The Kedarnath after-effects

I was so looking forward to Kedarnath (like many of you, I’m sure!). The unabashed Sara Ali Khan, the cutest-ever Sushant Singh Rajput, the mesmerizing Amit Trivedi’s music and an innocent love story centered around all these. This definitely had many expectations high.

But let me confess first. It has been really long since I found myself under the spell of a Bollywood

movie hours after I finished watching it. So, here I’m, enjoying the after-effects of Kedarnath and
ofcourse, sharing it with you lovely people!

Weep buckets and buckets

The first half had me smiling throughout as hesitantly but gradually Mansoor falls for Mukku. But,
the interval changes the set mood just like the unfortunate Uttarakhand floods changed their lives.
You’ll cry with Mansoor and Mukku, you’ll cry for Mansoor and Mukku.

Keep a box of tissues handy. You’ll need them.

Listen to ‘Lag Jaa Gale’ on loop

The classic, ‘Lag jaa Gale’ from ‘Woh Kaun thi’, sung my the evergreen, Lata Mangeshkar has been
used beautifully to echo the essence of innocent, unconditional love. The moment I left the movie hall,
I put my earphones on to listen to this melody, savouring every lyric. Be ready to fall in love with this
song all over again!

Lag Jaa Gale

Wonder how the fuck did they shoot the climax

I know a lot of people are saying that the climax is ditto of Titanic, which I absolutely agree with.
But one cant ignore the magnanimous scale at which the climax is shot/shown. It all seemed so
real and horrifying. I tried hard to get some BTS of the climax sequence but nothing came my way.
If you have pictures/videos of the shoot of the climax sequence of this movie, do enlighten me as
well :)

Start acting like Mukku

Mandakini or fondly called as Mukku, rubs on you like Geet from Jab We Met and Vaidehi from
Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya. She is unapologetically outspoken, takes her stand ferociously and
loves fearlessly. Sara playing this role has left me awestruck, impressed and inspired. Started her
career with a bang!

Fall in love with Mansoor

This boy is the most adorable. Sushant plays this sweet boy who is a little shy, reserved and goes
out of his way to help random people. The goody goody boy whom you would take home to your
parents. And mahnn, the way he blushes! If you still don’t fall for him, I don’t know what you are
made of.

Of course, once you are done reading this, you can find me drooling at his Instagram pictures and

smiling stupidly to self.

Everything and nothing about NFAI

I had marked my calendar for the next weekend to attend ‘A Festival of Films from Israel’ to be hosted by Pune International Centre. Having not much interest in Israeli films (the perception of which changed soon after) what made me look forward to it? The Festival was being held at the NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE OF INDIA!

TAADD--AAAHHHHHH

Not excited?

(*mockingly) Only movie geeks would get excited to spend their Sundays in a government office filled with movie posters that too when already staying in Pune for a good time now. I would often find myself peeping out of the window staring at the gorgeous building whenever I would pass by it on the Law College Road.

Anyways, so yours truly was that little girl left to explore a candy shop. I was so happy going around the place, taking pictures, looking at the antique movie posters that adorned the shabby walls, peeping into the administrative area and what not. But that excitement was ruthlessly curbed by the watchman who not-so-politely asked me to not click pictures and there I was, sad again.  I managed to sneakily get some pictures though! Less is better than none, right?

This is not the NFAI building, this is the museum that is housed in the NFAI campus. Beautiful, isn't it?

I wish I had a house like this! *drools

Talking about the Film Festival, it was a beautiful bouquet of Israeli films that opened up a new world for me. After kicking myself for missing out on the first 3 days of the festival, I had managed to drag myself to the last day and spent my Sunday in the company of 2 gems.

Israeli Gem 1 - Footnote
Footnote is a one of a kind story of a father-son duos’ tryst with academic rivalry. This movie fucked my mind completely. To be honest, I slept off midway for a while. Ohh, btw, it was Israel’s entry to Academy Award in the foreign language category in 2012. You could read more about the movie in this New York Times article - https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/movies/footnote-israeli-film-by-joseph-cedar.html

And if this intrigues you then please do watch the trailer too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DjUwSr0VFo

Israeli Gem 2 - Lemon Tree
Lemon Tree is the story of a courageous widow who lives on the Israel-Palestine border with her farm of lemon trees. Her struggle begins when her new neighbour and defence minister of Israel decides to destroy her age old family farm because of security issues. It is beautifully harrowing to see human lives change and struggle amidst political turmoil. Regret leaving this one midway as I had to catch a bus back. (kicking my ass for this one too! :P)Watch the trailer here! I’m sure you will love it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_j1llK3Fco

And, I brought an end to this trip with some hot and spicy, Idli Sambar - my all-time favourite! Ping me if you wish to share your experiences/opinions about Israeli films or anything in general. See ya! 

All time favourite!

Aaiye, 'Gent's Problem' Ki Baat Kare!

Statutory warning: If you do not wish to find yourself avoiding eye contact with your parents/siblings/relatives on your way back from theatre, the solution is simple. DO NOT watch this with them.

The film is a remake of the 2013 Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Saadham, helmed by the same director, R Prasanna. Produced by Aanand L Rai, this film starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar is about a soon to-be-married couple whose marital future seems bleak as the groom suffers from a ‘gent’s problem’. Oops! Did I just say erectile dysfunction?

Couple of days prior to ‘taking pheras’, they TRY (please appreciate the emphasis on the word ‘try’, that is where the film will leave you in splits) to be physically intimate, when the two learn that the groom (Khurrana) suffers from erectile dysfunction.

Ayushmann Khurrana is a cutie as he always is (fan girl alert!!!). 

He steals the show in this particular scene where he forces his baaraat in the dead of the night to re-enter the wedding venue because he didn’t do it right the first time. Not shifting his gaze away from his sulking fiancé for even once, he dances like he owns the place. This definitely stole every girl’s heart away, not to mention his would-be wife’s too as the audience hooted and whistled for the groom as he went on to hold Tauji’s jaw, gesturing him to give his idiosyncratic chummi. He definitely is getting better with each film. His last, Bareily ki Barfi is also a hilarious watch.

From Vicky Donor to Shubh Mangal Saavdhaan, it’s ironic what he has come to.

Hehe :P

Sugundha’s mother (a brilliant Seema Pahwa) is a riot because her personality and character never seem to have any distinctive demarcating line. She is and has always been extremely organic in her portrayal of characters as if they are an extension of her being. She must be declared the Nirupa Roy of this millennium, without much ado.

This particular scene is outrageously hilarious where the bride’s mother is trying to share her experiences about her wedding night. Seems like Seema Pahwa (bride’s mother) and Bhumi Pednekar (bride) exhibit strong comfort in discussing about sex after marriage as we saw them doing the same in 2015 National Award winning film Dum Laga Ke Haisha.

“Alibaba ko Gufa ke ander jana hi hoga” is the bride’s mother’s way of emphasising on the importance of having satisfactory sex with one’s own husband to her soon-to-be married daughter. This analogy evokes laughter throughout the movie. When the same situation is being explained by the bride to her best friend using the analogy of limp biscuits, the best friend is quick to react, “Ab yaar, main life main kabhi biscuit nahi kha paungi”.

Writer Hitesh Kewalya’s script is enhanced by the nuanced performances of all actors. The tone never veers into vulgar. The family members and the conversations they have are familiar, it is what every Indian family has – The bride’s father and his elder brother have a running feud in the middle of a movie about every possible thing – money, who did or didn’t touch feet, who hid what information, arriving late for the mata ka jagrata, who has turned disrespectful and what not. You lift your eyes from the screen and you will find one of them around you. All these characters are to that extent relatable. Brijendra Kala, Seema Pahwa, Anshul Chauhan, Neeraj Sood and Chittaranjan Tripathy are the people to thank for this.

Do go for this one. You will never regret.