Hello, hello,
Mondays sure have a way of running away from you, eh?! I was drowning in work today and before I knew it, it was 9 PM! Whew!
So, 2017 has been a disappointing year for the movies, both in India and in the US. However, there are some unexpected fun movies that we did enjoy watching (mostly on Amazon Prime Video) and I thought I'd share those with you.
You may have seen these or not and, of course, if you have any recommendations for me, please, please leave a comment here or on my Instagram and let me know, okay?
Alright, so here goes:
1. A Death in the Gunj
A Death in the Gunj is such an atmospheric movie. It tells a simple story- a family (extended and with family friends) goes off to a hill station for the holidays and events take such a turn that leads to someone dying. The performances are brilliant- each of the actors is so, so stellar. The story is heartbreakingly beautiful and sad and familiar. The chaos and self-absorption of each member of the family is so well captured.
Konkona Sen has made such a surefooted and promising debut as a director! I really hope to see more of her films! I hope she makes amazing cinema in the future!
2. Bareilly Ki Barfi
Bareilly Ki Barfi is such a fun, earthy and delightful movie! The story is based in, you guessed it, Bareilly and revolves around Bitti, her quirky parents and her quest for finding the one man, who seems to have looked into her very soul when he wrote a book, whose key protagonist was exactly like Bitti!
The dialogues, performances, the fun story and even that one hit song- Sweety tera drama- is all so much fun!
I liked how Bitti is shown as working girl and as a bit of a tomboy and also some kind of a feminist- all things that makes me want to forgive the director for the whole smoking=modern girl trope that small town-based movies seem to be all about.
3. Hindi Medium
Based on the insight that parents these days are willing to do anything to get their kids into a good school, Hindi Medium blunders around quite a bit but sort of makes a point about the need to make our government-funded schools better.
The movie has some flaws and is a bit jumpy, but it is hilarious in parts! Especially, when the Raj and Mita (the desperate parents) pretend to be 'poor' and live in an impoverished part of town. Those are some of the best scenes in the movie and also some of the most heartwarming ones.
4. Byomkesh Pawrbo and Chidiyakhana (Bengali)
Byomkesh Bakshi films are an annual highlight for my sister and I! Normally, every year, one Byomkesh Bakshi film releases around Durga Puja and we wait and wait and wait for it to get online on Prime Video or Netflix! However, we now have a third online content provider subscription- Hoichoi- which is chockfull of amazing Bengali movies and TV series!
So, we watched Byomkesh Pawrbo on Hoichoi and Chidiyaghar on Amazon Prime!
Both movies were, needless to say, awesome! So, even if you are a non-Bengali and like Byomkesh Bakshi cases, then you can watch both these movies with subtitles on either Hoichoi or Amazon Prime Video.
5. Antarleen (Bengali)
Antarleen is a Bengali murder mystery movie set in the beautiful hill station of Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh. It has all the classic elements of a good old murder mystery- the atmospheric backdrop of a hill station, a bunch of strangers in a hotel, old sins, an experienced cop, a rookie cop and a murder!
The performances are great, the narrative is taut and fast-paced and the murder mystery is interesting as well.
It's available on Hoichoi, if anyone wants to watch it.
Mondays sure have a way of running away from you, eh?! I was drowning in work today and before I knew it, it was 9 PM! Whew!
So, 2017 has been a disappointing year for the movies, both in India and in the US. However, there are some unexpected fun movies that we did enjoy watching (mostly on Amazon Prime Video) and I thought I'd share those with you.
You may have seen these or not and, of course, if you have any recommendations for me, please, please leave a comment here or on my Instagram and let me know, okay?
Alright, so here goes:
1. A Death in the Gunj
A Death in the Gunj is such an atmospheric movie. It tells a simple story- a family (extended and with family friends) goes off to a hill station for the holidays and events take such a turn that leads to someone dying. The performances are brilliant- each of the actors is so, so stellar. The story is heartbreakingly beautiful and sad and familiar. The chaos and self-absorption of each member of the family is so well captured.
Konkona Sen has made such a surefooted and promising debut as a director! I really hope to see more of her films! I hope she makes amazing cinema in the future!
2. Bareilly Ki Barfi
Bareilly Ki Barfi is such a fun, earthy and delightful movie! The story is based in, you guessed it, Bareilly and revolves around Bitti, her quirky parents and her quest for finding the one man, who seems to have looked into her very soul when he wrote a book, whose key protagonist was exactly like Bitti!
The dialogues, performances, the fun story and even that one hit song- Sweety tera drama- is all so much fun!
I liked how Bitti is shown as working girl and as a bit of a tomboy and also some kind of a feminist- all things that makes me want to forgive the director for the whole smoking=modern girl trope that small town-based movies seem to be all about.
3. Hindi Medium
Based on the insight that parents these days are willing to do anything to get their kids into a good school, Hindi Medium blunders around quite a bit but sort of makes a point about the need to make our government-funded schools better.
The movie has some flaws and is a bit jumpy, but it is hilarious in parts! Especially, when the Raj and Mita (the desperate parents) pretend to be 'poor' and live in an impoverished part of town. Those are some of the best scenes in the movie and also some of the most heartwarming ones.
4. Byomkesh Pawrbo and Chidiyakhana (Bengali)
Byomkesh Bakshi films are an annual highlight for my sister and I! Normally, every year, one Byomkesh Bakshi film releases around Durga Puja and we wait and wait and wait for it to get online on Prime Video or Netflix! However, we now have a third online content provider subscription- Hoichoi- which is chockfull of amazing Bengali movies and TV series!
So, we watched Byomkesh Pawrbo on Hoichoi and Chidiyaghar on Amazon Prime!
Both movies were, needless to say, awesome! So, even if you are a non-Bengali and like Byomkesh Bakshi cases, then you can watch both these movies with subtitles on either Hoichoi or Amazon Prime Video.
5. Antarleen (Bengali)
Antarleen is a Bengali murder mystery movie set in the beautiful hill station of Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh. It has all the classic elements of a good old murder mystery- the atmospheric backdrop of a hill station, a bunch of strangers in a hotel, old sins, an experienced cop, a rookie cop and a murder!
The performances are great, the narrative is taut and fast-paced and the murder mystery is interesting as well.
It's available on Hoichoi, if anyone wants to watch it.
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