Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) {B/W Film}

              Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam is a 1962 Romance/Drama film adopted from the Bengali novel Saheb Bibi Golam, directed by Abrar Alvi, starring Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman & Rehman. The story follows a wealthy man who goes to brothels to satisfy his desires. Mentally disturbed by this, his wife gradually finds solace in the arms of their neighbour, Bhootnath. 

  

             Guru Dutt's 'Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam' remains one of the most accomplished pieces of art in Indian cinema. No wonder why it is referred to as Indian cinema at its best. Starting with the technological aspect, I was amazed by the excellent cinematography. The movement of the camera that guides us to the world of the characters, to their minds, to their emotions and to their fate. The way the camera focuses on Choti Bahu's sad eyes or the way it zooms towards Jabba's face while she cheerfully sings, demonstrates the importance of characters' non-verbal language.

            Likewise direction is top-notch. Not a moment is wasted on trivial subplots. Everything in the movie seem to fit like a jigsaw puzzle, whether it's the songs, the haunting background score, the sets, the emotions portrayed by the actors, the performances etc.

            Performances are first class. We see Guru Dutt as the young (and middle-aged) and naive Bhootnath. He beautifully brings both comedy and intensity to his character communicating mostly with his expressive eyes. His relationship with the tragic Choti Bahu and the simple but headstrong Jabba is superbly portrayed through a wonderful chemistry between the actors. Meena Kumari gives one of her finest performances as the doomed Choti Bahu. Her scenes with Bhootnath and one particular scene with Rehman (just before she drinks alcohol for the first time) is mind blowing. Waheeda Rehman, being one of the finest actresses, brings grace and equally makes her presence felt in a comparably smaller but noteworthy role. Rehman as Chote Babu is brilliant.

           'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam' transports the viewer to a different time of Indian Cinema and the allure of this classic is unparalleled; one can't draw comparisons with modern-day Bollywood.  Today this film will play as a snapshot of pre independence India. It has everything reflecting that time period. The class differences, the covert guerrilla tactics of the common people in the fight for independence, the indifference of the upperclassmen, the intermingling and acceptance of different castes- it's unfortunate that such a treasure of timeless art is buried deep in the archives. But that's the nature of cinema and perhaps rightfully so. Even though the film explores the themes such as adultery it has been rated U. The film is a cinematic marvel and I would rate it 10/10.

Duniya (1984) {Mid Era}

            Duniya is a 1984 Crime/Drama film directed by Ramesh Talwar, written by Javed Akhtar, starring Dilip Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Ashok Kumar & Amrita Singh produced by Yash Johar. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, Mohan Kumar loses his wife, son, & freedom, then he emerges from prison vowing revenge. 

             Let's start with this, the only reason why I chose to watch this film was Dilip Kumar. Now that I've established this, let's begin with the review. The plot of the film is very average. It's a typical revenge story with a mix of family drama. A lot of bollywood films of those times followed a similar storyline. The film is a slow burn and runs for 2hrs 47mins which could've easily been cut down to a 2hr 15min mark. The fist half is more engaging than the second half as the first half does a god job establishing the premise of the film. The second half is dragged and ruined by the predictable climax. 

            Dramas blended with crimes, smuggling, revenge, lost children, and reuniting have been an instant recipe of most of the Hindi Movies from '60s. By the time this film came, the story has been seen so many times that there remains nothing new to be explored. The story is familiar, the villains are well known, the characters are shallow, music and songs if not mediocre are still not very memorable. A sequence if I'm not mistaken is taken straight from the Oscar Winning "The Sting" in which Rishi Kapoor steals cash. If something is good in this movie, it's an impressive performance from Thespian Dilip Kumar and a cameo by Saira Banoo. Rest all the other actors have a stylized persona and have acted very loud. Loud acting was considered 'good' acting in those times & hence it's a common troupe. People who've watched the film when it came out must not have found it odd but the acting is outdated by todays standards & the film doesn't stand the test of time. It is a very forgetful film, not bad for a one time watch but nothing special to take home with you. I would rate the film  5.5/10.

Sonchiriya (2019) {Recent Film}

            Sonchiriya is a 2019 action/drama film, Co-written & directed by Abhishek Chaubey, starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar & Ranvir Shorey. To be very honest, I was not much intrigued by the trailer of Sonchiriya & hence had zero expectations before watching the film. But my oh my! Was I shocked to witness a cinematic marvel unfold before my eyes. The film made me so happy that I decided to watch it twice because trust me when I say this, Sonchiriya is one of the best films that is based on Dacoits. We have very rarely seen this level of direction...this level of character development in any film of this genre in Bollywood.

 

             Apart from the excellent direction and character development, the thing I loved the most about this film is the multilayered characters. And I'm not specifically talking about any one character, I mean EVERY single character! All the emotions, feelings & thoughts that the characters go through in this film keep on changing as the characters progress through their journey. No character in this film is shown to be one dimensional. And this is how reality is! our thought process keeps on changing. Change is inevitable. The film understands this concept very well. And with all that in mind the director has managed to present us with a masterful film. Alongside the characters, our opinions about them keep on changing  as well. By the end of the film the character which you hated the most might even turn into your favorite character. The film also explores themes of food chain (circle of life) & human greed.

            Manoj Bajpayee plays the role of Daku Man Singh, the only nitpick I have about the character is that his screen time is really less i.e. Manoj Bajpayee has given a guest appearance & I was hoping to see more of him in the film. Fun Fact : Manoj Bajpayee had previously played the same role in the 1994 film, Bandit Queen. Talking about Sushant Singh Rajput, I believe his performance as Lakhna was his best performance till date. Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey & Ashutosh Rana gave a compelling performance as well. The relationship shared between Bhumi Pednekar's character and Sonchiriya is something you'd take home with you. The cinematography and camera work are both memorable and add to the dark thrilling ambience. I wish they had sent Sonchiriya for the oscars instead of Gully Boy. The film is rated U/A for the gore & there is no sex/nudity shown. Overall, if you're into dark intense action/thrillers then you should definitely watch Sonchiriya. I would rate the film a solid 9/10.

Jallikattu (2019) {Regional Film}

            Jallikattu is a 2019 Malayalam action/drama film, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, produced by  O. Thomas Panicker, with Antony Varghese playing the lead role. The story of the film is rather simple, A buffalo who was supposed to be butchered in the morning for its meat to be sold is let loose, not long after, the animal goes on a rampage terrorizing the village. The butcher who brought in the buffalo faces the heat.

            Right off the bat, the film is visually very appealing. The colour grading depicts the tone of the film perfectly, adding to that the score of the film is done excellently as well. Both of these aspects add to the thrill of the movie. And one can't help but notice the incredible camera work! The cuts are snappy and the pacing is done well. The place where the movie lacks is, character development. There are a lot of characters in this movie, each character has their own subplot but the film just doesn't seem to care about it at all. Whenever the film is even remotely near to giving us some context about the characters, the focus again shifts to the threat. This in itself isn't wrong. There are a lot of plot driven films that lack character development, one prime example is Christopher Nolan's Tenet. The problem here is that the threat is MADE to feel dangerous but from an outsider perspective it isn't much of the threat at all! It's a Buffalo that's on the loose not a Leopard. Buffalos are domesticated animals that a lot of people in Indian villages have at home. So to have over 200 people running after it to take its life feels forced. The acting is very stylized and loud. It kind of makes one stray away from the realism of the film but then again, the film pulls one in with the realistic action sequences and long shots. Another aspect that makes one stray away from realism is how the people in the film have been portrayed, for example, there is a scene in the film where a man is preparing for his daughter's wedding, and how do you think he's prepping for that? By rigorously describing how he wants the beef dish to be during the feast. This subplot of his, is prevalent THROUGHOUT the film.

             The climax of the film is the most daunting. 'Jallikattu' title which is used metaphorically for the film is justified here. The chaotic atmosphere builds up your anxiety & holds your attention through out. This was a breakthrough film for the Malayalam film industry. One which teaches a lot of lessons on human nature and raises questions on the human evolution. The film doesn't contain scenes with sex/nudity but has a lot of gore. All in all, I would say Jallikattu is a good one time watch, and I would rate it 6.5/10. Fun fact, Jallikattu was India's official entry for the Oscars 2021.