar

Imtiaz Ali directed and Ranbir Kapoor starrer super hit movie Rockstar was shot in Hindu College and St. Stephen’s College. Ranbir played the character of Janardhan Jhakar, the Jat boy from Hindu College who falls for the beautiful Stephanian Heer Kaul ( Nargis Fakhri).

Rockstar was shot extensively in the campus during the summer break of 2011.

Rockstar

2. Fukrey

2013’s sleeper hit Fukrey features Delhi University’s Miranda House College. The movie was supposedly going to be shot in Shri Ram College of Commerce but ended up getting shot in Miranda House instead. However, the movie features the women’s college as co-educational institution.

 

fukrey

 

3. Do Dooni Chaar

This family flick had some scenes shot in Kirori Mal College. The fest scene in the college of Rishi Kapoor’s daughter, in the movie was shot in KMC.

do dooni chaar

 

4. Band Baaja Baaraat

This 2010 blockbuster and Ranveer Singh’s debut film, has one of its popular songs Tarkeebein entirely shot in Hans Raj College. The song captures the campus roads, the college’s boys’ hostel and the classroom. A few shots are also taken in Ramjas College’s gallery.

band baaja baaraat

  1. Akaash Vani

This movie was again shot in St. Stephen’s College. The leads Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha played the hostellers-in-love.

akaash vani

These movies are just to name a few while the list goes on!